RationalWiki:What is going on in the world?/September 2010

September 2010
No pressure, just don't fucking lose  An assistant attorney general should always act in a manner becoming a government official. Apparently, stalking an openly gay student council president and cyberbullying him is perfectly acceptable, as he hasn't been fired yet.  Cycling superstar Alberto Contador tests positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Goodbye Tony Curtis, your life was indeed a very "Sweet Smell of Success." Some Europeans are still hanging onto the gravy train for dear life, even though it's about to crash into a mountainside. A Goldilocks planet is found only 20 light years away. James O'Keefe, the amateur journalist annoying twerp who made the ACORN videos apparently wanted to trick a CNN reporter into making something resembling a sex tape. No, it's not an article from The Onion, India is actually employing monkeys to help out at the Commonwealth Games. Sir Tim Berners-Lee is worried about the swathe of new restrictive Internet laws. Time magazine is appalled at the result of an "economic literacy test" among high-schoolers: "only one in six understood that over the long run stocks should generate higher returns than savings bonds." Now if we can just undelude this sixth, we'll be sitting pretty.

ANC MP & SA Communist Party GenSec, Blade Nzimande: “ [there is a huge liberal offensive against our democracy. The print media is the biggest perpetrator of this liberal thinking.”] Perhaps liberals will now face up to the fact that communists are not their friends. Think that the little guy having too much say over "democracy?" Never fear, SuperPACs are here! John Sweeney is heading back to the US for a BBC Panorama special on the 'Secrets of Scientology' - three years after his infamous "exploding tomato" outburst. Who knows the most about religion - we Atheists do! The campaign against blasphemy mutually disrespecful offensiveness continues in the U.K.: Six Britons arrested on suspicion of burning the Qur'an. PZ Myers is not happy. One for the irony department: [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-11416654 Man who made millions on bringing the Segway to the UK dies after... er... driving one of them over a cliff.]

<vote poll=world2094 closed="yes">Scary times. The first computer worm that specifically targets secure infrastructure, and may well have been sponsored by a nation state, rather than a bunch of script-kiddies. (More geeky information at Wired.)

<vote poll=world2091 closed="yes">Cloudy days sweeping the sun away. <vote poll=world2090 closed="yes">While obese children tend to have a hard time with friends and schoolmates, many receive harsher treatment at home. <vote poll=world2089 closed="yes">US executes "borderline disabled" grandmother. Think the death penalty is a good idea? So do DR Congo, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran and China - the only countries to execute more of their citizens than the US. <vote poll=world2088 closed="yes">Least accurate use of the word "most" ever: Barking lunatic, conspiracy theorist, and President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tells UN Assembly "most people" believe the US was behind the 9/11 attacks. <vote poll=world2087 closed="yes">Joaquin Phoenix has given up acting to be a hip hop singer in order to act in a documentary about him pretending top be a hip-hop singer. <vote poll=world2086 closed="yes">The problem with school text books in Texas - pro-Islam bias <vote poll=world2085 closed="yes">A computer glitch delays your salary for a little while, it's an issue we'll all face at some point. Yet when it happens to people who earn more in a month than most people earn in a year, sympathy isn't the first thing that comes to mind. <vote poll=world2084 closed="yes">You still don't have the right to bear arms, eh. <vote poll=world2083 closed="yes">Here's all the words Google Instant doesn't like you searching for... just in case you're wondering. NSFW! <vote poll=world2082 closed="yes">And just in case you thought Catholic priests are getting a bum rap Part 2: Episcopalian bishop asked to step down over allegations he covered up abuse. <vote poll=world2081 closed="yes">"Catholic Church should allow priests to marry," say three Belgian priests involved in a sex scandal. <vote poll=world2080 closed="yes">Clothes in a Can! Coming soon to a store near you! <vote poll=world2079 closed="yes">How cool is Terry Pratchett? So cool he made his own sword out of meteorite iron after he was knighted. <vote poll=world2078 closed="yes">New Claim! Human error sank the Titanic! Whole world goes, "Duh!" <vote poll=world2077 closed="yes">Rest in peace one more of the unspoken 'colonials' who risked everything to fight facism <vote poll=world2076 closed="yes"> Update: Surprise, surprise, he's fighting the allegations. <vote poll=world2075 closed="yes">The LHC seems to have seen something "unusual" - Guido Tonelli explains "We claim only that we have seen something unusual and we want the scientific community to criticise us, to understand if we did things correctly or if we did something wrong." <vote poll=world2074 closed="yes">The parting of the Red Sea may really have happened. How? Strong winds. Makes a change from hot air. <vote poll=world2073 closed="yes">Treating dementia will cost a world-wide total of £388bn for 2010. And could increase by 85% by 2030. <vote poll=world2072 closed="yes">2010 is the officially the deadliest year in the Afghan war. Well, for NATO troops anyway. Who cares about the locals.

