[weekly linkdump, somewhat edited]
President Obama Deported More Immigrants Than Any President in US History http://t.co/mpJ6zSv56C
— The Nation (@thenation) April 2, 2014
#watch and
NEW PYTHON MUSIC VIDEO – “The Silly Walks Song” – “Here’s a new music video from the Pythons to accompany their new track – “The Silly Walks Song”
A tour of the British Isles in accents – “The person doing the voice is Andrew Jack who is a dialect coach.”
#learn
Honey bee sting pain index by body location – “The Schmidt Sting Pain Index rates the painfulness of 78 Hymenoptera species, using the honey bee as a reference point.”
The “Cuban Twitter” Scam Is a Drop in the Internet Propaganda Bucket – “This week, the Associated Press exposed a secret program run by the U.S. Agency for International Development to create “a Twitter-like Cuban communications network” run through “secret shell companies” in order to create the false appearance of being a privately owned operation. Unbeknownst to the service’s Cuban users was the fact that “American contractors were gathering their private data in the hope that it might be used for political purposes”–specifically, to manipulate those users in order to foment dissent in Cuba and subvert its government.”
Laurie Penny: No wonder teens love stories about dystopias – they feel like they’re in one – “Civilisation as we know it could collapse in 15 years, something which is reflected in the viewing habits of today’s kids.”
Andy Votel’s Top 10 Early Patch-Bay Polymaths From Eastern Europe – “Whether he’s shining a light on Suzanne Ciani’s Buchla-toting beginnings as an experimental sound designer or obliterating the old world notion of “international music” with dust-clearing compilations of rarities from Thailand, Iran and Spain, the passion Votel puts into his projects is matched by just how mad the music itself is.”
The Best F*cking Article You’ll Read Today: Profanity in Rap Lyrics Since 1985 – Not surprisingly Eminem wins in the most homophobic category, while Too $hort takes it away for most misogynistic album.
Bios Urn – “100% biodegradable Long lasting Multiple seeds compatibility Worldwide shipping Available for pets” biodegradeable urn that plants a tree seed. Sadly no fruit tree, though.
EU immigration: Germany’s president questions Swiss voting system – “dangerous when citizens vote on highly complex issues” I could not agree more.
The FBI’s Failed Two-Year Campaign Against a Group of Nonviolent Activists in the Midwest – “The message: If people in power do not like what you are doing, they can find a reason to put you behind bars.”
Aaron Swartz and MIT: The inside story – “More than a year after Swartz killed himself rather than face prosecution, questions about MIT’s handling of the hacking case persist”
The Words of a Troll – “The tale of Weev’s life, even before this particular chapter begins, is bound up with the terrible power of words. Weev, worse known as Andrew Auernheimer, is a notorious internet troll serving 41 months for hacking and identity theft, despite having done neither of these. I don’t mean that he is innocent —Weev is in no way innocent — but that the things he did were neither hacking nor identity theft.”
[delicious.com/pieceoplastic or subscribe to this RSS feed – with all the typos]