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

December 2011
So-called liberal Barack Obama pulls a Calvin Coolidge and signs the vaguely-worded NDAA "with reservations." And if you think this is bad, wait for SOPA. Newt's doing so well that he doesn't need the gay vote. Anyone want a job with MC Hawking? Blatantly creationist bills in New Hampshire and now Indiana. Conservatives, typically, fear change. Some for very specific reasons, apparently. From the same state that almost set the value of pi to three comes a law to set specific standards for performing The Star-Spangled Banner. Fox News asks "Did the Jews kill Jesus? A new book claims that Tricky Dick was gay. Arrrrrroooooo. Make a straight line for Dear Leader or go down the memory hole! While a couple of BONs try to tell us that feminism is irrelevant, the BBC can't find 12 human women to put on its list of top female newsmakers, and pads the list with a zoo animal. Update: See the original for a laugh. Creationist antivaxer professor sues the University of Louisiana for viewpoint discrimination. American Indian activists take offense at the Occupy Movement's use of that word, trying to get them to change their name to the "Decolonize Movement." First Newt Gingrich failed to get enough signatures for Virginia, now nearly half the signatures for Rick Perry's campaign are invalid. Competence? And these are the same politicians who complain about made up the problems of rampant voter fraud. Rick Perry thinks that Canada is part of the United States. Michelle Bachmann: "We won't have teleprompters in my White House! I'll just read off an iPad instead." Oh fuck.

<vote poll=world4475 closed="yes">Christmas. A time of peace and brotherhood. <vote poll=world4474 closed="yes">The son of the messiah from the south meets the son of the messiah from the north. <vote poll=world4473 closed="yes">This year RationalWiki will cover all the major fashion shows, London, Paris, Milan, Rome, Tehran. <vote poll=world4472 closed="yes">New census data shows that in 12 major U.S. cities, geographic racial segregation has continued the downward trend it has been on since 1980. <vote poll=world4471 closed="yes">Demonstrations break out after members of an expanding Jewish fundie population call an eight-year-old a slut and a whore. <vote poll=world4470 closed="yes">Meet a lovely young couple: they're birthers, they're dominionists, they're...hipsters? <vote poll=world4469 closed="yes">A group of war protesters in New York are brought in guilty on a charge of disorderly conduct, following a failed defense on the grounds that U.S. wars are violating international law. <vote poll=world4468 closed="yes">The U.S. Department of Justice has blocked enforcement of a voter identification law in South Carolina set up to keep Democratic voters vote fraudsters from the polls. <vote poll=world4467 closed="yes">Wikipedia's domains are moving from GoDaddy, in protest of the registrar's support of PROTECT-IP and SOPA. GoDaddy has already lost over 37,000 domains since December 22. <vote poll=world4466 closed="yes">Cuba continues its privatization reforms. <vote poll=world4465 closed="yes">According to Newt Gingrich it's Virginia's fault that he couldn't get enough signatures to get on the state's GOP ballot. Nate Silver agrees. <vote poll=world4464 closed="yes">Why mid-twentysomethings shouldn't have access to nuclear arsenals. <vote poll=world4463 closed="yes">Bruce Schneier shows Vanity Fair just how blitheringly incompetent the TSA is. <vote poll=world4462 closed="yes">"Ark Encounter" theme park is having trouble staying afloat. <vote poll=world4461 closed="yes">Second Soyuz crash.

<vote poll=world4460 closed="yes">The gay community of Minnesota apologises for ruining the institution of marriage. <vote poll=world4459 closed="yes">For once, Obama does not back down. <vote poll=world4458 closed="yes">Climate change in action? Deadly floods in Dar es Salaam. The "other stories relevant to this subject" link on the BBC article? Droughts lead to power cuts, only five months ago. <vote poll=world4457 closed="yes">The Texas governor we should have sent to Washington finally gets there.... Well, to the Kennedy Center. <vote poll=world4456 closed="yes">Now here's a great ePetition to sign: In keeping with the great lady's legacy, Margaret Thatcher's state funeral should be funded and managed by the private sector to offer the best value and choice for end users and other stakeholders. <vote poll=world4455 closed="yes">The Kepler telescope is on a roll. <vote poll=world4454 closed="yes">Remember last month's study of a modified bird flu variant that, if left in the wrong hands, could be used to exterminate huge sectors of the human population? The US government and Nature/Science are in a major battle to censor it or not. <vote poll=world4453 closed="yes">Bradley Manning's lawyer demands that the investigating officer in Manning's case recuse himself due to the fact that >gasp!< his employers are conducting an investigation of Manning.