<vote poll=world2070 closed="yes">Just in case you thought Catholic priests are getting a bum rap, Lutherans are doing it too. <vote poll=world2069 closed="yes">Jimmy Carter and Ted Kennedy still having at it. <vote poll=world2068 closed="yes">A dark day for perverts everywhere. <vote poll=world2067 closed="yes">Some neurological evidence suggests that "people who think too much about whether they're right" may have differences in their brains. (As reported in Science ) <vote poll=world2066 closed="yes">10,000 Brits give the Pope the welcome he deserves. <vote poll=world2065 closed="yes">Public school reform claims another childhood memory. <vote poll=world2064 closed="yes">Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert will hold rallies in Washington on October 30th. <vote poll=world2063 closed="yes">[http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HackedIrl/~3/izMSSmxN7Ok/ Best. Real life. Hack. Ever.] <vote poll=world2062 closed="yes">Who let him out? It's not like this guy doesn't have a history. Phillip strikes again. <vote poll=world2061 closed="yes">The pope compares extremist atheists to Nazis. No, really. <vote poll=world2060 closed="yes">This year saw some of the most rapid ice melting in the artic and 2010 is on track to be the warmest year on record - but 2007 saw a smaller summer ice sheet, so that means global warming is still a hoax, right? <vote poll=world2059 closed="yes">Cardinal Walter Kasper calls the UK a "third world country". 9 out of 10 Daily Mail readers (see "best rated" comments) agree. <vote poll=world2058 closed="yes">Science continues vital work for the progress of mankind. <vote poll=world2057 closed="yes">Worried about negative sentiment against the Pope in the United Kingdom, the Vatican goes on a charm offensive. <vote poll=world2056 closed="yes">The IUCN Red list can get stuffed, it's endangered languages that are important! <vote poll=world2055 closed="yes">A.S.A. spoilsports <vote poll=world2054 closed="yes">High-fructose corn syrup has a bad reputation. We'd like to change the name to "corn sugar" so people will stop blaming us start taking responsibility for their obesity and diabetes. <vote poll=world2053 closed="yes">Obama to schoolchildren: "Nobody can write your destiny but you." He apparently forgot to read up on the laws of physics; particularly how brains follow them rather than write them. <vote poll=world2052 closed="yes"> The San Luis police department apparently takes Rule 71 of the Internet seriously, which violates Rule 20: nothing is to be taken seriously. UPDATE: They totally knew it was a joke... they were just trying to raise awareness! <vote poll=world2051 closed="yes">It seems the population of Britain isn't hugely keen on hearing superstitious drivel from a bigot in a pointy hat. <vote poll=world2050 closed="yes">Between August 2009 and August 2010, the U.S. budget deficit declined by about 13 percent. And if there really is a liberal media, why is the Voice of America -- which is designed to broadcast American news to foreign countries -- the only American media outlet that is currently carrying this story? <vote poll=world2049 closed="yes">New European police report: Right-wing terrorism runs a distant fourth to separatist, Islamist, and left-wing terrorism. <vote poll=world2048 closed="yes">Behold, The Origin of Specious Nonsense, to be launched by [http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/0913/breaking61.html Ireland's Minister of... Science! ] Update: Not any more, thankfully. <vote poll=world2047 closed="yes">Scottish homeopaths are offering homeopathic vaccines. Countdown to epidemic in... <vote poll=world2046 closed="yes">Just another day in Saudi Arabia: diplomat fired and needs to leave the country for committing the horrendous crime of being gay! To top it off, he's friends with an evil Jewish Woman! SCANDAL!! <vote poll=world2045 closed="yes">In Oklahoma City, where about 80% of the residents are Christian, atheists have installed a billboard that has elicited the expected wailing and gnashing of teeth. <vote poll=world2044 closed="yes"> While the debate rages on in New York, a mosque-community center complex is going up in Memphis. And until they're done building it, a pastor in Cordova is letting them pray at his church. <vote poll=world2043 closed="yes">A minister in the Pakistani government would like for Barack Obama to become the new Caliph. Here's hoping Obama will accept, make bin Laden stop blowing people up, and make Iran stop stoning adulterous women. <vote poll=world2042 closed="yes">Either WorldNetDaily's red-blooded American-ness is showing in their ignorance of British English, or they have deliberately used an ethnic slur in a headline. Joe Farah, keeping it classy. <vote poll=world2041 closed="yes">The Log Cabin Republicans sued to have don't ask, don't tell declared unconstitutional. A district court judge who was appointed by the guy who created "don't ask, don't tell", has ruled in their favor. The right wing scream machine will kick into gear in 5... 