In the information age we are inundated by news and trivia, Don’t Blink is a regular featured designed to hilight a whole bunch of stories you may have missed in a relatively small amount of space.

Canada:

In Canada this week the news largely focused on Chief Theresa Spence and mounting pressure on PM Stephen Harper to meet with her. Also, police see the Freemen movement as a growing problem and this is what happens when Canadians don’t have enough to do.

United States:

In the US Republicans like rich people, a lot! Other than that though they can’t seem to agree on much as the party continues to disintegrate. The White House is being pressured to recognize the Westboro Baptist Church as a hate group, Americans are better armed than we thought and big banks worked with the FBI to crush occupy.

It was also revealed this week that 23% of American service women are sexually assaulted in war zones and the number of newborns addicted to painkillers is up 300%.

In American business news a Washington area trolley company thinks that homophobia will be good for business.  Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves think that racism will be good for business, and Hobby Lobby (a supermarket for dull people) thinks that increased pregnancy rates among employees will be good for business. America’s stock exchanges are mostly down this week.

The Other 95% of the World:

Despite much of the country being under drought conditions for a good part of the year, 2012 is the wettest year in England’s history. Electric car sales are expected to spike next year in the UK, PM David Cameron may accidentally remove Britain from the EU, and  this man is not James Bond.

India’s fatal gang rape case continues to make waves and expose the country’s culture of rape to the world. The backlash has now spilled over into Nepal.

It is now illegal for Chinese people to avoid visiting their parents,  meanwhile Germany is saving money by exporting their elderly. Israel is continuing to work against peace, the UN is warning that Syria could be the next Somalia, and no one in the media is covering Africa well.

Science: 

Drilling problems forced scientists to call off the exploration of an arctic lake this week, however science may have found a way to double solar power output and found a link between volcanic activity and global warming. Also, science would like to remind us that all of those “Earth like” planets they’re finding aren’t that much like Earth but are optimistic that an Earth clone will be found soon.

Religion: 

This week religion beat a man to death for witchcraft and blamed women for domestic violence.

Other:

Finally: Christian Slater’s latest film made $264 at the box office (approx. 33 tickets sold), the Canada party is coming to save America and, in what is sure to be a movie of the week, a chicken has saved a Wisconsin couple from a house fire.