dimarts, 13 de gener del 2009

T'agrada el surf? (de TIME CNN)


A surfboard with a shark bite in Binalong Bay, off the Tasmanian coast in Australia's far south, on Jan. 12

Sharks Rampage in Australia

A surfboard with a shark bite in Binalong Bay, off the Tasmanian coast in Australia's far south, on Jan. 12
Tasmania Police / Reuters


Swimmers at Australian beaches are usually reassured by statistics that indicate they are more likely to be struck by lightning than chomped by a shark. But after three non-fatal shark attacks in the country in less than 48 hours and a deadly one last month, some are wondering if the odds have changed — and whether Australia's efforts to protect sharks are to blame. (Read "When Adventure Tourism Kills.")

dilluns, 12 de gener del 2009

Joe el lampista: haurien de prohibir el periodisme a les guerres (de Think Progress)


Joe the Plumber: ‘I think media should be abolished’ from reporting on war.»

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, aka “Joe the Plumber,” is currently in Israel covering the war for the conservative site PJTV.com. When asked what he has learned from his new experiences as a journalist, Wurzelbacher said that he believes the media shouldn’t be allowed to do “reporting” on wars:

I’ll be honest with you. I don’t think journalists should be anywhere allowed war. I mean, you guys report where our troops are at. You report what’s happening day to day. You make a big deal out of it. I think it’s asinine. You know, I liked back in World War I and World War II when you’d go to the theater and you’d see your troops on, you know, the screen and everyone would be real excited and happy for’em. Now everyone’s got an opinion and wants to downer–and down soldiers. You know, American soldiers or Israeli soldiers.

I think media should be abolished from, uh, you know, reporting. You know, war is hell. And if you’re gonna sit there and say, “Well look at this atrocity,” well you don’t know the whole story behind it half the time, so I think the media should have no business in it.

Watch it:

(HT: VetVoice)

diumenge, 11 de gener del 2009

Cobren el rescat (3 milions de dolars) pero s'ofeguen

Pirate's body washes ashore with $153,000 in pocket

The body of a Somali pirate who drowned after receiving a huge ransom has washed ashore with $153,000 (£100,000) in cash, while a spokesman for another group of pirates promised to soon free a Ukrainian arms ship.

Five pirates drowned on Friday when their small boat capsized after they received a reported $3m ransom for releasing a Saudi oil tanker. Local resident Omar Abdi Hassan said one of the bodies had been found on a beach near the coastal town of Harardhere and relatives were searching for the other four.

"One of them was discovered and they are still looking for the other ones. He had $153,000 in a plastic bag in his pocket," he said.

The US navy released photos of a parachute dropping a package on to the deck of the Sirius Star, and said the package was likely to be the ransom delivery.

Graeme Gibbon Brooks, managing director of the British company Dryad Maritime Intelligence Service, said the incident was unlikely to deter attacks.

"The loss or potential loss of the ransom means the pirates will be all the more keen to get the next ransom in," he said. "There are people lining up to be pirates."

The Sirius Star had been held near the Ukrainian cargo ship MV Faina, which was loaded with 33 Soviet-designed battle tanks and crates of small arms. The same day the Sirius Star was released, the family members of the Faina crew appealed for help, saying they were not kept informed about the negotiations or the state of their loved ones' health.

But a pirate spokesman said today that the 20 crew members on the MV Faina were doing well.

"The cargo is still there unharmed and the crew is healthy," Sugule Ali said. "Once the negotiations end in mutual understanding, the ship, its crew and the cargo as well will be released."

There have been several false alarms about the release of the MV Faina since it was seized in September. Ali said the pirates were still negotiating with the ship's owners.

"Nothing has changed from our previous demand of $20m ransom for the release of the ship, but as negotiations continue we are likely to reduce the amount," he said. He declined to give further details.

American warships have been closely monitoring the Faina amid fears that some of the weapons on board could be taken onshore and fall into the hands of Islamic insurgents.

The shaky Somali government is battling insurgents that the US state department says are linked to al-Qaida. But the situation is complicated by clan militias and rivalries within the Islamist movement.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991 and its lawless coastline is a haven for pirates, who attacked 111 ships in the Gulf of Aden and kidnapped 42 of them last year alone. An international flotilla including US warships has been patrolling the area. The flotilla has stopped many attacks, but the area is too vast to keep all ships safe.

alliberem la llagosta (de PETA)


Remember when we told you about the 140-year-old, 20-pound lobster confined to a tank inside New York restaurant City Crab and Seafood? Well, after initially denying PETA's request to release the ancient crustacean, the good folks at City Crab have had a change of heart and have agreed to send the lucky lobster back home—i.e., into the sea. (Yay!)

