Why I Let My 9-Year-Old Ride the Subway Alone (via). More From America's Worst Mom: 9-Year-Old On The Subway, Continued.
posted on Apr 11, 2008 - View this thread

20 percent of academics surveyed by Nature are abusing neuroenhancers.
Calling R.U. Sirius...
posted on Apr 10, 2008 - View this thread

Slum (youtube: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) Dwellers (mp3): how the other billion lives.
posted on Feb 28, 2008 - View this thread

Politics of Hate: What's happening to the city of Mumbai
posted on Feb 13, 2008 - View this thread

A mouse has been genetically engineered to no longer fear cats. Surely this is now only a matter of time.
posted on Nov 8, 2007 - View this thread

"How do you deal with fear? Is it safer for them if I act or stay quiet? I don't want to get on a list."
posted on Oct 26, 2007 - View this thread

Risking all: the Burmese jokers who laugh in the face of danger. In Burma (Myanmar), comedians are targets in the junta's war on words. [Via BB.]
posted on Oct 17, 2007 - View this thread

Hello! It can be hard to say. [Previously] Apparently it is treatable.
posted on Sep 21, 2007 - View this thread

Avoiding Kids: How Men Cope With Being Cast as Predators These days, if Rian Romoli accidentally bumps into a child, he quickly raises his hands above his shoulders. "I don't want to give even the slightest indication that any inadvertent touching occurred," says Mr. Romoli, an economist in La Cañada Flintridge, Calif. Previous article by same author.
posted on Sep 13, 2007 - View this thread

Death Grip: How Political Psychology Explains Bush's Ghastly Success. Interesting article on the work of psychologists Jeff Greenberg, Sheldon Solomon, and Tom Pyszczynski. [Via Disinformation.]
posted on Aug 29, 2007 - View this thread

The United States imprisons a larger percentage of its citizens then other industrialized nations and that percentage has been increasing even as the crime rate declines. Glen Loury discusses this seemingly odd phenomena and speculates as to the cause. Don't skip the ruminations on perceptions of race and welfare deep in the article. Want to crunch some numbers yourself? US crime statistics, US prison statistics, international prison statistics. Previously on metafilter.
posted on Aug 8, 2007 - View this thread

1909      >      1920
One of the Guys
When It Was OK to Show Affection
Seeing Males Together: Brokeback Mountain and Picturing Men
posted on Mar 17, 2007 - View this thread

Fear and Loathing in Gonzovision 1978 BBC Omnibus documentary (Google Video)
posted on Feb 14, 2007 - View this thread

Google Demonstrates Capabilities of Space Based Weapon on 50m Insect Menacing German Town All you folks saying Google wasn't out to take over the world, where are your arguments now? Google now has the capability to destroy enormous mutant bugs from space.
posted on Jan 5, 2007 - View this thread

Scared of Santa (via)
posted on Dec 5, 2006 - View this thread

About as Subtle as a Terror Attack. We all know Bush doesn't do nuance. Well, apparently the GOP doesn't either, especially not in close midterm elections. The following is a (presumably web-only) video:

A ticking sound reminiscent of a bomb timer grows progressively louder until the last repeated phrase ("What is yet to come will be even greater") is shown, followed by the sound of a beating heart, fleeting images of explosions and terrorists in training, and ending with the message "These Are The Stakes. Vote Nov. 7."

The video can be found here.
posted on Oct 20, 2006 - View this thread

Had he not died in 1971, Tor Johnson would be 103 today. Who could forget his face? Or that it makes a great mask? Don't we often think back fondly on his remarkable filmography? He made a great partner for Bela Lugosi! Who could forget that he tended to break toilet seats when he sat on them, and so would often steal them?
posted on Oct 19, 2006 - View this thread

Plane/Helicopter Crashes into NYC high rise. ???
posted on Oct 11, 2006 - View this thread

Another great Google video. Before "Fear of Girls," the guys from Sleepy Eye, MN made a short film for a 48 hour film project called "Paper Hearts."
posted on Apr 11, 2006 - View this thread

"He was someone who acted out our psyches ... He somehow got into the shadows inside our bodies; he was able to nail down some of our secret fears and put them on-screen... the history of Lon Chaney is the history of unrequited loves. He brings that part of you out into the open, because you fear that you are not loved, you fear that you never will be loved, you fear there is some part of you that's grotesque, that the world will turn away from."
A Valentine for Lon Chaney, the Man of a Thousand Faces. (BugMeNot for the first link; more inside)
posted on Feb 18, 2006 - View this thread

