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

January 2013
So, a homeopath tried to sell Oscillococcinum to Jimmy Wales ...UPDATE: Check the Facebook comments for retorts from Dana Ullman. Canada will be seeing a new Prime Minister in 2015... Another school shooting; this time in Atlanta. Sorry for the triviality, but ...: Tenessee man wants his "gay" dog killed. The NRA, following in the footsteps of Nixon, has an enemies list. Sadly, RationalWiki isn't on it. The good people of Nottinghamshire show their class and decorum by abstaining from using flaming sacks of feces, and instead use crosses wrapped in ham to drive Muslims out. Fox News has lost 22% of their 25-54 viewers (40% in primetime), yet remains the most watched network. Israel waves dick at Syria No, you may not bring guns to today's congressional hearing on gun control, senator. GPS took you and your friends to the wrong house after dark? That's a shooting. South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsay Graham: Gay-inclusive immigration reform as unlikely as legal abortions.

Little Bobby down in Tennessee isn't doing well in school? Welp, back to discount bread and soup for his entire family. Actor Ashton Kutcher, acting as Steve Jobs in a new film, adopts the late Apple CEO's fruitarian diet...and ends up in hospital as a result. Of course reading online trolls makes people double-down on their existing beliefs, you idiot. Fluffy is a threat to the environment Sarah Palin just can't take a hint. <vote poll=world6552 closed="yes">NRA members demonstrate how classy they are by heckling the father of a murdered child. Update: Maybe they didn't. <vote poll=world6551 closed="yes">Good news: They no longer want to charge rape victims who have an abortion with destroying evidence. Bad news: They now want to charge the doctor who performs the abortion with destroying evidence. <vote poll=world6550 closed="yes">China to Jong-un: Yeah...that nuclear test is a really dumb idea. <vote poll=world6549 closed="yes">The Independent reports that the Koch brothers and other fossil fuel industry kazillionaires are secretly channeling money to organizations that back global warming sceptics. Quelle surprise. <vote poll=world6548 closed="yes">The fifth ranking house Republican puts the blame for gun violence squarely where it belongs: Those damn, welfare mothers fraudulently medicating their kids so they receive more Social Security! <vote poll=world6547 closed="yes">The Boy Scouts of America are apparently having internal discussions about ending their anti-gay policies. A public letter from their official site confirms this policy is indeed under discussion. <vote poll=world6546 closed="yes">Canuckistan elected its first gay premier (equivalent of Governor) on the weekend. Normally, the response in the North would be "Who cares?" but we can thank Sun News commenters for demonstrating everything that is wrong with 21st century conservatism. <vote poll=world6545 closed="yes">Homosexuality is a sin because you can't keep it in the fridge. <vote poll=world6544 closed="yes">Want to be a citizen of the UK? You'd best stop by the Ministry of Silly Walks.

<vote poll=world6542 closed="yes">The cutest disgusting animal on the planet. <vote poll=world6541 closed="yes">Ariel Sharon getting ready to make a comeback.

<vote poll=world6539 closed="yes">Bloomberg's ban on supersized soft drinks is now, of all things, a racial issue.

