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The full text of George W Bush's acceptance speech. I feel less safe now than I was before, but as of this week it looks like he's going to win.
posted by mathowie at 8:08 PM PST - 269 comments

Malaspina Great Books. A biographical database on culture, in categories.
posted by plexi at 6:31 PM PST - 2 comments

A group of pre-schoolers in Maryland got to meet their Army Reserve pen pal. Fourth graders in New York met their Army pen pal. Sixth graders in Mississippi mourn their National Guard pen pal.
posted by whatever at 6:01 PM PST - 16 comments

"Suppose you are looking for your keys. You check your pocket, then a table by the door, and you finally notice them sitting next to a pile of mail. "These are my keys," you say. Clearly the word "these" refers to your keys. but on what does this fact supervene? Which conditions are such that, necessarily, if they obtain, then your use of 'these' has the referent it does?" Philosophers' Imprint is a web site devoted to the free dissemination of philosophy scholarship. The above by Susanna Siegel, Assist. Prof. at Harvard.
posted by JohnR at 4:01 PM PST - 43 comments

Native Languages of the Americas: Preserving and promoting American Indian languages.
posted by Ufez Jones at 2:31 PM PST - 13 comments

Selves and Others. Daily links to leftist internationalist articles, with a British bent. One neat thing is that the site builds pages for its contributors. You like Naomi Klein? Arundhati Roy? Sidney Blumenthal? George Monbiot? Andreas Whittam Smith? Michael Moore? Mickey Z? Seymour Hersh? It's like they've each got their own newspaper.
posted by iffley at 2:05 PM PST - 5 comments

Stories by Joe R. Lansdale If you're a fan of Joe Lansdale (or wonder who came up with the idea for Bubba Ho-Tep), this site's for you. A different short story is posted every Thursday. Most of the stories are from his early years.
posted by joaquim at 1:39 PM PST - 6 comments

Kobe Kobe Kobe Kobe Kobe Kobe Kobe

Clearly a SportsFilter post . . .
posted by geekyguy at 11:24 AM PST - 75 comments

Protests at RNC test appropriate response
An eyewitness account by I Can't Believe Its A Democracy - "I just have to pause here for a moment to make an observation. How many times have I seen an interview with an arrested protester who claimed he or she had done nothing to provoke the police. Almost always my reaction has been, "Yeah, sure." Only now I was seeing this very situation unfold in front of my eyes. These protesters, while certainly noisy, had obeyed police instructions down the entire length of the street. Now they were being treated as if they had gotten wildly out of control, but they hadn't. I know, because I was there."

Another account from Captain Normal (also an eyewitness and even got arrested and held for 24 hours without being charged or being able to contact a lawyer) discusses a family of French tourists caught up in the sweep as well as some of the other residents of "Gitmo on the Hudson".
posted by fenriq at 10:37 AM PST - 75 comments

smile, YOU'VE JUST BEEN KICKED IN THE NUTS!
posted by Peter H at 9:12 AM PST - 26 comments

Fruity!
posted by anastasiav at 8:52 AM PST - 15 comments

Iraq In Transition: Vortex or Catalyst? (PDF)
A key message of the report is that should Iraq fragment, a sectarian struggle between the Shi’a majority and Sunni minority is more likely to flare up in the context of a political breakdown. Al Qaeda and other militant Sunni groups will contribute to the polarisation between Sunnis, Shi’a and other religious groups in Iraq. A fragmented Iraq could provide a breeding ground for new militant factions, both Islamist and non-Islamist. Press release
posted by y2karl at 8:41 AM PST - 8 comments

Selected sculptures from Free Money and Other Fairy Tales and Tom Otterness on Broadway, from the artist best known for his New York public art. Crying Giant was originally designed for the Trade Center Memorial Competition. Other exhibitions as well, including Fairy Tale Sculptures by the Sea. His work is rarely mentioned without the word "whimsical." (WTC mentioned on MeFi here, and Otterness also mentioned here).
posted by Shane at 8:30 AM PST - 11 comments

Adults are picking up instant messaging in record numbers, with 50% of those over 35 using various systems. This study was funded by AOL, which has a major stake in the instant messaging market through its popular AIM software. But most people who use IM in the workplace are still using free and unsecured systems, despite the availability of secure versions in enterprise software and products like IM Secure.
posted by etoile at 8:29 AM PST - 8 comments

Between Pisces and Aries, a strange signal from space. Communication from an extraterrestrial civilization? Probably not, and an article in Nature suggests it would make more sense to use FedEx.
posted by tranquileye at 7:58 AM PST - 11 comments

It's marching season again in the UK. They always cause a heap of trouble for all concerned [NSFW unless your workplace is tolerant of full frontal noodlety]
posted by srboisvert at 3:28 AM PST - 23 comments

Let's Play "Spot the Crosses!" Can you find any in this picture? Others can... and they're pissed!
"My God, where do they come up with this stuff? Does it look to you like it's a cross? I don't think so." - Karl Rove
When Cheney was speaking, our nation's Great Seal was "crucified" -- which is kind of appropriate, come to think of it...
posted by insomnia_lj at 3:21 AM PST - 46 comments

Echo Company An emotionally trying account of an ambush in Iraq this past April that took the lives of twelve Americans and who knows how many Iraqis, from two journalists who were there. Included is a timeline, audio & video, photogalleries, and reactions from the friends and family they left behind. You can read a USMC account of the memorial service here. via Editor & Publisher [Flash/Real]
posted by trondant at 12:16 AM PST - 10 comments