A few comments

Shaun posted this link on Facebook a couple of days ago, and it's a very good piece. Sam De Brito talks about the social contract we have as part of Western society, where we agree to give up some personal freedoms in order to take advantage of government services. And he talks about the hypocrisy of bikies and other citizens who happily accept medical help but refuse to talk to police. Or people who criticise police when they come looking for drugs, but call the police asap when their house is burgled or they are assaulted. Anyway, it's an interesting column.

Another interesting article is this one, about how rap feuds mirror the uni-polar global political system. Where there is one dominant power, the rest of the world challenges it to see where it is weak. It happened to Britain in the 19th century and the USA today. In this article, Jay-Z is referred to as the dominant power in rap. This is another article about the topic, which analyses Jay's combination of 'hard' and 'soft' power (terms familiar to those who've done some International Relations at Uni... fun times!). As hegemon, Jay's best option when confronted with attacks from lesser-known rappers, is to rise above the fray. The status quo is delivering him wealth and power, even if he has to put up with sniping from the sidelines. Anyway, I found it really really interesting, combining my love of international diplomacy and strategy with rap music. Can't ask for much more really.

(Wow, I'm not even finished reading that analytical article and I already love it so much. Nick, I think you might enjoy reading it too.)

A couple of fun things:
- A really cute photo of someone's dad asleep with a wombat. Aww! I want a pet wombat!
- A Random Dinosaur Comics second panel generator. Just hit refresh. Pretty randomly funny.
- A great wedding entrance, in which the entire bridal party dances down the aisle to Chris Brown's 'Forever'. That's right. And it's great.