MetaFilter

As the countdown to the Australian federal election continues ever onward, the key issue looks set to be industrial relations. The incumbent Howard Government's WorkChoices laws (now re-branded due to their increasing unpopularity) have seen the poll figures for challenger Kevin Rudd go up and up and up. But even as the Government prepares to unleash a major advertisement spree in an attempt to sell the alleged benefits of Work Choices, the new laws have come under attack from the most unlikely of places; popular prime time TV soap McLeod's Daughters, which last night aired this thinly veiled assault (youtube) on the central element of WorkChoices, AWAs.
posted by Effigy2000 at 11:52 PM PST - 36 comments

Beautiful furniture and sculptures made out of circuit boards by Theo Kamecke.
posted by nickyskye at 9:30 PM PST - 22 comments

Gene2Music: "We assigned a chord to each amino acid," said Rie Takahashi, a UCLA research assistant and an award-winning, classically trained piano player. "We want to see if we can hear patterns within the music, as opposed to looking at the letters of an amino acid or protein sequence. We can listen to a protein, as opposed to just looking at it."
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:17 PM PST - 30 comments

Where's my jetpack?
posted by Kattullus at 9:07 PM PST - 30 comments

Rice Boy ~ a web comic. [updates log] [via] [no relation as far as I can see]
[mi]
posted by grobstein at 7:58 PM PST - 14 comments

Donald Fagen and the making of Kamakiriad (part 2). With cameos from Walter Becker and Rick Moranis. The album featured the song "Snowbound" which became this very cool video.
posted by vronsky at 6:30 PM PST - 51 comments

The mystery of the disappearing bees might not be much of a problem. That is if commercial bee keepers go organic. (previously 1,2)
posted by orgvol at 5:01 PM PST - 62 comments

The Animated Calvin & Hobbes. A fantastic student project. via
posted by graventy at 4:48 PM PST - 79 comments

New research suggests that taking vitamin D, preferably D3, may prevent up to half of the cases of breast cancer and two-thirds of the cases of colorectal cancer in the United States. Vitamin D3 is produced by your body when your skin is exposed to sunlight. (You can also get it from fatty fish, egg yolks, fortified milk and other products, and supplements. D3 supplements are usually produced from lanolin, so vegans will prefer D2.) This doesn't mean you should stop wearing sunscreen entirely - white people exposed to summer sunlight in a bathing suit will produce all the vitamin D they need in only 15 to 20 minutes, while darker-skinned people will need longer exposures (which might explain why black men have a higher incidence of prostate cancer). Health Canada now recommends all adults over the age of 50 take a daily vitamin D supplement of 10 micrograms (400 IU), and, because "vitamin D synthesis in the skin is absent during the winter months (October to March)," they note that Canadians (and, one assumes, other people in northern climates) must rely on dietary intake of vitamin D to maintain adequate levels of vitamin D in the body.
posted by joannemerriam at 4:19 PM PST - 26 comments

The Calvin Pelorian Cat Project, featuring Satoru Tsuda's Namennayo. And, hey look! San Francisco!
Beware... it's anthropomorphized-kitties-in-clothing time.
posted by miss lynnster at 3:22 PM PST - 19 comments

“Academic Economics: Strengths and Faults After Considering Interdisciplinary Needs” (.pdf)
posted by Kwantsar at 2:44 PM PST - 12 comments

100 Movies. 100 Quotes. 100 Numbers. If you've got 10 minutes, see how many you can name. I'm hovering around a sure 52.
posted by Stan Chin at 1:47 PM PST - 85 comments

Earth Guide: An interactive exploration of our planet. Also in Japanese. [via]
posted by monju_bosatsu at 1:43 PM PST - 7 comments

Protesters threaten to target homes of Olympic officials Anti-poverty protesters in B.C. are threatening to take their protest against the 2010 Olympics to the homes of Vancouver Olympic officials. Protest organizer David Cunningham says members of the Anti-Poverty Committee know where officials from the Vancouver Organizing Committee live and work and protesters will take their demonstration directly to them. The Anti-Poverty Committee has a controversial presence in Vancouver currently. Among other things, they throw urine at people they don't like. Anti-Poverty Committee spokesman David Cunningham said these tactics (well, maybe not the urine) are the only way to get the attention of politicians.
posted by KokuRyu at 1:29 PM PST - 25 comments

Public gatherings restricted? Check. Shutdown of independent businesses? Check. Lockdown on traffic and transportation in the area? You bet. Lawmakers in Baltimore trying to curb the city's homicide rate (already 108 this year) have come up with some "desperate measures" of questionable constitutional legality, including heightening police presence in order to lockdown streets in "emergency areas." It has been called, "partial martial law" by some, and one has to wonder if the city of Baltimore may not do better to take a page from The Wire's Hamsterdam for a solution to their inextricably linked drug and homicide issues.
posted by dead_ at 12:37 PM PST - 60 comments

A Canadian public servant who leaked Conservative green policy documents, was taken away in handcuffs and fired - Jeffrey Monaghan calls the government's actions "a profound threat to the public interest" and "an extension of a government-wide communications strategy pinned on secrecy, intimidation and centralization."

