RationalWiki:What is going on in the world?/February 2013

February 2013
Don't worry about the government censoring your emails - Apple will do it for them. Discrimination is dead in the United States. Oh wait, no, sorry, this guy is dead. (Probably worth noting that the coroner thinks politics wasn't involved in the death) We are as gods. Tom Flanagan (Stephen Harper's Rove doppelgänger and Assange execution advocate): Child porn for everyone! Update: Fired by the CBC. Update II: Fired by the University of Calgary.

Mars space proposal #46: Hitch a sexually active middle-aged couple in a refrigerator-sized, radiated capsule for 500 days for a flyby 5 years from now without any re-entry plan. The cost - 1/10 of an Apollo mission.  The sane person's reaction - Scalia thinks that African-Americans are entitled. [http://uk.news.yahoo.com/gonorrhoea-cases-soar-25-percent-england-superbugs-hold-134347867.html Move over, MRSA. Now gonorrhea is antibiotic resistant too!] Canada has a Senate? Swedish wieners cut off in UK

Italian election results are in. Good news: Silvio Berlusconi lost. Bad news: So did everyone else. Blair: I need a Whaambulance! That reported decline in enemy attacks in Afganistan was a goof. Never wrestle with pigs in the mud, they'll enjoy it, and they'll beat you with experience. Progressives say something racist and do the GOP's work for them. Two-body interactions: A Longitudinal Study: Physicist proposes in science paper. No word on how this will be peer-reviewed. [http://mg.co.za/article/2013-02-26-sa-meat-products-contain-donkey-goat-and-water-buffalo-says-report/ Goat pilaf lasagne... not just limited to the UK.] For Fuck's Sake <vote poll=world6673 closed="yes">Daily Mail: 'Hi Mumsnet, got any nasty stories about NHS doctors being "reluctant to treat children" and sending them to A & E?' 

