• Everything you need to know about domestic violence, from a prosecutor – Via.
• O’Reilly’s confused, racist analysis of Gangnam Style – My favorite part is when his guest compares watching the video to getting high! From CriticalDragon1177.
• Anti-feminist atheists inevitably choosing sexism over commitment to rationality – Proven by an argument over douching. Yep, douching. From CriticalDragon1177.
• The Rubik’s cube that isn’t – Anamorphic images always blow my mind. From Ryan.
• Cute Animal Friday! Photos from cat heaven island, from nowoo. Cute, but a good reminder to donate to your local shelter that has a trap-spay/neuter-release program for feral cats. Grumpy cat holiday cards, from A. And from Donnie, a whole slew of cute baby animals at US zoos.

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• Australian girl to get vaccination shots after court overrules mother – “The girl was infected with whooping cough when she was in kindergarten, but the mother said this showed both homeopathic and traditional vaccines were not 100 per cent effective.”
• Natural does not mean safe – “This past October, the office of the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services issued two reports underscoring the need for improved oversight of the marketing of dietary supplements and improved surveillance of their effects.”
• Even Pat Robertson denies the earth is 6,000 years old – From CriticalDragon1177.
• Frozen waves at the Antarctic coast – Your soothing pretty pictures for the day, from Michael.

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Forget the Mayans.  I have definitive, incontrovertible proof that the zombie apocalypse (sorry robots, you were too late) is upon us.  Pat Robertson has all but admitted that Young Earth Creationism is wrong!  Okay, clean off your keyboard because I know you just sputtered your libation all over it. Done? Laptop still working?  Good. Read on.

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It’s here! The 2012 Australian Skeptics National Convention, being hosted by the Victorian Skeptics at the Spot Theatre in Melbourne November 30–December 2. The theme this year is Active Skepticism—Changing for the Better. Those of you in the neighborhood (or lucky enough to make the trip to the land of funny spellings) don’t want to miss a weekend packed with skeptical events and speakers, including our very own Rebecca Watson, who is not only speaking but co-hosting a Young Skeptics Lunch and helping wrap up the convention with a hilarious interactive Twitter Quiz!

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Cross-posted from Skeptisquatch at Teen Skepchick

Melba Ketchum, a veterinarian and founder of DNA Diagnostics, has put out a press release claiming to have evidence that “confirms the existence of a novel hominin hybrid species, commonly called ‘Bigfoot’ or ‘Sasquatch,’ living in North America.” Ketchum has been making claims along these lines for years, but she has yet to provide any actual data to back them up. In fact, for a while there, she had a Facebook page about the project which, when I checked earlier this year, had mysteriously disappeared.

Kind of like the remains of my species, eh?

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The first performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, took place in Leipzig on November 28, 1811. It’s not exactly science-related (unless you consider music theory), but it was his last piano concerto and it’s nice to listen to in the morning.

• 50 reasons to boycott the [Catholic] Church – From Madfishmonger.
• Man Faces Death Threats and Jail for Pointing Out That Weeping Jesus “Miracle” Is Just Faulty Plumbing – From CriticalDragon1177.
• Clinics ordered to stop ‘useless’ breast cancer tests – From Ryan C.
• SPLC files groundbreaking lawsuit accusing conversion therapy organization of fraud – From Bug.
• I Was a Warehouse Wage Slave – Inside the warehouse of an online shipper.
• Pioneering the granny pod: Fairfax County family adapts to high-tech dwelling that could change elder care – Add a computer and I am so there.
• ‘Progressive’ Fellow In ‘Men’s Rights Movement’ Has Inspirational Posters For Manly Men – NSFW. From CriticalDragon1177.

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This coming spring a wonderful event is going to take place in Washington, DC. That event is called, Women in Secularism.

As many of us know, there has been some debate as to how we should best address gender inequalities and the issues surrounding sexism in the skeptic and atheist communities. Some people say they are so tired of the debate itself and they just want to get back to watching Finding Bigfoot on Animal Planet and that us silly womenz should just relax and maybe go see a movie. And trust me, I get it. I’m exhausted with the debate too. So are a lot of people, especially the women who have had to battle for their rights and fight for equality since before crop circles were invented.

But until these serious issues are resolved we are going to have to pull ourselves out of our La-Z-Boy recliners, hit the streets and do some social justice work. In order to find solutions we must first completely understand what the issues are and in order to do that we need to listen to the women in our community. And we want YOU, yes you fine readers to participate in these discussions. At the very least we ask that you to tune into what the women in our communities have to say about the issues that affect them.

Over the next few months and leading up to the event, I will be doing short interviews with some of the women who are scheduled to appear at WiS to get a taste of where these women are coming from and what they will be discussing and to hopefully help show you why men and women should make time to attend this event.

This week I bring you the first installment in this series with an interview with activist, Carrie Poppy.

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Why doesn’t everyone just get it? You know what I’m talking about. It’s that thing. It’s so obvious that there’s only one way you’d see it if you really looked at the evidence. It’s enraging that everyone doesn’t agree. You’ve fought dozens, maybe hundreds, of strangers on Facebook who were all uninformed about it. FOLLOW.THE.FACTS. PEOPLE! How can they not understand? It’s infuriating. HOW ARE WE EVEN STILL DISCUSSING THIS?

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