One of UK Prime Minister Theresa May's government ministers told a reporter from The Sun that the government is planning on invoking the "Technical Capabilities Orders" section of the Snoopers Charter, a 2016 domestic spying bill; the "orders" allow the government to demand that companies cease using working cryptography in their products and services, substituting it with deliberately defective code that can be broken. (more…)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhoH4v8xYlUGreg Gianforte, the Republican candidate in Montana's congressional election, attacked a reporter from UK newspaper The Guardian, body-slamming him and breaking his glasses.In audio recorded by Ben Jacobs, who covers the U.S. political beat, you can hear Gianforte getting shirty, then, when pressed, the muffled sounds of what Jacobs said was "the strangest thing that has ever happened to him in politics."“I’m sick and tired of you guys,” Gianforte said. “The last guy who came here did the same thing. Get the hell out of here. Get the hell out of here. The last guy did the same thing. Are you with the Guardian?”“Yes! You just broke my glasses,” Jacobs replied.“The last guy did the same damn thing,” Gianforte said.“You just body slammed me and broke my glasses,” Jacob said.“Get the hell out of here,” Gianforte yelled.Jacobs was taken to hospital but is fine—except for his specs. A TV crew and a Buzzfeed reporter were nearby at the time, each apparently getting a partial look at the altercation. The Gallatin County sheriff, Brian Gootkin, says he's investigating.One interesting aspect to Gianforte: he's a tech entrepreneur, which would account both for his emotional inability to cope with conflict and his evidently slobbish and untutored combat technique.UPDATE: Gianforte's campaign released a statement suggesting that Jacobs got physical, not Gianforte. I'm not sure if it was released before or after The Guardian published its audio of the incident, but one doubts they were aware of it.UPDATE II: The Fox affiliate news crew in the room with them released a statement, and it's completely damning for Gianforte.Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him. Faith, Keith and I watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the man, as he moved on top the reporter and began yelling something to the effect of "I'm sick and tired of this!"Jacobs scrambled to his knees and said something about his glasses being broken. He asked Faith, Keith and myself for our names. In shock, we did not answer. He then said he wanted the police called and went to leave. Gianforte looked at the three of us and repeatedly apologized. At that point, I told him and Scanlon, who was now present, that we needed a moment. The men then left.To be clear, at no point did any of us who witnessed this assault see Jacobs show any form of physical aggression toward Gianforte, who left the area after giving statements to local sheriff's deputies.

This is a good homebrew documentary about Little Rascals' Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer. He was born in 1929. As an adult he held a variety of odd jobs such as dog trainer, bartender, and hunting guide. He was shot to death in 1959 during a drunken confrontation over $50 at a movie cowboy's house in Mission Hills California. He was 31.

The plan Donald Trump and the GOP released to dismantle "Obamacare," the Affordable Care Act, will increase the projected number of people without health insurance by 14 million next year and by 23 million in 2026, the Congressional Budget Office reported Wednesday. The long-awaited "CBO report" you've been hearing about in the news was finally released today, weeks after The American Health Care Act, or "Trumpcare," narrowly passed the House. The 10-year figure of 23 million people losing their insurance coverage is slightly less than originally estimated, but still completely insane. (more…)

The first law of futurism is that there are no facts about the future, only fictions. (Blank on Blank)

But his intel.The Washington Post has a bombshell report out today on how the Russians may have hoaxed former FBI director James B. Comey into his public statement on the Hillary Clinton "but her emails" investigation, which helped swing the election in Donald Trump's favor. (more…)

The TSA will be testing out expanded screening for carry-on electronics larger than a phone and certain food items at selected airports around the country. The new rules come just two days after a major terrorist attack in Manchester, UK, and stepped-up security in response. The TSA says they're “testing security screening procedures for carry-on bags at 10 U.S. airports” only, and “There are no changes to nationwide procedures.” (more…)

The keyboardist for The Incredible Bongo Band likes his job. (There's also some seriously egregious cultural appropriation happening.)

