Another week of non-stop events. Between Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visiting Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe to drum up support against U.N. Sanctions, to the upcoming British elections and the latest turn of events for Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the ongoing situation in Thailand, Belgium's ruling on the Burqua, the financial crisis in Greece and the ongoing situation in the Gulf of Mexico and the looming environmental catastrophe.

(Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - suddenly Robert Mugabe is his BFF)

Beginning with this report from Sunday the 25th, Talk Radio 702 in South Africa ran this recap of the visit from Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Zimbabwe and the political ramifications.

(The Whale, it would appear, has no say in the matter)

On Monday the 26th, ABC Radio National's AM Program ran an item on financial reform going on in Australia (strange, aren't we doing the same thing?) and the continuing negotiations over commercial Whaling in Japan.

(It seems the phrase "vote early-vote often" applies here too)

Also on Monday, the BBC Africa Service via their program Africa Today took a look at the recently held elections in Sudan and charges of voter fraud.

(Gordon Brown - putting ones foot squarely in ones mouth)

From the CBC's World At Six on the 28th, news of the ongoing Canadian bribery scandal, the worsening situation in the Gulf of Mexico and Prime Minister Gordon Brown's embarrassing moment with an open microphone.

(Not a great week for Greece)

Also on the 28th, the BBC World Service's Newshour devoted a good portion of their program to the financial crisis in Greece. A crisis that, at last report, is now spreading to Portugal and Spain.

(How to turn a political campaign into a Mea Culpa tour)

The Gordon Brown story won't go away. The BBC's 5Live dedicated their Story Of The Day to the Gordon Brown fiasco and the effect it's having on potential voters - not to mention bringing up the old "class differences" argument.

(The Oil Rig fire - rapidly becoming a disaster of epic proportions)

And finally, the Friday April 30th edition of Global News covers the worsening story in the Gulf Of Mexico as well as Belgian Government rulings on banning the Burqua and the implications the ban will have on the 1/2 million Muslims living in Belgium.

And no doubt a lot more, and probably a lot more developing at this very moment.

The world was a busy place this week and at last report, it hasn't stopped.

(Elections in Sudan - at least they could listen to music)

From the BBC Africa Service, reports on the elections in Sudan and the growing oppression in Somalia on the parts of Muslim extremists. This week imposing a ban on all music played over the radio.

(China - a disaster made worse by inaccessibility)

By Mid-week, reports of the earthquake near the Tibetan border grew more grim by the minute. First reported hundreds dead, then 600 dead and, at last count over 800 dead. Rescue work is being hampered by the altitude and thin air but miracles are still happening. Also, from this Global News Report from April 14th, updates on the aftermath of the tragedy in Poland, news on land reform in Zimbabwe and the upcoming British elections.

(Helena Guergis and Rahid Jaffer - gives a whole new spin on the phrase "hot chicks with douchebags")

From the CBC World News At Six on April 15th, the continuing scandal and resignation of Canadian MP and Cabinet member Helena Guergis and allegations of "improprieties" on behalf of her husband, former MP Rahim Jaffer. Nice to know we aren't the only ones who get mired in sex and drug scandals. Also reports of torture of Afghan prisoners by troops in 2006 as reported by a member of the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

(The first time the UK held televised debates . . what hath God wrought?)

From the BBC Politics site on April 16th, a capsule version of the previous nights first-ever live televised Debate between candidates for Prime Minister. Now it's the UK's chance to drown in spin, pundits and polls. Various news outlets are reporting the Liberal Democrat Nick Clegg won hands down. Let the beauty contest begin.

(The vice-President in Israel reacting to the sound of wingnuts exploding)

If you ever thought the shrill shriek of wingnut radio was the exclusive property of the U.S., that we somehow were the only country on the planet bombarded by noise and extremism, I'm here to tell you it just ain't so. Big relief, right? Well, in Israel they have this prevalent radio network called Israel National Radio and, even by their own admission are probably one of the most hard-line right wing propaganda outlets in the middle-east. In comparison, Fox seems almost moderate by comparison. Take for example an excerpt from this April 16th broadcast of A Light Unto The Nation which features interviews with Daniel Pipes and Dr. Mike Cohen. They despise Joe Biden and pretty much hate Obama. Sounds familiar, no? They don't however, say anything about being "fair and balanced" - that's a relief.

And so went the world this week, continuing its inevitable spin. We survived so far.

I don't think a week has gone by in history without some crisis developing, or some settlement reached with regards to the Middle East.

On March 12th in 1979 talks were going on in Israel between Menachem Begin and Jimmy Carter, with an emergency session being held on this day. Speculation among Middle East watchers was President Carter to spend an extra day trying to hammer something out.

And to go along with the negotiations were reports of continued violence in the West Bank, anti-Carter riots around Jerusalem and a general feeling of tension while some sort of peace process was being arrived at.

And if that weren't enough, talk on Capitol Hill centered around what was being described as a disastrous Energy policy and a looming crisis by way of Arab Oil. Only time would tell on that one.

Meanwhile, news from overseas, aside from the Peace talks, centered around continued Rhodesian attacks on rebel bases in Zimbabwe and the Women of Tehran turning out en masse to protest the latest edicts from the Ayatollah regime regarding a severe curtailing of civil rights for women and a reintroduction of the Chador as required apparel for all Iranian Women.

