2015 May
2015 May 1
Van Made Previously Undisclosed 2nd Stop; Examiner Concludes Injury Occurred During Ride
All this talk about a 2nd stop that was unreported until the video tape surfaced that indicated it, just added to the suspicion of the officers’ behaviors during the whole event. There are way too many questions about the quality of care for the well-being that the officer took with Freddie Gray. Body cameras on the officers, many more cameras in public places and even many more cameras in private places, would obviously go a long ways towards making the interaction between law enforcement and the public more transparent.
2015 May 2
Police Body Cams: DOJ Unveils $20M Program to Expand Use
This is a no-brainer. There is no valid reason to object to law enforcement officers wearing body cameras. The trust between law enforcement personnel and the public must be repaired. Losing the critical mass of trust makes it all too easy to descend into civil unrest and anarchic tendencies. There must be a way to ensure that the behavior of law enforcement personnel is adequately checked against the human tendencies to seek shortcut to policies annd procedures. Perhaps the best way is to objectively record all interactions between law enforcement and the public.
2015 May 3
Italy: At least 10 migrants found dead in sea off Libya
People shouldn’t be required to escape their own country in search of a better life. The world community has a responsibility to ensure that people of a distinct people group have their own sovereignty over their own geographic homeland, secure from external threats. Successfully implementing this policy would mean that the major force for destabilization within a society is removed…namely, the presence of sufficiently distinct groups of people living together within one political jurisdiction.
Then, after this is set up and there are still problems within a country that result in people fleeing for their lives or safety, then the international community should enforce significantly large enough enclave areas within the offending country so that these refugees would be able to build and resettle there, in relative safety from danger, protected by the international force. Simultaneous with this enclave creation, the international community must develop a plan of action to force a resolution of the underlying conditions giving rise to such violations of human rights, via military means, if necessary.
2015 May 4
Puerto Rico Governor Signs Order To Legalize Medical Marijuana
Good. The legalization of medical marijuana poses no threat to the general safety of the public. On the contrary, the safety factor resulting from the absence of criminally ignorant marijuana possessors from going to jail/prison and learning new, more intense criminal behaviors, is mind-boggling. Indeed, just developing the attitude needed to survive the prison social environment would result in ex-prisoners not being wanting to join any stable, peace-loving community.
2015 May 5
New York State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Son Arrested on Corruption Charges
To effectively fight corruption, it is necessary to require public servants to reduce the amount of privacy they are entitled to as private citizens. All aspects of their lives, from traveling, to appointment schedules, to all financial matters, should be available for review by the proper governing authorities.
2015 May 6
Germanwings pilot practiced fatal dive
If flight data were required to be downloaded ‘live’ as it is being recorded, perhaps such anomalous behavior exhibited by the suicidal pilot could have been picked up by either active human monitors or, more likely, computer monitoring programs. Perhaps warnings would have surfaced in time to take precautionary measures.
2015 May 7
What’s behind surging public university tuition
Education is expensive, though not nearly as expensive as war. However, there is too much emphasis on higher education. So many people should not be required to get 4-year and graduate degrees. In practicality, such certificates are not really needed in the real world. What should count, instead, is good old- fashioned work experience. As such, it is imperative that young people beginning around 12 years old begin specializing in study topics that are more personalized to their interests. As they get older they would gradually choose more of their own topics (within certain parameters) and then actually do some apprenticeship work during their last few years of mandatory schooling (which I would define as going up to age 20 (high school), the end of secondary education.
2015 May 8
Lumber Liquidators customers don’t know what to believe
Having a functional import inspection/reporting system would have dramatically reduced the chances that products like these laminate would not have been problematic, like emitting excess amounts of formaldehyde.
2015 May 9
Pentagon says security at bases in U.S. highest in four years
Educating the global public is the best defense against the ignorance and intolerance which is at the core of these idiots who target the lives of journalists/cartoonists who depict cartoons of the prophet Mohammad.
2015 May 10
Our electrical infrastructures need to be ‘hardened’ against potential solar storm damage (and human EMP attacks). Not only will we be able to avert the eventual natural catastrophes, but also reduce our exposure to human attacks. Unfortunately, humans at large do not seem to care enough about such risks until they actually happen.
2015 May 11
Report: Obama Admin Lied About Tracking, Killing of Osama bin Laden
A greater history of transparency and truthfulness of government communications would have reduced the degree to which the general public doubts information coming from the government. If it is true that the US lied about the detail of Bin Laden’s finding, it just further damages US credibility and its future ability to communicate adequately to the world.