I bought this small travel case in 2011 for $14 and use it whenever I travel. Here's an article I wrote for Cool Tools a few years ago about the stuff I carry in it. It's still in great condition. Amazon has a great sale on it right now for $9.

I've bought an awful lot of books just because I liked the cover. I don't regret it. It's like buying an art print that you can pull from your shelf an admire at any time. In this Magenta article, Belinda Lanks asks noted designers about their favorite book covers.If you ask me who my favorite book jacket designer of all time is, it’s Alvin Lustig. If you ask me which of his jacket designs is my favorite, it’s impossible. It’s most certainly one of the jackets he designed for New Directions’ New Classics. Lustig essentially branded the New Direction series with a modern look that was reminiscent of what was going on in the fine art world. It’s as if he translated a Calder sculpture or a Joan Miro painting into a book cover. Each book is reduced to color, line, shape, and type to reflect the feel of the book rather than the literal content. The geometric shapes, the bold color palettes, the freeform lines still feel modern today. -- Rex Bonomelli

Speed, synthetic cannabis, and alcohol top the list for the most dangerous drugs in the 2017 Global Drug Survey, while cannabis and magic mushrooms are the safest. The results are based on the percentage of people who sought emergency medical treatment after taking one of the drugs.From The Guardian:Both [Adam] Winstock [a consultant addiction psychiatrist and founder of the Global Drug Survey] and [Brad] Burge [from the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (Maps)] said that the findings indicate a need for drug policy reform, with a focus on shifting psychedelics off the schedule one list of the most dangerous controlled substances.“Drug laws need to balance the positives and problems they can create in society and well crafted laws should nudge people to find the right balance for themselves,” said Winstock.“People don’t tend to abuse psychedelics, they don’t get dependent, they don’t rot every organ from head to toe, and many would cite their impact upon their life as profound and positive. But you need to know how to use them.”

Ukrainian professional boxer Vasyl Lomachenko jabs with incredible precision at a tennis ball attached to his hat. It's a neat training technique! All that's missing, of course, is a soundtrack of "Gonna Fly Now/Theme from Rocky."

Maker William Osman from Ventura, CA shows us how to make a cotton candy machine with an angle grinder, small metal container, motor, coffee filter, and other household/workshop materials. He worries about being able to bring his contraption onto the Maker Faire grounds, but slips it in with no problem. He then huddles under bleachers to test the machine with friends, and by their reactions it looks like some pretty scrumptious cotton candy. For the grand finale Osman demos the machine to the public, giving out free samples to passersby. That's the Maker Faire spirit!

The USPS's new "Have a Ball!" stamp series include eight circular designs of sports balls I like the design of these stamps more than the sports they celebrate!Each of the 16 self-adhesive circular stamps showcases illustrations of one of eight sports balls: baseball, basketball, football, golf, kickball, soccer, tennis, and volleyball. A special coating applied to selected areas of the stamps during the printing process gives them a textured feel. The sheet features two of each design.Mike Ryan designed the stamps and Greg Breeding served as the art director of the project. Artist Daniel Nyari created the colorful, stylized stamp art.

And that's the way it is. (via Laughing Squid)

WeWantPlates is a subreddit featuring weird plates, plates made of weird materials, and food served on things which are not even plates. The interplay between amused detachment and seething contempt is a microcosm of something much larger.

From Clickhole: "This is absolutely devastating."

Taiwan will be the first place in Asia to legalize same-sex unions, reports the BBC, after a panel of judges in Taipei ruled(PDF) that equality rights guaranteed it. Legislators have two years to pass a bill that provides "equal protection of the freedom of marriage for two persons of the same sex" before the court extends current law to apply to same-sex unions. Two of the fourteen justices filed dissenting opinions, with a third recusing themselves.BBC analyst Cindy Sui:But it's still unclear how far parliament will go.The LGBT community hopes legislators will simply amend the existing marriage laws to include same-sex couples, which would grant them the same rights enjoyed by opposite-sex couples, including in cases of adoption, parenting and inheritance - and making decisions for each other in medical emergencies.However, they fear parliament won't do that and will instead pass a new law that recognises same-sex marriages but gives them only some rights, not equal treatment in all matters. Photo: Reuters.

