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The war in Iraq is now joining the South African War (1899-1902) and the Suez crisis in 1956 as ill-considered ventures that have done Britain more harm than good. It has demonstrably strengthened al-Qaeda by providing it with a large pool of activists and sympathisers across the Muslim world it did not possess before the invasion of 2003. The war that started out as a demonstration of US strength as the world's only superpower has turned into a demonstration of weakness. Its 135 000-strong army does not control much of Iraq. The suicide bombing campaign in Iraq is unique. Never before have so many fanatical young Muslims been willing to kill themselves trying to destroy those they see as their enemies. On a single day in Baghdad this month 12 bombers blew themselves up. There have been more than 500 suicide attacks in Iraq during the past year. It is this campaign that has now spread to Britain and Egypt...
Iraq has descended into chaos way beyond West's worst-case scenario
posted by y2karl at 11:36 PM PST - 61 comments

This guy kept his amputate foot in a bucket of formaldehyde on his porch. Occasionally he would cut off toes to give to friends as gifts. Uhhh, thanks. I guess. via SLC's own hektik.
posted by trbrts at 10:44 PM PST - 23 comments

Birth of Clinton Cargo Cult [ wikipedia: what's a cargo cult ? In short, yearning for Clinton-era economic prosperity got cultified. ]...OK. Here's the rap : Any day, Jesus Christ will return in a space ship bringing news that Bill Clinton signed a secret law in 2000 abolishing the IRS. The law, NESARA , "would expose the "Republican Party" for what they are: literally reptile space aliens posing as fiscal conservatives......And thus was a new religion born....Some people have asked, 'Why does Jesus need a spaceship'?". There's a NESARA documentary, and NESARA holds its own DC rallies. Story courtesy of John Gorenfeld, a noted authority on Lunar anomalies.
posted by troutfishing at 10:23 PM PST - 25 comments

Places and spaces is an exhibit which aims to compare and contrast the first maps of our entire planet with the first maps of all of science as we know it.
posted by dhruva at 10:21 PM PST - 5 comments

CAFTA passed in House Despite unions, NGOs, and even some hispanic organizations, CAFTA was passed by the House tonight, most likely soon to be followed by the Senate and signed by Bush. Is this a positive move, or will this "send jobs overseas"?
posted by Moral Animal at 10:15 PM PST - 25 comments

Semiotics for beginners. via Michael Bérubé
posted by kenko at 9:37 PM PST - 21 comments

"I... Forgot."

Upon the death of a possible BSE cow, "the unidentified doctor preserved the brain stem sample in formalin... but then 'simply forgot' about it until mid-July." That's the reason why we're only hearing about it now. Any questions?
posted by soyjoy at 7:45 PM PST - 50 comments

"A look at the average number of page views per title reveals that Microsoft gets about half as many page views per title as compared to Google and Apple" a strong indication of where reader interest actually resides." - ZDNet. Intelliseek's Blogpulse reveals similar numbers: #1 Google: 473K, #2 Apple: 381K, #3 Microsoft: 262K. Venture capitalist, Ed Sim, says: "While the OS is important, Microsoft has lost its complete and utter dominance as we move to a service-oriented world where broadband is everywhere, apps are in the cloud, and the browser becomes king."
posted by spock at 7:32 PM PST - 19 comments

Zora Neale Hurston's Glossary of Harlem Slang. Profiles of black writers including Audre Lorde, Chester Himes, The Last Poets and Linton Kwesi Johnson. The complete list of Coretta Scott King children's book award winners. Lots of informative off-site links. A lively forum filled with juicy gossip, among other pleasures. Just a few things you'll find at the African American Literature Book Club.
posted by mediareport at 7:29 PM PST - 11 comments

"For every Deep Roy, there are a hundred and fifty of us who are forced to do wacked-out shit on 'The Man Show.' I'd like Tim Burton to tell me to my face what is the benefit of hiring one dwarf actor and computer-generating him when he could hire seven. We're standing at the gate and we're raising our hands and saying, 'Pick me!' And then Tim Burton comes out and says, 'I'm sorry, guys, go on home. We've got this machine that can do all your jobs.'"
posted by JPowers at 7:26 PM PST - 43 comments

NSFW- Model vs. Photographer "First, I really thought that the shots would be funny. Second, it was about the only truly creative idea I had ever had. While I've often seen photographers do nude self portraits, I had never seen a male photographer try to adopt the same poses as his female models. Third, what better way to blunt the criticism that most nude art degrades women? I'm saying that I'm perfectly willing to do anything that I ask my models to do. And I really think that the more feminine the pose, the funnier the shots become."
posted by nadawi at 7:14 PM PST - 73 comments

The Wapo first reported that a security researcher Michael Lynn of ISS had discovered a critical hole in Cisco routers, was ready to present his findings at Blackhat, and then suddenly bowed out. Some began to cry "cover-up", and Cisco denied the vulnerability. Then, dramatically, Lynn resigned from ISS and gave his presentation, saying "I'm probably about to be sued to oblivion. (But) the worst thing is to keep this stuff secret."
posted by sohcahtoa at 6:05 PM PST - 12 comments

