Blogotariat

Tony Abbott “continues to make the most astounding, cringe-worthy gaffes that stretch all credulity” writes Jennifer Wilson.

This, today from a Prime Minister who spends 4.3 million of taxpayer dollars monitoring social media, and employing spin doctors to “offer strategic communications advice” from the information gleaned:

• Frederic Bastiat and football punditry – “In the day job I call Arsene Wenger a great economist. I’m making a serious point. … there is a close affinity between economics and sport; each can illuminate the other. I suspect you could learn more about economics from football than you could from the empty suits at Davos this week. “

“I’ll stand with you and your right to offend but I insist on the freedom to judge you on who you’re offending and why” writes Sally Baxter.

Any faint hope that a new year would shine a light in the growing darkness enveloping our planet was quickly shattered with the slaughter of a bunch of cartoonists working for an obscure publication in a language I never really come to grips with.

I can’t see why not.

Some of Prime Minister Tony Abbott's most senior colleagues are bewildered, angered and dismayed by his decision to award an Australian knighthood to Prince Philip.

Prince Philip and former Defence Force chief Angus Houston were named Australia's newest knights today, under an honours system reinstated by Mr Abbott last year.

Murrumba is an LNP seat on the northern fringe of Brisbane, covering Deception Bay, Rothwell, Mango Hill and Griffin, and parts of Burpengary and Narangba.

The LNP’s Reg Gulley won Murrumba in 2012 after a 16.7% swing, and was left with a 9.5% margin.

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Then again I wouldn't have scored a lazy quid for knocking out this column about Sir Phil the Greek.

To those who would decry this honour I say God's smothering bollocks upon you! Certainly, the PM could have embiggened any old convict. As Lord Nelson (H.G, not the other one) remarked on Australia Day morning, Sir Molly Meldrum, Sir Geoffrey Edelsten and Dame Dannii Minogue select themselves. But these would have been the obvious choices. The safe and predictable and boring options.

It is easy to be blase about corruption in other places. No one thinks much of what passes for government in countries like Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, or other places that don’t think much of human rights. (Lots of things upset me about our PM’s ideology, but I sleep better at night knowing he doesn’t keep […]

The Rosetta mission made history last year, by being the first manmade spacecraft to ever orbit or land on a comet. Things didn't go exactly as planned, though. The lander Philae bounced around and got lost somewhere on the comet's surface. Wherever it is, it's not getting enough sunlight on its solar panels to keep it fully charged, so ESA has shut it down until the springtime, when the comet will be closer to the Sun. Meanwhile, the orbiter has been busy collecting data.

The 20,000 ton Tanggula Shan is China's fourth Landing Platform Dock, with a built in well deck which allows Chinese Marines to start amphibious assaults out of the range of coastal defense.

In early March, NASA's Dawn spacecraft will enter the orbit of the dwarf planet Ceres. “We're going to see a whole new world,” says Marc Rayman, Dawn's chief engineer and mission director. Eight years since its launch, and four years after visiting the second-largest object in the asteroid belt, Vesta, Dawn will be the first spacecraft to orbit two alien protoplanets in a single mission.

There is only so much Mars a rover can see from the ground. A drone scout could let the rover see further, so NASA's working on a small flying robot copter for a future Mars mission. Drones are proving themselves cheap and versatile on Earth, so it's natural to think they might be useful on Mars too. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory just released a video about their Mars Helicopter, designed to do just that.

Twitter can predict almost anything—including your risk of getting heart disease.