City Crab and PETA are hosting a bon voyage event to see off the lobster, who will be sent back to a watery habitat in style. Pretty exciting if you ask me! Next step: ban catching lobsters completely. Lobsters don't deserve to be pulled from their ocean home and kept in tiny tanks in their own waste and then boiled alive.

A huge "thank you" goes out to City Crab for this compassionate decision. To celebrate this victory for lobsters everywhere, I encourage you to try our recipe for mock lobster.

PS If you want to become a "lobster libber" and help liberate lobsters in your hometown, check out our suggestions for how you can get active here.

PPS You know how life sometimes imitates art? Click here to see just how true that really is.

Posted by Liz Graffeo


Si entreu a l'enllaç de la recepta de la falsa llagosta (mock lobster) potser us vindrà la idea de muntar un grup de defensa dels vegetals...


dissabte, 10 de gener del 2009

falsaris (v2.0)


Alfredo Bryce Echenique ha estat un dels meus novelistes favorits, tot i que ara feia molt de temps que no el seguía, (La amigdalitis de Tarzan 's'em và atravessar). No oblidaré mai els bons moments passats amb Un mundo para Julius, La vida exagerada de Martin Romaña, Tantas veces Pedro, o No me esperen en abril...
Avui em llevo amb la noticia de la seva condemna per plagi, no n'estava al corrent ni de que fora procesat. El mes curiòs es la disparitat d'autors triats per perpetrar els crims. A qui se li acudeix encadenar un article de Sergi Pàmies amb un de Carles Sentís, un altre de Francesc Marc Alvaro, i estampar-hi la mateixa firma?
Entre els autors plagiats trobo un antic company d'estudis que escribía un article per una revista professional amb un títol dels que fan que t'hi aturis una estona: "La estupidez perjudica seriamente la salud".
Pot ser l'Alzheimer? , o és directament "La estupidez"?
La amigdalitis és poc probable que en sigui la responsable.

Palestina


Un reportatge impressionant de John Pilger, sobre les relacions entre Israel i Palestina, del 2002.

Clicar el titol.

ofenses literaries

La RAI ha localitzat a Scicli, Ragusa i altres llocs el rodatge de les series del comissari Montalbano, l'alcalde de Porto Empedocle (el poble de Camilleri) ha decidit retirar els cartells de benvinguts a "Vigata" que feia quatre anys que havien instalat...

SICILIA

La Vigata di Montalbano
non esiste più (per protesta)

Porto Empedocle che adottò il nome rimuove i cartelli. «La Rai ha girato a Ragusa»

La decisione del sindaco Calogero Firetto dopo che il paese non compare nell'ultima serie della fiction

Il commissario Montalbano in una scena girata sulla terrazza affacciata sul  mediterraneo della sua casa
Il commissario Montalbano in una scena girata sulla terrazza affacciata sul mediterraneo della sua casa
PORTO EMPEDOCLE (Agrigento) — Come direbbe Montalbano, nella sua Sicilia si sono messi a tambasiare, che sta per «girellare da un posto all'altro occupandosi di cose futili». Un giorno decidono di mettere i cartelli con la scritta Vigata a tutti gli ingressi di Porto Empedocle; il giorno dopo, o meglio 4 anni dopo, decidono di toglierli. Così ha deliberato il sindaco Calogero Firetto che vuole cancellare quella che era considerata un'«americanata» del suo predecessore Paolo Ferrara. «Vigata con il nostro paese non c'entra — spiega —. Camilleri nelle sue opere racconta fatti e personaggi di Porto Empedocle, che però non è stato rappresentato nella fiction. È indispensabile che il nostro Comune si presenti a chi viene da fuori con il suo unico vero nome».

