Free Republic

Those who are unfamiliar with Venezuela’s unprecedented economic collapse might be surprised to learn that the country’s oil production has only slowed, even as the price of a barrel of crude has risen in most international markets. Unsurprisingly (it’s Venezuela), there’s a macabre explanation for this phenomenon: The workers at PDVSA – Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, which once showered Venezuelans with oil wealth – are literally collapsing due to hunger and exhaustion as workers defy their government handlers and flee their jobs in their desperation as the value of their pay has been completely erased. Bloomberg spoke with several workers...

Venezuelans on Tuesday woke up to discover that the government-controlled price of corn flour -- used to make corn patty arepas, a staple of local cuisine -- has risen 900 percent. The socialist government of President Nicolas Maduro had kept the price of corn flour frozen for 15 months at 19 bolivares a kilogram (two pounds).

Two men have been arrested after an amazing security breach in the House of Commons saw Tony Blair hit in the back by a missile containing a purple substance. MPs were showered by purple powder - later found to be coloured cornflour - which was hurled from a reserved area of the public gallery. No one was injured in the incident although Chancellor Gordon Brown also appeared to be struck by a similar missile. Health Secretary Dr John Reid reportedly breathed in a "lungfull" of the powder. Campaigning group Fathers 4 Justice - who demand equal rights for fathers -...