RationalWiki:What is going on in the world?
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[edit] What is going on?
[edit] March 2010
   | 5 | YouTube makes a startling accusation towards Viacom, one of it's main antagonists in the legal battles over copyright infringements: That Viacom itself "...hired no fewer than 18 different marketing agencies to upload its content to the site. It deliberately 'roughed up' the videos to make them look stolen or leaked." |
| 6 | Dutch soldiers failed to protect Sebrenica in 1995, why? According to a US General, it was because of the gays |
| 7 | Queen of the Birthers, Orly Taitz, is running for California Secretary of State. |
| 5 | The first ever 3D "Invisibility Cloak" has been created |
| 5 | Quantum Superposition recreated in visible objects for the very first time. The Quantum world is a very strange place indeed. |
| 5 | Taking the "genetic lottery" to a whole new level. |
| 4 | French documentary recreates Milgram's obedience study in the format of Reality TV - And it betters Milgram's 68% figure, with 80% obeying. |
| 2 | New data from the Planck satellite - self-respecting physics junkies chuckle at the idea of Planck working at "very large scales"... |
| 7 | Is it a man? Is it a woman? No! It's a, er... |
| 5 | Singing songs, chanting and banging bongos are for hippies - real protesters use human blood. |
| -1 | Justice Thomas, wouldn't it be better to keep it private that your wife is into teabagging? |
| 5 | Headline of the week: Man assaulted female police officer with penis. |
| 7 | A woman discharged from the Air Force after snooping cops out her to the brass. |
| 5 | IRL trolling: fake news broadcast panics Georgia |
| 5 | Google now appears to be telling the Chinese government precisely where it can shove its Great Firewall. |
| 4 | Ooh, that's a new one. Priest caught in bed with boys says he was only "tickling" them. |
| 7 | Ain't science great. Blind man learns to "see" with his tongue. |
| 4 | Glenn Beck is polarizing, even at Fox News. Or maybe that's just what they want you to believe. |
| 4 | Rupert Murdoch Doesn't Get The Web. Really. |
| -1 | The Frogs veer left and right, undercutting Sarkozy's support. |
| 3 | A smooth-talking shill who, as an aide to President Obama, spent more time waxing lyrical about the "Obama brand" than actually doing her job, is out on her ear. |
| 8 | Scientologists + Haiti = FAIL. |
| 4 | Careful when you open your |
| 7 | U.S court rules against vaccine-autism claims. |
| 6 | CIA Experimented with LSD on Unsuspecting French Villagers Hat tip |
| 11 | UK journalist has to quit his day job to battle libel threats from chiropractors, after calling some of their claims "bogus". Rationalists fought back, and the chiropractors are now being smacked too. |
| -1 | Tiger, I'm just not sure that Ari is the man to rebuild your image. |
| 0 | Happy 60th FBI's 10 Most Wanted List, unless you happen to be a mob king pin, a terrorist, child molester or serial killer. |
| 2 | Women who take the pill "live longer" |
| 6 | 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals: "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance is constitutional. Michael Newdow promises to appeal to the Supreme Court. |
| 10 | It has come out that Blackwater, under the alias Eric Cartman, nicked hundreds of guns from the U.S. army. |
| 3 | The Virginia Attorney General tried to stop college presidents and other officials implementing anti-discrimination policies[old news]. The Governor's overridden him[new news]. Strife! |
| 1 | Prohibits the use of salt by restaurants in the preparation of food by restaurants. |
| 12 | North Mississippi school district cancels prom rather than let a lesbian couple attend. UPDATE: The ACLU gets involved while the school throws all the toys out of the buggy. |
| 3 | According to Chief Justice Roberts its okay to criticize him, just don't do it to his face and on national TV. |
| 5 | "I ain't our fault, it's Satan!" |
| 0 | William Shatner decides to set up his own social networking site complete with a catchy name. |
| 6 | The LHC is up to half power, but will need a year off to get it up to full - putting off full power Higgs research for at least another two years. Nielsen and Ninomiya may just be onto something... |
| 9 | Congratulations on 100 National Museum of Natural History. |
| 4 | 3 years after being scrapped due to meddling by (surprise, surprise) US conservative groups, ICANN is set to reconsider the .xxx domain name. |
| -1 | After weeks of running ads claiming that they were really, truly listening to their customers' concerns, Toyota reverts to its old claim: their runaway accelerator problem isn't electronic. It's faulty accelerator pedals and/or floor mats. A few hours later -- as if on cue -- a runaway Prius (which was recently turned away by the local dealership because that model wasn't part of the recall) required some "special assistance" to come to a stop. |
| 6 | Sean Penn: People who call Hugo Chavez a dictator should be thrown in irons. So much for Mr. Penn being appalled at the notion of civil liberties being deconstructed. |
| 3 | The Rome police were running a sting on a gay prostitution ring when they recorded solicitations involving an usher and a choir member from the Vatican. |
| 12 | Today in What-the-fuckery: Katrina victims seek to sue greenhouse gas emitters - like cows? |
| 2 | Across America college students peacefully rally to protest tuition hikes and service cuts. Except at the University of Maryland, which riots for a different reason. |
| 9 | I'm sure he was just doing "research"; California State Senator Roy Ashburn (R-Bakersfield) gets nabbed for DUI after driving away from a gay bar with a male "companion." People in the Sacramento gay community say "hooray, we've been trying to out him for years." UPDATE: good for him |
| 3 | Oh, boy... This should be good. |
| -2 | In Karl Rove's new book |
| 14 | YEC Texas School Board member, McLeroy loses reelection bid to moderate Republican (there is no real Democrat challenger). |
| 2 | Seriously Congressman Broun? |
| 10 | Female Indian peacekeepers make a difference with traumatized women in Liberia. |
| 5 | Chilean earthquake may have shortened days on earth by 1.26 microseconds due to mass shifting. The Indonesian Tsumami quake appears to have made a 6 microsecond difference. Wonder how some YEC's would react to this, considering that they say God's 7 days were exactly 7 24 hour days. |
| 3 | So just because a bunch of spies took out a Hamas leader Israelis can no longer pretend to be Europeans while visiting Dubai |
| 15 | One quarter of American parents -- 29% of mothers, 17% of fathers -- believe that immunizations cause autism. |
| 12 | Republicans are on pace to break the filibuster record in the 111th Congress. |
| 6 | Andy's going to have a field day with this. Yup! |
| 3 | Justice Scalia loves guns but hates substantive due process. What's an "originalist" supposed to do? |
[edit] February 2010
| 4 | 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. |
| 3 | 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". |
| 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 |
| 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] |
| 7 | The presumption of the godly leave me gobsmacked. |
--Jack Hughes (talk) 15:28, 18 February 2010 (UTC)
