MetaFilter

Halliburton Handed No-Bid Iraqi Oil Firefighting Contract You still believe this war is about nothing more then WMD's? I wonder how many other of Bush and Cheney's friends are benefiting from this war? The US government didn't even bother to give other companies a chance to bid for this contract. While on the topic of WMD's you might want to check out this, about the lack of skepticism when it comes to the media making claims for weapons in Iraq. Remember Fox and their claim of a "HUGE" chemical weapons stash? How are we to get accurate news on this war if the journalist's we rely on are nothing more then puppets for this administration?
posted by tljenson at 10:55 PM PST - 40 comments

8-bit gaming forever! I've been thinking about the old days lately; back to when I was a young lad sitting in front of our families huge 19 inch TV and spending a good 10 hours or more with my trusty Atari 2600 playing Pong, Combat, Pac Man, and whatnot. I'd say I had a good 50 or more games for my 2600, and I played that thing until it just fried to death, begging for mercy as I whipped the joystick to and fro trying to find the chalice in Adventure.

So imagine my surprise when I head over to ThinkGeek and see a swanky little controller with 10 Atari games harcoded into it. Just, um, "Plug and Play". Heh heh... anyhow, they also have an Activision version as well. I love the idea of one of these. I think it'd be great if it could be upgraded to handle more games as well. I wouldn't mind playing some "E.T., the Extraterrestrial" right about now.
posted by crankydoodle at 10:44 PM PST - 18 comments

Meet the new masters. A facinating look at the people behind the Project for a New American Century, many of whom hold high positions in the Bush administration. Regime Change in Iran anyone?
posted by delmoi at 10:12 PM PST - 38 comments

"If terrorists strike a chemical plant just nine miles from Times Square, millions could die. But the chemical industry and its friends in Washington are blocking tough safeguards." In fact, according to Senator Jon Corzine and the EPA, there are 123 chemical facilities in the US where a release of chemicals could threaten more than one million people. But a year after Carl Prine found he could just stroll into 30 chemical plants in three cities, many plants remain vulnerable, and I fear that the U.S. may yet experience its own Bhopal.
posted by homunculus at 9:23 PM PST - 6 comments

Chris Brown and Kate Fenner, formerly of the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir have a new song/website/campaign for the you-know-what in you-know-where. But for those sick of the war, you can always help them protest globalization. And if nothing else, Kate Fenner is real cutie.
posted by Robot Johnny at 8:27 PM PST - 4 comments

Who was Count Saint-Germain? I was reading Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum (discussed a bit here) and encountered the Count Saint-Germain, who I had vague recollections of from an episode of ...In Search Of. Turns out he is a pretty fascinating character, and has been labelled a genius, a charlatan, and even a vampire.
posted by synecdoche at 8:16 PM PST - 5 comments

A teacher in Detroit notes the strange disappearance of an Iraqi student. "Even we are starting to notice that a few of our Middle Eastern students and parents and neighbors are disappearing. Another teacher said that my story made her realize she hasn't seen a certain Palestinian student for three weeks." Mass exodus? Detention? Deportation? Where are these students going?
posted by Hildegarde at 8:00 PM PST - 23 comments

Tuesday Evening Flash Fun: Joel Veitch's Tales of the Blode.
Episode 1
Episode 2: A Trip to the Seaside
Episode 3: Marmot Mayhem
Episode 4: Food Feed Fury
Episode 5: Toad Turmoil
Episode 6: Attack of the Uber-Pea
And, of course, Blode and the Giant Bee.
It's all fairly self-explanatory.
posted by PrinceValium at 7:27 PM PST - 7 comments

I flatter me. A run against fame. Fun with the Internet Anagram Server.
posted by the fire you left me at 6:58 PM PST - 68 comments

Most of the recent pro-war demonstrations around the United States have been organized by stations owned by Clear Channel Communications, the nation's largest owner of radio stations. The company's top management has a history with George W. Bush, and Secretary of State Colin Powell's son, Michael Powell, is the head of the FCC.
posted by tranquileye at 6:09 PM PST - 30 comments

New York Press' 50 Most Loathsome New Yorkers The plucky paper that refuses to die, New York Press has been infuriating New Yorkers for fifteen years. Now it has started this nasty annual feature. Among the winners are Naomi Campbell, Jonathan Franzen, Jeff Koons, Sam Waksal, etc. Read 'em and weep. Ouch!
posted by ubueditor at 5:33 PM PST - 23 comments

Odden's Bookmarks: The Fascinating World of Maps and Mapping.
posted by hama7 at 4:40 PM PST - 6 comments

Recycled beauty, ready for take-off [via b3ta]
posted by zerofoks at 3:59 PM PST - 2 comments

Graffiti stencils as art
posted by Orange Goblin at 3:56 PM PST - 11 comments

This Is Gulf War 2 The realities of war, in photos. Not fun viewing, for sure.
posted by Postroad at 3:39 PM PST - 69 comments