RationalWiki talk:What is going on in the world?/Archive12

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New Zealand Wildlife WIGO

Nothing -> Nothing -> Nothing -> Nothing -> Birds -> Birds -> Birds -> Birds -> Birds that can't fly -> Ace McWicked. When viewed in context, Ace's defense of NZ becomes clear. rpeh •T•C•E• 21:10, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

? Ace^Moderator 21:13, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

You inhabit a country full of birds that can't fly... okay, I'll get my coat. rpeh •T•C•E• 21:16, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Well better than inhabiting a country full of jingoistic fat fucks who lounge round the pub all day watching football before heading home to beat their wives and abuse their children. Ace^Moderator 21:28, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Try re-reading it as a joke that didn't work rather than an insult, then toke another blunt. rpeh •T•C•E• 21:31, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

I didn't read it as an insult. Ace^Moderator 21:42, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

When communicating with Ace there are two rules: 1. insults are jokes. 2. insults are actual insults. --84.158.60.238 (talk) 22:40, 19 May 2012 (UTC)

Football season's over for three months. Of course there are the Euro's next month :D El Taj^{Don't make me do stuff} 11:19, 23 May 2012 (UTC)

I thought the interesting thing about New Zealand's wildlife was those massive fucking insects? Nothing with an exoskeleton should be that big, it goes against nature. Flightless birds are nothing special, a bird is a flying lizard, so a flightless bird is just a lizard. 82.69.171.94 (talk) 10:52, 23 May 2012 (UTC)

Nude cannibal

My email inbox is already full of hysterical idiots claiming a zombie apocalypse. Survivalists are such fun. Copperhead^Hisssssss 19:18, 27 May 2012 (UTC)

Did the cop need to shoot this guy? Don't get me wrong here, a face eating naked person who ignores commands is high on my list of "shoot first and then run away screaming later", it just seems odd that the cop went from "warning" to "shooting" with no intermediate steps. Tazers, pepper spray, physically tackling him, whatever. Although I guess the fact that he was eating a face at the time kinda forced decisive action. X Stickman (talk) 02:02, 28 May 2012 (UTC)

Yea, I don't see any police abuse here. I think the cannibal had it coming. Onion ^Hi! :) 02:06, 28 May 2012 (UTC)

Since the victim was still alive I think they're saying it was warranted. That and the guy was high as a satellite.Ayzmo (talk) 16:11, 28 May 2012 (UTC)

Question...

Anybody have a clue why the Germany/solar WIGO get's voted down so heavily? Does RW think solar energy is bullshit or does the German language throw people off? I'm not trying to stir trouble here, I honestly don't get it, and before I find myself in a massive two week long argument, I felt like asking. --Raga Man (talk) 07:54, 29 May 2012 (UTC)

The story is interesting, but the WIGO is shit. As the instructions say, "WRITING WIGOS THAT GIVE A SENSE AS TO WHAT THEY ARE ABOUT..." Using any stock German phrase to illustrate a story about Germany is pretty poor. rpeh •T•C•E• 08:06, 29 May 2012 (UTC)

That's the weird thing about it. It's not just any stock phrase, it means translated "Germany on top" (which sounds rather rape-y in English) and is taken from the anthem. But yes, there's nothing in their relating to solar energy. Can one still change it or is that against the unwritten community code? --Raga Man (talk) 10:52, 29 May 2012 (UTC)

I know what it means, but it's got nothing to do with solar power. It could be about football, the current Euro crisis, national anthems of the world or just about anything else. The only way you can understand the WIGO is by clicking on the link. I'm sometimes tempted to vote down WIGOs like this as a means of suggesting the writer learn to write. I didn't do it in this case but one can probably assume that some people did it. rpeh •T•C•E• 05:48, 30 May 2012 (UTC)

AFAIK the phrase is from the anthem of Nazi Germany, so it would be offensive to a German. Regardless, this is piece of energy news is so biased that it looks as if it was from some kind of fantasy land.

• "German solar power plants produced a world record 22 gigawatts of electricity per hour" - this is complete nonsense. It's like saying your car travels 100 miler per hour per hour.
• "equal to 20 nuclear power stations at full capacity" - they are mistaking a nuclear power plant with a nuclear reactor. A large reactor will produce 1 to 1.7GW, but a single power plant can have several. Also missing is the key piece of information that it is physically impossible for the solar installations to maintain this power for any extended time, due to the astronomical phenomenon called "night", while nuclear power stations routinely operate at 100% of capacity continuously for up to 2 years.
• "(Nuclear power plants) will be replaced by renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and bio-mass." This is wishful thinking - there are 19 large coal power stations under construction. Shutting down nuclear power plants is extremely counterproductive when global warming mitigation is concerned.
• "The record-breaking amount of solar power shows one of the world's leading industrial nations was able to meet a third of its electricity needs on a work day, Friday, and nearly half on Saturday when factories and offices were closed." In other words, the power was produced when it wasn't needed. On average, solar supplied around 3% of electricity in 2011, despite 100 billion euro in subsidies that were poured into its development. (And this percentage is artificially high, because total power production decreased sharply in 2011.)

--Tweenk (talk) 18:41, 30 May 2012 (UTC)

I can't say anything about about the technicalities of the article, but conserning the anthem: no. But, go nuts. --Raga Man (talk) 20:00, 30 May 2012 (UTC)

I stopped trying to understand how voting worked a long time ago. ^pathetic 20:03, 30 May 2012 (UTC)

Nowadays only the third stanza is used as the official anthem. Singing the first stanza which contains the phrase you used has strong nationalistic / far-right overtones. --Tweenk (talk) 20:31, 30 May 2012 (UTC)

No. The second stanza remains unsung. The first is sung at times, and not just far-right crap. And the third is always sung. --Raga Man (talk) 21:53, 30 May 2012 (UTC)

Lolwut? Nobody in their right mind ever sings the 1st stanza. You may have noticed that it's full of claims to territories that are nowadays part of other nations. Singing it would mean that you'd like them back, which would indeed be far-right revisionism. 46.165.196.12 (talk) 22:11, 30 May 2012 (UTC)

"Tolerance and condemnation"

It might make you squeamish, but why should you stand in judgment of what someone else chooses to do with their genitals? Blue (pester) 12:59, 29 May 2012 (UTC)

Barring heath and safety concerns, etc. Blue (pester) 13:03, 29 May 2012 (UTC)

(and consent.) Amen to that statement. People care way too much about what other people do in this world, and "why" they do it. neal D tyson said something like "If you make one person happy today, and learn one new thing today, and say hi to one new person each day, your life will have such meaning you wont need anything else." or some such. I think he was talking about god, but it applys to a whole range of things, like the issue you raise of people caring "what i do with my genitals".--Godot 20:37, 30 May 2012 (UTC)

