We're sure it's already marked on your calendars, so it probably isn't necessary to remind you that today heralds International Respect For Chickens Day. In keeping with the other causes being celebrated this month at Austinist, we would like to shed some light on this little-known holiday and illuminate some of the more charismatic chickens that have graced our time. Numbering somewhere near 24 million and counting, chickens are by far the most populous... more ›

Marijuana is a serious cash crop in Washington state, ranking as the state'ss 8th most economically-viable agricultural commodity. And you thought people in Austin liked weed. Hundreds feared dead in Phillipines following massive landslide. Senate Republicans block Democrats' attempts to formally investigate Big Brother's Bush's illegal wire tapping operation. Iraqi Interior Ministry may be operating a death squad. That joke about ocean-front property in Arizona may be true sooner than we thought: Greenland's glaciers... more ›

In a landmark decisionWednesday, the Supreme Court of Canada lifted a ban on swingers' clubs, ruling that group sex among consenting adults is neither prostitution nor a threat to society. We here know that being arrested for these acts can put quite a strain on someone’s professional image and may even cause depression. Leave it to Canada to address this issue and set the precedent for the rest of the world. How long must... more ›

Washington - The Senate voted down desperate efforts to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Drilling proponents had attached Arctic drilling to a critical bill that provides our troops with the resources they need to keep us safe. The vote that was 56-44. For procedural reasons, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist cast a vote with ANWR opponents so that he might be able to resurrect the issue for another try. But... more ›

Image from The Bioengineering Institute Have you ever wondered what the rest of the world thinks about us? While some media conglomerates try and lead you to believe our "news" is “fair and balanced” and maybe even informative, media and citizens in other countries often times have a little different perspective. To find out what the global community thinks of the US, check out watchingamerica.com. Here is their mission statement: WatchingAmerica reflects global opinion... more ›

He was the Walrus. He taught the world that all we need is love. He was a self-admitted dreamer, until one fateful night 25 years ago. On December 8th, 1980, Mark David Chapman, a former Beatles fanatic robbed the world not just of a beloved rock star, or a worldwide symbol of peace and love, but a true artist who changed the way the world viewed music. No one can take away John Lennon's... more ›

After much public outrage over the Catholic church's sexual abuse scandals involving teenage boys back in 2002, the Vatican yesterday formally released, in an official document, the church's stance towards gay priests. From Reuters: Confronting an issue that has divided the faithful worldwide, it says practising homosexuals should be barred from entering the priesthood along with men with "deep-seated" homosexual tendencies and those who support gay culture. The document, which has been leaked over... more ›

Five people in as many states are scheduled to be executed this week, bringing the total count in our country to 1,002 since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Texas, not surprisingly, leads the pack with 355 executions. Combined with Virginia and Oklahoma, the three account for over half of all executions performed in this country. Recently, public support for capital punishment has waned considerably: The Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that... more ›

For years now we have been over -inundated with salt & pepper haired men throwing cats through tire swings or sitting in hot tubs at dusk, frisky as hell, waiting for all that pharmacologically-inspired blood to rush to their johnsons as the missus sits by nervously, er, eagerly, waiting for her gravity-caught-up-to spare-tire-having lover to regain his vigor and mount her like the wild (and loving) animal he once was for a few weeks... more ›

-Keeping your cell phone on in London can get you kicked out of the theatre -Google aims to ease your holiday shopping ordeals -MTV's Real World: Austin ends tonight. Yawn. -The iTunes music store has become one of the top ten song sellers in the States -The hotly anticipated Xbox 360 hit stores today - and promptly sold out -Gary Glitter faces the death sentence in Vietnam after [allegedly] having sex with a 12-year... more ›

Let's just cut to the chase: everyone knows that smoking kills. Then again, so do stress, vodka, charcoal and high fructose corn syrup. But this isn't a public service board, nor do we care to proselytize - we'd just like to point out that today is the American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout. And unlike the other Great American Smokeout a few months from now, this one's designed to do your body a bit... more ›

-The director of Austin's Clean Water Program has been asked to resign amidst claims of "inappropriate" business dealings with his girlfriend -Austin Chronicle's Amy Smith tries to explain just what Prop 2 proponents were thinking -A murder suspect from San Marcos may be lurking somewhere in Austin -Cops raided a meth lab somewhere south of William Cannon -The country might be getting more prudish, but at least we can count on more sex on... more ›

-Police in the UK are trying to figure out the true identity of the fake Earl of Buckingham, who "married under the false name, passed it to his children, laid claim to the Buckingham crest and promised his teenage son that the peerage would one day be his." Sounds almost too awesome to be true. -The crazy woman in Houston who drowned her five children back in 2001 has had her murder convictions thrown... more ›

-Chaos continues to reign supreme in Paris, where over 3,000 vehicles and dozens of businesses have been destroyed. All of this is over the accidental death of two teenage boys, who had been hiding from the police. -Harry Potter has the "potential to frighten some children" -They caught that death-row inmate who'd escaped from Houston outside a liquor store in Louisiana - trashed. -Cheney wants desperately to retain the power to torture terror suspects... more ›

-Lewis "Scooter" Libby evidently dabbled in a bit of fiction writing, his 1996 novel The Apprentice dubbed by The New Yorker as his "entry in the long and distinguished annals of the right-wing dirty novel." Consider the following tasty excerpt: "He could feel her heart beneath his hands. He moved his hands slowly lower still and she arched her back to help him and her lower leg came against his. He held her breasts... more ›

