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Congressional Oil spokesman goes after Citgo. In Washington, Texas Republican Congressman Joe Barton (R-ExxonMobil) has launched an investigation into Citgo. But he is not investigating whether any of the oil giants are engaging in price gouging at a time when gasoline and heating oil casts are skyrocketing. Instead Barton has set his sights on the only oil company that actually dared to lower its prices last year - at least for the poorest Americans. Last week Barton demanded the Venezuelan-owned company Citgo produce all records, minutes, logs, e-mails and even desk calendars related to the company’s novel program of supplying discounted heating oil to low-income communities in the United States. The Citgo program, which began late last year in Massachusetts and the South Bronx, provides oil at discounts as high as 60% off market price.
comment posted at 4:32 PM on Feb-26-06

Archive.org's Live Music Archive makes available in loseless format the work of hundreds of tape-friendly musicians, including the Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra (8 shows), northwest favorites the Decemberists (18 shows), and, of course, Ween (71 shows! push those little daisies!). And let's not talk about crappy jam bands.
comment posted at 1:43 AM on Feb-26-06

tea-bagging ruined my life a ruinous teabag incident
comment posted at 11:44 PM on Feb-23-06
comment posted at 11:45 PM on Feb-23-06

"A patent has been granted to a relatively unknown California Web-design firm for an invention its creator says covers the design and creation of most rich-media applications used over the Internet. ... The patent--issued on Valentine's Day--covers all rich-media technology implementations, including Flash, Flex, Java, Ajax, and XAML, when the rich-media application is accessed on any device over the Internet, including desktops, mobile devices, set-top boxes, and video game consoles, says inventor Neil Balthaser, CEO of Balthaser Online, which he owns with his father Ken. 'You can consider it a pioneering or umbrella patent. The broader claim is one that basically says that if you got a rich Internet application, it is covered by this patent.'" (via Jeff Zeldman)
comment posted at 12:27 PM on Feb-23-06
comment posted at 1:32 PM on Feb-23-06

“Judges are humans,” he said. “They’re not going to have any sympathy for this guy.” Some talk about free speech recently got me to thinking about what’s-his-name and some brothers who are doing something about it. (I always thought God was a biker. I mean, check out the beard.)
comment posted at 10:53 AM on Feb-23-06
comment posted at 11:20 AM on Feb-23-06

Meditation found to increase brain size (maybe) according to research led by Harvard neuroscientist Sara Lazar. Meanwhile, Atheist Manifesto author Sam Harris recently went on a meditation retreat and seemed to find it pleasant enough.
comment posted at 1:39 PM on Feb-22-06

Make Kevin wear the same suit until he gets fired.
comment posted at 1:13 PM on Feb-22-06

Annoyed by the Bill O'Reilly's and Rush Limbaugh's of the world? So is Mike Stark, and he goes out of his way to get on the air on their shows. And then, of course, writes about it in his blog, Calling All Wingnuts, which includes mp3 clips of his escapades on conservative talk radio airwaves.
comment posted at 12:03 PM on Feb-22-06

Gore in '08? Several weeks ago, former Vice President Al Gore told the Associated Press that he “had no plans to seek the Presidency in 2008.” His words were eerily reminiscent of a quote from another former Vice President, Richard Nixon, who told the same Associated Press in November of 1965 that he “had no plans to seek the Presidency in 1968.”
comment posted at 10:33 AM on Feb-22-06

Religious use of ayahuasca ruled lawful in U.S.
comment posted at 8:12 AM on Feb-21-06

OSX has a security bug that can be triggered simply by visiting a web page in safari There is an example of the exploit here, to see if your machine is affected. You should probably use firefox until a patch is released.
comment posted at 9:15 AM on Feb-21-06

45King Perhaps you'll remember his 1-900 song that Ed Lover used to (and still apparently does) shake his ass to. Turns out the guy -- 45 King -- has been producing into the modern age. The interface runs the gamut from "OK" to "barely passes", though doesn't overly interfere with your download and enjoyment of beats, loops and YES!!! More beats! • Caution: may make noise come out your speakers • please enjoy [with help from the good folks at 32944...]
comment posted at 11:23 PM on Feb-20-06

