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

August 2012
And you wonder why Marxism became a political force. Clint Eastwood just upstaged Rick Perry in the stupidest grouping of words ever made. Update: All praise the Invisible President. They still don't get it, do they? "Father Benedict Groeschel, American Friar, Claims Teens Seduce Priests In Some Sex Abuse Cases." Never mess with Bill Nye! What a dick head! "I don't approve of what Breivik did, but Norway totally deserved it." Arctic sea ice levels hit a record low. Gee, it's sure a good thing that global warming is a communist hoax, or I would be getting a bit worried right about now. Pissing on Lincoln's grave, are we? "We take Gotham from the corrupt - the rich, the oppressors of generations who have kept you down with myths of opportunity - and we give it back to you. The people." Anarchist soldiers plot a coup. New Zealand 'marriage equality' bill passes its first hurdle with former staunch opponents voting to allow gay marriage. Screw all this politics. Chocolate reduces risk of strokes for men  research claims

Personhood USA fails again to put Personhood up for a vote in Colorado. Photojournalism proves its relevance: Mitt Romney thanks his top donors during a private party, on his friend's yacht flying a Cayman Islands flag. This isn't going to end well. Top Romney aide: "We're not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact checkers." Fetch the popcorn: First three-way civil union signed in Brazil, causing anger and legal headscratching. <vote poll=world5715 closed="yes">Even the Daily Fail gets it right, every so often. Bics for her, not the brightest marketing strategy ever devised, even during the Silly Season. <vote poll=world5714 closed="yes">A few weeks ago, several Ohio coal miners claim that their employer forced them to give up a day's work (and with it, a day's pay) to attend a Romney rally. The coal company's response: "Our managers communicated to our workforce that the attendance at the Romney event was mandatory, but no one was forced to attend." What a surprise: Bob Murray, the CEO of the company (which was fined millions of dollars for failing to meet safety standards that resulted in a 2007 mine collapse, killing eight people) is also a climate change denialist. <vote poll=world5713 closed="yes">A word of advice to Republican politicians. The word "rape", stop using it. <vote poll=world5712 closed="yes">Sasquashed <vote poll=world5711 closed="yes">Israel, what the hell? <vote poll=world5710 closed="yes">Anti-gay activist taken into custody for underage homosexual sex. What is it with these guys? <vote poll=world5709 closed="yes">A New Zealand study suggests marijuana usage under the age of 18 reduces intelligence, but fine in any other age range. <vote poll=world5708 closed="yes">A new Arizona law, signed by Governor Brewer, defines pregnancy as starting two weeks prior to conception. Very sadly, not The Onion. <vote poll=world5707 closed="yes">And yet a textbook that says the Loch Ness Monster disproves evolution and another one that says electricity is a mysterious force is perfectly fine. <vote poll=world5706 closed="yes">The Taliban really, really hate partying. <vote poll=world5705 closed="yes">America is utterly, utterly doomed. 'Clean energy, he said, “would slow the winds down”.' <vote poll=world5704 closed="yes">The South shall rise again! <vote poll=world5703 closed="yes">Regret running back to the GOP, Ron? <vote poll=world5702 closed="yes">Charlie Crist, former Republican Governor of Florida, endorses...Obama! <vote poll=world5701 closed="yes">Idaho Republican wonders if women even know what rape is. Also not The Onion. <vote poll=world5700 closed="yes">0% of blacks for Mitt Romney. Not The Onion. <vote poll=world5698 closed="yes">Faux News decides it's ok if they put US servicemen and their families in harm's way. <vote poll=world5697 closed="yes">Scientologists ♥ Ron Paul. <vote poll=world5696 closed="yes">It may be international GoTopless day, but the Catholic Church have declared it National Marriage Sunday and are getting the big guns out: a letter denouncing gay marriage is to be read in every Catholic church in Scotland.

