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

April 2010
The Guardian chooses its side.. The Observer (Guardian on Sunday, but sometimes with a different editorial) follows suit How's that hacky, cracky thing workin' out for ya'? Disaster looms, as a second oil rig overturns off the Louisiana coast. Of all the questions you could be asked when joining the police, "Have you had a penis enlargement?" probably wouldn't be on your list. "We don't have enough officers on the street to look for other stuff like that." If you believe in them, lucky charms really do work. Gary Null, purveyor of "alternative" supplement woo and perennial Quackwatch favourite, nearly dies after eating his own "health mix". Being a Christian doesn't entitle you to discriminate against gay couples seeking help. Of course, the former Archbishop of Canterbury threatens "civil unrest" if Christians are required to behave decently in the workplace. Good News for Mankind from the Catholic Church: 80,000 Vatican Library manuscripts to be digitised for preservation. No word on terms of release as yet. Israelian is jailed for using his holy semen to seduce women Thanks to the birthers, it looks like there will be a legal tug-of-war in the run-up to the 2012 Presidential election. On one side, Hawaii is about to pass a law denying multiple follow-up requests for the same piece of information -- i.e., original birth certificates.  On the other side, Arizona -- in a move that several other red states will probably copy -- is about to pass a law requiring that their Secretary of State verify the birthplace of every candidate. Fetch the marshmallows. Pssst! Gordon! Next time you want to insult the voters, make sure your mike is off first. Supreme Court rules on the Mojave Cross, guess how. Ever wondered how a man who can go eight hours without shutting up would cope with a 140 character limit? Hugo Chavez joins Twitter... Remember, the government of fundamentalism must be small enough to fit in your uterus and force you to watch ultrasounds of your fetus before having an abortion. In addition, a doctor doesn't have to tell you that the fetus has a birth defect. This is in the interest of women "being able to make informed decisions". <vote poll=world1639 closed="yes">Well, I'll be damned - Tea Partiers are racists, says a new study. Wow! Who knew?! <vote poll=world1638 closed="yes">Search for Genes Leads to Unexpected Places Deep Homology. <vote poll=world1637 closed="yes">We have met the enemy, and he is PowerPoint. <vote poll=world1636 closed="yes">So maybe John Hinckley will find a better way of impressing Jodie Foster. <vote poll=world1635 closed="yes">BoobQuake suffers an unfortunate coincidence. <vote poll=world1634 closed="yes">Remember that Seinfeld episode when George hit a squirrel with his car and his girlfriend made him rehabilitate it? Yeah, that's kind of real (EXTREME CUTENESS WARNING) <vote poll=world1633 closed="yes">Is that a biscuit under the sofa? <vote poll=world1632 closed="yes">Born again - virgins? <vote poll=world1631 closed="yes">In Lebanon, is there a light at the end of the tunnel? <vote poll=world1630 closed="yes">Good riddance: Nazi, preacher, cult leader, child abuser and Pinochetista torturer Paul Schäfer dies in Chilean prison. <vote poll=world1629 closed="yes">That sure is a purty picture. Reckon there's some of that there physics attached to it as well. <vote poll=world1628 closed="yes">US Air Force launches its first "space plane" although its actual purpose remains classified - i.e., watch out for an increase in earthquakes over the next few weeks. or something. <vote poll=world1627 closed="yes">You might not be able to pronounce "Eyjafjallajökull," but you can't deny it's given us some very pretty pictures. <vote poll=world1626 closed="yes">Well this ended a lot less bloodily than the last fight over Okinothing <vote poll=world1625 closed="yes">Canadian climate change scientist fights back against National Post claims that he's a shill out for government grants. <vote poll=world1624 closed="yes">The greatest threat to science education? It's not IDers - it's school principals without backbones. <vote poll=world1623 closed="yes">Atheist gets ASBO banning him from "carrying religiously offensive material in a public place". <vote poll=world1622 closed="yes">Billy Graham's boy disinvited by the Pentagon to it's National Day of Prayer activities after protests by Muslim service members. <vote poll=world1621 closed="yes">The Independent (UK) puts up adverts saying ''Rupert Murdoch won't decide this election. You will''. Next afternoon James Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks (News Corps's no. 2 and 3) camp out in The Indy's offices, demanding to see the editor. <vote poll=world1620 closed="yes">Arizona (motto:"God Enriches") becomes the "Birther" state <vote poll=world1619 closed="yes">What's the number one cause of pedophilia? Sexy kids. <vote poll=world1618 closed="yes">Quelle merde! <vote poll=world1617 closed="yes">This is not a threat, but a warning. <vote poll=world1616 closed="yes">Boo-fucking-hoo. Scott Roeder, the murderer of Kansas abortion doctor George Tiller, wants out of jail because he's being mistreated in prison. (BTW:  He started the paperwork for this appeal in February, a few days after his trial ended.  