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

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February 2010

3

The Church singles out one particular group of sinners in the Netherlands. Go on - guess which group. Other bigots are offended when that group protests.

2

At least the US Air Force still has the Stargate program.

7

What is it with the homophobic Christian beauty queens from California? Oh, right, I remember now - they're usually liars.

3

Liberalism, atheism, male sexual exclusivity linked to IQ. Be interesting to see what take CP takes, if any, on this one.

7

8.8 magnitude earthquake devastates central Chile.

7

Really. If you are going to declare your isolated, rural, 95.7% white county a "United Nations-free Zone," should you be surprised or angry when the Aryan Nations thinks that you are their kind of people?

4

Kentucky Senator Jim Bunning blocks the passing of the employment bill. Why? Because fuck you, Democrats.

4

When will the political class (both Democrats and Republicans) learn? This is why you don't pick winners and losers. AIG posts $9 billion quarterly loss.

4

We're back up to nine planets in the solar system: The eight we all know and love and planet UTAH.

10

A fast food chain in France with a majority of Muslim patrons replaces it's bacon burger with a new burger featuring Halal beef and a slice of turkey. Politicians claim religious discrimination and begin political action to punish restaurants. France really hates Muslims.

3

The Secular Coalition for America wants you to vote for which secular policy they should bring to the table when they meet with the White House on Feb 26th.

6

Italian court convicts Google execs for a video posted by Italian teens to Google video of the boys bullying an autistic teen. To quote the article, "This is like charging the postal service for somebody sending hate mail through it."

0

Sexually immature, but cute all American girl goes out to Hollywood to try and make it big. Oh no this can't end well.

9

Stewart to Beck: You're a Communist!

5

New Pew Forum study: 79% of Americans, both young and old, believe in miracles.

4

New fuel cell to provide electricity to homes ? Bloom Box

4

Palin's family has federally funded health care afforded to them...but if you had it Barack Obama might kill you

5

Throw the bums out. Not the Democrats, the insurance company leaders, for hiking rates and reducing services when making a 2.7 billion dollar profit.

6

It's one thing when preachers say prayer reduces crime - of course they're going to say that - but when the police are saying it...

15

The UK Government, after extensive lobbying from the Catholic Education Service, is going to allow a religious schools an opt-out of the law requiring sex education in schools. Religious schools will still be required to deliver sex education, but they're allowed to do it in a way that's compatible with their religious beliefs. i.e. Catholic sex education will consist of explaining what condoms are for and then threatening the children with eternal torture in Hell if they should ever consider using such wicked devices. Hooray for STDs and teen pregnancy!

9

Ron Houben, the Belgian in a coma who could communicate via "facilitated communication"? Turns out "facilitated communication" is still utterly bogus and Mr Houben is still locked in his head.

3

CPAC straw poll voters endorse Ron Paul for president in '12 with 33% of the votes, over such canidates as Mitt Romney (22%) and Sarah Palin (7%). Sure, he could do better than he did in '08, I mean he couldn't do much worse...

1

Sadly, none of the 33 'orphans' that were involved in the Haitian orphan case were orphans. Desperate parents were sending their children to what they hoped was a new start.

-2

Lucky for Mitt Romney that it wasn't Fiddy on that airplane.

7

Newsweek reports that John Yoo advised George W. Bush that as president, he not only had the constitutional power to torture, but he also had the constitutional power to massacre entire villages. (Big surprise: Yoo's faculty profile page on the UC Berkeley website glosses over his ties to the Bush administration.)

23

Domestic terror attack in Austin yesterday, so what does every major "news" outlet cover today?

3

The Brown Dirt Cowboy claims Jesus was gay.

0

Nothing short of taking another person's life will end Marion Barry's political career.

6

It's a bad time to be gay in Malawi. Protest group, Lesbian and Gay Equality Project, based in South Africa, blames the work of US evangelical Christian groups.

8

The UK releases it's latest UFO reports. Curiously the aliens appear to model their craft using the latest sci-fi blockbuster.

2

Complaints Jan Moir's column about the death of Steven Gately are not upheld by the Press Complains Commission; citing that "it was an essential point of principle that papers could print views which might offend readers".

0

New Pew Forum Poll reports that 25% of Americans born since 1980 are "agnostic or atheist". 45 percent of the same age group report they pray daily, and two thirds believe in God "with absolute certainty".

11

Fundamentalism kills. No further comment!

3

So much for Transubstantiation. René Descartes is thought to have been poisoned by arsenic-laced communion wafer.

9

Russian pulls porno prank, hilarity ensues!

10

Pauline Hanson, famous for being very much against immigration, decides to emigrate to the UK. *cough*Hypocrite*cough*

3

This is one way of making sure people don't get sent to Gitmo.

