RationalWiki:What is going on in the world?/August 2013

August 2013
The Great Shitstorm shall begin. Obama will wait for UN test results and a Congress vote before attacking Syria. Update: Happy now, McCain? Countdown to fundie wailing, as Tebow gets dropped by the Patriots. "Responsible Gun Ownership" at work: Ted Nugent’s wife arrested in Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport for carrying a gun in carry-on bag A white supremacist felon was (accidentally) discovered to have 18 guns, 45,000 bullets, and a list of Black and Jewish leaders. Natural selection in process: The Prairie Rattlesnake, which evolved its rattle to warn off large animals that were not its predators, is now in the process of de-evolving its rattle in part because it acts as a bull's-eye for gun-toting humans. Your government spying on you at work: How your tax money is used to spy on you. [http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/08/28/20235700-montana-judge-defends-decision-to-sentence-teacher-to-just-30-days-for-sex-with-14-year-old? Montana, right with the times.] Holy shit - British Parliament votes against attacking Syria. Chance of this kind of vote happening in the US? Anyone...? Update: France, on the other hand... We would love to know the story behind this. (Also, who wants to guess how many of these Catholic "heritage" nuts enjoy their African tribal conditions rock n' roll, Islamic tyranny modern mathematics and Galilean blasphemy freedom of speech?) The chances of anything coming from Mars... The Fraser Institute, not content with stepping into it once, publishes a "report" claiming that immigrants are burdens to the economy and demands that it be heavily curbed. Taking bets on when they start floating the idea that bringing back the death penalty is a good idea. Remember those horrible pro-choice protesters who were flinging jars of feces and urine in the Texas capital building? Turns out there is no proof this actually happened. I'm sure the "pro-life" clogs will rapidly correct that error... Not you too, Rolf! Update on Kenneth Copeland's anti-vaccine maga-church that was hit with a measles epidemic: it's now offering free vaccinations. There are reports that Kim Jong-un executed his ex-girlfriend. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/10272953/Kim-Jong-uns-ex-lover-executed-by-firing-squad.html Yes, he did. And 12 others in his wife's former music group. And sent their families and friends to a concentration camp.] NJ Court: Texting to driver can make you liable if it causes him to crash.  How the **** would you know whether whoever you are texting to is driving? Coming Soon: lab-grown brains We now have studies that suggest violent video games may curb bullying. Coming Soon: porn lowering rates of rape and sexual assault. ADDENDUM: "Coming soon" you say? Actually, already done. Regarding porn and sex crimes in general, this from Slate in 2006. Turns out that "Haters gonna hate" is actually true. BP is still full of crap. "The U.S. effect": A relative to publication bias wherein studies in human behavior published in academic journals of the United States tend to be more sensationalized than those published in academic journals of other countries.  Mirrored here. Coming soon: devices to perform telepathy Due to a slip-up in the redaction process, the secret we all knew anyway is now no longer secret: Google has been receiving national security letters from our good friends. Yeah, it looks like Syria is going to be happening. (Commentary by Hans Blix) Update: Another view to counter the first Update II: Ooh, hacking a website for a few hours makes you look so edgy, SEA. New Zealand Iridologist on trial for breaching human rights after patient dies. (editorial opinion: It should be second degree murder) Science trying to explain everything: out-of-body experiences. Your government spying on you the UN at work: "Of course it's ok, they're mostly foreigners!" Because previously, humanity was a fantastic species, who were full of love! The head of the Alabama College Republicans will not be disciplined by her party for supporting same-sex marriage. Vaccine-denying megachurch is epicentre of Texas measles outbreak. Irony meter shattered: the National Rifle Association has "a massive secret database of gun owners," including people who aren't members of the organization. Oh, what was that you were saying about the big bad gun registry? Update: Speaking of the NRA's chokehold on American society, a guy acquitted of murder goes to a shotgun factory. Your government spying on you at work: Perks for creeps not in public office. Sing it with me! "Oops I did it again..." San Diego mayor resigns after engaging in sexual harrassment, blames the city's "lynch-mob mentality" and a "political coup." RationalWiki's prediction that two more US states may legalize weed before Canuckistan may be at risk. (Hey, at least he's not smoking crack on the job, right?) Censorship doesn’t just stifle speech, it costs lives Scientology and sovereign citizens: two terrible tastes that taste terrible together. "Hello. Yes, this is Pope." Steve Ballmer has announced upcoming retirement as CEO of Microsoft. Stock promptly goes up 7% 9%.

