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

June 2010
Smoking is bad for Christopher Hitchens too, sadly. Mexican singer: "I'm not dead!" Oops, you are now. Sorry! You can't fool statistics. Daily Kos sues its polling firm, Research 2000, after catching R2K just making shit up. But Grandma, good Christians don't vandalize private property that's something only dirty atheists do. American corporations in 2009 were discriminated against, just like African-American school children in 1954. Female banker fired for being 'too sexy and distracting' files official human rights complaint. How civili s  z  ed. Scientology and other cults in Australia are asked to show their public benefit if they want to maintain their tax-exempt status.  Senator Robert Byrd is in the hospital due to dehydration and heat exhaustion, and is seriously ill. UPDATE: Senator Byrd has passed. The Catholic Church is shocked to discover that it is not above the law. Meanwhile [http://cbs5.com/national/church.abuse.scandal.2.1772307.html in Kentucky ... ] You always knew Fox News was creepy, but |main|dl1|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aolnews.com%2Fcrime%2Farticle%2Fjudge-in-drew-peterson-trial-demands-to-see-fox-news-autopsy-footage%2F19531309 necrophilia? ASCAP solicits funds from members to fight "copyleft"-promoting organizations. Wonder what happens when Wikimedia notices. More from the you-couldn't-make-this-up department: Dutch police use decoy Jews to beat anti-semitism. A Missouri farmer has posted a billboard on his land asking "Are you a producer or a parasite?" Under the question he claims that Democrats are the party of parasites. Naturally, he doesn't think that the $1.1 million dollars in farm subsidies that he has taken from the federal government since 1995 makes him a parasite. Australia gets its first female prime minister. The Texas GOP goes for a platform which we definitely couldn't have predicted (full PDF). <vote poll=world1824 closed="yes">The UK budget is announced to a resounding "meh" from all most the most ardent political nerds. <vote poll=world1823 closed="yes">Carbon dating has been used to measure known dates to test Egyptian chronology, and surprise surprise, it's actually accurate. <vote poll=world1822 closed="yes">Sarah Palin proposes a solution to the Gulf oil disaster. Brace yourself - it's a doozy. Update - PZ reports that Robert Adley has the same idea <vote poll=world1821 closed="yes">Self-promotion on Twitter goes in a creepy new direction, as Utah's AG announces that he's given the go ahead for Ronnie Gardner's execution online. <vote poll=world1820 closed="yes">After a grovelling Rep. Joe Barton apologizes to BP for Obama's "shakedown" (see below), Rep. John Boehner says taxpayers should share the tab. <vote poll=world1819 closed="yes">More wacky weather - just in time for the World Cup, South Africa suffers from its coldest June ever. Brrr! <vote poll=world1818 closed="yes">Conservative family values, UK-style: Caroline Nokes, Cameron's Christian side-kick has been doing the naughty with a toy-boy for the last four years. <vote poll=world1817 closed="yes">Alberta: land of oil, libertarian gun-nuts and ... the largest cache of dinosaur bones ever uncovered! <vote poll=world1816 closed="yes">In Limbaugh Land, all the kids who will go hungry this summer without school lunches are walking right by their overstocking fridges and cupboards overflowing with Twinkies! <vote poll=world1815 closed="yes">99 Red balloons go by... <vote poll=world1814 closed="yes">BP I'm sorry that the government is pushing you around and all that money you gave me has nothing to do with my feelings. GOP leadership: No you're not! <vote poll=world1813 closed="yes">I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords. <vote poll=world1812 closed="yes">What's the problem with "publish or perish"? An avalanche of mediocre scientific research that no-one reads or builds upon. Update: Or not: "Not cited" should not be confused with "not read". <vote poll=world1811 closed="yes">100 years after the physics were confirmed and 50 years after its first mention in science fiction, the first true solar sail for propulsion is deployed for testing in orbit. <vote poll=world1810 closed="yes">The situation at Arlington Cemetery goes from bad to worse

<vote poll=world1808 closed="yes">Eleven-year-old-boy speaks truth to power, tells the Canucks what's what. <vote poll=world1807 closed="yes">Glorious Democratic People's Republic of Korea soccer has fans from across the world and not Chinese people paid to root for them. <vote poll=world1806 closed="yes">Problem: Police officers are getting caught on tape lying and using excessive force with suspects.   Solution: Use 40 year old wiretapping laws to arrest citizens who have the nerve to record police misconduct. <vote poll=world1805 closed="yes">Hoping to one-up the "Zeigen Sie mir Ihre Papiere" crowd in Arizona, a GOP candidate from New Mexico talks about one "interesting" solution to illegal immigration -- LAND MINES! <vote poll=world1804 closed="yes">[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704009804575308440143301092.html?mod=fox_australian American goes to Pakistan, plans to kill bin Laden. With a freakin' sword.] <vote poll=world1803 closed="yes">Glenn Beck writes his Atlas Shrugged Turner Diaries <vote poll=world1802 closed="yes">[http://friendlyatheist.com/2010/06/15/act-of-god-kills-touchdown-jesus/ 62 foot-tall statue of Jesus, nicknamed Touchdown Jesus, incinerated by bolt of lightning. Zeus: 1, Jesus: 0]. <vote poll=world1801 closed="yes">How much of a diehard libertarian is Rand Paul? Well, it seems that he's not only against "interference" from the government, he's also against "interference" from private professional organizations. E.g., he isn't a board-certified ophthalmologist (as he has claimed) because he thinks the certification process is "unfair." Unless, of course, you count his certification from the rival board that he helped create. You know, the unsanctioned board whose recertification