New story: Max Biggermen 2: C.O.P.S. by Alyn Roze and O'Melissokomos

New story: Max Biggermen 2: C.O.P.S. by Alyn Roze and O'Melissokomos

Creationism

• McCain's VP Wants Creationism Taught in School
• 10 Questions, and Answers, About Evolution
• A Teacher on the Front Line as Faith and Science Clash
• Quality Education Wins Again in the California Creationist Case
• Richard Dawkins blames Muslims for 'importing creationism' into classrooms
• Darwin latest target of DUP as creationists challenge evolution
• Dinosaurs helped build the pyramids, school director says
• Sweden cracks down on religious influences in schools

Bad Cops

• Officer in trouble over motorist's video in South County--Caught on tape
• 50 DUI cases dropped over cop's improper procedure
• NYC Cop Stripped Of Badge After Cyclist Slam
• N. Braddock to pay $100,000 to man Tasered in his home
• Cop demands free coffee, but not at this Starbucks
• Tennessean' reporter has background check by THP
• NYPD: Former Detective Arrested as 'Bling Bandit'

Surveillance

• NYPD's 'Operation Sentinel' To Track EVERYTHING
• Police Turn to Secret Weapon: GPS Device--Uh, not so fast.
• Swedish radio cops caught in warrantless surveillance scandal
• Surveillance video shows illegal search

New story: An American Muscleman in London 17 by Londonboy

New story: An American Muscleman in London 17 by Londonboy

Nude

• Judge rejects case against carpenter, saying he has right to work nude
• Prisoner allowed to go nude
• Naked Man Only One Comfortable With His Body The Onion

Shirtless

• Wearing a bikini and a smile
• Matthew McConaughey CAN'T get his shirt off!!!
• Shirtless Anonymous

Alpha

• Charles Atlas was right: Brawny guys get the girls
• Mens' Looks: A 'Retrosexual' Comeback
• 9 Manliest Names in the World
• MANTage

The Six Beer Theory--The Difference Between Gay and Straight Men

New story: Teacher's Pet 6 by Redkage

New story: Teacher's Pet 6 by Redkage

Rape

• Rape charges dropped against former teacher--"At one point, Assistant Prosecutor Andrea Dean tried to argue that movies found in Perry's home, like 'Star Wars,' the 'Harry Potter' films and 'Little House on the Prairie,' constituted 'non-erotic pornography.'"
• Accused Impersonator Freed in Rape Case
• Rap for sex swap brothers
• Rape victim sets up alleged assailant's arrest
• Stagg wins £700,000 compensation--For being wrongfully accused of rape.
• Judge sets alleged rapist free after "one of the girls recanted and the other changed her story."

Death

• Steve Jobs's Obituary, As Run By Bloomberg
• Government Tells Woman She's Dead
• Dunning the Deceased: Institutions Can Be in Denial About Death
• Death Notice Sent To Man Who's Alive, Well

Self-defense

• New Self-Defense Laws Cause Confusion
• No action to be taken against householder over intruder fall
• Hit Attempt Survivor is Wisely Ready for Second Try

New story: Summer Growth Spurt 2 by F_R_Eaky

New story: Summer Growth Spurt 2 by F_R_Eaky

Double-plus un-good

• "What Orwell Didn't Know" Salon
• Congress' "anti-extremist" bill targets online thoughtcrime
• Is the government compiling a secret list of citizens to detain under martial law?
• Blacklisted by the Bush government Salon
• Fatal flaws found in terrorism database

Drugs

• Federal Court Rules U.S. Government May Not Deliberately Subvert California’s Medical Marijuana Laws
• Morro Bay pot dispensary owner found guilty of federal charges
• SWAT team raids mayor, shoots family dog because someone mailed them pot
• Medical Marijuana and Minors
• Drug-War Bulletins
• The Great Wired Drug Non-Controversy
• Drug prohibition – an untenable hypocrisy

Drinking

• Federal judge rules college alcohol-ad ban violates free speech
• College presidents want lower drinking age
• It took less than one drink to get Shannon Wilcutt busted for felony DUI

New story: Summer Growth Spurt by F_R_Eaky

New story: Summer Growth Spurt by F_R_Eaky

Online trouble

• Goodbye, Passwords. You Aren’t a Good Defense.
• Worst CAPTCHA Ever--There are several contenders.
• A List of Companies Working Hard to Screw Up My Web Experience
• For Those Who Think They're Password Protected
• Internet security breach tackled
• Eight crazy e-mail hoaxes millions have fallen for
• 29% of Internet Users Have Bought Things From Spam Email
• Adobe Flash ads launching clipboard hijack attack
• Virus may have infected Web ads

