Magic Statistics

"I accept no responsibility for statistics, which are a form of magic beyond my comprehension." — Robertson Davies

September 30th, 2008 at 2:37 pm

A new blog opens on the far side of Canada

We and all our stuff have arrived safe and sound in Nova Scotia, and we now seem to be settled well enough for me to resume blogging.  I did just that a short while ago at a new blog: Nova Scotia Scott.

A few months ago, I decided to open a new blog at the time of my retirement and move.  I’ve wanted to start another blog for some time, and this seemed an appropriate time to do so.

I apologise to everyone who has bookmarked, subscribed, and/or linked to this blog.  It’s a pain to update those things, I know, and I’ll try to make it worth your while.

The first Nova Scotia post is here.

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August 25th, 2008 at 6:00 am

We’re outta here

Today we leave Yukon after twenty amazingly wonderful and blessed years.  Our Lord has been gracious and generous far beyond what we imagined or deserve.  We are very sad to leave but look forward to more adventures in Nova Scotia, our destination at the end of this journey.

Access to the internet will be sporadic in the coming weeks and, until regular access is re-established, this blog will be on hiatus. I hope to return with more idiosyncratic observations and odd comments in the near future.

In the meantime, if you leave a comment or send an e-mail, I may not be able to attend to it for a while, but I'll get to it when I have opportunity.

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August 24th, 2008 at 5:00 am

The Fourteenth Sunday After Trinity

The collect for today, the 14th Sunday after Trinity, from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer:

Almighty and everlasting God, give unto us the increase of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain that which thou dost promise, make us to love that which thou dost command; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: Galatians 5:16-24
The Gospel: St Luke 17:11-19

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August 19th, 2008 at 4:45 pm

Another thing I’ll miss about Yukon

As I prepare to leave Yukon soon, I'm realising that I'll miss little quirks about life in Canada's frozen north.  One example is a term used in this headline from today's Whitehorse Star that makes it sound like an unfortunate woman was ordered out into the back yard:

Injured woman sent Outside

Outside (with a capital ”O”) refers to any location south of 60° north latitude—the border between the northern territories and the Western provinces.  The woman was medevaced to Edmonton after being hit by a car on the Alaska Highway.

Residents of Far-Eastern Canada probably have an idiosyncratic term to refer to places outside the Maritimes, which I’m sure I’ll learn in due course.

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August 19th, 2008 at 3:28 pm

Students who don’t cheat “have a more positive view of others”

A recent study of university students found that those who say they don’t cheat rank higher in courage and (surprise, surprise) honesty.  They are also more likely to think that their fellow students are relatively honest.

The study of students at one Ohio university found that students who scored high on measures of courage, empathy and honesty were less likely than others to report their cheating in the past – or intending to cheat in the future.

Moreover, those students who reported less cheating were also less likely to believe that their fellow students regularly committed academic dishonesty.

People who don’t cheat “have a more positive view of others,” said Sara Staats, co-author of the research and professor of psychology at Ohio State University’s Newark campus.

On the other hand, students who report that they cheat rank lower in courage and honesty and are more likely to rationalise their behaviour by assuming that others cheat as well.  Other studies estimate that at least half, and sometimes up to 80 percent, of college students admit cheating.

Dr Staats called non-cheating students “academic heroes”.

The academic heroes also reported they would feel more guilt if they cheated compared to non-heroes.

“The heroes didn’t rationalize cheating the way others did, they didn’t come up with excuses and say it was OK because lots of other students were doing it,” Staats said.

It would be interesting to investigate the religious and moral convictions of cheating and non-cheating students.

Another recent study discovered that students with a weak belief in their own ability to influence their circumstances were more likely to cheat when the opportunity arose, suggesting that belief in free will can help keep people honest.

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August 18th, 2008 at 11:01 pm

Anti-Americanism based on ignorance

The headline of this post refers to the results of a poll of Britons' knowledge of America, but I think the problem extends far beyond Great Britain.   Uninformed anti-Americanism pervades Europe and Canada.

