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A prominent anti-vaccination speaker has been denied a visa to enter Australia. "These people who are telling kids, telling parents that their kids shouldn't be vaccinated are dangerous people," said Immigration Minister Peter Dutton. He previously refused a visa to person Chris Brown, based on his domestic violence record. Applicants for a visa to enter Australia are subject to a character test.
comment posted at 10:57 AM on Sep-1-17

On 11 August 2017, alt-right protesters surrounded counter-demonstrators standing in a ring around the Thomas Jefferson statue at UVA in Charlottesville, VA. This was a preamble to the main Unite the Right rally, taking place today. ACLU Virginia is present and posting updates via Twitter.
comment posted at 7:50 AM on Aug-18-17

While Trump continues to ratchet up threats with North Korea, the military is not actually "fully in place" for such a conflict. After Putin expels 755 U.S. diplomats and technical personnel, , the U.S. President expresses gratitude. Meanwhile, Special Prosecutor Mueller's investigation, having already targeted the short-tenured National Security Advisor General Flynn, has also conducted a nighttime raid on the home of former Trump Campaign Director Paul Manafort and subpoenaed his bank records. Many speculate that Flynn and Manafort are just the first to be broken in an investigation that could lead to bigger fish.
comment posted at 1:14 PM on Aug-11-17

This compilation reveals one of the many true natures of cats [ambient sounds, occasional music].
comment posted at 5:16 PM on May-24-17

A week after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, with varying reasons provided at and after the fact, the New York Times broke the story that Comey wrote a memo describing private meeting in February where Trump asked him "let go" of the federal investigation Flynn, which clearly did not happen, as CNN reported Grand jury subpoenas issued in FBI's Russia investigation, pursuing associates of Flynn, back on May 10. As details of this and other notes kept by Comey were made public, White House staff scramble from one fiasco to the next, and a senior official in the Trump administration summarized the situation as such: "I don’t see how Trump isn’t completely f*cked." And Trump hosted Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House Tuesday, where the Turkish president’s bodyguards beat up US protesters.
comment posted at 8:42 AM on May-18-17

Despite sizable turnouts around the country for Tax Day marches, the majority of U.S. voters recently polled disapproving of most of Trump's actions, and his polls still close to his record low numbers, Trump continues to pull in money for his 2020 campaign, with a significant portion paying for use of his own properties. Meanwhile, Gorsuch's time on U.S. high court will begin with three cases, and the public focus may be on if he recuses himself from one of those cases, and there is a lot of speculation on Steve Bannon's future in the White House, and what happens if he's ousted.
comment posted at 11:39 AM on Apr-21-17

An athletic purrformance at Marlins Park Play is pawsed at Marlins Park in Miami while a cat runs through the outfield and up the scoreboard.
comment posted at 12:14 PM on Apr-13-17

New York Magazine's Daily Intelligencer has a round-up of All the Terrifying Things That Donald Trump Did Lately, but unfortunately, there's more! While there are plenty of signs that his presidency is flailing, including less than desired progress on his major promises, but there's plenty that he has done, by executive action and signed legislation. And while Devin Nunes's botched effort to scuttle the Trump/Russia investigation have stalled action in the House, Senate intel holds first public Russia hearing.
comment posted at 12:08 PM on Mar-31-17
comment posted at 11:42 AM on Apr-3-17

The Hague's buildings in Mondrian's iconic colors Many buildings in The Hague are using Mondrian's blue-yellow-red-white color scheme to celebrate the art movement's 100th anniversary. I hope they keep it up; it looks great.
comment posted at 7:18 AM on Mar-27-17

Why American Farmers Are Hacking Their Tractors With Ukrainian Firmware - A dive into the thriving black market of John Deere tractor hacking.
comment posted at 6:39 AM on Mar-22-17

The Big Deal this week is Neil Gorsuch's nomination hearings. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has trouble understanding why its revised immigration ban was blocked (it also has trouble distinguishing praise from satire).
comment posted at 1:52 PM on Mar-23-17

Snapchat isn't just for human animals, y'all. Here are 26 snapchats from your dog. Here are many, many more. If your tastes are a bit a lot more twee, here are 15 dogs on Snapchat that you need to add now. (animal snapchats previously.) BONUS: Shiba Singception [howling howling howling howling howling].

