It was ready-made for them to call an emergency and pretend it was war-time, you know, the war on terrorism is a metaphor, and terrorism is an abstract noun. It's like a "war on dandruff." There's no such thing, you know. It isn't war, it's just a slogan. But using the slogan they got through the U.S.A. Patriot Act, which removes many of our liberties. Nobody made a sound when we lost Habeas Corpus—due process of law—and suddenly Bush managed to get rid of it. Where was a voice on television, aside from mine, that spoke out against this? Where were all those noble jurists, those great lawyers, those lovers of liberty, where the hell were they? They were nowhere!

I complain about the United States not being Athens. I certainly say we are a very good Roman republic, and the lies are based upon the most advanced techniques of advertising, which is the only art form my country has ever created—the television commercial—and we sell soap and presidents in the same fashion. Once a country is habituated to liars, it takes generations to bring the truth back.

Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia (2013)

F.U.

'Frigate' via the French http://blog.oup.com/2011/09/frigate/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frigate

People setting other people on fire

'Calais Jungle' http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/calais-migrant-camp-fire-france-6830330

Child Pyromaniac https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_pyromaniac

RIP (aka Your Time's Up, a family game show)

The 4th-last White Rhino

Adele Horin http://www.smh.com.au/comment/obituaries/trailblazing-journalist-adele-horin-took-it-to-the-edge-20151124-gl6k8z.html

The Golden Mile http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/golden-mile-a-basketcase-as-commercial-properties-lose-value-20151120-gl3wcw.html

Drinking and hospitals http://www.smh.com.au/national/alcohol-sending-hundreds-of-thousands-into-hospital-each-year-acem-study-20151123-gl5tgx.html

Diesel the police dog http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/22/diesel-french-police-dog-killed-st-denis-raid-retire

Peace http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/24/turkey-shoots-down-jet-near-border-with-syria

Another PM of Oz

Number 27: Julia Eileen Gillard.

NEWS

Students find explicit photos of their teacher on thumb drive http://m.smh.com.au/wa-news/student-finds-and-shares-mandurah-teachers-extremely-graphic-nude-photos-20151118-gl2387.html

The Metropolitan Police and recent compensation for undercover relationships http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/nov/20/met-police-apologise-women-had-relationships-with-undercover-officers

(Electrical) Power in Crimea http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-22/crimea-declares-emergency-as-1-9-million-people-lose-electricity

15% Bill http://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/opposition-leader-nominates-budget-as-showdown-time-with-malcolm-turnbull-and-vows-not-to-give-up/news-story/86a86a8580de1010efc3aa8ee4a803bf

Mehajer and medicine http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/salim-mehajers-wife-appointed-director-of-his-companies-as-he-has-a-go-at-medicine-20151122-gl57p3.html

SPORT

Cricket

Pink balls

Andrew Jones https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Jones_(cricket_administrator) http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/cricket/fans-the-number-one-priority-for-new-cricket-nsw-chief-executive-andrew-jones/story-fni2fod7-1226649514881

AFL

Motor Racing

Mark Webber http://www.bbc.com/sport/motorsport/34892233

The Clock