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March 26, 2006
New York Times to release Bush/Blair memo tomorrow. The memo, which was
mentioned previously, but never publically disclosed, confirms that George W. Bush and Tony Blair were determined to invade Iraq, regardless of UN approval, and despite what both leaders told their citizens. More troubling, the memo also indicates that Bush may have conspired to assassinate Saddam Hussein, which appears to violate Sec. 5g of
Executive Order 11905, which states that "No employee of the United States Government shall engage in, or conspire to engage in, political assassination." This executive order was considered
the law of the land even after 9/11, when Bob Barr proposed legislation
H.R. 19, which was never enacted into law.
posted by insomnia_lj at 11:04 PM PST - 82 comments
Cenotes (say-NO-tays), scattered across the Yucatan peninsula,
vary greatly in shape and size, but are often quite
beautiful in any case. Some cenotes were apparently used for ritual
human sacrifice by the Mayans, and some, say scientists, contain waterlife which may be helpful in
treating cancer. However, these cenotes and their connected ecosystems may be in danger if the rapid and largely unchecked
development of the
Maya Riviera continues.
posted by Stauf at 10:44 PM PST - 16 comments
Desmond Doss dies at 87. Desmond Doss, first conscientious objector to win a
Medal of Honor, was a Seventh Day Adventist who refused to carry a gun, eat meat, or work on Saturday. Under heavy Japanese fire, he lowered 75 wounded men to safety from the top of the Maeda Escarpment on Okinawa. That was only one of his
acts of heroism.
posted by forrest at 9:07 PM PST - 17 comments
In the great olfactory tradition of stinky protests caregivers across America are text mobilizing themselves into action: "APRIL 10 IS DIRTY DIAPER DAY. ALL POLISH, RUSSIAN, FILIPONO (sic) AND OTHER CAREGIVERS IN THE U.S. ARE URGED TO TAKE A DAY OFF IN SOLIDARITY WITH IMMIGRATION REFORMS. REMEMBER TAKE A DAY OFF ON APRIL 10, DIRTY DIAPER DAY. YOUR FUTURE "DEPENDS" ON IT! (
Entry #27 here). Yes, they are
incensed!
posted by azul at 1:20 PM PST - 70 comments
"
The Movie Timeline is the history of everything, taken from one simple premise - that everything you see in the movies is true..." For example, "November 6, 2012: The United States elects a female president (Back To The Future Part II)" [
via]
posted by feelinglistless at 1:19 PM PST - 18 comments
The night's event featured speakers Daniel C. Dennett, Matt Ridley, Sir John Krebs, Ian McEwan, and -- the man himself -- Richard Dawkins. It was, as you might suspect (based on the title), an event celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of Dawkins'
seminal work.
If you didn't get a chance to attend, you can still read the full transcript or stream/download the audio of it in MP3 format (many thanks to Helena Cronin, founder/director of
Darwin@LSE, for hosting the file).
Thanks to
3QD for the link.
posted by Moody834 at 10:39 AM PST - 20 comments
It's still about the means of production, you see — but in the overdeveloped world, at least, it's not about the production of goods and services anymore. Today's virtual revolutionary is happy to leave all that to capitalists. The virtual revolutionary wants to control the production of meaning — representations of herself and her world as she wants them to seem. Or be. Or whatever.
That's all she asks.
Or, rather, takes.
Thomas de Zengotita welcomes the big world of the small screen. Peter Bogdanovich, instead,
still mourns that last picture show.
posted by matteo at 8:17 AM PST - 22 comments
This heart-wrenching 4 part story of the lives of some of the severely wounded US soldiers brought tears to my eyes - the descriptions of what these kids are enduring, the difficulties faced by their families, the courage they display under circumstances that would reduce most of us to useless blobs. These are the true costs of an illegal, immoral war. Truly tragic in scope.
posted by dbiedny at 7:22 AM PST - 44 comments
"It was the quickest way down." On August 16, 1960,
Joe Kittinger jumped from a helium balloon at
102,800 feet, over 19 miles up. After
free-falling for four and a half minutes and reaching 614 MPH,
almost breaking the sound barrier, he opened his parachute at 18,000 feet and
landed safe and sound after an almost 14 minute descent.
He set records for highest balloon ascent, highest parachute jump, longest freefall and fastest speed by a man through the atmosphere.
[more inside]"I didn't hear a sonic boom; I didn't even hear any whooshing or whistling of the wind. But when I flipped over and looked back at my balloon, it sure was an eerie sight--the sky was black as night but I was bathed in sunshine."
posted by kirkaracha at 1:02 AM PST - 48 comments
