"...aside from the Devil, you have no enemy more venomous, more desperate, more bitter, than a true Jew... What shall we Christians do with this rejected and condemned people, the Jews? Since they live among us, we dare not tolerate their conduct, now that we are aware of their lying and reviling and blaspheming.... First, to set fire to their synagogues or schools and to bury and cover with dirt whatever will not burn, so that no man will ever again see a stone or cinder of them. This is to be done in honor of our Lord and of Christendom, so that God might see that we are Christians.... Second, I advise that their houses also be razed and destroyed.... Third, I advise that all their prayer books and Talmudic writings, in which such idolatry, lies, cursing and blasphemy are taught, be taken from them.... Fourth, I advise that their rabbis be forbidden to teach henceforth on pain of loss of life and limb." -- From On the Jews and Their Lies, authored by the man voted by his countrymen the second greatest German of all time, the theologian whose break with Rome began the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther.
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 9:54 PM on July 7, 2008 (81 comments)

"Nobody in the antipoverty community and nobody in city leadership was going to welcome the news that the noble experiment that they’d been engaged in for the past decade had been bringing the city down, in ways they’d never expected. But the connection was too obvious to ignore, and Betts and Janikowski figured that the same thing must be happening all around the country." American Murder Mystery. Page 2. Page 3. Page 4.
posted to MetaFilter by wittgenstein at 1:37 PM on July 7, 2008 (54 comments)

Michael Bay, director of Transformers and other predictable blockbuster movies apparently wrote a script for The Dark Knight that was rejected by Warner Bros. Amazingly, it has surfaced on the net…
posted to MetaFilter by Surfyournut at 2:02 PM on July 7, 2008 (125 comments)

2 July 1863, second day of Gettysburg. Sickles has pulled his III Corps -- without orders -- off of Cemetery Ridge and positioned it a half mile in front of the rest of the Union lines. Longstreet smashes the hapless III Corps and its men are in full flight. Hancock rides back and forth inside the gaping hole left by Sickles. Below him, almost 2000 men of Wilcox's brigade are charging up the slope. They will gain a foothold on the ridge and be reinforced by Lee. As Longstreet pins down the Union left, Lee will roll up the center and right of the Northern army and chase them from the field. He will then march on and take Washington before turning north along the eastern seaboard. Lee will capture and burn Philadelphia and Boston in his March Along the Sea, chasing the Northern government from city to city until Lincoln finally sues for peace and the union is no more. Suddenly, a line of blue-coated soldiers comes into Hancock's view. "My God, is this all the men here? Who are you?" "1st Minnesota, sir." "See those colors?", says Hancock, pointing at the flags of the oncoming Confederates, "Take them."
posted to MetaFilter by forrest at 5:45 AM on July 2, 2008 (81 comments)

The Tunguska Event. A century ago, something exploded over Russia...
posted to MetaFilter by fearfulsymmetry at 2:47 PM on July 1, 2008 (22 comments)

Without explanation, all of Violet Blue's posts have been removed from Boing Boing, raising serious questions about ethics and revisionism that run contra to the thoughtful declarations of blogging pioneers. Is this hypocritical in light of BB's own public bouts with censorship? Or does this reflect an altogether different loss of control?
posted to MetaFilter by ed at 9:58 AM on June 30, 2008 (1751 comments)

In March 1944, Nazi Germany occupied its ally Hungary and immediately began preparing the extermination of Hungary's Jews. A small band of diplomats from neutral countries and the Red Cross put their lives at risk to try to smuggle as many Jews as possible out of Hungary from under Adolf Eichmann's nose. While Raoul Wallenberg remains the best known of these "Righteous among the Nations", there's no doubt that the most intriguing character was Giorgio "Jorge" Perlasca.
posted to MetaFilter by Skeptic at 3:59 PM on June 29, 2008 (4 comments)

Bush had Karl Rove. But the original wiretapping President needed brains too. Introducing Kevin Phillips. He predicted the prolonged Republican dominance of Washington 1970-present and advised the Ford and Reagan presidencies. He predicted a more liberal 1990s and when the Bushies killed his party he became uttery disgusted. Recently he spoke about the influence of the christian right, our addiction to oil, and America's debt (public and private) at the University of California Santa Barbara.
posted to MetaFilter by Parallax.Error at 12:25 PM on June 28, 2008 (58 comments)

