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Death .... online
be sure to check out preservation and decomposition, among other points of interest here....
posted by anastasiav at 10:29 PM PST - 3 comments

Iraq: The Bungled Transition. Iraq: How bad can things get?--The Making of a Mess. Far graver than Vietnam, some now see a Classic guerrilla war forming in Iraq with an Enemy With Many Faces. Iraqi Shiite philosopher--as Juan Cole calls him--and blogger Abbas Kadhim of Calling It Like It Is, likens the Allawi government to an onion farm--This lack of discipline within the Iraqi interim government is not accidental. Indeed, it is the manifestation of a bigger problem: the members of the cabinet consider themselves above the restraints of their respective positions in the government... After all, their nominal chief, Allawi did not choose them, like all prime ministers do to a certain degree. They were simply imposed upon him, and for all practical purposes, he is unable to dismiss any one of them. Iyad Allawi is stuck with a concoction of personalities that may compose a parliament rather than an executive branch.--and as US-backed armies firing blanks notes: Since the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Washington has been struggling to create a 40,000-strong military force... according to Brigadier General James Schwitters, who is part of the US command responsible for training Iraq's new army, only 3,000 of the soldiers could be regarded as having been militarily trained, as of early August. From March to 2003 to August 2004, the Coalition trained 3,00 Iraqi soldiers. Well? Feelin' lucky, punk? /Dirty Harry (More Inside)
posted by y2karl at 10:21 PM PST - 58 comments

Cat Stevens on NatSec watchlist. "A London-to-Washington flight was diverted to Maine on Tuesday when it was discovered passenger Yusuf Islam - formerly known as singer Cat Stevens - was on a government watch list and barred from entering the country, federal officials said... Homeland Security Department spokesman Dennis Murphy identified the passenger as Islam. 'He was interviewed and denied admission to the United States on national security grounds,' Murphy said, and would be put on the first available flight out of the country Wednesday."
posted by mwhybark at 9:24 PM PST - 79 comments

Women In Iran With the slogan of "Women's Right Is Human Right", the website tries to tell the story of struggles, issues and successes of Iranian women, and in this way we would like to extend our hands to and welcome all those who believe in the social and intellectual equality of women and men.
posted by hoder at 8:41 PM PST - 3 comments

Let your children play with the common cold... introducing giant microbe plush toys. [link via die puny humans]
posted by drezdn at 7:03 PM PST - 9 comments

project hello
"... To give homeless individuals a name, and in the process, encourage others to treat them with dignity, respect, and compassion. "
posted by specialk420 at 6:22 PM PST - 9 comments

JPG Magazine is accepting submissions until October 4. via halcyon
posted by macadamiaranch at 6:19 PM PST - 11 comments

New Hitchhiker's BBC radio series debuted today. I managed to miss it but one can listen online starting Thursday. Previously discussed here.
posted by CunningLinguist at 4:25 PM PST - 15 comments

Slate translates Kerry to English. A lot of the argument lately is that Kerry doesn't really offer up a concete stand on his viewpoint. This article from William Saletan sums up what he believes Kerry is trying to say based on the speech he gave in New York earlier, and how he really stands in opposition to President Bush. Thoughts?
posted by daHIFI at 4:23 PM PST - 32 comments

Howard Dean speaks --on the coming draft. Any of you going to be 20 in 2005, and/or medical personnel? And girls, don't think you'll be exempt. (altho we know Jenna and Barbara of course will be.)
posted by amberglow at 4:06 PM PST - 96 comments

Pongmechanik is a fascinating physical incarnation of the classic video game.
posted by riffola at 4:02 PM PST - 6 comments

MP3's - Covers & Tributes on Guitar101.com. is like karaoke WITH GUITARS!!!! My favorite so far.
posted by turbodog at 3:42 PM PST - 6 comments

What Are You Voting For?
posted by Yelling At Nothing at 1:40 PM PST - 23 comments

No Air-Kissing Please, We're British [via artsjournal]
posted by kenko at 1:02 PM PST - 14 comments

Man beaten to death for refusing to give out cigarette. In unrelated news, studies link nicotine addiction to a genetic predisposition for aggression.
posted by cohappy at 11:39 AM PST - 31 comments

U.S. Geological Survey before and after photos of gulf coast barrier islands in Alabama and Florida showing the impact of Hurricane Ivan.
posted by pitchblende at 11:35 AM PST - 20 comments

Are bluffing bots outplaying human poker players online? They might not be as strong as Vex Bot, but they could spell trouble for the booming online-poker industry.
posted by mrgrimm at 10:53 AM PST - 28 comments

Five Days in Hell - what's it like to be an Iraqi hostage? Canadian war journalist Scott Taylor provides a harrowing account of his recent 5-day ordeal as a hostage of notorious Islamic mujahedin groups. Christopher Delisso has an interview with Taylor, and blogger Zeyad of Healing Iraq offers informed local commentary on kidnappings in his post, "On clerics, fatwas and terrorism."
posted by madamjujujive at 10:50 AM PST - 14 comments

Los Zafiros. A Cuban pop group that could rival the Beatles for song-craft, if not in popularity. Don't take my word for it though. Read Ry Cooder's interview, see the movie, read the movie review, or listen yourself [real|wmp].
posted by Fezboy! at 10:17 AM PST - 13 comments

William Safire on "the izzle": "And now, in the pages of The New York Times, there it is — a word modified with the ubiquitous izzle. Some clever Times copy editor, for a June article about Chrysler's new 300C sedan, created the headline, "Fo' Shizzle, That Big Bad Chrysler Really Does Sizzle". So now that the gray lady herself has been izzled from the inside, is it time for everyone to wish one last fond farewizzle and shed the shizzle? (MTV interview mentioned in the article is here.)
posted by taz at 7:06 AM PST - 33 comments

"Witches are trying to kill me." Standing on his porch dressed in warm-up pants, a T-shirt and a sweat-stained army cap, Jake Jenkins explains Luzerne County is the location of the largest witches coven in the state .... "You have the witches that want to play at it, and then you have the real serious bastards, deadly," he said.
posted by grabbingsand at 6:41 AM PST - 52 comments

Art by Nelson Mandela and others
posted by Pretty_Generic at 6:04 AM PST - 2 comments

The real Vatican is in Kansas. "On July 16, 1990 the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Roman Church elected David Bawden as Pope Michael, ending an almost 32 year long interegnum."
posted by eustacescrubb at 3:52 AM PST - 26 comments

Like cats? Like infinity? You'll love the Infinite Cat project.
posted by triv at 2:14 AM PST - 19 comments

Interesting article on The Loneliness of Being German: "Germans have turned their back on the arrogance of nationalism.. But if nationhood is obsolete then so is identity. It would mean that there is no such thing as being German and that they possess no individuality." Meanwhile, far right wing party growing support in German elections: "It's a great day for Germans who still want to be Germans" -- Holger Apfel, NPD leader in Saxony. Germany's government has described the NPD as a latter-day version of Hitler's Nazi party.
posted by stbalbach at 12:49 AM PST - 12 comments