New morph: Boy2Bear 3

New morph: Boy2Bear 3

Why History Can't Wait - Person of the Year 2008

Media Noche

• Foreign Policy: The Top 10 Stories You Missed in 2008
• The Year in Media Errors and Corrections
• The 10 Worst Media Moments Of 2008

Tom Tomorrow's 2008: 1 | 2 Salon

The Onion's Year in Review

• World Affairs
• The Economy
• Politics
• The Environment
• Entertainment

The Year in Science

Merry Christmas! New morph and new stories: The Figurines by RdyRoger, The HIMS.3 10 by F_R_Eaky and Uberteen 7 by muscl4life

Merry Christmas, and I'll hop back in just before New Year's. See you guys next week.

New morph: Biceps 2

New stories:

• The Figurines by RdyRoger
• The HIMS.3 10 by F_R_Eaky
• Überteen 7 by muscl4life

So this is Christmas

• What's behind Christmas traditions – and just how traditional are they?
• Wondermark's hilarious holiday cards
• Fantasy Flight at Dulles Delivers Holiday Magic
• "Money's scarce / Times are hard / Here's your fucking / X'mas card"
• A Jewish parent's guide to Christmas specials
• The Grinch Delusion: An Atheist Can Believe in Christmas
• School board reinstates Rudolph, Santa

The Star

Santa

• Scared of Santa photos
• Santa Speedo Run 2008
• "I love Satan"

Happy Holidays from dymondbolt

New story: Meeting in the Middle by in2other

New story: Meeting in the Middle by in2other

Lego

• Living in a Lego wonderland: Family build Christmas-themed church ... with 250,000 bricks
• 60,000-Piece Lego Star Wars Hoth Diorama Features LEDs, Footprints
• 20 Classic Hip Hop Album Covers Recreated in LEGO Format
• 20 Essential Works of Lego Art and Design
• The Lego Minifig Timeline

Toys

• The ultimate boys' toy--The largest remote-controlled tank on sale in the world.
• Finally, a Robo-Pet That's Not Annoying, Pathetic, or Scary
• Stick entered into Toy Hall of Fame--Joining every kid's non-branded favorite: the box.
• The Private Lives of Toys
• Games & Toys Made Less Fun

New story: Always Try the House Blend 2 by Flashpoint

New story: Always Try the House Blend 2 by Flashpoint

Bush Insider Who Planned To Tell All Killed In Plane Crash: Non-Profit Demands Full Federal Investigation--Nope, nothing to see here folks.

Economy

• Dude, where's my $700 billion?--Congress handed Wall Street a huge wad of cash to jump-start the economy. It didn't work -- so where did all that money go? Salon
• Madoff arrest raises questions about SEC oversight--His Ponzi scheme could even bring down who came out ahead.
• Progressives were right about the financial crisis Salon
• S.E.C. Image Suffers in a String of Setbacks
• Financial Crisis, Housing Crisis, Recession, Budget Crisis, What It Means to Your Financial Planning
• The $10 trillion hangover: Paying the price for eight years of Bush Harpers.org
• Fannie Mae to Let Renters Stay in Foreclosed Homes
• World's oldest profession, too, feels crisis
• AP study finds $1.6B went to bailed-out bank execs
• $700 Billion Bailout Celebrated With Lavish $800 Billion Executive Party The Onion

If criminal penalties are removed, what will deter lawbreaking by political officials?--The Washington Post's Ruth Marcus advocates the ultimate self-contradictory claim: we need to forget about prosecutions in order to "ensure it never happens again" Salon

New story: Stupid Cupid 7 by baboonfan

New story: Stupid Cupid 7 by baboonfan

How the hell did Rick Warren get inauguration tickets? Salon

Gay Marriage

• Calif. AG urges court to void gay marriage ban
• Group seeks to void gay marriages
• Our Mutual Joy: Opponents of gay marriage often cite Scripture. But what the Bible teaches about love argues for the other side.
• Evangelical leader resigns after admitting "shift" on gay marriage
• Not Another Word on Gay Marriage Until They Execute an Adulterer

Former CIO sues Diskeeper claims he was fired for not participating in Scientology training