What? Okay fine, whatever, here are some cats.
comment posted at 1:53 PM on Mar-17-17

Say hello to Bekah, Derrick, and Ellie Quirin, who are planning to begin their Appalachian Trail "flip-flop" this month. They have a blog and an Instagram account.
comment posted at 9:12 AM on Mar-10-17

Almost three weeks into his presidency, President Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court, Judge Neil Gorsuch, has allegedly been telling senators that comments that attack judges are "demoralizing" and "disheartening." This morning, the president "[told] airline CEOs they—& govt.—are using “obsolete” equipment “the airports give you.” Trump says his pilot, “a smart guy,” told him." This evening, the Senate will vote on Trump's nomination for HHS Secretary, Tom Price.
comment posted at 12:26 PM on Feb-9-17

If President Trump’s Cabinet nominees are confirmed, women and nonwhites will hold five of 22 cabinet or cabinet-level positions, a smaller percentage than the first cabinets of Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George Bush. Politico sat down with Press Secretary Sean Spicer after his second press briefing today; the newly announced Skype seats in the press room seem to have been suggested... last week, by NBC's Chuck Todd. Former CIA director and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said today that President Trump somehow "forgot that he was president of the United States" when he gave a speech at the CIA on Saturday. The former Executive Director of Anti-Immigrant Hate Group FAIR joined the Trump Administration today as chief of staff at U.S. Customs and Border Protection. In Germany, Angela Merkel advisors say Germany has 'given up' on Donald Trump acting like a President. Today is the fourth day of the Trump Administration.
comment posted at 12:04 AM on Jan-26-17

The US Election night isn't over, but the server's capacity to serve tonight's original election thread is, so we're kicking open a new one right here. Hold on to your butts, folks, and be good to each other; see also a MetaTalk logistics thread, and you can hang out in Chat for more free-form chatter; let's try to keep this focused on updates about the national race.
comment posted at 4:05 PM on Nov-9-16
comment posted at 4:10 PM on Nov-9-16

In the wake of the first presidential debate Monday night, which was widely recognized as a Clinton win even by the Republicans, polls in swing states have begun to swing back toward Clinton and even Nate Silver is calming down a bit.
comment posted at 10:25 AM on Oct-2-16
comment posted at 6:20 PM on Oct-4-16
comment posted at 6:26 PM on Oct-4-16

It wasn’t Gordon Gano who was the problem: it was me. I was listening with a ghostly eighteen year old ex-boyfriend at my shoulder, and behind him, a chorus of snarling early eighties NME journalists, all ready to jeer, because even if I like the Violent Femmes, I’ll like them in the wrong way. JK Rowling takes up ramalbumclub's challenge of listening to a well known album for the the first time and then writing about it: Violent Femmes from 1983.
comment posted at 8:27 AM on Sep-22-16

In 1993, American Girl set out to introduce its first black character. All she had to do was represent the entire history of black America.
comment posted at 8:25 AM on Sep-22-16

Donny is flopping about on immigration and his "deportation force," and the view of Donald as a bigot are solidifying, as Hillary's camp keeps up the race-themed attack on Donnie. Meanwhile, Donny bought $10 million in ads for this week, his biggest buy yet, focusing on the economy. Ads will air in battleground states, including Colorado and Virginia, where Clinton’s top aides — citing the growth in minority communities and college-educated white voters — feel confident enough to pull local ads. And to keep things lively, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton trade jabs over their health. With a bit more than 70 days to go, it's too soon for Hillary to run out the clock, so let's go, get back on your feet!
comment posted at 7:11 PM on Aug-31-16

76 trombones days to go in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election and the candidates have a lot on their minds: Clinton makes a $95 million ad buy; Trump and his band of Steves yearn for calmer days when they'll be able to discuss Morning Joe gossip in peace, as Minion "9/11" Rudy spreads Clinton conspiracy theories; Egg McMuffin continues to do his thing.
comment posted at 4:45 PM on Aug-25-16

Fantasy Test Cards is a YouTube channel that features dozens of fake television test patterns, each accompanied by an hour of relaxing music. [via]
comment posted at 8:35 AM on Aug-22-16

Last stop in Philadelphia: Hillary Clinton’s Convention: Day 4 "I'm gay, so I feel like it's my second coming out party as a Democrat, to be free to wear my Hillary shirt," said Robin, who was wearing a 2008 Hillary campaign shirt and plenty of colourful Hillary pins, standing next to her wife. Livestream.
comment posted at 8:40 PM on Jul-28-16

Mad Men to Seinfeld: TV's most criminally overrated shows — The Guardian's reviewers unburden themselves.
comment posted at 11:13 AM on Jul-27-16

Join us for Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention, featuring the Roll Call of the States, Mothers of the Movement, Madeleine Albright, and President Bill Clinton.
comment posted at 12:48 PM on Jul-27-16

How to turn any cat into Totoro
comment posted at 9:01 PM on Jun-9-16

Just about three years ago, Sir Patrick Stewart, hung over one morning, had his first true New York slice of pizza. Today, on Twitter: "OK - forget the pizza slice. I just ate and LOVED my very first PO' Boy. Ate it here - in LOUISIANA, what's more."
comment posted at 9:01 AM on May-22-16

