VBVW for July 13, 2007:
Badgers, Bulls, & Burkhas

• The Very Best

British forces denied rumours UK troops had introduced man-eating, bear-like beasts to hunt the locals. Word had been spreading among a very nervous populace about the appearance of huge and ferocious beasts, which turned out to be badgers seeking shelter from floods in the surrounding area. But maybe we’ve finally found a weapon that will work in the war on terror.

An online poll has chosen your next vacation destination. The new list of the Seven World Wonders of The World was chosen by an online voting poll, and includes three sites in Asia, three in Latin and South America, and one in Europe. Disappointing news for the entries from North America, Australia, and Antarctica. The world’s largest rubber band ball didn’t even make the Top Ten.

Wall Street blew past two milestones this week as the Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 stock index hit record highs. Glad someone has confidence in the economy.

• The Very Worst

For the first time in 80 years, it snowed in Buenos Aires.

Pakistan troops stormed the Red Mosque and freed captives held by extremists demanding that the country adopt Sharia, or strict Muslim law. In the end, 75 inside the mosque died along with ten soldiers. One who didn’t die was the leader of the Mosque, who abandoned his followers and tried to sneak out dressed in a woman’s burkha.

Julian Moti, a lawyer sought in Australia on child sex charges, was sworn in as the Solomon Islands’ attorney general. The Australian citizen, who is a close friend of Solomons’ Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare,
has avoided extradition to his home country on charges of raping a 13-year old girl.