RationalWiki:What is going on in the world?/March 2009

March 2009
Beauty queens visit American torture camp at Guantanamo Bay. Actual quote from one of them: "I didn't want to leave, it was such a relaxing place, so calm and beautiful." Evolution "works both ways." A very interesting case for America: On April 2nd, an immigration judge will look at the case of Uwe Romeike, a German citizen who fled to the United State and is seeking asylum from religious persecution. His rationale: Germany doesn't allow homeschooling. McCain may be stupid, but not that stupid. He knows full well not to give any direct support for Palin's possible run in 2012. Spanish judge accuses six top Bush officials of torture. The pain in Spain "When we sweat water leaves the body through..." One of the many challenging questions facing 16 year olds today. Guns. Not very safe if you have teh stupid. Vampires! Black people don't trust police and stories like this are the reason why. A black man was detained for 13 minutes in a hospital parking lot while his mother-in-law was dying inside. UPDATE: Video from the shutdown corner blog. This is exactly why Religion and Government don't work well together: A group of Muslim clerics in Saudi Arabia want women banned from television and print media. A Texas (where else?) state legislator wants an exemption for the Institute for Creation Research that would allow it to grant online master's degrees in creationism. Some sources claim that this would be a master of science degree (which would supposedly qualify the holder to teach at the college level). Other sources claim that this would be a master of science education degree (which is intended for public school teachers). Either way, yikes! Prayer. Not very helpful in an aeroplane crash-type situation. Meghan McCain supports Obama, and tries to show that not all Republicans are like Ann Coulter and the Assfly The devil made her do it. In this case, "it" means "forge $73,000 worth of checks from her church to herself." Though we've all known this from the start, we get it straight from the horse's mouth as an ex-Bush official admits that many Gitmo detainees are innocent. US deserter applies for asylum in Germany. <vote poll=world627 closed="yes">In a clear, hopeful sign that America is ready to rejoin the rest of the world, the Obama Administration declares its endorsement of the U.N. declaration of decriminalizing homosexuality. <vote poll=world626 closed="yes">So Bush arrives in Canada to give his speech. Shoes are thrown, signs are waved, cries are heard. Where does this take place? Calgary, Alberta, one of Canada's most conservative cities. <vote poll=world625 closed="yes">Pope Benedict XVI has said that handing out condoms is not the answer in the fight against HIV/Aids, as he makes his first visit to Africa as pontiff. (please make up your own snarky comment) <vote poll=world624 closed="yes">Cheep booze "out" other people's morals "in". Proposal to change Britain's drinking laws. <vote poll=world623 closed="yes">So, only evil atheists go on mass murdering sprees against good, innocent Christians to oppress them... Well, not exactly <vote poll=world622 closed="yes">The war against... snark! <vote poll=world621 closed="yes">The recession is also impacting America's local and state prison systems. Michigan is the first of what may be many states to release prisoners early to save money. Other states want to end the death penalty because life sentences are cheaper. <vote poll=world620 closed="yes">The FDIC, those guys who insure bank deposits, are in financial trouble. Why? Because they haven't been collecting their premiums from banks since 1996. <vote poll=world619 closed="yes">In Afghanistan, a student reporter is railroaded and sentenced to 20 years in jail for supporting women's rights blasphemy. Ain't fundamentalism grand? <vote poll=world618 closed="yes">Our favorite shoe-throwing Iraqi reporter is sentenced to three years in prison for "assaulting a foreign leader". Now I know that Iraq is trying to impose order, but do they really consider Bush a foreign leader? <vote poll=world617 closed="yes">Russia; still a bit crazy... <vote poll=world616 closed="yes">Give Bristol Palin a hand, ladies and gents! She's seen the light and split from her loveless engagement with her boyfriend. Now if she could only get away from her parents... <vote poll=world615 closed="yes">Wanna know how bad the recession's gotten? It's so bad that it's affecting Sesame Street. <vote poll=world614 closed="yes">Alabama man! Unfortunately, it is not about the funny action figure from an episode of South Park. Quite the opposite.

