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

November 2013
The Indian successfuly leaves Earth orbit despite a previous setback. If it succeeds, India will be the fourth space power to reach Mars, after the USSR, the US and ESA. Good luck! Bob Dylan gets sued over some European butthurt. The GOP leadership finally realize that shacking up with the Tea Party was a bad idea. "Humans descended from sex between a chimp and a pig." Meanwhile in America, knocking on somebody's door continues to prove fatal. Actual physical Bitcoin mining. Like C/2010 X1 (Elenin) before it, C/2012 S1 (ISON) has ceased to be. The doomers will quietly slink back to their dens. (Again.) Gilles-Eric Séralini's infamous "GM corn and Roundup cause cancer" study is being retracted. (Comments are already full of appeals to Monsanto.) Dan Savage talks about "kiddie-fucking priests on Real Time With Bill Maher. In response, Bill Donohue calls on US bishops to support their local kiddie-fuckers by petitioning Time-Warner to cancel Real Time and sever ties with Bill Maher.  Legal appeal by British B&B owners who denied gay couple a double room fails at UK Supreme Court. (As everyone but them and the Christian Institute knew it would.) UPDATE: The Christian Institute's 'reasoned' response  Missed a school field trip to a multicultural workshop that explores various religions? You're a racist and it's going on your school record. UPDATE: nutters and loonies have turned this into an Islam issue. WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!! Again. What would you do to qualify for a €700 monthly subsidy? In Greece, they're infecting themselves with HIV. Update:no they aren't. Wanna-be ghost-hunters get frustrated, burn down historic Louisiana plantation house. Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, work on creating a modern democratic nation with respect for human rights is proceeding well. The Iraq War still isn't over. Frothy's film flops. Cautious optimism: Six-month nuclear deal agreed with Iran. (Best comment so far - "Folks who follow lots of right-wing nutjobs are going to check Twitter tomorrow and think that President Obama sold weapons to Iran.") Rush Limbaugh says that filibuster reform is like subjecting the minority party to rape. Update: From 2004, How long until this page goes missing? "Did you give your Chief of Staff the go ahead to pay hush money?" "No." "So what's this?" "Oh... erm... yeah, I knew about it, but I wasn't being informed properly." Walmart in Ohio begs for food to feed those of its employees who cannot afford to feed themselves on their Walmart salaries Sorry, ladies, it looks like another eligible bachelor is off the market. Two cheers for the Saudi religious police! Undeterred by the firestorm they elicited in July when they told their minimum wage employees how to budget their meager paycheck, McDonald's has now issued another helpful missive with tips on how to stretch their money this holiday season -- like returning their presents for cash, and bringing a sack lunch to work. Surprisingly, the Canadian Senate is in the news again. Not so surprisingly, that news is appalling. After three Republican uses since October to block the confirmation of an appeals court judge (and multiple other government appointees), Senate Democrats have grown some balls and opened a debate on should we curb the filibuster? Update: Dems pass a filibuster reform for appointees, requiring a simple majority now for most votes. Republicans are brain-dead livid. Sylvia Browne is dead, which contradicts yet another of her predictions. The clock is ticking, Steve. All those Likes sure made a difference! Joseph Kony is a) alive, b) ill with an unnamed but serious disease, and c) negotiating surrender with the Central African Republic. Of course James Watson is 16% black.  Before you call for food-stamp users to undergo drug tests, it's probably a good idea to make sure you aren't coked up to the eyeballs...  Have a holiday, living like the poor do in South Africa! Come and stay in a shantytown... with underfloor heating, hot running water, showers, meals provided ...just like the poor do! (Daily Fail report) On the scale of pareidolia to deliberate lulz, where is this? Another campus shooting in the US, This time at Liberty University, where concealed carry is allowed. Jerry Falwell Jr says the university is "prayerfully supporting all those impacted." The local CBS affiliate provides updates. Rightwing nut Larry Klayman calls for Second American Revolution, beginning in Washington DC! Turnout was less than expected. Not realising her vocal chords are an annex to her sphincter, Martin Bashir suggests someone should shit in Sarah Palin's mouth There's an active volcano under the ice in Antarctica and it could blow at any moment! The effects of any eruption can only be guessed at but could (but probably won't) raise sea-levels significantly. Don't have nightmares. Proof that not all Christians are hate filled homophobes Bumbling, former head of Co-op bank and Methodist minister apparently caught on video buying cocaine. George Zimmerman, arrested again. UPDATE: Standing his ground again Twenty years ago, Canuckstan came this close to imposing draconian abortion laws. (Bonus WTF: Conservative PM Brian Mulroney noted that a Cabinet committee made up of 19 men and 1 woman was probably not the best forum for a discussion on abortion policy. Duh?) Dick Cheney is a prick. America's 50 worst charities. How large a fruit basket should you send after accidentally beheading a guy from an allied militia and posting the video online due to a misunderstanding? I have no idea what any of this means, but the quantum memory 'world record' has been smashed "I’ve never said I wanted to eat her pussy. I would never do that. I'm happily married. I've got more than enough to eat at home." Yes, this quote exists. (Jon Stewart's reaction says it all.) UN lobbied to outlaw 'killer robots' via treaty