<vote poll=world4452 closed="yes">Researchers at UC Berkeley find that rich people are less empathetic than poor people, specifically because they have not suffered as much themselves. This would, of course, explain why blue-bloods are much more likely to dribble sympathy over the Lower Orders than the "self-made" nouveau riche. <vote poll=world4451 closed="yes">In the midst of the SOPA controversy, who has the gall to twist US copyright law even further away from sanity? None other than those notorious copyright villains, the Atlanta Braves. One can only hope they're proving the laws' idiocy by example (and that certain commentators are being sarcastic). <vote poll=world4450 closed="yes">Here's something that will keep you nauseous for a few hours. <vote poll=world4449 closed="yes">Sports, the new Catholic Church <vote poll=world4448 closed="yes">December 20th: Happy 6th Birthday Kitzmiller v. Dover <vote poll=world4447 closed="yes">Newt Gingrich gets an unwanted endorsement from an adultery website. <vote poll=world4446 closed="yes">Plane crashes on N.J. interstate; 5 killed. <vote poll=world4445 closed="yes">PolitiFact's Fail of the Year: In April, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) pushed a bill through the House of Representatives that would have made Medicare a privatized voucher program, essentially gutting it. About five weeks later, PolitiFact said that a "throw-granny-from-the-cliff" ad claiming that the Ryan plan would privatize Medicare was "Mostly True." Fast-forward another seven months (December 20) when PolitiFact names its Lie of the Year:  The Democratic Party claim that "Republicans voted to end Medicare". Dems are now pissed because PolitiFact lopped off the last half of the claim:  "Republicans voted to end Medicare as we know it." Paul Krugman is especially miffed. <vote poll=world4444 closed="yes">HIV vaccine trial.

<vote poll=world4443 closed="yes">Goddamn! Are there any straight Republicans out there? (and Toronto does what it does best...*wink* *wink*) <vote poll=world4442 closed="yes">Invoking similar comments other conservatives made toward Christopher Hitchens, John McCain says goodbye to Kim Jong-il. Not sure which dead guy deserves such horrible wishes praise more less. <vote poll=world4441 closed="yes"> Bachmannland Frankenland Minnesota State Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch (no relation, allegedly) resigns after less than one year of service (as leader), after admitting an "inappropriate relationship" with an unnamed male staffer.

<vote poll=world4440 closed="yes">What a day: Kim Jong-il is dead. Update: The horror of the cult of personality in full display. <vote poll=world4439 closed="yes">Tea Party member calls for assassination of Obama and his family. <vote poll=world4437 closed="yes">Vaclav Havel dies.

<vote poll=world4436 closed="yes">Mission finally accomplished? <vote poll=world4435 closed="yes">Georgia birther sues to remove Obama from 2012 ballot. <vote poll=world4434 closed="yes">Catholics demand tolerance for their views. Of course, only their views should be tolerated. <vote poll=world4433 closed="yes">Damn you Isaac Newton! <vote poll=world4432 closed="yes">The Barefoot Diva has died <vote poll=world4431 closed="yes">More bad news for Greece: the worse an economy gets, the more the wingnuts enter the spotlight. <vote poll=world4430 closed="yes">Abandoning all claims of being a progressive conservative, David "Lizard" Cameron has revised the United States as a Christian nation myth into a twisted version for the UK of today. <vote poll=world4429 closed="yes">[http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2011/12/16/pol-capp-oil-industry-emissions-report.html I love oooooooil! The look of it! The taste of it! The schmell of it! The texture!] <vote poll=world4428 closed="yes">New report says that Sheriff Arpaio might not like dark skinned people

<vote poll=world4427 closed="yes">We can now literally say that if you're anti-gay marriage, you're trying to break the Sixth Commandment. <vote poll=world4426 closed="yes">Want your mind to be blown? The six heirs of the Wal-Mart fortune own more wealth than the bottom 30% of American citizens. <vote poll=world4425 closed="yes">Christopher Hitchens has died at age 62 of complications from cancer treatment. <vote poll=world4424 closed="yes">War in Iraq declared over. <vote poll=world4423 closed="yes">Southern California family asked fellow churchgoer to beat their child. <vote poll=world4422 closed="yes">[http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/06/4103681/3-d-ground-penetrating-radar-confirms.html Noah's Ark found... again.] <vote poll=world4421 closed="yes">The CDC carries out a Mary Koss-style rape survey, of the general population this time around. Results are as expected. <vote poll=world4420 closed="yes">[http://boingboing.net/2011/12/14/good-news-ceo-pay-is-up.html Butler, would you mind carrying me to my money bed? Oooh, my.] But seriously, this is becoming a joke. <vote poll=world4419 closed="yes">Streisand effect!