Dominion of Canada

I have said for a decade that what you see in the US is not unique to the US, we are just further ahead of being run by corproations. There really is a "world order", just not the conspiracy the nut jobs make it. Money talks, and international money talks even louder. Power exists where the money is, and that is in corporations, in Oil, in banks, insurances, pharmacy, etc., and etc. With austerity in Europe, UK struggling to balance health and education with the new "anti immigrant" "anti taxes" of the rich, that's the way our future will be. Hell, only way to fight it is to be China, and just legislate human rights out of existence. --Godot 20:46, 30 May 2012 (UTC)

I eagerly await the return of gravel roads. Тyrannis^{An iron, but caring, fist} 22:20, 30 May 2012 (UTC)

I think the best idea is for RW to move to Scandinavia and sneer at the idiots. Osaka Sun (talk) 23:13, 30 May 2012 (UTC)

I agree. The West is moving quite rapidly toward hyper-plutocratic forms of government, whilst retaining some of the outward displays and legacies of democratic systems, in much the same way that China has retained the outward displays of communism. The idea that this is some form of sooper seekrit conspiracy is absurd, since much of the "agenda" is admitted and pursued in the open.

Similarly, the idea that in order to compete against China the West must become more like China has also been pretty much openly said, and I personally think that some (though not all) elements of Chinese system will be cloned in the West in the next 20-50 years. However, the key thing is, that it is not China's industrial growth that is desired, but rather it's extremely high level of surplus value.

BY focusing on increasing the effective exploitation of the population, re-distribution of wealth up the social pyramid means that those at the top can enjoy large increases in wealth even as production capacity of the economy shrinks, and even as economic growth itself on the national level is in decline. This cannot be done in China since the lower social strata are already exploited at close to the maximum that is possible. The only way for the Chinese wealthy to get wealthier is to actually make wealth by expanding the production capacity of the economy. But in the West, as a result of progressive policies in the 20th century, there is a large amount of resources "wasted" at the middle and bottom of the pyramid, whose segments of the population posses resources above what is needed to keep them in a state fit to work and reproduce. By seizing that wealth and transferring it to the top the wealthy can ensure they gain more wealth - and consolidate their power, without needing to invest any significant resources or effort in productive enterprise. -- 23:45, 31 May 2012 (UTC)

Inaccurate LimeWire story

Though funny, that story has since been proven inaccurate. Cow...Hammer^time! 16:44, 31 May 2012 (UTC)

"This was disturbing to see. We would hope that there be basic standards that reporters and bloggers adhere to, like doing original research, checking with sources referenced, before just re-posting a story and accepting everything as fact. That means also actually attaching a byline to a post too. The standard should not be "we'll post whatever and correct it if it's wrong." Get it right in the first place, do the homework. " That's because we all think you lost your mind a long time ago. Honestly, did anybody think "Oh the RIAA, they wouldn't do that!"?--84.158.63.245 (talk) 00:53, 1 June 2012 (UTC)

Suicidal woman charged with " attempted feticide"

(link) A pregnant woman in Indiana was dumped by her lover (who was married to another woman) in 2011, tries to commit suicide by drinking rat poison and is rushed to hospital. Cesarean is performed to try and save the baby as well, but it died - and the woman (who was so traumatized she was transferred to the mental health ward) was arrested and has been imprisoned for over a year, charged with "murdering a fetus" and "attempted feticide". She appealed to the Indiana supreme court, which has refused to hear the case... so look s like she will stand trial in December. This fails in so many levels *headdesk* -- 19:54, 1 June 2012 (UTC)

I honestly though this would be dropped as soon as any court saw it. She tried to KILL HERSELF. that she was pregnant is immaterial to the fact that she tried to kill herself. That should not be a crime, just a statement of "oh fuck, you need help". WOMEN ARE NOT FUCKING SECONDARY TO THE GROWTH THEY CARRY INSIDE THEMSELVES. It is abohrant that we care more about a fetus than her. GodotWhen I graduated, Cognative Science of Religion didn't even exist! now it's everywhere 20:31, 1 June 2012 (UTC)

Some worse types of Christianity encourage this sort of persecution of a suicidal woman. You don't want us to have an article about Childhood indoctrination although Childhood indoctrination encourages all types of Christianity including the very bad types. You don't want to teach children more about atheism than that some people don't believe religion/Christianity and most kids know that by the age of ten. Do you have some secret agenda, Godot? Proxima Centauri (talk) 01:18, 2 June 2012 (UTC)

What the fuck? Do you read what you type? Or are you really that paranoid? Тyrannis^Plead 01:28, 2 June 2012 (UTC)

rpoxmia pls Blue (is useful) 01:32, 2 June 2012 (UTC)

I think that it's a very inept attempt at trolling (hyperbole/reductio ad absurdum/shaming). Or a bad exercise in NLP.--ZooGuard (talk) 13:52, 2 June 2012 (UTC)

This court case or what PC said? Ŵêâŝêîôîď^{Methinks it is a Weasel} 13:59, 2 June 2012 (UTC)

"Physician's right to religion"

Pardon me if this isn't a fact, but it seems to me when you take a job, you take the whole job, not just the parts you like. If I am a muslim, and apply for a job as a chef where pork is cooked, i suspect i would be quickly fired for refusing to cook (and taste) the pork. If I work for a job like a Fire Department that rotates shifts so everyone works some weekends, I don't get to say "not me, no sir. my religion prevents it". But these doctors think they should not have to do something that is against their morals? -- But perhaps what is more galling, is that they didn't perform a Rape Kit on her. That has nothing to do with morals, but will prevent her from being able to put the man who did this, behind bars. How do they get away with this stuff?--GodotWhen I graduated, Cognative Science of Religion didn't even exist! now it's everywhere 16:36, 5 June 2012 (UTC)

Hurl some acid

God forgive me for defending the Right, but couldn't comment be taken to mean bile or anger at (female) Democrats? I couldn't see a reference to their faces, neither. Scherben 21:52, 6 June 2012 (UTC) ^{— Unsigned, by: Scherben / talk / contribs} 21:52, 06 June 2012 (UTC)

That's actually how I took it. Radioactive afikomen ^{Please ignore all my awful pre-2014 comments.} 23:43, 6 June 2012 (UTC)

Hire teacher, ask teacher if they're gay, fire teacher

That sort of discrimination is unfortunately fairly common, but I'm struck by the incredibly dickish way they handled it. Spend days vetting him, observe him teach a class, hire him, and only then do they remember that not being gay is for some reason very important. That's a brutal way to bring him down from the high of "I just got hired!" Radioactive afikomen ^{Please ignore all my awful pre-2014 comments.} 23:42, 6 June 2012 (UTC)