RPG Character Classes / Cat Breeds. by concept artist Kyoung Hwan Kim.
comment posted at 1:31 PM on May-13-16

The etymology of the word "Weird". By The Endless Knot.
comment posted at 12:42 PM on May-2-16

How's your Running Man these days? Some members of the Maryland Terrapins basketball team challenged people to a dance off. Several other teams responded with enthusiasm. The #runningmanchallenge was ON.
comment posted at 5:36 PM on Apr-21-16

Questionable restaurant trends. (slBuzzfeedlisticle)
comment posted at 12:57 PM on Apr-6-16

And then there were five. On the Democratic party side, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders remain. On the Republican party side, Ted Cruz, John Kasich and Donald Trump remain. But there's also the Green Party, the Libertarian Party, and lots of other parties. The dates for candidate debates are fluid; for example there may be a Democratic debate on April 14th. In other election news, the New York Times thinks that Candidate Trump would be "Wildly unpopular", while the Washington Post thinks that Republicans are gaming the voting system in their favor. Cruz and Sanders lead in Wisconsin polls, Kasich enjoys a beer, and the BBC describes five ways the Republican bloodbath could end.
comment posted at 10:57 AM on Apr-8-16
comment posted at 11:20 AM on Apr-8-16

Party Over Here brings you the mansplaining hotline [SLYT]
comment posted at 9:08 AM on Apr-1-16

Art Of The Title - Deadpool
comment posted at 9:21 AM on Mar-22-16

Fifteen years ago today, Bad-CRC made a flash video from a techno song and a bunch of forum shops, and posted it to the Internet (youtube copy). [Warning: blinky lights.] The rest is history.
comment posted at 8:20 PM on Feb-15-16

Reports indicate that he died of natural causes on a West Texas ranch.
comment posted at 5:47 PM on Feb-13-16

“We wanted this to be fun and kind of tongue-in-cheek, but also to have legitimate scientific data backing it up, "Why are some faces seen as truly expressionless, but others are inexplicably off-putting? What, exactly, makes us register a seemingly neutral expression as RBF?" (Washington Post link.)
comment posted at 8:43 PM on Feb-2-16

Jared Leto taking on the mantle of The Joker for the upcoming Suicide Squad Badguy Patrol movie met with a great deal of conversation when it was announced in 2014. Recent leaks from the set indicate that Leto is falling wholeheartedly into the role, taking a method acting approach to getting into the insanely dark and twisted inner life of the character. Twitter reports.
comment posted at 6:24 PM on Jan-7-16

Photos of everyday life in 1950s NYC found in an attic decades later.
comment posted at 12:18 PM on Dec-26-15

Benjamin Dixon writes about the death of Corey Jones, a Florida musician who was shot and killed by a plainclothes officer in Florida on Sunday morning, after Jones' car had broken down on the side of the highway.
comment posted at 8:45 AM on Oct-22-15

OCTOBER 22 IS INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY!!!" EVERY YEAR WE GET TOGETHER AND MAKE SALMON FOR TOAST, EVERY YEAR WE GET A CROCKETY BLOAT, EVERY YEAR WE GET DRUNK ON THE DOCKS, AND EVERY YEAR WE HAVE SEX WITH OUR CAPS LOCKS!!!!
comment posted at 7:36 AM on Oct-22-15

The first and final full trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, first sequel to the Star Wars trilogy has been posted.
comment posted at 11:32 PM on Oct-20-15

The Simpsons title credits sequence is one of the most delightfully surreal animations in recent history. But when Yoann Hervo recorded it to VHS back in the 90's he must have turned the surreality setting up to 11.
comment posted at 6:08 PM on Sep-25-15

me irl - Mefi's own The Devil Tesla describes the project: "Me irl is a subreddit where every post must be titled 'me irl'. The prompt is to post 'selfies of the soul'. It has 250k subscribers, and is responsible for several of the highest scoring links on reddit of all time, including #7. This is the burden I carry with me." [via mefi projects]
comment posted at 9:13 PM on Sep-6-15

Burning Man is earning a reputation as a “networking event” among Silicon Valley techies, and tech magazines now send reporters to cover it. CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Larry Page of Alphabet are foaming fans, along with conservative anti-tax icon Grover Norquist and many writers of the libertarian (and Koch-funded) Reason magazine. Tesla CEO Elon Musk even went so far as to claim that Burning Man “is Silicon Valley.”
Former Burner Keith A. Spencer writes for Jacobin: “Why the Rich Love Burning Man”
comment posted at 4:48 PM on Aug-25-15