2015 May 12
The combination of efforts to reduce population birthrates, enforce existing building regulations and increase the education levels of the public in general and specialists (like earthquake geologists, building engineers, etc., in particular) would have significantly reduced the risk of death and injury in this earthquake and in all other natural disasters in general.
2015 May 13
Pope to Form Commission to Study Women Serving as Deacons
The human origin nature of this doctrine of Catholicism is shown by having the Pope (a human) form a commission (of humans) to decide if women should be allowed to serve as Deacons. If humans need to try to figure out what the doctrine should be, it is a human doctrine (unless the newer interpretation is clearly more consistent with the totality of the original holy texts of their scriptures).
2015 May 14
Strict quarantine laws need to be followed. The risks of introducing invasive species are potentially so catastrophically large, that any violation should be treated severely. International travel of all types should be more expensive to reduce the possible chances of such unintended introductions. More importantly, inspections at departure and arrival ports. should be more thorough. This will naturally result in high transportation costs which will naturally result in lowered instances of potentially dangerous transportation.
2015 May 15
Perfect Nails, Poisoned Workers
Harsh working conditions, hazardous chemical to work with, birth defect and miscarriages, all these factors should and could be minimized by imposing and enforcing stricter health and safety standards for the industry, eliminating the possibility of illegal immigrant from working, incentivizing the elimination of the possibility of pregnancy, and essentially raising the cost of these products and services so that demand is reduces and fewer people are exposed to such risks.
2015 May 16
‘Justice’: Jury orders death for the Boston Marathon bomber
The death penalty should have been given, but only under the condition that he must first provide restitution and compensation (with a punitive multiple) to all the victims of this crime. The death penalty, as currently instituted, with all its appeals and such, is far too costly for society to continue to implement. The form of punishment needs to be streamlined and restricted to only those who have been conclusively proven to have been the perpetrators of crimes causing intentional death or which were recklessly negligent.
2015 May 17
Officers warned about more bikers possibly heading to Texas after brawl
Admittedly a minor point, but perhaps more thoroughly enforced regulations against the noise pollution caused by these usually very noisy motorcycles would have have caused fewer people to be attracted to these bike gangs, thus leading to a lower probability of a fight or at least may have reduced the number or dead and injured.
2015 May 18
Obama: U.S. Cracking Down on ‘Militarization’ of Local Police
The militarization of local police forces should naturally be limited so that local police cannot effectively threaten neighboring or superior jurisdictions. However, local police should have all the tools necessary to effectively maintain control of fairly large scale uprisings within their districts. Grenade launchers and tanks are clearly not things that local police forces should have. If these tools are required, that would mean that the uprising is of a degree which would require the intervention of the military.
2015 May 19
Fiat Chrysler CEO: Company, auto industry must adapt to stricter US auto safety enforcement
The very large number of new car models being produced by the world’s auto makers is astounding. Why do we need so many new models of cars? If we had fewer models being produced, that would naturally mean that fewer new designs would be introduced. That would also naturally mean that more time could be spent on producing (and hopefully perfecting) the remaining models, thus lessening the potential of recalls in the future due to faulty designs. The selling and financing of automobiles is at a point that is beyond market saturation. Not only do people not need so many different models of cars, but people do not need such new cars. Cars should be built to last longer. They should be built with more parts that are more durable, easier to exchange and to maintain.
Cars should not depreciate anywhere near as fast as they currently do. Of course, creating policies that directly mandate more durable vehicles or policies which directly impose a schedule of vehicle depreciation would be a ridiculous intervention of government within a private market.
So the solution is to ensure that the government effectively creates and imposes rules for the marketplace that require that all negative externalities are accounted for by the producers (this would inevitable raise the cost of cars) and that the operators of vehicles also actually pay all costs associated with operating them (mileage fees, proper gasoline/energy prices, proper oil change/disposal fees, etc.) Disposal fees for vehicles that reach the end of their life should also be raised to account for the true costs of disposal. Just ensuring that the market place effectively accounts for all costs will go a long ways towards stabilizing this market at a level which is more sustainable.
2015 May 20
U.N.: 25,000 Flee Ramadi After ISIS Capture; U.S. Could Speed Weapons to Militias
As with most problems, this problem is the result of previous errors in policy. Of course, some errors go back decades or even centuries, like that lack of fair trading practices and the lack of effective influences from more developed societies to these less developed one regarding their encouragement to priorities education of the masses, the importance of treating others humanely, etc. Unfortunately, this world has no shortage of suffering and this case in Ramadi’s residents fleeing during its occupation by ISIL is an example. Sure, any single instance of suffering could be alleviated and sometimes even avoided by the careful intervention of international authorities, but the careful international authorities cannot intervene all the time, if for not other reason, it is because there is not enough political will or funding available for alleviating or preventing these problems when they are occurring or just about to occur. Obviously, ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’ is very applicable to complex situations like international or society-wide humanitarian crisis.