<vote poll=world5694 closed="yes">The first man to walk on another world, Neil Armstrong, has died at the age of 82. His family asks "Next time you walk outside on clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil and give him a wink." <vote poll=world5693 closed="yes">Mitt Romney: Birther-in-Chief. <vote poll=world5692 closed="yes">Not content with the birther crown, Donald Trump expands into Vaccine hysteria. One more batshit cause and he wins the trifecta <vote poll=world5691 closed="yes">Gold buggery now official GOP policy <vote poll=world5690 closed="yes">"Several Republican state attorney generals called a key provision of the Voting Rights Act unconstitutional and asked the Supreme Court to strike it down." <vote poll=world5689 closed="yes">Reagan judge says "Deregulation fundamental mistake." Greenspan agrees. <vote poll=world5688 closed="yes">Tampa Bay strip clubs prepare for RNC. [Oh god, am I the only one who wishes there was a warning when a link leads to a video?] <vote poll=world5687 closed="yes">Once again, Christians show that the First Amendment only applies to them. <vote poll=world5686 closed="yes">Another shooting. This time in NYC. Update: the shooter shot one person, the NYPD shot nine. <vote poll=world5685 closed="yes">An Norwegian art gallery tried to save some money by receiving a painting by normal post, not a special courier, but it went 'walkies' in the post. The piece? A £5,400 Rembrandt, Lieven Willemsz, van Coppenol <vote poll=world5684 closed="yes">Gawker releases an audit of Romney's off-shore finances. <vote poll=world5683 closed="yes">Anders Behring Breivik declared sane, sentenced to 21 years, may be extended for "preventative detention" according to the Guardian and the New York Times. Other news agencies are reporting that he has been sentenced to between a minimum of ten years and the legal maximum of 21. <vote poll=world5682 closed="yes"> We're all in this together: Bank of England's stimulus "lined the pockets of the rich" <vote poll=world5681 closed="yes">Don't do 'roids, kids: Not only is a popular cancer charity forever tainted, the cyclist responsible thinks that whining about an "unconstitutional witch hunt" makes him less of a coward. <vote poll=world5680 closed="yes">Death from Above!!! Mwaahaahaahaa!!!!! Well, okay, it's a hover-bike. Still cool though. <vote poll=world5679 closed="yes">Who knows? Maybe someday it'll be news if a family values advocate isn't caught doing something indecent in public. Headline: "Rev. Grant Storms, critic of (gay New Orleans website) Southern Decadence, convicted of obscenity for public masturbation." <vote poll=world5678 closed="yes">The best way to stop abortions is deadly force. <vote poll=world5677 closed="yes">Apparently spying on American muslims is a big waste of time. NYPD reacts in shock that their sure fire investigation failed to turn up any terrorists. Cenk weighs in. <vote poll=world5676 closed="yes">Tennessee State Senator Stacey (yes, he's a guy) Campfield says it's virtually impossible to get AIDS through heterosexual sex. <vote poll=world5675 closed="yes">NASA names Curiosity rover's landing spot in memory of Ray Bradbury. <vote poll=world5674 closed="yes">"The move was not partisan" Oh yeah, totally. <vote poll=world5673 closed="yes">Locked-in syndrome sufferer dies a week after losing a legal challenge for assisted suicide. <vote poll=world5672 closed="yes">Just when you thought they couldn't grow them any dumber: A Texas high school grad-u-wate judge says if Obama wins, he wants to be prepared for civil war and a UN takeover. <vote poll=world5671 closed="yes">Finally! Journalists (or at least one, so far) are starting to do their friggin' jobs. <vote poll=world5670 closed="yes">Art restoration - you're doing it wrong. <vote poll=world5669 closed="yes">The accusations against Julian Assange amount to nothing more than "bad sexual ettiquette" according to George Galloway. <vote poll=world5668 closed="yes">Scott Brown understands how his bread is buttered.. <vote poll=world5667 closed="yes">[http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/21/politics/akin-controversy/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 Romney: You're going to make us lose the election! Akin: Nah, I'm going to stay around for as long as I want to.] <vote poll=world5666 closed="yes">It seems that neo-Nazis, skinheads and other militant racists are joining the US Army and Marine Corps to get the military training they think they'll need to overthrow the "ZOG" in Washington, DC. <vote poll=world5665 closed="yes">Ordering a hex on that annoying guy at work just got a little harder. <vote poll=world5664 closed="yes">Democracy - Republicans are doing it wrong. <vote poll=world5663 closed="yes">The President: "Rape is rape. And the idea that we should be parsing and qualifying and slicing what types of rape we are talking about doesn't make sense to the American people and certainly doesn't make sense to me...I think these comments do