News you can use - Abbott now preferred Prime Minister of Australia
Ever wanted to buy a Black Hawk helicopter? Well, now you can! The Army is holding a FIRE sale to fund some new investments. Helicopters, missiles, ships, all must go! You won't find munitions at these prices this side of a Syrian bazaar! From what I can tell there's no real barrier to taking part, although I imagine there's probably some restriction on keeping a full size army cruiser down at the local marina.
According to the latest Newspoll, Tony Abbott is now the preferred Prime Minister of Australia. Abbott. Him. That guy. What has this nation come to that Abbott is the preferred anything?! I wouldn't prefer him to hemorrhoids. I just... I can't... You know, I used to quite like politics. Sigh. Countdown to Rudd's return in 5... 4...
Do you ever find yourself wondering what exactly goes on in Papua New Guinea? I mean, they're directly north of us, but noone really seems to know anything about it. Perhaps it's the island from Lost? Anyway, their Prime Minister just resigned. Which is pretty much the first news story I've seen attached to the island in my entire adult life.
Alright, things have really kicked up a peg or two in Afghanistan, where the Taliban have launched a coordinated attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, currently hosting, of course, an international conference on the withdrawal of American forces. Ten people have been killed so far, with at least five suicide bombers getting in on the action. Situation is unfolding as we speak.
Being able to buy video games that allow you to mutilate people has now become a free speech issue in the US after the Supreme Court decided that a law banning such video games from being sold to people under 18 without their parent's consent was, in fact, a violation of freedom of speech. Because a 16 year old being able to gut a hooker with a rusty shiv was definitely what the forefathers of America had in mind when they scribbled down that thought.
India is having a fairly delicate conversation with itself after allegations that certain doctors were performing gender reassignment surgery on newborns in order to turn costly girls into income positive boys. This in a country where the male population already outstrips the female by 7 million due to gender related abortions. Man, people just don't want to pay dowries, hey.
Syrian authorities have pegged July 10 as the day they're going to have a sit down and a good old powwow with the protest movement, which, by my reckoning, gives them a good, solid twelve more days of killing time. Before they have to pretend to listen. Then I guess they can just start killing again. Hm.
Israel has backed away from its threat to bar any journalists covering the new Gaza flotilla for ten years, after people pointed out that it was just a little "authoritarian-y", and perhaps not the best way of differentiating them from the supposedly inferior regimes in the region.
Yes, things are going just dandy in Greece, where rioting over proposed austerity measures has gripped the capital for the last couple of days straight. If it gets much worse, they could become the new face of the Arab Spring. This as the workers of Greece i.e. pretty much everybody launched into a 48 hour general strike, cutting power and transport across the country. This is, I imagine, not making their financial situation any better. They are currently trying to convince Europe to give them another 110 billion euro after the last 110 billion euro only went part of the way toward covering their magnificent debt. To put it in context, they have 11 million people.
Congratulations! You made it to the end! You get the
Sometimes you just want full blown war to break out, y'know?
Features
A former global warming sceptic explains his conversion and offers some handy pointers to those trying to prosecute this most vicious and ill-informed of debates.
Why the way we understand the collapse of the Soviet Union is wrong, and why it's a handy precedent when understanding everything that's happening in the Middle East. Here be geopolitical insight!
Oddities/Curiosities
A piece on the likely evolutionarily positive role of shyness.
A profile of the abandoned nuclear missile silo that became home to a lab that produced some 90% of the LSD in circulation in the USA, and the happy-go-lucky and – initially – respectable scientists who ran it.
Video
OK. I withdraw everything I ever said about Sarah Palin. Michele Bachmann is infinitely more dangerous. And threatening. Freedom for lightbulbs!
22 comments so far..
Have your say…
Login or Join to leave your comment…
Please make sure you are familiar with the Conditions of Use and Rules of Commenting on TheVine.