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Proud to be hated by those who hate America -- writes Bill Black of the LBJ School of Public Affairs in the Middle East Times. (He's responding to an earlier opinion piece by Roland Khan, Paying the price, which cautioned against US military action.) [more inside]
posted by dhartung at 11:42 PM PST - 2 comments

Don't let science get in the way of war. A tale of sloppy censorship by a leading medical journal.
posted by magullo at 11:17 PM PST - 15 comments

map of middle earth courtsey of mapquest ever wonder when product promotions go too far?
posted by vincentmeanie at 11:08 PM PST - 12 comments

China seeking $1 billion from Israel for aborted aircraft deal How do you say Chutzpah in Chinese? This is just....funny. Do they sue in the People's Republic Court?
posted by ParisParamus at 9:45 PM PST - 7 comments

Racial stereotypes hurt academic performances --on standardized tests--for whites.
posted by antimarx at 9:14 PM PST - 21 comments

Support The Economy: Capitalism at it's best. While I doubt it will generate much income, I wish I'd thought of it.
posted by aladfar at 7:48 PM PST - 9 comments

Let us now bandy about statistics. NPR (et al.) has released a poll concerning beliefs about civil liberties in the wake of You Know What and the subsequent military response, as well as another (less in-depth) supplement on Military Tribunals. Also, Talk of the Nation did an excellent program (RealAudio) on the subject. Since we're going to continue discussing it anyway, we may as well be informed.
posted by Hildago at 5:36 PM PST - 12 comments

My brother just purchased "Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd" and it's isn't. Neither is the best of Jethro Tull, or Add it up - "The Best of the Violent Femmes." Is there any band from the 70's or 80's that has actually put out a"best of" album that isn't at least 30% poop? What's the worst "best of" album you've bought?
posted by Samsonov14 at 5:12 PM PST - 92 comments

With Many Watching, Solomon Islands Holds National Elections
We called it a "failed state." Polling has begun in the Solomon Islands for a new national Parliament. Many are watching and hoping that a new government will restore a semblance of order to the cities and revive the bankrupt economy. There is practically no law in the cities, since the coup last year. Citizens of Honiara, the capital recently blockaded the home of PM Sogavare in protest of his unwillingness to quell ongoing ethnic militia warfare. The national airline ran out of gasoline yesterday, stranding voters returning to their home provinces. But this is the age of the Internet, and SI Brodcasting Co. and Radio Australia are providing live coverage online.
posted by rschram at 5:05 PM PST - 3 comments

At $92.60 a Vote, Bloomberg Shatters an Election Record. Ross Perot spent about $3.59 per vote in his 1992 presidential race. The $68,968,185 price tag was more than Forbes and Corzine spent on their 2000 campaigns. Do candidates that essentially buy their elections gross you out, or do you feel better knowing that their money didn't come from PACs?
posted by jennak at 3:34 PM PST - 29 comments

Consult The Dead Parrot The dead parrot will provide advice on finance, romance, religion, careers, and miscellaneous concerns, apparently. Sample: (Q) I just checked the best-before date on the pot of cream in the refrigerator and it's due to go off tomorrow morning. What can I do with it at such short notice? I don't own a whisk. (answer inside)
posted by feelinglistless at 2:25 PM PST - 10 comments

Could you join The Specials? No, not those Specials, these Specials. If you live in and around London and have 96 hours to spare annually, this might be just the volunteer track for you. However, participation in the Special Constabulary of the Metropolitan Police Force is steadily shrinking despite enthusiastic members and recent attempts at compensation.

So is this kind of community stewardship no longer valid? And with the current re-appreciation of U.S. policemen, could a similar program work here in the states? I mean, the Flash animation almost swayed me...
posted by grabbingsand at 2:05 PM PST - 5 comments

Their learnding. "American 15-year-olds rank average in reading, math and science skills among their peers in highly industrialized nations, results the U.S. education secretary says are unacceptable." The article does not speculate on the causes of the poor performance. What do you think? Underpaid, under-qualified teachers? Too much TV? Math-Class-Is-Tough Barbie?
posted by gazingus at 1:03 PM PST - 41 comments

Diary of the first Segway owner An obviously fictional account of a Segway owners first day in a busy city. Similar comments were made in last nights report by The Daily Show's Mo Rocca. So it looks like the Smartass vote is in on the Ginger/IT/Segway.
posted by Jeffy at 12:42 PM PST - 27 comments

John Grisham Steers away from the law again... As in NOT writing about it, but thank heavens in February, it appears he'll be going back to his Legal Thrillers I don't know though, as much as I wanted not to.. I really liked A Painted House Surely, I'm not the only one...
posted by danger at 11:10 AM PST - 3 comments

I say if you're caught creating a virus you should get 25 years. The billions that it costs companies, the inconveniences to every-day people, the fortune that it costs normal folks whose computers are plauged... maybe 35 years should be the mandatory term. But something must be done.
posted by tsarfan at 11:02 AM PST - 49 comments