He was convicted on 29 January and sentenced on 1 April.) <vote poll=world1615 closed="yes">Now clean air causes global warming, too. <vote poll=world1614 closed="yes">New research shows that "brain games" don't actually make you smarter, they just help you pass those tests; i.e., playing Brain Training will make you good at Brain Training in much the same way that playing GTA IV turns you into a violent killer makes you good at GTA IV. <vote poll=world1613 closed="yes">The US Geological Society publishes a new paper reaffirming its belief in anthropogenic global warming - "rising anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases have been an increasingly important contributor since the mid‐1800s and the major factor since the mid‐1900s" (Link is a PDF). <vote poll=world1612 closed="yes">Teabaggers are living in the past (and mostly over 45), while those crazy kids are down with socialism. <vote poll=world1611 closed="yes">To combat the surge in the polls for the Lib Dems, the Tories lurch back to the right, and back to 1983. <vote poll=world1610 closed="yes">Lets show how bad the Tory party is with some hard-hitting, witty satire on their posters and policies - or we can just look like guffawing idiots by scrawling the word "cunt" on David Cameron's head <vote poll=world1609 closed="yes">RIP Doroth Height, the kids in Tylertown, Mississippi could use you right about now. <vote poll=world1608 closed="yes">If you were born on Puerto Rico or know somebody who was, you may want to pay attention to this. Thanks to widespread identity theft, on 1 July 2010 the government of Puerto Rico will INVALIDATE EVERY BIRTH CERTIFICATE that it has ever issued. <vote poll=world1607 closed="yes">Some people held a protest. At one some people were arrested, at another some weren't.note <vote poll=world1606 closed="yes">George Washington, president, statesman, non-returner of library books. <vote poll=world1605 closed="yes">The headline says it all: "Extramarital sex fuels earthquakes, warns Iran cleric." <vote poll=world1604 closed="yes">For God's sake: Obama isn't coming to take away your guns <vote poll=world1603 closed="yes">One story you probably won't see on CP's broken news. The USA is now being viewed more favourably by the rest of the world. <vote poll=world1602 closed="yes">Just because you're a crack baby, doesn't mean you can't succeed. <vote poll=world1601 closed="yes">More on the UK Election: Support for the Liberal Democrats sky rockets following the first live debate, we can't be having that now, can we? <vote poll=world1600 closed="yes">Do Christian groups on public college campuses have the right to discriminate against gays? Time to find out what the Supreme Court says. <vote poll=world1599 closed="yes">If you're on Twitter, be nice. The Library of Congress plans to archive all tweets. <vote poll=world1598 closed="yes">Eating black people is wrong. Apparently. <vote poll=world1597 closed="yes">[http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2010/04/chandler_woman_renting_out_ret.php Parents! Why not rent an ex-policedog to sniff out drugs in your teenager's bedroom?] <vote poll=world1596 closed="yes">A Gwent police officer accidentally sent an excel spreadsheet containing full details of everyone who's applied for a CRB check (criminal records check - needed if you wish to work with children or vulnerable adults) since 2001 to The Register, an irreverent (and sometimes irrelevant) tech news site. <vote poll=world1595 closed="yes">David Cameron's "40 year old black man who served in the army for 30 years" speaks out. <vote poll=world1594 closed="yes">Skillcraft US Government Issue Pens are really that good (also buying them helps to support the blind). <vote poll=world1593 closed="yes">Infiltration of the Tax Day teabagger protests was a resounding success!!! <vote poll=world1592 closed="yes">9 myths about Socialism in the United States. <vote poll=world1591 closed="yes">Quantico blocks Fox. Now to get everyone else to do the same. <vote poll=world1590 closed="yes">"Click here to acknowledge you have read and accept the terms and conditions" - 88% of customers unwittingly sell their immortal soul to GameStation <vote poll=world1589 closed="yes">Gay swans are expecting babies! <vote poll=world1588 closed="yes">A federal judge has found that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional. <vote poll=world1587 closed="yes">A meteor is seen over Wisconsin and Iowa, rattling windows at ground level. <vote poll=world1586 closed="yes">I'm in the hi-fidelity / First class traveling set / And I think I need a Lear jet.

