Judges increasingly make governmental decisions: Supreme Court justice - "Judges in Canada have been “hard-wired” by four decades of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to wield “enormous authority,” and they are making decisions that are “increasingly governmental in nature,” according to a sitting Supreme Court judge. Justice Malcolm Rowe argues that these governmental-type decisions include court rulings that regulate conduct, including in the operation of the economy; allocate public resources; and determine patterns of decision-making by institutions of the state. He does not criticize any particular ruling, but said this pattern calls for a reminder of the virtue of judicial restraint. Determining issues like this, he said in a lecture, “removes courts from their traditional role of dispute resolution” and engages them in complex public policy issues, traditionally reserved for legislatures and executives. “Before 1982, restraint was hard-wired into the limited role that judges played. Now judges are hard-wired into enormous authority,” Rowe said, according to a text of his speech. He was particularly concerned about judges recognizing “unwritten constitutional principles.” These are often advocated by litigants who see them as giving rise to desirable policies. But few judges have any “experience or meaningful understanding of government,” Rowe said, and the lawyers arguing before them are “a confident bunch, so they plunge ahead unrestrained by concern or doubt... Among his notable dissents at the Supreme Court is the reference case of the federal government’s carbon pricing regime. The court’s majority upheld it, but Rowe joined two other justices in finding it unconstitutional. In his lecture, Rowe said the notion of restraint is not about what gets decided, but how it gets decided, and by whom... He described how legislatures were supreme prior to the Constitution Act of 1982, in which Canada’s foundational laws were patriated, and judges given authority to strike down laws as “ultra vires,” literally “outside the powers,” meaning unconstitutional... His argument draws on modern legal theory as well as classical philosophy, including Plato’s vision of the ideal society in The Republic, and his famous problem, later expressed by the Roman poet Juvenal as “quis custodiet ipsos custodes,” or “Who will guard against the guardians?” He contrasts the unchecked power of Mao Zedong with the moderate and restrained approach of Nelson Mandela, and argues that the virtue displayed by judges should include restraint."
Unemployment Was the One Economic Problem Europe Didn’t Have. No Longer.
Do Ninjas Wear Black Costumes? - "While there are people who strongly believe that ninjas wore all-black costumes with masks, which revealed only the eyes, historical facts and common sense does not support this myth. The idea that ninja wore all-black costumes came from prop-handlers of the Kabuki theatre. The black costume was meant to allow prop handlers to blend with the background and look mundane as compared to the actors. In reality, the ninja strove to look ordinary. Their lives depended on not drawing suspicion from others. They were masters at making use of societal stereotypes to look like commoners... Even during the night, black would create an unnatural moving silhouette. It is believed that red or dark blue were better choices. In the dark, red wasn’t visible and if there was sudden light from the enemy’s lamp, the red would strike fear in the enemy due to the likeness of blood. Furthermore, no ninja is going to wear black when sneaking around a snowy terrain. It would be a sure way to be detected and killed."
Richard Hanania on X - "Anti-Semites like to point out that Jews have been overrepresented as communists. They ignore that the modern intellectual foundations of free-market capitalism are also disproportionately Jewish, perhaps at least as much as communism.
*Milton Friedman, the most important economist of the twentieth century
*Other members of the Chicago School included Jacob Viner and Aaron Director
*The most cited legal scholar of all time is Judge Richard Posner, one of the founders of the Law & Economics Movement
*The Austrian school was founded and popularized by Jews like Ludwig von Mises and Murray Rothbard
*Ayn Rand's novels brought free market ideas to a mass public
It's not their fault that Christians are bad at being intellectuals (I mean, Michael Lind? Come on). Jews are just better at abstract thinking."
Just like anti-Semites ignore the many Jews who criticise Israel or who push a left-wing agenda for it
Meme - "When you have a great time with the present, but it was not for you *Cat in baby seat* *Baby in baby seat*"
BABY'S CHOICE - TOYS -vs- LITERALLY ANYTHING ELSE - YouTube
Don't waste money on toys for babies
Meme - "AND WHAT ARE YOU LITTLE GIRL?"
"A GHOST. THE SPIRIT OF YOUR DEAD DREAM TO BE A FAMOUS SINGER."
"EVERY DAY! EVERY DAY IN THE OFFICE WAS A STEP AWAY FROM BROADWAY AND I KNEW IT! CHARLOTTE TOLD ME TO GO AND WAS ALWAYS NEXT YEAR AND NOW THE YEARS ARE GONE AND THEY TOOK MY VOICE WITH THEMMMMMMMM"
"THE INTEL WAS GOOD! GRAB EVERYTHING WHILE HE'S DOWN!"
