May 2010
Israel massacres Gaza aid fleet in international... →
—via bowfolk:redguard:
Israeli forces have attacked a flotilla of aid-carrying ships aiming to break the country’s siege on Gaza.
At least 19 people were killed and dozens injured when troops intercepted the convoy of ships dubbed the Freedom Flotilla early on Monday, Israeli radio reported.
The flotilla was attacked in international waters, 65km off the Gaza coast.
Avital...
Archbishop Bishop Tutu condemns Israel aid-boat... →
Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and a group of retired global leaders have joined international leaders in condemning the Israeli forces’ raid on a ship delivering relief supplies to Gaza.
“We as elders condemn Israel utterly for this attack. The actions of the Israelis is inexcusable,” said Tutu.
He was speaking at the conclusion of a meeting of the group formed...
RT @jeremyscahill Turkish Prime Minister calls...
vruz: meanwhile, the news in a parallel universe:
pathetic coverage by The New York Times: “The criticism offered a propaganda coup to Israel’s foes, particularly Hamas”
CNN reporter used phrase: “activists attacked the commandos”
Financial Times: Nethanyahu cancels meeting with... →
vruz: when is the U.S. cancelling those yearly 2 billion dollars that Israel supposedly gets for preserving freedom, peace and democracy?
not doing a great job really. at this point the government of israel looks more like the ‘going rogue’ playbook undermining U.S. policy whilst using U.S. money to do exactly the opposite they are committed to do with their best ally,...
The Great Cognitive Surplus - Wired, June 2010, p....
—via buffleheadcabin:
Pink: You say something else about organizations that I found especially compelling—about their instinct for self-perpetuation. Shirky: Well, organizations that are founded to solve problems end up committed to the preservation of the problems. So Trentway-Wagar, an Ontario-based bus company, sues PickupPal, an online ride-sharing service, because T-W isn’t committed...
Death at Sea | the attack on the Gaza flotilla... →
—via ryking: This is from “The Promised Land,” a left-wing Israeli blog.
vruz: in other news, the american apparat is already airing videos from a purported “brutal attack” on the IDF.
“Navi Pillay, the United Nations’ human rights chief, called the blockade...”
– Gaza’s real humanitarian crisis (via ryking)
Buenos Aires metroblog
—via marilink:
Antonio me hizo algunas preguntas para ABC.es esta semana, sobre el lanzamiento de Eterna Buenos Aires. Transcribo aquí las respuestas, que también pueden encontrar en el artículo original.
¿Por qué un metroblog (blog sobre una ciudad) dedicado a Buenos Aires?
Desde hace tiempo no sacábamos blog nuevo, y ya había muchas ganas. Creo que se dieron muchas cosas para que...
Report: Israel Navy opens fire on Gaza aid... →
—via Haaretz
Several pro-Palestinian campaigners wounded after six-ship convoy sailing for Gaza Strip ignored Israel’s order to turn back, Turkish news reports.
By Anshel Pfeffer, Avi Issacharoff, The Associated Press and ...
Steve Jobs Wants to Be Your Mommy, Your Daddy and... →
Apple’s Increasingly Infuriating Restrictions on Free Speech Are Damaging Its Brand
by Simon Dumenco, AdvertisingAge
Imagine if, in the late ’90s, Sony introduced a TV set that allowed Sony executives and their functionaries to exercise control over what shows you were allowed to watch. In this alternate history, Sony would have been entirely cryptic about its standards, but...
“But I’ve met a lot of people in my time on this mostly amusing planet. I’ve been...”
– Stephen Fry, on Kindness
—via intheglow:gatsbylives:tobia:shaneguiter)
3 tags
Will Apple Embrace the Web? No. →
by Kroc Camen, OsNews
Google’s business model means that they must work to keep web browser competition healthy and progressing in case one company gets the keys to the web and halts all progress just as Microsoft did with IE. A stationary web keeps native apps native and stifles Google. Apple want to keep native apps native and the web as a quirky document-centric browser that is never as well...
The Dollar, Growth, and Immigration →
By John R. Taylor, Jr., ZeroHedge
[…] Stability is now passé and the optimal currency of the future will have high relative growth in output and in population. Demographics are the key to the future median value of currencies, and the winners will include countries like Brazil, Australia, Canada, and the United States as GDP = population growth plus productivity. Among the losers will...
“Apple is building the Disney computer network. All the streets are clean, and...”
– Dave Winer (via azspot)
vruz: down with disney
1 tag
Rape victim, age 13, stoned to death for having... →
The Religion Virus
by Craig A. James
I could not have picked a more horrifying, tragic example to prove the point of my last three blogs (part 1, part 2, conclusion).
