China sub stalked U.S. fleet - A Chinese submarine stalked a U.S. aircraft carrier battle group in the Pacific last month and surfaced within firing range of its torpedoes and missiles before being detected.

Astroturfing Health Budgets Russell Brown's piece tying together how drug companies prey on cancer patients with fake grassroots campaigns to peddle low-effect, high-price treatments.

Good day, Mr. Kubrick... Meet Brian Atene, a remarkably self-assured young man auditioning for Full Metal Jacket. Fast forward a couple decades, and meet him again, if it is indeed him. [YouTubey, Wiki goodness] more inside

Games 4 Girls - "...show the boys what the girls can do!" (via girl_gamers)

Sock-sorting It's been too long since we've had any sock-related posts. Sort 'em here. Sort of via Mefi.

"Where is your personal radiation detector when you really need it? On your wrist!" "We live in a world where radiation is a reality. People want to have the ability to measure it for themselves and they want to be notified when the radiation levels increase." From the FAQ, there's this wise advice about dose rates. "Dose Rate: 1000 uSv/h. Possible Cause: Near high-grade uranium ore. Action: Members of the public should not be here". more inside

Bawdy and entertaining, popular among Ozzies and Kiwis, not as many members as MetaFilter -- it's La Clique! Yo, Math Owie, I got yer clique right here, pal.

The lost sheep Baa! Baa! more inside

A question about MoFi bookmark icon more inside

"In other news: you can expect to see a few pictures leaked if you film your TV show right outside a newspaper office." more inside

Kiwi (lovely short cartoon - youtube)

Heart patients assigned to a waltz regimen do better than those doing other forms of exercise. more inside

Curious George: the future of Iraq. Inspired by this FPP about what's happened to Vietnam since the war there ended in the 1970s, I'm wondering what people think is going to happen in Iraq and more broadly in the Middle East in coming months and years. Go ahead. Make a prediction. Then we'll have record of just how prescient or not we really are.

Mesostomatic Generator Christmas has come early again. A mesotic is a form of poetry introduced by John Cage. A mesostic is a poem or other text written such that a vertical phrase intersects lines of horizontal text. Similar to an acrostic, but with the vertical phrase intersecting the middle of the line, as opposed to beginning each new line. With this generator, enter the Mesotic text and the site on which you want the generator to gather words. more inside

Whatever happened to Monkey Coconut Pickers? Also: pigeons are teh smRt, say eggheads

Was departure the secret weapon that guaranteed victory? WTO admission. Market Economy. Intel places its largest facility here. World's second largest coffee exporter. Tourism destination. French/Asian cuisine. CIA Overview. more inside

Evolution of a Magazine Masthead: From 1930 to the present day, the changing face of Analog: Science Fiction/Science Fact. more inside

Speak 10 languages instantly Remember Leia's "translator device" in Jabba's palace? This was to become a reality in the near future thanks to advances in machine translation and voice recognition technology. Well, looks like Skype beat them to it (well, sort of). more inside

Whatever happened to Coffee Filter and Coffee Talk? These are so beautiful. I am all verklempt. Talk amongst yourselves. more inside

Missile Game 3D. Clean design, nice idea. A bit frustrating, but fun for a while. Via ABS.