ACTA

• The real ACTA threat --It's not iPod-scanning border guards
• Secret ACTA treaty may include ISP filtering
• Fact Sheet: Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement

Net radio

• Judge: Big webcasters owe songwriters millions in royalties
• Perhaps Pandora Must Be Our Sacrificial Lamb
• Giant of Internet Radio Nears Its 'Last Stand'

New story: Rivals by Xyggurat

New story: Rivals by Xyggurat

Ego-me-nia

• Me, Myself and I
• Me: If It's All About You, You're in Trouble. Why a Sense of Entitlement Can Wreak Havoc on Happiness
• He's the greatest, says he

Geeky Proposals

• Man Uses Newspaper Crossword Puzzle To 'Pop The Question'
• Man Proposes Via 'Bejeweled' Video Game
• Google employee uses Google Street View to propose

How in deed

• How con-men make their faces look trustworthy
• How could a book from a first-time author — with no offline advertising or PR — hit #1 on the NYT's and WSJ's bestseller lists?
• How to solve the New York Times Crossword Puzzle

New morph: Jeans 5

New morph: Jeans 5

Religion

• Angry atheists don't like Spore--Idiots.
• Knights Templar to Vatican: Give us back our assets
• Toddler 'starved to death by religious cult because he wouldn't say amen'
• French Jewish group to sue YouTube
• How many atoms of Jesus you eat every day

Sports

• Out and golden, Mitcham dazzles Beijing--Openly gay Australian diver grabs gold
• Why we identify with Olympic athletes Salon
• World Records Seen From Above [c/o kottke.org]
• Great Olympic moments on YouTube
• Beijing Olym-Pics
• After Glory of a Lifetime, Asking ‘What Now?’
• How Modern Technology Ruined My Favorite Spectator Sport
• Court: Wrestler was right to protest--Hope things turn out well for Abrahamian, but this guy is pretty much screwed.

Animation

• Chad Paugh time lapse
• MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU
• Britain seen from above

New stories: B*tched: The Journey Continues by Cicero, Hunter: N.Y.P.D. by Aardvark and My Bully Father by John D.

New stories:

• B*tched: The Journey Continues by Cicero
• Hunter: N.Y.P.D. by Aardvark
• My Bully Father by John D.

New Guidelines Would Give F.B.I. Broader Powers--It's all right if you've got nothing to hide, right?

Good judgments

• Supreme Court strikes blow for detainees
• Ruling says federal courts can hear no-fly lawsuits
• A federal court rejects Bush's "executive privilege" claims Salon
• NY judge wants CIA to reveal 'torture' documents
• Judge: Man can't be forced to divulge encryption passphrase

Reining in excesses

• State court throws out part of Pa. hate-crimes law
• Georgia Sex Offender Law Ruled Unconstitutional
• Supreme Court Rejects Death Penalty for Child Rape

Immigration

• The Immigration Fight Gets Ugly
• AZ court: Immigrants subject to smuggling law--Because they smuggled themselves into the country
• Immigrants Deported, by U.S. Hospitals
• Ill and in Pain, Detainee Dies in U.S. Hands
• They Say They Were Born in the U.S.A., The State Department Says Prove It

New story: Reset by Richard Jasper

New story: Reset by Richard Jasper

Gay Marriage

• 11,000 couples later, gay marriage largely a nonevent in Massachusetts
• Gay Unions Shed Light on Gender in Marriage
• What's tougher to get than a same-sex marriage? A same-sex divorce
• 'Dear Abby' Says She's for Gay Marriage
• California majority backs gay marriage
• Judge refuses to order change in Prop. 8 title--Will retain the phrase "eliminates (the) right of same-sex couples to marry" and its opponents back down.
• Appeals court rebuffs challenge of Oregon's domestic partnership law

Politics is Local

• Gay Baiting '08
• Kansas lesbian loses Democratic primary after late, anti-gay politicking
• Boycott threatened over meeting site of Association of American Law Schools
• Calif. Court: Doctors Cannot Withhold Care To Gays
• Manhunt Chairman Jonathan Crutchley Steps Down from Board

It's a gay, gay, gay world

• Panama legalizes gay sex
• In Macho Argentina, a New Beacon for Gay Tourists
• Brits flee battle of the gays
• Don't ask, don't tell, Iranian style Salon
• Graffiti from Pompeii--"Weep, you girls. My penis has given you up. Now it penetrates men's behinds. Goodbye, wondrous femininity!"

