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"The depleted uranium being used in the Middle East is a repeat of the deception of Navajos, the abuse of the innocent. 'The United States government knew all along the uranium mining would kill Navajos....' said Badoni, among Navajos organizing opposition to further uranium mining on the Navajo Nation....declassified documents in the United States reveal that both the buyer, the United States government, and Ottawa, then the world's largest supplier, withheld information from Native miners that could have saved their health and their lives."

The ongoing, deadly fallout in a certain nation where development (and use) of weapons of mass destruction has never been in doubt.
posted by fold_and_mutilate at 8:34 PM PST - 10 comments

SWAT Hand Signals Explained - That old TV show makes so much more sense now. [via /usr/bin/girl]
posted by plinth at 3:44 PM PST - 8 comments

Images of Native Americans, from UC Berkeley's Bancroft Library, is comprehensive online exhibit of over 400 years of text and images of Native American history. [via a Berkleyan article that has sample images and more info]
posted by kirkaracha at 11:58 AM PST - 8 comments

Windows Vulnerabilities XPlained I've always used Gibson Research's website to test my Windows system for vulnerabilities. With the latest BLAST aimed at MS, I thought to share his site with the class. While Mr. Gibson obviously has some axes to grind and bones to pick with Microsoft and with various software firewall makers, his explanations of how Windows can be XPloited in terms that are fairly easy to understand is most appreciated. Be sure to check out the numerous free utiltites (small downloads! I mean, really small!) that will help you plug nearly every hole in your Windows.
Didn't know MS had shut down www.windowsupdate.com til just now, either
posted by WolfDaddy at 11:49 AM PST - 42 comments

We're number one! We're number one! From a source quoted in the article: "We have the wealthiest society in human history, and we maintain the highest level of imprisonment. It's striking what that says about our approach to social problems and inequality." (apologies for the usual US-centrism)
posted by alumshubby at 10:52 AM PST - 103 comments

On Sundays West Coast Live I heard an interview with Adam Johnson, the author of Parasites Like Us, a post-apocalyptic novel with a decidedly (if somewhat spurious) anthropological bent. Literary criticism aside, as an anthropologist myself (and die-hard sci-fi reader), it got me thinking of what our vaunted Western culture may have to offer the survivors of whatever catastrophe may befall our civilization in the future. From classic novels like Earth Abides, or even The Stand, writers and storytellers have tried to discern what may be the surviving aspects of culture once all else fails; what it is that has made and defines us as modern humans, and perhaps what it is that will sustain us. So, what is it that would sustain you? What would separate you from the crazed and the mad that seem to populate the annals of post-apocalyptic literature? Or perhaps more specifically, what is it that you value of your culture and your technology that makes it worthwhile to maintain and perhaps fight your way back to?
posted by elendil71 at 10:37 AM PST - 28 comments

The inaugural World Terrorism Index from the World Markets Research Centre ranks Australia at 38 (out of 186), the UK at number 10 and the US at number 4. So who is number 1? [More inside...]
posted by i_cola at 10:07 AM PST - 10 comments

Decorate your cubical with aquatic beauties! When work or weather keeps you away from your favorite fishing hole, why not make your favorite fish from paper? Japanese paper fish dolls in pdf format. Secondary page here.
posted by crunchland at 9:35 AM PST - 10 comments

3. The girls are always there: you make breakfast - lapdancers. You brush your teeth - lapdancers. You try and sleep - lapdancers. Can you handle that?

The Lapdance Island contestant application. Can you handle that?
posted by davehat at 9:07 AM PST - 36 comments

"We've got a conservative, evangelical Christian,Republican governor, trying to get a massive turnout of black voters to pass a tax increase so he can raise taxes on Republican constituents." Alabama Governor has massive and unexpected change of heart.
posted by jonson at 9:00 AM PST - 35 comments

Opining that third-world farmers "need a better deal", the Guardian has launched kickAAS, a blog to abolish all agricultural subsidies.
posted by Ufez Jones at 7:32 AM PST - 10 comments

The Hutton Enquiry on-line. Terms of Reference: "...urgently to conduct an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr Kelly." Hearing transcripts and documentary evidence for your perusal.
posted by Frasermoo at 5:50 AM PST - 14 comments

Community Memory : the world's first public computerized bulletin board system, set up in 1972 with an ASR-33 Teletype machine. Also, please welcome Benway, possibly the world's first net personality (beating Miguel and Quonsar by a couple of weeks). More on Benway in Steven Levy's book Hackers.
posted by nylon at 5:34 AM PST - 7 comments