On its website, NATO tells us it is not encircling Russia. Don't smile. Without laughter NATO also tell us that the Kosovo removal from the former Yougoslavia cannot be compared with the removal of Crimea from Ukraine, despite strong ethnic lines. See, it took more than 3,000 days of negotiations including three years of murderous war to "liberate" Kosovo (now a hotbed of terrorists in Europe), while it only took two days for the Russians to "liberate" Crimea. NATO resents the fact it was not allowed to bid on making the conflict last longer — at least three years or more.

Touring flood-affected Tasmania, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has warned that natural disasters will become more severe as climate change worsens and emphasised the need for greater mitigation measures to protect against the consequences. 

Larger and more frequent storms are one of the consequences that the climate models and climate scientists predict from global warming. 

The editorial of the AAAS Journal Science, 13 May 2016, is considerately written by a couple of religious nuts. Heavy duty religious men. Not that I dispute the good intentions of the Pope's representatives, but there is a limit as to where science should allow the invasion of hocus pocus in its domain. Religion is hocus pocus, whether it is charitably oriented, human rights friendly or not. 

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One has to be alert. Malcolm made all the right noises in the past about climate change. He has now turned to become the voice of his Neanderthal colleagues who have no idea about scientific rigour and processes. One would hope that this was a clever tactic to be able to change his mates' mind should Malcolm be "re-elected". Don't hold your breath. a) he has buckley's chances of changing the mind of the CONservatives (Liberals) b) despite weather records tumbling day after day, he does not believe a word of what he said in the past c) he is an idiot.

There is a lot of misinformation flying about the status of the Great Barrier Reef — mostly coming from you-know-where.

This rubbish comes from the Turnbull/Abbott government. This crap is repeated ad nauseam by the Murdoch Press, especially The Australian and The Daily Telegraph. The Great Barrier Reef Marine park Authority was decimated by Tony Abbott and now has become a rubber stamping Authority for whatever the Minister for the Destruction of the Environment, Greg Hunt, says.

In Pasadena, California, Black Lives Matter organizer Jasmine Richards is facing four years in state prison after she was convicted of a rarely used statute in California law originally known as "felony lynching." Under California’s penal code, "felony lynching" was defined as attempting to take a person out of police custody. Jasmine was arrested and charged with felony lynching last September, after police accused her of trying to de-arrest someone during a peace march at La Pintoresca Park in Pasadena on August 29, 2015.

A Patriot Movement supporter, approved by the Trump campaign, talks of violently overthrowing the federal government.

Today's topic — planetoid Greedo.