UK and Religion

• Church and state could separate in UK, says Archbishop of Canterbury--And this is a bad thing how?
• Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor: Britain is 'unfriendly' for religious people
• Anger as school cancels panto for Muslim festival

Yeah, But My God Is Bigger Than Your God

New story: Ursa Major 11 by xythan_shadow

New story: Ursa Major 11 by xythan_shadow

Death

• Man dies in Quebec cemetery after tombstone falls on him
• Aspiring chef dies hours after making ultra-hot sauce for chilli-eating contest
• Man Killed for Hogging Karaoke Mic
• Man dies in Bonn porn video booth
• Father 'killed in samurai sword attack after neighbours clashed over child's football'

Hey cuss

• The Court and 'Fleeting Expletives'
• FCC Married by America crusade on hold pending SCOTUS ruling
• Mom says computer Scrabble game swears
• No cussing in court - Part 2
• Ducking an iPhone Annoyance

New story: The HIMS.3 9 by F_R_Eaky

New story: The HIMS.3 9 by F_R_Eaky

MPAA

• MPAA Asks Obama for More Copyright Surveillance of the Internet
• MPAA: opposition to selectable output control "astonishing"
• MPAA Says No Proof Needed in P2P Copyright Infringement Lawsuits
• An Essay Concerning MPAA Understanding of 'Making Available' in the P2P Context
• MPAA Admits Mistake on Downloading Study

DRM

• BBC episode rescued by illegal home taper -- the sort of thing the Beeb is stamping out with DRM
• EU bashes DRM, won't support "three strikes" rules--France wanted to cut off internet access for alleged copyright infringers.
• Sleet

DMCA

• Fixing DMCA takedown problems through shaming, legal reform
• 10 Years Later, Misunderstood DMCA is the Law That Saved the Web
• Coupons, Inc. drops DMCA lawsuit against coupon hacker

New story: An Ogre in Albion by Richard Jasper

New story: An Ogre in Albion by Richard Jasper

Holocaust

• Polish Jew gave his life defining, fighting genocide
• The last remaining Holocaust survivors share memories and pain
• Holocaust Hero Honored
• Holocaust survivor prepares for bar mitzvah
• Israel jails 8 Jewish neo-Nazis--One was the grandson of a Holocaust survivor.

Remember the Holodomor

War stories

• We've Completed Our Mission': Little Rock Nine, Tuskegee Airmen Receive Invitations to Witness the Fruits of Their Struggle
• Memorial to 'infamous' hero
• A soldier's courage, obscure since WWI, is given due tribute
• How 'Kilroy Was Here' Changed the World
• Spitfire ace who is among the last of the few

New morph: Boy2Bear 2

New morph: Boy2Bear 2

Bush gets shoed--A gesture of extreme disrespect.

• Iraq rally for Bush shoe attacker
• Shoe thrower 'beaten in custody'--And suffered "a broken arm, broken ribs and internal bleeding".
• Dissent: What Will Become of the Baghdad Shoe Thrower?

War on Terror

• Cheney admits authorizing detainee's torture
• Investigating John Yoo--Why it's legitimate to investigate the Bush lawyers who may have approved war crimes
• Appeals court puts restrictions on NSL gag orders--Parts of PATRIOT Act unconstitutional

Politics

• A little Blago for everyone--The gift that keeps on giving.
• Fuck Nader
• Just like rape--Faux-outrage.

New story: Legacy 2 by Redkage

New story: Legacy 2 by Redkage

Work Problems

• Disgruntled call centre worker 'froze customer's bank account in revenge prank'
• Fired? Don't delete your company's Exchange database
• When Complaining About Your Job Becomes a Privacy Violation

Internet-ional

• Censorship Group Removes Wikipedia Blacklisting--Follow-up on the UK-based filtering service's overreaction over a non-pornographic album cover
• France ban on internet alcohol advertising hits industry
• Dutch court imposes real-world punishment for virtual theft--IMO, the punishment was for the assault.
• Digiturk causes Turkish ban of Blogger/Blogspot--All about the money.
• German Wikipedia Back Online After Controversial Shutdown

