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Save internet radio The [American] Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel ("CARP") is proposing to lawmakers that internet radio stations aught to pay royalties retroactive to 1998; royalties of .14¢ per song per listener for Internet-only webcasters, .07¢ per song per listener for broadcast radio simulcasts, and .02¢ per song per listener for non-commercial radio simulcasts.

Most stations are operating on zero financing. Do the math; .02¢ x 12 songs per hour and 100 listeners..

Don't let this spell the end of internet radio. Please, go to the site and click to help.
posted by giantkicks at 11:12 PM PST - 6 comments

This photograph got the World Press Photo of the year award this year. Check out the other winners too. There some absolutely amazing images there.
posted by justlooking at 10:27 PM PST - 34 comments

The Global Positioning System is now commonly used for navigation in hundreds of ways worldwide. Some very innovative things are now being done with the system beyond simply finding out where you are. However, according to this BBC story, "emerging applications are being hampered by concerns that information from the global satellite network, which is run by the United States, could be switched off or restricted in the event of a security threat." Am I the only one worried about what will happen to all the hikers, rescue services, ships, small planes and geeks that would suffer if the network is switched off?
posted by Gamecat at 9:00 PM PST - 12 comments

"There should be a law about these people with web diaries or they should all wear identifying clothing or something, so that innocent bystanders who don't need some perverse kind of public fame can know to steer clear." Or, using Google to flush out potential dating disasters.
posted by Psionic_Tim at 8:56 PM PST - 73 comments

With enemas like you, who needs friends? Ian and Tony take a trip to Kamp Kolon, and Tony loses his marble.
posted by swell at 8:52 PM PST - 12 comments

ActiveBuddy has added five new AIM bots, of various levels of usefulness. ELLEgirlBuddy for teen girl stuff; TattleTeller for Oscar®-related news and gossip; AgentReuters for news and stock quotes; NoBoundariesTV as a tie-in to the useless WB "reality" show that seems to focus around Ford trucks; and My eBay Buddy for, well, make a guess. Fair warning: They're all beta.
posted by aaron at 8:23 PM PST - 12 comments

George Burdi, formerly a major figure in the White Power movement publicly denounces racism. Burdi was a member of the skinhead band Rahowa(RAcial HOly WAr) and considered by many to be the next major ambassador of hate to the mainstream. Some time in jail, among other things seems to have turned him around. This interview offers some interesting insights on what makes young people vulnerable to recruitment by hate groups and perhaps, what we can do to prevent them from taking hold.
posted by jonmc at 7:21 PM PST - 13 comments

"Britney Underground takes you on a tour of poignant urban artistry in a time of crisis." it's a nice collection of graffti from britney spears posters in new york, pretty funny. the negative emails are possibly the highlight.
posted by rhyax at 3:34 PM PST - 10 comments

Neo-Nazi movie reviews, because neo-Nazis need culture, too. It's not all slurs against Jewish and black people (although there is a lot of that); there's also deep cultural insight, like:

• "Having odd sex or sex with odd things or odd people is very, very likely to make you not-ordinary" (American Beauty review)
• "Rage Against the Machine, which, if you're unfamiliar, is screechy Mexican supremacist noise." (American History X review)
• Kids are "quart-sized creeps: greedy, selfish, stupid all-consuming egomanaical tyrants who will drive adults crazy if they they let them" (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory review)
• Lord of the Rings is "a glimpse, here and now, of the kind of White culture we are working to create in the future"

[Via the April 2002 Esquire, not online]
posted by kirkaracha at 2:41 PM PST - 37 comments

Yo La Tengo take your requests right now live on WFMU (various streams are here). Best pledge drive gimmick going: right now they're doing some T-Rex. A $60 pledge gets the band to play your selection.
posted by BT at 2:34 PM PST - 9 comments

Saudi Arabia's religious police caused the deaths of 15 schoolgirls by preventing them from escaping from a burning building. The children were not allowed to escape because they were not wearing the correct Islamic dress. When something like this happened under the Taliban it was taken as proof of Evil, but when it happens under our friends in Saudi Arabia it seems to just be ignored by the American government and the American media alike (or at least I haven't been able to find any reference to it in the American media.)
posted by homunculus at 1:42 PM PST - 29 comments

E.mail Mugabe. Amnesty International, unsurprisingly, has grave concerns for the welfare of Mugabe's opponents, particularly as few international observers remain. It suggests you send a fax or an e.mail asking that he considers the human rights issue and provides an address and number. Very probably a meaningless gesture but hey, you never know.
posted by Fat Buddha at 1:22 PM PST - 4 comments

Maria Bartiromo's hair is a predictable market indicator. She can talk for hours. Joey Ramone wrote a song about her [realaudio]. I hope she likes all those letters I sent her.
posted by Hildago at 12:53 PM PST - 12 comments

A feminist critique of "post-feminist" fetish.
"It was bad enough when so many feminists supported Bill Clinton...'Sex positive' feminism, at its root, is really just another manifestation of patriarchy, because it fully supports men's 'rights' to seek pleasure wherever and however they wish."
(Clean site, but includes subject matter and links that may not be safe for work.)
posted by bingo at 12:37 PM PST - 18 comments

Speaking of religion causing nightmares, these just don't feel 'right'. Maybe it's the idea of 'reinforcing' the idea that Jesus is your friend, in all activities. Last i checked, forced friendships don't work well. And sandals aren't conductive to track and field.
posted by jcterminal at 12:06 PM PST - 17 comments

A family of six was found dead in a case of murder-suicide, authorities in Oregon said Friday. Bryant, the father, became estranged from several branches of his family, including his parents, three brothers and a sister. The other family members were Jehovah's Witnesses and the split appeared to involve differences over religious beliefs. In other news, An angry, mysterious preacher told Andrea Yates that she was evil, that her children were damned, and that only death could save her. Mr. Yates testified that the preacher had taught him and his wife that children are lost forever to God, and therefore damned to eternal hellfire, if they are not "saved" by the time they are 13 or 14. Are we regressing to the religions produced nightmares of the Middle Ages?
posted by semmi at 10:20 AM PST - 49 comments

I knew amazon sold bollox, but this IS cool. You must be over 10 to play Bollox though. I wonder if you can shout "Bollox" if you win instead of if you loose.
posted by semper at 9:43 AM PST - 7 comments