Thou shalt not make scientific progress. "Medical research is poised to make a quantum leap that will benefit sufferers from Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, muscular dystrophy, diabetes and other diseases. But George W. Bush's religious convictions stand in its way."
posted by homunculus at 9:17 PM PST - 45 comments

Secondhand Suicide: An entirely true story, as told by the Widow. A young woman blogs her experience dealing with the suicide of her husband.
posted by Quartermass at 7:45 PM PST - 66 comments

The dulcet tones of Tulsa Drone were a growing presence on the Richmond scene when I lived there...their new album is fantastic. They've been described as cinematic and noir-ish by everyone that's heard them. Make your own decisions, but I'll be listening to them on my iPod when I dump bodies in the lake under cover of midmorning fog from now on.
posted by chinese_fashion at 6:11 PM PST - 10 comments

DOJ Asked FBI Translator To Change Pre 9-11 Intercepts --- FBI translator Sibel Edmonds, was offered a substantial raise and a full time job in order to not go public that she had been asked by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to retranslate and adjust the translations of [terrorist] subject intercepts that had been received before September 11, 2001 by the FBI and CIA.  "My translations of the pre 9-11 intercepts included [terrorist] money laundering, detailed and date specific information enough to alert the American people, and other issues dating back to 1999 which I won't go into right now." Incredibly, Edmonds said "The senate Judiciary Committee, and the 911 Commission have heard me  testify for  lengthy periods of time time (3 hours) about very specific plots, dates, airplanes used as weopons, and specific idividuals and activities." Is this true? and OMFG
posted by amberglow at 6:07 PM PST - 41 comments

In This Week's Episode of "When Good eBayers Go Bad"... If you're in the market for a really bad outfielder and you've got cash to spare - or you just want to do your duty to help the New York Mets get rid of one of their overrated players, then join the bidding for Roger Cedeno!
posted by djspicerack at 5:05 PM PST - 7 comments

Remember the Dihydrogen Monoxide parody from a few years ago?

lethal if inhaled, causes severe burns in its gaseous state, and is the major component in acid rain...

Snopes does. Mefi does too.

In a reworking of a classic story, City Councillors in Orange County were about to debate the pressing issue of Dihydrogen Monoxide before realising that the dangerous chemical was, in fact, water.
posted by triv at 3:24 PM PST - 14 comments

Charles Miller's Rules of Arguments (via dive into mark).
posted by timeistight at 3:05 PM PST - 9 comments

Getting Pierced Privately in Georgia? Female? Go to Jail. In a stunning case of "And Another Thing" gone horribly wrong, the Georgia House of Representatives passed a bill today that was meant to criminalize a range of notorious mutilations, especially in cases where defendants have cited ritual tradition. The primary benefactors of this bill are female victims of such crimes under the age of 18, though the bill will extend to include women of all ages. This was all well and good, until someone apparently muttered the word "piercing." The very thought left Rep Bill Heath "slack-jawed" and so an amendment was tacked on to the existing bill. With the amendment added, the bill passed with a vote of 160-0.

The newly amended bill, if passed by the Georgia Senate, will make female genital piercing as much of a crime as the far more heinous mutilations in the original bill.
posted by grabbingsand at 2:08 PM PST - 46 comments

Otis White's Urban Notebook. Weekdaily columns on odd happenings in State and Local politics. Good for the policy wonk in your life.
posted by Ufez Jones at 11:56 AM PST - 8 comments

Kris Holm: Evolution of Balance
Certainly one of the most talented (and well travelled) unicyclists of all time. Kris rides stuff on his one wheel that I wouldn't touch on either of my bikes.
posted by fenriq at 11:43 AM PST - 5 comments

This is Olympian Shadow Farm! Ever heard of the Merrick Foundation? How about Bigfoot Lives? Cougar? Are these guys the hardest working musicians in Portland, Oregon? A bunch of lunatics? And how do you explain this?
posted by djseafood at 11:37 AM PST - 2 comments

danah boyd hosted a party at SXSW in Austin two weeks ago. Six thieves crashed the party and made off with her phone, id and credit cards. Fortunately, she has pictures of the perps. Can the MeFi folks catch a(nother) thief?
posted by shrub at 10:08 AM PST - 99 comments

The Great American Man-Dog Marriage Panic. Muttrimonial bliss could be yours, now that the gates of hell are opening!
posted by archimago at 10:06 AM PST - 45 comments

E-paper to make its consumer debut. A little Cambridge, MA firm called E-Ink is teaming up with 2 global partners (Philips and Sony) to introduce next month "the world's first consumer application of an electronic paper display module." The size of a paperback book, it will allow storage of the equivalent of 500 books, and display of up to 10,000 pages on a single set of batteries. The display technology comes closer to the appearance of a printed page than any previous electronic display. The future of this technology: "'expressive surfaces'-intelligent displays that are built right into everyday products." At the research level it is already capable of displaying color video.
posted by beagle at 10:01 AM PST - 29 comments

Classic films being re-released aren't normally news. Except, of course, when you are referring to films that were controversial when they were initially released. As a counterpoint to Mel Gibson's box-office smash, The Passion of the Christ, Monty Python will re-release The Life of Brian on Good Friday. This is more fun than a box of Peeps any day. Don't like CNN? Try the BBC or CBC coverage
posted by ilsa at 9:52 AM PST - 25 comments

Do not install software from "GAIN" - and never ask me again Microsoft's Internet Explorer team is actually churning out some improvements - the authenticode dialog "Do you want to install this?" in their latest SP Preview Release now functions like it should have from the start, a more usable (understandable) set of choices, and the option to say "No, never ask again". Also, pop-up-blocker apparently quite functional, is set to 'on' by default. Glad to see at least a little progress being made (still no word on PNG or CSS support changes, nor plans for a 7.x version, afaik).
posted by kokogiak at 9:51 AM PST - 19 comments

The Haiku Postcard Foundation exhibits a collection of anonymous hand-created postcards sent in from people around the world. It boasts a long and varied history and many interesting submissions.
posted by keef at 8:29 AM PST - 4 comments

Why is C-Span downplaying the 9/11 Hearings? I don't even get C-Span 3 with my cable company. Is this a pattern?
posted by Domain Master 666 at 6:33 AM PST - 21 comments

Bush lies about taxes
posted by Slagman at 5:40 AM PST - 49 comments

The Outsourcing Bogeyman by economics professor Daniel Drezner describes the myths, facts and economics behind offshore outsourcing. There is also a critique and rebuttal on Drezner's blog. (via kuro5hin).
posted by TheophileEscargot at 3:42 AM PST - 26 comments