process is less rigorous bureaucratic. <vote poll=world1800 closed="yes">Look at what the US has "found" since the invasion of Afghanistan. Conspiracy theorists will begin thinking "So that's the reason for the invasion of Afghanistan" in 5...4...3...2... <vote poll=world1799 closed="yes">Cow seduces Indonesian man "She called my name and seduced me, so I had sex with her," he said. The bovine temptress was drowned to rid village of bad luck, and the man underwent "ritual cleansing". <vote poll=world1798 closed="yes">New York Post not entirely clear on the concept. <vote poll=world1797 closed="yes">FIFA claims the World Cup is "solid gold." Science says "bollocks it is." <vote poll=world1796 closed="yes">Pyrophosphite might have been early life's energy repository. <vote poll=world1795 closed="yes">Homeopathy is harmless? That's why a homeopath is in the dock after telling a cancer patient to forego all other treatment, and Western Australia is looking at regulating it. <vote poll=world1794 closed="yes">Georgia's creationist natural history museum, The Gallery of Creation, is liquidating its entire astounding collection of curiosities in an auction. <vote poll=world1793 closed="yes">"Pop" science: shedding new light on bursting bubbles with high speed cameras. As reported in Nature. <vote poll=world1792 closed="yes">Victory for the righties who have sought to eliminate the Estate Tax "Death Tax"! A Texan who recently died after amassing a fortune estimated at $9 billion has become the first American billionaire since the tax was enacted in 1916 to pass his entire fortune to his heirs completely tax-free. (This one-year tax amnesty is the last "quirk" in the tax package that Dubya pushed through Congress all the way back in 2001.  Because, you know, his tax policies have made us so prosperous today.) <vote poll=world1791 closed="yes">UN Security Council votes to continue sanctions against Iran. <vote poll=world1790 closed="yes">California Republicans are nervous, Orly Taitz might actually win the primary for California Secretary of State. Update: The voters of Califonia showed at least some good sense. Though, 365,684 people still voted for her! <vote poll=world1789 closed="yes">BP onsite supervisors ordered shortcuts the day of the rig explosion. And there was a history of such activities <vote poll=world1788 closed="yes">Hydrogen fueled Methane monsters live on Titan, scientists say. <vote poll=world1787 closed="yes">How do we know that the leadership of the Catholic church still doesn't understand the problems regarding the priest child sexual abuse scandal? Well, for starters, the Burlington, Vermont diocese put this photo on the cover of the current issue of its monthly magazine. <vote poll=world1786 closed="yes">What's going to hack the fundies off more? The fact that children of Lesbian couples do just as well, if not better, than their contemporaries, or that Fox covered the news without slagging off the study? <vote poll=world1785 closed="yes">What's $1,000,000 to Elton John? Well, its enough to get him to play at Rush Limbaugh's fourth wedding. (See Mike Edwards of Jesus Jones on the murky world of the corporate gig circuit.) <vote poll=world1784 closed="yes">Huzzah! Finally some sound reason in the UK with regards to GM crops. Oh and don't forget to facepalm at the comment section. <vote poll=world1783 closed="yes">SpaceX' Falcon 9 launches successfully a dummy Dragon capsule to orbit (video), marking another step towards private access to space and giving Australians a mysterious spiral to ponder. <vote poll=world1782 closed="yes">The simple solution is to make the nonwhite kids...white!. In Prescott, Arizona of all places (groan.) Where is Billy Jack when we need him? <vote poll=world1781 closed="yes">Is that Internet idiot really Aspergic or just a fuckwit? A pee test for autism! <vote poll=world1780 closed="yes">"Hey, Baracky, watch me pull the end of your Presidency out of my ass hat!" "But that trick never works!" "This time for sure!" "Rrrrrrrroooooaaaaaaarrrrrrr!" "Looks like I'm gonna need another crackpot legal strategy." [http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/06/army_dashes_birther_hopes_for_obama_testimony_in_c.php Birthers get smacked down... again.] <vote poll=world1779 closed="yes"> "Wicked Nun vanquished. Catholic church excommunicates Nun that authorized a lifesaving abortion" How Do You Solve a Problem Like Margret McBride <vote poll=world1778 closed="yes">Success for abstinence-only sex education advocates! The rhythm method is now being used by an increasing number of American teens. <vote poll=world1777 closed="yes">Rand Paul may really be speaking to his base. According to a recent University of Washington poll finds that three out of four Teabaggers agree with the following statement: "While equal opportunity for blacks and minorities to succeed is important, it's not really the government's job to guarantee it."  Furthermore, more than half believe that "compared to the size of their group, lesbians and gays have too much political power." <vote poll=world1776 closed="yes">Former Head of GOP in Florida is arrested, has busted lip for some reason - resisting arrest?. <vote poll=world1775 closed="yes">In Iran improperly veiled women are a ""security issue." <vote poll=world1774 closed="yes">Conserva-schism! Some prominent evangelical Christians support comprehensive immigration reform, including a "path to citizenship"; others conservatives, including Mama Schlafly, disagree. <vote poll=world1773 closed="yes">Saudi woman beats up thought cop, risks lashing. (Although the burka might mean they'll have trouble getting a positive ID...) <vote poll=world1772 closed="yes">Monsignor Charles Scicluna warns paedophile priests that they will be punished utterly and horifically ... in his imagination. Yep, can't see that failing to stop the child raping dead in its tracks. <vote poll=world1771 closed="yes">Is Betelgeuse about to blow up? Let's watch the science sites over the next few days ... Update: Er, no. (everybody say "awww" )