The Magdeburg Water Bridge in Germany

The Magdeburg Water Bridge - Wasserstraßenkreuz Magdeburg in Germany

Six years, 500 million euros, 918 meters long,Magdeburg Water Bridge or Wasserstrassenkreuz in German, (52°13′50″N, 11°42′4″E), completed in October 2003, connects two important German shipping canals, the Elbe-Havel Canal and the Mittellandkanal, which leads to the country’s industrial Ruhr Valley heartland. The huge tub to transport ships over the Elbe took 24,000 metric tons of steel and 68,000 cubic meters of concrete to build. Barge captains will now be able to ship loads of up to 1,350 metric tons – the equivalent of 50 truckloads – over the 34-meter wide and 4.25-meter deep water bridge. Previously, ships could only be loaded with 800 metric tons. Serve as part of the unification project former East and West Germany,it is located in the city of Magdeburg, near Berlin.
Photo taken on the day of inauguration 10.10.2003 Friday.

Environmental group BUND call for ending the further planned canal expansion of the Havel and Spree waterways near Berlin stating that however is the advantages any enhance canalization of Havel and Spree for bigger Rhine boats would have fatal consequences for the natural water supply in Berlin and Brandenburg. Falling water levels would dramatically drain wetlands and Potsdam’s world cultural heritage would be threatened.


Wikipedia

High Line (New York City) converted to urban park

Video:Robert Hammond on The Highline which is an old, elevated rail line that runs for a mile and a half right through Manhattan. And it was originally a freight line that ran down 10th Ave.

A green park created from a dense Manhattan by recycling of the elevated railway into an urban park similar to the Promenade Plantée in Paris.

“4.5 km-long elevated park in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, France.”

Notably three buildings straddle the High Line & rail used to pass through many factories. The park's attractions include naturalized plantings that are inspired by the self-seeded landscape that grew on the disused tracks and new, often unexpected views of the city and the Hudson River. Pebble-dash concrete walkways unify the trail, which swells and constricts, swinging from side to side, and divides into concrete tines that meld the hardscape with the planting embedded in railroad gravel mulch. Stretches of track and ties recall the High Line's former use. Portions of track are adaptively re-used for rolling lounges positioned for river views. In addition there is the rusted, disused mullions of the old Nabisco Factory loading dock where the window bays are reinstalled with a series of 700 purple and grey colored glass panes. Each color is exactly calibrated to match the center pixel of 700 digital pictures, one taken every minute, of the Hudson River.

The High Line Park currently runs from Gansevoort Street, one block below West 12th Street, in the Meatpacking District, up to 30th Street, through the neighborhood of Chelsea to the West Side Yard, near the Javits Convention Center.

The 30th Street Cut-Out is located at the northern terminus of Section 2, where the High Line curves to the west. When Section 2 opens later this spring, visitors standing on the Cut-Out will be able to take in sweeping views of the Hudson River to the west, and the Empire State Building to the east. To the north, visitors will see the High Line at the rail yards. This rail yards section of the High Line comprises one-third of the entire historic structure. It is still owned by CSX Transportation Inc., the railroad company that donated the High Line below 30th Street to the City of New York in 2005.


See New Gallery of High Line Visitor Photos
See Construction Update: 30th Street Cut-Out
Wikipedia
Video Source

Malaysia unrest over reform

Update 20 July 2011-Malaysia censors Economist article on Bersih rally in the July 16 edition:-Home Ministry official Abdul Aziz Mohamad Nor was quoted in The Star daily as saying Malaysia has censored sections of an article in The Economist magazine about the death of a man during the protest and to police action in putting down the rally. Source

The Economist - 16 July 2011
English | 173 pages | True PDF | 6.29 Mb
Political affray in Malaysia:Taken to the cleaners
An overzealous government response to an opposition rally
Jul 14th 2011 | SINGAPORE | from the print edition

Update 15thJuly2011:-Bersih 2.0 - The Lies vs the Truth



Read following is the first public statement made by medical officers following the police denial that personnel had shot tear gas into hospital compounds on July 9.

