As we pass the halfway mark of the 2016 federal election campaign (how long is it since you heard so many grown adults effectively asking “are we there yet?”), key message scripts and political performances are daily in evidence.

The US has succeeded at last with its audacious con-job. The lead NATO member has managed to orchestrate a huge turnaround for increased military spending among its European allies.

http://rootsaction.org/featured-actions/1187-appeal-from-us-to-world-help-us-resist-us-crimes

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. 

It is utterly appalling that the deteriorating state of the Australian economy is being swept under the carpet while Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison continually tell the country that they can be trusted to steer us through this so-called transition.

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. 

Malcolm Turnbull’s election campaign strategy has taken an unexpected turn, with an uncharacteristically heartfelt video popping up on social media positioning the Prime Minister as coming from a “battling” background.