The Latest from Boing Boing

Music: "I've got an Ape Drape," The Vandals (1998) They are giving them to everyone, and that means you. Read the rest... FBI secretly seeking legal power to hack any computer, anywhere The Bureau is seeking a rule-change from the Administrative Office of the US Courts that would give it the power to distribute malware, hack, and trick any computer, anywhere in the world, in the course of investigations; it's the biggest expansion of FBI spying power in its history and they're hoping to grab it without an act of Congress or any public scrutiny or debate. Read the rest... Philadelphia schools have $5/student/year for supplies "Education reform," the charter school movement (that siphons state funding for well-off kids into private hands), the racialized segregation of inner-city and suburban school districts, No Child Left Behind, and the scapegoating of teachers' unions has produced an education system that hardly even qualifies as a 12-year babysitting service. Read the rest... 42 rich white people account for 1/3 of Super PAC spending 35 of them are old white men, the rest are women. The unfettering of big money also makes it harder to elect minority candidates. Read the rest... London, Tue night: Cory and Biella Coleman talk about "Hackers and Hoaxers: Inside Anonymous" Anthropologist Gabriella Coleman (author of the brilliant Coding Freedom) spent years embedded with Anonymous and has written an indispensable account of the Anonymous phenomenon. Read the rest... PLAY: Santa vs Hallowe'en Chris writes, "To parody the earlier and earlier onset of the holiday shopping season, Betabrand created a video game where St Nick sets out to conquer Halloween. Now that Christmas has overrun Thanksgiving, it's only logical that Santa will set his sights on All Hallow's eve, so that he may turn Black Friday into Black Fall." Read the rest... Kickstarting Night Witches, an RPG about WWII Soviet airwomen Night Witches is the latest game from Jason Morningstar, creator of the excellent caper/heist game Fiasco. There was a night bomber regiment in World War Two composed entirely of women. Read the rest... Mechwarrior dad/baby costume Ryan Bowen and his baby son Geraint dressed as a mech warrior for Hallowe'en in an awesome effort that turns the child into a brave mecha-pilot. Read the rest... Petition to Indian gov't for open publication of standards Rogue archivist Carl Malamud sez, "Namaste! Public.Resource.Org respectfully submitted a Petition to the Honorable Ministry of the Government India charged with oversight over the Bureau of Indian Standards. Read the rest... Music: "Let It Roll," Little Feat (1988) Always cheers me up. Read the rest... YubNub! It is World Ewok Appreciation Day David Mizejewski found his old Star Wars action toys. So he did what anyone else would do: make an amazing Ewok diorama. Read the rest...