I’m glad to see that some of the world is putting pressure on China to get their shit together. While Belgium and France are not committing to anything, it’s better than the tamely worded release from the White House.
Video: IN THE FIELD with our journalist france24english
Video: A Glimpse at Life of Tibetan Monks in China AssociatedPress
The Canadian Press
Belgium could consider Olympic boycott if violence worsens in Tibet
6 hours ago
BRUSSELS, Belgium — The Belgian government has not ruled out a boycott of the Beijing Olympics if the situation in Tibet worsens.
Vice-Premier Didier Reynders told Le Soir newspaper Wednesday that staying away from China “is not an option that we reserve today. But we can never exclude the worst.” His comments came a day after French President Nicolas Sarkozy suggested he could boycott the opening ceremony of the Olympics.
The sports minister of the northern Belgian region Flanders said he will not attend the opening ceremony in Beijing, as it could be used for propaganda purposes.
Recent unrest in the Chinese province of Tibet has killed at least 22 people. The uprising is the broadest and most sustained against Chinese rule of the region in almost two decades.
It was against this backdrop that the Belgian government was holding out the possibility of a boycott.
“The government remains very attentive how the situation develops,” Reynders said. As things stood though, he stuck to the government line: “A boycott is not a good solution.”
Bert Anciaux, the sports minister of the regional government of Flanders said he would not go to the opening ceremony.
“If public opinion wants to give a signal about human rights violations and cultural rights, then the use of the opening ceremony is not bad,” Anciaux said, adding he would “not try to be part of the Chinese propaganda machine.”
He called on International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge, who is also Belgian, to respond to the Tibetan events.
“It is high time that the IOC proves that granting the games was not a blank check,” he wrote on his website. “Now the IOC has to speak and say what it expects. To be silent now is to be complicit in the terror against Tibet and thousands of dissidents.”
European governments had largely rejected any snub of the Olympics for political reasons.
Last week, European Union nations and Olympic committees opposed a boycott of the Beijing Games over the Tibet protests.
The EU sports ministers and Olympic committees said sports should not be linked to political issues and that previous Olympic boycotts had limited efficacy.
“A boycott will only destroy the dreams of thousands of athletes,” Anciaux said.
This is great. Rick Astley speaks out about the Rickrolling phenomenon. He also has a good laugh at the fact “Never Gonna Give You Up” was played at an anti-scientology protest.
These three videos are very helpful. The author is using iMovie ‘06, but I was able to follow along okay in iMovie ‘08. He also explained the Ken Burns Effect.
How To Edit Sound In IMovie
One thing he didn’t mention is the JES Deinterlacer. It allows you to do some pretty nifty things like slow motion video, which is great for making fun of your friends and family in home videos.
It’s here! I just downloaded it this morning. I’ve noticed some issues with video being streamed to my PS3 via TVersity, but we’ll see.
PS3(TM) Owners Will Soon Enjoy Downloadable Movie Content, Games And More
With Blu-ray Disc(TM) Profile 2.0; PS3’s Interoperability With PSP(R) Will
Also Be Enhanced
FOSTER CITY, Calif., March 20 /PRNewswire/ — Sony Computer
Entertainment America (SCEA) today announced that the next system software
update for PLAYSTATION(R)3 (PS3(TM)) computer entertainment system, slated
for release in late March, will add Blu-ray Disc(TM) (BD) Profile 2.0 or
BD-LIVE, enabling PS3 owners to experience interactive features, such as
downloadable video content, ringtones, games, and more. In addition to
BD-LIVE, the system software update (v. 2.20) will enable photo and music
playlists on PS3 to be copied to PSP(R)(PlayStation(R)Portable) handheld
entertainment system, among other new features. These updates demonstrate
how PS3 continues to evolve as a home entertainment hub with the
flexibility to deliver the newest technology innovations that benefit PS3
owners.
Edit: There are others having trouble streaming media to their PS3 after the update. Apparently there are problems with MP4 and possibly AVI streaming now. I cannot play any of my MP4 videos that are more than a few minutes long without extreme stuttering.
Step 1:
LOL
LOL – Laugh out Loud: I am laughing out loud at your comment. Feel free to use this even though it’s unlikely to be strictly-speaking true, and in reality you’re just smirking a bit. Inwardly.
Step 2:
ROFL
ROFL –Rolling on Floor Laughing: your post was so very humerous, I am genuinely rolling around on the floor laughing at it. Feel free to use this even though it’s definitely unlikely to be strictly-speaking true.
Step 3:
LMAO
LMAO – Laugh my Arse Off: this was so funny, the resulting laughter caused my rectum to prolapse. WTF is that all about?
Step 4:
WTF
WTF – What the F***. What on Earth? Used to express disbelief in a subject. For example “WTF is this film all about?”
Step 5:
NSFW
NSFW – Not Safe For Work. Warning: the link I’ve supplied goes to naughty and/ or pornographic material. Presumably goatse, or some such. Don’t click it at work, like a total noob.
I should really be sleeping, but this video is hilarious. We all want to stick it to the man, right? Here are a few tips and a comic strip about someone else doing it!
Wow. That’s pretty nifty. Apple is writing software for Windows 3.1! I suppose the author meant to say Safari 3.1 for Windows …
An Argentinian security researcher has discovered two flaws in Apple’s Safari for Windows browser.
Juan Pablo Lopez Yacubian said the vulnerabilities could allow hackers to remotely take control of a victim’s computer.
The most serious he described as “a vulnerability in the Safari browser for Windows 3.1 which allows falsify the web address and enter another page or content that we want [sic]“.
There are many people out there who insist that there is no discernible (why does the spell checker think discernible is not a word?) difference between MP3 files encoded with a bitrate of 320 kbps versus 128 kbps. Apparently anything over 128 kbps is a waste of space. I always go for 320 kbps when possible, because I feel that it sounds much better in the car with my lovely Harman Kardon stereo. Am I insane? Yes. But not because I go for 320 kbps whenever possible. It turns out that I can hear the difference (on my MacBook Pro) very easily.
Can you tell the difference? Do the test and leave a comment to let me know how you did.