0

BNP: racist party ditches racist membership policy.

1

Looks like others found this to be as funny as we would: Found on the Friends of Irony page

7

Whilst the US has blizzards, the Olympic men's downhill is cancelled due to "slushy" snow.

5

Flowers? Chocolates? No, Valentine's Day used to be about pain, baby.

8

All together now: "He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy!"

2

This wouldn't have happened in China.

9

While conservatives use recent blizzards in the United States to mock the idea of global warming, record high January temperatures in Vancouver force the Olympics to import snow.

6

Another odd chapter in the banking crisis that might be called "foreclosure frenzy." Bank of America set out to foreclose on a Florida home. The real estate agent hired by B of A told them that (1) B of A had the wrong house (the actual house that should be foreclosed on was across the street and about ten houses down), and (2) the owners of the house B of A was targeting had paid cash for it. B of A foreclosed anyway.

7

There is now more space in space.

0

Anonymous launches Operation Titstorm: For two days now the Australian Parliament's website has been going offline. The new $23.4 million Cyber Security Operations Centre is thwarted by a group of Channers.

11

The FBI detains a college student for having Arabic flashcards in his airplane luggage, not doubt thinking that the mere sight of the language of teh ebildoerz would send travelers into a panic.

1

And people say there isn't anymore honor in this world.

-2

Must be a slow news day as the BBC compares bananas with Kit-Kats. - although look out for the Ray Comfort shout out at the end.

4

Unrestricted internet access helps pupils in the long run.

4

Conservative honesty- the most outspoken opponents of the stimulus bill ask for a cut in private.

2

The Maverick goes to the extreme right to fight off a primary challenger.

3

RIP John Murtha.

12

Sarah Palin caught reading cheat notes written on her hand during Teabaggers debate.

0

The Catholic Church shows it's learnt its lessons from the child rape coverups ... by, er, quietly shuffling a criminal priest to another parish.

8

>3000 dinosaur footprints found in China. Expect complicated explanations of how they're all less than 6000 years old.

9

Apparently, Pluto is blushing. Well, wouldn't you, if you'd just been downgraded?

8

Today's politics in the USA: Republican senator from Alabama places holds on Obama's nominees, over 70 nominations so far, until earmarks get approved for his home state.

6

The Tea Party reveals its political group, named the Ensuring Liberty Corp. in the traditional right-wing sickeningly jingoistic fashion.

5

The Tea Party tells the public that basically no-one to the left of unelectable right wing nutjobs are acceptable candidates. This includes the main bastions of the Republican Party.

8

Palin shies away from criticizing Rush over using the 'r-word', after being all over a Democrat for doing it.

3

Gotcha! Three MPs & One peer being charged about their expenses claims under theft act.

3

In the 1980s there was a TV commercial with a brake technician who said "A car that won't start is a problem. A car that won't stop...{knowing glare}" Toyota is now suffering a double whammy reflecting the second half of this statement.

1

From the "Wait... what?" department. You're too young to buy this quiche. Let me see some ID first.

16

Finally! An Oregon jury CONVICTS two faith healing parents for standing by and watching as their teenaged son died of a curable condition.

7

After the UK's General Medical Council officially denounces the publication of Andrew Wakefield's onerous paper linking the MMR vaccine to autism, The Lancet issues a formal retraction (twelve years late).

1

"If this poll is accurate, the Republican base has an absurdly high percentage of wackos of all stripes, from religious fanatics to creationists to secessionists to conspiracy theorists."

3

Everybody knows that children are in constant danger these days and that things were much better in the good old days, right? Wrong.

6

A proposed amendment would reverse the recent Supreme Court ruling granting unlimited spending to corporations

2

Physicists have 'solved' the mystery of levitation, opening up a path to successful fusion.

2

You want to download the speeches of a fascist dictator? There's was an app for that!

3

The first organic molecule on a world orbiting another star is detected.

5

On the other hand, Colin Powell shifts in favor of repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell.

6

We're disappointed in you too Senator McCain

2

Survey of 1300 websurfers finds internet use is linked to depression. UPDATE: Or is it?

5

A small localised victory for free speech on-line.

4

After a few weeks of silence, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is talking to FBI interrogators again. No doubt Republicans will see that period of silence as a sign of weakness in the American justice system and will demand that he be tortured anyway.

8

Virgin Birth - kinda possible actually.

13

A school system in Virginia bans a popular historical account of a book-banning regime. Only one person complained about the "sexually explicit material and homosexual themes" in The Diary of Anne Frank. UPDATE: Culpeper County school board reverses decision.

17

Link between MMR vaccine and autism ruled quackery. [1]

6

The presumption of the godly leave me gobsmacked.