New story: Always Try the House Blend by Flashpoint

New story: Always Try the House Blend by Flashpoint

W's Warrantless Wiretapping

• The Whistleblower Who Exposed Warrantless Wiretaps
• Why Justice Lawyers Defied President Bush
• Govt. Looks for Leaker on Warrantless Wiretaps

Your Government at Work

• Bush sneaks through host of laws to undermine Obama
• Executive Pay Limits May Prove Toothless: Loophole in Bailout Provision Leaves Enforcement in Doubt--"At the last minute, the Bush administration insisted on a one-sentence change to the provision."
• Fed Refuses to Disclose Recipients of $2 Trillion
• White House documents found to be altered
• Official History Spotlights Iraq Rebuilding Blunders--This "$100 billion failure" plus how Pentagon pro-troop group misspent millions, who knows just how much money was lost?

Bush'd

• For Bush's staff, upbeat talking points on his tenure--Lying until the end.
• Shoes thrown at Bush on Iraq trip--In his attempt to rewrite history, he defends the war as "necessary for American security, Iraqi hope and world peace." Hello Miss Congeniality.
• 'Thank You George W. Bush' Webmaster Furiously Scrubbing Site

New story: Green Legacy 6 by Jaypat

New story: Green Legacy 6 by Jaypat

Bible probably not true, says George Bush--Parts of it literally aren't.

Religion vs. Abortion

• Protests Over a Rule to Protect Health Providers
• Why do we protect the moral convictions of only some health workers?
• Lithwick: Doctors Face New Abortion Rules

Madonna gets a bad review from Chilean cardinal [Thanks Mike!]

Render Unto Caesar

• EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson On Religion And Science: 'It's Not A Clean-Cut Division'
• Atheists want God out of Ky. homeland security
• Under God: It's Time to Update the Pledge

Vatican Forgives Lennon's Controversial Jesus Slam

New story: Ursa Major 10 by xythan_shadow

New story: Ursa Major 10 by xythan_shadow

Privacy

• 17 judges, one ruling - and 857,000 records must be now wiped clear--Undettered, the UK will still keep DNA records of arrested--not convicted--individuals.
• UK police: 'We need crime breathalysers for PCs'
• ISP's secret opt-in advertising test draws the UK's ire

Driving

• 13 Dumbest Drivers in the World
• You park like an asshole
• Why you shouldn't park in front of a fire hydrant
• Text driving 'worse than drink'
• Britain's most banned driver
• German traffic cops angered by British driver who mocks traffic cams with a Muppet
• American jailed for crash, drove on right

New story: The HIMS.3 8 by F_R_Eaky

New story: The HIMS.3 8 by F_R_Eaky

Greed

• Capitalist Fools--"Behind the debate over remaking U.S. financial policy will be a debate over who's to blame. It's crucial to get the history right...."
• Top Trader Is Accused of Defrauding Clients--"[T]he criminal complaint filed against Mr. Madoff ... reports that he estimated the losses at $50 billion." How can one man cause so much damage?
• Internal Warnings Sounded on Loans At Fannie, Freddie
• Thain Spars With Board Over Bonus at Merrill--He's dropped the bid, but the fact the Merill board "applauded the Thain-led management team's superb performance in an exceptionally challenging environment" is shocking.
• The Tribune Company has filed for bankruptcy--It appears that this has a lot to do with the "dumb money" tactics of billionaire Sam Zell, who'll be getting off easier than his employees.

Bailout

• Auto Bailout Talks Collapse as Senate Deadlocks Over Wages--The GOP's revenge against organized labor.
• The Mistake in Bailouts
• Detroit Churches Pray for 'God's Bailout'

New story: Sugar Packets 4 by Rdyroger

New story: Sugar Packets 4 by Rdyroger

Comics

• Reflections: Secret Skin
• The crime that created Superman: Did fatal robbery spawn Man of Steel?
• Is it a bird? Is it a plane? It's No Heroics: An ITV sitcom about superheroes who bitch and moan
• The Comic Book Periodic Table of the Elements
• The Shield: I'm not saying he's GAY, exactly...--Come see his secret origin!

