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Link Roundup: December 19, 2015

   

Have some links!

Religion

  * [Mommie Dearest](http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/fighting_words/2003/10/mommie_dearest.html) -- The late Christopher Hitchens' take on the (soon to be final) canonization of Mother Teresa. I've never been much of a fan of Hitchens' work, but he's at least correct on this one.

Social Justice

  * [Saudi millionaire who said he "fell" on teen and "accidentally penetrated" her cleared of rape](http://www.aol.com/article/2015/12/16/saudi-millionaire-who-said-he-fell-on-teen-and-accidentally-p/21284725/) -- Pretty much what the title says. A total disgrace.
  * [Most of the radical ideas the Black Panthers had are now totally mainstream](http://thinkprogress.org/culture/2015/09/23/3704132/how-the-black-panthers-ideology-became-mainstream/) -- From mass incarceration to poverty to police brutality, the Black Panthers were well ahead of their time.
  * [#DanielHoltzclaw split verdict is a travesty and dangerous](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kali-nicole-gross/danielholtzclaw-split-verdict-is-a-travesty-and-dangerous_b_8788064.html) -- Though police officer Daniel Holtzclaw was convicted of 18 counts related to his serial rapes of black and Hispanic women, there were 18 counts he was _not_ convicted on, to say nothing of both victims who came forward (but from which no charges resulted) and untold victims who never came forward at all.

Politics

  * [Strike two for pair of New York _Times_ reporters](http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2015/12/strike-two-pair-new-york-times-reporters) -- Remember when a couple of NYT reporters claimed Hillary Clinton was the target of an FBI probe, and it turned out to be bogus? Same folks put forth the (thus far not particularly substantiated) idea that the San Bernardino shooters were radicalized Muslims who posted about it on social media. Turns out there's no evidence for this at all (hence "strike two").
  * [Donald Trump is a textbook example of an ideological moderate](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2015/12/16/donald-trump-is-a-textbook-example-of-an-ideological-moderate/) -- Short version: most Americans are "moderate" only by way of having a bizarre mix of both left- and right-wing views--a mix that Trump's rhetoric appeals to.
  * [The key to understanding Ben Carson's weird campaign? Glenn Beck.](http://www.vox.com/2015/12/16/10309728/ben-carson-glenn-beck) -- It makes a lot of sense, actually.

International

  * [Turkish author Elif Shafak: "We've forgotten how to laugh"](http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/turkish-author-elif-shafak-on-society-under-erdogan-a-1066223.html) -- An author's account of the virtually dystopian circumstances under Turkish President Erdogan's regime.

Humor

  * [MRA Dilbert](http://mradilbert.tumblr.com/) -- The words of Dilbert creator Scott Adams, placed onto Dilbert strips. In case you didn't know, Adams is kind of a jerk.

Software

  * [Space Engine](http://spaceengine.org/) -- A cool space simulator being built as a one-man project. Surprisingly well-done and complete.
  * [NASA's Eyes](http://eyes.nasa.gov/) -- And, in case you didn't know, NASA has a pretty cool space simulator, too.