I'm curious about what is the validity of my partner's Health Care Power of Attorney when he travels out of state. I can't seem to find much authoritative information when I google this. Can anyone clarify?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Robert Angelo at 3:57 PM on June 27, 2008 (4 comments)

Atmospheric vortex engines : or, more evocatively, giant, human-controlled tornados.
posted to MetaFilter by louigi at 1:32 PM on June 27, 2008 (40 comments)

Pixeljam (the folks responsible for the retro flash classic Gamma Bros) have just released a new game: Dino Run. Control your dinosaur and escape the wall of doom.
posted to MetaFilter by pancreas at 6:48 AM on May 7, 2008 (17 comments)

I'm looking for a source of "artsy" modern postcards, preferably via web. Graffiti-styled, abstract, you name it. It just has to be visually interesting and around $1 per card.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Leon-arto at 4:12 PM on June 26, 2008 (6 comments)

Many people are up in arms (heh) over the Supreme Court's decision regarding gun control, but rather less press is being given to another opinion handed down today: Davis v. FEC. The issue was the constitutionality of the "Millionaire's Amendment", which allowed for political candidates facing self-funding challengers who intended to spend more than $350,000 to raise more money from individual donors than they would otherwise be allowed to do. In a 5-4 decision, the court found the law unconstitutional.
posted to MetaFilter by Bromius at 3:55 PM on June 26, 2008 (16 comments)

Will opening a Solo 401(k) before year's end reduce my modified adjusted gross income (MAGI)? I'm a 28-year-old freelance worker with a sole proprietorship, and I'd like to be able to fully fund my Roth IRA for 2008
posted to Ask Metafilter by Anonymous at 9:09 AM on June 26, 2008 (1 comment)

The New York Times article, Rethinking the Country Life as Energy Costs Rise , is just one of many articles documenting the apparent demise of suburbia. Unlike the notable Atlantic article which focused mostly on the mortgage bubble (previously), these more recent articles are beginning to focus of the rising cost of gas and transportation in general. (Previously) Is this the beginning of The End of Suburbia as predicted by the curmudgeonly James Howard Kunstler? (Discussed previously here and here.) Or are Americans simply readjusting their lifestyles to fit current economic limitations?
posted to MetaFilter by Telf at 12:18 PM on June 25, 2008 (99 comments)

A new Harper's article by Jeff Sharlet , author of the also-must-read Jesus Plus Nothing. To win a war, you must have an elaborate strategy...
posted to MetaFilter by deusdiabolus at 3:47 AM on May 27, 2005 (24 comments)

Rémi Gaillard leaves a trail of befuddled witnesses and victims in his wake.
posted to MetaFilter by Dave Faris at 9:52 AM on June 24, 2008 (43 comments)

Every issue of The Times published between 1785-1985, digitally scanned and fully searchable. (Via Wordorigins.org.)
posted to MetaFilter by languagehat at 6:50 AM on June 23, 2008 (45 comments)

This is a crap post. Celebrity gossip, really?
posted to MetaTalk by signal at 8:50 AM on June 23, 2008 (187 comments)

Record player + video camera = Phonographantasmascope, animator Jim LeFevre's extension of the zoetrope. "It is all live action and works by using the shutter speed of the camera rather than the rather irritating stroboscope methods other 3D Zoetropes use."
posted to MetaFilter by nthdegx at 12:38 AM on June 23, 2008 (15 comments)

Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear. "Monsanto already dominates America’s food chain with its genetically modified seeds. Now it has targeted milk production. Just as frightening as the corporation’s tactics–ruthless legal battles against small farmers–is its decades-long history of toxic contamination."
posted to MetaFilter by homunculus at 1:00 PM on April 3, 2008 (78 comments)

Jimmy Rodgers' blue yodel series started in 1927. He started with Blue Yodel #1 (T for Texas). My favorite covers were by the Everly Brothers and by Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash. There's even a hip hop cover.
posted to MetaFilter by RussHy at 11:01 AM on June 22, 2008 (10 comments)

Wars around the world have killed three times more people over the past half-century than previously estimated, a new study suggests... The researchers estimate that 5.4 million people died from 1955 to 2002 as a result of wars in 13 countries. These deaths range from 7,000 in the Democratic Republic of Congo to 3.8 million in Vietnam. According to Obermeyer, the estimates are three times higher than those of previous reports. Data from this new study also suggests that 378,000 people worldwide died a violent death in war each year between 1985 and 1994, compared with 137,000 estimated at the time.

