RationalWiki:What is going on in the world?/July 2012

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July 2012[edit]

3

Michael Phelps, the Olympic athlete who shocked fans and sponsors after GASP! he was filmed at a party smoking marijuana, wins his 19th Olympic medal, which is an all-time record.

-4

The media is treating the female Olympians with the utmost respect and admiration. [1] (Bets are off for a spectator/reporter to get kicked in the 'nads by the end of the week).Former hockey player edit: you don't need to kick...

23

Remember Mitt Romney's recent gaffe in London? How it was an "isolated incident"? God dammit, Romney.

23

The right to bear arms... could include handheld rocket launchers.

3

Scientists discover the most relaxing tune ev...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

33

Mississippi reminds black people that Jeebus only loves Christians when they're white.

39

I'm too dumbfounded to even come up with any snark for this - A climate denial group change their opinion after (gasp) reviewing evidence.

34

Stop me if you've heard this one before: an(other) anti-gay evangelist turns out to be gay.

26

Climate change deniers more likely to also believe that the moon landing were faked and that 9/11 was an inside job.

9

One day people will take Beach Volleyball seriously. In the meantime, let's mark breaks in play with the Benny Hill theme.

28

Florida does it again: a man shoots and kills an unarmed door-to-door salesman

14

In a bizarre coincidence the Public Relations VP for Chick-Fil-A dies in the midst of a public relations nightmare. Update: As if they needed even more problems, it's lawsuit time!

15

Contender for the most nerdgasmic headline ever: Brian Cox receives degree from Sir Patrick Stewart

24

Romney has already begun a diplomatic incident and he's not even President. David Cameron: "We are holding an Olympic Games in one of the busiest, most active, bustling cities anywhere in the world. Of course it’s easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere." Update: Holy fuck. Boris Johnson.

11

Some hate-filled nutters are predicting the end of the anti-Christ Obama this weekend.

12

Pregnant teen with cancer denied chemotherapy because of abortion laws.

5

Demand for Canadian oil plummets: maybe we shouldn't have put so many economic eggs in one basket.

20

Rwandan gorillas outsmart poachers.

5

Greek triple-jumper in for the high jump.

15

The church that split from the Catholic Church, in order to redefine marriage, is against redefining marriage.

17

No, it's not us! It's socialist NASA obfuscating the facts! Get your hands off my oil!

8

Obamacare confirmed: Repealing it would be counterintuitive. The only problem - the expansion of Medicare that was struck down in the SCOTUS ruling will keep 3 million uninsured.

10

Jesusland Americans: Guns? What guns?

24

Would you like bigots with that, Mike Huckabee?

16

John McCain faces recall over his support for Huma Abedin.

29

The greatest post-mortem trolling of all time: As Caribou Barbie, Mitt Romney, John Boehner and other conservatives offer their praises to the life of Sally Ride, the first American woman in space is revealed to have been a lesbian.

19

Corning goes to Washington to complain that their corporate tax rate is too high and is harming the company. Corning's actual tax rate for 2011? -0.2%. Minus. As in, they got a refund.

23

Wholesome family values at work: Three-year-old Tripp Palin calls Bristol a "faggot" for not taking him to the swimming pool. On camera.

10

Advice: If you want to take the afternoon off, do not set fire to your workplace.

6

Isn't it great that the war in Iraq is over?

26

Penn State takes down JoePa statue. Update: NCAA to Penn State: We'll teach you to shelter a pedophile and hail him as a hero. Penn State fined $60M, banned from bowl games for four years, all wins since 1998 vacated. How about that football pride now?

11

How to cure cancer in women: esoteric breast massage. On the government's tab, of course. (Includes bonus ovary-whispering!)

-15

Just remember UN that effort is directly proportional to results.

33

Fucking Gohmert had to go there.

7

First working gene therapy nears European approval for treatment of lipoprotein lipase deficiency. I think we all know the ultimate goal of this technology—putting the delivery virus in the venom of a spider and surreptitiously setting it on the back of Andrew Garfield's neck...

21

12 dead, 59 injured, as gunman goes on rampage during screening of new Batman movie in Colorado. Update: Now considered the largest mass shooting in American history. All firearms purchased legally.

2

Microsoft finds and fixes its boob problem (Hey! No sniggering at the back!)

12

US eases regulations for same-sex partners of Federal employees.

21

Trayvon Martin killing - Hate crime? Racially motivated killing? White Suburban Paranoia? Naw, it was GOD'S PLAN!

21

Michigan's GOP are involved in a (surprise, surprise) scandal involving election fraud.

