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A great music editor passes on. Timothy White, editor-in-chief of Billboard Magazine, died suddenly of a heart attack today. He was a fixture of music journalism. He and his bow-tie will be missed.
posted by aeiou at 9:09 PM PST - 4 comments

The prolific and inventive Philip Jose Farmer has long been one of my favorite science fiction writers, but he is rarely counted among the Lists of Greats of the 'old school' authors.(Asimov, Clarke, Niven et al). Does anyone else have a favorite SF writer who seems to get less credit than he or she deserves?
posted by GriffX at 7:44 PM PST - 65 comments

Just who is spamming you and how? Find out how they might have gotten your address using this map representing the network of spammers.
posted by srboisvert at 7:19 PM PST - 11 comments

The Yes Men, impersonators who have dissolved the WTO, among other stunts, released YesIWill! last year in response to the WTO's attempt to shut down the gatt.org web site. I was checking in on the program today, and was disappointed to see it hadn't been updated any.
Then I found out it's because it's been renamed: Reamweaver.
posted by Su at 7:10 PM PST - 3 comments

God, politics and America's most notorious coin Teddy Roosevelt described the appearance of "In God We Trust" on U.S. money as "dangerously close to sacrilege." He ordered the motto kept off new $20 gold coins designed by famous sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Congress demanded the motto restored, making the earlier coins into collector's items. The motto didn't appear on paper money until 1957, just after "In God We Trust" replaced the secular "E Pluribus Unum" as the national motto and the words "So help me God" were added to the oaths of office for federal judges. Meanwhile, religious conservatives are using the motto to put "In God We Trust" posters in every classroom in America.
posted by mediareport at 5:04 PM PST - 24 comments

Silent Evidence - Ronald Bailey insists that Rachel Carson's campaign against DDT in "Silent Spring" is filled with bad science and has resulted in millions of unnecessary deaths due to increased malaria rates. The US Government has also considered removing the ban on DDT, as has Roger Bate in the Wall Street Journal.
posted by Kevs at 4:58 PM PST - 5 comments

John Entwistle, The Who bassist, dies in Las Vegas on the verge of a U.S. tour.
posted by schmedeman at 3:31 PM PST - 43 comments

Fireproofing Faulted in Trade Center Collapse... Fireproofing failures -- rather the impact of the plane crashes -- probably caused the World Trade Center towers to quickly collapse, architects and engineers told a federal panel today.

"The insulation is going to turn out to be the root cause," said James G. Quintiere, a professor at University of Maryland's Fire Protection Engineering Department who analyzed the fireproofing in the two towers.

Also worth reading is NY Fire Chief Vincent Dunn's assessment, "Why the World Trade Center Buildings Collapsed".
posted by zerolucid at 3:21 PM PST - 16 comments

From the "life is funnier than The Onion" department... A giraffe lept off a cliff to its death Wednesday in Nairobi after learning it was a prime suspect in the killing of an American priest at a luxury hotel. Perhaps it was upset about the recent pedophilia scandal in the church? (via The Morning News -- aw, come on! We needed a good laugh around here.)
posted by me3dia at 2:36 PM PST - 13 comments

"The right man for the job will be aged between 18 and 21 and will presumably need to demonstrate an abundance of energy and the ability to withstand repeated showers of saliva, the traditional punk rock crowd's sign of respect for performers."

But who is the right man?
posted by oh posey at 2:26 PM PST - 5 comments

2002 European Online Journalism Awards Impressively broad selection of nominees to be decided by impressively diverse roster of judges on July 4.
posted by Voyageman at 12:43 PM PST - 3 comments

Court gives the go-ahead on random drug testing for non-athlete students. "Given the nationwide epidemic of drug use, and the evidence of increased drug use in Tecumseh schools, it was entirely reasonable for the school district to enact this particular drug testing policy," Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in the decision. Drug tests which really only target marijuana use (alcohol, cocaine, opiates leave the body shortly after use) can now be randomly given to students involved in extra-curricular activities. Is this a further step in the "my anti-drug" campaign? Is debate or drama club YOUR anti-drug? By denying student drug users the privilege of participating in activities, aren't we just marginalizing them further and making the problem worse? What will it be? Drugs or getting involved?
posted by Hammerikaner at 12:18 PM PST - 58 comments

History repeats itself? Lest we forget, constitutional qualms about the Pledge helped bring down Mike Dukakis 14 years ago ... will the Democrats, in an urge to avoid the same fate, let through Bush's slate of conservative nominees? How about a new Justice if Rehnquist retires?
posted by MattD at 11:13 AM PST - 3 comments

Gay marriage lawsuit filed in New Jersey yesterday The website of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, which represents the plaintiffs, contains lots of information about the case. News article here.
posted by Tin Man at 10:38 AM PST - 32 comments

Can't say the pledge? Pick a school that does! School Vouchers are okay, even when used at religious schools. Well, that is a freedom of choice, no?
posted by dwivian at 8:00 AM PST - 27 comments

Lawmakers blast pledge ruling... Yes I know this thread was started yesterday but at over 130 posts and given the recent news from lawmakers stating they would push for a constitutional amendment authorising the words "under God" if the Supreme Court did not smack down the 9th circuit courts decision I felt compelled to post again on this subject. Smack me down if you like...
posted by gloege at 6:14 AM PST - 155 comments

Five stars for BEST NEWS SOURCES SITE: FWJC - floating wreckage - jettisoned cargo. Who says design can't be simple. Looks like just another little news blog? Look again. Neat little pulldown menus conceal 26,000 links to beautifully organized lists of news and reference sources.
posted by sheauga at 4:41 AM PST - 18 comments

Get Your Bloodthirsty World Cup Vengeance Here! A cruel, violent and xenophobic little game. And not a moment too soon, either![Shockwave required.]
posted by MiguelCardoso at 3:43 AM PST - 15 comments