Thursday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Thursday reading.- Andrew Jackson points out and sums up a Statistics Canada study showing how much possible revenue is lost to the underground economy:Statscan have…
Ontario Liberals in Free Fall: Desperate to make political hay resort to outsourcing derangement syndrome
In response to the outrage expressed by the handful of Ontario Liberals still hanging on to that sinking ship over the American photo gaffe by the NDP, I redirect you…
The world is hurtling toward destruction, but giving up some male power is not an option
I wonder how many women are feeling like I do, especially older women. I look around and see that men are running the world, and no matter how screwed up…
Denial-a-Palooza: Where Are All the Scientists That Deniers Love To Talk About?
all-alone-conference-funny.jpg Wake up and smell the fossil fuel funding. That's right, it's that time of year again: the Heartland Institute is hosting its Sixth (annual?*) International Confere...
Vilify Me
Eventually the only source of humour that will be socially and politically correct will be bodily functions, spoonerisms and puns, and the sort of humour where people inadvertently slip on…
Sentencing for sexual abuse of children
R. v. Cloutier, 2011 ONCA 484 is a sad case of sexual abuse of children by a priest. The case deals mainly with appearance of fairness at trial but concludes with a useful…
Emergency Oil Reserves Tapped: Conservation Plan Gathers Dust
Last week a global oil emergency was declared and the response rolled out, but almost nobody noticed. The International Energy Agency (IEA) started tapping into member state’s emergency oil reserves,…
MSNBC suspends Mark Halperin over ‘dick’ comment
MSNBC proved that it is still amateur hour when it comes to cable news. The network is suspension city. In he past, it has suspended both Joe Scarborough (also involved…
Petraeus’s imaginary Taliban
In Nikolai Gogol's novel Dead Souls, his protagonist Chichikov seeks to purchase serfs who have died but are still registered against their owners as taxable assets. By relieving the owners…
The Sensitivity Problem and the Social Sciences: Warn your students
This is a problem I am sure almost anyone who works with data runs into form time to time. It is also something we need to teach our students. Which…
Canada Day Long Weekend …
Hope you all get a chance to kick back and enjoy the first nice long weekend of the summer! Happy Canada Day canuks!
Republicans Unrealistic
You think that the Republicans would be serious about reducing he deficit that they should look at ways to reduce the deficit without hurting the economy too bad. John Boehner…
Let’s Build a Fire Under Layton and Rae
In the course of Western civilization we have a rich history of blundering into emergencies unprepared, a history that teaches us the consequences of neglect are often horrendous. In most…
Government of Canada Issues Statement Opposing the Alphabet
Or so I’m forced to conclude from this press release, in which new foreign affairs minister John Baird appears to express surprise and dismay at the “appointment” of North Korea…
Full Dissent: When gay rights and religious rights collide
Canada’s National Post published a roundtable on Friday about when religious rights and the rights of sex and gender minorities collide, in the form of school board policies to protect…
Mind. Prepare to be blown away. Big Data, Wikipedia and Government.
Okay, super psyched about this. Back at the Strata Conference in Feb (in San Diego) I introduced my long time uber-quant friend and now Wikimedia Foundation data scientist Diederik Van…
On needless aggression
While I wrote today's column before word came out about the Harper Cons' meddling in the negotiations between Canada Post and CUPW, it looks like the Cons' desire to provoke…
AECL: Harper Government Sells to SNC-Lavalin
The gist of the story is that the seller – the Government of Canada – will pay $75 million to SNC-Lavalin for some new initiatives, and the buyer will write…
Stove Man Turns up the Heat
Stoves can make a world of difference in places that rely extensively on old-school resource like wood and cow patties. Using an efficient stove can save trees from being felled…