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

February 2012
Your daily WTF: GOP House candidate is a Holocaust denier. One Million Moms don't care for happy and gay marriages on the covers of Archie comic books in Toys R Us. Goodbye Jamie! One more left to go. It appears Kim No. 3 might actually care about his people. Even in the midst of scandal, Canuckistanis take in the lulz. How to be deemed a "strident" atheist: exist. This advertisement was rejected as "offensive". The Paulbots are rejoicing right now: Iran likes goooooooold. Study shows that greedy, pushy people have more stuff. Unsurprisingly, Mitt wins Michigan. Slightly more surprisingly, he wins Arizona too, and by a wider margin. JFK makes Santorum cry from beyond the grave. Dear Arizona, is there any minority you don't hate? Now you are going after poor college kids?!?! States, Georgia especially, get serious in confronting sovereign citizen movement. a) Why you don't have incest, and b) Why climate change is srs bsns. This may or may not have been linked before. But so what? It is important. Don't upload birdsong to YouTube! Somebody needs to explain to Romney how debates work: "You ask the questions you want; I give the answers I want." <vote poll=world4839 closed="yes">Academy Awards 2012: The Artist gets Best Picture and four others, Hugo also wins five. Best Documentary goes to Undefeated, but not that Undefeated. <vote poll=world4838 closed="yes">When your pastor is convicted of lewd conduct with teenagers and banned from unsupervised contact with children, what's the solution? Ban kids from the church. <vote poll=world4837 closed="yes">The vote-suppression scandal continues to widen as Opposition parties charge that Stephen Harper is the Canadian-version of Richard Nixon. <vote poll=world4836 closed="yes">Santorum thinks it was wrong to apologize for Koran burnings, because it was not intentional. So if anyone ever accidentally hits the Senator with their car, remember that apologizing would be completely improper. <vote poll=world4835 closed="yes">Shorter Santorum: The Constitution makes me want to throw up. <vote poll=world4834 closed="yes">Even Republicans are aghast at the Clown Car of Candidates. <vote poll=world4833 closed="yes">Looks like Google are forgetting their "Don't be evil" motto. <vote poll=world4832 closed="yes">I told you, I am not Xena!. <vote poll=world4831 closed="yes">My head just exploded. A group of lesbians attacked a gay man. It can't be a hate crime 'cause the gals are into Sapphic love... I just don't know what to think anymore... <vote poll=world4830 closed="yes">Two die in fire at Brazil's Antarctic research station. <vote poll=world4829 closed="yes">Silvio Berlusconi evades justice yet again. <vote poll=world4828 closed="yes">A Pennsylvania Muslim has been acquitted after assaulting a man dressed as an undead Mohammed for Halloween. According to the judge, it was Sweet Zombie Mohammed's own fault for "looking like a doofus". <vote poll=world4827 closed="yes">Wyoming sets up a committee to prepare for the collapse of America. Options include an alternative currency, independent military draft and, for the mountainous, landlocked state... an aircraft carrier? <vote poll=world4826 closed="yes">Safe to say, we've fucked this one up. <vote poll=world4825 closed="yes">Former Archbishop: You can't have gay marriage, because the government doesn't "own" marriage. Minister: You're right, it's "owned" by the people, and they seem in favour of gay marriage.