underscore why we shouldn't have a bunch of politicians, a majority of whom are men, making health care decisions on behalf of women." <vote poll=world5662 closed="yes">Congressman Kevin Yoder: I'm sorry for swimming naked in the Sea of Galilee. Sometimes, the WIGO's just write themselves. <vote poll=world5661 closed="yes">Meanwhile, at the Iowa State Fair: Hank Williams, Jr. - "Obama is a Muslim!" Obama - "mmm pork and beer nom nom nom." <vote poll=world5660 closed="yes">The devi-YOU'RE GOING TO LOSE YOUR SCHOLARSHIP, LADY! <vote poll=world5659 closed="yes">Ohio GOP election official in an email to newspaper: "I guess I really actually feel we shouldn’t contort the voting process to accommodate the urban -- read African-American -- voter-turnout machine" <vote poll=world5658 closed="yes">You don't need abortion exceptions for when the woman was raped, because if she got pregnant, it wasn't really rape. Todd Akin sets a new record for being a shitbag. <vote poll=world5657 closed="yes">"No officer, I didn't stab my daughters, it was the century-old ghost living inside my head." <vote poll=world5656 closed="yes">Back in 2008 Iceland was facing economic Armageddon. Guess their unemployment rate now. <vote poll=world5655 closed="yes">From the Department of Say-No-More: Majority of Tea Party members support carrying concealed weapons in church. <vote poll=world5654 closed="yes">Meet Earth. Where the closest thing to "atheistic" evil still sounds like a fundamentalist tract. <vote poll=world5653 closed="yes">The pregnant teen, who couldn't have chemotherapy due to the Dominican Republic's abortion laws, has died. <vote poll=world5652 closed="yes">At the University of Colorado, students with gun permits are now segregated into special dorms. Incredibly, the university still allows these students to bring their weapons to class (provided they're concealed). <vote poll=world5651 closed="yes">"Oh no, our mosque is too small to fit us all in!" "Here, borrow our synagogue." <vote poll=world5650 closed="yes">Conservatives! Meet your new home: Россия, священная наша держава, Россия любимая наша страна... <vote poll=world5649 closed="yes">Pro-life until birth. Pat Robertson says you shouldn't adopt children who've been sexually abused, in case they grow up "weird." <vote poll=world5648 closed="yes">Libertarian Party sues to remove Romney from State ballot. <vote poll=world5647 closed="yes">Holding a democratic protest against a dictator in a church? Obviously, you hate Christianity! <vote poll=world5646 closed="yes">Paul Ryan applied for stimulus funds in 2009, despite calling it a "wasteful spending spree." <vote poll=world5645 closed="yes">Romney uses band's song for his campaign. Band says, "I don't fucking think so." <vote poll=world5644 closed="yes">Facebook is finally beginning to succumb to pressure on user privacy. Coincidence? <vote poll=world5643 closed="yes">Mittens: I pay at least 13% in taxes and 10% in charity. Alright then. Release them so we can put this to rest, just like your father did when running for governor of Michigan, and like Obama did with his freaking birth certificate, <vote poll=world5642 closed="yes">The cereal-burning anti-gay protester is dead. Meanwhile, the English translation of the tribute on the Facebook page of Leisner’s nephew, a missionary in Costa Rica, was mangled, reading: "Please pray for the family of Mike to feel the spirit of God as dildo in this time of a loss." <vote poll=world5641 closed="yes">The Tea Party displays a sane, reasonable, rational campaign poster. Not! <vote poll=world5640 closed="yes">Seriously, in this day and age how dumb must you be to agree to your 12-year-old having a sleepover with a 46-year-old priest? <vote poll=world5639 closed="yes">UK threatens to storm the Ecuadorian embassy in order to get Assange. Under pressure from Big Brother? Update: Are we ready for another Falklands now? <vote poll=world5638 closed="yes">The USA's population reaches 0.1 giga-&pi; <vote poll=world5637 closed="yes">VIDEO: "We have been very transparent to what’s legally required of us.  But the more we release, the more we get attacked, the more we get questioned, the more we get pushed. And so we have done what's legally required, and there's going to be no more tax releases given."  So sayeth Ann Romney. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney claims that the Obama campaign strategy is "about division and attack and hatred . . . designed to bring a sense of enmity and jealously and anger." If they're this thin-skinned during the earliest days of the campaign, what will they sound like by the first of November? (And how will they react to criticism if he's elected?) <vote poll=world5636 closed="yes">Shooting at Family Research Council headquarters. One guard injured. <vote poll=world5635 closed="yes">French Catholic Church attempts to pray the gay marriage away. <vote poll=world5634 closed="yes">Joe the Plumber: "...put a damn fence on the border going to Mexico and start shooting."

