RationalWiki:What is going on in the world?/0005


 * New radiation-using lifeforms evolve at Chernobyl
 * Two men facing stiff prison sentences for aiding tax protesters in a stand off that threatened violence against US Marshalls should probably keep from ranting in court right? Nope a true crank never says die! and winds up with a 20 year federal prison sentence at the age of 22. UPDATE: The Judge says he was planning on giving less time but "this defendant displays an intent to continue his conduct and endanger the community."
 * Blocked websites at a US military base: RealClimate (a global warming site), Al Franken's senate race site, and AirAmerica. Still working: Rush Limbaugh's site, Drudge Report, WorldNetDaily.
 * KBR and the Bush administration support the troops so much that they ignore reports of them getting electrocuted in the shower.
 * Yeah, right John McCain... Obama's exactly like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears... right... UPDATE: Paris Hilton reacts by announcing her candidacy for President! "So thanks for the endorsement, white-haired dude!"
 * The preview for Bill Maher's new documentary: Religulous
 * HR5843 would decriminalize personal amounts of marijuana.
 * From the end of the Civil War, it took the House of Representatives 143 years to apologize for slavery and the Jim Crow laws that came after the war. Let's hope they don't take so long to deal with global warming.
 * The New York Times calls for expanded investigations into UFOs as part of the war on terror?
 * A series of tubes... carrying oil... to pay off Senator Ted Stevens.
 * Autism. Is it a serious psychological disorder requiring lifelong care, or is it just being a putz? Talk show host Michael Savage "reiterat[es] his long-standing concerns on public health issues."
 * McCain gets a spot on his face biopsied--not the sort of press voters want to see...
 * "Have I done something to offend?", cries Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr's campaign manager, in an e-mail to supporters begging for money. Will the right wing's Ralph Nader fail to make it out of the starting gate?
 * Is the media manufacturing a close US Presidential race for ratings?.
 * Baylor president John Lilley was fired after his decision to override departmental recommendations and deny tenure to a large number of faculty. Most of his decisions were later overturned. The dispute is tightly linked to Baylor's identity as a evangelical Christian college, Lilley was attempting to move away from the label and apparently the board of regents wants to move back. William Dembski was quick to gloat.
 * Ron Paul nutcases in Nevada held their own convention to elect delegates to the national convention. When Republican party officials refused to recognize the convention and instead plan to appoint John McCain delegates Paul supporters sued. On Friday, July 25th, the judge dismissed the suit saying it was an intra-party conflict. Paul backers promise to fight on.
 * <vote poll=world135 closed="yes">The Barack Obama story, as told in Biblespeak, DOUBLEPLUS LULZY!
 * <vote poll=world134 closed="yes">Failure to ratify a UN convention in 1982 leaves the US at a disadvantage over Arctic oil claims. The Bush administration is trying to catch up. Any chance they might also ratify the Mine Ban Treaty, Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, Convention on Discrimination against Women, Convention on the Rights of the Child, International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, Kyoto Protocol, Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention and Draft Proposal and re-sign the Statute of the International Criminal Court?
 * <vote poll=world133 closed="yes">In many countries around the world, college students get free tuition. Some even get paid a salary while in school.  In America, some college students must use food stamps and receive groceries from charity food banks to keep from starving.  Is that the sign of a great nation?
 * <vote poll=world132 closed="yes">The National Radio Hall of Fame opens up its induction processes to online polls and after much clicking fundamentalist James Dobson gets a winning ticket. The fact that Art Bell will be joining him is only fitting. Too bad Ron Paul didn't have a radio show or he would have smoked them all!
 * <vote poll=world131 closed="yes">The dangers of being "white"in Tanzania.
 * <vote poll=world130 closed="yes">As if Expelled wasn't enough, Ben Stein compares the Great Hopemonger with a really bad guy, Shame on you Ben Stein.
