Israeli PM rejects "flawed" U.N. nuclear declaration

War Crimes and French Fries - M.I.A. Continues Attack on New York Times Journalist, Posts New Song

Photo by Jaime Martinez

M.I.A.'s attack on The New York Times and journalist Lynn Hirschberg continues. After the paper published a not-altogether-flattering M.I.A. feature story written by Hirschberg, Maya hit back by posting Hirschberg's personal cell phone number on her Twitter on Thursday. Later that day, M.I.A. Tweeted, "NEWS IS AN OPINION! UNEDITED VERSION OF THE INTERVIEW WILL BE ON neetrecordings THIS MEMORIAL WEEKEND!!! >>>>"

As promised, M.I.A. has posted clips of that interview on the blog of her record label N.E.E.T., under the heading "War Crimes and French Fries". She also posted a new song.

On the internet, one of the most hotly discussed aspects of the piece was what M.I.A. ate during one of the interviews, which took place at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. Hirschberg wrote, "Unity holds no allure for Maya — she thrives on conflict, real or imagined. 'I kind of want to be an outsider,' she said, eating a truffle-flavored French fry. 'I don't want to make the same music, sing about the same stuff, talk about the same things. If that makes me a terrorist, then I'm a terrorist.'" This could be interpreted as Hirschberg trying to frame M.I.A. as a hypocrite, talking about wanting to be an outsider while munching on exotic delicacies at a posh restaurant.

In the first sound bite that M.I.A. posted on the N.E.E.T blog, it is revealed that it was Hirschberg herself who ordered the fries. And she told Maya that The New York Times would pay for them.

The second sound bite concerns this piece of the article:

"In January 2009, while the civil war in Sri Lanka was raging, Maya repeatedly referred to the situation as a 'genocide.' 'I wasn’t trying to be like Bono,' Maya told me. 'He's not from Africa — I'm from there. I'm tired of pop stars who say, 'Give peace a chance.' I'd rather say, 'Give war a chance.' The whole point of going to the Grammys was to say, 'Hey, 50,000 people are gonna die next month, and here's your opportunity to help.' And no one did.'"

In the recording that M.I.A. posted, this is what she actually says:

"It wasn't just about me, and me getting to the Oscars, or me going to the Grammys. That doesn't mean anything. The whole point of the journey was so you can go, 'Hey, 50,000 people are going to die next month. Here's your opportunity to to help.' And no one did, and they still died. It wasn't about accolades or fame."

On the N.E.E.T. blog, M.I.A. also posted links to several New York Times articles covering the war in Sri Lanka, as well as a link to Amnesty International.

In addition, M.I.A. also posted a new song, which is tagged as being called "Haters", and interpolates the Various Production track "Hater". It begins "So you wanna hear about my politics / Yeah, I could show you things that could make you sick" and goes on address America, the army, racists, and, of course, journalists.

Amy Phillips @'Pitchfork'

No Secrets

Julian Assange’s mission for total transparency

'Operation Garden Party' 1994

(Thanx History Is Made At Night!)

Israeli forces storm Gaza aid ship

Picture appearing to show injured passenger

TV footage appeared to show injuries on board the ship

The Israeli navy has stormed one of six ships carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza strip, with at least two people reported killed.

Israel's Channel 10 private TV puts the death toll at about 14. Israel has so far declined to comment.
The exact location of the interception is unclear. Israel had warned the ships not to enter its territorial waters.
The ships are carrying 10,000 tonnes of aid to the Gaza Strip in an effort to break an Israeli blockade.
Turkish TV pictures taken on board the Turkish ship leading the flotilla show Israeli soldiers fighting to control passengers.
The footage showed a number of people, apparently injured, lying on the ground. The sound of gunshots could be heard. It is not clear whether the fighting is ongoing.
Al-Jazeera TV reported from the same ship that Israeli navy forces had fired and boarded the vessel, wounding the captain.
The Al-Jazeera broadcast ended with a voice shouting in Hebrew, "Everybody shut up!"
Organisers of the flotilla say at least 30 people were wounded in the incident.
"Provocation' The six-ship flotilla left international waters off the coast of Cyprus on Sunday and was expected to arrive in Gaza later on Monday.
Israel has said it would stop the boats, calling the campaign a "provocation intended to delegitimise Israel".
An economic blockade was imposed by Israel after the Islamist movement Hamas took power in Gaza.
Israel says it allows about 15,000 tones of humanitarian aid into Gaza every week.
But the United Nations says this is less than a quarter of what is needed.
Hamas, a militant palestinian group that controls the Gaza strip, has fired thousands of rockets into Israel over the past decade.

@'BBC'