RationalWiki:What is going on in the world?/September 2022

September 2022

39

Ukraine has formally applied to join NATO, and has asked for fast-tracked membership of the alliance.

4

Russia has "anschlussed" the four Ukrainian oblasts; Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, that it currently occupies.

24

A poll by the polling firm YouGov has placed Labour at a massive 33 points ahead of the Conservatives, by 54% against 21%, the largest lead in the polls since the 1990s. Translated into seats it would give Labour 498 seats against 61 for the Tories, giving a majority of 346.

20

Baptist churches becoming "Big Brother" with invasive phone spying software for their "flock"

30

It's going to be a cold winter; both Baltic gas pipelines suffer 'leaks' at exactly the same time, rendering them inoperable. If you don't believe this is Putin upping his bet by sabotaging his own pipelines to provide the 'excuse' of non-supply (and incidently, avoiding the mass fines for breach of contract), well I've got a bridge to sell you...

23

Even the World Champion of neoliberal stupidity, the IMF, has sharply criticised Kwanteng's mini-budget as fiscally irresponsible, and has advised to reverse tax cuts.

20

MP for Canterbury and transphobe Rosie Duffield has threatened to quit the Labour Party if notable queer Eddie Izzard is put on the party's candidate all-women shortlist. However, it is a load of hot air, as Labour have quietly dropped all-women shortlists earlier this year, as they broke the Equality Act.

46

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft has precisely impacted a small asteroid, completing humanity's first test of a planetary defense system.

28

After years of denial, "Putin's Chef" Yevgeny Prigozhin has finally admitted that he created the Russian-backed mercenary group, the Wagner Group.

29

An investigation panel for the United Nations accuses Russian troops of rape and torture of children in Ukraine, among other war crimes currently under expert inquiry.

31

At its party conference, Labour has voted to pass a motion to change the parliamentary electoral system from FPTP to proportional representation.

15

Vladimir Putin grants Russian citizenship to Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower who has lived in exile there for about a decade. According to the report, 74 other foreign nationals were also granted citizenship.

25

Already the knives are sharping for Truss, Tory rebels have now just said to the Torygraph that they are willing to cause havoc if the pound falls below parity to the dollar. Currently the pound has lost 17% of its value against the dollar this year alone, to £1=$1.09.

21

Most Republicans support Christian Nationalism despite recognizing it is unconstitutional, new poll says.

19

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has passed a mini-budget that has given huge tax cuts primarily to the rich worth £100 million. Already, it has led to disaster capitalism, of shorting the pound to lowest rate in over 35 years, and doubling gilts rates.

7

Florida Man attempted to fly migrants from Texas to Delaware duplicating the Martha’s Vineyard stunt.

27

Majority of UK public agree with liberal views on race and sexual identity – annual poll

28

Catholic bishops in the Belgian region of Flanders have said in a proclamation they would defy the Vatican, and bless same-sex couples.

53

Large protests have erupted in many Russian cities including St Petersburg, Moscow, Ufa, Yekaterinburg, and Irkutsk, plus a rush for airline tickets to leave the country, after Putin ordered partial military mobilization of Russia's reserve armed forces.

40

Donald Trump and members of his family sued by the New York attorney general for fraud.

55

Protests erupt in Iran after woman dies in the custody of morality police.

26

Oh boy. Biden has said in an interview on CBS' "60 Minutes", that the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is over, though medical experts say it isn't.

26

Truss has admitted that a UK-U.S. free trade agreement, a key commitment and wish by Brexiteers, is unlikely to happen in the near future.

62

Pew Research Center: "If recent trends in religious switching continue, Christians could make up less than half of the U.S. population within a few decades."

22

Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, both Russian CSTO allies, brutally clash along their border, displacing tens of thousands of civilians.

42

California man and longtime Wikipedia troll (User:Grawp) pleads guilty to making bomb and mass shooting threats against the Merriam-Webster dictionary for definitions he considered too pro-transgender and 'Marxist'. In comments to the dictionary's site he stated: "I am going to shoot up and bomb your offices for lying and creating fake definitions… Boys aren’t girls, and girls aren’t boys… I will assassinate your top editor".

31

Ukrainian forces have discovered an even worse mass grave than Bucha in the recently liberated city of Izyum, with the largest containing at least 440 bodies. Police have also said that found evidence of least 10 “torture chambers” in the liberated region.

45

EU lawmakers declare that Hungary is no longer a democracy.

30

In a rare showing of cross-party unity, four main parties in the European Parliament; the centre-left S&D, liberal Renew Europe, the centre-right EPP, and populist-right ECR, have chosen either Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian people or both for this year's Sakharov Prize.

-15

Toby Young's outfit "Free Speech Union", has called on Prime Minister Liz Truss to ban Drag Queen Story Hour.

24

With a weakened Russia due to the situation in Ukraine, there has been fresh fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh region between Azerbaijan and Russian-backed Armenia.

31

Right Wing Watch reports that conspiracy theorist and pillow hawker Mike Lindell is bankrolling Vincent James, the treasurer of the white nationalist organization America First and an unapologetic racist, antisemite, misogynist, conspiracy theorist, and fascist who declares that when Christian nationalists such as himself seize power, they intend to “dominate without mercy.” "There can be no denying that Mike Lindell is now using his corporation to fund overt Christian fascism."

45

Amazingly eighteen municipal lawmakers from Moscow and St Petersburg, have openly petitioned for the resignation of Vladimir Putin as president due to his actions that are "damaging Russia's future and its citizens."

25

Two people have been arrested for protesting against Charles III. One in Edinburgh by holding a sign saying "Fuck Imperialism, Abolish the Monarchy", and one in Oxford by saying "Who elected him?".

36

Moments after the investiture of Charles III as head of state, the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda announces there will be a referendum on becoming a republic within three years.

53

The Ukrainian Armed Forces have captured the strategically important city of Izyum in the east of the country, and are now heading towards Donetsk Airport.

25

Almost half of Liberal Democratic Party Diet members had contacts with ex-Unification Church.

61

Queen Elizabeth II has died, aged 96 at Balmoral, Scotland. Her son, Charles goes by Charles III, now that he is King.

38

Erdoğan's anti-democratic and anti-secular takeover of Turkey's justice system is a warning of how easily rule of law can be undermined by would-be dictators.

36

According to U.S. intelligence, arsenal shortages and sanctions mean that Russia is starting to source artillery and rockets from North Korea.

-2

Liz Truss will be the UK's next Prime Minister.

10

Mass stabbings occur in Saskatchewan. Ten have died.

82

Kiwi Farms has been kickbanned by CloudFlare. UPDATE: And now also their new Russian service provider.

30

Republicans are looking for legal options to block Biden's student debt relief initiative. Ted Cruz commented that debt relief could cause "slacker baristas" to vote for Democrats in the midterm elections if they "get off the bong for a minute".

36

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (the current Vice President and former President of Argentina) narrowly avoids assassination when an attacker’s gun jams inches from her face.