What song was #1 (in the U.S.) on the day you were born? On my b'day, it was "Stuck on You" by Elvis the Pelvis
comment posted at 12:11 PM on Feb-20-06

Don't take your sexual frustration out on your bass guitar. The Bass Player Cycle of Abuse: 1) Bass player joins band. 2) Bass player resents getting less groupie sex than rest of band. 3) Bass player misdirects their resentment and creates one of these.
comment posted at 10:14 PM on Feb-19-06

A Blinding Flash of the Obvious "The city is too beautiful of a city to be known around the world as the capital of exclusion and intolerance." He was right. Now, a 22-minute film documents the successful fight to repeal an anti-gay ordinance in Cincinnati last year. The campaign was successful because it was honest, and because it included people of faith.
comment posted at 12:07 PM on Feb-16-06

Red State, Meet Police State --take a big anti-Bush bumper sticker, some DHS cops, and an outspoken and educated federal employee. Put them in Boise, Idaho. Mix well. "It's the First Amendment for a reason--not the last, not the middle. The first."
comment posted at 8:39 AM on Feb-16-06
comment posted at 11:37 AM on Feb-16-06
comment posted at 11:55 AM on Feb-16-06

Has oil already peaked? Princeton University geology Professor Kenneth Deffeyes argues that it has, based on the fact that oil production should peak when half the worlds oil has been produced. According to him, that happened in December of 2005, at 1.0065 trillion barrels. critics claim that new methods and economic effects should prevent peak oil from happening, although global oil discovery actually peaked in the 1960s. Meanwhile stock speculators are making mad bank betting on peak oil today.
comment posted at 8:14 AM on Feb-16-06

The Nissan Terranaut. Quite the vehicle.
comment posted at 1:54 PM on Feb-15-06

Edgeio- Now that Craigslist is beginning to charge ten bucks for each real estate listing, how long will it be until nothing can be posted there for free? Enter Edgeio: a site that will trawl blogs for posts tagged as a "listing", and then neatly index them for you. Are people going to want to do this? Explained here and evaluated here.
comment posted at 10:30 AM on Feb-15-06

60 "secret" Abu Ghraib photos have been leaked to the Sydney Morning Herald. (Warning, very NSFW and disturbing.) They are thought to be among those viewed in private by U.S. senators following a May, 2004 hearing and "withheld from the public to protect the integrity of military trials and to avoid further inflaming America's enemies."
comment posted at 8:50 AM on Feb-15-06

Cheney's "victim" has heart attack after birdshot moves to his heart. (washington post) previously discussed here.
comment posted at 1:52 PM on Feb-14-06

Lawyers Group Says Bush Exceeds His Powers [found at Linkfilter] The American Bar Association denounced President Bush's warrantless domestic surveillance program Monday, accusing him of exceeding his powers under the Constitution.
comment posted at 11:39 AM on Feb-14-06

Anderson Cooper's (blog's) Valentine's Day post: "Vaginal rejuvenation costs thousands of dollars and is done with a laser..."
comment posted at 9:43 AM on Feb-14-06

The Price of Payola and Fake News? 1.6 billion dollars for just 2003-5 alone. The GAO's new report lays it out. That's how much seven federal departments spent from 2003 through the second quarter of 2005 on 343 contracts with public relations firms, advertising agencies, media organizations and individuals, according to a new Government Accountability Office report. ... The new report reveals that federal public relations spending goes far beyond "video news releases." (full report is a PDF download from there) And there's another scandal coming, if Wonkette has it right.
comment posted at 9:58 AM on Feb-14-06
comment posted at 10:08 AM on Feb-14-06

Newsfilter: U.S. and Israel looking for ways to "oust" Hamas
comment posted at 10:40 PM on Feb-13-06