Mumsnet: Piss off,Daily Fail!. <vote poll=world6672 closed="yes">Ted Cruz, a Tea Party Senator talks about Reds under the bed. <vote poll=world6671 closed="yes">Davros is dead. <vote poll=world6670 closed="yes">Yet another one: prize-winning homophobe Cardinal Keith O'Brien 'accused of inappropriate acts' with other priests. O'Brien was friend to notorious paedophile Jimmy Savile. More: he resigns or The Pope forces him out. <vote poll=world6669 closed="yes">Heart-warming story of the year, starting with a diamond ring dropped accidentally into a begging bowl. <vote poll=world6668 closed="yes">Let them eat horse meat. US Justice Department calls laws denying financial benefits to gay and lesbian marriages unconstitutional. <vote poll=world6666 closed="yes">Oh Jesus fucking Christ. (Berlusconi might manage a comeback) <vote poll=world6665 closed="yes">Respect for all people. UPDATE: Respect respond. <vote poll=world6664 closed="yes">North Korean Women Encouraged to Choose from 18 Official Hairstyles, Men Get 10. <vote poll=world6663 closed="yes">Vermont caves to the anti-vaccine crowd. <vote poll=world6662 closed="yes">Outrage! Religious oppression of Pastafarianism in New Jersey. <vote poll=world6661 closed="yes">Another day, another round of gay sex, blackmail and corruption allegations at the Vatican. <vote poll=world6660 closed="yes">Jon Huntsman comes out in support of same-sex marriage. <vote poll=world6659 closed="yes">Japan executes some people. <vote poll=world6658 closed="yes">The cop investigating Oscar Pistorious is himself up on attempted murder charges. <vote poll=world6657 closed="yes">Capitalist spits in the face of labor rights. (And lectures French officials in English. Well done.) <vote poll=world6656 closed="yes">Hilarity ensues as the chairwoman of the Yellowstone County, Montana Republican Party comes up with a totally original black man/watermelon combo. <vote poll=world6655 closed="yes">Mitch McConnell gets suckered by an Onion-style article. <vote poll=world6654 closed="yes">Meat clusterfuck, this is. <vote poll=world6653 closed="yes">Alberta in 2008: "See what happens when you listen to to the Gore-sucking enviroweenie socialists, Ontario? Oil trumps all!" Alberta in 2013: "Fuck." <vote poll=world6652 closed="yes">"In order for you to understand quantum mechanics, I will need to take off my clothes and play this video with Hitler and 9/11 while ninjas beat me up." <vote poll=world6651 closed="yes">Does baseball involve getting hit in the head a lot? 'Cause Jose Canseco is trying to explain science, and not doing very well. <vote poll=world6650 closed="yes">"Hello, Hello! America? Yes, can you please nuke us? It would be really great!!" Chinese Politburo: <vote poll=world6649 closed="yes">Irony meters are SPROINGing eveywhere when a GOP Missouri state rep proposes legislation to make proposing gun control legislation a felony. His argument for a bill which violates the First Amendment? "We seem to be having a lot of people willing to further restrict our constitutional rights and take our rights." <vote poll=world6648 closed="yes">North Carolina allows illegal immigrants to have driver's licenses in the most begrudging fashion possible: slapping a humiliating "NO LAWFUL STATUS" label on their licenses. <vote poll=world6647 closed="yes">In the Republican Party's continuing gross misunderstanding of human biology, an Alabama lawmaker claims fetuses are "organs" that women shouldn't be allowed to "remove." <vote poll=world6646 closed="yes">Is this an election campaign or a plea to your ex-wife? <vote poll=world6645 closed="yes">Oscar Pistorius, who was recently charged with murdering his girlfriend, is now also alleged to have been using anabolic steroids. Is there no athlete for our children to look up to?. Apart from Usain Bolt and Bradley Wiggins and David Rudisha and Allyson Felix and Anna Chicherova and Kobe Bryant and Gabby Douglas and Beth Tweddle and Chad le Clos and Jade Jones and Mo Farah and Omid Norouzi and jacqueline Freney and David Villa and Cameron Leslie? Probably not, no. <vote poll=world6644 closed="yes">Mississippi finally ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment thanks to Steven Spielberg. <vote poll=world6643 closed="yes">So much for all Buddhists being peaceful. "Stop having freedom of religion, you bloody Muslims and your halal products!" (They were actually protesting against the process of Halal slaughter.) <vote poll=world6642 closed="yes">Let's see you doing it then, you fucking prick (Especially if it's for free) <vote poll=world6641 closed="yes">Irish government to, after much waiting, apologise for the atrocity known as the Magdalene laundries...while another high-up institution stays silent. <vote poll=world6640 closed="yes">Get ready for Google Brain <vote poll=world6639 closed="yes">So, what do you get when your TV network airs a blatant Da Vinci Code ripoff that gets the lowest ratings for a scripted pilot episode in your network's 65 year history.  (And that includes this infamous turd.) <vote poll=world6638 closed="yes">I wanna be the very best, like no one ever was...to catch Fox is my real test, to train them is my cause! <vote poll=world6637 closed="yes">The moment sexual equality becomes a reality: When you don't have to use a professional soccer career to try and "escape" from your own sexual orientation.

<vote poll=world6635 closed="yes">Suddenly the Tunguska event isn't such a mystery any more. Update: The Guardian has more videos of breaking glass and swearing Russians. Cue conspiracy theories in 4...3...2...1... (The first one to connect it to gets a shiny new tinfoil hat!)

