May 8, 2007

Shipped off to a foreign jail for warez

The USA playing global sheriff isn't new, but the reach of US laws is extending. Hew Griffiths isn't a terrorist or a violent criminal, he didn't even make any money from his crime. He pirated some software, from his home in Australia. So why is he in jail in Virginia? Some think we might as well join 'em.
posted by bystander at 11:56 PM PST - 55 comments

Partial-Birth Abortion Ban

New Justices, New Rules: How the Supreme Court's Validation of the Federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act Affects Women's Constitutional Liberty and Equality. A two-part FindLaw analysis of Gonzales v. Carhart.
posted by homunculus at 9:25 PM PST - 26 comments

*Achoo!* Excuse me, I'm allergic to irony.

"Venezuela and Cuba have both asked that Posada be extradited, but an immigration judge in September 2005 ruled he could not be sent to either country out of concern he might face torture there." Luis Posada is a free man today. A graduate of the notorious School of the Americas, he is wanted for various acts of terrorism in a number of Latin American countries.
posted by mullingitover at 8:22 PM PST - 38 comments

The Secret of Apple Design

"The difference between BJ and AJ, Before and After Jobs, is not the process," [Don Norman] continues. "It is the person. Never before did Apple have such focus and dedication. Apple used to wobble, moving this way and that. No more."
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:17 PM PST - 26 comments

Discipline help

The Blurter. The Complainer. The Know-It-All. The Spoiled Darling. You can handle them all.
posted by mediareport at 8:06 PM PST - 33 comments

fake me

What is the connection between cute semi-naked japanese girls, and Orson Welles' F is for Fake? Momus explains.
posted by vronsky at 7:50 PM PST - 79 comments

Sleestaks are the new hotness

Sleestaks are the new hotness. Sleestaks are large green humanoids with both reptilian and insectoid features; they have scaly skin with frills around the neck, bulbous unblinking eyes, pincer-like hands, stubby tails, and a single blunt horn on top of the head. There were only three Sleestak costumes available for Land of the Lost, which sometimes required creative editing to create the illusion that they were that numerous. Sleestaks have inspired psychedelic stoner/doom rockers, artwork, artwork and more artwork.
posted by grateful at 6:48 PM PST - 57 comments

Etch-A-Sketch Based Commissioned Art

For the past several years, Jonathon Liu of Rainy Bay Art has been accepting commissions to create detailed (and permanent) portraits in the medium of Etch-A-Sketch. He also works in the medium of pumpkin.
posted by jonson at 6:42 PM PST - 7 comments

Ashley Treatment Deemed Illegal

FollowupFilter: The "Ashley Treatment" is a violation of Washington state law, ruled an investigative report today. The hospital that performed the sterilization acknowledged that a miscommunication was to blame.
posted by pineapple at 5:54 PM PST - 141 comments

Now thou hast it!

Who is in the primary position? Abbott & Costello, Bard-style. (singlelinkyoutubefilter)
posted by papakwanz at 4:41 PM PST - 16 comments

Planed by Gilbert & George

Planed - a new work by Gilbert & George, available for download until 11:35pm on the 10th of May.
posted by jack_mo at 4:15 PM PST - 13 comments

Everyone featured on this site requires a fucken glassing.

Everyone featured on this site requires a fucken glassing. Who do you think needs to be glassed?
posted by mcsweetie at 3:06 PM PST - 68 comments

Authors live at Google

It's the closest we'll come to "working" there: Google brings in authors to speak to their employees, and now you can see presentations from Lawrence Lessig, John McCain, Metafilter's own John Scalzi, and more.
posted by drezdn at 2:20 PM PST - 22 comments

I have had it with this motherfucking snake on this motherfucking baby!

Little Mukesh is the most badass kid in his nursery. His little friends all have pet dogs, cats, ponies, goats, you know... same old thing. But not Mukesh! No no no! His parents got him a pet COBRA! (Albeit clearly defanged. I mean, he is a baby & all.)
WARNING: Do not click link if you don't want to see a bare-butted baby piss off a spitting cobra.
posted by miss lynnster at 1:59 PM PST - 49 comments

At least a chimp will never be elected president. Oh, hang on...

