Nixon

Body language experts would have a field day with this photo. Could there be anymore hand-gesturing going on? And didn’t they both have long fingers? It’s President Nixon and Prime Minister Brezhnev, taken in Moscow on this day in 1974.

That was right smack bang in the middle of the Détente; a fancy name for the period during the cold war, when the big powers decided to try and act like adults, and lay their nukes on the table. Instead of just blowing stuff up. Or threatening to blow stuff up. The whole thing lost momentum in 1979 when the Soviets decided to invade Afghanistan. But it was a start - of sorts.

Happy Monday everyone! Have you made some ambitious plans today? Share them here…

It is part of every reporter’s mandatory training that any time a scandal erupts you have to put the word ``gate’’ after it.

Thus we have had Utegate, Wheatgate, Monkeygate and Wormgate, just to name a few.

Indeed according to Wikipedia—which is also part of every reporter’s mandatory training—Australia accounts for no fewer than six of the official ``gate’’ scandals, more than holding its own among tough competition from Camillagate, Nipplegate and Whitewatergate.

Continue reading "Nixongate in the Hotelgate with the Schoolgate Girlgate" »