RationalWiki:What is going on in the blogosphere?/December 2015

December 2015
The Economist examines the injustice and absurdity of America's bail system. [http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2015/12/28/new-study-says-vaccine-deniers-are-richer-whiter-and-more-educated Vaccine deniers are wealthier, whiter, and more educated than avg. Americans]. The most ridiculous health claims of 2015 Aliens, bunny-killing rovers, and a Moon base: What is NASA “hiding”? Ars investigates the murky world of conspiracy theory to see what NASA hid in 2015. North Korea's 'paranoid' computer operating system revealed The quiet impact of Obama’s Christian faith Why the president’s convictions led him to believe he could unite a divided country — and why he failed reason.com's critique of Natural News. The Miraculous Christmas Bitcoin Song. (Originally by dex on SomethingAwful.) "C.S., a 17-year-old girl, was detained in a freezing cell in wet clothes, which did not dry for three-and-a-half days due to the frigid temperature. The only drinking water available to her came from a toilet tank, and the bathroom was in plain view of all detainees with a security camera watching as well." A couple months late, but with so much talk about the border lately, let's not forget the inhumane conditions of border patrol detention centers. Rebecca Solnit reminds us that the MRA idea "women have depended on working men to live since the Stone Age" is actually pseudo-anthropology from the 1950s. The 20 biggest video game news of 2015: Gamergate and its harassment towards women, China opening its doors to consoles, swatters, noticeable visibility for women in video games, virtual reality, et cetera. Luke Skywalker's recruitment compares dangerously well with religious radicalization. Digby shows why as tempting as it may be to dismiss the GOP slate as buffoons, that would be a dangerous mistake. After 82 weekly columns, WaPo's internet hoax tracker throws in the towel. It seems that most people (a) find them entertaining; (b) want to believe the bullshit; and/or (c) just don't care. The Conservative Echo Chamber is Real and Harmful -- and from WND, no less. An evolutionary analysis of anti-evolution legislation. Descent with modification applies to misguided bills, too. Why spend money renting an expensive Global warming denying professional, when DNYR the Robot can repeat denialist sound-bites at a fraction of the price? [http://www.vox.com/2015/12/14/10048422/matters-journal-small-science-big-data Fleming's discovery of penicillin couldn't get published today. That's a huge problem.] [http://www.vox.com/2015/12/14/9873012/wild-animals-suffering Wild animals endure illness, injury, and starvation. We should help.] NY Priest Embezzled $1 Million For ‘Drug Fueled Sex Romps’ With Male Escort. Town Rejects Solar Farms After Complaints That They Would “Suck Up All the Energy from the Sun”. The National Review is right for once about GMOs and "organic agriculture" (except for the constant shots against liberals and socialists, of course). Yet another slam dunk from the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. A survey finds that most college professors are afraid of those free-speech crushing trigger warnings, despite such warnings being extremely rare. Not only is Craig Wright clearly not Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto, he doesn't own a supercomputer. (It appears he fraudulently claimed it to get a tax rebate he wasn't entitled to, hence the Australian Tax Office raid.) OK, so, TERFs, right? They hate trans people, right? Now, behold: a bunch of "gender critical" trans women. BuzzFeed editor-in-chief: fair to call Donald Trump a 'mendacious racist' How social affinity groups tend towards extreme views. "...the conservative grassroots have become inundated with false information that leads them to put pressure on conservative members of Congress to do things that aren't grounded in reality." America reacts to the Planned Parenthood shooting. Storefront fortune tellers in 19th century New York City. What happens when you read people the Bible and tell them it's the Quran? Matt Taibbi: America Is Too Dumb for TV News [http://www.independent.co.uk/student/news/muslim-students-from-goldsmiths-university-s-islamic-society-heckle-and-aggressively-interrupt-a6760306.html Ex-Muslim activist Maryam Namazie gives talk at Goldsmiths university over blasphemy and apostasy in Islam. Islamist thugs show up and begin harassing and threatening her, with local feminist group defending them afterwards.] 15 things I learnt about Islam and British values being a gay boy living opposite a mosque. How the media no longer being the gatekeepers of social knowledge is changing everything. The corporate cooption of Trans&trade; and what to do about it. Jeff Sparrow on how to move the new atheism past Dawkins and Harris. Jeremy Corbyn: so isolated politically that he can only call upon the support of a shadowy group of people known in the UK as “voters”. How an attempt to troll for the 24/7 ISIS's Jihadi Help desk might look like. ITV News gaffe: coverage of black comedian Lenny Henry's knighthood accidentally includes footage of black TV chef Ainsley Harriott (while Sir Lenny discusses diversity in television). The Twittersphere reacts with predictably mockery.