Japanese Village Grows Epic Rice Paddy Art to Boost Tourism - "As part of a revitalization effort in the early 90s, the village of Inakadate, Japan, decided on a novel way to boost tourism in their town: large-scale rice paddy art. Now, using seven different kinds of rice as their color palette, over a thousand local volunteers come together each year to help with the planting process. Over time, the designs have evolved in complexity and now draw in hundreds of thousands of tourists every year."
A Real-Life Robinson Crusoe Lives on His Own Island - "In an article for The Sydney Morning Herald titled The Last Days of Eden, photographer Brian Cassey documents the magnificent life of former businessman David Glasheen, now known as Australia's real-life Robinson Crusoe. After ending his marriage and losing millions of dollars in the stock market crash of 1987, Glasheen up and left his corporate life in Sydney for one of a self-sufficient man on his own personal oasis. The photojournalist joined Glasheen there on Restoration Island, an empty tropical retreat that sits 1,500 miles off the coast of Brisbane, giving us an inside look at his interesting lifestyle. The startling images capture a man living off an unbelievably beautiful beach rich with coconuts. He grows his own vegetables, brews his own beer, catches his own fish, and keeps himself entertained. Glasheen celebrates the peaceful landscape he calls home, though, similar to the oft-written about sentiments of men stranded on islands, like in the film Cast Away, he admits it can get sometimes get lonely. While Tom Hanks had a volleyball named Wilson, Glasheen has the company of his dog named Quasi. Though he loves his sole canine companion, Glasheen tried his hand at online dating a few years ago in the hopes of finding a human mate (with solar-powered internet) to no avail. Luckily, he has a good sense of humor about it, saying, “My only hope is for a mermaid to turn up on the beach.”"
Women ordered off stage at sumo contest after trying to help stricken mayor - "Women who rushed to the aid of a man suffering a stroke while giving a speech at a sumo event in Japan were ordered off the raised ring due to rules banning females from the sacred space. The 66-year-old mayor of Maizuru city, Ryozo Tatami, collapsed on the dohyo sumo ring in Kyoto on Wednesday. The ring is traditionally regarded as a sacred place in the ancient sport and purified with rituals by shinto priests before sumo bouts. Women are banned from participating in sumo tournaments or ceremonies, as well as touching or stepping on to the ring, because it is seen as defiling its purity. A number of women ran on to the ring to give emergency treatment, but the sumo judge at the event repeatedly called over the PA system for them to step off the arena. Two of the women could be seen starting to dismount, but then returning to help, in a video broadcast on multiple television networks. The actions of the judge drew criticism from television commentators and on social media in Japan. Nobuyoshi Hokutoumi, the chairman of the Japan Sumo Association (JSA) and a former grand champion, later apologised for the incident and expressed his appreciation for the women’s help... This is not the first time that sumo’s ban on women has caused controversy. Fusae Ohta, the female governor of Osaka from 2000 to 2008, was forced to present the governor’s prize to the champion of the annual Osaka tournament on a walkway next to the ring. The JSA rejected her repeated requests to be allowed to enter the ring, claiming it would dishonour sumo’s ancient traditions."
'It's exhilarating': Japan's female sumo wrestlers take on sexism
They don't look like sumo wrestlers
Tool frontman labels band's own fans as 'insufferable retards' - "Keenan spoke to the Phoenix New Times on which he said that the rest of the band “had to con me into” playing the upcoming show. The interviewer notes that Keenan’s “answers quickly become curt” when asked about Tool, and, when quizzed on the humour in Tool’s lyrics, he replied: “Yeah, it’s there, but people miss it because they’re so focused on the other bullshit. It’s lost”. The singer added of the band’s fans: “Insufferable people… It’s just ridiculous, retards. I’m sorry. Can’t help them. Way too serious. Too much. Lighten up.”"
