Policy Exchange, the same British conservative think tank who brought you reports such as the tastefully titled The Hijacking of British Islam (previously), have released a new report, Cities Limited (pdf), which states that the only solution for people living in the North of Britain - where unemployment and poverty are high - is to abandon their homes and move south. Leader of the Conservative Party, David Cameron, minced no words in his response: "This report is rubbish from start to finish. I think the author himself said it might be a bit barmy. It is barmy. I gather he's off to Australia. The sooner he gets on the ship the better." Conservative bloggers have been very quick to distance themselves from the report, some going as far as to blame it on Liberal Democrats. Co-author of the report, Tim Leunig, a lecturer in economic history at the London School of Economics, defends his position.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing on Aug 14, 2008 - 32 comments

you've got new postcrossed mail You have heard of geocaching. You have heard of Bookcrossing. Here comes Postcrossing. The main idea is that: if you send a postcard, you'll receive at least one back, from a random Postcrosser from somewhere in the world. [more inside]
posted by Baud on Jun 8, 2008 - 19 comments

Annoying Software : A Rogue's Gallery. (single-page version). Software that makes us hate the internet and wish it had never been invented. High on their list : Adobe Reader, Java, RealPlayer, and Flash. [more inside]
posted by Afroblanco on May 20, 2008 - 111 comments

The Promise of Prediction Markets (full text link; .pdf here). A group of distinguished economists and other scholars has published a call to exempt prediction markets (previously on MeFi: 1, 2) from American laws that restrict internet gambling. [more inside]
posted by googly on May 16, 2008 - 24 comments

The National Odd Shoe Exchange is a non-profit organization that is a source of footwear for those requiring single shoes or pairs of differing sizes. Many have this need due to injury, disease or genetic disorders. [more inside]
posted by paulsc on Apr 13, 2008 - 11 comments

Telephone Central Office Histories - A fascinating collection of personal anecdotes and histories about telephony from the US and around the world, from The Telephone Exchange Name Project. Coral Cache links -1- -2- (via)
posted by loquacious on Jun 9, 2007 - 8 comments

The Washington Stock Exchange. A stock exchange for political junkies.
posted by matkline on Nov 11, 2006 - 22 comments

Window Exchange, Snowflake Series. Ambient techno with nice imargy for your enjoyment.
posted by nickerbocker on Mar 31, 2006 - 14 comments

New startup Peerflix is starting to generate press attention as a clearinghouse for peer-to-peer DVD trades; it's being called "eBay meets Netflix". With an idea that obvious, you'd think someone would have thought of it before, and they had - it was called WebSwap, but it didn't last that long...
posted by runkelfinker on Oct 24, 2005 - 25 comments

From Baltimore to the Bush. Until 2003, the Baraka School in Kenya was home to 20-40 underachieving teenagers from inner-city Baltimore. As Time Magazine reported in 2000, the experiment was not without complications, ranging from curriculum deficiencies to disciplinary issues. PBS also did a short piece on Baraka the same year.

By 2002, though, things were shaping up. The Baltimore City Public School System found that students at Baraka improved markedly in their academics. One alumnus is an up-and-coming hip-hop star.

Baraka was closed indefinitely in 2003 due to terrorism-related security threats. But a new documentary, The Boys of Baraka, recaptures the essence of the place, its successes and its failures alike.
posted by greatgefilte on Oct 5, 2005 - 8 comments

Copy-art.net is an ongoing curatorial project that aims to create an online platform to exchange works between artists, curators and the public and give the audience free access to works of art. Artists have been invited to submit work to Copy-art in any medium that will then be available online, making it possible for visitors to use these works in any possible way and without restrictions. Submitted works can be downloaded, changed, distributed, exhibited and used by all visitors for free. All submitted works will be present online in an archive, and available to the public to access. Commercial use of the works is excluded.
posted by onkelchrispy on Mar 16, 2005 - 3 comments

Retro phone fun. Remember the days when telephone numbers included an exhcange, like BUtterfield 8, MUrray Hill 7, or YUkon 5? Even you young whippersnappers can look up your current phone number and see what it's exchange name used to be. If your number isn't in the database, you can check Ma Bell's list of recommended exchange names. The next time someone asks for your number, use the exchange and watch hilarity ensue.
posted by Oriole Adams on Jul 18, 2003 - 34 comments

Swappingtons! Howdy fair sailor, "Swappingtons is a great way to get rid of any books, CDs or DVDs that you don't want anymore, and get other items in return for them. The great part too is, once you're done with the items you get, you can just turn around and list them again so someone else will take them and you can get something else." Andrew (of DiaryLand, Pitas and various other web enterprises) has set up a barter club for your mutual benefit! (kinda like a LETS) Be sure to check out the short instructional dramatization :D
posted by kliuless on Jan 17, 2003 - 9 comments

A common dollar for Canada and the U.S.? With the Euro unit of currency slowly coming into common use, it's only natural for other continents/countries to follow suit. How would this affect the national identity of Canada? Is this a sensible thing to do? What are the benefits and deficiencies of such a plan?
posted by ashbury on Nov 17, 2001 - 39 comments