..I would like to convey the message that our system works. We did not need to use a secret military tribunal, or detain the defendant indefinitely as an enemy combatant, or deny him the right to counsel, or invoke any proceedings beyond those guaranteed by or contrary to the United States Constitution. ...We can deal with the threats to our national security without denying the accused fundamental constitutional protections. ...--U.S. Western District Judge John Coughenour, while sentencing "Millennium Bomber", Ahmed Ressam. With 60 Terror Plots foiled in the past 10 years, and pretty much none foiled due to the DHS and Patriot Act, it has to be asked-- Why isn't regular law enforcement and all the rest enough? (a little more inside)
posted by amberglow at 5:20 PM PST - 38 comments

What's That Bug? Got a bug in your house that needs identifying? These lovely people have the answers. Good to know that an Oooh! Bug is actually called a House Centipede.
posted by crapulent at 1:24 PM PST - 61 comments

Operation Bug Out. As predicted in a leaked document from Britain's Defense Ministry earlier this month, the US is planning to start withdrawing troops from Iraq as early as Spring 2006, despite President Bush's statement that there's not going to be any timetables because "if you give a timetable, you're -- you're conceding too much to the enemy." (Sometimes he thinks it's important for the president to lay out a timetable, sometimes he doesn't.) Is the withdrawal happening because we're running out of troops or because of midterm elections? Or has another mission been accomplished?
posted by kirkaracha at 12:14 PM PST - 48 comments

The Prison Policy Initiative conducts research and advocacy on incarceration policy. Some interesting data include the proliferation of prisons in the US over the last century, disenfranchisement of potential black voters, global incarceration rates and percentage of US population under control of the criminal justice system.
posted by Gyan at 10:54 AM PST - 42 comments

Will it be Marc Garneau, the first Canadian in space? Or maybe former Tory politician Joe Clark, unlucky as prime minister but inspired as foreign minister? Or the "man in motion," Rick Hansen, a paraplegic who wheeled the circumference of the earth? Step right up and wonder at the identity of Canada's next head of state: [more inside]
posted by docgonzo at 10:43 AM PST - 25 comments

Weldon Kees, bohemian and poet, disappeared at the Golden Gate Bridge fifty years ago this month.
posted by xowie at 10:36 AM PST - 4 comments

NYSE Marketrac, flash for investors.
posted by nervousfritz at 10:29 AM PST - 15 comments

Cambridge Illuminations claims to be the largest exhibition of medieval illuminated manuscripts since 1908. To see all 200 exhibits, you'll have to visit the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge; but 65 of the best, including the sixth-century Gospels of St Augustine and the recently discovered Macclesfield Psalter, can be viewed online.
posted by verstegan at 10:09 AM PST - 8 comments

A $10,000 bounty & appalling arrogance. Gary Skoien, Cook County GOP chairman, placed a $10,000 bounty on Da mare's head over by dere. Gary Skoien: "I am personally placing a ten thousand dollar bounty on the head of Richard Daley. He's the head Democrat and chief punk on that Chicago team." Jacqueline Heard: "A bounty?" Gary Skoien: "Yeah, ten thousand bucks of my own money for the first of my men who really creams that guy."
posted by Smedleyman at 10:07 AM PST - 53 comments

Bizarre child support battle in Brooklyn A Brooklyn, New York man who stopped paying storage fees for his frozen sperm after divorcing his wife has filed suit against the sperm bank, his ex, and a notary public after learning she picked up the payments and used the sperm to get pregnant. Deon Francois, who now must pay child support, says he didn't want a child and never gave consent for the use of his sperm.
posted by halekon at 9:55 AM PST - 110 comments

solipsistic :: beautiful weirdness - Old Photographs and Surrealistic Prose
posted by anastasiav at 9:44 AM PST - 11 comments

Walmart vs the free press again... other examples: the book mentioned in this thread is no longer available. This and that and the other thread too. Another point in a pattern of steadily increasing restriction of the press by this taxpayer funded mega -corp? Or simply a case of private enterprise making decisions in its own interest - nothing to see here, move along...
posted by dorcas at 7:47 AM PST - 118 comments

Kiss your son's belly button Spend six months in jail.
posted by delmoi at 7:17 AM PST - 68 comments

It's all about Customer Service. Craig Newmark on his spiritual mission...
posted by lilboo at 7:04 AM PST - 6 comments

Al Qaeda Training Manual [note: PDF files]
posted by crunchland at 5:42 AM PST - 25 comments

Meet the Robocoaster - The Robocoaster is a variation on the robot arms which are used in factories to build cars. By adding seats, designers have turned a functional machine into the fastest, most unpredictable ride you'll ever take. It can be self programmed to travel in millions of movement combinations. No ride will ever be the same. Video (Flash) 1, 2 and 3. Via Beyond Tomorrow.
posted by sjvilla79 at 5:26 AM PST - 36 comments

Have you heard of Kobe beef? How about Liechtenstein's milk?
posted by magullo at 1:36 AM PST - 33 comments

The Christian Paradox Bill McKibben in Harper's examines why America is "simultaneously the most professedly Christian of the developed nations and the least Christian in its behavior."
posted by robliberal at 1:01 AM PST - 84 comments