It's definitely a shitty move on the part of the school, but if you're gay, why would you seek a job at a Christian school? Not that it's any of the school's business that the teacher is gay or not--User:Brxbrx/sig 00:06, 7 June 2012 (UTC)

Yes, because there are no gay Christians. Mr. Anon (talk) 01:33, 7 June 2012 (UTC)

Those aren't true christians! --il'Dictator Mikal 01:36, 7 June 2012 (UTC)

Interesting how fundies count liberal, moderate Christians towards their number when bragging about increase in religion, but accuse people like Barack Obama of being "not true Christians" when they criticize the extremists. Mr. Anon (talk) 01:52, 7 June 2012 (UTC)

FBI

I didn't get it at first, but then it hit me the hardest I've been hit in a long time. Unbelievable. Senator Harrison (talk) 11:45, 7 June 2012 (UTC)

School voucher debate becomes even more depressing

Oh no! An Islamic school wants vouchers! Quick, cut them from the list. We can't use taxpayer money to support Islamic teachings! Тyrannis^Plead 18:12, 7 June 2012 (UTC)

This whole thing will blow up in their faces, but until it does it will be costly to kids and just ugly.--GodotWhen I graduated, Cognative Science of Religion didn't even exist! now it's everywhere 18:17, 7 June 2012 (UTC)

The idiots on the morning radio show then tried to claim it was ok for Christian and Muslim schools but not Islamic schools. Because Islam isn't a religion, but "Muslim" is. In their universe, Islam is a form of government. Тyrannis^Plead 18:20, 7 June 2012 (UTC)

Christianity isn't a religion but christian is. Judiasm isn't a religion, but Jew is. oohhhhkkkayyyyyyyyyy. Islam. "m'islam" (follower of). wheeee your state is filled with idiots that make my idiots look like geniuses. --GodotWhen I graduated, Cognative Science of Religion didn't even exist! now it's everywhere 18:24, 7 June 2012 (UTC)

And of course, there are the schools with out playgrounds, the schools without libraries, the schools with creationist biology and math textbooks (Set therory is the Devil). All with vouchers. Тyrannis^Plead 18:28, 7 June 2012 (UTC)

The "gay gene" story

Can someone please rig up a script blocking HuffPo links from the WIGOs?--ZooGuard (talk) 08:25, 14 June 2012 (UTC)

No, because the HuffPo discussing anything vaguely related to science should go in WIGO:Clog. ^postate 09:05, 14 June 2012 (UTC)

Cow gives human milk

C'mon, this idea really rocks! Argentinian cow Rosita gives almost-human milk, which can be used to feed babies that have no mother. http://health-med-news.com/health/rosita-the-transgenic-cow-give-a-little-human-milk/ ^{— Unsigned, by: RationalSpanish / talk / contribs} 12:21, 14 June 2012 (UTC)

DarwinTunes

Wasn't there an Arthur C. Clarke Tales from the White Hart story along those lines? Peter ^{Urist for Mod!} 07:49, 19 June 2012 (UTC)

I hate to say it but when I first read about this it seemed to be more like IntelligentDesignTunes than DarwinTunes. The fact you have an external entity (or several entities) making value-based judgements on the music separates it from the natural selection of evolution. rpeh •T•C•E• 08:05, 19 June 2012 (UTC)

It is closest to artificial selection in its operation, not intelligent design (i.e., a human composer). ListenerX^TalkerX 08:17, 19 June 2012 (UTC)

(EC) It seems closer to theistic evolution than ID to me. It's a little like Dawkin's 'Biomophs.' Peter ^{Urist for Mod!} 08:19, 19 June 2012 (UTC)

Fair points - either would be more accurate. rpeh •T•C•E• 08:34, 19 June 2012 (UTC)

Not really. It's wrong to suggest that it's intelligent design or artificial selection or any other variant purely because there's an intelligent agent actively making decisions. People are merely stating "I like this loop more than this one" which a) is a selection pressure upon the survival of what they're listening to and b) working only on the current, existing generation. No one is actually designing anything from scratch or actively assembling new pieces from a stock with intent (i.e., intelligent design) and nor are they selecting breeders with a predictive sense of what the next generation will be like (i.e., artificial selection). It's still an evolutionary algorithm working on the principle of natural selection; that the selection pressure is "artificial" or "intelligent" in nature is beside the point in this matter. ^postate 18:16, 19 June 2012 (UTC)

Still a nice idea though. 174.118.208.93 (talk) 17:56, 19 June 2012 (UTC)

And, like the finest science, clearly the product of someone with too much time on his hands. Did you notice that the paper was edited by Lenski? - David Gerard (talk) 19:08, 19 June 2012 (UTC)

Texas G.O.P. Platform

Whilst non of it is exactly shocking I'm bemused by what the poster has picked on to WIGO. From my British perspective far more worrying, if not suprising is

“”Sex Education – We recognize parental responsibility and authority regarding sex education. We believe that parents must be given an opportunity to review the material prior to giving their consent. We oppose any sex education other than abstinence until marriage.

or

“”Religious Freedom in Public Schools – We urge school administrators and officials to inform Texas school students specifically of their First Amendment rights to pray and engage in religious speech, individually or in groups, on school property without government interference. We urge the Legislature to end censorship of discussion of religion in our founding documents and encourage discussing those documents.

or

“”Controversial Theories – We support objective teaching and equal treatment of all sides of scientific theories. We believe theories such as life origins and environmental change should be taught as challengeable scientific theories subject to change as new data is produced. Teachers and students should be able to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these theories openly and without fear of retribution or discrimination of any kind.

or

“”Classroom Discipline –We recommend that local school boards and classroom teachers be given more authority to deal with disciplinary problems. Corporal punishment is effective and legal in Texas.

But, to quote Ry Cooder, Thats the way the girls are in Texas, case dismissed" Bad Faith (talk) 15:42, 27 June 2012 (UTC)

The way girls are in Texas is Molly Ivins and Ann Richards. Sadly, they're both gone now. Texas and America needs more Democrats like them. MDB (talk) 15:50, 27 June 2012 (UTC)

Hmm... I didn't mean to diss the women of Texas any more than the men. It's just that, whenever I see that it's different in Texas, the Ry Cooder song comes to mind. Maybe I should retract the last bit of my post. Bad Faith (talk) 15:55, 27 June 2012 (UTC)

No need. You just reminded me of two women I have a lot of respect for.