Travis and his package Ubiquitous Calvin Klein underwear model Travis Fimmel does a meet and greet with his fans. "Secure at the front of the roped-off line, Malia Middler, 28, from San Francisco, was found giggling, blushing and excited. She squealed lustfully, 'I want to ask him if it's real!'"
posted by timothompson at 10:59 AM PST - 29 comments

Something for your holiday entertainment. Susan has been doing this site every year for 4 or 5 years now, and I still love it. She features her own ornament collection, and sometimes even her own pets, in a holiday themed, Flash-based Advent calendar, that was one of the best Flash sites around in the olden days. Click on each day of the calendar throughout the month of December.
posted by Lynsey at 10:37 AM PST - 4 comments

Why Don't People Read Newspapers from Other Countries? The early promise of the Web was that it would create a smaller world. Yet, most individuals read their local newspaper or their favorite national newspaper online. For example, most people I speak to are surprised that there are English newspapers in Pakistan- there are at least two good ones- Dawn and The Friday Times. I see a lot of posts on MeFi from UK papers such as The Guardian and also from Australian papers. How about the English newspapers from the rest of the world? Have we stopped browsing?
posted by SandeepKrishnamurthy at 10:03 AM PST - 45 comments

Here Comes the Sun Beware NY Times. Watch your flanks NY liberal establishment. Lord Conrad Black to back Smarter Times Ira Stoll and co in new conservative daily paper. Will they make it? (PS. Apparently are looking for editorial staff "willing to work long hours in an entrepreneurial, start-up environment") Start spreadin' the news, these little town blues are melting away, it's up to you, New York, New York...
posted by Voyageman at 7:46 AM PST - 15 comments

Teachers jailed for, well, NOT teaching... (NYT link) I live in Middletown, but I think this is interesting for the general crowd. Aren't teachers allowed to strike? Should they be forced to return to work without a contract? Should they be thrown in jail because the school board won't work with them on a contract?
posted by rich at 6:57 AM PST - 39 comments

SpacecraftKits.com has an interesting way of keeping their costs low. They do it "through mass production, and by putting the extensive assembly instructions and fact sheets ... online, rather than mailing them to you." I think that's a great idea. That way if they want to revise some part of the instructions, or add schematics or notes or ideas from people who might have experienced problems, they can allow all customers to see the new instructions without having to send recall notices or try to track exactly who owns their product. This gives a company the ability to hyperlink instructions with tons of additional information, as well as definitions and photographs. I really think all toy manufacturers should do this. It would also be great for furniture makers - Sauder and those places that make built-it-yourself desks and bookcases, etc. That way you could order that missing bolt or screw or broken piece of shelving directly from the manufacturer ...
posted by GatorDavid at 6:55 AM PST - 3 comments

"Found Magazine Celebrates the Mystery of Castoff Notes." The Washington Post calls Found "...an amazing new magazine that prints odd items found in streets, schools, prisons, Kinko's shops and laundromats across America. It's a treasury of trash, a wonderfully weird collection of screeds, snapshots, to-do lists, leaflets, drawings, diaries and love letters. Taken together, they provide a fascinating glimpse into the wackier depths of America's collective subconscious." What wonderfully weird stuff have you found?
posted by Carol Anne at 6:44 AM PST - 32 comments

Run Juice Run!!! O.J. Simpson's house raided by the FBI and DEA! Yeah, I know, a news story, but its O.J.! O.J. suspected in Ecstasy Drug Ring. Along with a few other illegal activities. Is this his third strike???
posted by da5id at 5:28 AM PST - 38 comments

Want to escape CNN's round-the-clock war coverage? Don't head for the theater. Faster than Lee Marvin could say "Dirty Dozen," Hollywood is rounding up its good-looking troops, rallying the editing rooms, and launching a war-time celluloid offensive. Groovy. And just when I'd started getting bored with the real deal...
posted by Bixby23 at 2:45 AM PST - 6 comments

Teacher fired for...well....teaching.
An Australian teacher was dismissed from her job for telling her class of youngsters that Santa Claus does not exist. Is she an excellent educator, or a grumpy Grinch?
posted by Optamystic at 1:30 AM PST - 41 comments

"Non-Christians would not be forced to become Christians, but they would have to obey laws that came from the Bible". Bush would like to nominate J. Robert Brame as Chairman of the NLRB. Until recently, Brame was on the board of a religious extremist group with a stated goal of turning the United States into a theocracy.
posted by Doug at 1:01 AM PST - 66 comments

Is your son a computer hacker? Has your son loaded strange programs like "Flash" on the family computer? Is your son reading dangerous books like "Programming with Perl?" Is your son obsessed with "Lunix?" [sic] Hey, I read it on the web, so it must be true.
posted by chipr at 12:09 AM PST - 26 comments