<vote poll=world6633 closed="yes">Melba Ketchum's Bigfoot DNA paper has been released, but there are a few problems with it... (It's this joke come to life.) <vote poll=world6632 closed="yes">In Arizona, convicted felons cannot legally carry firearms (with certain exceptions). But join Boss Hogg's Maricopa posse and as long as you weren't convicted of a misdemeanor or a felony in the last 12 months, mount up, podner! <vote poll=world6631 closed="yes">Prepare to watch a NYT writer get fired for trying to repeat the Tesla/Top Gear fiasco. Update: Pwning continues. <vote poll=world6630 closed="yes">Brooklyn College continues to show the democratic, American spirit by throwing students out of a public meeting for being visibly Jewish? <vote poll=world6629 closed="yes">The Tea Party demonstrates how classy it is by making a fake Hillary Clinton bestiality video. <vote poll=world6628 closed="yes">Sheriff Joe Arpaio hired a convicted child-sex criminal for armed school "posse" that schools didn't ask for. And said he didn't care when it was pointed put to him. And also hired Steven Seagal to provide weapons training for the "posse". Remember, only ten links ago, the Tea Party was trying to block, possibly with some force, a recall petition against Boss Hogg. <vote poll=world6627 closed="yes">Could The Sun finally burn out? <vote poll=world6626 closed="yes">The same Icelandic parliament containing internet freedom activist Birgitta Jónsdóttir is now considering instituting its very own Great Firewall of China in order to enforce its very own "Antipornography Civil Rights Ordinance." Gail Dines is very much excited, pretending that this approach has not been tried before. <vote poll=world6625 closed="yes">Unfortunately, moments like these are too few. <vote poll=world6624 closed="yes">Try not to make eye contact with the photo. The BBC reports on legal action against itself in the Jimmy Savile sex scandal. <vote poll=world6623 closed="yes">Fugitive Ex-Los Angeles Cop Believed Killed in Fire After Shootout <vote poll=world6622 closed="yes">Study Confirms Tea Party Was Created by Big Tobacco and Billionaire Koch Brothers UPDATE: Tea Party and Faux News say, "Nuh-huh and they used tax-payer dollars for the research!" Grab the popcorn. <vote poll=world6621 closed="yes">Remember the "penis-head fish" that was 'made of lol' last year? Creationists, what's your God doing now? <vote poll=world6620 closed="yes">this medical procedure is shit <vote poll=world6619 closed="yes">What does it all mean? UK government permits gay marriage: nada. Pope Benedict resigns: Vatican struck by lightning twice. St. Peter's Basilica being a tall building on a hill with a lightning rod during an electrical storm is, naturally, just a coincidence. <vote poll=world6618 closed="yes">Fuck you, Tory scumbags <vote poll=world6617 closed="yes">Add "democracy" to the list of things Teabaggers don't understand. <vote poll=world6616 closed="yes">Homophobic assholes just love to show their support for tradition by eating, don't they? The "pro-family" crowd have a cake dessert from the Oregon bakery that refused to make a lesbian wedding cake to follow down that fried chicken. <vote poll=world6615 closed="yes">A woman who was raped in New York a year and a half ago had her case demoted to sexual assault...because it wasn't vaginal. With luck, her case will help a languishing bill that will make oral and anal rape classified as, you know, what it fucking is. <vote poll=world6614 closed="yes">Coroner: "Drinking 10 litres of Coke a day for years may have been a causal factor in a woman's death". The family "did not consider Coke was harmful because its labels do not contain warning signs". Maybe a baby being born without enamel on its teeth might have been a sign. <vote poll=world6613 closed="yes">CNN hosts a debate between William Lane Craig and The Amazing Atheist. Finally, someone who makes even T.J. look good. <vote poll=world6612 closed="yes">That's no earthquake... (North Korea may have tested a nuclear bomb.) Update: Confirmed. All eyes on China now. <vote poll=world6611 closed="yes">Pope Ratzy is resigning at the end of the month. (We're witnessing history here. The last Pope to do this was Gregory XII, in the 15th century.) <vote poll=world6610 closed="yes">Harper and friends, just how fucking idiotic are you? <vote poll=world6609 closed="yes">Sometimes, standard sciencey stuff just fails you can take some time and money. <vote poll=world6608 closed="yes">Brazilian pastor jailed after telling his flock that his penis contained "holy milk." (Spanish original.) Update: We done been Poed. Original satirical blog post, article on people Poed by it.

<vote poll=world6606 closed="yes">Maybe it was better not to hack the Bush family emails. <vote poll=world6605 closed="yes">Conservatives can't get enough of those robocalls. Amazingly, they fessed up this time, after first denying it. <vote poll=world6604 closed="yes">Atlas Shrugged Part 2 fails as badly as part 1. (The fans in the comments are great.) Will we see part 3?

<vote poll=world6603 closed="yes">At least it's not the Bible in schools: a new bill would require all Idaho kids to read Atlas Shrugged in school. UPDATE: Bill fails. Must have been late for the ark Update: Intelligent Design Biology 'Expert' explains all in the comments section <vote poll=world6602 closed="yes">Religion bringing people together.