<vote poll=world6537 closed="yes">Quelle surprise! Homeopathy is 'rubbish', says UK chief medical officer. (The sad part is that this constitutes news.) <vote poll=world6536 closed="yes">Rick Santorum voices his hatred of higher education again, this time blaming its "indoctrination" for same-sex marriage, pornography, abortion and just general gawsh durn anti-Chrischun values. Bob McDonell, the Republican Governor of Virginia, "believes Virgina's [electoral college] system works just fine." Arizona Republicans propose a bill that wouldn't allow atheists to graduate from high school. Bobby Jindal, the purveyor of such visionary laws as the Monkey Bill 2.0, chemical castration, income tax repeal, and the privatization of literally every state asset, says again that Republicans must not be the "stupid party."  We have yet to see the reaction in the Oval Office. Katzen raus! Orly Taitz's lies are catching up with her. This is what happens when you don't vaccinate your children. This Week in Republican Assault on Democracy: Alarmed that the GOP can't seem to win a national election despite doing their best to prevent Democratic-leaning groups from voting, Republican-controlled legislatures in swing states are planning to allocate electoral votes to the victor in each of their gerrymandered Congressional districts. If the 2012 election had taken place under these rules, Mitt Romney would have won the electoral vote by 11 points, despite losing the popular vote by 4 percentage points and the traditional electoral vote by 126 points. Confused American Googles up computer book publisher Tim O'Reilly's GetSatisfaction site, evidently believes it's Bill's site, is still confused after Tim takes a crack at answering her anyway. You know that Mormon Notre Dame football player whose girlfriend hoax is getting way more attention than it should? Hold the phone, because it sounds like a Haggard in the making. It's a Stalking Charge, Charlie Brown New Mexico legislator would criminalize abortions after rape as "tampering with evidence".

Scottish Charity Regulator rules that a Catholic Adoption Agency must comply with equality law on letting gay couples adopt. Mormons in the Fog. Could be a movie in there somewhere... It seems Kim Jong-un is even more batshit insane than his father. A pregnant Colorado woman died of a heart attack in a Catholic hospital. The hospital made no effort to save the twin fetuses, and now the husband is filing a wrongful death suit as a result. The Catholic hospital's official defense? The fetuses were not babies! <vote poll=world6534 closed="yes">Prince Harry compares his time co-piloting a helicoper in the Afghan war to video games, calling it "a joy". Even the Taliban thinks that was stupid. Belgium, get your shit together before our proud tradition of mocking American ignorance is endangered. Good one, Comrades <vote poll=world6533 closed="yes">British woman in Bali, Indonesia is arrested and sentenced to death for the heinous, despicable, completely appropriate death-worthy crime of...drug smuggling while allegedly under threat from gangs, because it damages Bali's reputation as a tourist destination?! "Come visit beautiful Bali, where our good name is worth more than your life!" <vote poll=world6532 closed="yes">"So what did you learn in your Texan school today, Cletus Jr.?" "That Jews have it wrong and blacks are black for punishment!" The Lone Star state does it again... <vote poll=world6531 closed="yes">Justin Bieber's mom set to produce a pro-life film extolling the virtues of not aborting her pregnancy. Let's...just not say anything about that.

<vote poll=world6529 closed="yes">In Mormonland: Do you look black gay liberal? I'm going to charge you more! <vote poll=world6528 closed="yes">How to end your political career in two sentences. And probably the first second Japanese politician to merit a RationalWiki article. <vote poll=world6527 closed="yes">We only went five links before yet another school shooting. <vote poll=world6526 closed="yes">Ah, that was a pretty good couple of hours playing video games and, wait, what's that? Oh, I'm a child molester now? That's news to me! <vote poll=world6525 closed="yes">On Sunday morning, Joe Scarborough said on Meet the Press that the only reason the GOP controls the House of Representatives is because of gerrymandering. About 36 hours later, the Republicans in the evenly divided Virginia state senate waited until they were sure that one Democratic state senator was at President Obama's inauguration before issuing a gleeful "NO SHIT, JOE!!!" <vote poll=world6524 closed="yes">The Canadian bastardization of Fox is falling apart so badly that it is begging the government regulator to inflict itself onto everyone that owns cable. Reading the comments recommended. <vote poll=world6523 closed="yes">What the **** is wrong with people who design bills with trees from the other side of the ocean? <vote poll=world6522 closed="yes">Pong goes ping, but don't worry, it might come bouncing back. <vote poll=world6521 closed="yes">Oh, you know, just another mass shooting in America. <vote poll=world6520 closed="yes">DNA, screw your structural orthodoxy. We're going quadruple helix. <vote poll=world6519 closed="yes">Kick out the Taliban, add in the torture. <vote poll=world6518 closed="yes">So, what lesson did you learn today, gun nuts? <vote poll=world6517 closed="yes">"Legalising gay marriage will increase the crime rate", says Sensible Sentencing Trust spokesperson. <vote poll=world6516 closed="yes">"U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz is fighting to hold on to her job, and to avoid an embarrassing grilling in Congress and possible professional disciplinary proceedings. Her prospects look grim." ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED. (Don't forget the Ortiz and Heymann petitions.) <vote poll=world6515 closed="yes">The woman standing in the way of Mark Sanford's second climb up the Appalachia: Stephen Colbert's sister. <vote poll=world6514 closed="yes">With this rise of rape culture, we're committed to protecting rape victims and bringing their abusers to justice. [http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/01/17/washington-police-accused-of-disturbing-failures-to-investigate-rape/ Haha, just kidding, get fucked (again). Signed, Washington DC cops] <vote poll=world6513 closed="yes">Well, so much for the Fed being a bunch of moneycopters.