New story: Bra-Ian and the Ancient Krill by Cicero

New story: Bra-Ian and the Ancient Krill by Cicero

Terror in the Skies

• Air Marshals: Uncivil Aviation
• ACLU Guest Post: "Trusted Traveler" Program Suspended After 33,000 Customers’ Records Went Missing--Laptop that went missing mysteriously reappears. No harm, no foul, right? Wrong.
• CNN reporter criticizes TSA, finds self on terror watch list
• Forgot your ID? You must be a terrorist
• Grounded pilot, wife sue over 'no-fly' list--A Muslim Gulf War Veteran pilot at that.
• Airline captain, lawyer, child on terror 'watch list'
• At JFK Airport, Denying Basic Rights Is Just Another Day at the Office

Just Plane Trouble

• American Flight to LaGuardia Cancelled Over Booing
• Delta Makes Woman With Muscular Dystrophy Crawl Off Plane
• Give flying families a break
• US airline 'broke safety rules'
• TSA inspector breaks airplanes by climbing on them using instruments as handholds--Ended up grounding nine planes

Economizing Class

• Soldiers pay bag fee on travel to war--American Airlines decides to waive the fee for the third bag once word got out.
• Airlines Adding Advertisements to Boarding Passes
• American Airlines to charge for checked baggage
• AirTran to increase fee for second bag
• Jet Blue charging passengers $7 for pillow, blanket
• Airline Plans To Cancel All Flights Booked Through 3rd Party Websites
• Airline passengers paying for pillows, snacks, even water

Southwest's 7 secrets for success--And here's one that's actually's making a profit

New story: CAFE Blues 3 by Jaypat

New story: CAFE Blues 3 by Jaypat

Think of the Children: Video Game edition--Some parents are just looking for a way to shift the blame away from themselves so they don't have to deal with their kids complaining about not being allowed to buy certain games. What they should be doing is teaching their kids and themselves some personal responsibility.

• Parents group: still too easy for kids to buy M-rated games--And apparently too hard to throw the games out.
• Mad at Mad World, group says Wii should be carnage-free--Wii consoles have parental lock. RTFM.
• Attorney General's office won't appeal ruling on violent video game sales
• Mario Kart Wii, more violent then GTA IV

Games

• Dance Dirty With Me--Get ready for the time of your life
• Rejected Wii Games
• Worst Movie Games Ever
• Chinese MMO bans in-game gender-bending
• Video Games (Finally) Grow Up

Piracy

• Game developer wants to learn from pirates, asks them "why"--They tell him, and here's his response.
• Ubisoft DRM snafu reminds us what's wrong with PC gaming
• The Plain Truth About Piracy

New stories: My Buddy's Arms 5 by BBMSN, The Shy Guy 5 by GoodFortune and Teacher's Pet 5 by Redkage

New stories:

• My Buddy's Arms 5 by BBMSN
• The Shy Guy 5 by GoodFortune
• Teacher's Pet 5 by Redkage

Phelps's Epic Journey Ends in Perfection--Congratulations to Michael Phelps for his winning his eighth gold medal.

Jeebus

• Jesus loves you -- and your orgasm Salon
• Was Jesus' Resurrection a Sequel?
• Talking Jesus Dolls Save Kids from Fire, Brimstone?

Dangerous to Your Health

• HIV 'False Positive' Test Stress
• Study: Blood substitute increases risk of death
• Pacemakers can be remotely pwned

How Neighborly

• Stupid Citation Dismissed--An off-duty cop complained after hearing his neighbor cursing.
• Peeping tom victims told to fix blinds
• Officer Suspended For Mailing 'Homewrecker' Flyers

New story: B*cthed by Cicero

New story: B*tched by Cicero

Big Brother

• UK Government proposes email and internet tracking
• Big Brother tightens his grip on the web
• Lessig Predicts Cyber 9/11 Event, Restrictive Laws

Censorship

• Governments step up blogger arrests
• Google Ordered to Unmask Mystery Blogger in India
• Bill would penalize companies for aiding Internet censorship
• Censorship: Yahoo, Microsoft, Google Agree on Code of Conduct
• YouTube stops account of Egypt anti-torture activist
• Rumor Control: Why I Can’t Put 'Tibet' in My Hotmail Address--"In this case Microsoft is blocking usernames containing 'tib'..." Riiiight...
• The IOC Projects Censorship on NYC Projection Video--They claimed the video violated the DMCA, but they backed down when the EFF and YouTube pushed back.