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH (sworn affidavits) We, the undersigned doctors, wish not to enter into the polemics of the Bersih 2.0 march on 9th July 2011 but would like to clarify the inconvenient truth. We are outraged at the incidents, and the subsequent responses from the authorities, to the events where tear gas and chemical laced water were shot into the compounds of Tung Shin and Chinese Maternity Hospitals, two adjacent buildings along Jalan Pudu, Kuala Lumpur, with scant regard for the safety of patients, staff and the general public who were at the buildings that afternoon. Hospitals are considered as safe sanctuaries for all, even during war times, but these consecrated places of refuge and protection were violated by the defence forces that afternoon. Police even entered the buildings in search of some of these peaceful marchers. What was most frightening and witnessed by many was the unprovoked violent assault within the hospital compounds and apprehension of several protesters who had merely run into the hospitals to seek shelter from the tear gas and the water cannons! It is repulsive that the authorities entrusted with policing the nation and protecting the weak and needy, have shamelessly denied publicly, the occurrence of these incidents IN SPITE of countless photo/video and eye witness accounts of what was evident to all independent observers. A few of the undersigned were actually visiting or working in the hospitals concerned at the time of the events and will gladly provide sworn affidavits, if required, as to veracity of the incidents The Malaysian public expect holders of high public office to honour their positions accorded by the citizens, by discharging their duties with moral integrity, dignity and transparency. Their failure to do so raises the public's doubts in their competence and credibilty as much as it demeans those high offices. Dr Ng Kwee Boon - Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist Datin Dr Low Paik See - Consultant Paediatrician Dato' Dr Musa Mohd Nordin - Consultant Paediatrician & Neonatologist Dr Mazeni Alwi - Consultant Paediatric Cardiologist Dr David Quek - Consultant Cardiologist Dr Sheikh Johari Bux - Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist Dr Steve Wong - Consultant Plastic Surgeon Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa - Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon Dr Ng Swee Choon - Consultant Cardiologist Source

Update 11thJuly2011:Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said authorities would review their video footage of the protest to investigate the 59-year-old taxi driver who died during the protest -- the biggest in four years -- which police say he was a bystander who died of a heart attack. Allegations that police fired tear gas into a hospital compound will also be probed. Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein says the government will answer (the allegations) without fear or favour. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak says his concern is the security of the nation and the safety of the people and defended the police, saying the opposition-backed rally was a ploy to tarnish the country's image.

But rally organiser Bersih 2.0, a coalition of non-governmental groups demanding electoral reform claimed police fired tear gas canisters into the crowd, hurting people, and beat others and these were unwarranted attacks against a peaceful gathering of unarmed citizens was nothing short of shocking.

Monday See Malaysia back to Normal


Malaysia warns irresponsible foreign media and ralliers
Update 10thJuly2011:

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Sunday defended the government's handling of street protests demanding electoral reform on Saturday amid intense criticism heightened by the death of a demonstrator. Baharuddin Ahmad, a former soldier, a member of the opposition Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party (PAS), was fleeing after police fired gas canisters when he collapsed, his brother Mohamad Sharin told AFP.

KUALA LUMPUR - The police arrested over 1,600 ralliers on Saturday 09 July 2011 during clashes with protesters demanding poll reform ahead of general elections,who defied government warnings to rally in the capital for electoral reform. Tear gas has injured some as Malaysian police fired tear gas and water canon on the crowd as they march to a stadium and to the king's palace to hand over a memorandum detailing their demands. Among those injured were Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim who suffered a bruise on his head and a cut leg. His bodyguard however had to undergo minor surgery after he was hit in the left eye by a tear gas canister,reportedly taking the shot for Anwar.

Police brutality remains a concern as heavy-handed measures were employed to disperse what was a peaceful march until the water cannons and tear gas were deployed.Bleeding protestors were carted off by police personnel, while a man spotted on the ground with a fracture and his wrists bound in police-issued plastic handcuffs.He had boot marks on his pants and claimed that several police personnel had pinned him to the ground and kicked his leg. Incidences of police brutality were seen, with officers allegedly punching and shoving detainees. They were also allegedly seen manhandling female detainees. Extracts from Malaysiakini

Leaders of opposition parties were among those detained during a massive security operation but it failed to thwart the outlawed demonstration which saw 50,000 people take to the streets of Kuala Lumpur, according to organisers. Among those arrested were protest leader Ambiga Sreenivasan and Maria Chin Abdullah(Reforms group Bersih 2.0-a broad coalition of opposition parties and civil society groups). Ambiga, former head of the Malaysia Bar Council, told AFP she was freed later Saturday without being charged. Abdul Hadi Awang, president of the Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party (PAS), the country's largest opposition grouping, was also arrested.

With elections expected to be called early next year, demonstrators were demanding changes to the voting process including eradication of vote buying and prevention of irregularities which they say marred previous polls.

Malaysian police may have crushed a weekend protest, but analysts say the crackdown has tainted the country's democratic credentials and could embolden the opposition ahead of elections.



Source: Channel News Asia

JOKE: Mahathir, Queen Elizabeth, and Vladimir Putin all die and go to hell. While there, they spy a red phone and ask what the phone is for. The devil tells them it is for calling back to Earth. Putin asks to call Russia and talks for 5 minutes. When he is finished the devil informs him that the cost is a million dollars, so Putin writes him a check. Next Queen Elizabeth calls England and talks for 30 minutes. When she is finished the devil informs her that the cost is 6 million dollars, so she writes him a check. Finally Mahathir gets his turn and talks for 4 hours When he is finished the devil informs him that the cost is $5.00. When Putin hears this he goes ballistic and asks the devil why Mahathir got to call Malaysia so cheaply. The devil smiles and replies: “Since Najib took over, the country has gone to hell, so it’s a local call.” SOURCE