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May 27, 2011
A long time ago (1987) in a slightly parallel galaxy not so far away, an aspiring filmmaker named George Lucas teamed up with thespian Richard E. Grant to create the epic tale of a frustrated thespidroid trying to find fame on the desolate planet of Tatooine.
Withnail and O is the result.
posted by Shepherd at 3:15 PM PST - 14 comments
Inside the Detainee Abuse Task Force On 28 Jul 2004, the Detainee Abuse Task Force, was formed by USACIDC to investigate all allegations of Iraqi Detainee abuse involving Coalition Forces.
One of the special agents in charge describes the task force as under-resourced and
hampered by a bureaucracy unable or unwilling to facilitate its investigations.
PBS and The Nation investigating journalist
states “One thing that shocked me was that the ID/DATF agents that I interviewed said there could be hundreds, if not thousands, of allegations of detainee abuse and torture that likely didn’t reach them.”
In 2009 President Obama stated “Individuals who violated standards of behavior in these photos have been investigated and held accountable.” and concluded
"I ran for President because I believe that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together."
posted by adamvasco at 2:30 PM PST - 9 comments
"The woman, 29, testified, she woke up naked except for a bra, in a puddle of vomit, and believing that she had been raped the night before by a police officer." An East Village video system "recorded two police officers as they arrived at the apartment building above the bar four times in four hours — once on official business, then sneaking back three more times in secret..."
What Proof Does a Woman Have to Have? (NYT)
[more inside]
posted by DarlingBri at 12:53 PM PST - 131 comments
On May 23, 1861, Spotsylvania County, Virginia voted 1323 - 0 in favor of succession from the Union. Historian John Hennessy
provides an explanation of how that vote came to be a perfect 100% in favor of succession. So people rebelling against "Northern tyranny" themselves used tyranny to rig a vote that was undoubtedly going to go overwhelmingly in their favor anyway?
posted by COD at 12:19 PM PST - 22 comments
Elizabeth Eckford. Paul Cole. Lt. Colonel Robert L. Stirm. Juan Romero. The unfamiliar names have one thing in common: because of a split second in time with a camera pointing towards them, they will always be remembered as
“the person in that photograph.” This list includes 10 such individuals, and how a single picture can change some people’s lives. [NSFW for one photo]
posted by bayani at 11:29 AM PST - 26 comments
Paper Cuts. Paper-cut silhouettes of famous characters. Can you name them all? (Warning: Single page with a
lot of inline images. One slightly NSFW.)
posted by kmz at 10:43 AM PST - 38 comments
Web artifact made of solid gold CELEBRITY LECTURES SERIES from Michigan State University. Ten years worth of lectures were posted in 1998. They are all still there-- awaiting your return.
Edward Albee ,Isabel Allende, Maya Angelou, Margaret Atwood, Pat Conroy, Jacques d'Amboise, E.L. Doctorow, Richard Ford, Carlos Fuentes, David Halberstam,
Joseph Heller,
John Irving, Judith Jamison, William Kennedy, Norman Mailer, David McCullough, Terry McMillan, Arthur Miller, Joyce Carol Oates, Philip Roth, Jane Smiley, Susan Sontag, Amy Tan,
Paul Theroux, John Updike,
Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Derek Walcott, Garry Wills, August Wilson and
Tom Wolfe.
I listened to the Vonnegut lecture. Imagine-- a whole hour and a half (Well, I skipped the first 9 minutes of introductions.) with my favorite author wheezing and sputtering. How refreshing to hear him declaim in his own voice and reveal the happiest day of his life and his own favorite from among his works -"The Sirens of Titan".
posted by notmtwain at 7:51 AM PST - 8 comments
FEMA Administrator W. Craig Fugate has what he describes as a "Waffle House" theory of emergency management to assess how bad a situation is after a disaster. "If the Waffle House is open and serving food and has got a full menu, then it's green," he said during an interview inside a FEMA mobile home parked outside a fire station in Joplin. "If the Waffle House is open but has a limited menu, it's yellow, and if the Waffle House isn't open, that's red." -
FEMA Gets its Groove Back
posted by Slap*Happy at 7:23 AM PST - 93 comments
The Greatest LEGO Diorama in the Galaxy! Imperial Employee of the Month
Jay Hoff has been hard at work building the greatest LEGO Diorama in this or any other Galaxy. An impressive, most impressive 37,000 pieces of LEGO (as well as, presumably, a scary amount of time and money), including 388 mini-figurines, went into this custom commemoration of the Emperor's arrival on the second Death Star. This great moment in Imperial history was made in 2011 for Science Discovery Day at Berkeley Preparatory School in Tampa. It uses an Imperial Shuttle Kit with custom designed Death Star hangar.
[Via Death Star PR]
posted by Fizz at 4:29 AM PST - 41 comments
The EU has just rolled out
a new law requiring websites to request permission before installing any cookies in a user's web browser. In the UK, businesses have been given
a one year deferral on implementation by the Information Commissioner's Office. The ICO have brought their own website into compliance with the law though, showing other websites the way forward. There's a notice
at the top of the page requesting permission to set a cookie, as legally required. Click "continue" without agreeing
posted by crayz at 1:56 AM PST - 57 comments
Kaydara is a French-made Matrix fan film, released on the 21st of May 2011, which has been noted for the high quality of its special effects. The entire 55-minute film is now available to stream for free from its site.
[more inside]
posted by chmmr at 1:35 AM PST - 10 comments
