RationalWiki:What is going on in the world?/June 2011

June 2011
Swedish Preschool takes a hands-on approach to gender equality. Using words that indicate gender is frowned upon. And that's not even half of it. ""A concrete example could be when they're playing 'house' and the role of the mom already is taken and they start to squabble," she says. "Then we suggest two moms or three moms and so on."". Apparently, it has a long waiting list... Barack Obama, at long last, tells Congress where to shove the partisan bickering: My daughters can finish work on time better than you! August 2010: Obama declares that combat in Iraq is done. Almost a year later, someone should tell the people still shooting at US soldiers. Hacking Peter to pay, um yourself. Joe Ratzinger joins the Twitter community. Amen. Federal Election Commission allows Stephen Colbert to "build a better tomorrow, tomorrow."

"Sweat lodge" shyster James Arthur Ray convicted of negligent homicide.

Sarah Palin finally sees the beginning of her own movie, that starts with criticisms like Matt Damon comparing Palin's campaign to a "really bad Disney movie", and states "What would make a celebrity, like you saw on screen, so hate someone that they'd seek their destruction, their death, the death of their children?" Glenn Beck encounters a hostile situation at Bryant Park in New York where he was denounced and wine spilled on his wifes dress. Beck tries to spin it as a vicious violent attack by hate filled Progressive scumbaggers. Religion more popular among people who've been hit on the head French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde becomes the new IMF chief. Jim DeMint fails math. Primatologists and advertising executives team up to investigate the effects of (sexually explicit) advertising on monkeys. The hype surrounding natural gas. In a 7-2 decision, SCOTUS declares video games protected speech. (RW takes no responibility for the extremely broken layout of the linked website) The International Criminal Court in the Hague issues a warrant for Brother Leader's arrest. US Airways clarifies its dress code for passengers: Sagging pants are still a no-go. Men wearing nothing but women's underwear: welcome aboard!

Gay marriage is legalized in New York State. <vote poll=world3738 closed="yes">Glenn Beck raises hopes threatens to quit and raise horses if The Onion wins a Pulitzer. People have started writing letters encouraging the committee to give The Onion a prize. <vote poll=world3737 closed="yes">House of Reps: We're against military action in Libya, but keep funding it! (Because we Support the TroopsTM!)

<vote poll=world3736 closed="yes">"Just one more thing..." Peter Falk, 83, dies. <vote poll=world3735 closed="yes">What does the "Church" of Scientology have in common with Richard Nixon? Why, an enemies list, of course!

<vote poll=world3734 closed="yes">Conservative blogger John Hugh Gilmore defends the land of the free from evil Muslims! Well, not quite... <vote poll=world3733 closed="yes">Creationist bill stymied in Louisiana. <vote poll=world3732 closed="yes">And I say what about Breakfast at Tiffany's? She says I, think I'll, charge it to Newt <vote poll=world3731 closed="yes">Some punk greatly improved the Monument to the Soviet Army in Sofia, causing a minor diplomatic incident. (More pictures here.) <vote poll=world3730 closed="yes">Yay! We kicked out all the illegal immigrants who take our jobs! Yay! Wait, what now? [http://blogs.ajc.com/jay-bookman-blog/2011/06/17/gas-farm-labor-crisis-playing-out-as-planned/ We've got no-one to do the work, and have destroyed our crop harvest?! Nooo!] <vote poll=world3729 closed="yes">First her governorship, now Sarah Palin quits her bus tour at the halfway stage. <vote poll=world3728 closed="yes">Cue "French fried" jokes... <vote poll=world3727 closed="yes">Newt Gingrich's claim to be a professor at National Defense University and longest-serving teacher of the Joint War Fighting course turns out to be false. Sorry Newt, guest speaking and an honorific title doesn't change the past. <vote poll=world3726 closed="yes">Noted socialist bond king Bill Gross of PIMCO fame calls for a second stimulus. <vote poll=world3725 closed="yes">"a twist government number crunchers say they discovered only after the complex bill was signed." Looks like the healthcare bill was too long after all <vote poll=world3724 closed="yes">NBC drops "under god" from the pledge during the US Open golf tourney, wingnuts predictably flip out. Shouldn't we respect the "original intent" of Francis Bellamy? <vote poll=world3723 closed="yes">Obama impersonator thrown off stage at a Republican meeting - Anthony Weiner jokes; fair game. Obama's race and Mitt Romney's Mormonism; a little near the knuckle. Michele Bachmann and the Tea Party; GET OFF! <vote poll=world3722 closed="yes"> Jon Stewart knowingly walks into an ambush by Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday. <vote poll=world3721 closed="yes"> Willkommen in Hallstatt, Austria China. <vote poll=world3720 closed="yes">The production company behind Ben Stein’s ‘[[Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed]’ has a sequel to its intellectual bankruptcy: financial bankruptcy.] <vote poll=world3719 closed="yes">Lulz Security writes a letter to the internet.