<vote poll=world4418 closed="yes">You smoke pot? Gingrich wants to give you a hemp necktie. <vote poll=world4417 closed="yes">Scientists observe altruistic behaviors in rats. Crap, we can't indoctrinate them with Ayn Rand. <vote poll=world4416 closed="yes">Scientists discover giant methane plumes bubbling to the surface of the Arctic Sea. - hmmm, sounds familiar... <vote poll=world4415 closed="yes">Two top US hurricane prognosticators school others in the meaning of the term "scientific integrity" by quitting after "a look back shows their past 20 years of forecasts had no predictive value." If only political pundits would follow this example. <vote poll=world4414 closed="yes">MIT reveal the world's slowest fastest camera. <vote poll=world4413 closed="yes">World's tiniest frog species (<9mm long) is discovered in New Guinea. And the world's biggest insect discovered on a New Zealand island. <vote poll=world4412 closed="yes">Time announces its "Person of the Year"—the protester. <vote poll=world4411 closed="yes">Bill Johnson, a candidate in the Alabama GOP gubernatorial primary who campaigned against same-sex marriage, has been found donating sperm on the gray market behind his wife's back. <vote poll=world4410 closed="yes">Racist racist pulls a racist stunt. <vote poll=world4409 closed="yes">James Murdoch: LOL, didn't read. But we all know what he was thinking about in his head. <vote poll=world4408 closed="yes">Elusive little bastard, isn't it? <vote poll=world4407 closed="yes">Obama: "Hey mister! Can we have our ball back please!" Ahmadinejad: "No, I wanna play with it." <vote poll=world4406 closed="yes">In a move that will forever damage Canada's reputation abroad, Peter "What is ozone?" Kent pulls the plug on the Kyoto Protocol. This move essentially turns the Great Black North into China and the United States' bitch. <vote poll=world4405 closed="yes">David Frum gives Fox News an appropriate description of their actions. <vote poll=world4404 closed="yes">In an eerie moment in post-Cold War politics, Putin and his sockpuppet to government dissenters: "Ok, ok, we might just listen to you. Calm down." <vote poll=world4403 closed="yes">If Anthony Weiner's clusterfuck wasn't enough, politicians should really be watching what they're texting. <vote poll=world4402 closed="yes">[http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/south-africa/111211/cop-17-news-durban-platform-deal-reached-un-climate-change-talks COP 17: Yay! We have a treaty... um... to talk some more and not do anything until 2020...] *sigh* <vote poll=world4401 closed="yes">Sing along now: "We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy Nuke Year!" <vote poll=world4400 closed="yes">THANK YOU CLEVELAND! Cleveland shows official support for the Occupy movement.

<vote poll=world4399 closed="yes">It seems that Joe ("Mr. Tough Guy") Arpaio has been somewhat more enthusiastic about rounding up illegal immigrants than about locking up child molesters. <vote poll=world4398 closed="yes">And the OECD confirms what Occupy has been saying all along: income inequality is spiking like never before OH NO. THere leftards! Liberalism is mental disoder! <vote poll=world4397 closed="yes">A neat architecture design offends some people who think the entire world is based on American sensitivities <vote poll=world4396 closed="yes">Trying desperately to remain the stupidest guy named "Rick" in the Republican race, Santorum announces that "science should get out of politics." <vote poll=world4395 closed="yes">In Soviet Russia, mass protests start you! <vote poll=world4394 closed="yes">Newt Gingrich states there is no such thing as Palestine or Palestinians. <vote poll=world4393 closed="yes">Rick Perry: Now officially worse than Rebecca Black. <vote poll=world4392 closed="yes">Papa Bear: "Jon Stewart, you're going to hell." No, really. <vote poll=world4391 closed="yes">The EU decides not to break itself apart, but to allow stronger integration in a new budget pact. Here are the possibilities. <vote poll=world4390 closed="yes">Another one bites the dust as the GOP's least unreasonable presidential nominee candidate now "has questions" about climate change/global warming. <vote poll=world4389 closed="yes">Sean Hannity does a little historical revisionism a Eurasia/Eastasia flip-flop, attributing the death of Osama Bin Laden to George W. Bush. <vote poll=world4388 closed="yes">Fox News makes something up, using footage from Greek riots to suggest violent election riots in Russia. <vote poll=world4387 closed="yes">Gay couple given foster child to raise. <vote poll=world4386 closed="yes">Obama invokes Teddy and fudges some facts in Kansas. <vote poll=world4385 closed="yes">So your people are protesting the fact that your elections were an obvious sham. Who's to blame for the protests? Who else? <vote poll=world4384 closed="yes">Belgium gets an atheist, socialist and openly gay prime minister. <vote poll=world4383 closed="yes">Here's another addition to the long list of CIA fails. <vote poll=world4382 closed="yes">Virginia Tech sprayed with bullets again. <vote poll=world4381 closed="yes">It is almost certain that Mars had liquid water at one point. All that remains to be found is if there is water now. <vote poll=world4380 closed="yes">So... the Senate has passed the "infinite detention" provision. You're not keeping very good company, are you? <vote poll=world4379 closed="yes">If Republicans had a choice between killing Bin Laden or Obamacare, guess who would win. (Hint: It's not the guy with the beard.) <vote poll=world4378 closed="yes">It looks like you're building a nuclear reactor. Would you like help? <vote poll=world4377 closed="yes">Assad admits to being a crazy person. <vote poll=world4376 closed="yes">Now this is an example of a welfare queen. <vote poll=world4375 closed="yes">The second Illinois Governor in a row is headed to jail. <vote poll=world4374 closed="yes">WTF of the Day: Mythbusters experiment goes hilariously wrong. <vote poll=world4373 closed="yes">Church charity gives homeless fake designer clothes. <vote poll=world4372 closed="yes">Still using Facebook, and worried about shitty privacy settings? You won't have to anymore. <vote poll=world4371 closed="yes">Just in time for Christmas, a Greek history teacher has published a combination cookbook and survival guide based on newspaper articles published during the 1941-44 Nazi occupation of Greece. <vote poll=world4370 closed="yes">Set your dates for December 27. <vote poll=world4369 closed="yes">Better go skiing while we still have the chance. <vote poll=world4368 closed="yes">"A pawn or a champ?" Either way, the Crazy Lady of Minnesota got pwned.

