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

February 2009
Who buys the most porn - red states or blue? This is yet more proof that conservatives don't know where to get free pornography. More proof of the American two party system going from Republican vs. Democrat to sane vs. insane. (Read this while you can.  The Rocky Mountain News, which published this on 25 February, folded two days later.  No telling when they will close the website, so we've taken a picture of the story.) Ladies and gentlemen, the wait is over and the countdown begins. The day the Iraq War will end: August 31, 2010. DEA to halt medical marijuana raids. Rwanda's genocidal priest is jailed A Catholic priest in Brazil who defended the use of contraceptives and the rights of homosexuals has has been suspended by his archbishop who said "This is intolerable!" Wouldn't it be extremely hypocritical of one political party to cry that another party of conducting a class warfare when the previous president (from the first party) gave tax cuts to the wealthy, cut welfare and ignored a horrible event in Louisiana affecting millions of middle-class members? Yes, I thought so too. (It's only "class warfare" if the poor hit back.) Does hiding birth "defects" from children protect their psyches, or cause lifelong discomfort with people who are "different?" Britain is abuzz with this question now that the BBC has hired a TV kiddie show hostess who is young, pretty, and was born without the lower half of her right arm. Conservatives need a convention to explain to each other that liberals are to blame. The various conference titles are pure genius. You would swear they were parody. A new Facebook page was launched after the Republican "response" to Obama's speech: "Bobby Jindal is Kenneth the Page. Is Gitmo worse under Obama?  A lawyer who represents detainees says that guards began ramping up the level of torture last December because they want to "get their kicks in" before the camp is closed. (Warning:  May cause you to lose any hope you still had for humanity and/or the US government.) Dubya's legacy continues to grow!  This time, his FDA failed to inspect a hypodermic syringe factory for almost two years, leading to "a series of complaints that its needles were dirty or filled with colored particles." In breaking news, scientists have discovered kryptonite. In a related story, has had a major snow storm. Why did the British government decide to invade Iraq? "Telling you would be bad for democracy." How bad is the credit crunch? American Express is now offering $300 to its cardholders if they will close their accounts. Top Gear, a British car show, drives through Alabama after decorating their cars with liberal left wing slogans, result is predictable <vote poll=world576 closed="yes">Midlife lesbianism -- it seems that it isn't all that unusual for the sexuality of women over 40 to shift from straight to gay. <vote poll=world575 closed="yes">In a pathetic attempt to turn attention away from the fact that they've done fuckall about helping their states through the stimulus package, Republican governors have fallen back on their method of attacking Obama's economic policies as being a symptom of "big government" (it must be reminded that these governors were the ones who were highly vocal about the package's success). <vote poll=world574 closed="yes">Of all the many, many things wrong in this horrible story, the worst may be that he used a "youth model (largely defensive weapon of) shotgun." <vote poll=world573 closed="yes">Recently discovered papers reveal that Hitler had bad table manners and also believed in "Divine providence". Darn, another blow to the Hitler was an atheist camp. <vote poll=world572 closed="yes">Homecoming (drag) queen. <vote poll=world571 closed="yes">Lemons into lemonade department: For all those people worried about illegal immigration, the problem is solved! <vote poll=world570 closed="yes">Want to register a business name in Pennsylvania? You may have a helluva time if you use any "naughty" words in the name. <vote poll=world569 closed="yes">Louisiana Governor Jindal is refusing his state's portion of the stimulus package on the basis that it would cause government to grow "in an unsustainable way". Considering the state of America's economy, does he really think his state will thank him for being so asinine? <vote poll=world568 closed="yes">Do declining birthrates have an evolutionary explanation? <vote