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“I Have The Feeling About 60% Of What You Say Is Crap.” David Letterman, the usually apolitical host who's generally much more concerned with making his guests look good, loses it when guest Bill O'Reilly takes Cindy Sheehan to task on his show. You may remember O'Reilly having a similarly awkward encounter with Jon Stewart earlier this year.
comment posted at 11:35 AM on Jan-4-06
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The Gay Love Bomb. "The US military investigated building a 'gay bomb', which would make enemy soldiers 'sexually irresistible' to each other, government papers say."
comment posted at 8:06 PM on Jan-3-06

It's official. 2005 was the hottest year on record. Despite this new alarming evidence that the world is heating up, countries like Australia and the United States are still refusing to sign up to the Kyoto Protocol. But with many (mostly on the conservative side of politics) claiming that the Kyoto Protocol is a failure, what else can be done to stop the now clearly visible effects of climate change to our world?
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The Sex Lives and Sexual Frustrations of US troops in Iraq "Well over a hundred thousand American men and women, most younger than 30, spend a year or more at a time in a foreign country where they are almost totally isolated from the indigenous population. Are all these troops really chaste for those long periods, as called for by military regulations?"
comment posted at 8:56 PM on Jan-2-06
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Edge 2006: What is your dangerous idea?
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Who knew Jack Abramoff owned a restaurant? Well with the power-lobbyist-cum-felon's latest problems, Signatures, his Capitol Hill eatery, is looking for a new name. And you can help! I hope the Mefi community can offer many thoughtful suggestions. (via)
comment posted at 1:58 PM on Dec-31-05

We've knelt on the altar of the Predator UAV and paid homage with tax dollars (see related MeFi thread) but the Army (and possibly Hollywood [PDF]) and others want to go smaller and more efficient. With massive budget increases for UAV/MAV technology over the last two years and increased use of UAVs for border surveillance, [PDF] one wonders when the tiniest of cool toys starts becoming a tool for surveillance as the legal arguments for and against will almost certainly heat up. Face it - cool RC toys aren't just for amusing/terrorizing your pets anymore.
comment posted at 1:41 PM on Dec-27-05

What you get when a Cars Salesman is your Ambassador Do you get the idea that this whole administration is new to this whole diplomacy thing It seems the only way the truth is admitted is under glaring pressure by our allies.
comment posted at 1:50 PM on Dec-27-05

Federal surveillance of over a hundred homes, businesses, mosques, warehouses and other sites has been conducted without warrants, according to a new USNews report. Indications are that the persons so targeted were US citizens. "In numerous cases, the monitoring required investigators to go on to the property under surveillance, although no search warrants or court orders were ever obtained, according to those with knowledge of the program. Some participants were threatened with loss of their jobs when they questioned the legality of the operation, according to these accounts."
comment posted at 4:34 PM on Dec-23-05

Governor Taft of Ohio is about to sign Senate Bill 9, the Ohio Patriot Act. Among its provisions:

• Police can deny entry to "transportation infrastructure" to anyone not showing an ID;
• Police can demand the name, address, and date of birth of anyone suspected of having committed a crime or being about to commit a crime, or having witnessed a crime or a plan to commit a crime. Failure to provide this information is an arrestable offense -- so basically all demonstrators could be required to give their names, addresses and dates of birth or face arrest;
• Reminiscent of Joe McCarthy's famous question, many state licenses will begin with the question "Are you a member of an organization on the U.S. Department of State Terrorist Exclusion List?". Failure to answer means no license; answering affirmatively is self-incrimination.
• Perhaps worst of all, the original version of the bill simply prohibited state or local governemnts or government employees from objecting to the USA PATRIOT act. The current version allows criticism, but threatens local government with the loss of funds if they in any way "materially hinder" Federal anti-terrorism efforts.

"Welcome to Ohio! Ihre Papiere, bitte!"
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comment posted at 7:35 PM on Dec-23-05