Molly is reportedly the one who first called George Bush the Lesser "Shrub" and Ann is the one who famously described George Bush the Elder as "born with a silver foot in his mouth." MDB (talk) 15:57, 27 June 2012 (UTC)

I agree with Bad Faith; the other bits ey mentioned scare the living daylights out of me. I saw the "critical thinking" part as most central to the RW mission.

Public education is a public good, and should be given robust support which it is not getting. I don't want to live in a country divided into suits and serfs, but the players with all the pull seem to be pointing us in that direction. Interesting times... Sprocket J Cogswell (talk) 16:20, 27 June 2012 (UTC)

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ The Texas GOP are now claiming that the critical thinking bit was a "mistake". Rrrright. rpeh •T•C•E• 12:34, 29 June 2012 (UTC)

Of course it's a mistake! Texas Republicans are opposed to teaching any thinking skills whatsoever, not just critical ones. #rimshot# MDB (talk) 12:51, 29 June 2012 (UTC)

It is funny to see them backslide so fast it ought to be considered figure skating, though. ±KnightOfTL;DR^{yeah, well you fight like a cow!} 12:58, 29 June 2012 (UTC)

The Kathy Griffin one

a bunch of memes about someone I've never heard of reacting to someone else I've never heard of. End of rant. Sophie^{because liberals} 16:48, 2 July 2012 (UTC)

It's going to get downvoted to oblivion. She's been working with Anderson for years on New Year's Eve and there's always been a little sexual tension going on. Osaka Sun (talk) 16:59, 2 July 2012 (UTC)

I'm not sure why someone coming out is a wigo at all. AMassiveGay (talk) 17:10, 2 July 2012 (UTC)

The Arizona Home Church Story

Two things I noted about the Arizona home church story:

1. The Fox Nation crowd seems to have actually caught on quickly the guy was blatantly violating zoning laws.
2. The don't seem to notice that it's the Maricopa County Jail. That means he'll be under the care of conservative demigod Joe Arpaio.

MDB (talk) 09:36, 11 July 2012 (UTC)

Yeah, I've been following this story for a couple of weeks now since it is pretty interesting. As we've seen more details come forward from other sources the articles on Faux News have become shorter on focused more on quotes from the pastor and the religious persecution bit. Meanwhile intelligent people have been popping up in the comments with actual facts. Some people are still livid though. You'll also notice that people are claiming it is Obama's fault when the case began in 2007. Ayzmo (talk) 14:33, 11 July 2012 (UTC)

I'm actually fucking scared

“”Yet, even now, mainstream media in the US is incapable of seeing and naming what is going on. One major reason is that they themselves have long since stopped caring about truth in the realm of politics. If two sides disagree, both are reported, he-said/she-said style, without any hint that one or both may be lying six ways from Sunday. The media and its defenders call this "balanced". To call one side a liar would be "biased", to call them both liars would be "cynical", if not unthinkable. [...] This disdain for truth when it matters most - when it applies to those who would be king - is exactly the opposite of what it pretends to be: rather than favouring no one, so that truth may flourish, it favours those most willing to lie, giving them a consistent strategic advantage over those who care about facts. Which is why and how the mainstream media has helped sow the seeds of its own ongoing destruction. [...] By religiously following this see-no-evil practice, the US mainstream media are incapable of seeing what's going on right before their eyes, even as Romney's top media men openly declare war on them.

—That most recent WIGO from Al Jazeera

This is a fucking coup d'etat by the radical right. Glenn Beck thinks the Overton window is going to move the country to the left? Bullshit. The Republican Party is being enslaved by the John Birch/militia/Tea Party forces, neoliberal Democrats move to the center to try and appear less "extreme," the center moves right, and the media report as though nothing is happening! Ordinary people are being imperialized by Koch anarcho-capitalism, by Birtherism, by Drudge/Breitbart conspiracism and the media does not call them out on it because they're worried about ratings, they're worried about being called "liberal", they're worried about what Fox "News" will say about them. Fuck, they even managed to turn "mainstream media" into an insult! Blue (pester) 01:35, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

You fail to understand that we exist in different epistemological paradigms, fuckpants! Nebuchadnezzar (talk) 01:55, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

From the standpoint of someone with journalistic experience, this statement baffles me because it's utter nonsense. No media that claims to even be marginally mainstream (FOX may be popular, but it is betrayed by its enormous mass of opinion shows that it isn't putting much of a pretense of being taken-seriously news reporting by those in the biz. Pretty much every journalist I know identifies it as an editorial establishment masquerading as news reporting by sheer saturation among its target audience) can afford to favor those who lie. Favoring people who lie, knowingly (rather than your sources lying to you), gets you in enormous trouble. It gets you, if you work there, fired. This rant reads to me like every other "we are angry that what we think isn't in the news!" when in fact what they think isn't news, because it isn't happening and isn't true. Sure, they may call the Mainstream Media (whatever that is, even the oldest professor I know who's been in the biz the longest, was a professional muckraker, has no idea what that even means; news may be owned by large corporations but individual papers that hire journalists and run articles and serve populations are very much reigonal in nature, there is no corporate flying monkey from mordor demanding PRINT THE WORD OF SATAN; it's determined by the interests, beats, and persuasions of the surrounding population)'balanced' and then claim that it's not... and they're right. It's not ethical for the news to give equal time to statements without evidence vs statements with evidence. It is very much like science in this way. Unless it's an opinion piece, a feature, editorial, analysis, or other non-news story, it has to be supported by evidence. This whole rant is singularly baffling, doesn't make sense in the least, and I don't find myself very scared by it because to someone who's going into the biz, it's the rantings of a madman. Full of sound and fury. ±KnightOfTL;DR^{lavishly loquacious} 01:58, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

Right, it's not torture, it's "enhanced interrogation." And there is no consensus on global warming. How's that for Fair and Balanced(TM)? Nebuchadnezzar (talk) 02:19, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

I would be lying if I didn't say that I had a whole seminar explaining using 'enhanced interrogation techniques' as the boogeyman example of Bad Reporting. ±KnightOfTL;DR^{garrulous en guerre} 02:35, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

Have you had lectures on everything? Peter ^{This is not my first temporal anomaly} 02:55, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

No, only things I've taken classes on. However everyone in my house is an intellectual, so everything they've ever done bleeds into my information banks, and I don't often get work related to my major (hard to do for mine without a degree; I get an internship this year in my field) so I have knowledge relating to the work I have done there too... My hobby is information aggregation it seems. Rest assured, I mark when the research is my own rather than me trying to repeat what some other infinitely-more-read professor stuffed into my syllabus. ±KnightOfTL;DR^{free guybrush threepwood! no new taxes! down with porcelain!} 03:11, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