<vote poll=world4824 closed="yes">Mitt, it's one thing to hire a stadium for your speech, it's another thing to actually fill it. <vote poll=world4823 closed="yes">Shit's going down now: Mass electoral fraud being investigated against Stephen Harper in the 2011 election. <vote poll=world4822 closed="yes">On Saturday, Anne Frank may have been baptised Mormon-by-proxy. <vote poll=world4821 closed="yes">Lawsuit: Obama can't be President because he's a mulatto. (At least they've stopped pretending it's not about race.) <vote poll=world4820 closed="yes">Maryland becomes the latest US State to have the religious wingnuts frothing at the  CENSORED  <vote poll=world4819 closed="yes">A Russian prosecutor office wants to classify a "translation with commentary" of the Bhagavad Gita as extremist literature. The list of the alleged problems with it sounds somewhat familiar... <vote poll=world4818 closed="yes">The Clown Car of Candidates lie their asses off during the most recent debate. <vote poll=world4817 closed="yes">File under "N" for "No shit, Sherlock": Goldline is a scam. <vote poll=world4816 closed="yes">Marie Colvin killed in Syria. <vote poll=world4815 closed="yes">Men aren't disappearing. <vote poll=world4814 closed="yes">Sorry, no faster-than-light neutrinos for you! <vote poll=world4813 closed="yes">Think Progress's parent organization, CAPAF, fires back at the Heartland Institute's legal threats. <vote poll=world4812 closed="yes">Westboro Baptist Church threatens to picket Whitney Houstons funeral. Chickens out, and photoshops themselves into pictures from said funeral, claiming success. <vote poll=world4811 closed="yes">Indiana resolution celebrating 100 years of the Girl Scouts opposed by Republican State Representative: "abundant evidence proves that the agenda of Planned Parenthood includes sexualizing young girls through the Girl Scouts, which is quickly becoming a tactical arm of Planned Parenthood". <vote poll=world4810 closed="yes">Returning veterans and those on National Guard deployments have a hard time getting work when they come home. Who's the worst offender? Their former boss. <vote poll=world4809 closed="yes">Houston, we've got waterworlds. <vote poll=world4807 closed="yes">Andrew Schlafly's head might explode: An atheist blogger manages to defy the assertion that atheists are not charitable and raises $40K for a public school junior for upholding the U.S. Constitution and fighting to have a public prayer display removed from her school. <vote poll=world4806 closed="yes">Now where for Moore's law? <vote poll=world4805 closed="yes">According to a collective of Blue Planet prizewinning scientists, "Civilisation faces 'perfect storm of ecological and social problems'." <vote poll=world4804 closed="yes">Peter Gleick admits to using a false name and not confirming sources in the Heartland Institute controversy,. Way to go Heartland! Update: Gleick withdraws from the board of directors of the NCSE over the matter. Unfortunately for you, the science confirming climate change remains unchanged. <vote poll=world4803 closed="yes">Opposite Week drags on even further as Pat Robertson starts spouting rational nonsense. <vote poll=world4802 closed="yes"> Frothy's stupidity levels have finally reached Caribou Barbie's. Congratulations, you just won a free trip to Alaska! <vote poll=world4801 closed="yes">Let's see the creationists explain this. <vote poll=world4800 closed="yes">The hamburger of the future, today! (Well, by autumn, anyway) <vote poll=world4799 closed="yes">Citigroup admits to misleading HUD on mortgages, settles a multi-million dollar lawsuit. <vote poll=world4798 closed="yes">The Heartland Institute vaguely threatens desmog blog for releasing their own documents that they haven't confirmed if they are authentic or not. Also threatened: Brad Johnson from 'ThinkProgress'; Arianna Huffington from The Huffington Post; John H. Harris from Politico; Greg Laden, a blogger at ScienceBlogs; 350 or Bust; and Charles Johnson from Little Green Footballs. And a 71-year-old veteran writing in a local newspaper. Popcorn anyone? <vote poll=world4797 closed="yes">The day of reckoning for Greece... and pretty much the world economy. Fun. <vote poll=world4796 closed="yes">NASA is looking for around 160 missing moon rocks. They're alien spiders, I tell ya! <vote poll=world4795 closed="yes">Rick Santorum, being on something of a roll today, attacks President Obama for not having policies that are based on the bible. Um, Ricky, you are aware of something called the separation of church and state aren't you? Hello? Ricky? Update: He's getting more insane every minute. <vote poll=world4794 closed="yes">The Heartland Institute pulls a Scientology, threatening to sue people discussing the Denialgate documents. Let us know how that works out for you. <vote poll=world4793 closed="yes"> Halp halp, Satan is taking over America! Or that's what Rick Santorum says in a reeeeally creepy speech...  <vote poll=world4792 closed="yes">...and Opposite Day continues as Labour MP Ed Balls starts advocating supply-side economics. <vote poll=world4791 closed="yes">The clown car of candidates skids round another bend, as Romney calls Santorum "too liberal." <vote poll=world4790 closed="yes">The GOP closet gets a little bigger as Mitt Romney's Arizona campaign co-chair hits the right-wing hypocrisy daily double. <vote poll=world4789 closed="yes">ESPN stick their foot in it, the night God forsakes Jeremy Lin. This is not the first time the station has taken it too far. <vote poll=world4788 closed="yes">The WHO still can't decide whether or not to release the bird flu "death-weapon" data.

