The news in brief:

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Apple and Pear Australia Limited (APAL) withdrew from the Russian Intellectual Property Court (IPC) a statement challenging the registration of Lady Crimea trademark in the name of the Russian Crimean Fruit Company.

Once, when winter came, a cicada that was starving came to the door of an anthill asking for food. At his request the ants responded, asking the following question:

This is the cartoon of the year as voted by Gus Leonisky. Congratulation to Mark David!...

Among those cheering loudest at the (presumed) end of Donald Trump’s presidency in the past week were the comedians – Seth Meyers, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, John Oliver – on America’s staggering array of late-night shows and the-week-that-was wraps.

warming

Global warming demands some reality checks. Some “information” channels are often cool on the concept. “RT” and “NotGuardian” (GoofGuardian rather than OffGuardian sometimes) are example of bullshit spreading, with subtle differences...

A self-pardon of federal crimes could be taken as an admission of guilt, as Trump and his family face inquiries from both the state of New York and the District of Columbia. Both New York Attorney General Letitia James and D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine have made the media rounds in recent weeks. They’ve made plain that they are licking their chops to get to the bottom of Trump’s business conduct— or criminal misconduct.

The economy is picking up, and hundreds of thousand of workers in those queues are now back in work.

However, there are plenty more that will continue to struggle.

There is a tendency to be hasty in dealing with transgenderism. It has been described as a medical condition, when kids and adults feel that they live in the wrong sex-allocated body.

The psychology is complex. A passing moment in believing something or something else is part of learning. Becoming entrenched in our ideas and feelings can become obsessive. We learn to lie as much to others as to our self. 

Directed Energy Weapons are the next best thing… Well they’re not really good stuff if you want peace, but if you are at war and want to destroy something “precisely” INSTANTANEOUSLY, Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs) are the go.

Parler is fast becoming a conservative echo-chamber but big name climate deniers don't seem to be abandoning mainstream social media for the fringe platform — at least not yet.

Over-population is a sore point on many fronts. This cartoon from the New Yorker circa 1960s is frighteningly telling, but is it accurate?