It looked to me that he wasn't saying that journalists were favouring people that lie, rather that their actions and methods were inherently advantageous to such people - which seems a little different. Peter ^{This is not my first temporal anomaly} 02:55, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

Considering that the actions and methods of journalists aren't supposed to do that, that seems quite like an accusation to me. What this guy is arguing for is that there not only shouldn't be a free market of ideas (any idea enters the 'market,' the good ones are 'bought' and made visible, the ones that are bad are not and sink to the bottom unseen) but instead favor his ideas and no one else's... Pretty sure he's whining about the system in general not treating his crazy ideas seriously. The idea being that he can say whatever he wants, but generally things with evidence of being true will be selected for by the population: journalists will find ledes to stories based on them, their effects will become apparent in current events, etc. Basically he's mad that reality doesn't conform to his ideas. As always. ±KnightOfTL;DR^{longissimus non legeri} 03:05, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

I am not disputing all of the things you've said, but when I say that the media appear to be biased toward "balance", I mean that, and I'm quoting, "If the Republican congressional caucus were to walk onto the floor of the House and offer a resolution saying the world is flat, the next day's headlines would likely read: 'Democrats and Republicans can't agree on shape of Earth.'" Blue (is useful) 03:40, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

True story

RE: http://www.humanevents.com/2012/07/13/when-political-correctness-collides-with-political-correctness/

I'm a little dubious of anything that says "this is a true story" then appends "dailymail.co.uk" as its source. The Mail isn't exactly known for its accurate depiction of events should they be twisted to suit its editorial stance. ^pathetic 15:33, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

HumanEvents is nearly a notch up from WND, sure this didn't miss clogo? Pi 3:14 (talk) 15:38, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

Googling her name, only turns up that version of the story. Removing. Good job I'm not a journalist like Launchbotty. --PsyGremlinRunāt! 15:44, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

Also, who the fuck calls their child Cinnamon?? --PsyGremlinRunāt! 15:45, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

A Mission: Impossible fan? MDB (the MD is for Maryland, the B is for Bear) (talk) 17:23, 16 July 2012 (UTC)

If you were Terry you would become enraged that you got cornered and demand an apology otherwise everyone is getting blocked. Pi 3:14 (talk) 15:48, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

How dare you say that! GOD DAMN YOU! You will apologise FORTH WITH! PsyGremlinTal! 16:32, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

Alarm bells pretty much went off for me with the whole "political correctness" spin. ^narchist 18:48, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

Gideon's fifty shades of grey

OK, so you're a hotel suffering through a depression and the wettest summer for quite a while - and, to make it worse, you're in the lakes which is the wettest part of Britain anyway. How are you going to boost business. Hmm... splash out on forty copies of 50 shades (say £200) and you've got an article in the Daily Mail - similar coverage would other wise cost thousands. all they need is to pick up a couple of bookings and they're quids in. Or am I being to cynical? Bad Faith (talk) 20:54, 16 July 2012 (UTC)

Is there no depths to which Basil won't sink? Тy^talk 23:55, 16 July 2012 (UTC)

Sounds about right to me. But let's face it, you're replacing one of the most important books with regards to both literature and history with that abomination of an extended fan-fic. ^pathetic 01:28, 17 July 2012 (UTC)

This is why I have a problem with that awful fap fodder. (I'm not the author of that post.) While the Bible does contain things that are arguably worse, it's also not set in contemporary times, and I would argue that that makes it much easier to get into than the Bible, leading to all the possible bad ideas listed in that Tumblr post. Ochotonaprinceps^{not a pokémon} 02:09, 17 July 2012 (UTC)

If I remember the hideously long and boring email exchanges that are actually in the book, the first dozen or so reasons on that list are very dubious as to their validity as complains. And not least because fantasy/erotica often plays fast-and-loose with the concept of consent. ^theist 10:15, 17 July 2012 (UTC)

129 votes in the 50 Shades/Bible subpoll. If I'm not mistaken, that's an all-time record for this page. Blue (pester) 04:36, 18 July 2012 (UTC)

I'll weigh in just to give props for the above Fawlty Towers reference. VOX^HUMANA 04:40, 18 July 2012 (UTC)

There'll be no riff-raff here. Тy^talk 04:41, 18 July 2012 (UTC)

No, no, no. Is a special kind of hamster. VOX^HUMANA 05:10, 18 July 2012 (UTC)

Oh I know. Тy^talk 14:14, 18 July 2012 (UTC)

Why not, you started it? ^bomination 08:13, 18 July 2012 (UTC)

143 votes Blue (pester) 20:58, 20 July 2012 (UTC)

"Vote From the Rooftops"

Doesn't the US have laws against incitement to commit terrorism? Is the FBI investigating this company/anyone who buys the t-shirt? User:Lady Corvex 16:14, 16 July 2012 (PST)

Hell, we had a Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate saying that people shouldn't rule out "Second Amendment solutions" to a "tyrannical government." I think the FBI needs to consider the threat somewhat credible. Blue (is useful) 23:25, 16 July 2012 (UTC)

"Vote from the rooftops" isn't new, I can remember seeing a T-shirt with that on it in the mid -oughts. Тy^talk 23:54, 16 July 2012 (UTC)

I'm not at all surprised by this. I was contemplating buying a rifle, in case the ignoramuses decide to "take back [their] country" but I fear I'm just being paranoid. More to the point, if someone wants to blast a hole in my chest, they probably won't give me the courtesy of a declaration of war. TheLateGatsby (talk) 03:13, 17 July 2012 (UTC)

The only time someone wearing this shirt would be taken seriously would be if they tried to attend some official event like a town hall or a rally, and even then only maybe. Blue (is useful) 03:15, 17 July 2012 (UTC)

From personal experience, they're usually just assholes, but the guys who show up at the range with these are scary. And then they're the idiots who try to one hand an MP5. All I want to do is sight my rifle damn it! Тy^talk 03:19, 17 July 2012 (UTC)

What the ffff did I do to WIGO:World?

I broke it, apparently by accidentally clicking in the wiki markup section without noticing. Oops. Good thing wikis are easy to fix, at least. I didn't even notice until it was already fixed. Sorry about that. Ochotonaprinceps^{not a pokémon} 04:30, 18 July 2012 (UTC)

Np. Тy^talk 04:32, 18 July 2012 (UTC)

Canada's "Hard-Headed Socialism"

I can't speak to the hardness of Paul Martin's head, but if he was any kind of socialist, then I'm a dancing bear. user:Lady Corvex 10:34, 18 July 2012 (PST)

Remember, by American standards, Harper is a socialist. Osaka Sun (talk) 17:40, 18 July 2012 (UTC)

Price's Law (Comparing stuff to 9/11)?