<vote poll=world612 closed="yes">The sheriff of Cook County, Illinois (Chicago) won't have to tell his grandchildren that he was "just following orders." He has decided to violate court orders by refusing to carry out evictions within the county. <vote poll=world611 closed="yes">Mind how you go: one thousand British police officers have criminal records. <vote poll=world610 closed="yes">In a legal precedent, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals grants a church sex abuse victim the right to sue the Vatican for its role in the coverup. Next stop, the Supreme Court where five of the nine justices -- Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, Alito, and Kennedy -- are Catholic and four are hard-line right-wingers. Will they vote to condemn their own souls? <vote poll=world609 closed="yes">"Where did all the money go? And where did it come from in the first place?" <vote poll=world608 closed="yes">Five months ago, Warren Buffett wrote a New York Times editorial telling people not to panic about the economy. Now he has revised his opinion about the economy: It's "fallen off a cliff!"  The sad thing is that the average person saw this coming five months ago. <vote poll=world607 closed="yes">New study: Religion on the decline in the U.S.  (Of course, the study was conducted before the economy tanked.  Trinity College should conduct a followup study next year to see how many people can go without this crutch during the downturn.) <vote poll=world606 closed="yes">Don't think conservatives have had much influence lately? Check out Jonathan Krohn: 14-years-old, home-schooled (surprise, surprise) and the newest conservative pundit. <vote poll=world605 closed="yes">Yet another reason to lose hope with humanity. Take a for-profit health system, add poor children whose parents use SCHIP and Medicare to pay for procedures, sprinkle in assembly line methods and something called a "papoose board," and you have a compelling argument why medicine in general and dentistry in particular should NOT be a free-market enterprise.  (If the thought of the dentist's chair makes you squeamish, you may want to read the text and skip the video.) <vote poll=world604 closed="yes">Having failed in the US, creationism strikes at UK schools. (Sneaky Bastards!) <vote poll=world603 closed="yes">A nine-year-old Brazilian girl who was raped by her stepfather and left pregnant with twins has an abortion, in accordance with the country's law. Result? Her mother and the doctors are excommunicated from the Catholic Church. Update: guess who the Vatican supports? <vote poll=world602 closed="yes">The British National Party launches its new anti-immigrant campaign with a backdrop of a Spitfire. Just one problem - the plane is from a Polish squadron. <vote poll=world601 closed="yes">Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming gets interviewed about Rush Limbaugh's "I hope he fails" comment. Will he say Limbaugh was wrong? Come on, say it. Say it! SAY IT, YOU SPINELESS HACK! <vote poll=world600 closed="yes">Missouri Republicans have officially left the planet Earth and defected to Andyland: A house resolution would amend the Missouri Constitution, requiring the Secretary of State to "determine that each person is qualified for the office he or she seeks, according to the law, before placing his or her name on the ballot. For candidates who are required by the Constitution of the United States to be natural born citizens, the secretary of state shall request an official copy of the candidate’s birth certificate. Other certifications, such as a certificate of live birth, shall not be accepted. Since that doesn't reach the pre-approved level of insanity,  The secretary of state shall verify the qualifications of any elected officeholder who was previously placed on a Missouri ballot. <vote poll=world599 closed="yes">The Philippines has had democracy and press freedom for over 20 years. So why is journalism there more dangerous than the Martial Law period? <vote poll=world598 closed="yes">A mall in New Zealand is now using the ultimate weapon in their fight against juvenile delinquents: Barry Manilow music <vote poll=world597 closed="yes">Check your Irony Meters at the door... Anti-Vaccination Movement loudmouth Jenny McCarthy extolls the joys of <B>SHOOTING POISON INTO HER FACE</B>. <vote poll=world596 closed="yes">Cui Bono? Rock band U2 accused of "robbing the world's poor" <vote poll=world595 closed="yes">The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy is back, baby! And they're raising a bumper crop of astroturf. <vote poll=world594 closed="yes">Rush Limbaugh is bewildered that women hate him. <vote poll=world593 closed="yes">Israeli rabbis tell teenaged couple that their very old-fashioned marriage can only end with a real divorce. Later reports say that the two were just joking around. (The rabbis held firm because the couple "consummated" their "marriage.")