sunday news roundup

A lot happened today, besides my eating too many overripe cherries while Thread shared the secrets of on-the-fly knitwear design. It seemed like an especially heavy newsday for a Sunday, really.

Eric at Movin' Out explains why Danica Patrick's fourth-place finish matters.

The French said non to an EU constitution, apparently in response to high unemployment figures. I may come back to this; it was a subject of much discussion while I was in Europe, but nobody seems to be talking about it here, surprise surprise. Heads are going to roll (ouch, didn't intend the reference to Madame Guillotine--but I'll take it).

Israel firing on the refugee camp at Jabaliya in Gaza (allegedly, militants were preparing to fire on the Israelis with a mortar): I'm on the edge of my seat already, what with 500 Palestinian prisoners being released as part of Friday's ceasefire and all 21 Gaza settlements scheduled for evacuation. Please please please nobody fuck this up.

Two million people took to the streets for Brazil's gay pride parade, the world's largest, which I have to imagine makes ours look small-town. Am I glad they did it? Absolutely. Could I stand to be around that many people? Argh, no.

Oh, and Hsu Hai Ching's Taipei funeral was a "Day of Peace" for the gangs there, who turned out in black shirts and tattoos for the procession. Anyone who has ever had a thing for HK actioners will appreciate the names of Taipei's major gangs--Bamboo Union, Pine Union, Four Seas and the Heavenly Way Gang. This is a film opening scene begging to be made.