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Banned books are nothing new, but this is just ridiculous.
"Those modern classics and seven other books have come under routine fire for profane language, unpleasant racial themes and references to homosexuality." Considering this , why is it an issue. [see no evil]
comment posted at 10:10 AM on Aug-29-01

This amazing weapon was fired by a helicopter into the third floor of a building and was so accurate it actually decapitated its target without harming the other tenants.
comment posted at 9:51 AM on Aug-29-01
comment posted at 10:55 AM on Aug-29-01
comment posted at 10:55 AM on Aug-29-01

Oops. Where did the surplus go? It' fascinating how MSNBC bends over backward to make it sound as if both parties shared blame equally rather then pointing straight at Bush's outrageous tax cut.
comment posted at 6:55 PM on Aug-27-01
comment posted at 7:38 PM on Aug-27-01
comment posted at 8:05 AM on Aug-28-01
comment posted at 8:12 AM on Aug-28-01
comment posted at 8:16 AM on Aug-28-01

Dave Winer rewrites "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus" - In which he muses in an undergraduate manner about why IT is so male-dominated, offering up such gems as "Men are the artists of our species, women are the infrastructure". As you'd expect, this hasn't gone down with some. The gas is on, let's flick the zippo...
comment posted at 12:24 PM on Aug-26-01
comment posted at 8:52 AM on Aug-27-01

Please help me, I'm falling I nearly cried into my breakfast when I read this article - because I thought it was about me. The usual path after university is into a well paid job and a fulfilling future. But a growing number are leaving university, even with high marks, with little idea of how life works and what to do next. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
comment posted at 4:23 PM on Aug-26-01
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comment posted at 4:35 PM on Aug-26-01
comment posted at 5:29 PM on Aug-26-01
comment posted at 6:27 PM on Aug-26-01

Stile has managed to finally offend the world Now, I like odd things, but this was the last straw. For those who haven't seem it, it is an mpeg of a man cutting the head off of a live kitten and then eating it. The best part of this link ( I couldn't watch the vid all the way through ), are the e-mail responses. Anyway, we all seem openminded here, was he in the wrong to post the vid? (Link not safe for work)
comment posted at 7:02 PM on Aug-23-01
comment posted at 8:10 PM on Aug-23-01

Microsoft support letters from dead people : Bill, "I can see dead people, and they all seem to like me"
comment posted at 9:06 AM on Aug-23-01

In defense of flamewars Bravest thing I’ve read all year. ‘Rules against all flaming favor politicians and passive-aggressives. These people are experts at sticking the knife in subtly. When the victim yells out in pain, the politician/passive-aggressive feigns innocence and claims he/she is the victim and the true victim is the aggressor.... ¶ Rules against all flaming discriminate against those whose communication skills are less developed. A brilliant writer can pillory an opponent without seeming to. A less-skilled victim of such an assault knows that he/she is being attacked, but can’t muster the same subtlety in response.... ¶ The worst thing you can do is to post something like “Please take your flames off list”... People flame on list because they feel that their reputations have been sullied publicly. Telling them to take it off list is just like telling them to shut up and take it’
comment posted at 6:58 AM on Aug-23-01
comment posted at 9:30 AM on Aug-23-01
comment posted at 1:42 PM on Aug-23-01

Home schooling goes mainstream (cover story of Time). Although the article is appallingly poorly-written (does Time have editors anymore?), it points to double-digit growth with only a few anecdotal chestnuts about "socialization" to throw against the trend.
comment posted at 4:16 PM on Aug-21-01
comment posted at 4:29 PM on Aug-21-01
comment posted at 4:38 PM on Aug-21-01

What? Another Artist Link? Well, not so much as one artist, but two. These guys are not only great artists, but they're cool as hell. Look at all of their stuff, sukkas!
comment posted at 6:12 PM on Aug-5-01

A California judge has ordered parents to pay $3,500 in monthly child support to their 50-year-old son.
comment posted at 10:39 AM on Aug-5-01

Incredibly detailed pizza delivery etiquette instructions. Did you know that you are supposed to tip the driver? If you didn't, would you know how to use a web browser?
comment posted at 2:19 PM on Aug-5-01