OMFG How dare you use actual science in a debate about fluoride! Stop it at once!!

To protest Russia's anti-gay laws, Wentworth Miller comes out of the closet. Several rockets are fired from Lebanon to Israel. No casualties. Local education chief in Indonesia wants Female students in the country to undergo 'virginity tests'. He has an uphill struggle in a country full of moderates. Thanks to his 'contributions' to Ugandan law, Scott Lively is on trial for crimes against humanity.

Staff member on new zip-line tower at Ken Ham's Creation Museum struck by lightning. Coming soon: Exercise in pill form. Huffington Post: "Trolls exist, so we’re cutting off anonymous comments." Arkansas' Senate passes a law banning certain tattoos and body mods. WTF, Obama Administration?!?! In 2009, FFRF chief Annie Laurie Gaylor filed a federal lawsuit against the "parsonage exemption" that allows ministers to claim part of their salaries as a tax exempt housing allowance. The Justice Department has now countered by declaring that since Buddhism and Taoism are godless religions, then atheism is also a godless religion, the FFRF is basically a church, and Gaylor is a minister. For tax purposes, that is. Should this be in clogs? The BBC's 'City of 2050' US District Court: Changing your IP address or using proxy servers to access public websites you've been forbidden to visit is a violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) (Actual ruling). In other news, Conservapedia preparing legal demand letters. Fate of Bradley Chelsea Manning: 35 years in Jail Louisiana Republicans: Maybe Bush was responsible for the handling of Hurricane Katrina, maybe it was Obama (over three years before he became President... Somehow being a Senator in Illinois really shows influence in Louisiana) Pervez Musharraf charged in murdering Benazhir Bhutto. Fukushima is nows>African tribal conditions at INES Level 3. Your government at work: When video of first responders running over survivor goes public, the solution is to get rid of the cameras. The last of the Nixon tapes are coming out. Thanks to your friendly neighborhood NSA dragnet, as a direct result of the LavaBit shutdown, Groklaw is also forced to close its doors. More Birther nonsense. Update: Enjoy your 8 more months of being a Canuck, sucker! Narendra Dabholkar who campaigned in India against belief in witchcraft, superstition and related exploitation was shot dead. Chris Christie has signed a bill that bans licensed therapists from performing reparative therapy on minors, making New Jersey the second US state to do so, following California. The consequences of capitalism: Bank Intern dies after working until 6am three days running. There used to be laws against this, didn't there? The ex-wife of Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda — who claimed to be both Christ and Anti-Christ — says he died last week. (No word if he resurrected three days later.)  Meanwhile, his followers are saying, "Nope!  He's immortal!" Escalation: U.K. security agents have raided the offices of The Guardian. Update: The Guardian destroyed its own drives rather than allow them to be seized. IPCC, do your best to prevent another round of manufactroversies, alright? We have other things to do in 2014. Saudi Arabia's war on witchcraft. The International Olympic Committee agrees with Putin. Apparently, saying that you love your gay friend or relative, or hell, even just being gay is "a demonstration of political propaganda" under rule 50 of the Olympic Charter. How this meshes with rule 6, "Act against any form of discrimination affecting the Olympic Movement" is anyone's guess. On the eve of the sixtieth anniversary of the coup d'etat that toppled Iran's democratically elected Mohammed Mossadegh and replaced him with the Shah, the CIA admits "Yep, that was totally us." NASA declares Kepler unrepairable, but it might not be the end of planet hunting. Nahla Mahmoud, a Sudanese woman in the UK has spoken out against Sharia law and got death threats. The UK police won't help, advise her not to anger those who threaten her. Petitions are organised in Nahla Mahmoud's defense.Protect Nahla Mahmoudhe Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain needs your help The United States concocts a JavaScript based virus to compromise the anonymity of onion-routed networks. Meanwhile, Firefox 23 turns on JavaScript without asking or letting you know, and then removes the option to turn it off from the interface. Science trying to explain everything, Part #4: Soda is making your kid(s) violent. (original research paper(PDF)) Facebook is making you sad. Poor persecuted Christians will now be faced with atheist books, alongside their Bibles, in Georgia's state parks' cabins. The decline of the Catholic Church in Ireland shows no signs of stopping. Julian Assange praises Matt Drudge, a man who writes wingnut propaganda for a living, and Paul Ryan, a man who smiles while he consigns your grandma to poverty. Your cause is great and all, Assange, but