<vote poll=world1584 closed="yes">Certainly interesting. Unfortunately tragic. <vote poll=world1583 closed="yes">We'll be Singhing when we're winning: The British Chiropractic Association drops its case against Simon Singh. Singh also says he will pursue them for his £100,000+ costs. And all this in Chiropractic Awareness Week. <vote poll=world1582 closed="yes">Yet another gay Christian. When are the rest of them finally going to admit the same thing? <vote poll=world1581 closed="yes">Bush nostalgia or does Obama just suck that much? <vote poll=world1580 closed="yes">Zimbabwe, home to over 12 million people and believed to have an unemployment rate of over 90%, has the death penalty - but nobody wants the job of hangman. <Vote poll=world1579 closed="yes">Britain's Ministry of Defence conducted germ warfare tests on millions of Brits between 1940 and 1979. <vote poll=world1578 closed="yes">The independent enquiry into climategate concludes: No malpractice or conspiracy whatsoever. The Daily Mail on the other hand, is having none of it, focusing entirely on the criticisms of statistics and with the words "whitewash" appearing several times in the comments at least. <vote poll=world1577 closed="yes">Shocking news from the world of mushroom farming. <vote poll=world1576 closed="yes">Expelled with a goatee: Old Testament scholar "resigns" from seminary for endorsing evolution. "If the data is overwhelmingly in favor of evolution, to deny that reality will make us a cult." So it seems. <vote poll=world1575 closed="yes">More teabagging shenanigans as a teabagging teacher uses his school district email account to organize a teabagging protest.

<vote poll=world1573 closed="yes">Don't these idiots know that pride is a sin and only gays can be proud of their sexuality? <vote poll=world1572 closed="yes">Oh yeah, this will end well. <vote poll=world1571 closed="yes">Easily preventable conditions in children like tooth decay, obesity and passive smoking damage are reaching epidemic levels say Alder Hey Children's Hospital. <vote poll=world1570 closed="yes"> No Governor. Gay people know that children aren't puppies. Teenagers are the ones you're looking for. <vote poll=world1569 closed="yes">If you're going to kill someone as a Wiccan sacrifice, you probably shouldn't make it so obvious. [/sarcasm] <vote poll=world1568 closed="yes">The Sunday Times: "Richard Dawkins intends to arrest the Pope.". Richard Dawkins: "Come again?" <vote poll=world1567 closed="yes">"Even after death, abuse against gays continues". <vote poll=world1566 closed="yes">Peaceniks move on to supporting juvenile delinquency. <vote poll=world1565 closed="yes">Wearing fakes turns you into a faker. <vote poll=world1564 closed="yes">Business executives take acting lessons. (The most important thing in acting is sincerity. If you can fake that, you've got it made.) <vote poll=world1563 closed="yes">Probably the best strike in the world? <vote poll=world1562 closed="yes">A new great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-ok, you get the point - grandmommy found <vote poll=world1561 closed="yes">So, you're the British army, and you're fighting in Afghanistan. What do you put in your English firing range for realistic target practice? A Taliban camp? A roadside bomb? How about a mosque? <vote poll=world1560 closed="yes">The Germans are well-known as sticklers for precise measurements. Too bad they've been getting the length of their biggest river wrong. By 90 kilometres. For the last 50 years. <vote poll=world1559 closed="yes">Krazy Kon '10 <vote poll=world1558 closed="yes">This is what happens when you put a Randroid in