MetaFilter

Freedom's Defenders or Politicians' Pawns? No pretense of protecting Americans’ freedom went into the decision to enter into the Spanish-American War. It was out-and-out imperialism and nothing more. Veterans of that war may have helped to liberate Cuba , Guam , Puerto Rico , and the Philippines from Spanish rule; but those same veterans then turned around and rammed the jackboot of the U. S. military into the faces of those they had just liberated. Hundreds of thousands of Cubans and Filipinos, who had thought they were being freed only to find out they had merely exchanged one colonial master for another, were killed in their own independence-from-Uncle-Sam movements. When they finally did throw off direct U. S. rule, they were then saddled with dictators of Uncle Sam’s choosing. No credit for the defense of Americans’ freedom can be granted to veterans of this war. Compare to this: Gunning For Saddam We report, you decide indeed...
posted by Elim at 11:02 PM PST - 24 comments

Keep your hands where I can see them. - Can't say Mom didn't warn you. Side effects include: fatigue, stress, thinning hair, eye floaters or fuzzy vision, and tail bone cramps. [via Monkeyfilter]
posted by AlexReynolds at 10:47 PM PST - 30 comments

According to Benny Hinn's wife, we need a Holy Ghost enema. [safe for work unless you work in a church]
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 9:30 PM PST - 31 comments

Boys performs ultimate Mortal Kombat fatality on friend. In related news, some would like videogame creators to be accountable for influencing the tender young minds of our children.
posted by Kleptophoria! at 9:16 PM PST - 45 comments

The most expensive record in the world! Another music post for today's MusicFilter. The true story of a yard sale, a couple of quarters, and one happy lad's good fortune. Velvet Underground included.
posted by underer at 8:13 PM PST - 15 comments

Ghosts in the Machine. How many email addresses do you have? How many forums have you joined? How many people do you speak to online? Where does the trail of your Internet life take you--and what would happen to it when you die? MyLastEmail and DiedOnline haven't been available for a while now. Executors' jobs may get a lot more complicated.
posted by Anonymous at 6:42 PM PST - 23 comments

Vicki Bennett is better known as People Like Us, and just so happens to be the anointed queen of Plunderphonics. Her music is comprised almost entirely of uncleared samples and has avoided lawsuit only by virtue of their (and her own) obscurity. Similar in style and sense of humor to The Evolution Control Committee and the (amazing, really, really amazing) Avalanches, you'll find nearly her entire body of work here.
posted by StopMakingSense at 6:07 PM PST - 11 comments

The Dr. Demento Show : Post all 1,338 Dr. Demento Shows in my collection as high-quality stereo...
posted by cedar at 5:52 PM PST - 24 comments

"Chinese Democracy" - The Most Expensive Album Never Made (NY Times article)
posted by davebush at 5:52 PM PST - 35 comments

Ned Kahn does really great things with fire, fog, sand, water and wind. Sadly, some don't last. Heard on WNYC's Studio 360
posted by geekyguy at 5:50 PM PST - 13 comments

Not the most Poetic of Declarations Art from Little Rocket.
posted by ColdChef at 3:36 PM PST - 17 comments

Xenolinguistics primer. The study of extraterrestrial languages is rather impractical in this day and age, but potentially useful in the future. That didn't stop Bowling Green State University from offering a course in it. The course website has many interesting links to sites discussing such invented tongues as ilish, fith, ro and kebreni. [Note: Some of the links on the course website are broken]
posted by Kattullus at 3:29 PM PST - 17 comments

The amazingly pathetic sex-for-rent poster. Hey ladies, New York got you strapped for cash? Looking for a nicely lit apartment with high ceilings? This handsome, black haired bachelor has a room available at cut-rate prices. After all, money isn't everything.
posted by nyterrant at 2:36 PM PST - 39 comments

list of all current PalmOS pda devices and this list of discontinued PalmOS PDAs. Has a good list of pretty much every PalmOS pda that has come out in the US. Has the basic information of the PDA, including processor, memory, extra features...all in a nice organized chart. Even has links to reviews of these PDAs. And it could help you find a PDA for this.
posted by EvilKenji at 12:47 PM PST - 17 comments

Hey Guero! NY Times article on Beck past and present. Did you know that Christina Ricci did the japanese girl voice on "Hell Yes"? (registration/bugmenot required as always)
posted by buriednexttoyou at 12:31 PM PST - 32 comments

Teens in Israel need to find a new hobby: Incoming recruits to Israel's Defense Forces (Tzahal) who divulge playing Dungeons & Dragons are being flagged with low security clearance and psychological disorders. New guidelines are in place that limit D&D hobbyists from being considered for sensitive army positions such as Sayeret Mat'Kal, one of the most elite designations of Tzahal. Why does the IDF believe the game is so dangerous?: "These people have a tendency to be influenced by external factors which could cloud their judgment, a military official says. "They may be detached from reality or have a weak personality – elements which lower a person's security clearance, allowing them to serve in the army, but not in sensitive positions." Many find this policy inexplicable, and are turning to humor to aleviate the ridiculousness.
posted by naxosaxur at 11:51 AM PST - 38 comments

Gunner Palace. See the war we keep talking about. The making of Gunner Palace. The diary of the filmmaker Michael Tucker. Rottentomato reviews.
posted by srboisvert at 9:56 AM PST - 25 comments

The Kompakt Kittens! Minimal techno from Germany + kittens + Flash = an awesome Sunday morning.
posted by josh at 8:38 AM PST - 21 comments

Mind Your Manners! Put your knowledge of excruciatingly correct behavior to the test: "Adopt the role of a late 19th century character and try to earn your place in a world where every move is governed by the rules of etiquette." Certainly antiquated but amusing nonetheless.
posted by Lush at 8:32 AM PST - 36 comments

RIP Tommy Vance. For years the voice of BBC Radio 1's 'The Friday Rock Show' and, for TV viewers throughout the UK, the voice of a multitude of adverts, Tommy Vance has died following a stroke. RIP you gravel-throated bringer of rock.
posted by TheDonF at 6:26 AM PST - 9 comments

The Incentives for Silence: [login or Google required] An Army intelligence sergeant was ordered to a psychologist for voicing concerns about the safety of Iraqi prisoners. After finding nothing wrong with him, his commanding officer told the psychologist that, “I don't care what you saw or heard, he is imbalanced, and I want him out of here.”

“The next day... the soldier was evacuated from Iraq in restraints on a stretcher to a military hospital in Germany, despite having been given no official diagnosis”
[via Drudge]
posted by trinarian at 2:20 AM PST - 36 comments

wolves join federal sheep board (via dailyrotten)
posted by Tryptophan-5ht at 1:34 AM PST - 16 comments