The Return of Martin World News- now rant free!

So I have sat around tonight, feeling I should post about something- but nothing much to say about life at the Martin Indigenous Hoosier Reservation... then I thought, you know, I haven't looked in my "BBC News From Elsewhere" tab lately... and I have to say, they have been pretty busy out there!  For example:


ITEM 1:  This is a selling point?

You gotta love it when the story tells its own joke.

The Russian government is to give the public the chance to sample a range of delicacies previously reserved for senior officials.
Presidential press secretary Elena Krylova says an online shop selling dairy products under the brand name "Kremlin Quality" will open in the new year. She tells Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper that "milk, buttermilk, yoghurt and possibly cheese" made specially for the presidential administration, MPs and their staff will be "on offer to everyone, not just to officials".


Wow, quality from the people that brought you Chernobyl, the Afghan invasion, and self-sinking atomic submarines!

ITEM 2:  I love ya, gramps, but with some Yuan I'll love you long time

So much for the Confucian ideal of taking care of your ancestors in Thoroughly Modern China:

A nursing home in eastern China is giving vouchers to people who visit their elderly parents on a regular basis.
The facility in the city of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, says consistent family visits will improve residents' quality of life, the Yangtze Evening Post reports. The biggest reward is worth 200 yuan ($29; £23) and is for those who show up 30 times over the course of two months. Lesser amounts are on offer for 10 or 20 visits during the same period.



I wager this will big big with the kids and grandkids who are tired of hitting the plasma bank for a quick sawbuck.


ITEM 3:  Nicholas, you've been unfriended

Historical education, meet Mark Zuckerberg:

A new Russian internet project is reliving the events leading up to the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 as if the historical figures of the time were posting on social media.
The project, called 1917: Free History, aims to recreate the world of the people whose lives were transformed and, in some cases, shattered by the impending revolution. Their stories are told through a mixture of Facebook-style real-time updates, historical live pages and interactive features.


V.I. LENIN
     Hey, Leon Troksky ! How about meeting up at the Palace Square for Stolichnaya and Bourgeois-bashing?  We can close the Duma early!

JOSEF STALIN is feeling: homicidal
     
ALEXANDRA "RUSKIEINNAMEONLY" ROMANOV
     Can anyone tell me what kind of grain it is that has little legs and wiggles about? We certainly have a lot of bread made from it here in Siberia... #Needsomemayo
      



ITEM 3: Now, if it had a bear or a bull... wait, scratch the bear...


Or why you should always consider location...

A black swan sculpture in Beijing's financial district has been removed only hours after being unveiled because of concerns it might bring bad luck to the markets, it's reported.
On Monday, the huge swan was placed inside the entrance of a swanky shopping centre located across the road from China's Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). It sat there for half a day before being covered up and whisked away by shopping mall staff, Beijing's Fazhi Wanbao newspaper reports.
In financial circles, a "black swan" represents a highly unlikely and unpredictable event - something not much loved by investors.

No stranger to not-quite accepted artwork, this is the same shopping center that had the cartoon Boonie Bears flipping off the CSRC last June:

ITEM 4:  It's almost time for NCIS, so that's it for today...