...named after the guy who said it in the article? Or, how about McLean's Law after this idiot? -- Seth Peck (talk) 17:43, 27 July 2012 (UTC)

How about Kelly's Law? «-Bfa-» 21:08, 1 August 2012 (UTC)

Fox News on Scott Brown ad WIGO

It might be minor but ya know what gets to me? The fact that, despite what the Fox talking heads say, Jimmy Carter is NOT in that ad. The only thing I can think is that they must be confusing him with Gerald Ford. Carter isn't even in the full version of the ad (nor are GOP darlings Nixon, GHWB or GWB). Random surfer (talk) 21:19, 2 August 2012 (UTC)

Daily Heil shitting bricks?

OK, so we all know the DM tends towards reactionary & implicitly racist rhetoric, but do we really need to make up stories about it that aren't even true? Like claiming it's "shitting bricks" over some of the GB Olympics winners, when there's nothing in the paper's sports coverage to indicate this? Or implying that somebody used the word "mulatto"? I suggest this WIGO be commented out as libellous. Weaseloid^{Methinks it is a Weasel} 19:34, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

I don't like commenting out WIGOs except for duplicates. This one is badly written and misrepresents a post from a good blog that basically says the Fail toned down a bad article before removing it. I'm going to comment it out for now. If someone can salvage it, feel free. rpeh •T•C•E• 19:48, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

The Fail JAQed off that it was a "challenge" to find a educated mixed-race family for the Opening Ceremony. These are Jessica Ennis' parents. Osaka Sun (talk) 19:59, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

I've reinstated it & cut out the bits about the Mail & people's skin/hair colour, so it's now a short WIGO re Team GB. The Rick Dewsbury stuff is a week-old story that should have been WIGO-Clogged at the time (but was discussed at the Saloon Bar instead) not shoehorned into a WIGO about something else. Wéáśéĺóíď^{Methinks it is a Weasel} 19:57, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

USA beats Spain in Basketball to win the gold

And? London Grump (talk) 20:14, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

I was about to comment it out but whoever posted such an inane piece should feel the burning humiliation. Rennie McGreet (talk) 22:20, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

People watch sports? Why? Тy^{Not updated with a witty slogan this week} 22:22, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

I can understand why people watch sports, what I can never fathom is people fighting and rioting about it. Rennie McGreet (talk) 22:24, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

Do they burn rival coaches in effigy over there too? Тy^{Not updated with a witty slogan this week} 22:40, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

Oops....Sorry. :( --Andy Franklinson (talk) 23:39, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

analogy vs. corollary

I came across the page and noticed that about "... a corollary to Haggard's Law". A corollary is something you can derive quickly or something follows obviously from the theorem/law you are referring to, like the ones in wp:Fundamental theorem of algebra, wp:Fundamental theorem of calculus. On the other hand, Jews exhibiting anti-semitism, when comparing to Haggard's Law, is more like comparing the laws of wp:Transport phenomena. [[User:K61824|]][[User_talk:K61824|]] 05:19, 15 August 2012 (UTC)

Pedant Corner

Hmm... one giga-pi. Personally I would make this pi times 2^30. There's a reasonable case for pi times 10^9. What I can't see is pi times 10^8. Or am I talking out of my backside again? Bad Faith (talk) 09:16, 16 August 2012 (UTC)

I'd say that the giga-pi thing is incorrect, matematically speaking: 1 giga = 10^9, but the current number would be pi times 10^8. RationalSpanish ^{Sí, soy español, ¿y qué?} 0:02, 17 August 2012 (UTC+1)

Fuck. My bad. rpeh •T•C•E• 04:59, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

Cheerios Guy

I find that WIGO to be in very poor taste..... While I think the guy was an idiot and an obvious jerk. There's no reason to be gloating over someone's death, especially when we constantly take CP to task for the same thing. SirChuckB^{Call the FBI} 19:03, 16 August 2012 (UTC)

Were it a critique of Bing's translation limitations and someone didn't die for this to come about, yeah, down vote this please, leave it for the time being though. C®ackeЯ 20:53, 16 August 2012 (UTC)

Actually, I'm much less disturbed about the current version (though still in poor taste). My complaint was about the original, which read "If only he had believed in a heart-healthy breakfast rather than scripture. On August 6, video of a Minnesota man protesting General Mills' pro-gay marriage by lighting a box of Cheerios afire on their front lawn, then running away when the flames got too big went viral. Five days later, it turned out his heart really wasn't healthy." SirChuckB^{Go Naked, Hitler Wore Clothes} 21:27, 16 August 2012 (UTC)

Mittens and tax

I'm struggling to find clarifications for this because there are a lot of conflating stories, but was Romney ever a Birther? If yes, then the hypocrisy over the tax returns is obvious, but if not the accusation and parallel falls slightly flat as that would be Mitt personally holding a double-standard. ^postate 00:15, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

Romney's never been a birther. Anyone vaguely in the Republican mainstream won't touch birtherism. A handful of House member may have hinted at birther sympathies, but for the most part, it's kept to the blogosphere and elected officials at the county and state level. MDB ^{(the MD is for Maryland, the B is for Bear)} 11:59, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

It's more of a "we put up, now you do" thing. 99.235.129.26 (talk) 00:34, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

Aren't the US federal income and capital gains tax rates for his income level rather more than 13%? hmmmm -- 11:54, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

Or in this case "I showed you mine, now show me yours" --Rutherford (talk) 13:33, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

Facebook content

I remember Facebook glitching once and showing me a search result of a group that I know for a fact was deleted (by FB itself, not the owners) about two years earlier. So the profile picture, name were available, but who knows what else was still on there as accessing it was impossible. Isn't permanent deletion a pain in the arse from the perspective of massive databases like that? ^{d hominem} 11:49, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

Besides the fact truly deleting stuff is a pain, It's good security practice to never delete accounts, just disable them. The reason for that is it preserves accountability -- if Bob leaves the company and I delete his account, it's more difficult to track down what he did. If I disable it, his previous actions are still recorded, but he can't log into do any new stuff. (That's very over-simplified and extremely dependent on the system. But it gets the general principle across.) MDB ^{(the MD is for Maryland, the B is for Bear)} 11:57, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

The difference is with FB is that we are talking about personal data, not just a log of work-related actions of an individual employee. It's more equivalent to hiring a safety deposit box at a bank to keep all your vital documents safe, then them photocopying random parts of the stuff in there before handing it back when you decide to store it under your mattress instead. -- 22:41, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

databases with undefined fields or rather fields pointing to non-existant data are a pain. In many you cannot delete a user account until you have cleaned up any file ownerships, database links and so on. Its usually easier to just disable the account. If you did something dumb like use the database record number you cant delete an account without screwing up the whole thing. Hamster (talk) 00:00, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

Soledad's Slap-Down

Make that two-for-two! "She’s not on a political beat, which means that her job doesn’t rely on access, and she’s not marinated in the conventional wisdom."[1] Nebuchadnezzar (talk) 00:01, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

What does that statement actually mean? But yeah, CNN should start putting her on centre-stage. Osaka Sun (talk) 00:27, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

She doesn't have to ingratiate herself to the political hacks and Beltway cronies to stay on a beat. Nebuchadnezzar (talk) 00:32, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

Ah, "not marinated in the conventional wisdom" doesn't look flattering at first glance. Osaka Sun (talk) 00:38, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

Actually, make that three-for-three. Someone get her on prime-time! Nebuchadnezzar (talk) 00:08, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

Timothy Dolan

Fat pig Priest; sanctimonious smile.