So I'm watching this cute little movie trailer . . . and I'm stunned by a quote in the middle of it: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure." — Nelson Mandela. Or was it Marianne Williamson? Or does it really matter?
posted on Feb 3, 2006 - View this thread

Scientists find fear gene; can an army of [literally] fearless soldiers be far away? (Plus some good things, too.)
posted on Nov 17, 2005 - View this thread

I have always viewed those large home improvement warehouse stores as dangerous places, but not exactly for this reason. Whew.
posted on Nov 3, 2005 - View this thread

Creating A Climate for Cross Burnings --the recent reappearance of this horrifying relic of the bad old days of the South, supposedly gone, have many wondering. Now where do you think small-change bigots would get the idea that public expressions of racism and intolerance are ok?
posted on May 28, 2005 - View this thread

Hunter S. Thompson's ashes WILL be blasted from a cannon mounted inside a 53-foot-high sculpture of the journalist's "gonzo fist" emblem. You can see Hunter & Ralph Steadman plan these details in the BBC documentary Fear & Loathing in Gonzovision.
posted on Apr 5, 2005 - View this thread

Leaderless resistance today. An essay by Simson Garfinkel -- on network analysis and headless chickens. This seems a little odd to me, what we call al-qaeda could fit in with a leaderless resistance model.
posted on Dec 7, 2004 - View this thread

The Childhood Goat Truama Foundation. All your childhood carpinae-based nightmares are belong to them. (just a brief reprieve from election coverage - via the ultimate insult)
posted on Nov 2, 2004 - View this thread

Terror warnings boost Bush's approval ratings. Cornell sociologist Robb Willard has used a time-series regression analysis to show that a terror alert by the US government predicts an increase in Bush's approval ratings, even on topics unrelated to security. It's often been claimed that the Bush administration manipulates terror alerts for political gain — does this finding make those claims more plausible?
posted on Oct 7, 2004 - View this thread

Trains vs. Airplanes. Amtrak has reported record ridership levels for the Thanksgiving season. But the success of the rails is indebted to post 9/11 air-travel anxiety. Maybe, it would be better for travelers to stop fearing hijackings and resume flying planes instead of riding intercity trains out of fear. On the other hand, it could be a good thing that rail travel is getting a second look after years of decline.
posted on Dec 3, 2003 - View this thread

Do you have Arachibutyrophobia? Or some other kind of phobia? All kinds of fear from A to Z Which is your favorite?
posted on Dec 2, 2003 - View this thread

“We fear the government using the current climate of fear and uncertainty about the future as a means to allow itself sweeping powers without an appropriate consideration of proportionality" ......no-go zones ........ power to ban peaceful protest ...... destroy private property without compensation ........prepare for the introduction of compulsory identity cards .... The climate seems to be changing.
posted on Nov 26, 2003 - View this thread

Oneirogmophobia ...and you though you had problems.
posted on Nov 16, 2003 - View this thread

All US Air Passengers to be Profiled, and 1% Will be Banned from Boarding. In the most aggressive -- and, some say, invasive -- step yet, the federal government and the airlines will phase in a computer system next year to measure the risk posed by every passenger on every flight in the United States. Up to 8 percent of passengers who board flights will be coded "yellow" and pulled for additional screening. An estimated 1 to 2 percent will be labeled "red" and will be prohibited from boarding. These passengers also will face police questioning and may be arrested. [More Inside....]
posted on Sep 9, 2003 - View this thread

Visit Madison, Indiana. Why? We're not New York City! Sure you can be opportunistic about selling gas masks if you're an internet entrepreneur, but what if you're a small town in Indiana and you want to cash in on fear of terrorism. Why, tout what you don't have, of course. "A safe place to visit...When you visit Madison you will discover that we have no tall buildings to fear, no nuclear power plants, airports or anything anyone would want to blow up."
posted on Aug 15, 2003 - View this thread

Buddhism tames the amygdala Covered recently on Metafilter (here), new research at the University of California San Francisco Medical Centre ( into the "Happy Buddhist" phenomenon ) shows that Buddhist meditation techniques "can tame the amygdala, an area of the brain which is the hub of fear memory." [BBC] -Is this the Rx for a nation of Americans gripped by fear? Do Christianity, Islam or Judaism have effective techniques to tame the amygdala too?
posted on May 22, 2003 - View this thread