A poll of nearly 2,000 Britons by YouGov/PHI found that 70 per cent of respondents incorrectly said it was true that the US had done a worse job than the European Union in reducing carbon emissions since 2000. More than 50 per cent presumed that polygamy was legal in the US, when it is illegal in all 50 states.
. . .
The survey showed that a majority agreed with the false statement that since the Second World War the US had more often sided with non-Muslims when they had come into conflict with Muslims. In fact in 11 out of 12 major conflicts between Muslims and non-Muslims, Muslims and secular forces, or Arabs and non-Arabs, the US has sided with the former group. Those conflicts included Turkey and Greece, Bosnia and Yugoslavia, and and Kosovo and Yugoslavia.

The poll, commissioned by a new lobby group, America In The World, indicates that anti-American sentiment in Britain is largely based on erroneous conceptions and mistaken beliefs about the United States.

You can sign AITW’s declaration here.

"Ours is a better world because of America. The world is safer because of the American soldier. The world is wealthier because of American enterprise. The world is healthier because of American technology. No nation is perfect, but imagine the world without America. I reject anti-Americanism. I declare myself a friend of the United States of America."

Amen to that!

British Conservative Party leader David Cameron is to be the guest of honour at America In The World’s official launch in London in October.

h/t: Andrew Bolt

Previous related post: Anti-Americanism: NDP’s guiding principle

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August 17th, 2008 at 1:43 pm

Is it racist to ask for an accounting of spending on aboriginals?

That query is posed in today’s Toronto Star by Angelo Persichilli, political editor of Corriere Canadese and a man not afraid of being branded a racist for asking common-sense questions about a glaring social problem.

"That's dynamite, don't touch it!" a politician once told me when I expressed the desire to write about Caledonia and the natives. I agree, it was and still is dynamite, but is this a valid reason not to talk about it?

I don't think so. There are pre-Confederation treaties signed but never respected, and $12 billion a year from Ottawa to assist the aboriginals. But still Canada's natives are dying in their reserves. Can we talk about it?
. .
There are 1.2 million aboriginals in Canada. Some 700,000 of them live on reserves in conditions similar to those of Third World countries despite massive federal government spending. Alcoholism is widespread and the suicide rate among young natives is three times higher than in the rest of the population.

Because aboriginal leaders refuse to account for the vast sums of taxpayer money that government hands over every year, and our politicians refuse to insist on such an accounting, the real problems cannot be addressed.  Instead, attention is focused on sensational side issues.

Instead of debating how we have created a black hole into which billions are funnelled with minimal accountability and why human rights and legal processes are suspended, we talk about a frustrated Mohawk, Shawn Brant, who is taking the law into his hands, and OPP Commissioner Fantino, who has the almost impossible mandate to enforce a rule of law that, regarding native issues, has taken a leave of absence.

Clearly, aboriginal Canadians are not well served by their leaders or the federal government.  Despite annual expenditures of over $10,000 for every aboriginal person, the present system isn’t working.  Before it can be fixed, we need to know what happens to all that money so the same mistakes aren’t repeated.  Or is it racist to ask for an accounting?

h/t: Bourque

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August 17th, 2008 at 5:00 am

The Thirteenth Sunday After Trinity

The collect for today, the 13th Sunday after Trinity, from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer:

Almighty and merciful God, of whose only gift it cometh that thy faithful people do unto thee true and laudable service; Grant, we beseech thee, that we may so faithfully serve thee in this life, that we fail not finally to attain thy heavenly promises; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: Galatians 3:16-22
The Gospel: St Luke 10:23-37

Click for larger view

Artwork: Rembrandt, The Good Samaritan, 1630. Oil panel, Wallace Collection, London.

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August 14th, 2008 at 3:13 pm

Nigerian Islamists attack Christians after Muslim leader dies

Muslims in Kwara state, Nigeria, have been attacking Christians since last May when the leader of an Islamist group died of injuries suffered in a car accident in 2006.

At least three Christians have died and several others have been injured in attacks with machetes and other weapons since June, clergymen said. They said the attacks began after the death in May of Dr. Ali Olukade, head of a local group of Islamists called Tibliq, possibly patterned after the worldwide Tablighi Jamaat missionary movement.

The followers of Dr Olukade blame his accident on prayers of Christians upset after Muslim protests disrupted a 2004 evangelistic campaign.