13

Is that a bomb in your shorts, or are you just happy to see me?

19

Everyone point and laugh: Apple ordered to take out adverts saying Samsung have not actually copied them.

27

Victory for religious freedom in middle Tennessee.

16

Opposition forces in Syria bomb Damascus, killing the Syrian Defence Minister, Interior Minister, and killing/wounding several other officials.

23

Once more, Michigan bans women from talking about issues relating to women Shut up you WOMAN!!! Go home and have a period or something

17

The first exoplanet smaller than Earth, and it's only 33 light years away. Yes, there's no atmosphere and likely a volcanic surface with temperatures of over 1,000oF... but it's better than London during the Olympics

15

Mitt Romney fully discloses 12 2 0 years' tax returns

11

The Hubble Telescope finds the earliest spiral galaxy yet - just 5998 10.7 billion years old

11

Is there anything Lego can't do? Build a model jet engine? Check. Explain particle physics? Check.

12

Yawn. It's not like there are any rapists in the area so it's fine, right?

22

Tireless efforts by a conservative blogger uncover another frightening Democratic scandal: a woman hugging her husband.

11

Which societal values are more beneficial for one's bank account? God-fearin' free market American exceptionalism? Or the "hard-headed socialism" of Canuckistan that kept their real estate values from tanking in 2008?

24

...and El Rushbo has achieved full insanity. Update: Oh dear God, Rush is right!

8

McCain on Romney: oooh, burn. Update: McCain backpedals somewhat after critics try and put two and two together on Romney's tax returns. 4:1 odds against this being prompted by a call from Romney's campaign.

15

It appears Libya has proven the world wrong - the (moderately) liberal National Forces Alliance has beaten Islamist parties in the first election since Gaddafi's death. This guy will likely become Prime Minister.

8

Ah, the Olympics. Where thoughtful debates on cheap capitalism can finally begin. With style!

13

Dyb dyb dyb! Homos can fuck off

12

One step closer to a cure for HIV

14

The head G4S (that one wot fucked up the Olympics) predicts massive police privatisation in the future. But don't worry, core police services won't be privatised; only running prisons, taking custody of offenders, taking emergency calls, staffing control rooms, responding to incidents, investigating crimes...

9

Cut-price solution to global warming?

12

Only one in three Americans can name all three branches of government; another one in three can't name any of them.

14

Which is worse: a Gideon Bible in every hotel room, or ... Fifty Shades of Grey? <vote poll=shadesofbible>Which is worse to have? Up: Bible, Down: 50 Shades

18

"When all else fails, vote from the rooftops" - stay classy, gun-crazy America.

17

Mitt Romney: I'm not releasing my tax returns, because John Kerry's wife didn't.Where's the birth certificatetax return, Romney?

23

11% of Americans still are really fucking stupid believe Obama is a Muslim.

8

When your beloved father places flowers on Pétain's gravetranslation by google you can't really be indignant for comparisons to Nazis.translation by google

22

Iowa state GOP candidate goes full Freeman, becomes "a U.S. senator of an alternative form of government."

21

Mitt Romney's campaign strategy: Ignore journalists, pander to insane right-wing conspiracy sites like the Drudge Report.

19

50. Fucking. Years.

22

"We kept our 15-year-old daughter in a chicken coop and shock collar, because we're doing what the Bible says." (Faux News manages to leave mention of the Bible bit out of their story.)

12

The private company in charge of security for the London Olympics can't find enough staff to do the job (despite unemployment at over two million). The solution? Send in the troops!

15

First came advertising on billboards and the sides of transit buses. Now a minor league baseball team has agreed to allow Minnesota Atheists to sponsor a promotion night. So, if you're in the Twin Cities on August 10, you may want to attend "A Night of Unbelievable Fun."

9

Dispatches from Harperland: The Online Snooping bill is back! And apparently now it's perfectly okay for domestic intelligence organizations to take sides in federal politics! Well...good thing CSIS still has civilian oversight. Oh, wait.

11

A village in India bans love.

18

Apparently, a healthcare bill providing care to millions who didn't previously have it is roughly the same as the deaths of six million Jews.

11

Even though the US seems to be the most religious industrialized country in the west, a new Gallup poll shows that Americans' confidence in organized religion is at its lowest.

12

The bastard responsible for turning the Canadian Progressive Conservatives into its twisted, Republican-aspiring form found to be bribing a university for $15 million.

10

Oval dinosaur eggs could be a further link between dinosaurs and birds. (Original paper.)