Why's he suing Obama over healthcare? What are the details of this? Scherben 18:16, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

NH Sheriff Candidate

So... this dude is freaking bonkers. What's happening to New Hampshire? --TheLateGatsby (talk) 01:43, 24 August 2012 (UTC)

Neil Armstrong

I feel oddly affected by this. The first person to walk upon another world has died. Given the lack of manned planetary exploration missions planned, it's now pretty likely that the first era of space exploration will have started and ended before I was born. That pisses me off. rpeh •T•C•E• 20:00, 25 August 2012 (UTC)

We are on Mars right now, collecting data, exploring, doing science. Technology is an extension of human will, intellect, imagination and ambition. Humanity is on Mars, and has gone beyond the limits of the Solar System. The "putting meatware there" part of it isn't all that much more exciting to me--we're there, man. Theory of Practice Haters gonna hate. 20:07, 25 August 2012 (UTC)

Yeah, but humans aren't there. For me that's a huge difference. I just wish I'd been around when some living entity was standing on a different world. And yes that makes me a Carbon-Fascist. I admit it. rpeh •T•C•E• 20:16, 25 August 2012 (UTC)

Makes me sad too. Also, I know it is silly but I thought User:Osaka's version of the WIGO was wonderful. It made me smile. Why wasn't it dignified? Ayzmo (talk) 20:17, 25 August 2012 (UTC)

If people prefer it, go ahead. I thought it was too flippant for this occasion but I'm not going to get precious about it. rpeh •T•C•E• 20:20, 25 August 2012 (UTC)

Don't worry about it. Osaka Sun (talk) 21:51, 25 August 2012 (UTC)

This is just brings me one step closer to facing my own demise. I still remember watching the grainy black and white TV pictures as a 17-year old. They were exciting times. Генгис^evolving 20:32, 25 August 2012 (UTC)

Well, I'm just going to go sit in a room and cry for a bit. ^gnostic 21:27, 25 August 2012 (UTC)

For some reason this has made me cry, the first time since my Mum passed that a death has done that to me. 'God'speed Mr Armstrong...Perivale (User talk:Perivaletalk) 01:31, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

Turkey "only secular Muslim country in the world"?

Is this sarcasm, mocking of funny wording by Turkish constitution or pure ignorance? Do countries like Azerbaijan not exist any more? I think this chart may be relevant.

Shitty grammar when I'm not known for shitty grammar. Thanks for noticing. Osaka Sun (talk) 05:33, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

the logic is shitty too. Indo-European languages began thousands of years before either English, Turkey or secularism. The fact that the place it started in happens to be secular at the moment isn't even interesting. what's more interesting is that Turkish isn't a member of that language group, but there's no RW-angle there. Sophie^Wilder 09:13, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

"Not the best marketing strategy"

Not the best marketing strategy in the world? What, with all these countless thousands of people reading it in a national newspaper, sharing the lulz on Facebook and even RW giving them their own WIGO? It's called "advertising equivalent exposure", it's one of the oldest tricks in the book. ^narchist 23:37, 28 August 2012 (UTC)

Yeah, I know, I was just too drunk to think of anything else to stick in there, so to speak.-- ^{Jabba de Chops} 10:09, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

anyone else notice that one of the reviewers is called Kels? Probably not our Kels, sadly. Sophie^Wilder 09:42, 30 August 2012 (UTC)

Deluded Pro-Life Anti-abortion activists

Seems like this repulsive bit of glurge belongs in the Clogosphere; I'm going to move it.User:Lady Corvex

Agree.Тy^JFBAA 23:02, 4 September 2012 (UTC)

Let's call 'em what they are. -- Seth Peck (talk) 23:42, 4 September 2012 (UTC)

"12 Hours of Momentum"

So...96,000 new (net) jobs were created, and the "liberal" media paints this as a bad thing? -- Seth Peck (talk) 17:09, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

Student loans and the Holocaust

Grandpa Old is now very sorry... he didn't know the internet worked like that.--TheLateGatsby (talk) 19:29, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

That guy was my Congress-critter for a few months. I joked that I moved because I couldn't stand being represented in Congress by a man named "Roscoe". I, of course, substituted a man named "Steny". MDB ^{(the MD is for Maryland, the B is for Bear)} 19:52, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

This is why I think people need to start using {{Onion}} more. ^pathetic 01:32, 8 September 2012 (UTC)

Bubonic Plague

Oh, lovely... brb, scourging myself. --TheLateGatsby (talk) 01:29, 10 September 2012 (UTC)

Plague has never actually gone away it just doesn't tend to make the news--Mikal ^{Harass Follow} 01:39, 10 September 2012 (UTC)

Oregon and Colorado, 2012? Hope they have insurance. I understand that if left untreated it doesn't tend to "just go away". --Llegar a las estrellas^¿Dígame? 10:08, 15 September 2012 (UTC)

Atoms

I never would have thought they actually looked like hexagons. Those pics looked like a colored high school chemistry work sheet. Cool stuff.--"Shut up, Brx." 23:08, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

Those would be conjugated ring systems, "atoms" aren't hexagonal. Unless you're talking about HCP crystal packing. Atoms themselves, well, aren't really shaped like anything. ^sshole 00:18, 18 September 2012 (UTC)

Armadillos!

Rocks on Mars are crunchy on the outside and smooth on the inside? ARMADILLOS!!