poll=world567 closed="yes">Ireland's worst driver Praw O'Jazdy Prawo Jazdy is finally rumbled. <vote poll=world566 closed="yes">Good ol' Blighty! <vote poll=world565 closed="yes">A New York Post editorial cartoon seems to compare Barack Obama to a chimpanzee. Would it surprise you to learn that the Post is a sister company of Fox News? <vote poll=world564 closed="yes">Pride v. Lust. The Vatican reports that men and women "sin in different ways" <vote poll=world563 closed="yes">A North Dakota measure seeks to give fertilized eggs "any organism with the genome of homo sapiens" the same rights as a human being. Oh! Well that's perfectly alright then! I'm sure this will in no way come into conflict with any major Supreme Court rulings, right? <vote poll=world562 closed="yes">Chávez 4 ever. <vote poll=world561 closed="yes">Ten new species of amphibian are discovered in the country of Columbia. The include one species of rain frog, one species of salamander, one harlequin frog, three poison dart frogs, and three glass frogs. Blink and you'll miss it (theirextinction, that is). <vote poll=world560 closed="yes">The daughter of former Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin says of her teen pregnancy that abstinence is a good idea but "isn't a realistic option" for teenagers. Mom cringes. <vote poll=world559 closed="yes">Authors of the peanut butter argument should take note that a second genesis is actually a respected and quite plausible idea. <vote poll=world558 closed="yes">It's official: America's "War on Terror" has utterly fucked up the rest of the world. <vote poll=world557 closed="yes">Hello Obama, goodbye good music... <vote poll=world556 closed="yes">A "consortium of pub-going, loose and forward women" in India planned to protest the actions of a group of self-appointed Hindu morality police by going bar hopping and sending pink panties to the group's leadership on Valentine's Day. <vote poll=world555 closed="yes">Is evolution over? <vote poll=world554 closed="yes">Not content with inventing a new name under which to prosecute blasphemy, the British government is apparently now starting to invent a new name under which to prosecute apostasy. <vote poll=world553 closed="yes">Dubya is traveling to the Great White North to deliver his first post-presidential disjointed, ungrammatical, malaprop-laced rambling "speech." Will the World Court send marshalls with handcuffs? Will he call Obama the n-word or worse? Since it's scheduled for St. Paddy's day, will leprechauns throw their green shoes at him? The world awaits. <vote poll=world552 closed="yes">For decades, conservatives have sold the myth that privatizing public services is good policy. Tell it to the kids who got sent to juvenile prison for minor charges because the judges in their cases took kickbacks from private prison corporations. (Of course, this is most likely just a couple of bad apples. It can't be a widespread problem, right?) <vote poll=world551 closed="yes">Happy 200th birthday, Abe Lincoln! As gifts to you, we have a new coin design and this lovely speech in your honor. <vote poll=world550 closed="yes">A special court rules that vaccinations do not cause autism <vote poll=world549 closed="yes">"A lesbian socialite by night and a crime-fighter by later in the night" <vote poll=world548 closed="yes" closed="yes"> An Iowa Trooper has been suspended after he violated his department's policy by, while off-duty and at home, forwarding an email containing mugshots and a claim that Obama has "quite a fan base." He has apologized for his actions, which his department classifies as a political statement rather than a racial one. Certain people who would have hollered blue murder if this had happened under Bush have yet to comment. <vote poll=world548 closed="yes" >A porn star -- who sounds like she has a lot more intellectual firepower than Sarah Palin -- may run against David Vitter for the U.S. Senate. (Love those potential campaign slogans near the end of the video!) <vote poll=world547 closed="yes">The Obama Administration cancels the Cheney Bush Administration's so-called energy policy -- aka "drill, baby, drill" -- in Utah and delays drilling off the shores of the Atlantic and Pacific states to allow more public input. <vote poll=world546 closed="yes">It's not wonderful, but it's a slap in the face for ID and YEC <vote poll=world545 closed="yes">Jo Hovind (Kent Hovind's wife) joins him in jail for tax