Britain's Home Secretary is "irritated" that U.S. intelligence officials leaked "confidential" information about the Manchester terror attack to American media, allowing them to reveal key details before U.K. media were cleared to do so. The attacker's name, the high death toll, and the fact that it was a suicide bombing were among the facts finding their way to CBS and NBC before being disclosed to local outlets.Amber Rudd said US conduct had been "irritating" and said she had made clear to her American counterparts that such leaks "shouldn't happen again".The episode comes just a week after US president Donald Trump defended his right to leak classified intelligence to other countries' leaders. Mr Trump has also criticised leaking from the US intelligence establishment.Asked on BBC Radio 4's Today programme about the US leaks, Ms Rudd said: "The British police have been very clear that they want to control the flow of information in order to protect operational integrity, the element of surprise."So it is irritating when it gets released from other sources and I have been very clear with our friends that that should not happen again."There are so many interesting prongs here: echelons of the U.S. security apparatus that don't care about intelligence partners, sources in the White House and elsewhere leaking whatever they get their hands on, the futility of trying to manage what the media knows in the presence of all this, the presumed inability of America's intelligence partners (such as the UK) to extricate themselves...

The famed Yosemite Firefall (previously) is a rare phenomenon when the setting sun hits Horsetail Fall with its dying light. Rogelio Bernal Andreo just took it to next level, capturing the even more rare moonlight firefall. (more…)

My favorite witch, Pam Grossman, editor of the phantastic art and occult blog, Phantasmaphile, and author of What is a Witch, has recently released WitchEmoji, a new messaging sticker pack for iPhone.The set offers 80 stickers in all, including the typical tools of spellcraft, symbols and sigils, and male and female witches of various skin tones. Pam created the set, with the help of icon illustrator Julia Heffernan, because she wanted to invoke more witchy symbolism in her mobile missives and there weren't many existing stickers that fit the bill. The response to the set has been extremely positive and Pam says she'd like to expand to Android and elsewhere. Given the success of the Apple set, I imagine we'll be seeing emoji-based spellcasting coming to other phones sooner than later.

When Jamahl McMurran hosted Croatian artist Lana Mesic at his home, she faced a problem: she had 15,000 loose coins from an art project. They decided to dump them on a nearby path and document the reactions, which did not disappoint. (more…)

FOLLOW @RubenBolling on the Twitters and a Face Book.JOIN Tom the Dancing Bug's subscription club, the Proud & Mighty INNER HIVE, for exclusive early access to comics, extra comics, and much more. GET Ruben Bolling’s new hit book series for kids, The EMU Club Adventures. (”Filled with wild twists and funny dialogue” -Publishers Weekly) Book One here. Book Two here. More Tom the Dancing Bug comics on Boing Boing! (more…)

While the world was agog at the news that President Trump had leaked sensitive, classified information to a Russian diplomat, the rightosphere was going bonkers over an old, dumb conspiracy theory that Seth Rich, a young DNC staffer who was murdered in DC, had been assassinated in retaliation for leaking DNC emails to Wikileaks. (more…)

For four years, photographer Louis-Marie Preau would lie motionless underwater for hours at a time to get this perfect shot of a Eurasian beaver carrying a branch back to its lodge. (more…)

In this new video, YouTubers The Gregory Brothers—the group behind Auto-Tune The News—put a country music spin on Smash Mouth’s “All Star.” It’s pretty great, but not quite as great as their country music cover of Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7JgVqbh8nE

The Ticwatch 2 Active Smartwatch is a simpler take on an active wearable that raised over $2m dollars on Kickstarter and is currently offered in the Boing Boing Store.Somewhere in between the single-day battery life and platform-specificity of the Apple Watch and Android Wear devices, there exists the Ticwatch. Instead of trying to shoehorn another app platform into a tiny watch face, this smartwatch opts for a curated collection of functionality to avoid unnecessary bloat. It gets calls and text notifications from your phone, but it relies on internal GPS and movement sensors for the most critical smartwatch duty: activity monitoring. And It still syncs data with either iPhones or Android devices to give you a bigger screen for tracking exercise goals and biometrics.The Ticwatch has a battery life of up to 2 full days, and offers fast wireless charging. Usually $199.99, you can pick up the Ticwatch 2 Active Smartwatch for 15% off at $169.99.

