RationalWiki:What is going on in the world?/July 2009

July 2009
A man retires from his job in order to live an ascetic life of austerity and homelessness. When he dies, he leaves $4 million to public radio and to the homeless shelter where he stayed. Who said atheists can't be charitable? Birds caught evolving into new species. Now try saying no-one's ever seen a species evolve. Some nice, neutral and balanced reporting from the Daily Mail. Note that they haven't decided whether it cures or causes cancer yet. Organic food really isn't any better for you (though the taste is still not to be missed). Interesting point: The Soil Association calls for "better" research and you know what that means... We are told that the Bible provides moral absolutes to live one's life by but atheists lead a life of sin because of their moral relativism; we are further told that one can know a Christian by what he does rather than what he says. So why doesn't the perverse behaviour of prominent evangelists strike us as unusual any more? The dangers of fad diets The shame of the US health insurance industry. Spy satellite images of climate change kept secret by the Bush Administration are declassified by the Obama White House Escape from New York! Last World War One veteran dies in the UK 1 week after Henry Allingham also died. "RIP Harry Patch" Still wondering why we sent troops into Iraq? Be glad you aren't wondering "Why did we send troops into Buffalo?" Insert "largely defensive weapon of gun" reference here The Dow. IT'S OVER 9000!!@ONE! The Chandra X-Ray telescope is celebrating its 10th anniversary in space. Swiss scientists aim to build a synthetic human brain within a decade, cue Terminator references and quoting "The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do." ad nauseum. An Oregon jury finally decides that refusing medical care to sick children is illegal. UPDATE: Actually, killing your daughter is just a misdemeanor. <vote poll=world862 closed="yes">"Distrustful of experts, many Quiverfull followers are leaving childbirth to God. The recent death of a newborn, however, exposes a growing rift." <vote poll=world861 closed="yes">The Senate is taking away our guns! <vote poll=world860 closed="yes">Medical science, not prayer. <vote poll=world859 closed="yes">One of America's most respected historians is arrested for breaking into his own home Is it because he is black? <vote poll=world858 closed="yes">Big Brother alert: Amazon.com deletes Nineteen-Eighty-Four and Animal Farm from Kindle. Irony meters are now pegged at 110%. <vote poll=world857 closed="yes">The border between South Africa and Lesotho is missing, believed... er... stolen. <vote poll=world856 closed="yes">An increase in scientific reasearch, can only be a good thing right? Wrong! Those mad scientists can't be trusted with our sea kittens and furry friends. Not like we can't just round up minorities and political prisoners. <vote poll=world855 closed="yes">Sean Hannity and Faux News go right off the deep-end. Probably time to start adding these to the Clogosphere page. <vote poll=world854 closed="yes">Oh, those whacky fundamentalists (Part II). A Scottish ferry sails on a Sunday. <vote poll=world853 closed="yes">Oldest WW1 veteran dies aged 113 <vote poll=world852 closed="yes">The moon landing conspiracy dies. Or is this just part of the cover-up? <vote poll=world851 closed="yes">Purity rings enter the 21st century. <vote poll=world850 closed="yes">Oh Dear. Yet another Evangelical minister on trial for having sex with underage girls. <vote poll=world849 closed="yes">CHOMP! Cadaver eating robots might be a part of future battlefields. <vote poll=world848 closed="yes">Should a court really be listening to a defendant claim provocation when he stabs his girlfriend 216 times? Especially when he is this smug. <vote poll=world847 closed="yes">Carlsberg don't do 10% discounts, but if they did, they'd probably be the best 10% discounts in the world. <vote poll=world846 closed="yes">The New York Times takes down the moon conspiracy. <vote poll=world845 closed="yes">Science! News: Cats do control humans, study finds.  Cat-owners everywhere unsurprised. <vote poll=world844 closed="yes">Surprise surprise! Only 6% of American scientists identify themselves as Republican, with only 9% of American scientists considering themselves conservative, according to a survey report by the Pew Research Center. This can only confirm that evilution is a liberal conspiracy aimed at subverting America from the truth. <vote poll=world843 closed="yes">Oh, those whacky fundamentalists - rioting over sacrilegious car parking. <vote poll=world842 closed="yes">A man protesting the denial of his liquor license flies an upside down flag to protest. Police, upset that his protest would upset the 4th of July parade, invade his property and steal the flag. No irony there. <vote poll=world841 closed="yes">No escape from hate crime: two neo-Nazis convicted of writing and publishing "illegal essays." <vote poll=world840 closed="yes">Stephen Hawking supports (or, at least, expects) transhumanism. So, not only should humanity colonize other planets, it should be Humanity V 2.0. <vote poll=world839 closed="yes">How Lance Armstrong is just like Sarah Palin. For starters, "they both react to any criticism with extreme defensiveness." <vote poll=world838 closed="yes">Andy: Competitive medicine works. Real life: Apparently not. <vote poll=world837 closed="yes">Lost your job? Lucrative witch opportunity awaits! <vote poll=world836 closed="yes">Evolution rocks! <vote poll=world835 closed="yes">New Bible discovered (well, "discovered" a long time ago and just being pieced together now) - So it has changed over the years. Downside, Assfly may actually be right about the "Adultress Story"... <vote poll=world834 closed="yes">Another tragic death: Quarterback Steve McNair was found shot to death. <vote poll=world833 closed="yes">Turkish reality TV show tries to convert atheists to one of four major religions, winner gets trip to Holy Land of chosen faith. Why can't we be the competitors? <vote poll=world832 closed="yes">Sarah Palin is resigning. Liberals throughout the USA reconsider their atheism. <vote poll=world831 closed="yes">New dinosaur species found in western Queensland, Australia. Visit the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum to see more.(This is a REAL dinosaur museum!) <vote poll=world830 closed="yes">Paleontologists visit the Creation Museum and are unimpressed. One says it should be called the "Confusion Museum" instead. (In other news, the sun rose this morning.) <vote poll=world829 closed="yes">Prominent and influential conservative judge Richard Posner has called for online linking to news stories (even when such links are paraphrased forms of the original story or headline) to be held as a breach of copyright law. Nasty. <vote poll=world828 closed="yes">Ever wondered why The 555 thing exists? Yes, really, people can be dumb enough to do this sort of thing.