September 2011
31 posts
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“Vancouver’s controversial Insite clinic can stay open, the Supreme Court said...”
– Top court rules Insite drug injection clinic can stay open - CBC News, 9/30/11
- YES! This is a great victory.
(via harmreduction)
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"Supercommittee" members and defense spending →
Arizona’s Republican Sen. Jon Kyl wasted little time. A member of the bipartisan congressional “supercommittee” charged with finding $1.5 trillion in deficit reductions, he did his best to forestall even discussion of cuts to the Pentagon’s budget. “When we had our first meeting the chairman asked, ‘Well, what do we think about defense spending?’...
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All your interwebs are belong to Facebook →
The socialisation of the web is good. Monopolies are not.
The web is changing rapidly and I think this article is most likely prophetic (in the short/medium-term at least).
Facebook will become the World Wide Web for a large proportion of surfers.
[…]
The overall effect that the Facebook Browser will have on users is a little harder to establish. On the one hand, Facebook will become ...
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“What’s happening before our eyes is that the US congressional system is...”
– Why our government is broken, by David Frum (via Mark Mardell)
Good luck with that!
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Why is King Abdullah willing to let Saudi women... →
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“The average American three-year-old can recognise 100 brands. Many can also...”
– The advertising industry is far more sophisticated than it was in the 1950s, but just as cynical. Many people imagine they can hide from the hidden persuaders, yet marketers have a way of triumphing nonetheless. (via theeconomist)
This article almost persuaded me to buy a book.
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“An enduring concern about democracies is that citizens conform too readily to...”
– John Bullock, Elite Influence on Public Opinion in an Informed Electorate, un-gated PDF for people into that sort of thing. (via ilyagerner)
What kind of abstract is that?! I’ve read the abstract and the conclusion and still have no idea what the actual experiments were. Is that normal for...
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Labour's economic credibility - Balls →
Attempting to regain the public’s trust on the economy was hardly optional, but I’m impressed by Labour’s approach here and that they’ve recognised that 3.5 years before the election isn’t too soon to start this process. Maybe I’m just happy to hear some actual policies from them.
Mr Balls will make two new pledges in his speech.
He will say: “First,...
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“Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.”
– Best simile ever?
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“Gerald began—but was interrupted by a piercing whistle which cost him ten...”
– Jim Gleeson, Madison, Wisconsin (2007 Winner, Bulwer–Lytton Fiction Contest).
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A younger David Cameron writes about drug policy →
I’d known of the conclusions that the Select Committee he was on came to, but I hadn’t seen this remarkable article he wrote at the time.
Drugs policy has been a no-go area for most politicians, with a few notable - and brave - exceptions.
Taking a “tough” line, calling for a “war on drugs” and stiffer penalties has been the stock in trade of politicians of...
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Scientist who found diamond planet is glad he... →
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UK politics in chaos
The independent Boundary Commission for England has made its proposals for boundaries that fit the reduction in number of MPs and lower tolerances for the number of people per constituency. And it’s got MPs worried. “Musical chairs with machetes” is the best description I’ve heard!
Many have said that the changes are more radical than expected, and the problem is that the...
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Motorcycle helmets and the law - Opinions wanted!
Can anyone offer any arguments for or against the mandatory wearing of safety helmets?
This seems like a good case of the individual in question being the only one in danger, so why go beyond informing them of the risks? We could say that allowing idiocy might influence others to emulate it, or that the cost and upset of a death or injury affects many others, but such an approach would...
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Drug prohibition and the Commerce Clause
I don’t have the time or knowledge to write much about this, but I’ve just learned that:
In the 2005 case, Gonzales v. Raich, SCOTUS ruled that “Congress may ban the use of marijuana even where states approve its use for medicinal purposes” (Wikipedia). “The regulation is squarely within Congress’ commerce power because production of the commodity meant for...
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Majority of Americans Ready to Legalize Marijuana →
Very interesting findings and analysis. I’d love however to see more questions about what ‘legalisation’ should mean: what degree of regulation do the public want?
Here are the key statistics from the latest Angus Reid Public Opinion Poll.
55% support the legalization of marijuana, with greatest support from:
Democrats: 63%
Independents: 61%
Men: 57%
Aged 35-54: 57%
67%...
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Ten Tips for Staying Healthy
1. Don’t be poor. If you can, stop. If you can’t, try not to be poor for long.
2. Don’t have poor parents.
3. Own a car.
4. Don’t work in a stressful, low paid manual job.
5. Don’t live in damp, low quality housing.
6. Be able to afford to go on a foreign holiday and sunbathe.
7. Practice not losing your job and don’t become unemployed.
8. Take up all benefits you are entitled to, if you...
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Academic publishers charge vast fees to access... →
Very glad to see this issue getting such attention. The typical academic publishing model is wrong in oh so many ways.
The European Commission are currently running a “Consultation on scientific information in the digital age” which is almost entirely on open access. The consultation ends on September 9th.
Edit: also, Ben Goldacre - Academic publishers run a guarded knowledge economy
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FT: Fight the war, not the drugs →
Sound stuff from both the FT’s Latin American editor and Mark Kleiman, a UCLA professor.
Their proposals for making the world less shit:
“Switch the focus away from casual drug users. … Legalisation of cannabis should be considered”. I’d go for other ‘softer’ drugs too (working my way up), and not just consider legalising, but it’s a start.
...
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