<vote poll=world6511 closed="yes">British man jailed after pretending to be an Islamic extremist to make himself more interesting. <vote poll=world6510 closed="yes">"Democrats and independents with more political knowledge were found to be more likely to dismiss conspiracy theories [ such as Birtherism and 9/11 Trutherism, while Republicans with more political knowledge were more likely to believe the theories."] <vote poll=world6509 closed="yes"> Eating lower on the foodchain for environmental reasons? You're not helping. <vote poll=world6508 closed="yes">Louisiana police chief steals stolen money <vote poll=world6507 closed="yes">Quite possibly the most intriguing story in sports in recent memory. <vote poll=world6506 closed="yes">Obama administration releases proposals for gun control. Cue shitstorm in five...four...three... <vote poll=world6505 closed="yes">The NRA goes even further off the rails: Let's not give the POTUS' family Secret Service protection! Sure, nothing can go wrong! <vote poll=world6504 closed="yes">I'm not a racist, I just have a statue of Obama eating a watermelon. <vote poll=world6503 closed="yes">The inauguration committee wises up and selects a pro-gay priest, in fact the one Obama sees most, to replace Giglio. It's not all good news though, because guess who will also be making an appearance. <vote poll=world6502 closed="yes">Pat Robertson is asked by a teenager why his dad spends so much time playing video games instead of communicating with his mother. The answer? "Your mom needs to get prettier." <vote poll=world6501 closed="yes">The Wall Street Journal has a strange definition of "poor."

<vote poll=world6499 closed="yes">Unfortunately, some very dumb parts of the internet can join to make 100,000 signatures. <vote poll=world6498 closed="yes">Two time Republican presidential hopeful, Ron Paul, announces his retirement from politics. <vote poll=world6497 closed="yes">Irony meters out! NRA releases shooting video game for 4-year-olds. Update: Age rating changed to 12-and-up after the game was published. <vote poll=world6496 closed="yes">"No good deed goes unpublished." Kindly older man who helped children after Sandy Hook massacre is being harassed by Newtown "truthers".

<vote poll=world6494 closed="yes">What the fuck, The Atlantic? Bonus: CoS was given moderator control over comment threads. The Atlantic then pulls it down with the message "We have temporarily suspended this advertising campaign pending a review of our policies that govern sponsor content and subsequent comment threads." Tony Ortega has a more detailed timeline with commentary. Update: The Onion's got the scoop. <vote poll=world6493 closed="yes">Meryl Dorey steps down as leader of the Australian Vaccination Network, which will also stop publishing its newsletter. <vote poll=world6492 closed="yes">About fucking time. <vote poll=world6491 closed="yes">Department of Justice, you have one job: Sue his ass to hell. <vote poll=world6490 closed="yes">Depardieu and Putin: BFFs <vote poll=world6489 closed="yes">Not Onion: Star Wars game segregates gay characters onto 'gay planet' <vote poll=world6488 closed="yes">Dear God: Please can you fix it for me that my car will start? Love the Queen of England.

