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Anna Skladmann's Little Adults. Photographs of the children of the ultra-rich in Russia.
comment posted at 10:45 AM on Apr-29-09

The Meatrix: parts I, II: Revolting, and II 1/2.
comment posted at 9:52 PM on Apr-28-09

Do you have a rash? Is your knee deformed? Why does my tooth hurt? (and other fun medical flow charts)
comment posted at 8:17 PM on Apr-28-09

Police in Denmark target bike riders. SLYT Police in Denmark take drastic steps to change the habits of bike riders...
comment posted at 7:27 PM on Apr-28-09

GM is struggling to survive, announcing today tens of thousands of layoffs and plant closings by next year, and eliminating the Pontiac Brand. Meanwhile just a few weeks ago, the president announced a high speed rail plan [pdf] between many major cities. An interesting turn of events since the documentary Taken For a Ride uses interviews and public records to argue that GM deliberately killed off transportation via rail.
comment posted at 9:10 PM on Apr-27-09

Unemployment: good for the heart and the soul. "In studies over the past 10 years, Ruhm has consistently found death rates decline during recessions and rise when the economy expands. If unemployment rises 1 percent, he estimates the death rate will fall by about half a percent."
comment posted at 11:30 AM on Apr-27-09

The global financial crisis has severely affected the Russian economy. The unstable situation in the country has contributed to a growing rift between Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev. As increasing numbers of Russians become disillusioned with Putin's promise of comfort and security in exchange for authoritarianism, Medvedev has shown some willingness to take the country in a more liberal direction. Some analysts, however, remain unconvinced.
comment posted at 7:37 PM on Apr-26-09

Experts at WHO and elsewhere believe that the world is now closer to another influenza pandemic than at any time since 1968. WHO uses a series of six phases of pandemic alert... The world is presently in phase 3: a new influenza virus subtype is causing disease in humans, but is not yet spreading efficiently and sustainably among humans. The outbreak of a variant of swine flu led federal officials to close Mexico City-area schools indefinitely - the first such shutdown since a devastating 1985 earthquake.
comment posted at 5:10 PM on Apr-25-09

Worst Film of the Century ... a very bad move, (slavc) --- is set to open soon. Can anyone explain how these things happen? Anyone?
comment posted at 4:21 PM on Apr-22-09

Offensive Tea Party signs
comment posted at 7:34 AM on Apr-17-09

Torture Memos Released

As we explained in the Section 2340A Memorandum, "pain and suffering" as used in Section 2340 is best understood as a single concept, not distinct concepts of "pain" as distinguished from "suffering"... The waterboard, which inflicts no pain or actual harm whatsoever, does not, in our view inflict "severe pain or suffering". Even if one were to parse the statute more finely to treat "suffering" as a distinct concept, the waterboard could not be said to inflict severe sufering. The waterboard is simply a controlled acute episode, lacking the connotation of a protracted period of time generally given to suffering.

Ambinder breaks it down, Greenwald rants.
comment posted at 6:29 PM on Apr-16-09
comment posted at 11:49 PM on Apr-16-09

WE WANT OUR MONEY BACK BRITNEY SPEARS
comment posted at 5:30 PM on Apr-15-09

Snakes on a QANTAS plane. That is all.
comment posted at 3:12 PM on Apr-15-09

Is the west thwarting Arab plans for reform? Few Muslims now invest much hope in the democratic western powers (essentially the US, Britain and France) that back the rulers who oppress them, even if, against the odds, they still admire “western” values, science and culture. There is no endemic or intrinsic conflict between Christians and Muslims. Rather, the root of the problem is that a majority of Muslims is convinced that the west – interested only in a stability based on regional strongmen, the security of Israel and cheap oil – is engaged in a war against Islam and is bent on denying them the freedoms it claims for itself. That is why it is so self-defeating to collude in tyranny as ostensibly a lesser evil than political Islam.
comment posted at 10:21 AM on Apr-15-09

137 Uncomfortable Plot Summaries of a wide variety of movies, TV series and even a couple books, from varying points of view (whatever is the most uncomfortable). A treasure trove of pop culture redefinition.
comment posted at 3:40 PM on Apr-14-09
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comment posted at 6:13 PM on Apr-14-09

Scarygirl. Flash platformer/adventure game with absolutely staggering production values and art. The intro sequence is awesome.
comment posted at 8:56 PM on Apr-14-09

Within the last few hours, a trend on Twitter has emerged in response to Amazon's removing the sales ranking of books they consider to have "adult content," which also keeps those books from appearing in search results. However, while seeming to unilaterally de-list any books with gay themes and characters, many books with adult heterosexual content were left untouched.
comment posted at 2:17 PM on Apr-12-09
comment posted at 2:23 PM on Apr-12-09

The First Dog is here!
comment posted at 10:41 AM on Apr-12-09

At least they are good for a belly laugh.
comment posted at 1:05 PM on Apr-11-09

To Degree or Not to Degree? President Obama will get an honorary degree from Notre Dame but not Arizona State University during commencement ceremonies this year. ASU finds the first black American president's "body of work" insufficient. The East Valley Tribune disagrees. And some enterprising ASU students have found a way to profit from Obama's appearance at their commencement.
comment posted at 10:31 AM on Apr-11-09

