But I thought ferris wheels were romantic

It's time for our Tuesday look around the world to see what's going on!

1. Another video game is accused of glorifying violence.
2. Storm troopers are once again on the march. (Apparently, they'll be behind the llamas?)
3. Apparently, 45% of Americans know someone who is racist, but only 12% admit that they are. So, is this a case of "But some of my best friends are racists!"
4. Drinking is apparently good for you.

In other words, nothing new is happening.


This week's theme:
Year in Review, 2006

Picking up for part deux of the FIF year in review:

April Fools' Day sees Justin Timberlake win the belching contest at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. Now that's bringing Sexy Back!

On April 6th, scientists (funny how it's always just some random "scientists") announced that they had discovered a fossil of the "missing link" between fish and land animals. This was likely made around midnight between day five and day six.

April 11th saw the Italian people go to the polls and elect a guy named Romano Prodi by about 25,000 votes over AC Milan chairman Silvio Berlusconi. Berlusconi asked for a recount and the case was finally settled by Italy's highest court. See, it can happen anywhere.

On April 25th, President G-Dubs names talk show host Tony Snow as White House Press Secretary. This is the biggest news story of April, due to the fact that nothing interesting seemed to happen all month.

That is until April 29th, when Stephen Colbert... well, we all know what Stephen Colbert did on April 29th.

May 1st, there were massive rallies by immigrants seeking recogition, citizenship, and (the real reason for any protest) to find a date. Hundreds of restaurants shut down because of "an inability to bring you the high quality of service you've come to expect from us." Everyone knows what that means, but strangely, no one will say it.

On May 3rd, major beverage companies proclaim that they will no longer sell pop/soda/carbo-bevs to schools. I posted this because apparently, there's a website out there called bevnet.com, which focuses specifically on news around the beverage industry. Proof that you can find anything on the internet.

May 21st, Montenegro votes for independence from Serbia. A brand new country was formed and once again, America didn't notice.

May 24th saw Taylor Hicks, a man who looks worryingly like Jay Leno, win American Idol.

June 7th brought us the Senate voting on a Constitutional amendment that would have banned gay marriage. Yeah, a war in Iraq. Billions and trillions of dollars of debt. Crime, homelessness, poverty. And we're worried about...

June 15th, Bill Gates says that he will step aside as CEO of Microsoft in two years to instead focus on charitable giving. It will take him that long for his Windows-based computer in his office to shut down.

On June 18th, the Anglican Communion elects a woman, Katharine Jefferts Schori, to be its next leader. She's listed as the first woman to lead a major world religion. I think it's funny that someone thought the Anglicans were a major religion.


On to the news:

Kazakhstan: first Borat, now PETA
(In other news, Sacha Baron Cohen won the lawsuit brought against him by the frat boys in his movie)

Burglars give money to the victim
('Tis better to give than to receive?)


But today's top story comes to us from Berlin, Germany:

BERLIN (Reuters) - German animal rights activists have launched a campaign against plans to put up a giant ferris wheel in Berlin, saying it would disturb the sex lives of rhinos in a nearby zoo.

A group of investors has unveiled plans to erect a 175-metre high wheel for 120 million euros (80 million pounds) in the German capital, hoping to attract millions of visitors from 2008. But animal rights activists oppose the project, saying the fully-illuminated wheel would disturb the rhinos' daily routine.

"We're worried that these endangered animals won't breed any more, which would hamper animal protection programmes," Berlin's animal rights association said in a statement.

The planned Berlin wheel would be higher than the London Eye, which claims to be the world's tallest observation wheel at 135 metres, according to its Web site.

What exactly do the rhinos do on a daily basis?


Bright, shiny objects:

What's for breakfast?
(The stupid leprechaun finally gets his comeupance)

Robot playing foosball machine
(They can already beat us in chess, why not foosball?)


Today's random "next blog":

I think it's a blog about the Tornoto Maple Leafs
(That's the fun of the "next blog" button)


Today's strange anniversary:

December 12, 1966 -- The Supreme Court (yeah, that one) votes 4-3 to allow the Milwaukee Braves to move to Atlanta. Will someone tell me why they were even involved?


Fun fact of the day:

Murphy's Oil Soap is the chemical most commonly used to clean elephants.


And finally:

I clicked on Amazon.com today because I like browsing their website. What greeted me was one of their usual splashes on their front page. This time, they showed the "Most Gifted" books. I'm guessing that these are the ones that have most often been bought for others as gifts. The three that were posted were Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope (makes sense), Amy Sedaris's I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence (huh?), and finally You on a Diet.

What exactly are you trying to say?