Ex-ISD Director: Lee Kuan Yew was afraid of Francis Seow - "Things began to sour up between Lee Kuan Yew and Francis Seow after the latter resigned from government service to go into private practice. Lee was so afraid that Francis Seow would pose a formidable opponent to him, both politically and administratively. Lee was so devious that he would imagine all kinds of evil acts that Francis Seow was going to foist on him that he would take pre-emptive action. Lee even accused the writer of abusing his authority when he was Director CPIB in helping Francis Seow in the discharge of some detectives for pilfering his property when they were investigating a theft in his dwelling. As it turned out this was nothing more than a figment of his imagination. But he was so vindictive that he defamed the writer by stating on TV that he had dismissed the writer, but it was pointed out to him that he had on the contrary promoted the writer to the post of Director ISD. Somehow, the name Francis Seow struck a feeling of fear on Lee Kuan Yew. He detained Francis Seow under the ISA for 72 days in 1988 accusing Francis of having received funds from the United States of America to promote democracy in Singapore. He was no stranger to fantasy and this was too far-fetched for people to believe. Francis Seow was released before the General Election in 1988 and his announcement of taking part in the General Election threw Lee Kuan Yew into a spasm. Lee knew that Francis Seow had the charisma to sway voters in his favour and the idea of Francis Seow entering Parliament would upset the equilibrium of Lee Kuan Yew with Francis’ eloquence. Francis Seow and two fellow candidates contested the Eunos GRC against Tay Eng Soon from the PAP. Lee was determined by hook or by crook to prevent Francis Seow’s team from capturing the Eunos GRC. And Lee had no compunction in using even underhand methods to secure a PAP victory. Even Chinese primary school teachers were mobilised to distribute pamphlets to persuade voters not to vote for Francis Seow. In the end the PAP team won by a whisker of 50.9 % despite all their bullying tactics. Francis Seow and his team had the honour of securing 49.1 % of the votes. Lee Kuan Yew was determined to fix Francis Seow and ordered the Comptroller of Income Tax to fix him. This suited the Comptroller as he was a sworn enemy of Francis Seow and how he managed to dig up the dirt to charge Francis Seow with tax evasion is still a mystery. Francis Seow left for the United States and never returned."
How the pig became a ‘pork factory’ in China - "From ancient times and into the modern era, “traditional” Chinese pigs lived mostly on plant materials containing little protein, making their flesh quite fatty. Anyone who has eaten dishes like “red braised pork belly” (hongshaorou) knows that pork dishes in China are often mostly composed of tender lard. For common farmers, the high energy content of pig fat made it a luxury food and an important source of nutrition. They ate pork mostly at Spring Festival, and they kept the lard for frying vegetables and other dishes throughout the year, which became a key characteristic of Chinese cooking. Because pork was a treat saved for festivals, pigs are traditionally associated in Chinese culture with prosperity and good health."
Chantalle Ng moving to own bedroom after 28 years of sleeping with mum - "While many millennials are looking to move into their own homes, local actress Chantalle Ng is starting small - moving into her own bedroom. Yes, Ng has been sharing a bed with her mother for the last 28 years, and finally decided to get her own room."
A new luxury hotel with rooms made from buses opens in Singapore
Meme - *Sign: "Fuck the poor"*
"What do you mean 'fuck the poor'? You're just standing there like an idiot!"
Police: "That is offensive"
"You should be thinking of a better way to get them off the street."
"The guy is cold down there, why don't you just give him a blanket?"
"I've been homeless for 2 years. Get out of here!"
"Since people was so outraged, they decided to flip the sign, now it said "help the poor". It is, after all, what people stand for, right?"
"Help the poor?... anyone have any spare change? Help the poor? please folks..."
Meme - "Generational trauma cycles can be broken.
Expectation
"stupid" -> "you not good enough" -> *block* "I love you" -> "fire makes everything clean" *kid drawing fire on canvas*
Generational trauma cycles can be broken.
Reality
"stupid" -> "you not good enough" -> I will never marry or have children *no kid*"
Technically committing suicide ends suffering
Meme - "URANUS *2 white hemispheres with spine bisecting them*"
Man tried to rape friend's wife to fulfil friend's fantasy - "A man drugged his wife of 23 years in order to fulfil a deviant fantasy of having his colleague rape the unconscious woman. The colleague, 47, was jailed for three years on Thursday (13 January) after pleading guilty to one count of abetment by conspiring with the woman’s husband to rape her in 2017 in her matrimonial home, although rape did not actually occur. Another count of molest was considered for his sentencing... The man is the first of seven to be dealt with in a case that involves four husbands allegedly conspiring to rape one another’s wives. At least four women have been identified as victims... The husband began to share details of his sex life with the man, including fantasies the couple had. The husband also broached the possibility of the man having sex with his wife, which the man did not object to. On the evening of 31 August 2017, the husband contacted the man to say that his wife was ready. He did not tell the man if the woman had consented to sex with the man. In return, the man did not ask the husband if his wife had consented. In the early hours of 1 September 2017, the husband allowed the man into his house and bedroom, where his wife was unconscious, naked and blindfolded on the bed. The husband had earlier given her alcohol and a sex drug to knock her out. Their children and maid were asleep in another room. The husband then asked the man to have sex with the wife. The man molested her while her husband stood by. He then tried to rape her without a condom, but did not manage to do so. By this point, the woman had regained consciousness and felt a man atop of her who was not her husband. She removed her blindfold, but the man had fled. On 4 May 2020, the man was examined and found to have evidence of predisposing factors to erectile dysfunction. An ultrasound showed evidence of arterial insufficiency. The offences were reported to the authorities in January 2020 after one of the seven accused men’s wife had found explicit images of herself in her husband’s phone. Her husband was arrested and the identities of his accomplices were established. The convicted man’s involvement was also revealed. The victim had also confronted her husband's colleague after the 1 September 2017 incident, and at her insistence, the man and her husband wrote confession letters. The man confessed in his 4 September 2017 letter that he was invited by the husband to the couple’s home to watch them having sex. He said that he arrived at 12.45am and met the husband, who told him to have sex with his wife. He found that the wife was unconscious, but was told all was okay... Justice Abdullah added that the fact that the attempted rape occurred in the victim's home should attract a substantial increase in the jail term, as it was a violation of her safe sanctuary."