<vote poll=world6600 closed="yes">9/11 Truther defaces artwork in the Louvre. <vote poll=world6599 closed="yes">The WBC responds to 2 of Fred's granddaughters leaving the flock: "If they continue with the position that they have, those two girls, yeah, they’re going to hell." So much for "blood is thicker than water." <vote poll=world6598 closed="yes">Well, at least the rightwingers will be happy it wasn't one of them this time: Black ex-cop snaps, goes on spree shooting in Los Angeles. His manifesto. Police shoot wrong people. Update: Up pops a loony almost immediately <vote poll=world6597 closed="yes">"Targeted killing" = The new "extraordinary rendition." <vote poll=world6596 closed="yes">Who saved the ancient manuscripts of Timbuktu from the Islamists? The librarians, of course! <vote poll=world6595 closed="yes">What part of "Streisand effect" don't you people understand? <vote poll=world6594 closed="yes">Newly discovered largest known prime number (257,885,161-1) is 17,425,170 digits long. The previous largest known prime number, discovered in 2008, was a mere 12,978,189 digits long. <vote poll=world6593 closed="yes">Taking the kids for fast-food? Don't forget your gun, in case another customer bothers you. <vote poll=world6592 closed="yes"> One Two more souls saved from the Westboro Baptist Church. <vote poll=world6591 closed="yes">What did the new head of security for American nuclear facilities do at his last job? He managed a Target. Bonus: He's a retired colonel who previously commanded a missile base that flunked a nuclear security test within five months of his departure. <vote poll=world6590 closed="yes">Playing Superman might make you a better person. <vote poll=world6589 closed="yes">Oh, look. Another ex-gay activist who isn't as ex-gay as he claims. <vote poll=world6588 closed="yes">Magnitude 8 earthquake in the Solomon Islands; potential for tsunami in the Pacific ocean. (clearly God's wrath for the WIGO below) <vote poll=world6587 closed="yes">The Britons are set to pass gay marriage! <vote poll=world6586 closed="yes">You know that knuckledragger from the 49er's who said gays wouldn't be allowed in the locker room? Well... <vote poll=world6585 closed="yes">The GOP's War on Women continues unabated. <vote poll=world6584 closed="yes">No sooner do we celebrate the successful end to the Alabama stand-off, with the gun nut dead and the 5-year-old safe, than we hear about the assault rifle "assault weapon" toting Florida man, who forced his wife to watch as he shot their sons, then himself. <vote poll=world6583 closed="yes">Thunderbirds are go!.......again.... Peter Jackson Weta Workshops takes aim at another entertainment icon - roll on 2015! <vote poll=world6582 closed="yes">They've dug up the skeleton of someone who probably was Rich the T...hird. <vote poll=world6581 closed="yes">Mahmoud Ahmadinejad asserts his readiness to be the first Iranian in space

<vote poll=world6579 closed="yes">From now on, girls shall be pretty and inoffensive when in school. <vote poll=world6578 closed="yes">Israel demonstrates to the world how much of a modern, democratic nation in the Middle East they are. Correction: Independent article is blown out of proportion and misleading. <vote poll=world6577 closed="yes">Cheneygate 2.0. <vote poll=world6576 closed="yes">The "Gay dog" saga descends deeper into a mini-statement about all that's wrong with the American right wing, as Bill Donohue describes its adoption as "reverse discrimination" against straights. These days, satire writes itself. <vote poll=world6575 closed="yes">NASA's Curiosity tests out its tools to penetrate rock on Mars. Drill, baby, drill! <vote poll=world6574 closed="yes">*Please be Lake Vostok* *Please be Lake Vostok*... Not yet. <vote poll=world6573 closed="yes">[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21306006 Mmmmmmm. Mother of Jesus.] <vote poll=world6572 closed="yes">A legend says goodbye. If I have half as much grace as he does I will die very happy. Sleep well Wilko, every punk and R&B head and guitar fan from here to 'there' will miss you my friend. <vote poll=world6571 closed="yes">Never mind the absurd rates of teenage pregnancy and KKK membership, the GOP lawmakers in Tennessee are busy with having another shot at passing the "Don't Say Gay" bill, and this time, teachers have to inform parents if Johnny uses too much glitter in arts and crafts class.