Annals of Democracy, cont'd.

U.S. Representative John Conyers of Michigan was recently photographed thumbing through a porn magazine while flying back from D.C. Some are outraged by this latest breach of decorum. I feel you folks but when I consider who he's married to and the fact that he's 81 years * old I give him a pass on how he gets his jollies. Conyers could be a little more discrete about it though.

(* Skip to about the five minute market to see ol' John nod off.)

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End the BP oil spill with the (non-nuclear) Mother-of-All-Bombs? - Wired
Might as well try it. Should have tried this six weeks ago. MOAB
Porn websites dripping with malware and other nasty surprises - BBC (via Slashdot.org)
Plastic anti-bodies fight off antigens in the body just like the real thing - Popular Science
The post-human age awaits us all...
How to scare off mountain lions - Outdoors (The Gear Guy blog)
Hmm...how about shouting, or using a whistle, or a fog horn, pepper spray, or even a .44 Magnum? Doubt it. Unlike bear you'll never see or hear the big cat till she's right on top of you.

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Hiding prOn on your computer - Gizmodo (J. Herman)

Space rays causing Toyota's "sudden acceleration" phenomenon? -Detroit Free Press (J. Hyde)

NYC's schools "rubber room" for teachers - NY Post

Just like a jail cell except that they get full salary and benefits and can go home at night.

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Wall Street big-shot says desperate unemployed may start rioting soon - Detroit News
"We have a history of being very law-abiding, being governed by the rule of law," he said. "But at some point, if people become desperate enough, laws won't make any difference."

California to require porn actors to use condoms - LA Times

Austin TX hacker disables more than a hundred cars - Wired
Wikileaks leaks classified report about Wikileaks - Ars Technica
Oh the irony.

Five years or less is all the USA has left - Fred Reed

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Why California wines aren't selling - Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Unhappy Hipsters - Features images of modern architecture and interior design along with angst-y commentary.
The world's oldest known "Swiss Army Knife-type" pocket tool. - Gizmodo
1800+ years ago it was probably carried by a Roman Legionnaire in southern France.
Philip K. Dick, an uneasy spy inside 1970s suburbia - LA Times
A serialized bio of Dick's life and times.
In re the MacMillan vs. Amazon dust-up and why I don't buy proprietary e-books. - WSJ
It's bad enough trying to keep up with the technology just to be able to access the media I've already purchased over the years, but the idea of having big chunks of my data and media made unavailable because of corporate pissing matches about DRM, licensing, and such, that I have decided that I am gonna stick with dead-tree editions, CDs, DVDs other hard copy stuff, as inconvenient as that is, until this stuff gets settled. If it ever does.
Japanese company makes machine to recycle office paper into toilet paper. - Popular Science
That stuff is mostly ass-wipe material to begin with anyhow. Heh.
The myth of "rogue states" - Newsweek
"Porn is simply victims of abuse making the best of a terrible situation." - Taki's Magazine
The Secessionist Campaign for the Republic of Vermont - Time
"It's an abusive relationship we have with the central government," says Peter Garritano, a square-jawed 54-year-old Subaru sales manager who is running for lieutenant governor. 'We know it's scary to leave the abusive nest. It's a comfort zone in its own way. But we think we'll do better leaving.' "
Is Bill Gate's new website running on Linux? - TechCrunch
No, but...
Is Illegal Garbage Dumping Making the Mediterranean Toxic?-Scientific American
Bank bailouts created more risk in system - SF Chronicle
Kicking ass for Jesus - SF Weekly
A movie review of the Hughes brother's film The Book of Eli

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