« Febbraio 2006 | Main | Aprile 2006 »
28.03.06
The biggest oil spill in history - 10 lines
I found this very small article in the "60 Seconds" section of the New Scientist. Seems like there is some kind of a media coverup going on as it doesn't seem to have been reported elsewhere. Or maybe nobody cares about Alaska:
Oil clean-up on ice
Extreme cold has hampered efforts to clean up the oil spill on Alaska's northern coast - the largest ever recorded. By Tuesday, 230,000 litres of crude oil had been recovered after the ruptured pipeline was discovered two weeks ago at a site operated by BP Exploration (Alaska). Around 950,000 litres of oil were spilt.
If anyone has any more information about this, please leave me a comment...
Posted by Giles at 13:39 | Comments (1)
20.03.06
News about non-events
Amazing what can make news these days - 2 news stories about something which didn't happen (see below). Maybe I should phone the BBC and tell them that Prince William didn't get married in my town yesterday:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4822196.stm
Italians leave Pitt Jolie no-show
Journalists and locals gathered on Saturday with some taking to the air Officials in the Italian town where Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were reportedly to wed on Saturday were disappointed the couple failed to show.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4815944.stm
A spokesman for the town hall said there was no official indication of a ceremony.
I only read these because they were about a place near me.
I'm always appalled by the number of people reading celebrity magazines. On any given trip I make, about 1/2 the passengers seem to spend their time trawling through stories about stars in Hello and worse. What is so interesting about these people? They are beautiful, confident, they can act (some) and they go to lots of parties, and they appear in Hello magazine. But most of the stories that I've seen seem to involve them doing totally banale things like going to the shops, having babies, divorcing, etc...
Posted by Giles at 11:47 | Comments (1)
06.03.06
Plug hole eddies
Ever heard the urban myth that the eddy of water going out of a plug-hole turns a different way in the northern and southern hemispheres? It's not true. I tested it. Both in the southern and the northern hemisphere, the eddie went anti-clockwise.
Posted by Giles at 11:00 | Comments (2)
05.03.06
Boycott Beijing
On July 19 2001, Hu Jintao, president of the People's Republic of China stated that after Beijing’s "triumph", it was "essential to fight strongly against separatist activities orchestrated by the Dalai Lama and anti-Chinese forces around the world".
"As a Tibetan exile that was kicked out of my country nearly 50 years ago, I feel utterly devastated by this award. I cannot believe that the IOC can reward nepotism, brutality and savage occupation. The IOC has once again proved that human rights are only a side issue when it comes to a multi-billion dollar business venture. Will humanity ever come to our aid?"
Dorje K., Dharmasala, India
Ex-President Jiang Zemin defended the idea of a "healthy" Chinese Internet. In concrete terms, 35 cyber-dissidents are in jail, and more than 8,000 Internet cafés have been closed ;
Sign the petition against Beijing 2008.
Don't attend, especially if you're a politician or athlete. Don't even watch it on television.
Then, as with the 1980 Moscow Olympics, the IOC decision might actually turn out to have been a blessing in disguise. In 1980, in Moscow, the IOC suffered a terrible defeat when more than 50 countries boycotted the Olympics.
Posted by Giles at 12:32 | Comments (1)