^sshole 00:19, 18 September 2012 (UTC)

Ahem. 1 cleaned whole armadillo, 1 cup red wine, 1/4 pound of butter, 6 garlic cloves, 1/2 a chopped bell pepper, 1/2 an onion. Punch holes in meat, insert garlic, pepper, and onions in holes. Rub with cayenne pepper, place in pan with butter. Pour wine on to meat. Cook at 300 for 2 hours or until tender. Serves 6. Тy^{Bother me} 00:36, 18 September 2012 (UTC)

You're fucked up, you know that? ^theist 00:54, 18 September 2012 (UTC)

And maniacal laughter ensues. Leprosy for dinner!? YES PLEASE.--Dumpling (talk) 00:57, 18 September 2012 (UTC)

Indeed, we can no longer eat armadillos. Luckilly, there is a coon meat stand a half a mile away. Тy^{Bother me} 00:59, 18 September 2012 (UTC)

Better eating leprosy than letting it eat you. Peter ^{Subsisting on honey} 01:02, 18 September 2012 (UTC)

Santiago Carrillo

I think that the death of this politician should be posted on the world news. He was one of the greatest leaders of the Spanish democratic opposition, and although he never managed to do much politically after the Transition ended, he was still well regarded in all of Spain. Just saying.RationalSpanish (talk) 18:53, 18 September 2012 (UTC)

I'll second that. When Colonel Tejero took the Cortes hostage in 1981, Carrillo was one of only three (IIRC) men who refused to lie on the floor - and Tejero took it. Agree or disagree with his politics, he was a man of principle and immense courage. London Grump (talk) 21:54, 20 September 2012 (UTC)

So, the dude offering cash for the first person to seduce his lesbian daughter

...Am I the only one who smells the tiniest whiff of corrective rape here? Polite Timesplitter ^{talk to me sugar, but best keep it on the}_down-low 22:34, 27 September 2012 (UTC)

What's the lesbian equivalent of a beard? Because to me, that seems like pretty easy money, if Gigi Chao could put in the effort to fake out her dad. -- Seth Peck (talk) 22:38, 27 September 2012 (UTC)

The lesbianequivalent of a beard is a beard. AMassiveGay (talk) 16:40, 28 September 2012 (UTC)

A lesbian beard is a beard? That's weird. With a beard. -- Seth Peck (talk) 17:06, 28 September 2012 (UTC)

That's not as weird as I'd feared. Sophie^Wilder 21:26, 28 September 2012 (UTC)

Cali's ban on reparative therapy - will it do anything?

First thought: Yay! A sudden outbreak of common sense!

Second thought: It took forty-two years after this tripe was denounced by the APA for one state to think it might be a bad idea to force kids who didn't give informed consent into something intrinsically bad.

Third thought: The law only stops registered, qualified practitioners from dooing this. Nothing about "Christian Counsellors" and the various other nutjobs that are the ones most likely to practice it. And even if it did? Welp, the Good Christian Parents^TM can simply beat their kids in the safety of their own homes.

I started reading the story grinning from ear to ear. By the time I realised these three things, I've been brought to tears. Polite Timesplitter ^{talk to me sugar, but best keep it on the}_down-low 00:48, 2 October 2012 (UTC)

It isn't really about what it will "do" in prevention. You have laws against child abuse, kids still get abused, some kids legally get abused. What it's about, when push comes to shove, is legitimacy. Every time a law like this passes, some gay kid somewhere stands up and says "oh, that's me! and it's ok!". --Godotrien ne marcherait 00:53, 2 October 2012 (UTC)

On your second thought: the abolitionist movement, for one example, took a whole lot longer than 42 years to see its first successes. Yes, it sucks that four decades after the idea to put an end to this kind of thing, we're still at square one, maybe square two, but social justice is only thinkable as a long-term project. It's really not productive to get hung up on the "it's taken so long" dimension--look forward, not back. on your third thought: Again, small steps; first licensed counsellors, next will be the churches. As a rule, social justice expands. and beating your kids in the safety of the home is already illegal. Be optimistic, keep advocating. JubalHarshaw (talk) 02:20, 2 October 2012 (UTC)

On what laws can do, it all depends on any provisions for enforcement there are. Certainly we've enjoyed a good long string of laws in the UK where they say "look, down with this sort of thing!" but offer absolutely no practical advice on how the laws should actually be followed. ^pathetic 10:33, 2 October 2012 (UTC)

What Doctors Don't Tell You

I see that this magazine is described by its editor as being aimed at "intelligent women between 35-55". That sound to me like the epitome of "the worried well".  Lily ^{Inspirate me.} 12:26, 6 October 2012 (UTC)

The Sun

Should be in clogs. Osaka Sun (talk) 02:02, 14 October 2012 (UTC)

I'm pretty new here. It's not a blog post so I was not sure were to put it. If you want to move it, go ahead.Sultan Rahi (talk) 03:24, 14 October 2012 (UTC)

I know that this isn't exactly proper evolution theory too, but we evolved to stand upright, then evolve back to being hunched over? also "We could end up with saggy turkey necks too because extra sun will cause loose skin and baggy eyelids. And there will be darker skin as people move around the planet and races mix. "

Nice subtle racism. --Revolverman (talk) 02:21, 14 October 2012 (UTC)

Yeah — I mean, who has a problem with turkeys? Radioactive afikomen ^{Please ignore all my awful pre-2014 comments.} 03:36, 14 October 2012 (UTC)

Definitely one for clogs - David Gerard (talk) 10:21, 14 October 2012 (UTC)

The "races will mix so our skin will all go the same colour" is something that's been going around on this sort of article for years. It's also mostly wrong from a genetic perspective because that's not quite how heritability works. ^postate 19:57, 14 October 2012 (UTC)

National Culturists

Any guesses as to why the group is promoting itself with a crude art deco portrait of Boris Karloff cosplaying as Fred from Scooby-Doo? I'm not sure what that has to do with British culture. Balaam (talk) 19:18, 15 October 2012 (UTC)

Billy Graham

"...has halitosis of the soul."
     —the late God, d. 1965

hope this helps, Sprocket J Cogswell (talk) 13:48, 18 October 2012 (UTC)

Militants involved in Benghazi attacks

Er...who here is even surprised? Osaka Sun (talk) 03:02, 20 October 2012 (UTC)

Fecal transplants

The C. difficile term has a line break in the middle on Chrome, but I can't see anything wrong. Pongo^{Orangutans are sceptical} 10:32, 26 October 2012 (UTC)

Looks fine to me in iOS Safari and Win7 FireFox. Генгис^{Our ignorance is God; what we know is science.} 10:36, 26 October 2012 (UTC)

Also, it was previously WIGO'ed from a different site. -- Seth Peck (talk) 13:30, 26 October 2012 (UTC)

X-Men daddies

OK, reading this just gave me a flashback to the early 90s, when I read the exact same thing, and it was covered fairly widely. Was this just the media reporting it early, before the final results were in, or is this another case of something already known being touted as big news...? Dendlai (talk) 18:36, 30 October 2012 (UTC)