10

The eye movement stuff in neurolinguistic programming turns out to be bollocks. Gosh, etc.

20

The UK's Court of Appeal upholds a ruling that the Catholic Church can be held liable for the wrongdoings of its priests.

15

Warning: Graphic imagery. The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints apparently half-buries a live cat in concrete to send a message to a former member.

28

An Arizona pastor is jailed for holding "bible study" for 150 people in a 2,000 square foot "game room" he built in his back yard after being denied a permit to build a church on his residential property and failing an inspection. What does Fox News frame it as? An attack on religious freedom.

17

Canadian scientists finally fight back in Stephen Harper's war against evidence-based reasoning.

12

Any sign of Islamic nutters wanting a "world caliphate" slipping away.

39

"Yes, we spammed the comments section on your site but now we've just found out that Google's new algorithm doesn't like us doing that sort of crap. So here's a legal notice ordering you to remove our spam from your site."

2

The tallest building in Europe is opened in London. But bankers and brewers will not be allowed to have offices in it, for religious reasons.

30

Calling all RationalWikians living in Alabama: Can you please spread the word that it isn't the 1950s anymore?

6

In true liberal biased fashion, CNN hires Jack Abramoff.

10

Ok, we need a full rewrite of Halomonadaceae, scientists are calling it increasingly dubious.

6

First world problems getting you down? Don't worry! The Ghana Think Tank is helping people in third-world countries work on solving them for you.

23

Climate change? So far this year 23,283 daily high temperature records have been set across the US. Up 71% from last year.

14

Abraham Lincoln's Ghost: "You wanna go, you piece of redneck shit?"

16

To any homophobe that uses Google...*ahem* (We look forward to the expected boycott of Google. That's Search, YouTube, Gmail, Android, AdSense, Maps, Chrome, Picasa, Drive and the Office tools... no, nobody uses Plus.)

upneutraldown
9Today, after 60 years of oppression, Libya is holding the first free election. Well, nobody ever said anything about it not being chaotic as hell...

26

Huntsman smash! "I will not be attending this year's convention, nor any Republican convention in the future, until the party focuses on a bigger, bolder, more confident future for the United States—a future based on problem solving, inclusiveness, and a willingness to address the trust deficit, which is every bit as corrosive as our fiscal and economic deficits."

7

Prepare for Holocaust denial.

39

A Louisiana Republican lawmaker is shocked to discover that other, non-Christian religions will be allowed to set up schools under the state's new voucher system.

16

Rush Limbaugh waxes nostalgic about those pre-19th Amendment golden days.

19

From HuffPo, two Republicans vie for oddest claim of the week: #1) An Upstate New York congressional candidate states that "People now don't die from prostate cancer, breast cancer and some of the other things" because of innovations that he claims didn't exist 10 years ago (although some of them have actually existed since the 1990s); #2) An 86-year-old New Hampshire state legislator claims that sending children to kindergarten has caused a 400 percent increase in crime.

-3

Vitamin therapy ends in tragedy.

10

German politics are getting quite interesting.

28

Where is he now? Thirteen year old Conservative wunderkind is now seventeen...and not a Conservative anymore.

24

So you lost both your legs in combat? According to Joe Walsh, "You ain't a true hero if you talk about it."

32

The European Parliament rejects ACTA with 478-39 votes.

12

Charles Carreon vs the World is now over with Carreon claiming victory. Of course, it's attracted another crazy.

37

They've (probably) found the Higgs.

20

An 18 year old is sentenced to over a 160 years in prison for armed robbery. This after a woman was sentenced to 20 years in prison for firing a gun into the air to ward off her abusive husband, and after the brouhaha over even getting George Zimmerman on trial, makes you think that Florida has a really fucked up justice system

11

In a blatant attempt at a coverup, the US Government claims mermaids don't exist. (Animal Planet viewers seem not to have learned from three years ago)

12

Is it a bird? Is it Archaeopteryx? No, it's a feathered dinosaur!

-21

Roger Hayes (British Constitution Group) arrested, tried, imprisoned by secret court? No, just a man jailed for refusing to pay council tax.

22

Birthers lose another court case.

27

Anderson Cooper comes out.

14

The Tevatron's final verdict on the Higgs Boson? We think so... but can't be sure.

18

Cure for Nazism found.

18

There's only one way this will go...Come on Charles, sue Paypal!

20

As the government of Mississippi moves to end the state's only clinic where people can access abortion procedures, a federal judge blocks the law temporarily, quoting something silly about legal precedent and constitutional rights.

15

Yet another stopped clock...Rupert Fucking Murdoch.