<vote poll=world4787 closed="yes">Chris "Mr. Creosote" Christie vetoes same-sex marriage in New Jersey. <vote poll=world4786 closed="yes">In an attempt to curb terrorism, the FBI arrest a terrorist that they basically recruited, trained and armed themselves. <vote poll=world4785 closed="yes">The Climategate guys: How does it feel, Heartland? <vote poll=world4784 closed="yes">Meet the woman who wants to be President of Afghanistan. <vote poll=world4783 closed="yes">O Canada, our home and nativ-OH DEAR GOD WHAT IS THAT THING? <vote poll=world4782 closed="yes">Obama: "I want to reduce the amount of US nukes to around 300." Conservatives: "300 warheads is nowhere near enough!  It won't last us the nuclear winter!" <vote poll=world4781 closed="yes">Republican-led House committee holds a hearing on insurance coverage of contraceptives. Invited to testify by committee chair Darrell Issa -- five men (mostly clergy) and two token women, both from right-wing Christian colleges. Other women were available to testify, but were deemed by Issa to be not "appropriate and qualified." <vote poll=world4780 closed="yes">VIDEO: The frothy mix's main financial backer tells Andrea Mitchell how "gals" used Bayer aspirin as birth control back when he was a kid. <vote poll=world4779 closed="yes">Liberia introduces a bill that could make homosexuality punishable by death. <vote poll=world4778 closed="yes">New Jersey legalises gay marriage. Christie vetoed. <vote poll=world4777 closed="yes">Disabled? Too ill to work? No, too ill to get paid to work. <vote poll=world4776 closed="yes">Canadian citizens are apparently no longer qualified to know how the Harper Regime is spending their tax dollars...or even what services are being cut. Update: Oh for Christ's sake. <vote poll=world4775 closed="yes">New from the University of Obviousness: LGBT youth who experience victimization and harassment from family and peers are more likely to be suicidal. <vote poll=world4774 closed="yes">“Vic 'You're with the Child Pornographers' Toews wants to know about you. Let's get to know about Vic..." <vote poll=world4773 closed="yes">Fuck it, this is not going to clogs - Frothy Mix's new attack ad. The best quote: "Mitt Romney's ugly attacks are going to backfire." <vote poll=world4772 closed="yes">Uganda's Minister of Ethics and Integrity orders gay rights meeting to close. "You cannot allow terrorists to organise to destroy your country," he says. <vote poll=world4771 closed="yes">Largest American Bitcoin exchange shuts down, citing "regulation" and shortage of funds. <vote poll=world4770 closed="yes">You want a new Climategate? How about the leaked strategy documents from the Heartland Institute detailing the concerted attack on science and reality? And, of course, spot the donor. And the beneficiary. <vote poll=world4769 closed="yes">The Wikileaks Cablegate Top 100. <vote poll=world4768 closed="yes">A Religious freedom advocate? We certainly can't have that in China. <vote poll=world4767 closed="yes">American Humanist Association (red link? really?) argues in court that the United States Pledge of Allegiance violates the Massachusetts Constitution. <vote poll=world4766 closed="yes">Some stories write their own WIGO. <vote poll=world4765 closed="yes">An Ipsos-Mori poll (sponsored by the Richard Dawkins foundation, mind) reveals that most people who put themselves down as "Christian" in the UK in fact don't go to Church, don't read the Bible, and know pretty much sod all about it (though Reverend Giles Fraser says they still count). Update: the full skinny from the RDF. <vote poll=world4764 closed="yes">Newt to Taitz: "STFU!" <vote poll=world4763 closed="yes">Google's Valentine's Day doodle dabbles in some politics. "It's against my religion for cookies and milk to marry. Please remove﻿ this offensive video." <vote poll=world4762 closed="yes">An Ontario Superior Court judge tells Stephen Harper | to go shove it.

<vote poll=world4760 closed="yes">Newscorp throw their sources under the bus. <vote poll=world4759 closed="yes">You are with us, or the child pornographers.

