Friday, 11 June 2010

"I don't know what people expected the president to do exactly, if they want him to go out there and wash pelicans. He's the president. He's not someone who cleans beaches. It's important for us Louisianans to know that we have his support and I think he's communicated that," - Keith Jones, who lost his son in the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion.

As Israel ordered a slight easing of its blockade of the Gaza Strip Wednesday, McClatchy obtained an Israeli government document that describes the blockade not as a security measure but as "economic warfare" against the Islamist group Hamas, which rules the Palestinian territory.

Israel imposed severe restrictions on Gaza in June 2007, after Hamas won elections and took control of the coastal enclave after winning elections there the previous year, and the government has long said that the aim of the blockade is to stem the flow of weapons to militants in Gaza.

Last week, after Israeli commandos killed nine volunteers on a Turkish-organized Gaza aid flotilla, Israel again said its aim was to stop the flow of terrorist arms into Gaza.

However, in response to a lawsuit by Gisha, an Israeli human rights group, the Israeli government explained the blockade as an exercise of the right of economic warfare.

"A country has the right to decide that it chooses not to engage in economic relations or to give economic assistance to the other party to the conflict, or that it wishes to operate using 'economic warfare,'" the government said.

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Sheera Frankel @'McClatchy'

WTF???

Joyce’s Ulysses Banned Again—by Apple

Mystery of the Missing Physicist

Is This the Craziest Bridge Ever Designed?

I don't know if the Pearl River Necklace bridge is the craziest bridge ever designed, but it sure looks like the most twisted one. It's a clever solution to a very real and obvious problem, however.

The bridge is part of a proposal by NL Architects to connect Hong Kong with mainland China. To do that, they had to solve a problem: In Hong Kong, people drive on the left side of the road. In mainland China, they drive on the right side. Here's the solution: A road flipper that physically twists the roads over each other.

Jesus Diaz @'Gizmodo'

Asked what he would be if he wasn't a footballer, Peter Crouch replied "a virgin" #eng

#worldcup

Soccamix

Essential listening for the next month!!

The Kop Choir - You’ll Never Walk Alone (Live) (Hallmark)
Depth Charge - Goal (First Half) (Vinyl Solution)
Primal Scream, Irvine Welsh And On-U Sound Present - The Big Man And The Scream Team Meet The Barmy Army Uptown (Full Strength Fortified Dub) (Creation)
Depth Charge - Goal (Sudden Death Penalty Shoot Out) (Vinyl Solution)
Barmy Army - Sharp As A Needle (On-U Sound)
Colourbox - The Official Colourbox World Cup Theme (4AD)
Tackhead - The Game (You’ll Never Walk Alone) feat. Brian Moore (On-U Sound)
The Real Sounds Of Africa - Soccer Fan (World Cup 12” Remix by Norman Cook) (Cherry Red)
Depth Charge - Romario (EFA Medien GmbH)
Moog - Moog Lose The World Cup (Dust2Dust)
Black Grape feat. Joe Strummer and Keith Allen - England’s Irie (Radioactive)
Depth Charge - Goal (Second Half + Extra Time) (Vinyl Solution)
England New Order - World In Motion (Carabinieri Mix/No Alla Violenza Mix/Original Version) (Swamp Megamix) (White Label)
Barmy Army - England 2 Yugoslavia 0 (On-U Sound)

121 MB; 76 minutes

HERE

(Thanx HerrB! - I had forgotten about this one...)