Lightning struck Hollande's plane this morning!
A flash of lightning nearly derailed Hollande’s blitz diplomatic foray, striking his plane and sending him briefly back to a Paris area military airbase.
Rebekah Brooks to be charged with perverting the course of justice - Crime - UK - The Independent
Former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks is to be charged with perverting the course of justice during the phone-hacking scandal.
Topical issues: the ‘Grexit’
The ‘Grexit’ - talks of Greece exiting the euro continue. But is this option viable? Can the contagion be contained?
- If you have access to Financial Times, this is a good article with analysis on the situation.
- The BBC is doing a programme on this later tonight:
On air at 17/18gmt: Is the “Grexit” inevitable? As Greek politicians fail to agree on a coalitiion deal - we are asking what this means for the rest of the Eurozone and beyond. How would you feel if Greece left the Eurozone? How might it affect you? (from their Google+ stream)
- Further update from FT: Greece to repay €450 billion bond in full.
- BBC on talks in Greece
- This week’s issue of the Economist also has analysis on the euro crisis in their Briefing section, as well as on their Charlemagne blog.
Relevant issues:
- Francois Hollande sworn in today.
- Might also want to read up on Greek politics - get to know the big players like Syriza led by Alexis Tsipras.
ShortFormBlog: Opinion: Mark Zuckerberg as a poor role model
( File/Photo Courtesy dapd)
BY ESTHER J. CEPEDA
CHICAGO — My plea to Mark Zuckerberg: Please just grow up already — you’re messing with my ability to raise my sons right.
In case you haven’t heard, last week Zuckerberg showed up on Wall Street to sell…
Interesting article. Our take: Don’t like Zuckerberg’s style? Deal with it - it’s not like he’s taking marijuana or doing something else, and isn’t worth kicking up a fuss. For us, it’s a show of individualism, that you don’t have to lose it to win. It’s a show of different, and different may be exactly what our society needs, despite what many think about the need to maintain traditional values to go on.
2 weeks ago - 
37 -
37 - 
Here’s our cover this week, featuring a rainbow-haloed Barack Obama—America’s first gay president!
Needs more attachment parenting.
(EDIT: Did you know that Andrew Sullivan, the author of this piece, wrote the first major magazine piece advocating for gay marriage, way back in 1989? Think this earns him a little hubris?)
Hm what to think about this one? Dislike characterisation as gay simply because he supported gay marriage. (Yes, I agree it’s probably intended as a joke, but it’s still not my cuppa tea.) The article itself, or, more accurately, what has leaked of it, seems great though.
You tuck her to sleep, sweet smile on her
lips, dare not leave her alone for fear
Another will take her heart and lift it to the skies
the way she did yours,
the way she stole yours,
the way you hope you stole
Hers.
Image credits: Miroslav Vajdic
Let Me Hook You
Let me catch you;
This is an open pond,
and you deserve an open wound
before the park ranger
catches me
with this fishing rod
and these eyes.
Take the bait. You,
you might love it.
Your cold, clammy
lips will love it.
Take the bait
and let me catch you just
once.
Let me hook you, touch
your cheek, tear it open
like a bullet would but no,
this is just my finger, and
you would flap on the
pavement, you would burn
all the worse if I dropped you,
your lungs would burn,
so don’t struggle too much.
Cruel but lovely.
President Obama Becomes the First American President to Back Same-Sex Marriage
“I’ve just concluded, for me, personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married,” Obama said in an interview with ABC News.
Obama, who had previously backed strong protections for gay and lesbian couples, said his position had evolved partly after talking to his two daughters Malia and Sasha who had some friends who had same-sex parents.
“It wouldn’t dawn on them that somehow their friends’ parents would be treated differently. It doesn’t make sense to them and frankly, that’s the kind of thing that prompts a change in perspective,” Obama said in the interview.
Bravo. Just bravo. It’s a bold move to make, one to be appreciated regardless of your stance on this issue. These people deserve someone like Obama to come out and stand for their rights, just as Hillary Clinton made her speech on LGBT rights last year.
Update: Economist blog post on how this does not aide the cause for gay marriage
Afghan peace negotiator Arsala Rahmani shot dead
A senior Afghan peace negotiator has been shot dead in Kabul, officials say.
Arsala Rahmani was a former Taliban minister and a key member of Afghanistan’s High Peace Council, which leads Afghan efforts to negotiate a peace deal with the Taliban.
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Another one gone after Burhannudin Rabbani was killed by a bomb hidden in the turban of a suicide attacker posing as a Taliban peace envoy last September.
