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"All the news that fits." Sorry, I couldn't resist.
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10,001 Chalmatians (Culture)
By localroger Sat Nov 19th, 2005 at 09:58:40 AM EST
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I find it a convenient shorthand to tell people I live in New Orleans,
but since 1992 I've actually lived in the nearby bedroom community of
Mandeville. As many people who actually do live in New Orleans will
tell you, though, Mandeville isn't New Orleans. It isn't even close,
no matter how easy it is to drive here from there.
The movies would have you think the culture of New Orleans is Cajun
French, but that's not so. Cajun culture is centered almost 150
miles from here, in the Acadian parishes surrounding the city of
Lafayette. If you want a culture that belongs uniquely to New Orleans,
you'd find it in Chalmette and the Ninth Ward, where the
language, food, and customs are like no place else on Earth.
Full Story (117 comments, 3291 words in story)
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Avatar (Fiction)
By mirleid Fri Nov 11th, 2005 at 10:48:14 PM EST
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Her father was not a kind person. That did not mean that he was a cruel person. He was just somebody that seemed to live at the house, not bothering to relate to anybody. The only person that merited more than a barely whispered order (he always spoke softly, as if he could not be bothered to raise his voice) was her mother. And even then, all their conversations were clinical and about daily management of the household, a lot like two accountants meeting to discuss the current situation of some company they did the books for.
One day, he did not come home. His absence went unnoticed to her until her mother explained, in a slightly sad tone, that she shouldn't expect her father to return.
Since she did not know how to feel about that, she decided to reserve judgement.
She was five.
Full Story (75 comments, 723 words in story)
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My North of the Desolate Sea: Travels in Eastern Greenland and Svalbard (Culture)
By oceanbourne Wed Nov 9th, 2005 at 09:43:40 AM EST
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While visiting my native land--the Faroe Islands--this summer, I became bored and looked for somewhere even more remote and isolated to venture to: somewhere in the Arctic I'd never visited. Having seen most of Scandinavia and much of northern Russia, my choices were limited but had to be apt. I ended up going to Scoresbysund, Greenland and then to Longyearbyen, Svalbard. These are some of the most remote parts of the world and their isolation and insular situation both makes them spellbinding places to visit and also reflections of broader Nordic culture.
This is the story of my journey.
Full Story (83 comments, 5135 words in story)
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Merde en France (News)
By thankyougustad Tue Nov 8th, 2005 at 07:07:44 AM EST
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On Thursday October 27, 2005, Bouna Traore and Zyed Benna, French teenagers from the outskirts of Paris, were electrocuted while hiding from the Police in an electric substation. An official denial from the police was not enough to stop a night of rioting: the police spent the night clashing with groups of young people from the banlieue. That first night, 27 people were arrested. In the eleven nights since, the rioting has spread to more than thirty cities, from discontented community to discontented community all over France. Thousands of cars have been destroyed. Many public buildings have gone up in flames, including schools, stores, and police stations. More than one-thousand arrests have been made And yet, the police are unable to control the rioters who, in a country where guns are illegal, shoot live ammunition at them. Every night, as the sun sets, France erupts in flames. In cities like Paris and Lyon, but also in smaller cities like Avignon, small communities like Valréas and Carpentras. Why is this happening? Why are rioters saying that it will not end until there are two dead cops?
Full Story (312 comments, 1850 words in story)
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RFID Passports: Improved, but still flawed? (Technology)
By KC7GR Mon Nov 7th, 2005 at 11:14:05 AM EST
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In February of 2005, the U.S. State Department published a proposed amendment, in the Federal Register, of U.S. passport regulations. The proposal sought public comment on the idea of embedding RFID chips in all newly-issued passports beginning in 2006.
Over 2,300 comments were received in response, and more than 98% of them were negative, focusing on privacy and security concerns. Since the initial proposal had no provisions for encryption or access control of the stored data, people were concerned (rightly so) that their identities could be snooped by anyone with appropriate reader equipment, at any time and without their knowledge.
Now, eight months later, the State Department has made some changes for their final draft. Do you think they went far enough?
Full Story (33 comments, 1046 words in story)
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Denver Legalizes the Reefer (Culture)
By mtrisk Sun Nov 6th, 2005 at 07:12:29 PM EST
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On November 2, the residents of Denver, Colorado passed the Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative. With 100% of precincts reporting, the final tally for the vote was 56,001 YES votes to 48,632 NO votes, approximately 54% - 46%. The measure changed city law to allow for possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for adults 21 and over. The act is largely symbolic, though, as state and federal laws supersede local law, and authorities have already stated that state possession laws would be applied. However hope remains, for the passage of the initiative marks Denver as the first area in the nation to legalize private use of marijuana, for recreational as well as medical use. Is the legalization of marijuana at the federal level now within our reach?
Full Story (347 comments, 745 words in story)
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