 * <vote poll=world129 closed="yes">The recent drop in oil prices per barrel, McCain says that it's due to Bush's stance on offshore drilling. It has nothing to do with the U.S. economy in full-blown recession, or possibly flirting with depression.  Remember, it's all in our heads.
 * <vote poll=world128 closed="yes">In a show of solidarity with their friendly rival, Vanity Fair lampoons The New Yorker's previous controversial cover. Let's see what the media has to say about this!
 * <vote poll=world127 closed="yes">The perils of fad detox diets. (And the advantages of having a well-paid-up liability insurance policy?)
 * <vote poll=world126 closed="yes">"Modern war crimes are increasingly being tried." Furthermore, "Heads of state are no longer immune. General amnesties are no longer accepted unquestioned."  Hmmm.
 * <vote poll=world125 closed="yes">Even in Hollywood, quality suffers as the rich get richer while the less powerful struggle to get along.
 * <vote poll=world124 closed="yes">A Jewish scholar has found what he believes to be proof that God is a s/he. That takes a bit off the homophobic case...
 * <vote poll=world123 closed="yes">The U.K.'s Channel 4 is reprimanded for a biased documentary about global warming in which contributors were misled. Now where have we heard that before?
 * <vote poll=world121 closed="yes">Newsweek's cover story (28 July 2008 issue): An in-depth essay about an assertive gay teen who was murdered on 12 February 2008.
 * <vote poll=world120 closed="yes">The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Monday released a proposal that allows any federal grant recipient to obstruct a woman's access to contraception by redefining many methods of contraception as abortion.
 * <vote poll=world119 closed="yes">The media's coverage of Barack Obama is snarkier but more abundant than its coverage of John McCain. So, naturally, some people think this is unfair to McCain.
 * <vote poll=world118 closed="yes">Expelled to be re-released... if "re-released" means shown to groups who prepay in advance.
 * <vote poll=world117 closed="yes">Alleged Bush assassination plot foiled; Cheney upset at missing the presidency.
 * <vote poll=world116 closed="yes">Al Gore takes on the energy crisis and issues a challenge. Will the candidates (and the American people) listen?
 * <vote poll=world115 closed="yes">Fundies want John McCain to talk more about his faith because "it's what our nation was founded on."
 * <vote poll=world114 closed="yes">Michael Savage once again raises the bar for intelligent discourse.
 * <vote poll=world113 closed="yes">Reuters headline: "U.S. still flunks health care test, report finds.  Americans more likely to die of treatable illnesses despite high spending."  (That's because we're so free and self-sufficient.)
 * <vote poll=world112 closed="yes">Is McCain funny? Who cares? We just want him to shut the fuck up.
 * <vote poll=world111 closed="yes">English football (soccer) club Manchester City hope to produce some sparkling performances in the coming 2008-09 season.
 * <vote poll=world110 closed="yes">Thanks to free trade agreements, America has outsourced most of its manufacturing jobs to the Third World. Even journalists have been outsourced.  Sociologists believe that we now have a "service economy" where we mostly sell imported crap to each other.  Surely, if this is so, you'd think that at least menial customer service jobs would be safe.
 * <vote poll=world109 closed="yes">At last, the lighter side of the 2008 US Presidential Election.
 * <vote poll=world108 closed="yes">PZ Myers has weapon of (cyber) gun.
 * <vote poll=world107 closed="yes">Possibly in an attempt to make up for the debacle over the previous FISA bill, Congress overrides Bush's veto on a recent Medicare bill.
 * <vote poll=world106 closed="yes">If you are a third-world despot, you can make a six-digit bribe "donation" to Dubya's presidential library. In exchange, you might get to meet The Prince of Darkness or Condi.  In exchange, they'll tell people that you aren't so bad. (At least, not when compared to Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot.  No fooling.)  Meanwhile, the terrorist watch list has passed one million names.  Guess they forgot to make their bribes "donations."
