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Creating A Climate for Cross Burnings --the recent reappearance of this horrifying relic of the bad old days of the South, supposedly gone, have many wondering. Now where do you think small-change bigots would get the idea that public expressions of racism and intolerance are ok?
posted by amberglow at 10:11 PM PST - 105 comments

Sellafield nuclear leak unreported for three months - The Cumbria, UK nuclear waste processing facility has been a constant source of worry and pollution since its inception. Security procedures were called "a bit of a joke" by safety technician Ron Hanas, who was fired for blowing the whistle on the accounting loss of over 30 kg of weapons-grade plutonium, noting as an aside that a section of a uranium fuel rod was found in a worker's desk drawer. Higher levels of plutonium are found in children's teeth as they live in closer proximity to the plant. It makes one think about the current energy policy being written behind closed doors, when the industry can't put basic safety systems in place.
posted by AlexReynolds at 9:51 PM PST - 24 comments

Onancock Some towns just have bad names.
posted by longsleeves at 2:58 PM PST - 97 comments

Internet Explorer - We discovered the web. Check out this humorous parody site created for Microsoft's browser Internet Explorer. Something tells me this won't be up for too much longer though.
posted by sjvilla79 at 2:04 PM PST - 37 comments

RIP Eddie Albert. As Mr. Kimball might have said, he was an actor . Well, not really an actor, but a war hero. He was awarded a Bronze star...well, it wasn't really bronze, more like a...anyway, for his efforts at Tarawa. But maybe he was more of an environmentalist...oh, anyway, dig into some hotscakes and remember Mr. Douglas.
posted by Oriole Adams at 1:34 PM PST - 20 comments

Think you're in full control of your computer? Think again. Intel has just quietly added one of the necessary components of Microsoft's (and the TCG/TCPA's) DRM technology, Palladium, to the PC platform. Some say this is a move against rampant Chinese software piracy, others think it's a power grab by the content producers. Left unchecked, content and software producers will have the final say in how you use your computer, fair use be damned.
posted by id at 1:27 PM PST - 55 comments

Darknet Blog - Interesting articles about what is shaping technology today, and how the industry is playing nice with the government to legislate drm into our lives.
posted by sourbrew at 12:01 PM PST - 4 comments

The 10 year long civil war in West Africa's Sierra Leone may have concluded in the last couple of years but rehabilitation of the country is painfully slow. War crime trials are under way but are underfunded and there's only scant attention paid by the western press. Naturally, the most vulnerable are at greatest risk. Pep Bonet has photographed children at the hospital for the blind, a war amputees soccer team and the rather disturbing conditions at Kissy mental hospital in Freetown. There is only space for about 150 of the estimated 50,000 people left psychotically disturbed by the war. These lucky ones are held in chains by way of treatment control. (via) [aid]
posted by peacay at 11:13 AM PST - 19 comments

Dirty goings-on in the magic kingdom. (QuickTime) Amateur movies shot by Disney's professional furries in Disneyworld show what happens on the grounds while Mickey isn't looking.
"...Many of the videos, I found out, were created for unofficial annual character banquets, where screening funny skits is part of a tradition of subtle acts of subversion among the members of Disney’s undercompensated and overregulated workforce."
Probably sorta safe for work, but don't show it to Pooh aficionados.
[via Radar magazine via defamer]
posted by Silky Slim at 9:28 AM PST - 29 comments

Found via the "startrek" tag on Flickr -- Space Battles / Gallery of Star Trek Ladies / 35mm Film Clips / Scotty Gets his Star.
posted by brownpau at 8:52 AM PST - 11 comments

Uniforms. Eye candy from a themed LJ community.
posted by madamjujujive at 7:32 AM PST - 10 comments

How do you say "aunt"? There was a spirited thread a couple of years ago on the pop/soda/Coke division in our nation, but this survey is on the actual pronunciation of words. Ant? Ahnt? Aint? (My father used to say "bum" for "bomb" and "my-o-naiz" for "mayonnaise," and it drove me nuts. I also wondered why I didn't say it the same way.)
posted by ancientgower at 5:12 AM PST - 73 comments

Hillary Clinton? The progressive side of the blogsphere is a twitter with news that 53% of the public would vote for Hillary. What do you think?
posted by delmoi at 2:26 AM PST - 86 comments

The Crazy Frog / Axel F Song (previously mentioned on the Blue) is about to make history by being the first ringtone / pop music crossover to successfully invade the British charts. How successful? A little band named Coldplay also have a new single out; as it stands, Crazy Frog is outselling their effort by a factor of 4 to 1. People, this is serious. Prepare for some major league irritation to descend upon us. The success of this single will only spawn a legion of imitators, and that can only lead to the dark side. As Malcolm McLaren, ex Sex Pistols manager puts it: "Listen to this song and you can hear the death knell of the traditional music industry."
posted by LondonYank at 2:19 AM PST - 40 comments

Lust Films is like a witty indie movie with full-on sex -- the hardcore video equivalent to Nerve, Fleshbot, and Sex in the City. Porn plots have never been so...watchable! Extremely NSFW, especially the trailers.
posted by NickDouglas at 1:07 AM PST - 33 comments

Scattered Leaves In the early decades of the 20th century, a Cleveland book collector named Otto Ege removed the pages from 50 medieval manuscript books, divided the pages among 40 boxes, and sold the boxes around the world. Now the University of Saskatchewan plans to digitally remake the book.
posted by dhruva at 12:18 AM PST - 32 comments