Royal Uproar? It started with the question of whether President Obama would bow (yt) to Queen Elizabeth. Then, during the G20 Summit, President Obama appeared to bow before King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. While some appreciate the gesture, conservatives are outraged. But the White House denies that there was any bow at all. What do you think about the greeting (yt)? Could it have been something else?
comment posted at 9:02 PM on Apr-10-09

The Local food movement's celebration over the white house garden was short lived. The White House has receive a letter from the Mid America CropLife Association, expressing disappointment that Obamas planted an organic garden. "As you go about planning and planting the White House garden, we respectfully encourage you to recognize the role conventional agriculture plays in the U.S in feeding the ever-increasing population, contributing to the U.S. economy and providing a safe and economical food supply. America's farmers understand crop protection technologies are supported by sound scientific research and innovation."
comment posted at 11:18 AM on Apr-10-09
comment posted at 11:46 AM on Apr-10-09

The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that a search of your trash doesn't violate your privacy. This decision is in line with that of the United States.
comment posted at 5:59 PM on Apr-9-09

Michael Bay has never made a flash game, but if he did, it would probably be Robot Dinosaurs That Shoot Beams When They Roar.
comment posted at 12:56 PM on Apr-9-09

Is Silicon Valley a systemic risk? Treasury decides to treat venture capitalists like hedge funds The Obama administration wants to regulate venture capital firms to prevent systemic risks. Silicon Valley residents are scratching their heads and asking: What risks? The rest of us should ask why Washington is targeting a jewel of the American economy that had nothing to do with the housing bubble.
comment posted at 11:46 PM on Apr-8-09

Jared Diamond on the Evolution of Religions. (SLYT)
comment posted at 10:32 AM on Apr-8-09

I, for one, welcome our new sigle link youtube post overlords!
comment posted at 10:11 PM on Apr-7-09

Today, the Vermont Legislature voted to override Gov. Jim Douglas' veto of a bill allowing same sex marriage, making Vermont the 4th state in the nation (and the second state this week) to legalize same sex marriage. Vermont is the first state to do it legislatively; it happened in the other three states via court ruling.
comment posted at 9:41 AM on Apr-7-09
comment posted at 9:42 AM on Apr-7-09

Ward Churchill reinstated. A jury has found that The University of Colorado wrongfully dismissed the controversial professor, author, and activist. After a day and a half of deliberation, they cited the tenured professor's infamous post-9/11 essay, wherein he compared technocrats who died in the World Trade Center to "little Eichmanns," as the "substantial or motivating" factor in the University's decision to fire him and awarded him $1. (previously here and here.)
comment posted at 12:24 PM on Apr-4-09
comment posted at 12:25 PM on Apr-4-09
comment posted at 12:34 PM on Apr-4-09

Commando is the best film ever Director Mark Lester walks us through his Opus over at Screen Junkies.
comment posted at 7:24 AM on Apr-3-09

Wafa Younis is an Arab Israeli musician who organised a youth orchestra in the Jenin refugee camp. She recently brought her orchestra to play for Holocaust survivors at an Israeli old age home. The performance was strongly criticised by Palestinians as a hostile political act. Now the orchestra has been disbanded, its performance space sealed, and Ms Younis has been expelled from the West Bank.
comment posted at 10:08 PM on Apr-2-09

Julian Baggini, British philosopher and author of Atheism: A Very Short Introduction, on the destructiveness of the New Atheist movement.
comment posted at 3:38 PM on Apr-2-09

Need a wig for your baby boy? Too bad, they're just for girls.
comment posted at 10:21 PM on Mar-31-09
comment posted at 10:22 PM on Mar-31-09

Miss Universe goes to Guantánamo Bay!
comment posted at 12:02 PM on Mar-31-09

Why do mummies scream? Are screaming mummies really testaments to horrific deaths? Or are they the result of natural processes, botched or ad hoc mummification jobs, or the depredations of tomb robbers? Archaeology Online examines the science and history behind the gape-mouthed "masks of agony" seen on some mummies, and explores their portrayal in entertainment and pop culture. The article includes lots of interesting and informative additional links.
comment posted at 6:22 PM on Mar-30-09

Learn Hebrew with Pictures and Audio.
comment posted at 6:19 PM on Mar-30-09

A high-level Spanish court has taken the first steps toward opening a criminal investigation against six former Bush administration officials, on whether they violated international law. The officials named in this present case include the most senior legal minds in the Bush administration. They are: Alberto Gonzales, a former White House counsel and attorney general; David Addington, former vice-president Dick Cheney’s chief of staff; Douglas Feith, who was under-secretary of defence; William Haynes, formerly the Pentagon’s general counsel; and John Yoo and Jay Bybee, who were both senior justice department legal advisers. If America won’t have a Truth Commission maybe someone else will have to kick start it for them.
comment posted at 11:50 AM on Mar-30-09

Perhaps the most apt instrument to use to perform The Imperial March - in response to the Dr. Who theme on the singing tesla coils. From Faraday suited DJs at ArkAttack.
comment posted at 10:52 PM on Mar-29-09