charge of the Fed <vote poll=world1557 closed="yes">[http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Virgin-Mary-coming-back-to-Knock-Shrine-on-May-11-claims-visionary.html Hail Mary! gOD's mommy's coming back!] <vote poll=world1556 closed="yes">In the Civil War Virginians fought for the states' right to do what Governor McDonnell? <vote poll=world1555 closed="yes">In the US, the future of net neutrality is now in doubt. <vote poll=world1554 closed="yes">Thanks to a triple whammy of Soviet era irrigation projects, global warming and population growth, the world's fourth-largest lake is 90 percent dry. <vote poll=world1553 closed="yes">The UK General Election has been announced for May 6th. <vote poll=world1552 closed="yes">Developing story: Wikileaks has released a 2007 gunsight camera video showing two Reuters journalists being killed by a US Apache helicopter crew. Roughly a dozen died, most unidentified Iraqi citizens, including some who arrived in a van and attempted to help one of the journalists escape the scene. The only known survivors were two children, wounded when the helicopter destroyed the van during the rescue attempt. Currently reporting indicates that the exact details of the incident were covered up, even after Reuters submitted a FOIA request and received documentation about the incident. The video and Wikileak's account can be found at collateralmurder.com, and you are urged to follow the story in your favored media outlets. <vote poll=world1551 closed="yes">Australian wazzocks at their best <vote poll=world1550 closed="yes">Tests of the U.S earthquake bomb continue, this time triggering a 7.2 on the U.S - Mexico border. <vote poll=world1549 closed="yes">After running into trouble with its Christmas bill board, St Matthews in the City church has another crack at it. <vote poll=world1548 closed="yes">The Climategate report is in - and shows no fraud. The deniers' Dover moment? <vote poll=world1547 closed="yes">Dying? That light at the end of the tunnel isn't Heaven, it's a chemical-neurological event. <vote poll=world1546 closed="yes">The British National Party even hate each other. <vote poll=world1545 closed="yes"> Seffrican racist leader and alleged human being Eugene Terre'Blanche beaten to death. But there's no link to the ANC's "Kill the Boer" song. <vote poll=world1544 closed="yes">Guardians of the Free Republics (their site) send letters to 30 governors demanding they resign within 3 days. <vote poll=world1543 closed="yes">Did Democratic Congressman Hank Johnson forgot to say "April Fools"? Did the term "tipping point" confuse him? Or he really is afraid that Guam might tip over?

<vote poll=world1541 closed="yes">Sorcery! <vote poll=world1540 closed="yes">The Westboro Baptist Church decide to picket Jewish institutions and Bay Area High Schools. The result; Booya! <vote poll=world1539 closed="yes">The former Parliament speaker, Lord Martin, defends current UK libel laws and is against the change brought about by the Simon Singh case. The same Lord Martin who used those laws and £21,568 of public money to defend against negative press back in 2007. <vote poll=world1538 closed="yes"> Pirate skiff vs. Oliver Hazard Perry Class destroyer, who do you think won? <vote poll=world1537 closed="yes">Simon Singh wins a landmark victory against the British Chiropractic Association and is allowed to use the defence of "fair comment" in his statements. The BCA maintain that "their reputation was damaged" in the incident, which is very true, just not in the way they think. <vote poll=world1536 closed="yes">Tired of friends not having benefits? Get a sex robot for $7000!