"Our main argument is that Hiasl is a person and has basic legal rights,” said Eberhart Theuer, a lawyer leading the challenge on behalf of a Vienna animal rights group. “We mean the right to life, the right to not be tortured, the right to freedom under certain conditions,” Theuer said. “We’re not talking about the right to vote here.” Some primatologists support the legal action, while others aren't so sure. Brazilian courts have already granted a chimp the right to a petition of Habeas Corpus.
posted by unSane at 12:40 PM PST - 80 comments

Breaking: Science fiction is fiction

Ruining science fiction: Not only are the science fiction cliches humorously skewered in the Tough Guide to the Known Galaxy, but the science itself is wrong. For example, despite the best efforts of SF writers, interstellar trade will never work, unless wine costs $11 billion a bottle. Slower-than-light travel is much harder than you think, and warp drives are far away. Space battles, if they happen, won't have fighters and dramatic dogfights, but instead involve vast distances and maneuvers lasting years. And you can ruin a whole lot more science fiction with real science (and wonderful examples) at Atomic Rocket. Don't follow the links if you want to read Heinlein or watch Battlestar Galactica with a light heart.
posted by blahblahblah at 11:51 AM PST - 185 comments

Yeah, buddy, and I'm the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire

In 1299, Osman I declared independence from the Seljuk Empire, thus beginning the rise of the Ottoman Empire. Over the centuries, The Last Caliphate stretched from Saudi Arabia to Austria, influencing architecture , music, and possibly the most beautiful textiles of the Middle Ages. It was not to last, however. Following a century of uprisings and war, the "Sick Man of Europe" finally succumbed to Turkish Nationalism and was constitutionally abolished by the emerging Turkish state on March 3, 1924. In the intervening 83 years, so much has changed. If the Empire was reinstated today, where would you find the last remaining heir to the Sultan's throne?
posted by quite unimportant at 11:45 AM PST - 12 comments

Sexy Librarian Updates

Jess does Ubuntu! I know nothing about Ubuntu, but Metafilter's own jessamyn has inspired me to try this on my old PC before I donate it to a friend. (via)
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 11:13 AM PST - 75 comments

A Twisted, Twisted Kingdom

Frenzied Fauna -- Michel Gange's illustrated animal kingdom. (via)
posted by fallenposters at 11:12 AM PST - 11 comments

Search engine sonnetry

Google poetry generator. From "Metafilter Villanelle": clean! It communicates with wireless/ Some strangers have written my entire/ whose purpose is to share links and discuss// finding old obscure links, but today I guess/ - one link axegrindfilter - there/ and succumbed today to the "loss// (Make sure to check out the patterns feature.)
posted by flotson at 9:13 AM PST - 13 comments

tiki ti

Trader Vic's was closed in Beverly Hills at the end of last month. Apparently also in Osaka, Japan. But fear not, fellow Tiki freaks and cool cats, there are plenty of other places to get yourself a good Mai Tai, grab some far-out Polynesian accessories, and take a history refresher to impress your friends and neighbors.
posted by salsamander at 9:00 AM PST - 34 comments

PSST! Pass It On…

PSST! Pass It On…
posted by ijoshua at 6:37 AM PST - 10 comments

The Corpse Flower Has Bloomed

The UC Davis corpse flower bloomed yesterday: "Amorphophallus titanum, also known as Titan Arum or the Corpse Flower because of its smell, takes up to 15 years to bloom and rarely does so in cultivation...The stink is astounding." (Another stinky flower previously discussed here.)
posted by footnote at 6:22 AM PST - 43 comments

Musical Traditions

You could read about carnival in Trinidad, or Appalachian traditions or Greek rembetika, or African-American yodelers or música Chicana, or choose from a couple of hundred other articles about traditional music and musicians at Musical Traditions. [previously]
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:27 AM PST - 14 comments

Hindu case against 'obscene' Muslim artist fails

Proceedings against MF Husain have been stayed in India's Supreme Court. A painting by the celebrated Muslim artist, apparently depicting Mother India as a nude, led Hindus to bring an obscenity case and proceedings to seize his Mumbai property were initiated. However his lawyers moved swiftly to frustrate the action, transferring the property into his son's name and then seeking the High Court ruling. Hindus have taken offense at previous paintings by Husain, depicting Hindu deities in allegedly obscene ways. Others disagree.
posted by Phanx at 4:13 AM PST - 41 comments

Weddings and Beheadings

"Brutal, insensitive, and not illuminating" is how Kate Crisholm (writing in the Spectator) justifies the decision by Radio Four to cut Hanif Kureishi's short story Weddings and Beheadings from the National Short Story Competition.
posted by three blind mice at 2:05 AM PST - 26 comments

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