At the instruction of House Republicans, US Capitol Police arrested Josh Fox for filming a public hearing—a meeting of the House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment. Josh directed Gasland (previously), a documentary on the potential dangers of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a process used by energy companies which has been linked to causing earthquakes in Arkansas and other side effects.
posted by disillusioned on Feb 1 at 6:21 PM - 95 comments

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, narrated in icons. By Wayne Dorrington (Previously). The Empire Strikes Back. Return of the Jedi.
posted by running order squabble fest on Feb 14 at 3:17 PM - 13 comments

Romance fiction is widely reckoned to be a very low form of literature. Maybe the lowest, if we're not counting the writing at Groupon, or on Splenda packets. Romance fiction: probably the worst! An addictive, absurd, unintellectual literature, literature for nonreaders, literature for stupid people—literature for women!
posted by latkes on Feb 14 at 4:12 PM - 41 comments

After speaking with many senior Israeli leaders and chiefs of the military and the intelligence, I have come to believe that Israel will indeed strike Iran in 2012. Perhaps in the small and ever-diminishing window that is left, the United States will choose to intervene after all, but here, from the Israeli perspective, there is not much hope for that. Instead there is that peculiar Israeli mixture of fear — rooted in the sense that Israel is dependent on the tacit support of other nations to survive — and tenacity, the fierce conviction, right or wrong, that only the Israelis can ultimately defend themselves.
posted by Dasein on Jan 25 at 2:39 PM - 253 comments

The Museum of RetroTechnology is a curated online collection of (mostly) obsolete inventions. The exhibitions include Gearwheels From Hell, the Dynosphere monowheel, Unusual Pedal Bicycles, Propeller-Driven Sleighs, Water Engines, Dog and Goat Engines, Acoustic Location and Sound Mirrors, Optical Telegraphs, and Combat Cutlery.
posted by troll on Feb 14 at 4:24 PM - 9 comments

Taking their position of status and responsibility into account, Germany's Constitutional Court has ruled that German university professors are underpaid.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow on Feb 14 at 3:58 PM - 23 comments

Originality is a relative concept in literature. As writers from T. S. Eliot to Harold Bloom have pointed out, ideas are doomed to be rehashed. This wasn’t always regarded as a problem
posted by Ruthless Bunny on Feb 14 at 6:35 AM - 37 comments

Legendary comic book artist John Severin has died. He was ninety years old.
posted by MartinWisse on Feb 14 at 1:13 PM - 38 comments

There are several groups trying to pass bills in different states to ban the application of foreign laws in a US court, especially Sharia law. These groups are almost all using model legislation drafted by anti-Muslim activist David Yerushalmi.
posted by reenum on Feb 8 at 8:36 AM - 94 comments

Love Will Tear Us Apart
posted by philip-random on Feb 14 at 8:15 AM - 48 comments

At reddit we care deeply about not imposing ours or anyone elses’ opinions on how people use the reddit platform. We are adamant about not limiting the ability to use the reddit platform even when we do not ourselves agree with or condone a specific use. We have very few rules here on reddit; no spamming, no cheating, no personal info, nothing illegal, and no interfering the site's functions. Today we are adding another rule: No suggestive or sexual content featuring minors. - After much complaint, Reddit gets rid of /r/jailbait and selected subreddits with similar content.
posted by Artw on Feb 12 at 8:50 PM - 388 comments

She is gone. A Valentines story of love and loss.
posted by ColdChef on Feb 14 at 1:34 PM - 23 comments

I'm not okay with Chris Brown performing at the Grammys, and I'm not sure why you are.
posted by Phire on Feb 12 at 10:26 AM - 233 comments

A whale of a tale. On Sunday, a jet-ski activist of Paul Watson's Sea Shepard gang (Eco-Pirate: The Story of Paul Watson Documentary) was water-cannoned into the Antartic by a Japanese scouter boat during filming of Whale Wars. The ICR presents a different side to Paul Watson as evidenced by their regular press releases. Greenpeace believes Paul Watson is an extremist.
posted by Funmonkey1 on Feb 13 at 2:37 PM - 180 comments

After much protestation from religious communities, the Obama administration has compromised on its controversial contraceptive law. Non-profit organizations (such as hospitals) that are affiliated with religious institutions will not be required to provide contraceptives--but insurance companies will. But some Catholics still aren't satisfied.
posted by kethonna on Feb 10 at 10:21 AM - 222 comments

A Brother And Sister Get Married (And Later, Their Son Tweets It)
posted by tractorfeed on Feb 14 at 11:28 AM - 36 comments

"We’re not going to say, 'Give it to me and let my grandchildren suffer.' I think they underestimate seniors when they think that way." But 71-year-old Barbara Sullivan cannot imagine asking people to pay higher taxes. And as she considered making do with less, she started to cry." (slnyt)
posted by Snarl Furillo on Feb 12 at 9:52 PM - 128 comments

Hit men, click whores, and paid apologists: Welcome to the Silicon Cesspool, by Dan Lyons (aka Fake Steve Jobs) digs into the lying, collusion, and rotten dealings that surround tech journalism in the Valley.
posted by smitt on Feb 14 at 9:16 AM - 54 comments

Nevermore? The crows in Rochester, NY are being evicted. The City is attempting to scare off the local roost of over 20,000 birds using pyrotechnics, amplified distress calls, and laser shows. Other cities in the region are taking even more drastic measures.
posted by Jesse Hughson on Feb 13 at 10:12 PM - 78 comments