This is a good one

touche

Could a hotel be built on the land owned by Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter? A new ruling by the Supreme Court which was supported by Justice Souter himself itself might allow it. A private developer is seeking to use this very law to build a hotel on Souter's land.

Justice Souter's vote in the "Kelo vs. City of New London" decision allows city governments to take land from one private owner and give it to another if the government will generate greater tax revenue or other economic benefits when the land is developed by the new owner.

On Monday June 27, Logan Darrow Clements, faxed a request to Chip Meany the code enforcement officer of the Towne of Weare, New Hampshire seeking to start the application process to build a hotel on 34 Cilley Hill Road. This is the present location of Mr. Souter's home.

Clements, CEO of Freestar Media, LLC, points out that the City of Weare will certainly gain greater tax revenue and economic benefits with a hotel on 34 Cilley Hill Road than allowing Mr. Souter to own the land.

The proposed development, called "The Lost Liberty Hotel" will feature the "Just Desserts Café" and include a museum, open to the public, featuring a permanent exhibit on the loss of freedom in America. Instead of a Gideon's Bible each guest will receive a free copy of Ayn Rand's novel "Atlas Shrugged."

Clements indicated that the hotel must be built on this particular piece of land because it is a unique site being the home of someone largely responsible for destroying property rights for all Americans.

"This is not a prank" said Clements, "The Towne of Weare has five people on the Board of Selectmen. If three of them vote to use the power of eminent domain to take this land from Mr. Souter we can begin our hotel development."

"The most important thing is that he should let me kill many Americans."

Inside the Mind of an Iraqi Suicide Bomber.

alas

Well, the Supreme Court yesterday took the easy way out and ruled against Grokster and p2p filesharing networks, holding that they can be liable for copyright infringement if it can be proven that Grokster (and others) had or have the requisite intent to infringe. The opinion solves nothing; it neither deals with the realities of modern technology nor confronts the murky yet very real issue of the public domain, where traditional conceptions of property and absolute ownership break down. Of course people use it to steal. Of course there has been infringement. But the dangers of corporate control of the exchange of ideas on the internet is a far more dangerous reality than any conceivable (and yet unproven) profit loss by the record companies. Yes, stealing is bad. But the internet overall is good and fruitful and enlightening, and we should be extremely wary of handing control over its content to those whose very purpose is to provide and capitalize on their own proprietary content. Their interests are self-serving, and in the long run the internet will suffer. The benefits of an open pathway to the world's expressive content far outweigh the burdens placed on companies who have refused to adapt to the recent paradigm shift in technology we are witnessing.
{{stepping from soapbox}}
I'm shocked, but not surprised. For your entertainment, here are the opinions in .PDF form, curtesy of boingboing.
Opinion of the Court
Breyer's concurrence
Ginsberg's concurrence

love it

These photoshop remixes of famous album covers are pretty good. This one made me laugh out loud.

outta here

Alright folks, I'm heading to Boise, Idaho this weekend to attend a wedding of one of Mary Pat's cousins. Having never been to Idaho, this should be interesting--I'll bring back lots of potato(e)s. Enjoy.

oh lord

Texan Evangelist drills for oil in Israel based on Bible 'clues'

what!?

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that local governments may seize people's homes and businesses -- even against their will -- for private economic development.

New Scientist

Hubble spies lord of the stellar rings.

no problem

Plot IP tells you your IP address and other information about your location. Fortunately, if the RIAA ever uses this service to actually come after me I'll be in the clear:

Quote of the day

"Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it."
--Andre Gide

What a wonderful world

This is a list of songs deemed inappropriate by Clear Channel following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

In the days following the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., many television and radio stations altered normal programming in response to the events. During this period, a list of 'songs with questionable lyrics' purported to be from radio conglomerate Clear Channel Communications to its subsidiaries began to circulate on the Internet.

Here are some of the 'inappropriate' songs:
Louis Armstrong – "What A Wonderful World"
The Animals – "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place"
The Bangles – "Walk Like An Egyptian"
Buddy Holly and the Crickets – "That'll Be The Day"
Creedence Clearwater Revival – "Travelin' Band"
Dave Matthews Band – "Crash Into Me" (--understandable)
Gap Band – "You Dropped A Bomb On Me"
Jimi Hendrix – "Hey Joe"
Led Zeppelin – "Stairway To Heaven"
John Lennon – "Imagine"
Jerry Lee Lewis – "Great Balls Of Fire"
Rage Against The Machine – all songs
Simon And Garfunkel – "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (WHAT?!)
The Zombies - "She's Not There"

I want one

Michael Connally is in the process of making a remote controlled boat that flies. Watch the video--this will be fun.

Just for larvae

The Onion, June 29, 2056.

I say we raise his allowance

A 12-year-old Scots schoolboy has been praised by airport bosses after inventing a gadget which could help prevent plane crashes.

loss prevention

Sir, what's that in your shirt?

Organized retail theft (ORT) is a growing problem throughout the United States, affecting a wide-range of retail establishments, including supermarkets, chain drug stores, independent pharmacies, mass merchandisers, convenience stores, and discount operations. It has become the most pressing security problem confronting retailers. ORT losses are estimated to run as high as $15 billion annually in the supermarket industry alone – and $34 billion across all retail. ORT crime is separate and distinct from petty shoplifting in that it involves professional theft rings that move quickly from community to community and across state lines to steal large amounts of merchandise that is then repackaged and sold back into the marketplace. Petty shoplifting, as defined, is limited to items stolen for personal use or consumption.

Here's a .PDF link to the top 50 shoplifted items.

'I'd rather die standing than live on my knees."

In pursuit of Pancho Villa, 1916-1917.

storm chaser

Eric Nguyen gets close enough to these tornados to take some really amazing photographs. Like this one:

wtf

This is the David Hasselhoff paper airplane.

ug

Now that's a thumb drive.

exactly

Diese elektronische Ausgabe wurde erstellt mit Hilfe einer Original-Ausgabe des Haeckel'schen Werkes, das freundlicherweise von Prof. Dr. v. Sengbusch zur Verfügung gestellt wurde. Alle Tafeln wurden mit einer Auflösung von 300 dpi und 16 Millionen Farben eingescannt!!!!!!

there he is

Alfred Hitchcock made cameos in almost every film he directed.

oh dear

after Nagasaki

Censored Japan A-bomb stories published. You can read the stories here. Also check out Remembering Nagasaki--good collection of photos and writings.

Live Music Archive

Download all this free music now.

Last words

mp3s and transcripts of plane crash recordings. Wow.

Books For Change - Reading and Imagination for a Better World

To read is to empower
To empower is to write
To write is to influence
To influence is to change
To change is to live.

Celestia

This looks very, very cool.

Enjoy, Dave

Great shot of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival.

Massive Corporation

If you're thinking about investing, you may seriously want to to check out the Massive Corporation. "Our goal is to make sure corporateness is woven into the fabric of our company - into all our processes, into day-to-day business practices, creating a mindset within every employee and manager that will allow them to consciously think about corporate massiveness in everything that they do."