'Farscape' Creator Rockne O'Bannon Brings Series Back — As A Comic Book--I'm so frelling (though these days I'm just as likely to say 'frakking') getting this.

Pull Lists

• 5 Comic Superheroes Who Made a Real-World Difference
• The 7 Crappiest "Super Heroes" in Comic Book History
• The 11 Lamest Supervillains in History, Ever
• 12 Comic Book Ads That Taught Us To Be Cynical
• The 12 Dumbest Spider-Man Stories Ever (Besides the Clone Saga)

The End of Men--One of my favorite series, Y: The Last Man, comes to a close. Salon

New morph: Biceps

New morph: Biceps

Obama

• Court Won't Review Obama's Eligibility to Serve--Aw, they didn't go with Justice Clarence Thomas.
• Why the stories about Obama's birth certificate will never die Salon
• New tape confirms: Obama Not Born in the U.S.

Pushback

• Court: Lawsuit over missing White House e-mails must continue
• Judge Declares Five Detainees Held Illegally
• Brennan Withdraws From Consideration for Administration Post--Torturers and their enablers need not apply.

Republicans

• Mike Huckabee: GOP should take blame for election losses
• RedState: We Lost Because We Suck
• The Republican comeback of 2010 Salon

New story: The Loyal Businessman by in2other

New story: The Loyal Businessman by in2other (mc animal tf)

ZOMG! Think of the Children

• Brit ISPs censor Wikipedia over 'child porn' album cover--They're watching everything that you're doing.
• Wikipedia row escalates as internet watchdog considers censoring Amazon US over Scorpions image--Big brother is here.
• Cowabunga! Simpsons porn on the PC equals child pornography--Just wait till the Australian government goes after other depictions that "could 'fuel demand for material that does involve the abuse of children.'" With this thoughtcrime-punishing precedent, what will stop any prosecutions that are based on what "could" happen?
• Are we too afraid of touch?--Boy, I can't wait to see just how screwed up this upcoming generation of kids will turn out to be.
• Man Says He Was Arrested For Posting Baby Swinging Video--This is child abuse?

Censorship

• YouTube comes down hard on porn ads, suggestive content
• Mom wants to ban, burn Bunny Suicides
• Pupils can beat safe net filters--The more sex is made taboo, the more they'll want to get it.
• MTV Bleeps File Sharing Software Out Of Music Videos--Weird Al speaks out about being censored.
• A victory for the terrorists

New story: Legacy by Redkage

New story: Legacy by Redkage

Economy

• Obama Warns of Further Economic Pain
• Paul Krugman's depression economics Salon
• Taxpayers out billions so far on bank holdings
• Profiles in Panic--How are the rich living these days?
• WWKD: What Would Keynes Do?
• Debt watchdogs: Tamed or caught napping?
• U.S. Loses 533,000 Jobs in November; Joblessness at 6.7%
• The Worst Is Yet To Come: Anonymous Banker Weighs In On The Coming Credit Card Debacle
• Harvard endowment loses $8.1b of its value
• MBA Cabby Aims Hire

New story: Big Apes on Campus by Texzilla

New story: Big Apes on Campus by Texzilla

Prop. 8

• Same-Sex Setback --"Don't blame Mormons or black voters - the California activists who tried to stop Prop 8 ran a lousy campaign."
• Boycotts that Backfire
• S.F. archbishop defends role in Prop. 8 passage
• Poll: Calif. gay marriage ban driven by religion--And ignorance.
• "Prop 8 - The Musical" starring Jack Black, John C Reilly

Religulous

• Bishop attacks use of "ridiculous" Christian names [Thanks Mike!]
• Teenager banned from wearing Christian chastity ring at school--The ol' religion vs. uniform debate
• Does Religion Make You Nice?

New story: Ursa Major 9 by xythan_shadow

New story: Ursa Major 9 by xythan_shadow

Iraq'd

• Bush regrets Iraqi WMD failure-Nonetheless says the invasion was justified
• I'm Still Tortured by What I Saw in Iraq
• Lying to the mother of a dead soldier Salon
• Iraq translators' mask ban dropped
• Soldier finds his voice blogging from Iraq
• Soldier's adopted dog finally leaves Iraq for U.S.
• Girl Gets Surprise Visit From Deployed Dad

War on Terror

• No Court Order Needed to Spy on Americans Overseas, Appeals Court Rules
• Would-be LAX bomber is resentenced to 22 years
• How the media talks about torture and the rule of law Salon
• Behavioral screening -- the future of airport security?
• Charges Dropped Against 9/11 Rescue Worker due to Hero Status--Huh.