<vote poll=world4367 closed="yes">Woman who was anti-ObamaCare discovers ObamaCares <vote poll=world4366 closed="yes">For Christ sakes, another one? GOP NJ mayor Myers resigns following fallout from a Larry Craig-esque scandal involving a "RentBoy." <vote poll=worldd4365 closed="yes">OWS wins first major victory in New York State as Governor Cuomo agrees to rework state tax brackets. <vote poll=world4364 closed="yes">When you enter an address with the .xxx domain, don't say we didn't warn you. <vote poll=worldd4363 closed="yes">Muslim groups speaking out against women's violence? But I thought they all stoned women, OMG! <vote poll=world4362 closed="yes">For those (i.e., Newt Gingrich) who romanticize the era before child labor laws, be informed that today (December 6) is the 104th anniversary of one of the worst industrial disaster in US history, where 362 workers (including many children) died in a chain-reaction mine explosion. <vote poll=world4361 closed="yes">Irony alert! It seems that when Occupy Wall Street chose Zuccotti Park as their demonstration area, they chose an open space owned by wealthy tax evaders. <vote poll=world4360 closed="yes">Hype or Hope? Higgs Boson seen taking tea with Lord Lucan! Disclaimer:'' Please note, the previous story wasn't obtained through any form of phone hacking. We're serious!'' <vote poll=world4359 closed="yes">If you can't get the irony of this, you're not reading it right. It also seems that the Huff has managed to expand its fanbase quite a bit. <vote poll=world4358 closed="yes">Planet-nuking oil company catfight! <vote poll=world4357 closed="yes">Another staunch anti-homosexual mega-church leader discovered to be closet homosexual. Can we say Haggard's Law? <vote poll=world4356 closed="yes">Astronomers announce the finding of an Earth-Like planet around Kepler-22. <vote poll=world4355 closed="yes">Fukushima still causing problems. <vote poll=world4354 closed="yes">So that's what Schadenfreude means. <vote poll=world4353 closed="yes">Jim Henson's Muppets just a bunch of goddamn commies! says Fox News. UPDATE: Of course, paranoia regarding beloved Hollywood iconography is nothing new. <vote poll=world4352 closed="yes">Mario Monti, the new Italian PM in charge of clearing up Bunga Bunga's massive mess, passes an austerity plan which pisses off both lefties and righties as the euro deadline nears. Proving that stopped clock exists for politicians, he forgoes his entire salary as part of the deal. <vote poll=world4351 closed="yes">...and Nick Clegg appears out of nowhere to pressure the Lib-Tory coalition on curbing excessive boardroom pay. <vote poll=world4350 closed="yes">The beginning of the end for Vladimir Putin? Yes, that Vladimir Putin. Update: Video goes viral showing how easy it is to rig votes in Russia. <vote poll=world4349 closed="yes">The German city of Koblenz gets a WWII surprise. <vote poll=world4348 closed="yes">Were Herman Cain's staff pranking him the whole time? First there was the economic plan from "Sim City;" now he's quoting from Pokémon 2000: The Movie. <vote poll=world4347 closed="yes">Apocalypse delayed

<vote poll=world4346 closed="yes">Herman Cain suspends his campaign <vote poll=world4345 closed="yes">Effin Facebook. <vote poll=world4344 closed="yes">Atheists considered as untrustworthy as rapists, a new study finds. Watch out children, there's an unbeliever under your bed! Update: Full paper available here. <vote poll=world4343 closed="yes">Cain, just give up. <vote poll=world4342 closed="yes">Australian woman claims to have been imprisoned on a Scientology ship for 12 years. <vote poll=world4341 closed="yes">Well everyone, enjoy the next week and a half.