Web monitoring

• ISP Justifies, But Doesn't Explain Secret Customer Eavesdropping
• Congress goes after NebuAd... again
• Facebook Beacon Tracking Program Draws Privacy Lawsuit
• EU calls phoul over ad company Phorm's invasive snooping
• AT&T Mulls Watching You Surf

New story: The Man in the Big Muscle Suit 4 by dymondbolt

New story: The Man in the Big Muscle Suit 4 by dymondbolt

Forging ahead

• Suskind: Bush ordered fake letter linking Iraq to 9/11--And George Tenet responds
• Ron Suskind on the Daily Show
• New evidence suggests Ron Suskind is right Salon
• Congress to 'Review' Charges CIA Prepared Forged Iraq, 9/11 Letter--I'd be surprised if anything substantial happens.

Vote machinations

• Missing votes spark lawsuit
• Sequoia warns Princeton professors over e-voting analysis
• GOP cyber-security expert suggests Diebold tampered with 2002 election
• Minneapolis Teen Charged for Trying to Sell His Vote on eBay

Election '08

• It's a Class War, Stupid--"Election season will be packed with distractions, but the real issue is becoming a matter of life and death"
• It's official: The Bush era has made liberals so terrified of right-wing smears it has caused them to completely lose their sense of humor." Salon
• Is Mudslinging the Only Way John McCain Can Win?
• WSJ Backtracking From Sketchy 'Beanpole' Obama Story

New stories: Hunter: B.M.O.C. by Aardvark, The Interview 2 by Titan and Love Doll by purplebootsgywr

New stories:

• Hunter: B.M.O.C. by Aardvark
• The Interview 2 by Titan
• Love Doll by purplebootsgywr

Apple

• Apple's unforgivable DNS delay
• Steve Jobs: MobileMe "not up to Apple's standards"--They've bitten more than they could chew, took their time owning up to it and still ain't out of the woods yet.
• Apple just gave out my Apple ID password because someone asked
• Apple sued for indentured servitude
• The $1000 iPhone app--Talk about buyer's remorse
• iPhone NDA: Doing more harm than good--iPhone developers are complaining about Apple's secrecy (and their inability to cash in on the SDK), but there may be more to this than previously thought.
• The Mystery of the Disappearing iPhone Apps
• Calvin and Jobs

MySpace

• EFF: MySpace suicide charges a threat to free speech
• Experts Say MySpace Suicide Indictment Sets 'Scary' Legal Precedent
• The MySpace mom's prosecution threatens us all
• California lawmakers consider cyberbullying bill

Google v. Viacom

• Google says Viacom's suit 'threatens' Net--And that it's against fair use
• Judge Orders YouTube to Give All User Histories to Viacom
• Google/Viacom Agree To Preserve User Anonymity In Data Shakedown

New morph and stories: The Bulkery 2: Baguette by Redkage, Fortune Favors the Bold by jobberinnyc and The Man in the Big Muscle Suit 3 by dymondbolt

New stories:

• The Bulkery 2: Baguette by Redkage
• Fortune Favors the Bold by jobberinnyc
• The Man in the Big Muscle Suit 3 by dymondbolt

New morph: GusMuscle

Olympics '08

• Censorship in China targeted by RSF's new ad campaign
• As Olympics begin, China's open Internet nowhere to be seen
• Beijing Olympics: Government U-turn ends ban on human rights websites
• Olympics Journalists Urged To Use Crypto, to Thwart Chinese Spying
• Kansas Senator Blasts Chinese Government For Ordering Internet Surveillance
• Amnesty International: Olympic Games
• Amensty International: Shot
• Olympic Torch Used To Ignite Tibetan Protesters--Burn courtesy of The Onion

Sports

• Engineering athletes
• Chess boxers slug it out
• Top UK Olympic medal hopefuls pose naked for photos
• Participants strip off for nude Olympics
• The Trojan Games--"A sporting celebration of supreme sexual performance."

Health

• Link Is Seen Between Crime and Fitness
• Testosterone And Body Fat Are Controlled By The Same Genes
• Muscles get a coffee buzz too
• Origins of exercise equipment
• Why Aren't We Going To The Gym?

Translated comic: Luca e Leo, Justin and Jon translated into Italian by Ottovero

Translated comic: I thought I was out, but someone pulled me back in, at least for one day. Ottovero sent me last night his Italian translation of my comic Justin & Jon, and I just had to post it ASAP. Check out Luca & Leo.