Last night's sold-out Walkaway tour event with Laurie Penny at Waterstones Tottenham Court Road was spectacular (and not just because they had some really good whisky behind the bar), and the action continues today with a conversation with Olivia Sudjic tonight at Pages of Hackney, where we'll be discussing her novel Sympathy as well as Walkaway. (more…)

The good people at Fight for the Future established OPERATIONCOMCASTROTURF to help you figure out if your stolen identity was used to file fake anti-net-neutrality comments with the FCC, but Comcast wants them shut down, and it's prepared to commit barratry to get its way. (more…)

In the wake of the Manchester bombing, UK Prime Minister Theresa May has become the first Prime Minister to activate "Operation Temperer," a previously leaked, secret plan to put up to 5,000 armed soldiers into the streets of Britain, taking over daily security roles from police "such as concerts and sports matches." (more…)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81IKostVXZkTheresa May won't use the term "austerity" to describe her government's policies, preferring the misleading phrase, "living within our means" -- a term used to describe cuts to survival basics for millions of Britons, from housing to health to food to social care. (more…)

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The PBS FRONTLINE television documentary on Trump's alt-right consigliere Steve Bannon is required viewing. The film aired tonight for the first time on PBS. (more…)

Fox News and Reuters report that U.S. President Donald Trump has retained New York-based trial attorney Marc Kasowitz to defend him in the escalating federal investigations involving Russia, espionage suspicions, and possible criminal activities. (more…)

The Federal Communications Commission will not take any action in response to complaints over the May 1 broadcast of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” in which Colbert said in his opening monologue, “the only thing [Trump’s] mouth is good for is being Vladimir Putin’s c— holster.” (more…)

Want to hear a president talk again? Talk Obama To Me accepts up to 180 characters of text and pieces together a speech by Barack Obama. [via]

Sometimes you win the super macho handshake power move game. Sometimes you lose. (more…)

1Password has taken Maciej Cegłowski's demand for a "travel mode" for our technology to heart, introducing a new feature that locks you out of your own accounts when you're in situations where you might lose control of your devices or be compelled to log into your accounts without your consent. (more…)

Crosby, Stills & Nash recorded this theme song for War Games, the seminal hacker film of 1983. The tune was heard in movie trailers and in this promotional video that aired on MTV but was apparently pulled from the film. The song, "War Games," was included on the band's album Allies. From the lyrics:I am not so sure What you want me for Either your machine Is a fool, or meNow there is no time to wait No time to think it over Take the path, believe the math You'll tell me when it's over

Amazon has a lightning deal on this clip-on tuner. It's just $5.59 for the time being. I bought one.

The original art for the cover of R. Crumb's Fritz the Cat 1969 paperback sold at Heritage Auctions for $717,000:Robert Crumb R. Crumb's Fritz the Cat Cover Original Art (Ballantine, 1969). Fritz gets cozy with girlfriend Charlene in this famous cover image, taken from the oversized collection of stories first published by Ballantine in October, 1969. This book was so popular, it rated a second printing a month later! The image would go on to inspire a popular statue by Randy Bowen and Neil Surges in 2003 that quickly sold out. Fritz himself would go on to star in two feature-length animated movies, Fritz the Cat (1972), and The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat (1974). Although later abandoned by the artist, Fritz remains one of R. Crumb's most popular characters, one that dates back to the homemade comics Robert was producing as a teenager in the early sixties. This is perhaps one of the most famous and important single pieces of art by Crumb, one that has been stashed away in a private collection for many years. It's sure to be the centerpiece of any collection of Underground Comix art. It's in ink on Bristol board, with an approximate image area of 11" x 12.5", and matted to an overall size of 16" x 20". There is minor outer border handling and edge wear, but the image remains in Excellent condition.Crumb hated the Ralph Bakshi movie adaptations so much that he drew a story in which Fritz was stabbed to death by his ex-girlfriend. Similarly, Matt Furie drew a story in World’s Greatest Cartoonists that depicts the death of Pepe Le Frog after it had been appropriated as an alt-right mascot.