<vote poll=world6486 closed="yes">Are corporations people? Let's test that idea! <vote poll=world6485 closed="yes">Astronomers have discovered the largest known structure in the universe, a clump of active galactic cores that stretches 4 billion light-years from end to end. <vote poll=world6484 closed="yes">Colin Powell lays out what everyone with half a brain already knows - the GOP has a racist streak. He nicely details the loaded language of, among others Sarah Palin. <vote poll=world6483 closed="yes">French Air Force drives back Islamists in Mali. <vote poll=world6482 closed="yes">RFK Jr believes that his uncle was killed by more than one gunman. <vote poll=world6481 closed="yes">Aaron Swartz kills himself. (How significant? Even Tim Berners-Lee weighs in.) <vote poll=world6480 closed="yes">The White House's response to the Death Star petition is made of win. Update: Best comment so far. <vote poll=world6479 closed="yes">Joe Biden seeks advice on gun control measures from representatives of video games and movies <vote poll=world6478 closed="yes">A UK Minister representing a government that constantly bemoans the lazy and workshy sleeps in and misses a TV interview. (and considering what his boss recently said about people getting up in the morning...) <vote poll=world6477 closed="yes">Anti-gay; Pro-child porn. <vote poll=world6476 closed="yes">Remember that guy who said that the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun? He and his organisation can suck on this. <vote poll=world6475 closed="yes">[http://www.salon.com/2013/01/11/bachmann_still_hasnt_paid_her_presidential_campaign_staff/ You know, there is an alternative to not paying your workers properly. It was developed by a bearded German man living in Brussels back in 1848.] So how about you get on with it? <vote poll=world6474 closed="yes">In case you thought the Republican war on arithmetic was hyperbole: Fox News calls 6th grade algebra "political indoctrination". <vote poll=world6473 closed="yes">FPSRussia's producer, despite owning guns he's trained in to the extent of bragging about how great he'd be at stopping a shooter, is shot dead. <vote poll=world6472 closed="yes">Let the world's most sophisticated artificial intelligence and data analysis machine read Urban Dictionary: WCGW? <Vote poll=6273>Former GOP member of the House Science, Space & Technology Committee (and current lobbyist) urges the same committee during the last days of the previous congress to authorize on-vehicle sponsorship of Mars rovers. He even envisions a "Go Daddy" rover in his pitch to the committee.  (It would seem that he has noticed that "NASA" is just two letters shy of being "NASCAR".) <Vote poll=6272>Keep supporting those troops Harper, right into the ground.