WARNING: The details that follow are very disturbing. Aisha, a 13 year old girl in Somalia, reported being raped to the Shabab Milita (sometimes called the “Somali Taliban”) who control her town. Instead of...
Gotan Project, Santa Maria (Del Buen Ayre)
...
“[Matt Damon] said ‘I don’t understand why Morgan Freeman is doing Mandela when I...”
– Clint Eastwood, speaking at the banquet where Damon received the American Cinematheque Lifetime Achievement Award
—via danielholter
vruz: there you go, Freeman continues to hoard roles from Driving Miss Daisy, up to God in Bruce Almighty, President of the United States, CEO of Wayne...
The Degredation of Spain
vruz: and here’s hoping that Spain doesn’t become toxic to south america, with a lot of Santander at stake here.
—via crazynutjob:
Lina from Spain writes:
Logical: Presently our country is 100% debt-satisfying oriented. But no degradation in sight: we have survived other crisis over a 20% unemployment rate; meanly that of the 70s (Oil Crisis). Like before, the Labour...
We've Always Been at War with Eastasia →
by Rep. Alan Grayson
On May 30, 2010, at 10:06 a.m, the direct cost of occupying Iraq and Afghanistan will hit $1 trillion. And in a few weeks, the House of Representatives will be asked to vote for $33 billion of additional “emergency” supplemental spending to continue the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.
There will be the pretense of debate — speeches on the floor...
“A group of BP executives were on board the platform celebrating the project’s...”
– Deepwater Horizon oil spill - Wikipedia via zachrose
mikehudack sez: I checked the sourcing on this. It’s from the AP. Wow.
“In the U.S. Senate, the anti-bailout, anti-spending Republicans have been...”
– Cesca
—via doublejack:piscesinpurpleoverflow:ryking
Aliens Found In Ohio? The Wow! Signal : NPR →
vruz: answer: no. it’s just jesus blueboxing from heaven.
—via sunsmudge:
When Jerry Ehman wrote that three-letter word, “wow,” he was a professor at Ohio State University volunteering with SETI, the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence. Every few days, a messenger would bike over from “The Big Ear,” Ohio State’s giant radio telescope in Delaware, Ohio, and hand Jerry computer...
thoughts: on 'liking' and 'disliking' stuff
moorewr:
We need more buttons to express our reaction to a post - not just ‘like,’ but ‘hate,’ and ‘tl;dr’ and ‘don’t care’.. In my dream I see a button for every possible emotion, and no text entry field at all. Only then will tumblr be perfect.
vruz sez:
I thought of a widget with varying degrees of love and hate. Just like an audio balance widget, when it’s placed at the exact centre...
Feds weigh a criminal probe of BP →
The focus is on whether the oil company skirted safety regulations and misled the U.S. government about its ability to respond to a blowout.
A team of top federal prosecutors and investigators has taken the first steps toward a formal criminal investigation into oil giant BP’s actions before and after the drilling rig disaster off Louisiana. The investigators, who have been quietly...
“‘Shine On’ is not really about Syd; he’s just a symbol for all the extremes of...”
– Roger Waters, 1982
—via wemustneverstop:limeandlimpidgreen
1 tag
NBC and Time Warner tell Jobs they want Adobe's... →
by Claire Atkinson, The New York Post
—via soupsoup:
Sources said several large media companies, including Time Warner and NBC Universal, told Apple they won’t retool their extensive video libraries to accommodate the iPad, arguing that such a reformatting would be expensive and not worth it because Flash dominates the Web.
Senate Panel Votes To End Don't Ask, Don't Tell →
by Brian Beutler, TPM
Some wavering senators, including Webb, cite the Pentagon’s reluctance as a rationale for opposing repeal. But by putting the provision in the authorization bill, Democrats gave themselves tremendous leverage—Republicans will have a hard time sustaining a filibuster of crucial national security legislation based on opposition to a policy that’s...
Constitution: Sarkozy's Big Push →
by Pierre Ivorra, via TruthOut
The president of the Republic wants to change the constitution in order to inscribe in it the obligation of budgetary equilibrium, as opposed to social and public expenditures. This is his way of making unconstitutional any political alternative. It constitutes capitulation in the face of demands by Germany and by the financial markets.
Yesterday, at the...
“A lot of what we were trying to do we didn’t communicate.”
– Mark Zuckerberg
[Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Announces New Privacy Policy - WSJ]
(via mohamedn)
vruz: right. and a lot of what you were trying to do was regrettable. THAT’S the whole point, boy.