PATRIOT forever. Toppling one regime to build another, U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and a Republican coalition are pushing legislation to make the PATRIOT Act permanent. It's daylight forever.
posted on Apr 9, 2003 - View this thread

The Triumph of Fear- " just as every moment that we choose despair we deepen the likelihood of a world of war, so every moment where we choose to affirm love and generosity and our mutual interconnectedness we increase the likelihood of a world of peace and justice." ....
posted on Mar 26, 2003 - View this thread

“Fear is a warning thing,” Loggins says, “a warning system. It lets you know you’re going to be in danger, like something jeopardizes your life. I guess everybody has fears in common. In fact, I’m quite sure they do. Things like bees, monsters, and probably pit bulls.”
posted on Mar 15, 2003 - View this thread

anyone been to safer america to stock up on tin foil hats or mustard gas spit shields? is it strange to capitalize on paranoia like this, or to open flag shops after sept. 11th? joking aside, any reports from the store from new yawkers?
posted on Feb 20, 2003 - View this thread

If you have sex before marriage, you will die. Why is fear so often used to promote an agenda?
posted on Nov 25, 2002 - View this thread

Hyping the Sniper scared? Are you safely bunkered down at home watching Sniper Network News? Or do you, all spocklike and rational, calculate your risk from sniper fire from CDC mortality tables and conclude that death by sniper is only a little more likely than death by falling coconuts? Or do you decide to make your own 50 caliber sniper rifle in your home workshop to get them before they get you?
posted on Oct 23, 2002 - View this thread

Watch those Waterway in Florida says the U.S. Coast Guard. Possible terrorist threats include drawing or taking photographs of the shore, being near the shore for a long time, and under no circumstances would any law abiding citizen be doing something as daring and thoroughly terrorist-like as renting a boat.
posted on Aug 23, 2002 - View this thread

The 1940s Again? While this in't to internment level yet, I find it terrifying. What to do about this government? This article was originally LA Times, but has been reposted to Common Dreams....
posted on Aug 15, 2002 - View this thread

FindLaw Forum: Could terrorism result in a constitutional dictator? Rather odd that so early into the "game" this sort of speculation by professionals is being considered. Heading for a change in the way we govern or are governed, or just a bump in the road that need not jar us?
posted on Jun 7, 2002 - View this thread

I had trouble sleeping Saturday night because of a CNN story suggesting that "increased level of chatter and activity" indicated that "another al Qaeda terrorist operation could be in the works." The "warnings" have been coming ever since: Cheney said Sunday that future attacks were "almost a certainty" and FBI director Robert Mueller stated "we will not be able to stop it", with Ridge and Rumsfeld spinning similar tales today. Is there a new threat? Ridge hasn't changed the nation's security alert from "yellow," and AP reported today that "a top White House aide said last week's criticism prompted a two-pronged political response: Bush accused Democrats of playing politics with the issue as his advisers reminded voters that America is still a target."
posted on May 21, 2002 - View this thread

Fear Can Turn Us All Into 'Good Germans.' Harley Sorensen takes on the culture of fear and bigotry that's rising in the US and Israel (and other places as well), where people are willing to give up their own freedom in the name of unity, and are happy to plug their ears when an alternative opinion is expressed. Includes an amazing letter from someone who's "decided not to be Jewish" because of the attitude of his religion.
posted on Apr 29, 2002 - View this thread

Time to stop the war on terrorism says Jonah Goldberg of the National Review.
posted on Apr 11, 2002 - View this thread

White house announces more silly and vague schema for defining terrorist threat. Ok, so how does going from the total unclear status of "everybody lookout, it's coming" to Yellow Alert which means "a significant risk of terrorist attacks" make things more clear? For that matter what's the point of Red Alert anyhow? Is that for when the Pentagon is already on fire?
posted on Mar 12, 2002 - View this thread

Felt threatened since 9/11? Take this survey. It attempts to link our perception of threats with our exposure to particular media -- good approach, unlike some other 9/11 surveys.
posted on Mar 2, 2002 - View this thread

Superstition ain't the way. A new study confirms that you can actually be scared to death. They found a 13% increase in cardiac related deaths of Chinese and Japanese Americans on the fourth day of each month. In Mandarin, Cantonese and Japanese, the pronounciation of the word 'four' (shi) is the same as the word for death. So be careful where you aim those fireworks the next 4th of July.
posted on Jan 11, 2002 - View this thread