 * <vote poll=world105 closed="yes">In addition to flip-flopper and Dubya clone, McCain can now add hypocrite to his list of titles as he, an adoptive father, opposes adoption rights for gays.
 * <vote poll=world104 closed="yes">It's official! Science and math classes are harder than the arts and humanities.
 * <vote poll=world103 closed="yes">How to improve attendance at church weekend youth conference: have a teen gun giveaway!
 * <vote poll=world102 closed="yes">Guess what. Bush covered something up. Surprise.
 * <vote poll=world101 closed="yes">George W. Bush: self-declared "world's biggest polluter". He just doesn't care what anyone thinks anymore, does he?
 * <vote poll=world100 closed="yes">Frankincense and Mirth: Is that psychoactive smoke wafting through the pews?
 * <vote poll=world99 closed="yes">You know the U.S. economy is crap when the value of an American life drops by $1 million. How this became actual news is quite frightening.
 * <vote poll=world98 closed="yes">The new reason to call poison control: Too much caffeine from energy drinks.
 * <vote poll=world97 closed="yes">Has Osama bin Laden's desire to send the U.S. into a permanent economic decline succeeded?  (Thanks for nothing, George.)
 * <vote poll=world96 closed="yes">UPDATE!  The cracker has been safely returned to the Church.
 * <vote poll=world95 closed="yes">
 * <vote poll=world94 closed="yes">CNN's election center poll (below the pictures of Obama and McCain) defies statistics as it "does not have a sampling error."
 * <vote poll=world93 closed="yes">Wow, that evil disagreeable Senate certainly caved fast. Add one more thing to the list of rights and freedoms Americans used to enjoy.
 * <vote poll=world92 closed="yes">In Wisconsin, an old, obscure law forbids eloping across state lines to avoid certain marriage prohibitions if the couple intends to return to live in Wisconsin.  The law was originally meant to prohibit underage and mixed-race marriages.  Guess who the law is being used against now.
 * <vote poll=world91 closed="yes">NSW Government passes laws to prevent people from annoying World Youth Day participants, as a result it is now happening.
 * <vote poll=world90 closed="yes">Research casts new light on the diverse nature of 1st century BC Jewish beliefs, sparks debate over origins of Christianity.
 * <vote poll=world89 closed="yes">The Department of Homeland Security wants to replace airline boarding passes with hospital-like ID bracelets.  These bracelets would be equipped a chip with all your personal information.  Oh, and these bracelets will also be equipped with a built-in Taser!
 * <vote poll=world88 closed="yes">Today's American conservativism didn't start with Barry Goldwater in 1964.  It is the coalescence of several small, obscure, mostly white racist Protestant movements that date back at least to the 1920s.
 * <vote poll=world87 closed="yes">Believer-turned-Atheist US Soldier claims US military "has become a Christian organization", and is suing for religious discrimination.
 * <vote poll=world86 closed="yes">How many Viagras, Oxys and underaged third-world hookers can one man buy with $400 million over the next eight years?  We're about to find out.
 * <vote poll=world85 closed="yes">A thinly veiled, steamy sex novel about Dubya and Pickles!
 * <vote poll=world84 closed="yes">From The Progressive magazine:  Farmers worldwide are growing more food, yet hunger is on the rise because of "A Shortage of Democracy, Not Food."
 * <vote poll=world83 closed="yes">Proving that American politics has lost all semblance of sanity, a new poll shows McCain leading Obama in the much coveted "pet owners demographic". The more significant thing is that the pundits at Yahoo actually went through the trouble to make a national poll of pet owners.
 * <vote poll=world82 closed="yes">World leaders, notably British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, spark outrage by having 6-course lunch and 8-course dinner at the G8 summit, where the international food crisis tops the agenda.
 * <vote poll=world81 closed="yes">Former "red state" Montana is now "blue" and it's even significant.
 * <vote poll=world80 closed="yes">Christine Comer, former Texas education official fired for forwarding an apparently biased pro-evolution e-mail, is set to sue the Texas Education Association.
