Monday is remember, remember, the 5th of November!

Remember, remember the fifth of November,
The gunpowder, treason and plot,
I know of no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, ’twas his intent
To blow up the King and Parliament.
Three score barrels of powder below,
Poor old England to overthrow;
By God’s providence he was catch’d
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, make the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!
Hip hip hoorah!

A penny loaf to feed the Pope.
A farthing o’ cheese to choke him.
A pint of beer to rinse it down.
A faggot of sticks to burn him.
Burn him in a tub of tar.
Burn him like a blazing star.
Burn his body from his head.
Then we’ll say ol’ Pope is dead.
Hip hip hoorah!
Hip hip hoorah hoorah!


Today Guy Fawkes is increasingly viewed as the heroic figure prepared to stand against an unjust and oppressive state, as a martyr and a victim of torture. What are the lessons of Guy Fawkes Day for 2007? I propose three:

1. Torture Never Works and is Always Wrong
2. Beware the Government that Rules By Fear
3. A Government Which Stereotypes Is Unjust



Remember, remember the fifth of November... [reddit.com] (harpers.org)

PetroChina is World's Largest Company, Worth More than Microsoft, Google, Proctor & Gamble and Wal-Mart Combined. (ap.google.com)

Pakistanis lose rights to free speech, assembly, property rights, lawyers (rawstory.com)

Having achieved extensive control over so many facets of our lives, corporate institutions have become more powerful than the sovereign people who originally granted them existence. (orionmagazine.org)

3 years ago, robot cars "struggled to make their way around even basic obstacles...Now, they...display the flair of a...taxi driver when merging into traffic." [science] (economist.com)

Ron Paul smashes all expectations, Hauls in More than $1 Million in the first few hours of Monday; $10 Million Targeted before end of the day (newsandpolicy.com)

In their combat against Muslim extremism, the Republicans may be "playing Russian roulette with America's future with their bigoted anti-Muslim rhetoric." (thenation.com)

Map of US military bases around the world [big pic] (respectsacredland.org)

Why endless war stole my future -- a critique on American foreign policy and its effect on human advancement (politicalinquirer.com)

History lesson: US soldiers used waterboarding in WWI, and when they came home, they started using it on civilians. (wisebread.com)

Ten Reasons Why American Health Care Is so Bad (prospect.org)

Congress is finalizing a $286 billion farm bill that will continue our basic farm policies, which means it will keep funneling money to farmers and pseudo farmers (time.com)

New Proof of "Mirror Neurons" Explains Why We Experience the Grief and Joy of Others, And Maybe Why Humans are Altruistic [science] (salon.com)

Fluoride: good for your teeth - 'not so good' for your brain. [science] (fluoridealert.org)

Americans today: 'deeply pessimistic' and eager to see Bush gone (washingtonpost.com)

Musharraf imposes emergency rule in Pakistan [reddit.com] (news.bbc.co.uk)

Israeli Army gets "Green Light" from the U.S. to invade Gaza (jpost.com)

Music: is it art or math? (as a bonus, this web site will also put you in a trance) [reddit.com] (coverpop.com)

Surprise Ingredients In Fast Food [science] (newstarget.com)

Our brains can turn down our ability to see to help them listen even harder to music and complex sounds [science] (newsvote.bbc.co.uk)

Scientists shed light on effects of clock change [science] (seattlepi.nwsource.com)

Breast feeding babies has many advantages over the bottle [science] (scientistlive.com)

Sensory Mismatch - Ever get “car sick” when reading in the backseat of a moving car? [science] (tomlandini.com)