If you can't keep your election promises, Just delete them. Are hundreds of thousands of Christians dying for their faith? What's that law about headlines that take the form of a question? Canada might get a budget surplus. Remember those? Provide for the poor? Support Obamacare? Fuck you, socialists! We have a better use for public money! We're going to pay millions of dollars to a couple of billionaire sports team owners so they'll abandon their still fairly new stadiums and be our neighbors. Now THAT'S what we mean when we say "your tax dollars at work"! When Japan says your behaviour is weird... Texas' new anti-abortion law — which will reduce to about 20 the number of abortion clinics in a state of 26 million people — has necessitated the planned establishment of shuttle buses to take women to the clinics. One anti-abortion group is suggesting to its followers that they volunteer to be shuttle drivers so they can kidnap the women and take them to church instead. Upon being confronted about this, the group denies supporting that idea. (Wonder where they got that idea from?) Vision Forum Ministries is to close. (Note: "Vision Forum, Inc., the for-profit counterpart to Vision Forum Ministries, has made no similar statement.") Conservative Catholics are feeling left out now that their newfangled Pope is spending more time talking about love and charity and less time haranguing people about abortion. Illinois passes gay marriage and becomes the 15th US state to join the 21st century. Remember the Red Lobster waitress, who was left the n-word as a tip, and received $10,000 in donations instead? Turns out one handwriting analysis later, the client's suing the waitress and restaurant for defamation. Building contractor has dispute with local church. Local church has many members employed by the county government and district attorney's office. DA's office arrests and prosecutes contractor on trumped-up charges. No doubt because that's what Jesus would do. Tom Cruise: My work as an actor is as hard as fighting in Afghanistan I wish to propose an amendment&mdash;but first, a recess: Hawaii's House passes its marriage equality bill after a 12-hour debate, and sends it back to the state Senate (where it is expected to pass on Tuesday). 60 Minutes backpedals after pushing Benghazi conspiracy theories. (CBS, care to explain Threshold Editions? It seems Lara Logan is turning into a Dan Rather clone.) Update: Meanwhile, over at Faux News: crickets. Healthcare.gov's problems may be hacker related. Or maybe not. The European Court of Justice decides that being gay is a valid ground for asylum. The Bechdel test goes mainstream in Sweden The latest target of the Christian Right is Pat Robertson, yes Pat Robertson? Dubya scheduled to deliver the keynote speech for the Messianic Jewish Bible Institute which attempts to convert Jews to Christianity in order to bring about the Second Coming. Crack? Pahh, small stuff! Does this picture make me look racist? UPDATE: Finally, some coverage of the story. Update: More coverage from CBC. The War on Drugs hits a new bottom. Allegations of torture and war crimes in Afghanistan. School bus driver gets fired for leading prayer on a school bus. Things Rand Paul doesn't understand: "Personal responsibility." Pray you're not black and lost in Dearborn Heights. To TEPCO: If you screw up here... This will change Middle East diplomacy quite a bit. [http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2013/11/06/the_exciting_new_strategy_to_dismantle_obamacare_for_real_this_time.html GOP's new plan to dismantle Obamacare. Again.] Yasser Arafat may have been poisoned by Polonium-210.

Tea Party crazy boys, Ken Cuccinelli & EW Jackson get their asses handed to them by the Virginia electorate. Cue wails of "voter fraud!" any minute now. Saudi cleric declares fatwa against space travel to Mars. Hawaii police union chief tells state senate panel that he won't enforce proposed gay marriage law because he's a Christian: "You would have to kill me."

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford finally admits to using crack. It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is "I've been in a drunken stupor... You didn't ask the correct questions." UPDATE: What will go down as one of the dumbest political speeches of all time. The Koch brothers'-backed Astroturf group Americans for Prosperity is now throwing gobs of money at small-town political races because it would seem that there is no place too small and/or insignificant to warrant the attention of multi-billionaire puppet masters. [http://en.rocketnews24.com/2013/11/04/south-korea-busts-smugglers-for-diet-pills-containing-human-flesh-shocking/ Lose weight now! Ask Soylent Green how!] [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/bin-laden-has-won-they-confiscated-my-honey-outspoken-academic-richard-dawkins-in-airline-security-twitter-row-over-jar-of-honey-8919618.html They took my honey! It's the apocalypse!] In Iceland, elves are in the way. (Can't they just have them sprayed?) Toronto, WTF is wrong with you? Science trying to explain everything: Why hot water freezes faster than cold water. Apparently bored with school shootings, US-America tries airport shootings for a change. Update: There was no shooting, it was a hoax perpetrated by Zionist moles!