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

March 2010
In a 44-page report, Greenpeace accuses Koch Industries of spending $25 million dollars to manipulate climate change data in their favor. Liberal New Zealand edges closer to hell. M.I.T finds evidence that your morality can be physically altered. No champagne, but no black holes either, as the LHC begins to smash protons harder than anybody has before. Bachelor #1, if I were a means of executing you which would you chose? The Hutaree militia, whose website explicitly describes itself as Christian, was not a a True Scotsman Christian Militia Nerd pareidolia? Cassini sees Pacman on The Death Star Mimas. The Christian militia movement has reared its ugly head. Will the corporate media dare to call them terrorists? Don't hold your breath. During his Palm Sunday homily, the pope said that he will not be intimidated by accusations that he covered up child sex abuse by many priests. Meanwhile, the archbishop of New York City goes a step farther, saying that "our earthly shepherd (is) now suffering from the same unjust accusation and shouts of the mob as Jesus did" just before He was crucified. Are these guys good at hyperbole or what? Some members of the Tea-bagger movement sure do get around. Why, it's almost as if many of them are unemployed and living off of welfare. How do you deal with the fact that one of your policemen has run over and killed a schoolgirl, while speeding? Nominating yourselves for (and winning) a public relations award for the way you handled the tragedy would not be most people's guess. See here for the CIPR nomination. One of Bush's speechwriters said in an interview regarding Fox News that the GOP thought that Fox worked for them, but instead it turns out that the GOP actually works for Fox. But that's not why he "resigned" from the American Enterprise Institute. In fact, they "welcomed and celebrated" his comments. What's more, they were so orgasmic over his comments that "they offered him the chance to continue on at a salary of zero." Opposition anger over Health Care Reform takes a violent turn. Oh, those tabloids! For years India and Bangladesh have disputed the ownership of New Moore Island. Global warming has settled the dispute. Even zoo exhibits are Party of No political footballs nowadays, as climate change sceptics bash a polar bear exhibit in San Diego. <vote poll=world1519 closed="yes">What lived 40,000 years ago, wasn't quite human, and wasn't quite Neandertal? No seriously, do you have an idea? <vote poll=world1518 closed="yes"> Google is leaving China, which is how you'd read this headline in Beijing.

<vote poll=world1516 closed="yes">Joe Biden drops the f-bomb live. Is this a big fucking deal? Probably not. <vote poll=world1515 closed="yes">No more pathetic reflection on the condition of public debate in the US could be found than that a quarter of the membership of the opposition party, The Party of No, thinks Obama may be the Antichrist. That's maybe 14 million people who believe the President to be Beelzebub. <vote poll=world1514 closed="yes">Ann Coulter is offended that Canada would lump her as those who would spread hate speech. She would be justified if she didn't tell a Muslim student to take a camel. <vote poll=world1513 closed="yes">Former Houston Rockets coach pitches miracle pain relief, just use the hologram stickers... <vote poll=world1512 closed="yes">

To test psychological conditions for a mission to Mars, a crew of 5 volunteers have been locked in a box for 18 months. Do you think you could do it?