I had forgotten this video game exists. Krull was a favorite movie, but I am sure I never played this.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6i2par2Fv0

It's hard to tell what's going on here with all the shouting, but a passenger was posting live updates about an irate gent's antics on this United flight from Shanghai:Already delayed an hour coming out of Shanghai to EWR when an older man in my row with a "Make America Great Again" hat decides to make a ruckus and delay everybody else. He insists that, because he couldn't get an upgrade, he's entitled to all three seats next to him even though they're assigned to somebody else.Captain, crew, and airport staff come over. Man threatens that they'll have to drag him off the plane.He finally relents, but not before berating some female passengers and crew, calling one passenger "Hillary" (lol) and "lesbian".Props to the United 87 crew for handling it professionally.update: Still haven't left yet. Everybody is standing, calling him an asshole, and urging him to leave.update 2: Police have arrived to applauseupdate 3: Crowd is really giving it to him.In English and in Chinese. Some people are really funnyBeen asked to deplaneUpdate 4: Haven't reboaded, but he is finally escorted off the plane. Crowd is pissed and chanting "Lock him up"Update 5: Finally reboarding and will get there 7 hours late, but we'll get there.Probably thinking that I'm hungry, the older Chinese lady (who can't speak any English) sitting next to me offered me a cookie.Update 6: Landed at SFO. waiting for a crew change and to get turned around to EWR.Unclear if the guy was eventually arrested, but gossip amongst the passengers is that Chinese police did not want to create an international incident on the plane, so rather than arrest him on the plane, they waited [for] the man to deplane as they had jurisdiction inside of the airportAccording to the LA Times, the flight was bound for Newark, N.J., but the captain made an unscheduled stop in San Francisco to eject the man.In a Facebook post, passenger Clark Gredoña described the events as they unfolded. He said the man claimed that because “he couldn't get an upgrade, he's entitled to all three seats next to him even though they're assigned to somebody else.”Cellphone videos taken abroad the aircraft showed the man shouting, “I am entitled to that seat,” then screaming at fellow passengers.In one exchange the man says, “This stupid man over here that does not know how to speak English and it doesn’t make sense, moron.”There are still a few vacant positions in the new administration, and with his level of statesmanlike conduct he's sure fill one of them soon.This guy has been delaying my wife's Shanghai to EWR United flt this a.m.. He wants to be dragged off so he can get his 25 million. MAGA hat pic.twitter.com/xWRSmpinpM— Daniel O'Connell (@DanOfromNYC) May 21, 2017"MAGA" passenger causes incident on @united flight at Shanghai Pudong. Details at https://t.co/s6uyjctjpI #united #united87 pic.twitter.com/hhyL7e63W9— Clark Gredona (@clark_gredona) May 21, 2017This guy in MAGA hat just caused cancellation @United#87.from Shanghai to Newark. Wanted to be dragged off to get his 25 million pic.twitter.com/FD7vuHPu84— Daniel O'Connell (@DanOfromNYC) May 21, 2017

Nick the Wrangler is no stranger to snakes and close calls, but even he looked rattled after this Eastern Diamondback, the most dangerous snake in North America, slithered onto his lap.From YouTube:After a long day of searching for snakes in the hottest part of the day. I decided to take a break. 15 or so minutes later I heard a rustle in the brush next to me. I take a better look to see an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake crawling towards me, so i just sat there as still as possible. I thought he was going to keep on cruising by, but instead he decided to check me out. I tried to get him to keep moving but he rushed up onto my lap. This was a very close call. I was definitely out of my comfort zone but by Gods grace I wasn't harmed.