When the local Tibliq leader was injured in the car crash in 2006, Rev. [Cornelius] Fawenu [secretary of the Kwara chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria] said, “The members of his Muslim sect went on rampage, demonstrating against America and the state of Israel, over claims that it was the prayers of Christians over the aborting of the gospel event of 2004 that caused their leader to be involved in an auto crash. Dr. Olukade, the Muslim sect’s leader, died in May 2008, and since then Muslim fanatics have embarked in serial killings and attacks on Christians in the city.”

The dead Christians were attacked as they went to or returned from evening worship services.

Ironically, the Kwara State Government website carries the slogan “The Place of Harmony”.  They need to do more work on that, apparently.

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August 13th, 2008 at 11:59 pm

Nigerian “priest” offers someone else’s house for rent

A resident of Liverpool, Nova Scotia, has made the disconcerting discovery that someone claiming to be a Nigerian priest placed an ad in a local newspaper offering her house for rent for $400 per month plus utilities.  Linda Lane’s house is listed for sale at mls.ca, but she’s never heard of the man who identifies himself as The Rev Kelvin King.

Liverpool resident, Linda Lane was shocked to discover a person trying to rent her home on Brookdale Crescent through an advertisement in the Queens County Advance was posing as the actual homeowner.

“A girl I work with was looking for an apartment, so she emailed this gentlemen,” through the contact provided in the advertisement, said Lane. “He emailed her back. He just talked about the house and that he’s a missionary in Africa.”

In the letter Rev. Kelvin King requests $400 as a damage deposit and would like someone to move in right away because he is on a missionary call in Africa. He wants the money transferred through Western Union to Nigeria, Africa. The secret question for the transfer is 'Who do you believe in?' The answer is God. At that point, he promises to send the keys to the apartment.

Queens County Advance editor Mark Roberts e-mailed Rev King and inquired about the house/apartment for rent.  The reverend, who claimed to be in Africa, had this to say.

Thanks for your interest in my property. I am Rev. Kelvin King and i own the property you seek.I am on a missionary call to West Africa and thats why am looking for a responsible person that can take a very good care of it.I am not in particular about the money,all I need is a God fearing person that will see my property as his or her own.

He gave his address as St Peter Catholic Church, Lagos, Nigeria.  Asked if he had ever served in a local church, the “reverend” claimed he had ministered “briefly” at St Gregory’s Roman Catholic Church, Liverpool.  The reporter later spoke with parish priest Father Brian Murphy, who contradicted that claim.

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August 13th, 2008 at 11:03 pm

Recycling as mentally challenging as Sudoku

I've always been convinced that recycling is far more trouble than it's worth.

Putting out the rubbish used to be a straightforward task.

But since the advent of endless council edicts and different coloured bins and boxes, it has became ever more complicated.

So much so that recycling now puts as much strain on the brain as the game of Sudoku, research has revealed.

In the first study of its kind, volunteers rated the sorting of household waste as challenging as solving a complicated puzzle.
. . .
Recycling also takes up valuable time, with the researchers estimating that the average family spends the equivalent of a week a year sorting, preparing, rinsing and putting out their waste.

Not only is recycling a scam, it wastes time and energy and causes stress.

Previous related post: “Recycled” materials routinely dumped in landfills

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August 13th, 2008 at 10:08 pm

Muslim candidate kills Christian for refusing to vote for him

The candidate’s slogan was probably, “Vote for me and nobody gets hurt”.

Last April, supporters of Mohammad Abdul Sattar, Muslim candidate in Punjab province, Pakistan, opened fire on a group of Christians who had refused to vote for him, killing Javed Masih.  Local Christians claim the candidate was among the shooters.

Four months later, widow Zenat Javed still awaits justice.  Police have still not arrested anyone.

"Abdul Sattar came to Christian Village on April 10th, 2008, with his gang and opened fire on Christians who didn’t vote for him in the Joint Election System," under which Muslims support Christians and Christians back Muslim politicians, said rights group Christian Youth Fellowship-Pakistan CYF.

"Javed Masih died on spot by firing, while [fellow Christian] Irshaad Masih was seriously injured,” the group said in a statement to BosNewsLife.

Candidate Sattar ran under the banner of the Pakistan Peoples Party, which promises protections for the country’s Christian minority.  For this candidate, apparently, the promise applies only if they vote the right way.

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