Presumably if the attempted rape were in public, there would also be a substantial increase in the jail term too, because of the exposure
Eleanor Margolis on X - "You really have to respect the versatility of mint. Good in cocktails, chocolate, with meat, in ice cream, as tea. Just at home in a salad as it is in a cigarette. A whole genre of sweets that are just called “mints”. And it’s the only mainstream toothpaste flavour. Insane herb."
Mads Mikkelsen Shares Theory On Why He’s Cast As Bad Guy In U.S. Films - "Mads Mikkelsen has distinguished himself across his career with his ability to move between arthouse hits in his native Denmark and big Hollywood franchises such as James Bond, Doctor Strange, Star Wars, Fantastic Beasts and Indiana Jones. The actor was quizzed in a Marrakech Film Festival masterclass on Saturday about the fact that he tends to be cast as a flawed hero in Europe and the bad guy in Hollywood, in roles such as Marvel supervillain Kaecilius or Le Chiffre in Casino Royal. “It’s quite simple. It’s the funny accent. It’s as simple as that. It used to be Germans, then it was Brits; then the Russians, and then for some reason they fell in love with the Danish accent. That’s definitely part of it,” he said."
Stew vs. Soup: Everything You Need to Know - "Soups and stews can start with the same ingredients—a combination of vegetables, meat, or fish cooked in a liquid, such as stock, water, or milk to name a few. The main difference is the amount of liquid that’s used for each. In a soup, the ingredients will generally be completely submerged in liquid, while in stews, they’re just barely covered... The main component of a soup is the liquid. Soups can be brothy (think: a timeless chicken noodle soup), puréed (classic tomato purée soup), or creamy (potato cheddar soup, anyone?). Soups are generally easy and fast to make—some can be made in as little as 20 minutes! The most labor-intensive part of making a soup is chopping the vegetables and meat, as they should be broken down into small, bite-size pieces. The general rule is that no ingredient should be larger than a soup spoon. Stew tends to be more complex and takes longer to cook than soup. The ingredients in stew are cut into larger pieces and are “stewed” in a small (well, smaller than soup) amount of liquid, until all of the ingredients are cooked and the flavors have melded. To this last point, stews can often contain tough cuts of meat like beef chuck, so those need additional cooking time. Stews can also have some type of thickener added, like flour, that would be cooked briefly with the vegetables after they've been softened. This helps thicken the liquid and coats the meats and vegetables. Unlike soups, which rely mostly on water or stock as the main liquid, stews can contain beer, cider, or wine for additional flavor. Soups also tend to be served on their own, with maybe just a piece of bread as an accompaniment, while stews are often served over rice or alongside polenta or mashed potatoes. There’s a lot of debate about whether chili is a soup or a stew. It’s thick like a stew, but can have small, bite-size ingredients like a soup."
We Should Consider Eating Our Own Poop for a Better Future - "Lately, a growing battalion of largely well-intentioned, data-wielding trooth-sayers insist that we all ought to eat bugs... I wonder if we cannot and should not go further. Why stop at insects? Why be satisfied with their admittedly glowing report card of optimised efficiency when we could go all the way? The logical conclusion of this train of thought, as far as I can see, is clear: Let us engineer the perfect closed loop. Let us eat, and only eat, our own poop... As for human culture, it can alter designations of disgust quite quickly. Look at the recent debate around so-called "recycled water," or water reclaimed from sewage through an extensive process of filtration and sanitation. Though recycled water comes out much purer than regular tap water, at first, many people would refuse to drink it. But this response is starting to change... Auto-coprophagy is not only entirely possible, it is also the most environmentally and ethically sound option for human civilisation on this planet for the long term. Food diversity is a bother, a gross inefficiency, and a never-ending problem for both the planet and people everywhere."