It is necessary to ensure that policies are constructed is such a way so that they are fundamentally fair to all peoples affected by them. Otherwise, the foundations upon which macro-scale order is built on become unstable and with the introduction of human variables such as irrational emotions which have forever plagued the human enterprise, it becomes all to easy for things to spiral dangerously and destructively out of control. Just like it is easier to brake something than to fix it, it is far harder to rebuild a society than it is to destroy it.
Unfortunately, humans living in peace for just a few decades seem to forget this lesson. Very frustrating.
2015 May 21
RCMP Senate investigations could cost millions on top of $21M audit
All the costs of these investigations should be recovered by the government, plus additional punitive amounts. This should be the standard policy everywhere on the planet: basically, whatever the total costs of your crime, the criminal will have to pay back. This should obviously include investigative costs, as well. Criminals everywhere should know this, and if they do, it would encourage them to turn themselves in sooner rather than later so that they could keep their ultimate final penalties lower.
In addition, criminals should be allowed to reap the rewards that informants would received if they tell on themselves. This would further encourage criminals to turn themselves in sooner.
2015 May 22
Grand Jury Indicts 6 Baltimore Officers In Freddie Gray’s Death
Unfortunately video camera evidence should have been available because every interaction of law enforcement with the public should be recorded. This would have provided enough evidence to quickly ascertain guilt or innocence. Why there is so much resistance to such recording defy logic, unless, of course, there is something to hide.
2015 May 23
California accepts drought water deal with Delta farmers
The best way to allocate water without resorting to fiat human interventions is to price it correctly according to fundamental supply and demand economic forces.
2015 May 24
Obama wins trade victory in the Senate
There should be no such thing as a ‘Fast Track’ to a bill being passed in Congress. All bills should have the very same procedural route, unless there is some kind of emergency. Things as complex as a major trade agreement or this Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) should be reviewed in an unchanged form for one month for review by everybody on the planet, then voted on.
2015 May 25
Malaysia finds 139 graves in ‘cruel’ jungle trafficking camps
Illegal immigration should be stopped. However, people are truly suffering under persecution in Myanmar. So the United Nations (or some effective international organization) should be responsible for creating an immediate safe haven for these fleeing persecution. But more permanently, the UN should take action to rectify the problem giving rise to such migrations.
2015 May 26
Houston, Texas, Hit by Unprecedented Flooding; Seven States At Risk
The creation of dams upstream solely for the purpose of preventing flooding would have undoubtedly helped the situation of flooding in Dallas.
2015 May 27
Cancer cases expected to soar 40 per cent by 2030
Because the risk of cancer increases with age, one way to deal with the expected spiraling costs would be to withhold treatment other than palliative care to people that are deemed to not have a high enough likelihood of additional years beyond the cure.
2015 May 28
Labour board rules three strikes at Ontario school boards illegal
Evidently, these strikes were largely inspired by the desire to reduce class sizes. While the money per child offered to the teacher would need to be roughly the same or increased a little bit, the formula for paying teachers should be dramatically altered so that their pay is determined in part by their teaching effectiveness (measured by student results) as well as by how many students they teach in class.
2015 May 29
Ex-House speaker accused of paying $3.5M in hush money
The Speaker should not have been allowed to keep his finances hidden the way he did. The law should mandate that all public officials should be completely transparent and open (to only authorized government surveillance) to ensure that such financial misdeeds or other corrupt activities do not occur.
2015 May 30
Israel’s Alliance with al-Qaeda
There are always ‘interesting’ relationships between various elements in a battlefield. Often, these relationships are logical at the time because of the relative location of the combatant groups within a nested series of players. These relationships are transitory and very often change back and forth from friend to foe depending on a variety of factors. So it is not unusual that such relationships occur. However, it does lead to longer term questioning of motives and generally leads to a much more complex world. The best policy is to ensure that all policies are fundamentally fair and just, because this undoubtedly will lead to a more stable world where the tendency for various battling groups to arise will be lessened. When there is no fundamental reason to engage in warfare, but only peripheral ones, the motivation and desire for war will be lessened.
2015 May 31
Canadian Mining Industry Abuses in Guatemala. And How Indigenous Communities are Fighting Back
The demand for raw materials is artificially high because of the negative externalities that are not forced to be internalized by the producers. If demand were lower, the entire mining industry would be smaller and the degree of human rights violations by mining companies around the world would also be reduced. Of course, governments would also need to ensure that the appropriate rules are followed by all companies and mining operations that remain so that abuses do not continue.