 * <vote poll=world79 closed="yes">Consumption of gasoline will (likely) drop for the first time in 17 years and may result in a new paradigm in American fuel consumption.
 * <vote poll=world78 closed="yes">Sydney's sex workers prepare for Pope's visit.  OK, they're really preparing for the increase in tourists coming to see the Pope, but that's still a great headline.
 * <vote poll=world77 closed="yes">A new law in Texas requires every computer repair technician to obtain a private investigator's license -  or face a fine of up to $4,000, or even spend a year in jail.
 * <vote poll=world76 closed="yes">Obama and McCain give their views on patriotism.
 * <vote poll=world75 closed="yes">Princess Wijdan Al Hashemi and Aliki Moschis-Gauguet create a traveling art exhibition to erase U.S. stereotypes of Muslim women. No doubt the FBI are now busily at work trying to get them into Gitmo.
 * <vote poll=world74 closed="yes">A so-called Christian news website called OneNewsNow.com ("Your News Right Now") has a zero-tolerance policy towards the word "gay."  OneNewsNow uses automated software that replaces the word "gay" with the word "homosexual" in every news story.  So, when athlete Tyson Gay ran the 100-meter in 9.68 seconds. . . .
 * <vote poll=world73 closed="yes">The U.S. finally decides that Nelson Mandela is not a terrorist. Perhaps in 40 years we'll be told one or two people at Camp X-Ray aren't terrorists either.
 * <vote poll=world72 closed="yes">Expelled makes a whopping $24,374 in its opening weekend in Canada.  Like, all of Canada.
 * <vote poll=world71 closed="yes">Citizen informant program rolled out in Colorado.
 * <vote poll=world70 closed="yes">Obama states that he will continue some of Bush's faith-based programs, no doubt causing many of his supporters to become a little worried.
 * <vote poll=world69 closed="yes">A Federal Appeals Court has ruled that South Dakota's Controversial abortion law is perfectly legal, stating that Planned Parenthood could not prove that forcing doctors to tell women "that the abortion will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being." and informing them that they have a right to continue a pregnancy, that abortion may cause women psychological harm and possibly thoughts of suicide is untruthful, misleading or irrelevant to the woman's decision. Rounding out the stupidity, the court found that the information required to be given is biological in nature, and Planned Parenthood did not show the information is ideological.
 * <vote poll=world68 closed="yes">Robert Mugabe is sworn in as president after winning a fraudulent and illegal election.
 * <vote poll=world67 closed="yes">McCain, the man who has flip-flopped several times on a number of issues, says that Obama's word cannot be trusted. Whatever you say, Johnny-boy.
 * <vote poll=world66 closed="yes">Not only does the Federal Government want to record our phone calls and electronic messaging, they want to know when someone is contemplating suicide.  (Play the video on this website.)  If a suicidal person calls the federal government's hotline, they'll send the cops.  The feds offer no guarantee that the call will be kept confidential.
 * <vote poll=world65 closed="yes"> Louisiana passes an anti-evolution "academic freedom" bill, allowing their teachers the academic freedom to violate the Constitution. On the bright side, now the Flat Earth Society and the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster can finally get their time in the science classroom!
 * <vote poll=world64 closed="yes">Have no fear, exorcism is still legal in Texas
 * <vote poll=world63 closed="yes">Mere hours after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of guns, the NRA is suing to overturn other gun bans in San Fransisco and Chicago
 * <vote poll=world62 closed="yes">Happy birthday, Nelson Mandela! Here's wishing him a happy 90th and hoping for many more years of good work from him.
 * <vote poll=world61 closed="yes">Breaking: There could be no ice at the North Pole this summer, according to polar scientists!
 * <vote poll=world60 closed="yes">I can haz weapon of handgun in DC? Individual freedom protected in the land of the trigger-happy....