No wonder people don't want to eat bugs. So much for the "myth" of the slippery slope
What happened to microfinance company Kiva? - "The Smiths and their fellow lenders learned that in 2019 the organization had begun charging fees to its lending partners. Kiva had long said it offered zero-interest funding to microfinance partners, but the Smiths learned that the recently instituted fees could reach 8%. They also learned about Kiva Capital, a new entity that allows large-scale investors—Google is one—to make big investments in microfinance companies and receive a financial return. The Smiths found this strange: thousands of everyday lenders like them had been offering loans return free for more than a decade. Why should Google now profit off a microfinance investment? The Kiva users noticed that the changes happened as compensation to Kiva’s top employees increased dramatically. In 2020, the CEO took home over $800,000. Combined, Kiva’s top 10 executives made nearly $3.5 million in 2020. In 2021, nearly half of Kiva’s revenue went to staff salaries. Considering all the changes, and the eye-popping executive compensation, “the word that kept coming up was ‘shady,’” Bill Smith told me. “Maybe what they did was legal,” he said, “but it doesn’t seem fully transparent.” He and Janice felt that the organization, which relied mostly on grants and donations to stay afloat, now seemed more focused on how to make money than how to create change... In 2021, the Smiths and nearly 200 other lenders launched a “lenders’ strike.”... Kiva has also long faced criticism, especially when it comes to transparency. There was the obvious issue that the organization suggests a direct connection between Kiva.org users and individual borrowers featured on the site, a connection that does not actually exist. But there were also complaints that the interest rates borrowers pay were not disclosed. Although Kiva initially did not charge fees to the microfinance institutions it funneled money through, the loans to the individual borrowers do include interest. The institutions Kiva partners with use that to cover operational costs and, sometimes, make a profit. Critics were concerned about this lack of disclosure given that interest rates on microfinance loans can reach far into the double digits—for more than a decade, some have even soared above 100%. (Microlenders and their funders have long argued that interest rates are needed to make funding sustainable.)... Critics also point to studies showing that microfinance has a limited impact on poverty, despite claims that the loans can be transformative for poor people. For those who remain concerned about microfinance overall, the clean, easy narrative Kiva promotes is a problem. By suggesting that someone like Janice Smith can “make a loan, change a life,” skeptics charge, the organization is effectively whitewashing a troubled industry accused of high-priced loans and harsh collection tactics that have reportedly led to suicides, land grabs, and a connection to child labor and indebted servitude... Even among other nonprofits headquartered in expensive American cities, Kiva’s CEO salary is high... I spoke to Nurhayrah Sadava, CEO of VisionFund Mongolia, who told me she preferred the fees to the old Kiva model"
No wonder they keep asking for donations
Russia's oil deals with India should terrify countries trying to abandon the dollar - "even Russia, which has been actively skirting sanctions and using local currencies for trade to prop up its economy, hasn't found a really viable alternative currency for trade – highlighting the problems and risks of countries looking to abandon the greenback... Indian authorities have controls on the rupee and the currency is not fully convertible — which means it can't be easily changed into another currency. This poses a problem for Russia, which found itself stuck with lots of rubles in Indian banks earlier this year. India actually encourages the rupees to be spent in India itself. The problem for Russia is that there's not much it wants to buy from India. The currency issue is not just a problem with India — sources tell Reuters that it's affecting other top buyers in Africa, China, and Turkey too. To get around its rupee conundrum and reduce its currency risks, Russian officials and oil executives have instead been pushing Indian buyers to pay them in Chinese yuan. It's also subject to controls and is not fully convertible, but Russia imports a lot more from China, including cars, machinery and other goods. Yet the Indian government is increasingly uncomfortable with yuan trade, since there are currency conversion charges involved and geopolitical rivalry between Delhi and Beijing. Another currency Russia could use to trade with India is the United Arab Emirates dirham — but the UAE is increasing its oversight of Russian companies."
Meme - "So what's your favorite color?"
"Stop asking stupid questions, ask me something logical and matured"
"how many moles of sodium bicarbonate are needed to neutralise 0.8 ml of sulphuric acid at STP?"
"My favourite colour is pink"