<vote poll=world6470 closed="yes">Japanese authorities looking to find an anonymous hacker find some clues... attached to a cat. <vote poll=world6469 closed="yes">Texan student who refused to wear a radio tracker badge on religious grounds loses her case. <vote poll=world6468 closed="yes">[http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/01/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-crazy-plan-to-save-the-economy-with-a-trillion-dollar-coin/266839/ Hello. I'm the United States government. I hate taxes (but love spending) so much that I might have to to mint a 1 fucking trillion dollar coin so I can pay off my bills.](So it was the debt ceiling - not the fiscal cliff - the craziest idea to rule them all.) <vote poll=world6467 closed="yes">2012 has been the hottest year ever in the US. Heeeere we go! <vote poll=world6466 closed="yes">Shocking that there was a carbon tax row in Australia. <vote poll=world6465 closed="yes">AIG should just pawn those brass balls of theirs to pay off the bailout. <vote poll=world6464 closed="yes">Military judge confirms that Bradley Manning, the soldier who leaked classified information to Wikileaks, has been kept in illegal conditions prior to trial. <vote poll=world6463 closed="yes">A Maryland community ends prohibition after 132 years. Changing with the times or giving into sprawl? <vote poll=world6462 closed="yes">Alex Jones, Gun Blobby leader, rants at Piers Morgan, who looks on blankly while he masses his Big Pharma robodrones to take down Alex just like Building 7 in a hail of lazerz. So he can lead the NWO. <vote poll=world6461 closed="yes">With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil—that takes religion. <vote poll=world6460 closed="yes">Sheriff Joe sends armed posses of volunteers to patrol Phoenix schools. <vote poll=world6459 closed="yes">Fox News viewers, fed up of having been lied to about who was going to win the election, vote with their remotes. <vote poll=world6458 closed="yes">Worried your child is addicted to violent video games? No problem! Just hire his fellow gamers to take out his avatar. <vote poll=world6457 closed="yes">English Defence League leader Stephen Lennon jailed... for a passport offence. Oh, the delicious irony. <vote poll=world6456 closed="yes">David Cameron: [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9783568/David-Cameron-we-would-fight-a-Falklands-invasion.html My millions of penguins, my love for you is boundless. Not like that wench Margaret.] <vote poll=world6455 closed="yes">Brazilian prison guards discover a break-out kit being smuggled in.... attached to a cat. <vote poll=world6454 closed="yes">Assad: "It's all a conspiracy! Those evil Westerners are all ganging up on me! You western puppets are going to hell! <vote poll=world6453 closed="yes">Aurora, Colorado experiences its second multiple-fatality shooting in less than a year. <vote poll=world6452 closed="yes">What to do when your money is worth more to you than your freedoms? <vote poll=world6451 closed="yes">Among other obstinate acts of waste and stubbornness, the 112th Congress voted to repeal Obamacare 33 times — a waste of 88 hours of deliberation and $50 million, even though they knew there was no chance that it would pass the Senate or be signed into law by President Obama. And now, thanks to Michele Bachmann the 113th Congress is off to the races yet again. <vote poll=world6450 closed="yes">Catholic priest suspended after a little problem with handcuffs. <vote poll=world6449 closed="yes">Church of England to appoint gay bishops, but only if they promise to stop all that icky stuff. <vote poll=world6448 closed="yes">Michael Bloomberg: "In recent weeks, we've heard some people say that the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. But sometimes the good guys get shot - and sometimes, they are killed." <vote poll=world6447 closed="yes">Connecticut town holds drive to collect and destroy violent video games. <vote poll=world6446 closed="yes">"Spiritual but not religious" people are more likely to be mentally ill than either the religious or atheists. <vote poll=world6445 closed="yes">Charlie Hebdo runs cartoon biography of Muhammed. #Blasphemy <vote poll=world6444 closed="yes">To escape a Socialist tax hike, actor Gerard Depardieu turns to, of all places, Russia. <vote poll=world6443 closed="yes">Paedo-porn collecting priest gets 8 years <vote poll=world6442 closed="yes">Remember how Switzerland never has gun violence? Not any more. <vote poll=world6441 closed="yes">Oregon officials propose adding a mileage tax to energy efficient cars that get over 55 mpg in order to offset the loss in revenue from taxes on gasoline. <vote poll=world6440 closed="yes">[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/nicolas-sarkozy-did-take-50-million-of-muammar-gaddafis-cash-french-judge-is-told-8435872.html Holy. Fuck. Nicolas.] <vote poll=world6439 closed="yes">What the fuck has happened to you, Canada? <vote poll=world6438 closed="yes">Rather than allow protection for lesbians, Native Americans and immigrants, House Republicans allow the Violence Against Women Act to expire. <vote poll=world6437 closed="yes">Dear Hurricane Sandy victims. Fuck you! Love, the Republican Party. <vote poll=world6436 closed="yes"> Saudi religious leader calls for gang rape of Syrian girls and women. "He specified that the 'intercourse marriages' last only a few hours in order to give each fighter a turn." UPDATE! story retracted <vote poll=world6435 closed="yes">Oh God, the wingnut response is going to be hilarious. <vote poll=world6434 closed="yes">Kim Jong-un makes a speech on TV and stresses the necessity of both avoiding war, and, um...continuing build on an already enormous military. What? <vote poll=world6433 closed="yes">Biden may have saved us all.