A Government Free New Year; It Was Likely Russia Maybe; Climate Changed; MaTonomy; Getting Rid of the Humans; and Chicken Face

Iceland

Iceland's 'crazy' year ends without a government businessinsider

Iceland is ending an eventful year in a political quagmire, left without a government for two months after the Panama Papers icij.org scandal and a snap election reflecting deep divisions in the island nation.

Nuclear War Rattle; China's Heavy Rocket; Goofy Mars; Light Hack; and Jacket Tent Bag

Russia

Russia holds large-scale nuclear war games washingtontimes

The unannounced war games were called strategic operation of nuclear forces and took place between Oct. 10 and Oct. 12 throughout Russia. The exercises appear to be the latest round of nuclear saber-rattling against the United States by President Vladimir Putin.

One official said the exercises, involving numerous launches of nuclear missiles, were gauged to be at levels that reached or exceeded the kind of Soviet strategic force exercises held during the Cold War.

Isle of Civil Rebellion; Waves of Disruption; Breathtaking Theft; The British are Going; Separation Backpedal; South Africa Breaks Out; Colorado's Higher than Most; Brain Boost; Tiny, Slow Computer; Cute Robot Slaves; Juno Fail; Cubes in the Sky; Accident Fare; Connected Cars; and Weed Killing AI

Society

London couple go to Isle of Man for UK's first civil partnership bbc

The couple, who have two children, added: "We want a less encumbered, light-touch civil union that recognises our relationship on our terms, free from the trappings and social pre-conditions of marriage, while protecting our family financially and in law.

Vetoing Syria; Russian Bases; Accelerated Missile Deployment; Hacking Politics; Burma Sanction-Lift; Putin's Peace Prize; No Peace but Noble Peace; Tracking Faces in NY; Watching the Streets of Baltimore; InterVarsity's Stand for Biblical Authority; California vs Creationist; Chick-fil-A Plus; Yahoo Again: Against Hiring Men?; and Bank's AI-Number

Syria

Russia Vetoes UN Resolution Demanding End to Aleppo Bombing abcnews.go

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault had warned before the vote that the continued bombing of Aleppo was killing civilians and destroying hospitals and schools — "and has nothing to do with combatting terrorism."

"It is the annihilation of Aleppo," he said.

Fighting Death; Taking Advantage of the Dead; N.C. Stares Down U.S.; Anti-Culture; Presidential Prayer and Folly; Killing Baby Softly; Iran Calls for Anti-Isreal Unity; Texan IED; Legion vs Banks; Human Anti-Cancer Antibody; "No, I'm Earth!"; and Viv

Today starts creepy (testing on clinically dead) and ends sad (Utah requires painkillers for some babies before aborting them). There's also the fight between North Carolina and the Federal Government, and the President's disjointed reality when it comes to religious freedom and prayer.

Death

Dead could be brought 'back to life' in groundbreaking project telegraph.co.uk

A biotech company in the US has been granted ethical permission to recruit 20 patients who have been declared clinically dead from a traumatic brain injury, to test whether parts of their central nervous system can be brought back to life.