RationalWiki:What is going on in the world?/July 2017

July 2017
A UK "email prankster" tricked a number of WH officials into thinking he was other WH officials. Scientists discovered a patch of plastic garbage 1.5 times the size of Texas in the South Pacific. Cleaning up with nets is no longer plausible. Furthermore, an estimate cited by the U.N. states that plastics could outweigh fish in the ocean by 2050. A lawsuit alleges that the White House colluded... with Fox News and a wealthy GOP donor to push the evidence-free Seth Rich conspiracy theory. Fair and balanced! Everyone's favorite (ex)sheriff, Joe Arpaio, has been convicted of criminal contempt. [https://www.yahoo.com/gma/anthony-scaramucci-white-house-communications-director-184104011--abc-news-topstories.html Anthony Scaramucci is fired as the White House Communications Director. His 10-day term pretty much summed up the Trump administration.] Two studies posted on the same day both conclude that that the 2° rise in global temperatures is very likely by 2100 and will trigger catastrophic droughts and animal extinctions. If that weren't bad enough, 3° is also likely with 5° not out of the question. Trump replaces former chief of staff Reince Priebus with Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly. Oops. That domestic violence ruling from the South Carolina Supreme Court? Lawyers from both sides pointed out that, thanks to the court's wording, instead of giving protections to same-sex unmarried couples, it made things equal by taking them away from opposite-sex unmarried couples. The court placed a stay on its own ruling until it can correct the wording to grant rights to all. Another blow to Biblical literalism: The Bible says the Canaanites were wiped out by Israelites, but scientists just found their descendants living in Lebanon. [http://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/07/election-experts-see-flaws-in-trump-voter-commissions-plan-to-smoke-out-fraud.html? Kris Kobach's vote fraud detection system gets 200 false positives for every problematic vote it finds, is generally garbage.] Richard Dawkins hits back at allegations that he is Islamophobic after Berkeley event is cancelled Snopes is in danger of going dark and needs funds to fight a law case. Trump announces that the U.S. military will not allow transgender people to serve, putting that statement at odds with current policy. Extreme nationalists and pro-fascists were invited into the Polish Parliament, while also keeping people protesting against judiciary reforms away. Robert Winnicki, the leader of Nationalist Movement announces he will file a request to ban funding of Polish NGOs by foreign philantropists, like - according to him - George Soros. Surprisingly, good news for gay rights out of South Carolina; state's supreme court rules that unmarried, same-sex couples must be treated the same in domestic violence cases as unmarried opposite-sex couples. Previously, domestic violence laws only applied to same-sex couples if they were married, while unmarried opposite-sex couples got the full protection of the law; violence between unmarried same-sex couples was only protected by the lesser charge of assault, and they had more difficulty obtaining protection orders. The AHCA fails to pass the Senate, 43-57. Scientists have found evidence of widespread water in the Moon's interior. Thousands of protesters against judiciary reform gather just in Warsaw, let alone countrywide. Jarosław Kaczyński will have to build HUGE prisons for these couping, clusterfucking traitors and communists who do not want the Great Polish Poland for Poles™ with proper justice. Physicists performed a table-top experiment that could teach us much about elementary particles, black holes, and electronic properties of materials. A county judge in Tennessee to bring back eugenics for prisoners, "offering" prisoners a month off their sentences in exchange for vasectomies and birth control implants. The NHS in England has received new guidelines asking it to stop prescribing homeopathic medicines. Trump staffers continue to jump ship, as White House Press Secretary Melissa McCarthy Sean Spicer resigns. Special Counsel Mueller expands his probe to Trump's business dealings. After failing to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Republicans blame each other and Democrats. Trump threatens to let the ACA fail and "force the Democrats" to help the Republicans, and now Republican are attempted to repeal ACA... and then wait and come up with something Switzerland's arbitrary - and sometimes weird - citizenship tests come under scrutiny. A court orders Trump's staff to turn over Mar-a-Lago visitor records. Protests in Poland against Law and Justice (PiS) and Kaczyński's regime, which is about to overtake the Supreme Court of Poland and citizens found that worrying. The national TV claims it was a coup attempt - and that there were very few protesters, too. Something does not hold up. [https://apple.news/ARSVePfuDRLKNNohoAXE_IA Think people and apes are the only ones that can plan ahead? Quoth the raven, 'Nevermore']. A new study shows compelling evidence for cognitive abilities in ravens, and in one test, they scored better than apes and four year old humans.

A self-published study, hyped up by James Delingpole, the Daily Caller, and Breitbart, purports to have evidence that climatologists have been cooking the books on temperature records in order to fabricate evidence for global warming. A closer look reveals that, if anything, corrections to temperature data have gone in the opposite direction, with the original, uncorrected data making temperature rise appear greater than it actually is. Malcolm Turnbull, Australian Prime Minister, claims that "The laws of mathematics are very commendable but the only law that applies in Australia is the law of Australia", apparently has no idea how encryption actually works. Rep. Sherman of California introduces articles of impeachment against Trump Iraq formally declares victory in the Battle for Mosul. [http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/10/donald-trump-jr-russia-meeting-legal-danger-240370 Trump Jr. admits he met with a Russian lawyer with Kremlin ties during the 2016 election to get dirt on Hillary Clinton. This statement could place him in legal trouble.] There is a correlation between voting for Donald Trump and being in a place with high military casualties. Senators John McCain and Bill Cassidy say the bill to repeal Obamacare is probably dead. The Church of England's synod passes a motion that bans conversion therapy, and asks the UK government to make illegal. Church of England demands ban on conversion therapy. It also asks for a proposal to create a ceremony for transgender people, to celebrate their new identity. Transgender worshippers could get church services to celebrate their new identity after synod vote France to phase out vehicles running on fossil fuels by 2040. KKK members march in protest at the planned removal of confederate General Robert E. Lee's statue in Charlottesville, Virginia. 50 or so Klansmen were escorted to and from the event by police and were heavily outnumbered by anti-racist counter protesters, which the police later deemed 'unlawful' after having used tear gas to disperse them. The Catholic Church addresses its most important problem: gluten-free communion bread. El Salvador teen rape victim sentenced to 30 years in prison after stillbirth In a time of increasing opposition to Austerity, a Conservative MP is facing sharp criticism for his opposition to increasing nurses' pay. Not because of his Tory economic views, but because increasing pay means the Communists win! Stephen Hawking says Donald Trump could turn Earth into a Venus-like planet with 250°C and sulphuric acid rain NJ Governor Chris Christie seen on deserted beach after his state shut down all beaches over budget issues, adding to his record unpopularity. German parliament (Bundestag) approves same-sex marriage