<vote poll=world4757 closed="yes">Because it's the secularists who are engaging in suicide bombing and molestation cover-ups... <vote poll=world4756 closed="yes">Rick Santorum vows to overturn any Supreme Court ruling that would legalize gay marriage, as well as Roe v. Wade...apparently by using executive powers that don't exist. <vote poll=world4755 closed="yes">Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich have all pledged to uphold the U.S. Constitution and the First Amendment help create jobs  reduce the size and strength of the federal government enforce obscenity laws that restrict the distribution of pornography. <vote poll=world4754 closed="yes">Seven down, 43 to go. <vote poll=world4753 closed="yes">Who wants to learn about the physics of ponytails? <vote poll=world4752 closed="yes">Any chance this could pass...at all? <vote poll=world4751 closed="yes">[http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/american-kids-denied-food-stamps-alabama-under-immigration-143929070.html Alabama denies food stamps to U.S. citizens... who just happen to have illegal immigrant parents.] <vote poll=world4750 closed="yes">Someone's a little power-mad. Don't think the male RationalWikians would care though *wink* *wink* <vote poll=world4749 closed="yes">It's not rape, this is what God's love feels like. <vote poll=world4748 closed="yes">Them good ol' boys down in Tennessee take Facebook de-friendings way too seriously. <vote poll=world4747 closed="yes">RIP, Whitney Houston. <vote poll=world4746 closed="yes">Buffy the Vampire Foetus Slayer <vote poll=world4745 closed="yes">[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16968947 Now's your chance. Run.] <vote poll=world4744 closed="yes">The end of Page 3 as we know it? <vote poll=world4743 closed="yes">Remember kids, 12345 is a baaaad password. <vote poll=world4742 closed="yes">In Mother Russia, the hatemongering is strong... <vote poll=world4741 closed="yes">Now we'll see just how anti contraception the GOP really are.

<vote poll=world4740 closed="yes">First ever Afghanistani animated cartoon is very cute. "The song encourages children, teenagers and even adults who want a caged bird at home to let them be free, 'cause birds want to be free to fly. Also, other animals have rights too." <vote poll=world4739 closed="yes">Mitt Romney appears to have hired one of our "good friends" to write jumping-the-gun speeches for him. <vote poll=world4738 closed="yes">Piltdown Man receives some birthday cheer. <vote poll=world4737 closed="yes">Rumours of Kim Jong-un's assassination spread via Weibo & Twitter. <vote poll=world4736 closed="yes">[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16987644 If there's any RationalWikians living in Greece, we suggest you leave. Now.] <vote poll=world4735 closed="yes">The latest attempt to make soccer appeal to Americans: Ultimate Tazer Ball. <vote poll=world4734 closed="yes">You have been reported to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Cease your unlawful actions at once, snail! <vote poll=world4733 closed="yes"> If a pregnant woman in Georgia miscarries she could be lethally injected or otherwise subject to the death penalty.  <vote poll=world4732 closed="yes">You have to see this: The Republican that ensured gay marriage passed in Washington state. <vote poll=world4731 closed="yes">Listen to Buck, use your nukes. <vote poll=world4730 closed="yes">Anyone remember The Secret World of Alex Mack? The British Board of Film Classification has rated the DVD release as a "15" - putting it on par with Paranormal Activity 3 and Insidious, and a few steps above Jurassic Park and Terminator 3. Yes, really. <vote poll=world4729 closed="yes">Judge whales into PETA. <vote poll=world4728 closed="yes">Another reason to hate the French. <vote poll=world4727 closed="yes">CEO of the RIAA: Home taping Silicon Valley propaganda about SOPA is killing music (and it should be illegal). <vote poll=world4726 closed="yes">Washington state legalizes gay marriage. Meanwhile, a bit further south, certain residents of California are having none of it and are going straight to the Supreme Court to throw a hissy fit. <vote poll=world4725 closed="yes">Arizona judges keep candidate off ballot, on the grounds that a person who cannot speak English is unqualified for government even in a Spanish-speaking community.

