The United States embargo against Cuba (described in Cuba as el bloqueo, Spanish for "the blockade") is a commercial, economic, and financial embargo partially imposed on Cuba in October 1960. It was enacted after Cuba nationalized the properties of United States citizens and corporations and it was strengthened to a near-total embargo since February 7, 1962. Entitled the Cuban Democracy Act, the embargo was codified into law in 1992 with the stated purpose of maintaining sanctions on Cuba so long as the Cuban government continues to refuse to move toward "democratization and greater respect for human rights". In 1996, Congress passed the Helms-Burton Act, which further restricted United States citizens from doing business in or with Cuba, and mandated restrictions on giving public or private assistance to any successor government in Havana unless and until certain claims against the Cuban government are met. In 1999, U.S. President Bill Clinton expanded the trade embargo even further by ending the practice of foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies trading with Cuba. In 2000, Clinton authorized the sale of certain "humanitarian" US products to Cuba. At present, the embargo, which limits American businesses from conducting business with Cuban interests, is still in effect and is the most enduring trade embargo in modern history. Despite the existence of the embargo, the United States is the fifth largest exporter to Cuba (6.6% of Cuba's imports are from the US). However, Cuba must pay cash for all imports, as credit is not allowed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_embargo_against_Cuba

Twitter's Entire Archive Headed to the Library of Congress
When the Library of Congress was founded in the year 1800, publishing was very expensive and relatively few people did it. Today, thanks to blogs, YouTube, Facebook and certainly Twitter it's a new world. Publishing is far faster, easier and more accessible today than at any point in human history. Will the archive include friend/follower connection data? Will it be usable for commercial purposes? Will there be a Web interface for searching it, and will that change the face of Twitter search for good? Is there any way that the much larger archive of Facebook data could be submitted to the same body for analysis of the same kind? These kinds of large data sets are poised to become one of the most important resources the Internet creates. As Kenneth Cukier wrote in The Economist's recent Special Report on Big Data, "Data are becoming the new raw material of business: an economic input almost on a par with capital and labour."
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/twitters_entire_archive_headed_to_the_library_of_c.php

A company called Audioanamix has devised a solution to a gripe dogging the World Cup matches by silencing the buzzing drone of the vuvuzela horns commonly played by fans at African soccer matches. Audionamix is providing the drone relief to French pay television broadcaster Current+, and says it will do the same for any other broadcaster who wants it over the next month or so of the tournament. Like many innovations, Audionamix Vuvuzela Remover was invented to solve a problem for its inventor. Olivier Attia, the CEO of the Paris-based Audionamix, said his crew didn’t like the way the vuvuzela overwhelmed other crowd noise — the oohs, aahs and coordinated songs that usually permeate soccer matches. Lucky for them, the company makes software for separating source audio into distinct elements to help integrate music into film scores (somewhat similarly to the Melodyne Direct Note Access ).
“We were watching the World Cup with the rest of the world, and found our enjoyment of the experience hindered by the loud drone created by the blowing of thousands of the vuvuzelas,” said Attia in a statement. “Our Audionamix engineers immediately went into to the lab and emerged 48 hours later with a solution that removes the higher frequencies created by the festive instrument.” Vuvuzela Remover can strip just about every auditory trace of the controversial plastic horns, which produce a low B-flat tone at about 230 KHz with minor variations that occasionally make one stand out from the others.
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/06/world-cup-broadcasters-vuvuzela-horns/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29

During the Yankees game against the Phillies June 15, Anthony Zachariadis tooted on his vuvuzela, only to have it confiscated by security, the New York Post reported. When security came to seize the excruciatingly loud plastic horn (the sound of which has been ear-splittingly ubiquitous during World Cup matches), fans in the bleachers responded with boos, according to the Post. Zachariadis eventually agreed to leave in exchange for the horn. “I blew on it only five or six times - for big plays,” he told the Post. Regardless of his restraint, “blow horns and all other distracting noisemakers” are prohibited, according to stadium rules, listed on the team’s website. No word on whether Citi Field, which allows iPads, also has an open-door policy for vuvuzelas.) http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2010/06/17/yankees-ban-vuvuzelas/

Q: I've read that Bellefontaine, Ohio has the shortest street in the world.
A: That's what folks claim about McKinley Street, only 30 feet long, named after Ohio-born President William McKinley. Although Elgin Street in Bacup, Lancs, Great Britain, runs only 17 feet, Bellefontainers point out it is not open to motorized traffic. But you can drive on McKinley Street all the way from Columbus Avenue to Garfield Avenue, and back. -- Ohio Historical Society. http://www.thecourier.com/Opinion/columns/2010/Jun/JU/ar_JU_062110.asp?d=062110,2010,Jun,21&c=c_13

A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is most inclined toward or away from the Sun, causing the Sun's apparent position in the sky to reach its northernmost or southernmost extreme. The name is derived from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstices, the Sun stands still in declination; that is, the apparent movement of the Sun's path north or south comes to a stop before reversing direction. The term solstice can also be used in a broader sense, as the date (day) when this occurs. The solstices, together with the equinoxes, are connected with the seasons. In some cultures they are considered to start or separate the seasons, while in others they fall nearer the middle. See table of UTC date and time of solstices and equinoxes, 2004-2017 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solstice

In pictures: Stonehenge Summer Solstice 2010 http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/wiltshire/hi/front_page/newsid_8750000/8750983.stm