Having done my labor for the day

pruning trees(among other things), I'm now sitting on my ass browsing around.

Looks like the current strain of ebola mutated off another strain pretty recently.  This one
has had a higher transmission rate and lower death rate than others, and researchers are curious if any of these mutations are related to that. (Right now, social factors are thought to be the main causes of these two changes.)
And the longer it goes on, the more chances to mutate.  Say, becoming air-transmittable.  Which would be a nightmare.


This kind of crap is exactly why people don't trust or like the cops anymore: it's apparently too difficult to actually look at the damned video and compare faces, much better to keep a guy in jail for hours instead of, y'know, actually looking for the robber.


Tim Blair, a Aussie writer I need to read more often
A few years ago I became involved in a little online dispute with left-wing Brisbane feminist Kim Jameson. It all began when Kim criticised visiting Somalian author and activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a victim of female genital mutilation who subsequently abandoned her Muslim faith.

“Her view on Islam,” wrote Kim, “is too much coloured by her own experience.”

Well, yes. Having your genitals destroyed by some maniac with a knife might tend to have that effect. Jameson then considered the overall subject of Islamic girl cutting: “I believe that the best step that can be taken to work against it is to give support to those who are best placed to do so where it occurs, not to politicise the issue.”
...
My response, back in the day: “You’d think if there was one issue on which a Western feminist might be moved to loud denunciation, it’d be the genital mutilation of little girls. But no; this instead turns out to be an issue (one of the few) about which the likes of Kim are inclined to shut the hell up. In the rock-scissors-paper hierarchy of the modern left, sensitivity to Islam trumps clitoral scissors every time.”

Horrific events in the UK now demonstrate the consequences of Western “sensitivity” towards Islam.


Got into a bit of a go-round on Bookface the other day on the subject of the idiot 'consent' law about to be passed in Californicated.  Opinion of two other people: 'Sexual assault is such  plague and out of control that it's worth it to ditch that 'beyond reasonable doubt' and 'presumption of innocence' crap to fight it.'

Ignoring the bullshit in a lot of the numbers on the 'plague', the idea of dumping those things because "This is IMPORTANT!" scares hell out of me.  The were put in our system for very damned good reason.  I've always liked this scene from 'A Man for All Seasons' to illustrate:
Drives me up the wall, the people I've known who think it's just fine to dump these protections- at least in a matter they are all wound up about- because "It's worth it."  They never seem to understand, or care, about about the dangers.  Or what happens down the road to THEM when it's used against them.


Remember when FEMA and DHS announced that people should have at least three days supplies in case of natural disaster or terrorist attack?  Then a few months later DHS was telling LE that anyone 'stockpiling' food, water and medical gear should be considered suspicious?  How long do you think the delay will be this time?


And last, before I fall over, is the current reaction by the Brit authorities to a bunch of muslim males raping girls over years time:
A British social worker who noted the Pakistani heritage of sexual predators said she was told to never mention race in her reports on the abuses and was forced to take a two-day diversity training class.
Either the Brits will actually get serious about this and fire a bunch of people, or they'll play games and hope the noise goes away.  I'm betting on the latter.