<vote poll=world4724 closed="yes">Online piracy acts? How about a decentralised, purely P2P BitTorrent client, free from external websites and servers, that literally cannot be shut down without destroying the entire internet. <vote poll=world4723 closed="yes">Life... 100 million years older than we originally thought. <vote poll=world4722 closed="yes">Now they wanna outlaw masturbation...! Wankers! <vote poll=world4721 closed="yes">Maths: C+; English: B; Oh, yes, being gay is a choice... <vote poll=world4720 closed="yes">Marshmallows. <vote poll=world4719 closed="yes">This is going to be one great Presidential election. We also expect an increase in shower usage for 2012. <vote poll=world4718 closed="yes">I for one, welcome our new ant overlords. <vote poll=world4717 closed="yes">A hot new way to modify terabytes of information... per second. <vote poll=world4716 closed="yes">Two Godwins in two days for the Harper government. This comes after...well, read for yourself. <vote poll=world4715 closed="yes">Prop 8 declared unconstitutional again, this time by a three-judge panel of the federal Ninth Circuit. The Supreme Court case looks inevitable. <vote poll=world4714 closed="yes">The US Constitution's influence is dying off, being replaced by the European Convention on Human Rights and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Antonin Scalia is particularly miffed. Those evil empires! <vote poll=world4713 closed="yes">Oh no you don't, bastard. <vote poll=world4712 closed="yes">A US Congressman thought The Onion was a real news source. <vote poll=world4711 closed="yes">Prove that you're psychic and win $1 million, or sue your critics for a mere £150,000... we now know what Psychic Sally prefers. <vote poll=world4710 closed="yes">Russian scientists have drilled through the 3,768 metres to Lake Vostok. <vote poll=world4709 closed="yes">Given the cost of Super Bowl advertising, Pete Hoekstra (Republican - of course) really wants his constituents to know he's a racist prick. <vote poll=world4708 closed="yes">Hypothetical results are in from the not so hypothetical horse race. <vote poll=world4707 closed="yes">been really tryin', baby, tryin' to hold back this feeling for so long. And if you feel like I feel, baby, then, c'mon, oh, c'mon.  Let's get it on." <vote poll=world4706 closed="yes">When the Susan G. Komen/Planned Parenthood flap began, did you wonder who would be the first to cite so-called evidence linking abortion to breast cancer as a good reason for Komen to defund PP? Well, if you did, we now have a frothy winner! <vote poll=world4705 closed="yes">Let's do some Godwinning, shall we? <vote poll=world4704 closed="yes">Apparently, there is honest rape, and dishonest rape..., oh, and rape "almost never happens, but just imagine it could. (cough1in4womenassaultedcough). <vote poll=world4703 closed="yes">Newt's charm just grows and grows. <vote poll=world4702 closed="yes">Kansas lawmakers want to declare Toto the state dog. PETA is not happy. <vote poll=world4701 closed="yes">Fidel Castro's newly released memoirs inexplicably fail to mention how he dropped dead in 2009. <vote poll=world4700 closed="yes">College kid does his homework, finds previously unheard Malcolm X speech, introduced by Richard Holbrooke <vote poll=world4699 closed="yes">And once again the UN shows the world how well it works when standing up to brutality.

<vote poll=world4697 closed="yes">Obama is officially a natural-born citizen. <vote poll=world4696 closed="yes">Hentai tentacle porn!! For a good cause. <vote poll=world4695 closed="yes">A cardboard cutout of Ayatollah Khomeini inspects Iranian military. ...wait, what? <vote poll=world4694 closed="yes">"FBI Incident" takes on a whole new meaning. Update: Speaking of Anonymous, Operation Blitzkrieg has just tagged Ron Paul with another white supremacy group. <vote poll=world4693 closed="yes">Komen for the Cure change their mind: "We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women's lives." Or do they? <vote poll=world4692 closed="yes">Anoka, Minnesota has launched a fundie-led war on gay teens, resulting in nine suicides in two years and a civil-rights lawsuit has been filed against the school district. <vote poll=world4691 closed="yes">[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-199884/GM-giant-quits-Britain-amid-backlash.html Hey! Monsanto! We don't need your GM foods at all.] <vote poll=world4690 closed="yes">Some Susan G. Komen Foundation officials have resigned in protest of the pulled funding from Planned Parenthood. <vote poll=world4689 closed="yes">JC Penney gives One Million Bigots Moms the finger. <vote poll=world4688 closed="yes">In today's 'Not Very Surprising' News, a new study says that "people who score low on I.Q. tests in childhood are more likely to develop prejudiced beliefs and socially conservative politics in adulthood." <vote poll=world4687 closed="yes"> Time to get a bigger barbecue. <vote poll=world4686 closed="yes">You know something's wrong in the US when sugar taxes are being seriously proposed. <vote poll=world4685 closed="yes">Frothy doesn't want to hear complaints about expensive drugs. <vote poll=world4684 closed="yes">"Yo mama" jokes may date back to ancient Babylon. <vote poll=world4683 closed="yes">Oh, well. It seemed like a good idea at the time. <vote poll=world4682 closed="yes">Newt calls the Waaaambulance. <vote poll=world4681 closed="yes">Washington State Senate passes gay marriage bill. <vote poll=world4680 closed="yes">Ready for one the most important moments in human history? They have until Monday before temperatures plummet to up to -80°C. <vote poll=world4679 closed="yes">Lionel who? <vote poll=world4678 closed="yes">Never get involved in a land war in Asia. <vote poll=world4677 closed="yes"> Well surprise, bloody surprise.