So Help Me God : "Ninety-five percent of the people believe in God. An invocation of his name, in conjunction with the seriousness of telling the truth, has an importance beyond mere legal requirement," Sessions said Thursday. [via NextDraft]
comment posted at 4:42 PM on Aug-3-01
comment posted at 5:54 PM on Aug-3-01
comment posted at 7:12 PM on Aug-3-01
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comment posted at 8:18 PM on Aug-3-01
comment posted at 8:58 AM on Aug-4-01
comment posted at 2:50 PM on Aug-5-01
comment posted at 2:55 PM on Aug-5-01
comment posted at 2:57 PM on Aug-5-01

Aunt Flo has left the building! "A new drug being developed would eliminate menstruation altogether, while still allowing women to get pregnant. Another drug would eliminate both periods and pregnancy." Stock in companies that sell white jeans set to skyrocket, while sales of red and white patterned bedsheets plummet! On a more serious note, how much easier will this make it to plan adventurous vacations, honeymoons, and doctor's appointments? How much easier would life be if you never, ever had to think about having a period again?
comment posted at 12:56 PM on Aug-3-01
comment posted at 5:07 PM on Aug-3-01

The problem isn't too much greed, but too much cowardly greed. "Spineless lenders, weak-kneed investors and meddling regulators intent on reducing risk pose a greater threat to the global economy than the volatile financial markets... 'The critic's image of the global financial markets as a giant casino is wrong," [writes British financial writer Daniel Ben-Ami], 'On the contrary, the modern financial markets are more often characterized by a fear of risk-taking than a reckless disregard for danger.'"
comment posted at 1:49 PM on Aug-2-01

House of Representatives approves drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
comment posted at 4:45 AM on Aug-2-01
comment posted at 6:03 AM on Aug-2-01
comment posted at 1:39 PM on Aug-2-01

World's numbers may peek by 2100 Implications ? Parking going to be easier? Should we do more to stop decline or tapering off?
comment posted at 4:44 PM on Aug-1-01

Boy hangs self and explains it all on the Internet Couyld have had some commerical tie-in and banner ads his carefully researched plans to take his life.
comment posted at 4:49 PM on Jul-29-01

Pentagon fraud $9,000,000,000. I hope this is a misprint. More inside.
comment posted at 2:40 PM on Jul-28-01

Oh my god, the internet has porn on it! (Again.) The U.S. Congress makes their annual re-discovery that not everything on the internet is child-friendly. This time they noticed the Gnutella network. (Yes, I got the link from Slashdot - but I like discussing things here rather than there.)
comment posted at 9:54 AM on Jul-28-01

It's like a paycheck advance, not a rebate. You thought the great tax relief of 2001 was a rebate on those huge surpluses the US gov't didn't know what to do with right? Nope, it's merely an advance on the refund of taxes you'll file next year, and here's the kicker: you may or may not be getting any refund at all next year. Tax relief? Tax rebate? Simply owing the $300 back next April? Who came up with this stupid idea? (truth courtesy of Megnut)
comment posted at 6:32 AM on Jul-28-01

Kiss your Porn-E-Okie goodbye!
Chicken John, one of San Francisco's leading promoters of cool underground happenings, recently purchased the Odeon Bar. His idea? To provide a space for artistic, creative performances that don't fit in with the mainstream. One of his successes has been Porn-E-Okie, outlandishly cheesy karaoke performances accompanied by custom-edited porn videos. It's an experience that is part comedy, part performance art. It certainly puts songs like "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" in an entirely new light...

Well, thanks to the efforts of the SFPD, Porn-E-Okie is now a felony crime in San Francisco. To obtain his liquor license, Chicken John had to sign a paper promising to never do Porn-E-Okie again as it constitutes "willful and wanton disregard of public welfare and morals". In San Francisco? Are you kidding me?! The police must *love* the Castro...

I might as well add Mayor Willie Brown and President of the Board of Supervisors Tom Ammiano to my address book, because this kind of SFPD stupidity still seems entirely too common.
comment posted at 8:36 PM on Jul-26-01

AMTRAK still off-track (NY Times link) Even before living in France I loved trains. So it pains to read that AMTRAK is stillheading towards its last run. Do you progressive, SUV-hating Mefi people have any thoughts on how AMTRAK might get its act together (or whether it's all SUV-futile)?
comment posted at 6:18 PM on Jul-25-01