New story: The HIMS.3 7 by F_R_Eaky

New story: The HIMS.3 7 by F_R_Eaky

Net Filtering Down Under

• Australian firewall trials start--See how it's supposed to work or not.
• ISP-level content filtering won't work
• Labor's Mandatory ISP Internet Blocking Plan
• Filtering out the fury: how government tried to gag web censor critics
• Aussie govt: Don't criticize our (terrible) 'Net filters
• Net censorship plan backlash
• Anti Internet filtering rebels hit the streets

New story: Robby's Imaginary Muscleman 4 by Londonboy

New story: Robby's Imaginary Muscleman 4 by Londonboy

Telecom Immunity

• In Courtroom Showdown, Bush Demands Amnesty for Spying Telecoms
• Feds to Judge: Don't 'Second Guess' Bush Domestic Spy Program
• Judge Questions Telecom Immunity

Marijuana

• U.S. Supreme Court: State Medical Marijuana Laws Not Preempted by Federal Law--California prevails.
• Marijuana, a growing battle
• Legalize it--With a recession in sight, the case for legalizing marijuana and taxing it for government revenue seems more practical than ever.
• Aspirin vs. Marijuana
• Beer maker wins fight to market 'Legal Weed'

New morph: Boy2Bear

New morph: For the month of Decem-bear, I'll be posting all-new morphs every week. Watch Boy2Bear.

Bad for Business

• Officials Vow to Act Amid Forecasts of Long Recession--Which started in December 2007.
• They were warned
• AIG Gives 'Retention' Pay After Scrapping Bonuses--These guys keep finding ways to reward their failure.

Cops

• Police mistake widow's tomato plants for cannabis factory
• Baltimore Police Run Out of 36, 38 Pants
• Case pits police radar against GPS in teen's car
• Babies on the beat: Two 16-year-olds are recruited as community bobbies
• Civilians given power to issue on-the-spot fines
• Officer defends use of Taser on pregnant 18-year-old and firefighter--"He was just playing around."
• Highway Patrol sued by its sexual harassment instructor

New story: A McNight in Mark's Workout Gear by zulator

New story: A McNight in Mark's Workout Gear by zulator

Tech Cases

• Issues in the Cyberbullying Case That Affect You--While the outcome does help the victim's family, the decision may victimize the rest of us.
• Telco appeals city's fiber-optic win--There's just too much money at stake.
• Teacher in porn popup case dodges jail but loses creds
• EHarmony to offer same-sex matches after New Jersey settlement
• Man who was sold the wrong phone on eBay is sued by seller after leaving 'negative feedback'

Tech Lists

• How 10 Famous Technology Products Got Their Names
• List of problems solved by MacGyver
• The Thirteen Greatest Error Messages of All Time
• The 50 Best Rock & Roll Video Games of All Time
• DVICE: 5 tech predictions from 1968 that were dead-on (and 5 that were completely nuts)

Worlds AIDS Day; New story: A Change Could Do You Good 12 by Flashpoint

World AIDS Day

New story: A Change Could Do You Good 12 by Flashpoint

Craigslist

• Armored truck robber uses Craigslist to make getaway
• Craigslist Agrees to Curb Prostitution Ads
• Craigslist Scam Cleans Out Oregon Man: Who Should Pay?
• Craigslist Sex Troll Gets Sued
• Cash-Waving Craigslist Player's Fury: 'These Photos Are Mines'
• Nissan Xterra, $12,900--"OK, let me start off by saying this Xterra is only available for purchase by the manliest of men (or women). My friend, if it was possible for a vehicle to sprout chest hair and a five o'clock shadow, this Nissan would look like Tom Selleck. It is just that manly." And this just gets better.
• One laptop per prostate massage