<vote poll=world3718 closed="yes">The Dalai Lama walks into a pizza shop... <vote poll=world3717 closed="yes">Just another rational day in the Middle East. Jerusalem rabbis 'condemn dog to death by stoning' for being the "reincarnation of a deceased secular lawyer who had insulted religious judges". Update: Jerusalem court denies dog condemned to stoning <vote poll=world3716 closed="yes">The Sarah Palin e-mail leak shows that she is at an eighth-grade writing level. To which we can only reply: If eighth-graders write like that, there is something seriously wrong with the schools. <vote poll=world3715 closed="yes">Rasmussen reports that 83% of republican voters will vote for the candidate the party puts forward no matter who it is, and 93% of the Tea Party will vote for the GOP. It could be a head of cabbage or Grigori Rasputin, which saddens anyone with more brain cells then teeth. <vote poll=world3714 closed="yes">Michele Bachmann states she believes that schools should be required to teach intelligent design by the federal government in a republican leadership conference. The sentence before stating federal government should be as minimally involved in "local education" as possible. <vote poll=world3713 closed="yes">Disabled people should work for less than the minimum wage because it 'would help some disabled people to compete more effectively for jobs in “the real world” in which they are “by definition” less productive than workers without disabilities.' Philip Davies Champion of disability rights KBE (Knob of the British Empire). <vote poll=world3712 closed="yes">"The goal of the present study was to analyse the epidemiology and specific risk factors of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the Asterix illustrated comic books." <vote poll=world3711 closed="yes">You're a fundamentalist frustrated that creationists ain't got street creds, so you earn a doctorate despite your beliefs. That's what propagandist geologists are doing. <vote poll=world3710 closed="yes">If you thought US frat boys were right-wing douchebags, wait 'til you see their German counterparts. <vote poll=world3709 closed="yes">Electronic cat ears that reacts to your mood: "The fluffy headwear reads the users' brain activity, and generates a matching expression; the ears perk up when they concentrate or flop down when users enter a relaxed state of mind". Guess the country of origin… <vote poll=world3708 closed="yes">Feeling roasted (geddit?), Anthony Weiner resigns. (Bonus: Is Weiner the next Eliot Spitzer? Speculation about a cable news spot has already started.) <vote poll=world3707 closed="yes">The gay marriage bill in New York state now heads to the state senate which may deadlock on the issue. Meanwhile, the possibility of the bill's passage is bringing out local nutzoid celebrities, like the former NY Giants wide receiver who says that gay marriage will lead to anarchy. <vote poll=world3706 closed="yes">Life imitating art: Tatooine-esque planet discovered.

