History has exploded from the least likely corners; spurious events unsettled our surest expectations. The 2010s will be volatile, unpredictable, dangerous – but not what we hope, and not what we fear.
Ten years that shook, rattled, rolled and helped repair the world - The Globe and Mail (via Instapaper)
Why do these people keep bugging us like this? Does the spirit of scientific scepticism really require that I remain forever open-minded to denialist humbug until it’s shown to be wrong? At what point am I allowed to simply say, look, I’ve seen these kind of claims before, they always turn out to be wrong, and it’s not worth my time to look into it?
Good overview of the consequences of the Climatic Research Unit emails for climate policy http://instapaper.com/zWfgti9R (via @globeandmail)
When Bureaucrats (are) Attack(ed): Richard Colvin and the end of Responsible Government - Gargoyle: the BlogBack in the good old days when the bargain was firmly in place, it would have been highly inappropriate for a bureaucrat to do as Richard Colvin did in his testimony before the special committee on Afghanistan, and effectively blow the whistle on the government from his safe perch in the embassy in Washington. If he gave advice and was ignored, he should have resigned or kept quiet. And if asked by a parliamentary committee to testify, his answer would have been something like, “if you want to know what advice I gave the minister, ask the minister.”
Interesting discussion with philosophy professor Mark Rowlands. The first third on the differences between humans, dogs, and wolves, and the last third on perceptions of time are particularly good.
Four good questions regarding Afghan detainees http://tgam.ca/EO4 (via @globeandmail)
Thank goodness for civil servants who breach the walls of government secrecy and obfuscation and speak out for principle, knowing they will be subject to public attack by their very powerful employer.
One teaspoon of honey, about 21 grams, contains 16 grams of sugar, or 60 calories. It takes 12 bees their entire foraging lives, combined flying time of about 9,700 kilometres, to produce this much.
To understand the importance of these bees, consider that every third bite on your plate is a result of their primary role on the planet as pollinators – the most important group on Earth.
Why honeybees are falling through the cracks - The Globe and Mail
They’re playing lullaby versions of classic Led Zeppelin tunes at Owen’s daycare. Sound very strange, but intriguing. #fb
RT @rhh: And of course, now we know exactly why the Tories have been so frantically trying to muzzle Colvin http://bit.ly/J9XQW
RT @rhh: Tory’s torture defence: bafflegabble: http://bit.ly/jEg17
Mesmerizing visualization of the decline of empires http://bit.ly/258w38 (via @boingboing)
I swear the tens of thousands coming out of these (PhD) programs, they’ve got no street smarts whatsoever. They know lots of mathematical theorems – fantastic. But they’ve got no common sense.
The Canadian TV industry isn’t naturally an economically viable ecosystem where each player can succeed on its own and still fulfill a cultural responsibility. It never has been and it may never be in the future. When models break - as they are now - the answer isn’t simply to drain money from one sector of the ecosystem and pump it into another. That’s a last-ditch “life support” approach, not one that promotes a sustainable future. It’s a band-aid on a much bigger problem and the answer to such extreme problems always lies in taking radical and decisive action, not applying first-aid to slow the bleeding while hoping that the problem will heal itself.
Canada has left its children with little protection for the first pandemic in 41 years. Is this what Canadians wanted from their heralded national strategy?
Forget fevers and sniffles. For working parents across the country, the most stressful flu symptom this fall may be that tense breakfast-table negotiation: Who is going to stay home with the kids? Who is going to wait in line for the vaccine? Who spends the night in emergency? And that unspoken question potentially underlying every answer: Whose job is more important?
The new flu symptom for parents: Who stays home? - The Globe and Mail
To the extent that we have any infrastructure policy at all, it is badly disjointed, dysfunctional, often doing more harm than good as it serves the interests of politicians who are crazy for pork rather than the real needs of the American public.
Inspiring story of Captain Trevor Greene http://bit.ly/4k15Ui (via @globeandmail)
Partisanship, the desire to do as much damage to the other guy as possible, the dramatically diminished focus on the public interest in favour of the party’s interest, has led to more dishonesty with voters, less time spent on trying to address the real issues and a dramatic increase in short-term decisions which actually run contrary to the public interest.
Healthcare is responsible for 8% of all CO2 emissions in the US http://instapaper.com/zGkjkf8f