we're from the government, we're here to help
eff_deeplinks: Gov't Files Statement of Interest in AT&T Case:
The United States filed today a "Statement of Interest" in EFF's class-action lawsuit against AT&T, which accuses the telecom giant of violating the law and the privacy of its customers by collaborating with the National Security Agency (NSA) in its massive and illegal program to wiretap and data-mine Americans' communications.
The statement advises "the Court that the United States intends to assert the military and state secrets privilege in this action. In addition, the United States will also move to intervene and to seek dismissal of this case."
that's how you know it's working!
So we're watching this band, and I say to Eric, "am I missing something, or are half of his drums not actually there?" The drummer had a big accoustic kit, but a bunch of what he was playing was pre-recorded. (Which struck me as unusual, because when people fake it, they tend to fake it with electronic instruments, not real ones, least of all real ones that they actually brought with them.)
So Eric says, "That's the only thing preventing them from being an alternative rock band!"
And I say, "oh, so it's the faking it that makes it be Industrial?"
Damned Dirty Apes
Socialists: Give apes human rights
The Spanish Socialist Party will introduce a bill in the Congress of Deputies calling for "the immediate inclusion of (simians) in the category of persons, and that they be given the moral and legal protection that currently are only enjoyed by human beings." The PSOE's justification is that humans share 98.4% of our genes with chimpanzees, 97.7% with gorillas, and 96.4% with orangutans.The party will announce its Great Ape Project at a press conference tomorrow. An organization with the same name is seeking a UN declaration on simian rights which would defend ape interests "the same as those of minors and the mentally handicapped of our species." According to the Project, "Today only members of the species Homo sapiens are considered part of the community of equals. The chimpanzee, the gorilla, and the orangutan are our species's closest relatives. They possess sufficient mental faculties and emotional life to justify their inclusion in the community of equals."
mark your calendars
These are the things you should be doing in the next few weeks:
Tags: dnalounge, firstperson, music, sf
Current Music: Terminal 46 -- Night of the Living Bassheads ♬
expected solution: widen the media exclusion perimiter
House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Ill., center, gets out of a Hydrogen Alternative Fueled automobile, left, as he prepares to board his SUV, which uses gasoline, after holding a news conference at a local gas station in Washington to discuss the recent rise in gas prices.
Hastert and other members of Congress drove off in the Hydrogen-Fueled cars only to switch to their official cars to drive the few blocks back to the U.S. Capitol. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Please, Jabba, don't hurt him
Also, I am horrified to learn that A) there is a Wookieepedia, B) there is a Wikipedia entry for it, and C) there is a Wookieepedia entry for that.
I, for one, welcome our new japanese mechagimp overlord vaporware
So 
this thing is in the news again, but I first saw pictures of it three years ago.
this thing is in the news again, but I first saw pictures of it three years ago.
The researchers say it could take another five years before the robot can be used by the elderly. At present, the device is slow and needs modifications to carry heavy loads.
I think it's time give up, guys. Or at least stop trotting out the same demo over and over. Or at least dress it up.
Up next: Amish porn
Muslim Athletic Wear Covers Skin Without Cramping Style:
A Muslim woman prepares to dive wearing swimwear specially designed to enhance athletic performance while upholding the Koranic principle of modesty.
What Would Jesus Drive?
Tags: doomed, grim meathook future, religion
Current Music: Replicator -- Warrior Needs Food, Badly. ♬