RationalWiki:What is going on in the blogosphere?/May 2015

May 2015
Whatever happened to Lego Universe? The, ah, dong detection problem. Link broken? Try this. They had to have an army of moderators checking literally every object for possible penis-like nature. Makes my brain hurt, this quantum! Conspiracy theorists will pretty much believe anything you tell them - it's science. Actually it is this paper in PLOS, and the paper itself doesn't really support "CT's will believe anything".... A couple takes a school to court for ignoring their "opt out" request for religious lessons for their child. As well as the comments on that page, the local paper opens a reader-supplied blog page - so anyone can discuss the controversy! Article from February 2015, but case has just come to court. Exciting job offer for a growing sector in Saudi Arabia. No experience necessary though knife sharpening skills are appreciated. Precision and attention to detail is essential. Responsibilities include fulfilling Allah's merciful forgiving will. How the biggest fabricator in science got caught. How a Childhood Vaccine Reduces Risk of a Cancer. Advisors are being kept in the dark on Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations, hampering their ability to critique and revise the agreement. Bahar Mustafa, diversity officer for Goldsmiths, University of London, is in hot water again after making incendiary social media posts with the hashtag #killallwhitemen. While her critics are fair to criticize her, the whole mess does highlight something about privilege and language. Congrats, you have an all male panel! "Why I Don't Limit Screen Time for My Children." "Unaffiliated and Underrepresented". On America's political religiosity. Pastor of a South Carolina Unitarian Universalist congregation calls out the state's governor on her "Day of Prayer," limited to Christians only. Anti-vaxxers have accumulated a "troll list" of nearly 30,000 names of people their various site admins can use to block critics of their self-indulgent, child-endangering beliefs. See if you made the list. As Silicon Valley libertarians and seasteaders age, reality slowly starts to break through. The Onion pokes fun at wingnut pundits' pandering with “New Live Poll Allows Pundits To Pander To Viewers In Real Time”. A poll by Public Policy Polling finds that a whopping one third of Republicans think that Obama is actively trying to take over Texas. Incredibly, another 28% are undecided on the matter. Turns out Torygraph's tactical voting tool was rigged to never recommend the SNP

"Why on earth did good science take so long to arrive?" The latest PEW report on America's Religious Landscape makes interesting reading The change in French public opinion over who defeated Hitler. One of the best comics critics in the biz on Charlie Hebdo. On the clown car that is the 2016 GOP slate. The Internet and the human costs of leaving a fundamentalist religious community. "Faith healer sues atheist video blogger for using science to expose him on YouTube as a ‘swindler’" A BBQ restaurant in CO is having a White Appreciation day, where white people get 10% off their meals David Frum writes piece defending Pamela Geller's right to speech. Whines about liberals not supporting her Islamophobia. The Onion presents: The Pros and Cons of Homeschooling. Take notes, Andy!

What caused Joss Whedon to leave Twitter? Probably not a "rabid feminist 'Avengers' backlash" as Breitbart had put it, but it definitely reveals the issues of Twitter abuse regardless of what views you hold. (Whedon himself calls "horseshit" on reports he left Twitter because of militant feminists.) Handy little history of the neoconservative movement. Cracked breaks down why American cops keep killing people. The Sam Harris/Noam Chomsky letters have been published.