 * <vote poll=world59 closed="yes">Despite opposition from the entire world, Robert Mugabe plans to continue with an illegal political event. Sound familiar?  UPDATE:  Some people believe that Mugabe wants to die in office, and that he doesn't care who gets killed in the process.  Let's just hope that doesn't end up sounding familiar.
 * <vote poll=world58 closed="yes">NBC settles a lawsuit resulting from a suicide caused by "To Catch a Predator."
 * <vote poll=world57 closed="yes">The US Supreme Court has ruled against execution for child rape.  Here to prove that pandering is universal, both Obama and Mccain have gone on the record disagreeing.
 * <vote poll=world56 closed="yes">Any corporation that would hire a psychic would have to be run by crackpots.  So if you call yourself an "intuitionist," you can charge $10,000 per month per company, and the public and the shareholders will never know.
 * <vote poll=world55 closed="yes">The U.S. Justice Department:  Lefties need not apply.
 * <vote poll=world54 closed="yes">What would be the best thing for John McCain's candidacy?  Another terrorist attack!  (Look at the end of paragraph 4.)
 * <vote poll=world53 closed="yes">On the 24 June broadcast of Focus On The Family, Dr. James Dobson will accuse Barack Obama of distorting the Bible and of having a "fruitcake interpretation" of the Constitution.
 * <vote poll=world52 closed="yes">The apocalypse is coming. God has been arrested.
 * <vote poll=world51 closed="yes">Conservative journalist David Freddoso (he of Swift Boat Veterans for Hating on John Kerry) is at it again with his plans for an anti-Obama book.
 * <vote poll=world50 closed="yes">Do not miss your opportunity to join the public flogging of creationist Ken Ham!
 * <vote poll=world49 closed="yes">The Ohio teacher who got in trouble for not removing a Bible from his desk may have a harder time explaining this one away - the school board confirmed he was burning crosses into his students' arms.
 * <vote poll=world48 closed="yes">Try your hand at Intelligent Design with the Spore Creature Creator.
 * <vote poll=world47 closed="yes">Sodertalje, Sweden has taken in more Iraqi refugees than the United States and Canada combined.  And the Swedes are pretty disgusted about the situation.
 * <vote poll=world46 closed="yes">In March, an 11-year-old girl in Wisconsin was allowed to die of a treatable form of diabetes.  A few days later, a 15-month-old baby girl in Oregon was also allowed to die from a treatable condition.  Both states had newly enacted child-endangerment laws targeted at faith-healing parents.  On 17 June, the 16-year-old cousin of the Oregon girl -- whose parents attend the same faith-healing church -- died of a treatable bladder infection.  (Initial news reports stated that as many as 60 members from the church were in the house praying when the boy died.)  Unfortunately, there may be no charges in this case.  The boy was two years older than the age of consent to refuse medical treatment.  Ironically, a few hours before his death, his little cousin's parents were indicted for the death of their child.
 * <vote poll=world45 closed="yes">The Associated Press is on track to set standards as to what bloggers can and can't quote.
 * <vote poll=world44 closed="yes">A leading candidate for McCain's VP position "supports creationism as part of ‘the very best science’."
 * <vote poll=world43 closed="yes">When the conservative evangelical supporter and biographer of Bush and DeLay writes a pro-Obama book, you can just hear the winds of change blowing.
 * <vote poll=world42 closed="yes">Historians see little chance for John McCain this November. But this is like those "economists," right, who declared his gas tax holiday and support of the Bush tax cuts ineffective, troublesome and blatant pandering? He doesn't listen to them either...
 * <vote poll=world41 closed="yes">See?  Religion and evolution aren't incompatible.
 * <vote poll=world40 closed="yes">Prayer saves? Oh no it doesn't!
 * <vote poll=world39 closed="yes">Obama speaks on giving the middle class tax cuts, among other horrible things. The humanity!
 * <vote poll=world38 closed="yes">Is M. Night Shyamalan's new movie The Happening Hollywood's first blockbuster to promote Intelligent Design?
