An illuminating Timeline of Rove/Scooter-Gate, in case there was any doubt that the Bush administration is rotten to the core.

Forgotten Bach aria turns up in shoebox

RuneScape - adventure game by Jagex Ltd

A British Flash animation protest against "ID cards and the database state", sung to the tune of "The Very Model of a Modern Major General" from Gilbert and Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance".

Flashback from 9/16/2003: slate.msn.com: Did Rove Blow a Spook's Cover? :

Q: On the Robert Novak-Joseph Wilson situation, Novak reported earlier this year quoting "anonymous government sources" telling him that Wilson's wife was a CIA operative. Now, this is apparently a federal offense, to burn the cover [of] a CIA operative. Wilson now believes that the person who did this was Karl Rove. He's quoted from a speech last month as saying, "At the end of the day, it's of keen interest to me to see whether or not we can get Karl Rove frog-marched out of the White House in handcuffs." Did Karl Rove tell that—

A: [Scott McClellan]: I haven't heard that. That's just totally ridiculous. But we've already addressed this issue. If I could find out who anonymous people were, I would. I just said, it's totally ridiculous.

Q: But did Karl Rove do it?

A: I said, it's totally ridiculous.

Sign the petition: JohnKerry.com: Karl Rove must go:

Mr. President, despite carefully worded denials, it is now apparent that your most senior advisor discussed the identity of an undercover CIA agent with a reporter. His clear aim was to discredit that agent’s husband who had dared to challenge the administration in the buildup to the war. You cannot remain silent. Fire Karl Rove.

Leaking the name of an undercover CIA agent during wartime (the Global War on Terror, don't ya know) is treason. But I'm still waiting to hear Attorney General Alberto "Torture Memo" Gonzales call for Rove's prosecution. If there were any justice, Rove would be bundled off to Gitmo for interrogation by specialists from... the CIA.

From johnhawkes.net: Max-Planck Institute aims to build Neandertal genome:

The project, which involves isolating genetic fragments from fossils of the prehistoric beings who originally inhabited Europe, is being carried out at the Leipzig-based institute.

[...]
"To you graduate students in Leipzig, please watch out! I know that many archaeologists think Neandertals were dumb. But you can bet that if the velociraptors could learn to open doorknobs, then cloned Neandertals can too."

AlterNet: Who's Watching the Watch List? By John Graham:

My name is on a list of real and suspected enemies of the state and I can't find out what I'm accused of or why, let alone defend myself.
[...]
I don't think it's like Germany in 1936 -- but, look at Germany in 1930. Primed by National Socialist propaganda to stay fearful and angry, Germans in droves refused to see the right's extreme views and actions as a threat to their liberties.

And don't forget that frog. You know that frog. Dropped into a pot of boiling water, he jumps out to safety. But put him into a pot of cold water over a steady flame, he won't realize the danger until it's too late to jump.

The Great Tree-List Recursion Problem -- "one of the neatest recursive pointer problems ever devised".

CommonDreams.org: Supreme Court - Media Ignore Possible "Fascist" Play:

What nobody seems to be noticing, though, is what may well be the real agenda of George W. Bush and those around him - neo-fascism. For this agenda, Alberto Gonzales is the perfect man.
[...]
An administration that can use the final imprimatur of the Supreme Court to "disappear" dissidents, corral Democratic Party campaigners into "free speech zones" with guns and bayonets, and declare a perpetual "war on terror" to prevent any investigations of its failures and crimes doesn't need to worry about the politics of abortion.

How many nanofactories does it take to create a utility fog?

A warning about the Aunt Edna Virus & postcards.gif.exe from the justifiably irate webmaster at postcards.org:

"On December 10th, 2004, some jerk released onto the internet what has come to be known as the 'Aunt Edna Virus.' Basically, that person faked one of our notification emails by switching out the links for links to an infected website. (No, our site is not infected.)