Every scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is great, except the one where Charlie's mother sings a bittersweet song about Charlie. It comes out of nowhere and is very boring. I have always hated it and I love that others think so, too.This happened every time I would watch Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

The Bentley Bentayga Falconry is a poshmobile built out for falconry, hunting wild quarry with the aid of a trained falcon. This vehicle is the sequel to the Bentayga Fly Fishing vehicle. The price is not listed but if you have to ask... From Bentley:Inside the master flight station, you will find a stowage tray with individual compartments, which can hold your GPS bird tracking unit, binoculars and hand-crafted leather bird hoods and gauntlets.A beautiful Piano Black veneered drawer features a striking Saker falcon crest. This stores your own GPS tracking antennas, along with various tools and tethers for your birds.Inside the refreshment case are three metal flasks with durable cups, for tea, coffee or other beverage of your choice. There is also warm blanket and refreshing face cloths for your comfort.The cork fabric boot-floor and rear-sill protection cover is neatly integrated into the rear of your Bentayga. This reversible feature, together with the in-car perch, gives you a safe and comfortable space to prepare your bird for flight, with everything you need in easy reach.There is also a removable perch and tether that fits on the central armrest inside the car, making transporting your falcon safe and comfortable. (via Uncrate)

Roger Moore, famous for his portrayals of master spy James Bond and master criminal Simon Templar, is dead at 89, reports the BBC.Sir Roger's family confirmed the news on Twitter, saying he had died after "a short but brave battle with cancer".The statement, from his children, read: "Thank you Pops for being you, and being so very special to so many people."

The mechanical Royal Kludge keyboard (Update: in stock here) seems to do well with Amazon reviewers, but there are no guarantees you'll receive one with the coveted OFF/NO switch.

Microsoft announced Tuesday a long-awaited upgrade to its Surface Pro series of high-end tablet PCs, dropping the number from the name and adding Kaby Lake processors, more minutes on a charge and a few dollars to the price tag.Here's Mark Hachman, Senior Editor at PCWorld: For Surface Pro 4 owners, the new Surface Pro is a tablet that’s 20 percent faster, with 50 percent more battery life, all for roughly the same price. If you're wondering how Microsoft eked out more battery life, executives said it was a combination of an increased battery capacity as well as efficiencies in both the new Core chip and the Creators Update of Windows 10.The new low-end fanless model will be good stuff for everyday Windows users wanting a does-it-all gadget.Tom Warren at The Verge reports that the pen is being significantly upgraded, too, getting tilt detection, 4096 levels of sensitivity and a reduction in activation force: "Inking now feels a lot less laggy and way more responsive on the Surface Pro."This is key for me. I couldn't quite get used to even the highest-end models in the past because the pen latency was so much worse than Wacom gear or the iPad Pro. I'll check in on the fifth Surface Pro and report back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2s-R4v8wiYA transit officer in Minneapolis, whose main job is to ask "Tickets, please!", was filmed May 14 wanting "Papers, please!". The video posted on Facebook on May 20 has over 1 million views. In the clip, the officer asks the man, “Do you have a state ID?” The man appears to shake his head no.“Are you here illegally?” the officer asks next.Morales then intervenes and asks the officer, “Are you guys authorized to act as immigration police?”“No, not necessarily,” the officer says.Morales tells the officer, “Then I would stay out of that. It’s very touchy legal territory.”After the video went viral, Metro Transit Police Chief John Harrington released a statement assuring travelers it was not Metro policy to inquire about immigration status and promising an investigation.“It is the policy of the Metro Transit Police Department that all members make personal and professional commitments to equal enforcement of the law and equal service to the public. Confidence in this commitment will increase the effectiveness of this department in protecting and serving the entire community and recognizing the dignity of all persons, regardless of their immigration status.”Never trust someone wearing a shiny badge: they think they have all the other ones, too.