Don't shoot the puppy! Whatever you do, don't shoot the puppy!

Padilla Lite A CBS news Iraqi cameraman wounded by U.S. forces as he videotaped clashes in Mosul in northern Iraq in April 2005 was detained by the U.S. military for over a year without charge or evidence. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalistssays that kind of thing has been happening a lot. more inside

Coingate! How does a politician with a love of rare coins use big-money influence to become chairman of the brand-new US Treasury Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, only to lose $13 million in state funds in a failed coin venture and be charged with 53 felony counts for theft and corruption as well as federal money-laundering charges stemming from raising $100,000 for the Bush-Cheney campaign and $200,000 for the GOP in general? Um, well here's one way. more inside

Count me out. The 2006 Census for Canada will happen in a couple of weeks, and all Canadians are asked to give minimal cooperation. Pourquoi? Seems as though data collection has been farmed out to the subsidiary of an American corporation (and not a particularly nice one at that). Add one Patriot Act, and the U.S. gov't can find out lots of nifty information about you and yours. Info they don't already have, I mean. Now, start workin' on your tinfoil touque!

Mr. Happy, who really isn't. "Mr. Happy, aka John Long, is a very angry man indeed. I thought this raised some interesting questions as to the extent of free speech. more inside

Most viral marketing schemes work as stealth; they trick you with something cute (branded) that people pass along to others, receiving nothing in return but perhaps a smile. This one is an in-your-face bribe in which the price drops (and becomes FREE) if mentioned on so many blogs by a certain time. Is this an advertising wave of the future? Is "viral marketing" just a dirty "word" or can your web site make good use of it in the future? more inside

Death by Smiley Face: When Rivals Disdain Profit. New York Times article: "There is another breed of rival lurking online for traditional media. . . . These are new-media ventures that leave the competition scratching their heads because they don't really aim to compete in the first place; their creators are merely taking advantage of the economics of the online medium to do something that they feel good about."

Bob Ross: The Happy Little Video Game

Google Web Accelerator back for now, anyway. It's been showing up advertised at the bottom of my Google searches all day. WinXP/2kSP3+, optimized for broadband. (What happened to accelerating the web for those of us who actually need it accelerated?) more inside

Other Popular Mixes Perhaps you need some teh cute with your coffee? Behold the Basschshund? And wonder to the Dorgi, the Bassugg, or a beautiful Jatese. Need a best friend? Look no further than the Kimola, or the Glechon. Here's a Peagle to cure what ails ya, and a Pug-a-mo for good measure.

Bee All That You Can Bee. DARPA's current big idea is to implant tiny microsystems into insects at the pupa stage of their development, when they can be "integrated" into their internal organs. via CommonDreams more inside

The Voice of the Castrato characterized Western opera and religious music during a limited period of history; and the predicament of the castrato in history and his unique voice and situation can still command our attention and provoke our curiosity. [Caution: these links possibly NSFW, depending on the width of the employer's mindset and certain to distress those sensitive to the suffering of children] more inside

Schnauzbart/Vollbart, it's all art. The disciplined Schnauzbart Kaiserlich. The perky Schnauzbart Dali. The funky Vollbart Naturale. Wild and crazy Kinn- und Backenbart Freestyle! But it's the Vollbart Freestyle that really attracts the nuts!

Dumbland Two Flash animated shorts from David Lynch.

2006 Roll Call: Curious Accountant. As this is typed, the Monkey member count is listed at 4,800. Here's a thread where each Monkey can chime in with a roll call number: we can see at the end how many are actually out there. more inside

Snakes in a car! - A man crashes his car after a snake, a snake in the car, began attacking him. News at 11.

April fools jokes and hoaxes of 2006 (so far). (via)

Beauty AND Brains! "At first we were blown away by her beauty. Then we read one of her articles and we've been hooked ever since. Now we're blown away by her brains." Meet the lovely and perspicuous Gabrielle Reilly! She has the Gift of the Gab!