Net Neutrality

• Lawmaker Cries Foul Ahead of FCC Net-Neutrality Decision--Not all regulation is bad especially when consumers are protected from the predatory practices telcos are too willing to engage in.
• Hammer drops at last: FCC opposes Comcast P2P throttling--Apparently they didn't fall for Comcast's "trick play".
• FCC spanks Comcast for P2P blocking: no fine, full disclosure
• Reactions to FCC's Comcast decision come fast and furious
• AT&T to bar P2P activity from its networks

The Trouble with Telcos

• Yo FCC! Are You Doing Anything About Metered Broadband?
• Sprint early termination fees are illegal, judge rules--But did he make a mistake?
• WiMAX phobia? AT&T tries to block Clearwire/Xohm merger
• Telco won't install fiber network, sues to prevent city from doing so
• What telecom immunity bought--Corporate sponsorship of a Democrat event!

Think of the Children

• Government strikes out on COPA—ruled unconstitutional again
• Cuomo strong-arms Comcast over Usenet images
• R.I.P Usenet: 1980-2008

6 Degrees of Celebration comes to a close

Th-th-th-that's all folks. I'll be taking a short break from blogging to recharge my batteries. I don't think I'll be as crazy with the updates next year, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Hope you guys enjoyed "6 Degrees of Celebration"!

New artwork: This series of drawings was inspired by a CYOC chapter written by Alyn Roze and which he graciously let me help re-envision into a series of new stories.

New stories:

• CAFE Blues 2 by Jaypat
• Change the World by filllups44
• Confessions of the Muscle Stud Groupie by Esperanto Grrl
• Dungeons and Dragons by F_R_Eaky
• The Marines and the Scout Troop by Peterbilt
• Max Biggermen: The Rebirth of Max Biggermen by Alyn Roze and O'Melissokomos
• The Man in the Big Muscle Suit 2 by dymondbolt
• Neighbor Kids by Richard Jasper
• The Repeater System by zulator
• Struck 7 by Redkage and muscl4life
• Trevor Goes All The Way by derekph
• Unchained by Iainlthr

An Inalienable Right to Privacy

Understanding Privacy

On Privacy

Our Paradoxical Attitudes Toward Privacy

Big Think: "Privacy is in pretty great danger"

'I've Got Nothing to Hide' and Other Misunderstandings of Privacy

Security vs. Privacy

Our Data, Ourselves

Google says "complete privacy does not exist"--But doing evil now does?

New stories: Addicted to STUDD 2 by AbsMan420, Point, Click and Drag by zulator and Struck 6 by Redkage and muscl4life

New stories:

• Addicted to STUDD 2 by AbsMan420
• Point, Click and Drag by zulator
• Struck 6 by Redkage and muscl4life

McCain

• McCain Caves To Right Wing On Gay Adoption, Says Orphans Shouldn’t Have Gay Parents
• The Definitive McCain Iraq Timeline
• MSNBC beats on Fox for its 'anti-aging fix' for McCain

Accountability

• Senators Ask FBI to Explain Flawed 'National Security Letter' to Internet Archive
• Report Sees Illegal Hiring Practices at Justice Dept.--Process was infected by aides
• Federal Agents Raid Office of Special Counsel
• Witnesses say federal investigator pressured them to lie
• The Torture Memo, Redacted--And how.

Your Government at Work

• Town wants to pay for inspection, gov't says "No"
• Government asks court to block wider testing for mad cow
• Fannie Mae bailout: Taxing America’s poorest citizens to help the richest

Mark Dugdale--He's thick and built like a brick.

New stories: The Good Samaritan by Richard Jasper, Pleasure Growth 2 by F_R_Eaky and Struck 5 by Redkage and muscl4life

New stories:

• The Good Samaritan by Richard Jasper
• Pleasure Growth 2 by F_R_Eaky
• Struck 5 by Redkage and muscl4life

New morph: Fat2Fit 6

Fat Tuesday

• Obesity fuels growing 'boy-boob' problem
• Child obesity rates holding steady
• Inertia at the Top
• Fat Kids, the new norm

American Voices

• Muslim Woman Demands Obama Apology
• George Takei To Wed Partner
• Stress In Pregnancy Influences Asthma
• McCain Addresses NAACP
• Pope Decries Materialism

Women@Work

• Hot controversy: Fetching coffee for the boss
• Estate agent wins £30,000 compensation after boss ordered her to get smaller breasts
• Woman Says She Was Fired For Doing Jury Duty--Don't see how the her boss can flout US federal law.