Fearing more “mental illness,” France deploys soldiers in city centers
Reader Tips
Tonight, to keep us in our nice relaxed holiday mood, we listen to the the soothing fourth and fifth movements from Corelli’s Christmas Concerto in G Minor.
The comments are open, as always, for your Reader Tips.
Christmas Eve Eve media release
“The Ontario Liberal Party has decided to reimburse taxpayers the $10,000 Peter Faist was allegedly paid to wipe government computers.”
So, to be clear; the emails which in no way tied the Office of the Premier to the Gas Plant debacle, which really wasn’t that big of a deal ($2B), and in no way was political (2 seats), didn’t exist at all and wiping the drives (cost of a CD for someone who knows how) wasn’t to rid the systems of the emails.
But just to be on the up and up, the Libs will pay the $10G…cause you know, innocent and all.
Honey, I Finished The Internet
A somewhat rambling journey to Saskatchewan’s Jewish past. (h/t Adrian)
Eulogy of a Social Justice Warrior
If you ever want the ultimate context and vindication that the conservative/libertarian people in the world will win in the end, all one has to do is look at the life and (lack of) accomplishments of a social justice warrior. 65 years of precious life simply pissed away.
A more thorough (and libertine) analysis can be located here at the 37 minute mark.
Asking Engineers
Never ask, “Can we do it?”
Always ask, “Should WE do it?”
Context? In 1995 Saskatchewan Land Titles had to be brought up to spec from paper to digital form. There is no question that it had to be done, but the answer to the second question should have been a resounding, ‘No’.
In 2000 the gov’t “announced” their vapour-ware. In 2006, after numerous cost over runs, fee hikes and service degradation the “we’ll sell it when we’re done” excuses ran out of steam for the governing NDP and they announced the release. It was broken. When the Sask Party took power in 2007, some competent leadership from the technology sector was put in charge. And look at the success they’ve had since 2007. Last year they were privatized out of gov’t.
So, yes, the Sask NDP were correct, the tech is being sold…just not for the benefit of those who paid for it.
Why do I bring this up, you ask? Well, it seems the Ontario Liberal gov’t is having a bit of trouble with their new ODSP software….
Red Light, Green Grab
On Friday, the Chicago Tribune released the results of a study it commissioned on injury crashes and red light cameras, revealing that while right angle crash incidents have been reduced, rear-end crashes that resulted in injuries went up 22 percent. The results of the study throw cold water on the booster efforts of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration and raise questions about the use of red light cameras as a whole. […]
On a more granular level, the researchers found that there were no safety benefits from cameras that are installed at intersections where there have already been few crashes with injuries, and occasionally, there was evidence that red light cameras actually increased injury crashes at such intersections. “When intersections experiencing fewer than 4 injury crashes per year are considered, there is a significant increase in all crashes by 19 percent after the installation of RLCs,” the Tribune study found.
“When the President does it, that means that it is not illegal”
Top IRS officials specifically targeted tea party groups and misled the public about its secret political targeting program led by ex-official Lois Lerner, according to a bombshell new congressional report.
The Daily Caller has obtained an advance copy of a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee report set to be released Tuesday morning that definitively proves malicious intent by the IRS to improperly block conservative groups that an IRS adviser deemed “icky.” (That’s right. “Icky.”)
“The Committee has identified eight senior leaders who were in a position to prevent or to stop the IRS’s targeting of conservative applicants,” the Oversight report states. “Each of these leaders could have and should have done more to prevent the IRS’s targeting of conservative tax-exempt applicants.”
More Pavilions At Folkfest
In a completely unforeseen turn of events, it seems Germans prefer Germans to be German:
A record 17,000 people have joined the latest in a string of demonstrations against Islam in Dresden, eastern Germany, celebrating the rise of their far-right populist movement by singing Christmas carols.
The march on Monday night was organised by Patriotic Europeans Against Islamisation of the West – a group that has grown rapidly since its first protest in October.
Politicians from all major parties have been stunned by the emergence of the right-wing nationalists who vent their anger against what they consider a broken immigration and asylum system.
Completely unrelated.
The Children Are Our Future
And that’s why my retirement plans include a fortified bunker: A startling new anti-gun ad released by a San Francisco-based production company encourages children to commit a series of crimes by stealing their parents’ guns and turning them over to school officials…
h/t peterj
Reader Tips
Tonight Charlie and Ira Louvin, accompanied by what sounds like a celestial choir, use their brotherly harmonies to let us know that it’s It’s Christmas Time. Give or take.
The comments are open for your Reader Tips.
Anti-Nicotine Advocates and Science
Never the twain shall meet. Minister Ambrose,call your Standing Committee on Health.
There is now a sufficient body of evidence available on several aspects and effects of EC for recent reviews to conclude that health care professionals and public health bodies should encourage smokers who cannot stop smoking using available treatments, or do not want to do so, to switch to EC [2],[3].
Emerging trends are as expected. In the UK where EC are available and taken up by sufficient numbers of smokers, quit rates are increasing and decline in smoking, especially among young people, is accelerating [19]-[21].
Via, Taste Your Juice
I Amuse Myself
#AlSharpton is the Fred Phelps of the Democratic Party. Which is quite an accomplishment, considering Fred Phelps was also a Democrat.
— Katewerk (@katewerk) December 22, 2014
How’s That Hopey Changey Thing Working Out For Ya?
Cuba’s Coast Guard sank a boat carrying 32 Cubans who were trying to reach the Florida coast, according to a woman who survived and whose husband is missing.
Masiel González Castellano told reporters in a telephone conversation from Matanzas, Cuba, that her husband, Leosbel Díaz Beoto, is missing after falling from the boat that was repeatedly charged and hit by a boat manned by the Cuban Coast Guard.
“We were screaming and crying for help as the boat was sinking. But they ignored us. Instead, they continued charging against our boat. Some people dove in the water and others stayed aboard as the boat sank,” said González, who was contacted during a press conference hosted in Miami by the Democracy Movement. “They knew there were children aboard, but continued to charge against us. They didn’t care.”
Via Mickey Kaus
We Need A Famine
National Post: Being fat is a disability, EU judges have ruled, meaning that companies in Europe must offer obese staff bigger chairs, special parking spaces and a lighter work load.
h/t Kevin B.
Reader Tips
Tonight, as if anyone needed the help, Eddie Lawrence puts us in That Holiday Spirit.
The comments are open, as always, for your Reader Tips.
Honey, I Finished The Internet
It came from the deep. The very, very deep.
The Solstice: Then Meets Now
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Newgrange, Ireland; “I could have had that at home, instead of being dragged here to see a bunch of weirdo hippies chanting and moaning and hugging each other.” A youngish woman overhearing the exchange hissed “spoilsport”, intending to be heard but she did walk on that bit faster. (link fixed, sorry!) |
What Would We Do Without Peer Review?
Restoring science to its rightful place…
The GOP study researched the federal government’s peer review process for 13 different endangered species listings made by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) since July 2013 and found examples of a lack of transparency and consistency.
The agency, according to the report, sometimes employs peer reviewers who authored studies on the species they are reviewing. The GOP staff determined that the peer review process as currently employed by the FWS “relies on a network of scientists who, if nothing else, have a professional and academic interest in the outcome of the ESA listing decisions they are being asked to review.”
“In recruiting peer reviewers, the FWS appears to favor scientists whose views on a species are already well known rather than more independent scientists in other academic or professional fields who would be able to bring a fresh perspective to the science the FWS is citing to support its ESA listing decisions,” it said.
How Complex Systems Fail
Engineer porn (pdf) with valuable insights for anyone involved in the production of anything.