would it have killed you to admire some people who aren't utterly loathsome? Just when we thought we might almost have it beat, the UN warns of massive polio outbreak in war-torn Somalia FISA Court: We are not touching the NSA with a 200-feet pole. Are you sure this isn't a House of Cards adaptation? People like...Moonbeam? RNC has a hissy fit, boycotts debates on CNN, NBC, due to Hillary documentaries. (Actual reason: to keep their batshit insane candidates from frightening voters.) In recently declassified documents, the CIA finally admits that "Area 51" exists and gives greater insight into the U-2 spy plane program. (Brace for those who only got as far as the headline to immediately assumed that the CIA just confirmed every conspiracy theory ever...) Brazilian government releases footage of an isolated tribe living in the Amazon jungle. Hang on, isn't this the plot of C.S. Lewis's novel The Last Battle? The NSA is hilariously incapable of doing its job. Details are still solidifying, but a very shallow major earthquake has hit New Zealand. Significant shallow aftershocks are still occurring. Everyone in New Zealand, please be safe. Retired Archbishop of Canterbury says to "persecuted" Western Christians, "Grow up": the only people who are suffering "real persecution" are those who live every day in fear of being killed. A Russian athlete defends Russia's anti-gay policy where an American athlete speaks out against it. Update: The IOC shows their true colours. Complaints about misogyny, discrimination against women, sexual harassment, even rape within the sceptical movement just go on. (Why on Earth isn't this in WIGO BLOGS?) Jamaica debates legalizing Obeah The Irish government's new Freedom of Information law pretends computers don't exist. (BoingBoing brings commentary/analysis and related references, for convenience.) "Our systems can't add properly, so you'll have to pay for mostly everything until the law obliges otherwise." Stateless in Somalia and loving it. Social media work for law enforcement sounds like a nice gig. Update: And a weirder gig elsewhere. Hey, at least it's eggs, right? Egypt declares national emergency Enjoy your upcoming lawsuit, asshole. The shape of things to come? Athlete gives Russia the middle finger. Bob Filner not welcome at Hooters. Hi, my name is Jenny McCarthy, and I call on Big Pharma to ban all induced labour!

Tony Abbott rather stuffed it (up himself). [http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/public/2013/08/12/concealed-carry-accidental-shooting.html Guns don't shoot people. Gun safety instructors shoot people.] Department of Justice to adopt a more lenient policy in prosecuting drug users. Science trying to explain everything, Part #3: How the 12-step program might have worked. No more frisking. When Republicans condemn your anti-Obama antics, you know you've gone too far. With Greek youth unemployment over 60%, are we ready for another bailout? You know what, let's name him Lucifer and call it a day. Cameron, don't get any ideas. Of the 97 Starbucks in Connecticut, which one did the gun fans choose to host their gun appreciation day? Good job it closed early. The Iraq war grinds on: Thirty-three (at least) dead in Baghdad bombings today, more than a thousand last month. A 17-year old in Florida shoots and kills a 40-year old man with an illegally obtained gun. He gets away with it under Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law because the victim was carrying a big stick, even though his friend got away beforehand by running. Edward Snowden's 2009 Ars Technica chats showed the Swiss to be a nation of racists. Take a wild guess why Oprah is being mentioned in this headline. Putin's photo ops get even weirder Sheriff Joe Arpaio needs to be (non-violently) removed from office immediately: Maricopa County deputies are to be armed with AR-15s 24/7 in response to one of his deputies being shot at home earlier this week. He had these on hand. HuffPo article: "I want all my deputies to be armed with the greatest firepower available 24 hours a day," Arpaio said. (We all know how this is going to turn out.) Coming soon: Vaccine for malaria Obama now wants to "reform" the PATRIOT Act. "Here are the results of you physical, Mister Moore. Your chronic conditions include a vitamin B-12 deficiency, high blood pressure and cholesterol, and homosexual behavior."  (Just a little modern-day reminder of the discrimination inflicted on people not too long ago.) The partisan reporting of American television has been contained: Sun News Network (aka. "Fox News North"), after a months-long farce in which it tried to turn one side of the political spectrum against the CBC and begged regulators to give it mandatory coverage, will now die a slow death. Who are you and what have you done with Sarah Palin? Update: And she bails out, blames the channel's editing. Federal court rules that Bitcoin is a currency. Yeah, suspension isn't going to cut it. In Canada, these fundies would be normally be ignored. But now it's going to bite somebody in the ass. Update: Well, what are you going to do, IOC? Update II: Even Conservative leadership is rebuffing them. Snowden Saga: It would be a good idea to stop at Anonymous in a speech. Unfolding predictably: Vancouver's train station evacuated after three backpacks left unattended. Everything halted for hours (including the incoming train parked outside the city) for camping gear. It seems the second verse is truly the same as the first verse Unfortunately, the loving of boobies in US schools is now federally protected, meaning that children can promote anti–breast cancer with bracelets that humorously reference — gasp — women's mammaries. You'd probably think that Hillary Clinton wouldn't be that big of a threat to Republicans in 2016 due to age issues and the whole Benghazi thing. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23578745 But okay, Prince Reibus, boycott the debates. That'll be sure to win you votes.] GOP official pokes fun at Weiner, then gets arrested for sexting a minor. A children's entertainer who wanted to rape and eat children gets 20 years for child porn charges. Frothy is thinking about running in 2016. The seventh or eighth shoe drops: The US DEA has been covering up the sources and origins of investigations against Americans. Bonus: A money-laundering metaphor is used to describe this tactic. The Fukushima clean-up is... not going well. China has released Glorious Mission Online, a Call of Duty-like game about the People's Liberation Army. One mission has you defending the Senkaku Islands from the Japanese. What could possibly go wrong with that? Prepare for a crapload of persecution complex flareups regarding the 2013 Boston bombings: It appears that the Tsarnaev brothers weren't just looking at Jihadist/anti-American literature. The NSA leak (unshockingly) increased the usage of online anonymity networks. Unfortunately, that's not the only thing that went private. Airport security theatre considered for Canadian train stations. By executive order, too big for patent law is the new Too big to fail. Your free market at work, America. Dr. Who may start saying "fuck" a whole lot more often. Kenyan lawyer tries to sue Italy and Israel for "human rights violations" 2000 years ago and petitions International Court of Justice to "declare that the trial of Jesus and the subsequent nailing on the cross went against the principles of fair trial and should therefore be declared a mistrial." Disgruntled Algerians hold Ramadan lunch protest. Oh, how Newsweek has fallen. Nothing changes in Zimbabwe. Uruguay on the verge of legalising production and sale of marijuana. Your Government spying at work outsourced for ~ £100 million. Another Iranian quote fiasco. Greece, you really need to cut this shit out. It isn't Godwin's Law, they literally are neo-Nazis. Diplomatic immunity now seems to extend to deaths caused by speeding diplomats driving into buses. Remember, kids, diplomatic immunity means you get NOTHING! Everyone praise the market efficiency of privately-run hospitals! Woo! Maybe they can send in toddlers with loaded guns? Next month, Texas will run out of a key lethal injection drug due to supplier boycotts. Because it's been too long since you've been scared by the Middle-East, read this travel advisory warning that Al Qaeda's expected to pull some shit this month. Reconsider all non-essential travel, citizen. Another big step forward for same-sex equality in US-America. Supreme Court decides that California must abide previous SCOTUS decision and release thousands of prisoners in order to relieve overcrowding in jails. Learn the dangers of sexually transmitted demons. Moo-less beefburger. Science trying to explain everything, Part #2: Rise in violence 'linked to climate change' I hope you weren't planning on having a good day just now: The Caribbean is losing its coral reefs at a terrifying rate. Oh Ayn, your cold "logic" is proven wrong yet again. Maybe don't read the Daily Mail  ever for a few days: Of the ~£80m the Home Office has levied in fines for using illegal workers in the past five years, about two thirds have gone uncollected. Taliban and Al Qaeda supporters bidding on US govt contracts in Afghanistan. US govt is aware and is deliberately not doing anything about it. American people distracted by puppies in a box on CNN. Silvio, you're not going anywhere. "Pro tip: don't do a search for pressure cookers right after your spouse does a search for backpacks if you don't want the FBI at your door." Our ideologically-favoured charter schools can't produce results? Well then, let's just adjust the standards a bit. After enduring one of the worst layovers ever, Edward Snowden has received asylum in Russia for one year and has left Sheremetyevo Airport. Former US Navy Seal comes out as male-to-female transgender. You go girl! In anywhere outside Japan, this would be a guaranteed resignation. (Yes, this is the same Tarō Asō who proposed that old people should die to combat rising pension costs.)