To turn statistical methodology into a political controversy, a government has to really screw up. But to make statisticians shriek and flap their arms like wounded albatrosses, to cause policy wonks to turn purple with rage, to compel retired civil servants to dispense with a lifetime of discretion and denounce the government’s gobsmacking jackassery to reporters … Well, that’s something special.
Microposts
Then we will see an economic life closer to our biological environment: smaller firms and no leverage - a world in which entrepreneurs, not bankers, take the risks, and in which companies are born and die every day without making the news.
MP Irwin Cotler, a former justice minister, says that the trial will be the first of a child soldier in modern history and that such a trial is prohibited under international humanitarian law. Any thought that something like this might cause the Harper government to reconsider is, of course, risible. These honourable men rebuff their own high court verdicts. They rebuff the will of Parliament – when not shutting it down – on Afghan detainee documents. For them, international law is of trifling concern.
In the matter of Omar Khadr, shame on us - The Globe and Mail (via Instapaper)
So, no new tax; no money flowing back to government to spend; no vast new bureaucracy springing up to burden the taxpayer (Stewardship Ontario was, until about a year ago, a virtual organization, and now has all of 20 staff), and really, a pretty smart program that is the first of its kind in Canada.
From the shock of ‘eco fees’ comes eco consciousness - The Globe and Mail (via Instapaper)
A staple of collective self-awareness, the census is our national mirror. Arbitrarily and without debate or justification, Conservatives are blurring Canada’s reflected image by poking a stick in the eye of knowledge.
Travers: Census change latest move in PM’s dumbing down of Canada - thestar.com (via Instapaper)
Rice Krispies
“Keeping the Bees” on CBC’s Quirks and Quarks
So what we have is a federal government that keeps asserting assumptions that almost all experts think are wrong, that says its critics in the PBO are wrong without providing alternative information, that backs a policy that those who know about such matters are almost unanimous in saying will not work, and that will be spending money on it when most other programs will be cut – all in the politically popular name of being “tough on crime.”
Haircuts
It became known as the Dunning-Kruger Effect — our incompetence masks our ability to recognize our incompetence. But just how prevalent is this effect?
The Anosognosic’s Dilemma: Something’s Wrong but You’ll Never Know What It Is (Part 1) - Opinionator Blog - NYTimes.com (via Instapaper)
Although centralized control of messaging has been a growing feature of federal governments – indeed, governments in many democracies – nothing in Canada has come close to the attention, time and effort the Harper government puts into managing and manipulating information and image-making.
Bee swarm
Emma’s new Ariel doll
Snake Oil? The scientific evidence for health supplements
Mother’s Day Brunch
The previous prime minister was called Mr. Dithers because Paul Martin could never make up his mind. Stephen Harper, it seems, can’t stop changing his.
Contraception a part of maternal-health plan, Harper says - The Globe and Mail
In other words, you are starting to matter. From prorogation and ten percenters, to anger over CIDA cuts and changes to the anthem, the grassroots have stirred enough to cause reversals in the government’s political designs. In such a light, the ten percenter victory is perhaps more important than we imagine, as citizens begin the slow process of filling up the public space the Harper government has increasingly vacated. It’s low-level turbulence, to be sure, but it’s a victory nonetheless – even if it’s only ten percent.
via Bathroom breaks could wait during gold-medal match
Good Medicine Magazine – Health vs. Pork: Congress Debates the Farm Bill
Expressing a gold-medal performance in public-sector efficiency by the number 1, the economists scored all other competitor countries as percentages of the first-place finish. With an input rating of 0.75, Canada’s 12th-place finish meant it spent 25 per cent more money than it needed to spend – that it could have attained the same results by spending only 75 per cent of the money it spent. You could put it another way. The Canadian government wasted one dollar for every four dollars it spent.
Input, output: We need a public-sector Olympics - The Globe and Mail
Funny Grandpa
Back to work
Early Spring Stroll
Our Healthy Princess
Meeting Baby Caitlynn
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 →
Science is not a cold body of facts, but an organized system of inquiry, discovery, evaluation and learning. Science not only welcomes the correction of errors, its key attribute is that it is self-correcting over time. As new research arises, old hypotheses gain or lose support. While this process never stops, generally accepted conclusions do accumulate, based on the overwhelming weight of evidence. The fact and threat of anthropogenic climate change are clearly among those conclusions.
Your square-jawed hero is, in fact, the scientist - The Globe and Mail
It is time, finally, to learn from our mistakes. While global leaders focused single-mindedly on cutting fossil fuel use by promising to cut carbon emissions, they have failed to invest anywhere enough money into ensuring that alternative technologies are ready to take up the slack. Keep in mind that global energy demand will double by 2050. Based on our current progress, it is clear that alternative technologies will not be ready to play a significant role.
Welcome to the fun house, friends. The 21st century is going to be the most dangerous and the most complicated (and the most exciting and dynamic) century in the history of the human race. The politics of science are going to get more complicated, more confusing and more contentious — even as the political impact of scientific findings looms ever larger in our lives.
Why Climate Science Is On Trial - Walter Russell Mead’s Blog - The American Interest