evasion <vote poll=world544 closed="yes">Herbal remedies for arthritis "mostly ineffective". <vote poll=world543 closed="yes">We're  born to believe, it seems. <vote poll=world542 closed="yes">Sen. Patrick Leahy calls for a "truth commission" to be set up regarding to Bush administration in order to investigate things like the promotion of the Iraq War and warrantless wiretapping. Hopefully this will bring a better understanding to the events and ensure that such abuses do not occur again, but when has that ever worked? <vote poll=world541 closed="yes">Ann "Women shouldn't vote" Coulter under investigation for voter fraud - again. She lives in New York and may have voted in Connecticut. Previously, she was under investigation  in 2006 in Florida. <vote poll=world540 closed="yes">It seems that the "connection" between vaccines and autism was based on faked data. How long before that appears in CP breaking news? They don't censor things at CP, do they? Come on, Andy! (For newbies, that's one of Andy's hottest hot-button issues.) <vote poll=world539 closed="yes">Astrology; still big in Delhi. <vote poll=world538 closed="yes">Verbatim headline: "OBAMA BIG SPENDING BILL STIMULATES ANTI-CHRISTIAN BIGOTRY" You can't make this stuff up! <vote poll=world537 closed="yes">The doctor who "found" the link between the MMR vaccine and autism, is being investigated for fraud. <vote poll=world536 closed="yes">After the Troopergate debacle, where Governor Mooseburger was found guilty of ethics violations and nine state employees (including Todd Palin) were found guilty of contempt, Alaskan legislators have decided to let it all go instead of, y'know, following the law. <vote poll=world535 closed="yes">Obama: "There is no God who condones taking the life of an innocent human being." Obama should try reading the Bible sometime. Or if that doesn't convince him, whatever those Esoteric Hitlerists use for their holy texts probably would... <vote poll=world534 closed="yes">Obama seeks to create a treaty with Russia to reduce nuclear arms. No doubt millions will have their eyes on the Doomsday Clock. <vote poll=world533 closed="yes">Obama creates the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, an organization involving both religious and secular nonprofit organizations in order to maximize benefits in their communities. No doubt Andy will be surprised to learn that James DuBois, the office's new director, is >gasp!< not a Muslim. <vote poll=world532 closed="yes">The cheese eating surrender monkeys take on $cientology on May 25th. can't wait. <vote poll=world531 closed="yes">Pat Robertson's "prayer offensive" dubbed Operation Supreme Court Freedom may be getting its third and final success, albeit a few months too late: Ginsburg is hospitalized with early-stage pancreatic cancer. <vote poll=world530 closed="yes">New Scientist: How your brain creates God <vote poll=world529 closed="yes">Christians, upset at the "There is probably no God" bus ad campaign in London, fight back with their own unprovable propaganda. <vote poll=world528 closed="yes">Obama signs a bill to extend health care to 4 million uninsured kids. <vote poll=world527 closed="yes">Klingons! <vote poll=world526 closed="yes">Just when you thought Republicans couldn't sink any lower, they start taking advice from a neanderthal. <vote poll=world525 closed="yes">Ben Stein withdraws from a commencement speech after widespread protest. The Discovery Institute bitches and moans and bitches and moans and bitches and moans. And now Howard Dean is the speaker! Oh, dear, unite conservative creationists, unite! <vote poll=world524 closed="yes">Food Story Two (Peanut Corporation of America): A worker at the salmonella-tainted peanut plant in Georgia saw a rat roasting with the peanuts. Another PCA plant in Texas ran for years without an inspection or a license. And PCA's CEO was on the USDA board overseeing the quality of peanuts. Bon appetit! <vote poll=world523 closed="yes">Food Story One (America's omnipresent sweetener): "Study Finds High-Fructose Corn Syrup Contains Mercury."  So HFCS not only makes you fat and diabetic, it makes you stupid and crazy, too. <vote poll=world522 closed="yes">Raptors! <vote poll=world521 closed="yes">Iceland appoints world's first openly gay Prime Minister <vote poll=world520 closed="yes">Just what does it take to be a true Democrat President? Offer of hope? Check! Sensible policies? Check! Embarrassing (half) brother? Check!