ABC News: Study: War Deaths Grossly Underestimated
The study: Fifty years of violent war deaths from Vietnam to Bosnia: analysis of data from the world health survey programme
Related: Measuring deaths from conflict
posted to MetaFilter by y2karl at 9:06 PM on June 20, 2008 (47 comments)

The black backs by and on which the fortunes of the New South were built:

On March 30, 1908, Green Cottenham was arrested by the sheriff of Shelby County, Alabama, and charged with “vagrancy.”... Cottenham’s offense was blackness.... [After a brief trial] Cottenham... was sold. Under a standing arrangement between the county and a vast subsidiary of the industrial titan of the North — U.S. Steel Corporation — the sheriff turned the young man over to the company for the duration of his sentence.... he was chained inside a long wooden barrack at night and required to spend nearly every waking hour digging and loading coal. His required daily “task” was to remove eight tons of coal from the mine. Cottenham was subject to the whip for failure to dig the requisite amount, at risk of physical torture for disobedience, and vulnerable to the sexual predations of other miners.... Forty-five years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freeing American slaves, Green Cottenham and more than a thousand other black men toiled under the lash at Slope 12.

— from the Introduction to Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black People in America from the Civil War to World War II. The book's website includes reviews of the book, an excerpt of the Introduction, and an extensive photo gallery that includes disturbing images of enslaved and tortured prisoners.
posted to MetaFilter by orthogonality at 1:12 AM on June 21, 2008 (99 comments)

Colors have many names. The online color thesaurus will recognize 20,000 of them (and let you see which is most popular). You can also browse a page of colors and associated names (yes, "goose turd" and "dead Spaniard" were once common color names). Of course, the most popular color names probably come from our childhoods.
posted to MetaFilter by blahblahblah at 12:20 PM on June 20, 2008 (29 comments)

I love nicely done home-built aircraft. I discovered Mark Langford's website over a year ago but forgot to bookmark it. Thankfully, I recently found it again. His dedication (obsession?) is obvious. I can't get over how many parts he custom built for his plane. He suffered an engine failure in his Corvair engine at one point, and I loved how he took the engine apart afterward and gave a full rundown about what happened.
posted to MetaFilter by eratus at 2:58 PM on June 19, 2008 (8 comments)

Zoomii. An interesting interface for Amazon.
posted to MetaFilter by chunking express at 1:51 PM on June 19, 2008 (31 comments)

Ray Romano sings. SLYT. I'm sorry. That is all.
posted to MetaFilter by miss lynnster at 11:51 AM on June 19, 2008 (28 comments)

Slangin' Liquor in the Hood From the site: A look into the everyday dealings of a 34 year old liquor store owner and his crew in the "hood." Gangs, trailer parks, alcoholics, methheads, crack heads (yeah they still exist)....I read somewhere that this profession makes the top 5 regularly among the most dangerous jobs. But me, I ain't scurred.
posted to MetaFilter by The ____ of Justice at 8:48 PM on June 18, 2008 (21 comments)

Moodstream - Tweak the Moodstream sliders to bring a whole new creative palette straight to you.
posted to MetaFilter by Burhanistan at 9:33 AM on June 18, 2008 (15 comments)

These "track boards," or "fix push" boards, were initially developed to be raced in the velodrome, and differ from traditional skateboards in one major way: the rider can never coast. A brief documentary on the increasingly popular fix-push skateboard culture and its roots in San Francisco's Mission district.
posted to MetaFilter by whir at 9:38 PM on June 17, 2008 (55 comments)

The Bicycle Tutor is a site with lots of video tutorials designed with a sole purpose; to teach you how to fix your own bicycle. [via mefi projects]
posted to MetaFilter by Effigy2000 at 2:46 PM on June 17, 2008 (29 comments)

Accidental Astrophysicists: "They started with algebra and ended up learning about gravitational lensing (PDF)." [Via linkfilter]
posted to MetaFilter by homunculus at 3:35 PM on June 17, 2008 (22 comments)

The National Traffic Scorecard ranks the 100 most-congested metropolitan areas in the United States. Number one? Los Angeles, naturally.
posted to MetaFilter by backseatpilot at 1:23 PM on June 17, 2008 (53 comments)

Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon were the first to wed in California -- again. Martin and Lyon are best known for founding the Daughters of Bilitis, the first lesbian rights organization in the U.S. Congratulations, Del and Phyllis!
posted to MetaFilter by fiercecupcake at 6:18 PM on June 16, 2008 (53 comments)