Parole che lasciano intuire un fondo di risentimento per ritrovarsi ad essere il paese natale di Camilleri e in più l'immaginaria Vigata, salvo poi restare tagliati fuori dalle location tv. I «luoghi di Montalbano» sono infatti da tutt'altra parte, tra Scicli, Ragusa Ibla e Marzamemi, ed hanno anche beneficiato di un notevolissimo ritorno economico. Brucia un po'? «Niente affatto; i luoghi della fiction sono bellissimi, perché sono i luoghi del barocco siciliano». Sarà. Ma negli stessi giorni in cui agli ingressi di Porto Empedocle viene buttata giù la scritta Vigata, tutto il paese è in fermento: il 15 gennaio sarà scelto il bozzetto per realizzare una statua a grandezza naturale del commissario Montalbano. C'è stato addirittura un voto popolare, che dovrà essere ratificato da una giuria presieduta da Camilleri. E quel che è uscito dalla porta rientra dalla finestra, con in più la fiction che cannibalizza la fantasia letteraria. La statua di Montalbano potrebbe infatti avere le sembianze dell'attore Luca Zingaretti, perché così lo hanno immaginato quasi tutti i partecipanti al concorso.

Marzamemi, Anche qui sono state girate scene del serial
Marzamemi, Anche qui sono state girate scene del serial
Non è una contraddizione? «Il nostro Montalbano sarà come lo Sherlock Holmes di Londra. E poi Porto Empedocle dovrà essere più di Vigata: ne vogliamo fare un città letteraria legata non solo a Camilleri, ma anche a Pirandello ed altri scrittori». L'autore si tiene lontano dalle polemiche, ma avrebbe avvertito che non sarebbe opportuna una statua di Montalbano con le fattezze di Zingaretti. Cartelli e polemiche non sembrano interessare nemmeno i Comuni della fiction. A cominciare da Santa Croce Camerina, dove c'è la «casa di Montalbano » che, quando non è impegnata con la produzione, è un bed and breakfast.

«Non ci interessa il nome Vigata — dice il sindaco Lucio Schembari —, noi sappiamo solo che i luoghi di Montalbano, quelli originali, sono i nostri. Ciò che conta è quel che si vede in televisione ». Glissano anche da Scicli: «Penso che a Porto Empedocle cerchino solo pubblicità — chiude il primo cittadino, Bartolo Venticinque —. Un po' come i nostri cugini di Modica che per attirare l'attenzione hanno deciso di dare la cittadinanza onoraria a Zingaretti».

Alfio Sciacca
09 gennaio 2009

divendres, 9 de gener del 2009

el corazón ya me lo has roto, pero devuelveme mi riñon

de la BBC

Divorce man 'wants kidney back'

CT scan of healthy kidney
Some divorce lawyers say a kidney is not a marital asset to be divided

A US man divorcing his wife is demanding that she return the kidney he donated to her or pay him $1.5m (£1m) in compensation.

Dr Richard Batista told reporters that he decided to go public because he was frustrated at the slow pace of divorce negotiations with his estranged wife.

He said he had not only given his heart to his wife, Dawnell, but donated his kidney to save her life.

But divorce lawyers say a donated organ is not a marital asset to be divided.

Dr Batista married Dawnell in 1990 and donated the kidney to her in 2001. She filed for divorce in 2005 and a settlement has still not been reached.

'Humiliated'

He told reporters at his lawyer's office in Long Island, New York, that going public was a last resort.

"There is no deeper pain that you can ever express than betrayal from somebody who you love and devoted your life to," he said.

He said he had been prevented from seeing their three children for extended periods.

"I felt humiliated, betrayed, disrespected and disregarded for me as a person, as a man, as a husband, as a father."

Dr Batista's lawyer, Dominic Barbara, said his client was "asking for the value of the kidney" that he gave his wife.

A lawyer for Mrs Batista said: "The facts aren't as represented by Dr Batista. We will be addressing the issues before the judge within the next few days."

dijous, 8 de gener del 2009

Gallardón no lo impedirá, y Dios probablemente tampoco...

Imagen de la publicidad ateísta. Archivo
print
LA POLÉMICA SURGIÓ EN BARCELONA

Gallardón no impedirá que se inserte publicidad ateísta en los autobuses de Madrid

El Ayuntamiento de Madrid no tendría ningún problema para que en sus líneas de autobuses se insertase publicidad ateísta como la que se está preparando en Barcelona. El vicealcalde cree que lo único "extraño" es que "haya dinero en este momento de crisis para hacer este tipo de publicidad".

dimecres, 7 de gener del 2009

Estas deprimit?

Una universitat de Londres ha posat al web un test per detectar depressió a partir de un questionari. L'interessant és que et dona una puntuació que et compara amb els nivells que te el teu estat de estar deprimit en els propers 12 messos (el 15% a Espanya).
L'altre tema es qui ha respost, i com els questionaris? (s'autoseleccionen els que estan pitjor, els que estan millor...?)
Els que responen, menteixen o no?
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/predict-depression/