<vote poll=world5632 closed="yes">[http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/08/14/romney-surrogate-to-cnn-host-put-an-obama-bumper-sticker-on-your-forehead/ CNN's Soledad O'Brien: Paul Ryan is talking out of his ass. Romney advisor: WAAAHHH] <vote poll=world5631 closed="yes">Hulk Merkel smash. <vote poll=world5630 closed="yes">In the United States, atheism up, religion down according to Gallup. <vote poll=world5629 closed="yes">Catholic Church makes a fortune in the German porn business. Somehow, I'm not really surprised. <vote poll=world5628 closed="yes">Anti-Semite party leader discovers Jewish Heritage. This could be an analogous law of Haggard's Law <vote poll=world5627 closed="yes">The wrath of libertarians: Failed Bitcoin exchange sued by customers over thefts. Getting your money back from an exchange run by anonymous operators is, of course, the legitimate purview of government. <vote poll=world5626 closed="yes">X-Butterflies come forth! <vote poll=world5625 closed="yes">...and then 2 people, one a policeman get shot down in Texas. <vote poll=world5614 closed="yes">Gabby Giffords returns home. <vote poll=world5613 closed="yes">The US Army promotes its first openly gay general <vote poll=world5612 closed="yes">WikiLeaks proves its relevance yet again, is currently getting pounded by a DDoS from what most likely is the US government. Update: Assange et al.'s response. <vote poll=world5611 closed="yes">You don't often hear Fox News being called too leftist, but that's what batshit birther Jerome Corsi claims.

<vote poll=world5608 closed="yes">[http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j01tAZJvyV3cOQ-ga1I8CimARvfA? Fareed Zakaria might get sacked for plagiarism.] <vote poll=world5607 closed="yes">Romney campaign sources have leaked his choice for running mate: Matthew Morrison. Official announcement on Saturday. <vote poll=world5606 closed="yes">It died a quick death. Released in April, a Christian publisher has yanked a biography of Thomas Jefferson which had already been voted "the least credible history book in print," by readers of the History News Network in July. [http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120810/NEWS06/308100082/Thomas-Nelson-drops-Jefferson-Lies-book-over-historical-errors?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE&gcheck=1&nclick_check=1 "We carefully edit every book we publish, and we rely on the expertise of our authors concerning their subjects," a representative for the publisher said. "It is extremely rare that the company would have to withdraw a book from the market based on concerns about its content."] Memo to Christian publishers:  If the byline contains the name "David Barton," it's full of lies  myths  distortions you should be concerned about its content! <vote poll=world5605 closed="yes">We might be in for quite a Streisand: Even the ultra-rich have begun to pay no income tax, and Romney's reluctance to release the data his returns is getting more and more suspicious.

