gates

So much for the Good Tech Overlord.

One detail about Bill Gates has always stuck with me, and I was forever astounded that, over his 20-year makeover, it was never again mentioned: Upon his engagement to Melinda French, he insisted that if they were to marry, he would need one long weekend alone each year with his ex-girlfriend Ann Winblad.

Not only that — Gates asked Winblad for permission to marry, then told Time magazine all about it.

bee

We are losing billions of bees every year to many complicated causes, including climate change, decreasing crop diversity and habitat loss. Why does it matter if bees are around?

"Save the bees!" — these calls to action usually come with a quote attributed to Albert Einstein: "If the bee disappeared off the face of the Earth, man would only have four years left to live."  

spew

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says he hopes a red carpet welcome for his successor Scott Morrison at a Newcastle air force base “won’t be repeated”, after an Instagram snap of the guard of honour went viral online.

The Department of Defence claimed the official welcome – including numerous Air Force members standing at attention, brandishing Australian flags  was “standard protocol”, but Mr Turnbull and fellow former PM Kevin Rudd said they never received such a welcome.

The unusual controversy was set off on May 7, when Mr Morrison visited RAAF Williamtown, north of Newcastle in the NSW Hunter region.

mirror

When Fighting Erupts Between Israel and Hamas, the Question of War Crimes Follows

Civilian deaths on both sides raise urgent questions about which military actions are legal, what war crimes are being committed and who, if anyone, will be held to account.

pissed on power...

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the United States will not leave Australia alone in the face of economic coercion from China, and that such behaviour toward US allies will hamper improvement in US-Sino relations.

Washington has repeatedly criticised what it says are Beijing’s attempts to bully neighbours with competing interests, and US President Joe Biden has sought to bolster ties with allies in the Indo-Pacific to counter China’s growing power.

rococco

 God does not exist despite our grand, impressive and sometimes gross monuments dedicated to the idea. In History lessons for critiques on Christianity, Paul Collins, a former priest and still a religious man, tells us about how our civilisation grew from Christianity, and recently shifted the emphasis of history studies to focus on indigenous culture in school curriculum.

warpiss

 Admiral James Stavridis has commanded U.S. warships in the South China Sea. In his new novel, he writes about a war between China and America – a scenario he considers to be extremely realistic.

Interview Conducted By Bernhard Zand in Hong Kong

countries

In 2001, Michael Moore published his number one bestseller "STUPID WHITE MEN and Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation!". It nearly did not get published because of 9/11 as Moore took the piss out of G W Bush beforehand.

In the book, There is a list of, I guess, stupid white men who lead the world political system into the abyss of a crapper. There are also some black men. Overall, it seems, the human species is lead by idiots because, let's face it, Homo sapiens is a STUPID species. 

lame

mickey woke

Disney’s walk to wokeness looks like a death march for artistry and entertainment when you see the radical transformation of the Marvel properties.

fodder

In this special episode of “Working People,” we talk with three veterans about how the military and the class system (in the U.S. and around the world) go hand in hand.

liz

The vote to determine House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney’s fate in leadership is scheduled for Wednesday morning — after months of the No. 3 GOP member being at war with her own party.

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) is slated to initiate the call for the vote to oust the Wyoming lawmaker, who came under fire for her criticisms of former President Donald Trump. 

The meeting is slated to kick off at 9 a.m., the morning after House lawmakers arrive back to Washington after their two-week recess.