Update: Now there's a second person out there spamming people with a fake greeting card notice, slandering our site. The title of this newest abomination is 'You've received a postcard from a family member!', and actually links to www.postcards.home.ro/postcard.gif.exe. We believe it was sent by someone that refers to himself as 'Dani MAD'. If you happen to know who he is -- we're assuming it's a he, since most she's have better things to do -- please, let us know. And if you see him, please accidentally throw something sharp at him."

"Mr President, I'll fly my flag at half staff on July 4"

Hubble Telescope Finds Eye of Sauron:

A spectacular, luminous ring offers the best evidence yet that a nearby star is circled by a newly formed solar system.

Mike at rantburg.com says:

"If they confirm the existence of a planet, I vote they name it 'Mordor.'"

Listen to amazing ukelele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro play "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", and check out Jake in Concert at Midnight Ukelele Disco. I also like David Hornbuckle's tender rendition of "Lip Smackin' Woman", which comes from the "bottom" of his heart, to be sure.

Bush sets up domestic spy service:

The FBI is to be re-organised, and will include another new intelligence body called the National Security Service.
[...]
Other measures include an executive order allowing US authorities to seize the assets of any person or any company thought to be aiding the spread of WMD.

So now, when agents from the National Security Service show up to ask you to name names, they can threaten you with indefinite detention and throwing your family out onto the street.

Demanding cowbellists rely on Rad Monkey Electric Cowbells for "ear-drum splitting power, allowing your cowbell to cut through any sonic onslaught". And coming soon: the Rad Monkey VLC800 -- "the world's first digital modelling cowbell! Onboard DSP accurately models 12 of the world's most sought after cowbells." I dunno -- The Escher West sounds suspiciously like the Oregon Trail Model 75 to me, but then, I'm no connoisseur. More cowbell!

From "Autism, mercury, and politics" (OpEd, Boston Globe, 7/1/2005):

"In 2000, the CDC met with pharmaceutical companies and the FDA in secret to review its findings linking Thimerosal with the dramatic rise in neurological illnesses. According to transcripts, participants were alarmed about the undeniable links between the Thimerosal and widespread brain damage in children. Dr. Bill Weil told the group, ''You can play with [the results] all you want. They are statistically significant.' Dr. Richard Johnston admitted he feared his grandchild getting a Thimerosal-containing vaccine. But the group was most concerned with keeping the findings secret. ''Consider this embargoed information,' said Dr. Roger Bernier, a senior director at the National Immunization Program, at the meeting's close. "

From Roger Bernier's testimony on the CDC's Vaccine Safety Research Activities before the House Committee on Government Reform, June 19, 2002:

In mid-1999, the United States Public Health Service agencies, including NIH, FDA, HRSA, and CDC took action, working collaboratively with the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the vaccine manufacturers, to begin removing thimerosal preservative from the vaccine supply. While the risk of harm was only theoretical, the decision was made as a precautionary measure in order to reduce overall mercury exposure of infants. As a result of this action, all manufacturers are now producing only vaccines that are free of thimerosal as a preservative for routine infant immunization.

From Thimerosal & Autsim - David Kirby's Evidence of Harm, June 27, 2005:

Thimerosal began to be slowly removed from vaccines in late 1999. 'That means new vaccines started to be produced without mercury in them,' Kirby said, 'But as we know, all the vaccines on the shelf with mercury stayed on the shelves -- there was never a recall.'
[...]
The bottom line Kirby says, 'We do know that kids were getting mercury right up through 2002, and perhaps later. We also know that it is in the flu shots,' he adds.
[...]
Or put another way, 'To cling to a purely genetic explanation for autism is a desperate attempt to maintain the illusion that one lives in a comfortable and rational world where new chemicals and technologies always mean progress; experts are always objective and thorough; corporations are honest; and authorities can be trusted,' says Harvard's Martha Herbert, 'That human actions, rather than genes, might be responsible for compromising the health of a significant proportion of a whole generation is so painful as to be, for many, unthinkable.'