Complete Mars Vacation Guide More April-first-day goodness. Link from the site's main page is at bottom right.
posted by uni verse on Apr 1, 2009 - 7 comments

"I have never considered myself anything but a Soldier." The U.S. names its first female four-star general: Ann E. Dunwoody. [more inside]
posted by jabberjaw on Nov 14, 2008 - 40 comments

Isuma.tv is an amazing video sharing site for indigenous filmmakers. Isuma is perhaps best known for their incredible work on films set in arctic Canada (Atarnarjuat, Journals of Knud Rasmussen and the upcoming Before Tomorrow). Isuma.tv is a fantastic place to work by all sorts of First Nations film makers and is a much needed voice for the generally ignored indigenous artists.

Isuma was last discussed on Metafilter in 2002.
posted by dogbusonline on Apr 30, 2008 - 3 comments

A Nation Apologizes. (Sydney Morning Herald.) Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's apology to the Stolen Generations of Aboriginal children. Here the history told from an Aboriginal perspective in Archie Roach's great song "Took The Children Away." (Youtube) (song lyrics).
posted by fourcheesemac on Feb 12, 2008 - 77 comments

Dog First Aid Kit A breeder writes a list of must-have items that should be included in all First Aid Kits for dogs.
posted by fe2dell on Oct 19, 2007 - 15 comments

[Newsfilter]: Fighting a recording industry lawsuit for file sharing saying "it wasn't me!" is probably a really, really bad idea. Jury awards recording companies $222,000 for willfully infringing the copyright on 24 songs in first-to-trial file sharing lawsuit.
posted by Muddler on Oct 4, 2007 - 209 comments

FIRST!
posted by delmoi on Apr 5, 2007 - 119 comments

The FIRST ("For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology") robotics competition has recently begun it's 2007 competition season. The competition, which began and still enjoys it's greatest popularity in the United States, challenges high-school students and mentors to design and build a (teleoperated) robot to play a game in six weeks. Founded by Dean Kamen, of segway, IBOT, the first home dialysis machine, and clean drinking water fame founded the competition in 1988 to inspire students to enter the engineering profession. Every year a new challenge is put forth, and this year's game involves placing inner-tubes on a cylindrical rack in addition to lifting other team's robots. A sizeable community has sprung up around FIRST, with much attention paid to Dean Kamen's ideal of gracious professionalism which is like sportsmanship without the sports. The 2007 regional competitions provide teams an opportunity to show off their work. If you're interested in getting involved, or just watching the events, FIRST provides a handy Event Locator.
posted by martinX's bellbottoms on Mar 8, 2007 - 14 comments

Judge blocks damaging articles, bloggers republish them in defiance here and here. Will the Kansas City utility board sue them, too?
posted by nospecialfx on Mar 5, 2007 - 57 comments

Build Your First Surfboard.
posted by hama7 on Dec 10, 2006 - 10 comments

Recipients of "Leaks" May Be Prosecuted, Court Rules In a momentous expansion of the government's authority to regulate public disclosure of national security information, a federal court ruled that even private citizens who do not hold security clearances can be prosecuted for unauthorized receipt and disclosure of classified information. The ruling by Judge T.S. Ellis, III, denied a motion to dismiss the case of two former employees of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) who were charged under the Espionage Act with illegally receiving and transmitting classified information. The decision is a major interpretation of the Espionage Act with implications that extend far beyond this particular case. The Judge ruled that any First Amendment concerns regarding freedom of speech involving national defense information can be superseded by national security considerations.
posted by Unregistered User on Aug 10, 2006 - 28 comments

Does the First Amendment matter on campus? A column in the Winthrop University (SC) student newspaper comparing today's racial climate for whites to the oppression blacks faced before the Civil Rights movement has caused quite a stir south of the Mason -Dixon line. The column by Christine Byington, who is biracial, criticized blacks who complain about the University. She eventually had to withdraw from school due to overwhelming pressure. Should she have known better than to write about a very touchy situation?
posted by Macboy on Nov 30, 2005 - 48 comments

Michael Homan rode out Katrina in New Orleans and later "escaped" one of the freeway-based collection points. His is the first of what will surely be many firsthand accounts appearing on blogs. Why not collect your link finds here?
posted by mwhybark on Sep 5, 2005 - 29 comments

The FBI has issued the first demand for library records under the Patriot Act. The library in question is somewhere in Bridgeport, CT. The ACLU is seeking an emergency court order to lift the FBI gag order, but they've been instructed by the gag to keep the person whose library records being sought (i.e., their client) a secret. What the ACLU has revealed is that the client is a member of the American Library Association (clearly, a front for terrorism). If any MeFites are interested in digging up additional details on this and start making calls, here's a good place to start. What indeed would the FBI consider so threatening?
posted by ed on Aug 26, 2005 - 57 comments

love
posted by kafziel on Apr 29, 2005 - 18 comments

Movie Store "Who's on First."
CUSTOMER: Why can't I rent Seven?
CASHIER: Because it's over the limit.
CUSTOMER: Right, but I want Seven. Get rid of Ten.
CASHIER: (Pause.) That would leave negative three.
(via McSweeney's)
posted by adrober on Mar 4, 2005 - 23 comments

Buy a Gun For America! Buy a gun because you live in a country where you can.
posted by mwhybark on Nov 3, 2004 - 18 comments

Ron's first Goatse (SFW, honest). Porn star Ron Jeremy is handed a Sidekick presumably displaying a certain infamous image during a meet-n-greet by persons unknown with the foresight to bring a camera. MeFi Jr. Detective League bonus! Who is responsible for this belly-laugh inducing document? [via and linked to themaxx.com, which may indeed contain NSFW material].
posted by mwhybark on Oct 10, 2004 - 84 comments

America's first president was not George Washington, but in fact its third: John Hanson. (Scroll down to "Who Was the First President of the United States?") [via The Greatest Stories Never Told]
posted by mcsweetie on Oct 4, 2003 - 18 comments

First JPEG virus discovered... "The W32/Perrun virus, as it is now being called, extracts data from JPEG files and then injects picture files with infected digital images. A fair warning to those individuals who are fond of sending multimedia files to friends and families." Is everyone's porn stash threatened now?
posted by darian on Jun 14, 2002 - 28 comments

Pip Tattersall is the first woman to win the Green Beret of the Royal Marines, but she still can't fight in combat. Is the British army ignoring thousands of years of history, or is Martin van Creveld right?
posted by CatherineB on May 31, 2002 - 24 comments

Want to be the first kid on the block to own a Segway? Amazon and Dean Kamen are auctioning off three of them. All proceeds go to Dean's non-profit organization, FIRST.
posted by corpse on Feb 19, 2002 - 10 comments

The Origins of AIDS AIDS has become such a commonplace thing, hence the need for days like today. When is the last time you thought of how HIV/AIDS came about? Have you ever? Such interesting tidbits as the fact that it's been documented to 1959 can be found here.
posted by ashbury on Dec 1, 2001 - 5 comments