From the minds that brought you this, Cubescape is the chance to do your own little isometric projection drawings. I have some favorites. (See hover-overs)
posted to MetaFilter by CuJoe at 8:31 PM on June 15, 2008 (11 comments)

GemCraft Flash Tower Defense goodness. Neat little rpg/upgrading touches in between maps. Lots of maps with some epic bosses thrown in every once in a while.
posted to MetaFilter by juv3nal at 8:39 PM on June 14, 2008 (32 comments)

Does a father's moderate drinking, around insemination, affect conception rates or baby health? I've googled aplenty, but the info that I've found is consistently of poor quality, with lots of assertions and opinions but no data regarding actual outcomes, either for conception rates or a baby's development. I'm not interested in stories about damaged sperm, but rather solid evidence about babies, either the lack of babies or damage to their health. And I'm talking about consumption levels comfortably within the moderate range, so alcholic malnutrition and whatnot don't factor in. Thanks!
posted to Ask Metafilter by NortonDC at 1:30 PM on June 14, 2008 (14 comments)

How space toilets work. They've come a long way. They sure don't look like the one in my house. What happens when they break? NPR explains the logistics of the repair process. Oh thank heavens, it's working again.
posted to MetaFilter by desjardins at 8:24 AM on June 14, 2008 (10 comments)

In 1876, the US celebrated the centennial with an International Exposition. The centerpiece of Machinery Hall, and the source of power for all the machinery therein, was the world's largest steam engine. A beam engine (previously), it produced 1400 horsepower and was built in a mere 7 months when other bids to provide motive power proved inadequate.
posted to MetaFilter by DU at 11:58 AM on June 12, 2008 (19 comments)

Are you, like many others this summer, considering avoiding the costs & hassles of pricey foreign or domestic travel by having a "staycation" at home? Daily Show commenter John Hodgman (ably backed by Jonathan Coulton on the strings) enumerates the benefits of a "Holistay" (much better name) to help you make your choice.
posted to MetaFilter by jonson at 9:37 AM on June 12, 2008 (41 comments)

Once home to the Naval Shipyards, L'Ile de Nantes now houses the workshop of Les Machines de l'Ile. The 12m high Elephant made its debut last year (although a predecessor was spotted 3 years ago) and is the first of 3 major projects to be undertaken.
posted to MetaFilter by jontyjago at 3:24 AM on June 12, 2008 (8 comments)

Starshine - catch the stars with your comet by clicking on the centres of gravity at the right times. Short, relaxing, charming Flash game.
posted to MetaFilter by divabat at 6:33 PM on June 11, 2008 (17 comments)

Portraits of Phone Sex Operators by Phillip Toledano.
posted to MetaFilter by chunking express at 11:04 AM on June 11, 2008 (56 comments)

In the 1980s, Richard Lenski hypothesized that his research team should be able to watch random mutations and natural selection taking place in a lab by observing a bacteria population over many generations. In 1988, beginning with a single bacterium, he started several replicate colonies. Recently, after 33,127 generations, his team has observed natural selection.
posted to MetaFilter by Tehanu at 4:36 PM on June 10, 2008 (55 comments)

I’ve seen men in fur suits masturbating on stuffed animals. I’ve seen high heels stepping on snails. I’ve seen women farting on birthday cakes. I’ve seen guys wearing white socks in two inches of water in the bathtub. I’ve seen a tutorial on how to jack-off with a pair of Keds. And I’ve seen some weird stuff, too. Isn’t there a line of some kind, where it just stops being sexy to anyone? And the answer it seems, is no.... Because there is sexually explicit salmon hentai. NSFW. Via FG blog.
posted to MetaFilter by KokuRyu at 12:41 PM on June 10, 2008 (87 comments)

Those new, cheap iPhones? Read the fine print. Those new features? Might be just industry changing.
posted to MetaFilter by Brandon Blatcher at 2:04 PM on June 9, 2008 (248 comments)

The 2007 Feltron Annual Report . via
posted to MetaFilter by signal at 5:16 PM on June 8, 2008 (13 comments)

Bill Moyers Vs. Fox News The Fox News stooge was unaware that he was messin' with a Jedi. Joseph Campbell would be proud.
posted to MetaFilter by Optamystic at 6:43 PM on June 8, 2008 (102 comments)

Google News from a Better World (via)
posted to MetaFilter by BuddhaInABucket at 4:13 PM on June 8, 2008 (50 comments)