<vote poll=world3705 closed="yes">The U.S. government, which has had much slop thrown at it recently for "financing repressive regimes," is for some unfathomable reason clandestinely financing "stealth Internets" to help dissenters topple said repressive regimes. <vote poll=world3704 closed="yes">Marriage for gays? No! Divorce for gays? Sure, we can do that! <vote poll=world3703 closed="yes">A certain Minnesota nutjob, in a move that may have surprised three people somewhere in Timbuktu, has announced a bid for the presidency. <vote poll=world3702 closed="yes">[http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jun/12/pratchett-starts-process-to-end-his-life?CMP=twt_gu That's mortals for you, Death continued. They've only got a few years in this world and they spend them all in making things complicated for themselves. ]

<vote poll=world3701 closed="yes">Sarah Palin's e-mails released by the Alaskan government. Whilst headdesks are heard nationwide, Faux News doubles down.

<vote poll=world3700 closed="yes">The climate conference in Bonn sees a rift between developed and emerging economies. <vote poll=world3699 closed="yes">An update on the Department of Education SWAT story as corrections are issued. (Bonus: DoE "stormtroopers" are still driving the cranks crazy, though.) <vote poll=world3698 closed="yes">Wall Street whines over mortgage regulation.

<vote poll=world3697 closed="yes">Noted doctor Russell Crowe joins in the circumcision debate. <vote poll=world3696 closed="yes">Tired of trying to run a campaign without a candidate, Newt Gingrich's advisers quit. Let's see if running a campaign without a staff will work better.

<vote poll=world3694 closed="yes">[http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/wintour-and-watt/2011/jun/07/margaretthatcher-sarahpalin "Lady Thatcher will not be seeing Sarah Palin. That would be belittling for Margaret. Sarah Palin is nuts." ]

<vote poll=world3693 closed="yes">Announcing Blackwater: the video game! <vote poll=world3692 closed="yes">Gay Day, Gay Day, Gay Day!

<vote poll=world3691 closed="yes">Senior al-Qaeda operative Ilyas Kashmiri is killed in a drone strike. <vote poll=world3690 closed="yes">In a weekend of seemingly inexhaustible stupidity from Sarah Palin, she claims that the “Statue of Liberty” was a gift from all Europeans (not just the French) to warn Americans not to make the same mistake they made during a fundraiser in Modesto, CA.

<vote poll=world3689 closed="yes">The Republicans and their Golden Calf. <vote poll=world3688 closed="yes">After a great deal of Palin related news this weekend, Fox posts a picture of Tina Fey as Sara Palin during a news segment. Comments on the story below absolve Fox of any mistakes, and state that it was a liberals fault. <vote poll=world3687 closed="yes">In order to get away from inconvenient things like reality, supporters have started editing Wikipedia in order to make Palin's recent comments concerning Paul Revere "historically accurate." David Weigel, reporting on it, displays his sublime research skills by claiming that the Palin supporters added a sentence that actually dates to 2007.

<vote poll=world3685 closed="yes">The House wants accountability from Obama over Libya. <vote poll=world3684 closed="yes">VISA, Mastercard and PayPal continue to shun Wikileaks, but you can use them just fine to donate to the Ku Klux Klan. <vote poll=world3683 closed="yes">Goldbugs rising. <vote poll=world3682 closed="yes">Add another pol to the sex scandal list: John Edwards.

<vote poll=world3681 closed="yes">Dr. Death... er... dies. <vote poll=world3680 closed="yes">American history - Sarah Palin style. <vote poll=world3679 closed="yes">The UK government will take peak oil seriously. <vote poll=world3678 closed="yes">Japan's Prime Minister vows to step down...at some point. <vote poll=world3677 closed="yes">GOP to public: We're gonna get SeriousTM and have an Adult ConversationTM about the debt ceiling. GOP to Wall Street: Nah, just kidding, we're totally fuckin' around. <vote poll=world3676 closed="yes">Palin's bus tour "could be in breach of federal law." Hell, at least this time she's taking the bus. <vote poll=world3675 closed="yes">To quote Bill Hicks: "We're fighting a war... and the stoned people are winning!" <vote poll=world3674 closed="yes">Fighting the stereotype threat in math and science. <vote poll=world3673 closed="yes">Libyan oil minister defects.