The documents outlined the Conservative's dismissal of the Kyoto Protocol and were to be released to the public a week later. Let the media panic begin: some have focused on Monaghan's political activism, others accuse corporate media of scapegoating Monaghan. Question is - if the documents were to be released to the public anyway, is this even whistleblowing? The environment minister says no. NDP environment critic Nathan Cullen says yes. Liberal leader Stephane Dion calls the Tories' actions "an attempt of intimidation ... although I have no sympathy at all for leaks."
posted by Menomena at 12:26 PM PST - 33 comments

Millions of uninsured children in this country. Even with public assistance, they teeter on the brink of a catastrophic illness. What's the answer? Elect Susie!
posted by Mur at 12:07 PM PST - 33 comments

Bad Astronomer and skeptic Phil Plait posted a rant last week about a supposed miracle – a woman, who survived a car accident against all odds. After being deluged by comments from irate readers, including the accident victim, he issued an apology, contacted her directly and is collecting donations to fund her medical bills. Phil writes, “Science, skepticism, and critical thinking are all about admitting when you’re wrong, and taking action to correct them.”
posted by grateful at 11:37 AM PST - 44 comments

Enertia is producing "innovative new homes of remarkable strength, economy, and beauty, brought to life by an elegant new architecture and the discovery of a new source of pollution-free energy." The design took first prize in the Modern Marvels/Invent Now competition (previously). In an interview, the inventor, Michael Sykes, says "he was inspired by the way the earth’s own atmosphere keeps the planet at a relatively constant comfortable temperature despite the frigidity of space." He also notes that his wife calls herself a "homemaker," natch.
posted by pithy comment at 11:03 AM PST - 17 comments

BBC Filter: Asked whether he was "partly to blame" for Mr Blair's departure, Mr Bush joked: "I haven't polled the Labour conference, but, could be." ... And he rounded on British journalists asking about Mr Blair's retirement, accusing them of trying to "tap dance on the prime minister's grave". At least they'll always have Iraq. One wonders if he and Mr Brown will also have a special relationship.
posted by chuckdarwin at 11:00 AM PST - 36 comments

This opinion piece in Prospect magazine argues that perhaps the importance of the problems in the Middle East are overblown. Interesting read.
posted by zeoslap at 10:31 AM PST - 33 comments

Bald? A swift blow to the head might solve that problem. If nothing else, it will give you something else to worry about for a while. Note: procedure tested on mice; results in humans may vary. Possible side effects include gaping head wounds. via Slate
posted by veggieboy at 9:57 AM PST - 36 comments

Nina Katchadourian's work includes mended spiderwebs, renovated mushrooms, a color-coded car park, and talking popcorn. Sadly the video for "a 10-minute excerpt from an archival film of Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914 expedition to the South Pole on the ship Endurance, projected onto my front tooth" is not yet online. [via]
posted by Armitage Shanks at 9:42 AM PST - 27 comments

...In March 1991, a few days after the end of the gulf war, American soldiers exploded two large caches of ammunition and missiles in Khamisiyah, Iraq. Some of the missiles contained the dangerous nerve gases sarin and cyclosarin. Based on wind patterns and the size of the plume, the Department of Defense has estimated that more than 100,000 American troops may have been exposed to at least small amounts of the gases. When the roughly 700,000 deployed troops returned home, about one in seven began experiencing a mysterious set of ailments, often called gulf war illnesses, with problems including persistent fatigue, chronic headaches, joint pain and nausea. Those symptoms persist today for more than 150,000 of them, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, more than the number of troops exposed to the gases.

Gas May Have Harmed Troops, Scientists Say
posted by y2karl at 7:24 AM PST - 45 comments

Reaping What We Sow? Right now, White House lawyers are working up new rules that will govern what CIA interrogators can do to prisoners in secret. Those rules will set the standard not only for the CIA but also for what kind of treatment captured American soldiers can expect from their captors, now and in future wars. Before the president once again approves a policy of official cruelty, he should reflect on that.Charles C. Krulak was commandant of the Marine Corps from 1995 to 1999. Joseph P. Hoar was commander in chief of U.S. Central Command from 1991 to 1994. (Washington Post)
Some other opinions. (youtube) Thoughtful commentary. More.
posted by spitbull at 7:17 AM PST - 75 comments

Free Photoshop Plug-ins : Virtual Photographer for "professional" results. Filters and plugins from ad and design agency, Richard Rosenman. AutoFX Mosaic, for making your photos look as if they were created out of a mosaic tile. HDR Soft, (trial s/w) for increading dynamic range of photographs, and creating and HDR look. Power Touche for creating divinely-inspired photographs. And many more.
posted by psmealey at 7:13 AM PST - 20 comments

Crazed runner keeps a ceremonial trophy.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 6:00 AM PST - 58 comments

War. What is it good for ? (yt and rm videos resp.)
posted by Substrata at 5:54 AM PST - 24 comments

Behind the 'Zion curtain' Just as Arabs do not realise just how 'Middle Eastern' Israelis are, Israelis don't realise how 'western' millions of Arabs are. An article by Kaled Diab. via
posted by adamvasco at 4:22 AM PST - 112 comments