-The Washington Post's Terry M. Neal speculates on Miers' failed bid for the Supreme Court -The latest move in Google's quest to take over the internet: crushing eBay? -Janet Jackson has a secret kid! (Maybe) -2,000 international firms have been accused by the United Nations of paying off Saddam Hussein's regime -MSNBC explains the whole hubbub over the CIA leak story -Charles and Camilla, desperately trying to stay relevant -Another luxury condo's going up... more ›

-Dubya nominates his top economic adviser, Ben Bernanke, as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve Board -Wilma, after tearing up Florida's eastern coast, heads towards the Atlantic. The damage is estimated in the billions. -Bush is holding back records of Miers' recommendations and activities from her days as his White House lawyer -Janet Reno: rock impresario -Mutiny at the New York Times! -The White Sox hold a 2-0 lead over the Astros, which... more ›

- The Hammer motioned to have his appointed judge, Travis County District Court's Bob Perkins, remove himself from the case, his attorney arguing that "Perkins has specifically given money to people or organizations that have opposed DeLay." The defendant himself whined that he was "charged with beating Democrats." Actually, Tom? You're charged with being a fucking crook. - Judge Perkins also presided over the case of Jackson Ngai, the UT student accused of brutally... more ›

-Surprise, surprise: NCLB has, in fact, left most behind. -Considering weight loss surgery? You're 4.6% likely to die. Better options: eating right, vigorous exercise, or picking up a cocaine habit. -Yet another reason why we wish we were twelve: Star Wars Transformers! -As a rule, when you throw a house party, uninvited guests will invariably show up. -These 2006 SXSW wristbands are going for a great cause. -They're actually arguing that intelligent design is... more ›

-Nearly two dozen of Austin's finest civic leaders gathered together today to declare their opposition to November 8th's Prop. 2 measure, which would effectively define marriage as solely between "one man and one woman." Among many others, Mayor Will Wynn let it be known that "a fundamental cultural characteristic of Texas is that we mind our own business" - something Great Hills Baptist Church pastor Michael Lewis was unaware of when he decried the... more ›

-The death toll in Asia now exceeds 35,000. Various donations efforts around town are underway -- we'll keep you posted. -Jetblue's starting a new nonstop service to NYC starting late January with - get this - introductory fares only $79 each way for tickets purchased by Oct. 31 for travel between Jan. 19 and Feb. 14. We know several of you are planning trips in the winter. -AMD made out like a bandit last... more ›

-The death toll in Pakistan and surrounding countries has exceeded 20,000, with countless more bodies yet to be recovered in what was the most devastating earthquake to hit South Asia in the last century. Aid agencies estimate that over 120,000 people are in "urgent need of shelter." The magnitude-7.6 quake struck on Saturday near the northeastern border of Kashmir and Pakistan. Austinist asks that you leave links to donation sites in the comments section. -Boy... more ›

-Yesterday the Senate almost unanimously approved John McCain's bill to set official standards for the military's treatment of detainees. The White House countered that this would "limit the president's ability as commander-in-chief to effectively carry out the war on terrorism." We won't bother commenting on that statement. -Spies from the Philippines may have infiltrated the White House! TomKat are expecting, Kate Moss might be arrested on charges of supplying cocaine upon return to Britain,... more ›

-Some organization called Safe Kids Worldwide voted us the safest metropolitan area for kids. And proving why we're probably not the hippest metropolitan area for kids, the entire student body of Oak Springs Elementary celebrated ... by making 300 children walk two blocks from ACC to their their school. Back in our day we called that exercise. And in unrelated news, that assistant principal from Bastrop High remains under investigation for possession of child... more ›

August Wilson, "Theater's Poet of Black America", passed away yesterday after a brief fight with liver cancer. He was 60. Wilson, whom we profiled back in June, was the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of a ten-piece, decade-by-decade exposition of the twentieth century as experienced by African Americans - from dealing with extraordinary obstacles like race relations, segregation, and the suffrage movement, to the banalities of daily life. Most recently the Pro Arts Collective performed Wilson's... more ›

Fortune smiles on Mr. Armstrong, who - after deftly conquering this year's Tour for the seventh consecutive time with the aide of his elite Discovery Channel team, earning the resentful ire of most of Europe, and brushing aside oft-repeated doping allegations, earlier this week proposed to longtime girlfriend Sheryl Crow. Austinist offers our congratulations to the happy couple!We were, however, taken aback by this little teaser attached nonchalantly to the press release - it... more ›

While our minds are primarily on the folks in Louisiana and Mississippi, we'd like to bring to light a tragedy that has gone under-reported here in the States. One of the most deadly events in Iraq's history occured yesterday. From the Associated Press: Thousands of people flocked to the funerals Thursday of the nearly 1,000 Shiite pilgrims killed in a stampede during a religious procession, as critics blasted the government for failing to prevent... more ›

El Jefe, President Bush, is going to announce his nomination for Justice O'Connor's replacement on the Supreme Court tonight at 8 CST. CNN reports that their money is on Edith Clement, a conservative judge from New Orleans. Our money is on someone just moderate enough to sneak by the confirmation process with little trouble, only to become a radical neocon upon taking the bench! But what do we know? We're just paranoid drug using... more ›

In case you have not heard, early this morning in London (which would have been the middle of the night for us) several explosions hit the city’s transport system near the financial district and King’s Cross. Three bombs exploded in the tube system, one other on a public bus. The subway and bus lines were immediately shut down, bringing the city to a standstill. London's transportation system remains frozen indefinitely while rescuers search among... more ›

Go Directly to Jail. This sounds like something off of Fark. A San Marcos man was arrested for saving someone's life. Houston visitor Abed Duamni was swimming in the San Marcos River and could not get out of a current. Dave Newman jumped in and saved him. But, emergency workers said they did not know how many people were in trouble, and after Duamni was safe, Newman did not immediately come and talk to... more ›