And when the talk wasn't focused on the potential energy crisis or the Middle East, Capitol Hill was focusing on calls for a Constitutional Amendment to the Balanced Budget, with John Stennis leading the charge. And if Jimmy Carter didn't have enough trouble, Republican Presidential hopefuls Howard Baker and Bob Dole were busy making political hay from calls for an investigation of the Carter Family Peanut business based on an FBI investigation that alleged Prodigal Brother Billy was busy cooking books at the warehouse.

And so spiraled this March 12th in 1979 as reported on CBS Radio via their 8:00 am-9:00 am (PST) network news and The World Tonight.

News on this January 12th in 1980 was just as skewed and drama-plagued as any other January day in 1980.

Starting off with word that UN voting on sanctions against Iran had been postponed from the previous night because of hints from Tehran there might be softening on demands for release of the American hostages.

The Hostage drama entered week #11.

In Iran, word of crackdowns on opposition came from Tabriz, where supporters of opposition leader Ayatollah Shariatmadari were rounded up and summarily executed by militia loyal to Ayatollah Khomeni. The end result were riots throughout Tabriz with businesses and banks looted and torched in protest.

Meanwhile, the Soviet excursion into Afghanistan was weighing on people's minds, with the US grain embargo being given support by everyone except Argentina.

Further fallout from Afghanistan came in guise of Canada, who offered the facilities of the former Montreal Olympics site as alternative to Moscow - although the offer wasn't exactly squared with the Montreal Expos who were using the stadium for baseball during the Summer.

In Africa, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) was readying for it's first legitimate Majority Rule general elections and relations between Salisbury and Mozambique took a rosy turn as the border re-opened and trade resumed between the two countries, who were only weeks before exchanging raids and artillery fire.

On the Domestic front - The Illinois State Legislature approved financial bailout for the bankrupt Chicago School System, the 3rd largest in the U.S.

And election season was heating up with the Iowa Caucuses poised to go on January 20th and word that Ted Kennedy was behind Jimmy Carter a whopping 25 points - but there was still 8 days to go.

And anything could (and would) happen by then.

And that's what that January 12th looked like in 1980, via Neil Strawser and The CBS World News Roundup.

If you were somehow jettisoned back in time and woke up this morning, realizing it was 1978 . . .and you had the misfortune of living on the East coast, you'd be blanketed in snow and contemplating wind chill factors of up to -50 degrees as you staggered out of bed.

And that's what happened on this particular January 10th in 1978. A massive Cold Wave hit the Eastern United States covering just about everything in snow and buffeting everything in its wake with freezing temperatures, as low as -26 in some parts - a veritable heatwave where it got up to -6.

And joining the misery, only in a wet way, was the West coast with torrential rains, flooding and landslides complicating just about everyone's morning.

All in all, the inclement weather was responsible for 8 deaths with the number certain to rise in the coming hours.

But in the rest of the world . . . .The Shah of Iran was flying to Saudi Arabia to make the pitch on behalf of Egypt over Anwar Sadat's Middle East Peace initiative. Sadat was getting a lot of flak from Arab countries over engaging in a peace mission with Israel and supporters were doing their best to paint a positive picture to the suspicious. In Israel through, Menahem Begin denied rumors of a land swap as part of the peace settlement. And so it went between Cairo and Tel-Aviv.

In Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) racial violence continued with deaths mounting, primarily among White farmers.

The Supreme Court was getting down to business today, reviewing a mountain of cases before them, including one which argued over the legality of a Mother having her teenage daughter sterilized and whether or not a judge can be held libel for actions not permitted by law. It promised to be interesting year at SCOTUS. And Justice William Brennan had been diagnosed with Throat Cancer and was receiving Chemo and expected to recover.

And that's how this day went, January 10, 1978 as reported on the CBS World News Roundup.

Another day the world went slightly askew. June 13, 1979. U.S. policy towards Zimbabwe/Rhodesia went flying into reverse as the the Senate voted 52-41 to repudiate the Carter administrations call for sanctions against the still-White Minority ruled former colony. Carter promised a veto for their trouble. Speaking of Jimmy, preparations were underway for his first face-to-face with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and the signing of the SALT II peace treaty in Vienna in a few days. It was still getting blasted by the likes of Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson, who said signing the treaty would leave the U.S. inferior to the Soviets. No doubt that bit of "wimp baiting" may have been a factor in Carter's vow to "whip his ass" when asked about a possible challenge in 1980 from Senator Ted Kennedy for re-election to the White House at a dinner the previous night.

Speaking of howls of disgrunt, the Annual Conference of Mayors in Pittsburgh had a few choice syllables to say about the coming "Austere 80's", which were just around the corner. The words were no doubt unprintable but the sentiments left nothing to the imagination. More of the same, less of everything and don't drop the soap.

And it wasn't a fun-filled day for the Somoza regime in Nicaragua either as Sandanistas were romping towards Managua at break-neck speed in that "preview of coming attractions" imbroglio to topple the Military government. And a 28% rise in gas prices caused a major flip-out in Panama as riots ripped up the scenery and more than a few Mobil stations. Funny, we just shrug our shoulders when that happens here - the gas prices, not the riots.

And Cambodia was wondering what to do with the Welcome Mat as Thailand packed up and sent thousands of refugees back home, now that Pol Pot was over. The sight of endless bus convoys probably soiled more than a few border guards shorts, but the trudge back home was non-negotiable.

And you thought the dewey-eyed notion of history was an attack of the warm and fuzzies? Hate to burst the bubble but . . . no.

And so went the spinning Earth from the CBS World News Roundup on this June 13th in 1979.