<vote poll=world1511 closed="yes">So how did the free market react to the government take over of 16% of the economy and the approach of socialism? By posting an 18 month high. <vote poll=world1510 closed="yes">Using carefully chosen, bipartisan language, Phyllis Schlafly calls the Democrats the "Party of Death". Yes, that seems fair and balanced all right. <vote poll=world1509 closed="yes">219-212 <vote poll=world1508 closed="yes">Gay? Fancy a break? Don't try Cookham, Berkshire <vote poll=world1507 closed="yes">Tea party movement illustrates the saying, that people believe most fervently what they understand the least. In this case, taxes. <vote poll=world1506 closed="yes">In China, one-party rule and censorship have led the language to develop a new tense formation - the passive subversive. <vote poll=world1505 closed="yes">YouTube makes a startling accusation towards Viacom, one of it's main antagonists in the legal battles over copyright infringements: That Viacom itself "...hired no fewer than 18 different marketing agencies to upload its content to the site. It deliberately 'roughed up' the videos to make them look stolen or leaked." <vote poll=world1504 closed="yes">Dutch soldiers failed to protect Sebrenica in 1995, why? According to a US General, it was because of the gays <vote poll=world1503 closed="yes">Queen of the Birthers, Orly Taitz, is running for California Secretary of State. <vote poll=world1502 closed="yes">The first ever 3D "Invisibility Cloak" has been created <vote poll=world1501 closed="yes">Quantum Superposition recreated in visible objects for the very first time. The Quantum world is a very strange place indeed. <vote poll=world1500 closed="yes"> Taking the "genetic lottery" to a whole new level. <vote poll=world1499 closed="yes">French documentary recreates Milgram's obedience study in the format of Reality TV - And it betters Milgram's 68% figure, with 80% obeying. <vote poll=world1498 closed="yes">New data from the Planck satellite - self-respecting physics junkies chuckle at the idea of Planck working at "very large scales"... <vote poll=world1497 closed="yes">Is it a man? Is it a woman? No! It's a, er... <vote poll=world1496 closed="yes">Singing songs, chanting and banging bongos are for hippies - real protesters use human blood. <vote poll=world1495 closed="yes"> Justice Thomas, wouldn't it be better to keep it private that your wife is into teabagging? <vote poll=world1494 closed="yes">Headline of the week: Man assaulted female police officer with penis. <vote poll=world1493 closed="yes">A woman discharged from the Air Force after snooping cops out her to the brass. <vote poll=world1492 closed="yes">IRL trolling: fake news broadcast panics Georgia <vote poll=world1491 closed="yes">Google now appears to be telling the Chinese government precisely where it can shove its Great Firewall. Update: Google shoves it for China <vote poll=wrold1490 closed="yes">Ooh, that's a new one. Priest caught in bed with boys says he was only "tickling" them. <vote poll=wrold1489 closed="yes">Ain't science great. Blind man learns to "see" with his tongue. <vote poll=wrold1488 closed="yes"> Glenn Beck is polarizing, even at Fox News. Or maybe that's just what they want you to believe. <vote poll=world1487 closed="yes">Rupert Murdoch Doesn't Get The Web. Really. <vote poll=world1486 closed="yes">The Frogs veer left and right, undercutting Sarkozy's support. <vote poll=world1485 closed="yes">A smooth-talking shill who, as an aide to President Obama, spent more time waxing lyrical about the "Obama brand" than actually doing her job, is out on her ear. <vote poll=world1484 closed="yes">Scientologists + Haiti = FAIL. <vote poll=world1483 closed="yes">Careful when you open your legs heart to lots of strange men God, ladies; you might get syphilis along with the Greater Connectedness. <vote poll=world1482 closed="yes">U.S court rules against vaccine-autism claims. <vote poll=world1481 closed="yes"> <vote poll=world1480 closed="yes">UK journalist has to quit his day job to battle libel threats from chiropractors, after calling some of their claims "bogus". Rationalists fought back, and the chiropractors are now being smacked too. <vote poll=world1479 closed="yes">Tiger, I'm just not sure that Ari is the man to rebuild your image. <vote poll=world1478 closed="yes">Happy 60th FBI's 10 Most Wanted List, unless you happen to be a mob king pin, a terrorist, child molester or serial killer. <vote poll=world1477 closed="yes">Women who take the pill "live longer" <vote poll=world1476 closed="yes">9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals: "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance is constitutional. Michael Newdow promises to appeal to the Supreme Court. <vote poll=world1475 closed="yes">It has come out that Blackwater, under the alias Eric Cartman, nicked hundreds of guns from the U.S. army. <vote poll=world1474 closed="yes">The Virginia Attorney General tried to stop college presidents and other officials implementing anti-discrimination policies[old news]. The Governor's overridden him[new news]. Strife! <vote poll=world1473 closed="yes">Prohibits the use of salt by restaurants in the preparation of food by restaurants. <vote poll=world1472 closed="yes"> North Mississippi school district cancels prom rather than let a lesbian couple attend. UPDATE: The ACLU gets involved while the school throws all the toys out of the buggy. <vote poll=world1471 closed="yes"> According to Chief Justice Roberts its okay to criticize him, just don't do it to his face and on national TV. <vote poll=world1470 closed="yes">"I ain't our fault, it's Satan!" <vote poll=world1469 closed="yes">William Shatner decides to set up his own social networking site complete with a catchy name. <vote poll=world1468 closed="yes">The LHC is up to half power, but will need a year off to get it up to full - putting off full power Higgs research for at least another two years. Nielsen and Ninomiya may just be onto something... <vote poll=world1467 closed="yes">Congratulations on 100 National Museum of Natural History. <vote poll=world1466 closed="yes">3 years after being scrapped due to meddling by (surprise, surprise) US conservative groups, ICANN is set to reconsider the .xxx domain name. <vote poll=world1465 closed="yes">After weeks of running ads claiming that they were really, truly listening to their customers' concerns, Toyota reverts to its old claim: [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35765822/ns/business-autos their runaway accelerator problem isn't electronic. It's faulty accelerator pedals and/or floor mats.] A few hours later -- as if on cue -- a runaway Prius (which was recently turned away by the local dealership because that model wasn't part of the recall) required some "special assistance" to come to a stop. <vote poll=world1464 closed="yes">Sean Penn: People who call Hugo Chavez a dictator should be thrown in irons. So much for Mr. Penn being appalled at the notion of civil liberties being deconstructed. <vote poll=world1463 closed="yes">The Rome police were running a sting on a gay prostitution ring when they recorded solicitations involving an usher and a choir member from the Vatican. <vote poll=world1461 closed="yes">Today in What-the-fuckery: Katrina victims seek to sue greenhouse gas emitters - like cows? <vote poll=world1460 closed="yes">Across America college students peacefully rally to protest tuition hikes and service cuts. Except at the University of Maryland, which riots for a different reason. <vote poll=world1459 closed="yes">I'm sure he was just doing "research"; California State Senator Roy Ashburn (R-Bakersfield) gets nabbed for DUI after driving away from a gay bar with a male "companion." People in the Sacramento gay community say "hooray, we've been trying to out him for years." UPDATE: good for him <vote poll=world1458 closed="yes">Oh, boy... This should be good. <vote poll=world1457 closed="yes">In Karl Rove's new book he says that President Obama is "simply at odds with reality." <vote poll=world1456 closed="yes"> YEC Texas School Board member, McLeroy loses reelection bid to moderate Republican (there is no real Democrat challenger). <vote poll=world1455 closed="yes"> Seriously Congressman Broun? <vote poll=world1454 closed="yes"> Female Indian peacekeepers make a difference with traumatized women in Liberia. <vote poll=world1453 closed="yes"> Chilean earthquake may have shortened days on earth by 1.26 microseconds due to mass shifting. The Indonesian Tsumami quake appears to have made a 6 microsecond difference. Wonder how some YEC's would react to this, considering that they say God's 7 days were exactly 7 24 hour days. <vote poll=world1452 closed="yes"> So just because a bunch of spies took out a Hamas leader Israelis can no longer pretend to be Europeans while visiting Dubai <vote poll=world1451 closed="yes">One quarter of American parents -- 29% of mothers, 17% of fathers -- believe that immunizations cause autism. <vote poll=world1450 closed="yes">Republicans are on pace to break the filibuster record in the 111th Congress. <vote poll=world1449 closed="yes">Andy's going to have a field day with this. Yup! <vote poll=world1448 closed="yes">Justice Scalia loves guns but hates substantive due process. What's an "originalist" supposed to do?