 * <vote poll=world37 closed="yes">Not really in the spirit of the section, but "God makes you thick", say boffins.
 * <vote poll=world36 closed="yes">Texas GOP delegates turn their attention to the world's real problems: Nude statues in the National Museum of Art.
 * <vote poll=world35 closed="yes">Not content with censoring television and movies, Brent Bozell has now turned his sights on another horrible evil of the world: freak dancing
 * <vote poll=world34 closed="yes">If you're going to use "scared straight" tactics on teenagers, don't do this!
 * <vote poll=world33 closed="yes">Guantanamo detainees have rights?! Uncanny!
 * <vote poll=world32 closed="yes">Both foresight on Obama's part and a kick in the nuts to the Right, as he gears up to fight smear campaigns.
 * <vote poll=world31 closed="yes">Give a billion monkeys a billion typewriters to pound on and eventually they'll produce all the works of Shakespeare.  Give a few wingnuts access to the internet and eventually they'll devise Carbon Belch Day.
 * <vote poll=world30 closed="yes">Could this proof of the mythical Unicorn? Nope, sorry.. just a little random mutation
 * <vote poll=world29 closed="yes">Obama may want to be president of 57 states, but (gasp!) McCain will veto beer.
 * <vote poll=world28 closed="yes">"Bush says he regrets tough guy talk on war" - it's a little too late now, George.
 * <vote poll=world27 closed="yes"> The Southern Baptist Convention believes that the autonomy of local churches is more important than weeding out sexually abusive clergy.
 * <vote poll=world26 closed="yes">But what is the meaning of this?
 * <vote poll=world25 closed="yes">Is this a first? The same article on CP and RW's front pages, but it makes an important point: Wikis can be nasty places that attract nasty people. Be careful out there.
 * <vote poll=world24 closed="yes">A former Bush Administration education official admits that NCLB was hijacked by the proponents of privatization.
 * <vote poll=world23 closed="yes">Some argue it's time to legally recognize the bond of friendship! As in, friends with benefits.  But not that kind, silly.
 * <vote poll=world22 closed="yes">A former BBC fact-checker has revealed Darwin 'ripped off' theory of evolution!  It gets better! He wants to rename a major city, as well!
 * <vote poll=world21 closed="yes">Could this be true?  Just as Obama clinches the nomination, the punditocracy notices that McCain's mind may not be all there!  (Includes 7 1/2 minute video clip.)
 * <vote poll=world20 closed="yes">That proteins look like Chinese characters, is evidence of ID.  (Don't they know enzymes are three dimensional? Or about false analogies?)
 * <vote poll=world19 closed="yes">Gee, the Grand Canyon is older than 5,000 years old.  Go figure.
 * <vote poll=world18 closed="yes">E-mail your friends and family from Heaven.
 * <vote poll=world17 closed="yes">Yet another reason to allow gay marriage: It's good for business
 * <vote poll=world16 closed="yes">How small of a caliber can you make a bullet? Airport security thinks that it can go sub-atomic!
 * <vote poll=world15 closed="yes">A three-fer from MSNBC.com: (1) A tattooed faith healer; (2) Some Amish think that God prefers outhouses; (3) Today Show video of couple who say they prayed away 551 pounds after several failed diets.
 * <vote poll=world14 closed="yes">A great day for freedom of speech in Britain.
 * <vote poll=world13 closed="yes">Republican party identity crumbles.
 * <vote poll=world12 closed="yes">Anybody who thinks that America's Civil War ended in 1865 should read this (PDF).
 * <vote poll=world11 closed="yes">PZ Myers has taken note, so it must be important: take a look at "Carnival of the Elitist Bastards" #1, and search for the RationalWiki editor submissions! Also, check out these all-too-true translations, also taken note of by PZ.
 * <vote poll=world10 closed="yes">Catholic sexism at its best.