4... 3... <vote poll=world2040 closed="yes">Koran BBQ is off Update: Or not <vote poll=world2039 closed="yes">Remember when Microsoft patented ones & zeros?. Well, now Facebook wants to trademark the word "face." <vote poll=world2038 closed="yes">Timothy Ferris: Religion is inherently conservative. One wonders precisely which cloud he has his head stuck in. <vote poll=world2037 closed="yes">Better late than never: Jeffrey Goldberg reports that Fidel Castro, after half a century, has admitted that a command economy doesn't work. <vote poll=world2036 closed="yes">Makes you wonder what Microsoft would have done if he lived in Gay Head, Massachusetts. <vote poll=world2035 closed="yes">It seems that Koran burning is not the first disturbing act of Pastor Terry Jones (definitely not the Python). From the 1980s until 2009, he ran a church in Germany that made him seem more like Jim Jones. <vote poll=world2034 closed="yes">The feather duster that could bite back. Well okay, not actually that feathery but you think of a funny headline revolving around Concavenator corcovatus. <vote poll=world2033 closed="yes">The Scottish Episcopal Church announces that God is neither male nor female. He She It is "beyond human gender." <vote poll=world2032 closed="yes">New study: Among the urban childless, women now outearn men in the 22-to-30 age bracket, being better educated. The usual suspects promptly move the goalposts. <vote poll=world2031 closed="yes">Turns out that Charlie Chan was real, a real bad ass. <vote poll=world2030 closed="yes">Bad Timing <vote poll=world2029 closed="yes">General Petraeus: Koran Burning will probably hurt our troops. Pastor Jones; Light 'em up anyway! <vote poll=world2028 closed="yes">Church protest strippers; strippers protest church. <vote poll=world2027 closed="yes">A teabagging group is starting a pyramid scheme. <vote poll=world2026 closed="yes">With no sense of irony, the door-knocking, proselytizing Jehova's Witnesses are worried that the "new atheists are not content to keep their views to themselves." h/t Pharyngula <vote poll=world2025 closed="yes">As if surviving Saddam, sanctions, the US invasion, and insurgent bombs wasn't enough, now Iraqi celebrities have to deal with a reality show that plants fake bombs in their cars' boots. <vote poll=world2024 closed="yes">Budget crises have forced American cities and counties to revert paved roads to gravel, turn off streetlights, and forgo maintenance of public facilities. Now comes another method for making ends meet: Some police and fire departments are now billing people for responding to emergencies. <vote poll=world2023 closed="yes">77% of Britons say that the government should not fund the Pope's visit. Surprise: Catholic Archbishop begs to differ. <vote poll=world2022 closed="yes">In 1972, the Nixon Administration made the first claims that pot is a gateway drug. A newly published University of New Hampshire study refutes this claim. Instead, stress factors like unemployment are causal factors for illicit-drug use. This new study backs up this 12-year study published in 2006 by the University of Pittsburgh. <vote poll=world2021 closed="yes">Stephen Hawking drops gOD from his new book: "It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going." <vote poll=world2020 closed="yes">An armed man entered the Discovery Communications HQ building and took hostages, demanding his nutty ideas about population control and immigration to be broadcast. He was shot by the police. The Discovery Institute creamed their pants, blaming the incident on "Darwinism", while the main-stream media in the US seem to be aiming for the "environmentalists are nuts" angle... <vote poll=world2019 closed="yes">If you ride Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited between Chicago and New York or Boston, don't be surprised if a U.S. Border Patrol agent says to you, "Zeigen Sie mir Ihre Papiere, bitte." In English, of course. Further discussion in an editorial, here. <vote poll=world2018 closed="yes">Glenn Beck claims he held Washington's handwritten copy of his first Inaugural Address. The National Archives politely disagrees. <vote poll=world2017 closed="yes">The strange tale of Darwin's Eden <vote poll=world2016 closed="yes">Perhaps for some of us this is exactly how we like to think of Princess Diana <vote poll=world2015 closed="yes">Seven years after Bush said, "Mission accomplished," Obama declares the war in Iraq "over." <vote poll=world2014 closed="yes">Och aye, Jimmy, how aboot a wee dram then? <vote poll=world2013 closed="yes">Playing golf causes wildfires! <vote poll=world2012 closed="yes">In Texas, not only is gay marriage illegal, so is gay divorce. What about heterosexual divorce, you ask? Don't be silly! Of course that's still legal!