An Australian Government Member of Parliament (MP) will be trying to amend a crucial piece of legislation which, if the amendment is successful, will make it far harder (if not impossible) for Australian women to gain access to abortion drug RU486 because of fears that making it easier for women to access the drug will lead Australia down a path of Islamisation. "I've actually read in the Daily Telegraph where a certain imam from the Lakemba mosque actually said that Australia is going to be a Muslim nation in 50 years' time. I didn't believe him at the time but when you actually look at the birthrates... we are aborting ourselves almost out of existence." Liberal MP Danna Vale said today. Has she been reading Metafilter?
comment posted at 9:10 AM on Feb-13-06

"I'm worried, Larry. A financial planner counsels his client: "...I think it's imperative that we start to budget and plan. New purchases should be kept to a minimum. We need to establish and execute on a diversification game plan, to eliminate (yes, eliminate) all debt and build up a significant, conservatively structured, liquid investment portfolio...." Sound advice, but you wouldn't have thought this dickhead gentleman would need it.
comment posted at 6:42 PM on Feb-12-06

Cheney accidently shoots a hunter. oops.
comment posted at 4:08 PM on Feb-12-06
comment posted at 4:43 PM on Feb-12-06

"We can't do anything about it. We just have to obey." Fulton (Mo.) High School drama students learn that resistance is futile.
comment posted at 5:17 PM on Feb-11-06
comment posted at 5:21 PM on Feb-11-06

Did you know that Marilyn Monroe was colorblind? Me neither. How about November being national gingivitis awareness month? No? Well, I'm sure I'm the last person to find out that the standard 52-card deck was originally used as a calendar before it was used for gaming purposes. And that Gershwin is the only composer to have written an orchestral part for the conch shell. Oh, oh, and you know why you close your eyes when you sneeze? Turns out it's because otherwise the pressure behind them would be sufficient to pop them out of their sockets. Don't believe me?
comment posted at 7:50 AM on Feb-11-06

South Dakota House approves sweeping abortion ban Although saying they personally abhor abortion, opponents made several unsuccessful attempts to make exceptions in cases of rape and incest, and to protect pregnant women whose health may be endangered.
comment posted at 12:21 PM on Feb-10-06
comment posted at 12:33 PM on Feb-10-06
comment posted at 12:35 PM on Feb-10-06

He liked blue. In fact, he patented his own blue. He like to claim that he could fly unaided. There was a movie. In it, he colored naked women blue and had them make a painting. The film treated this comically, and he was crushed. Two weeks after the film opened, he died of a heart attack.
comment posted at 12:41 PM on Feb-10-06

We could bomb Iran. But we wouldn't really know what to hit because we don't know enough about Iran's nuclear program. If the Russians don't work something out, maybe helping Iran is the best way to figure out what they have and to stop them from getting the bomb.
comment posted at 7:28 AM on Feb-10-06

Abramoff says Bush is lying. "Having my picture taken with someone doesn't mean that I'm a friend with them or know them very well." - George W. Bush, Jan. 26, 2006.

"The guy saw me in almost a dozen settings and joked with me about a bunch of things, including details of my kids. Perhaps he has forgotten everything, who knows." - Jack Abramoff

Mr. Abramoff, who raised over $100,000 for the Bush campaign, also indicated that he was sent a personal invitation to stay at the President's Texas ranch.
comment posted at 7:36 AM on Feb-10-06

A little known white guy made at least $6.4m out of hip-hop last year [NYTimes]. Scott Storch has produced 50 Cent, Beyonce and Lil Kim; in fact he made eighty tracks in 2005 and is working on Paris Hilton's new album. He thinks it's because of his low profile that he didn't get a grammy nomination and he's upset.
comment posted at 3:48 PM on Feb-9-06
comment posted at 3:54 PM on Feb-9-06
comment posted at 3:58 PM on Feb-9-06

Chuck Norris Facts bears a strange resemblance to an old favourite.
comment posted at 10:12 AM on Feb-9-06
comment posted at 10:18 AM on Feb-9-06

U.S. Force Feeding Prisoners at Guantánamo [NY Times]. In response to hunger strikes, U.S. military authorities have taken tougher measures to force-feed detainees. This is accomplished using the sometimes deadly restraint chair, also known as the "we care chair". Well, that's what they get for being terrorists, right?[pdf]
comment posted at 7:01 AM on Feb-9-06