<vote poll=world5603 closed="yes">Mother of God. <vote poll=world5602 closed="yes">Missouri legislates that creationist kids can refuse to study evolution. <vote poll=world5601 closed="yes">Melvin Morse, known for writing about NDEs in children, arrested for water-boarding his daughter. <vote poll=world5600 closed="yes">The trick of using prisoners as slave economically viable labour continues to grow in the UK. <vote poll=world5599 closed="yes">Ah, kids' sticker albums. Collect your favourite sporting heroes... interesting animals...drug lords... <vote poll=world5598 closed="yes">Jenna Jameson endorses Romney: "When you're rich, you want a Republican in office." <vote poll=world5597 closed="yes">Bryan Fischer compares children of gay parents to slaves needing to be saved <vote poll=world5596 closed="yes">Occam's Razor? <vote poll=world5595 closed="yes">Evolution in action, and boy, is it mean. <vote poll=world5594 closed="yes">Pass me the coffee, baby <vote poll=world5593 closed="yes">DON'T MENTION ROMNEYCARE!!</VOTE> <vote poll=world5592 closed="yes">Drunk claims "religious reason" for setting fire to toilet seat. <vote poll=world5591 closed="yes">'Allo 'allo 'allo, what's all this then? Not smiling during an Olympic event? You're under arrest! <vote poll=world5590 closed="yes">"Let them eat pigeons!" (obviously pigeon pie isn't a local delicacy there...) <vote poll=world5589 closed="yes">Hello, my name is Stephen Harper, and I don't want to look like George W. Bush in any way whatsoever. <vote poll=world5588 closed="yes">Rogue condoms invade the Olympic Village. <vote poll=world5587 closed="yes">Poisoning the well or legitimate concern over the lengths that Mitt Romney went to start Bain Capital? We may never know unless he releases his tax returns. <vote poll=world5586 closed="yes">Kristina Schröder, German Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, makes the greatest spin ever: " [Same-sex couples in civil partnerships take on long-term responsibility for each other, so they live out conservative values"] (Mind you, it's not as far out as David Cameron's "I support gay marriage because I’m a Conservative" statement.) <vote poll=world5585 closed="yes">[http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/education/home-schooling/delhi-charter-school-policy-would-kick-pregnant-teens-out-school Pregnant? Y'all ain't comin' to our school! Screw Title IX!] <vote poll=world5584 closed="yes">The WWW turns 21, and its baby photos are online <vote poll=world5583 closed="yes">I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here! Pro-Immigrant GOP Group to Arpaio: Refocus on Fixing Department. this is for people who don't get the quote <vote poll=world5582 closed="yes">[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-19151869 "Librul media!" "If the turban infidels had guns this would have never happened!" "Obama false flag conspiracy!" "PC hysteria!"] <vote poll=world5581 closed="yes">Your socialism at work, America. (Curiosity lands on Mars.) <vote poll=world5580 closed="yes">The Cayman Islands: Start paying up. <vote poll=world5579 closed="yes">Dan Ariely and Mike Norton find that Democrats' and Republicans' ideas of the ideal distribution of wealth in the United States are, in fact, very, very similar when under the "veil of ignorance." <vote poll=world5578 closed="yes">Team GB's most successful day at an Olympics in 104 years. <vote poll=world5577 closed="yes">Black Helicopters flying low over a New England city unannounced after dark, complete with special operations troops rappelling onto rooftops.

<vote poll=world5575 closed="yes">Why can't you just let me lose a match? Heck, I'll quit if you are insisting that I can't lose on my own. <vote poll=world5574 closed="yes">Author and scientist, Jared Diamond, to Romney: "What the fuck are you talking about?" <vote poll=world5573 closed="yes">Fox News host says "Once again, we put something on the air that's a flat out lie and distortion." (*gasp*) <vote poll=world5572 closed="yes">Tired of the Chick-fil-A controversy yet? Well, too bad. A Mississippi congressional candidate says the Mayors of Chicago and Boston should be "introduced to the Second Amendment". Update: Sarah Palin doesn't know what the First Amendment actually means. <vote poll=world5571 closed="yes">Mittens throws his wife (and her horse) under the bus. <vote poll=world5570 closed="yes">Homeopaths offer to rebrand products as confectionery, but out of necessity, not honesty. <vote poll=world5569 closed="yes">What? You're giving women access to birth control? That's as bad as 9/11! <vote poll=world5568 closed="yes">Diarrhea epidemic hits the US <vote poll=world5567 closed="yes">Gore Vidal, celebrated author, playwright, dies