Stories & Opinions Worth Knowing but Maybe Not Quite Threadworthy 8/1

[SVPete]

Florida State University fires professor whose retracted work was about racism

https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2023/07/31/florida-state-university-fires-professor-whose-retracted-work-was-about-racism-n568341

Professor Eric Stewart has co-authored a number of papers on racism while working at Florida State University’s highly ranked College of Criminology. Back in April there was a report claiming that, after six of those papers were retracted because of problems with the data, Stewart had left his position at the school. It turns out Stewart had only been placed on administrative leave at that point but wasn’t actually fired until this month. Two weeks ago the school sent him a 5-page letter explaining that his incompetence had done “catastrophic” damage to the school.

... As outlined in the Notice of Intent to Terminate Letter, you demonstrated extreme negligence in basic data management, resulting in an unprecedented number of articles retracted, numerous other articles now in question, with the presence of no backup of the data for the publications in question. The damage to the standing of the University and, in particular, the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice and its faculty approaches the catastrophic and may be unalterable. Because of your actions, as you were fully responsible for the integrity of the results generated in your data analyses, decades of research that were once thought to be at the forefront of the Criminology discipline, have been shown to contain numerous erroneous and false narratives.

As I described here, these retracted research studies often had to do with racism. One of his co-authors on a 2011 paper first raised the issue of Stweart’s data handling back in 2019:

The study tested if the public’s prejudicial views impacted their desire for harsher sentences for black and hispanic Americans. The published findings were that as black and hispanic populations grew, so did the public’s want for more discriminatory sentences. Except – Pickett discovered – this was not the case.

In the original data, no relationship was found between growing minority populations and demands for increased sentences. If anything, Pickett pointed out, it was quite the opposite.

My emphasis.

[ADsOutburst]

Two weeks ago the school sent him a 5-page letter explaining that his incompetence had done “catastrophic” damage to the school.

People like the (former) professor are doing more than damage a school’s reputation; they are causing division and damaging our politics in general.

[Eupher]

Job Listing For Obama's New Personal Chef Receives Zero Applications

https://babylonbee.com/news/job-posting-for-obamas-new-personal-chef-receives-zero-applications

MARTHA'S VINEYARD — After posting a job listing to fill their vacant personal chef position, former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, were disappointed to learn it had received zero applications.

"Why wouldn't anyone want this job?" an exasperated Michelle was heard asking her servant's personal assistant's driver at the Obamas' lavish estate. "Working for us is one of the greatest privileges anyone could experience. As long as you don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong, you'll be well-compensated and you'll get to stay alive! Where's the downside?"

In the absence of someone to prepare meals, Barack has reportedly found himself in the unenviable position of cooking for Michelle every day. "You think I want to be the one in the line of fire?" he was heard asking one of his bodyguards' social media managers. "That woman is serious about her food. You do not want to overcook her steak. You saw what happened to the last guy."

Remaining staff members have been attempting to steer clear of the couple when they are around, going as far as to avert their eyes or dive into nearby shrubs to avoid running afoul of the former president and his wife. "You don't know what it's like around here," said one staff member who asked to remain anonymous out of fear. "I'd tell you, but…I don't want to get, you know, 'paddleboarded.'"

At publishing time, the Obamas were preparing to sweeten the position to potential chefs, including offering to pay for their funeral and burial arrangements.

I can't bee-lieve this is true. What a shame! BTW, we have a new verb -- "paddleboard". That just might replace the term "Arkancide" or even "epsteined".

[Old n Grumpy]

Two weeks ago the school sent him a 5-page letter explaining that his incompetence had done “catastrophic” damage to the school.

A post card with “your fired “ written with magic marker would have sufficed 

[DefiantSix]

A post card with “your fired “ written with magic marker PURPLE CRAYON would have sufficed 

Fixt, my friend.

[Ptarmigan]

Italy Admits Wildfires Not Caused by Climate Change after Arsonist Caught Red-Handed – WATCH
https://www.dailyfetched.com/italy-admits-wildfires-not-caused-by-climate-change-after-arsonist-caught-red-handed-watch/

Italy has admitted the vast majority of wildfires are not caused by climate change after a police drone caught an arsonist in the act.

The news came after Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterresas took the climate change narrative was tup a notch, declaring, “era of global warming has ended, the era of global boiling has arrived.”

But according to The National Confederation of Direct Farmers, Coldiretti, arson is responsible for up to 60 percent of the blazes in the Mediterranean country and is not a result of global warming.

The regional president for the southerly Calabria region, Roberto Occhiuto, said he believes arsonists are behind an even higher 80 percent of wildfires.

The wildfires in Italy and also Greece are mostly arson. It has nothing to do with climate change. Suppressing wildfires for decades is a factor for allowing huge wildfires.

[Ptarmigan]

Greece’s Fires: A Human Act, Not Climate Change Catastrophe
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/07/30/greeces-fires-a-human-act-not-climate-change-catastrophe/

In the midst of Greece’s devastating wildfires, it’s government and every screeching alarmist in the world tried to blame the fires on Climate Change, it’s become clear that human agency that’s the root cause of most of these fires.

Greek Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Vassilis Kikilias, informs us that, “During this time 667 fires erupted, that is more than 60 fires a day, almost all over the country. Unfortunately, the majority were ignited by human hand, either by criminal negligence or intent.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/28/greece-fires-arsonists-extreme-weather
While governments, media, “climate scientists”, activists, (but I repeat myself) leapt to blame climate change, the fact that fires have been breaking out at numerous points in close proximity simultaneously strongly suggested deliberate human intent, not the actions of Mother Nature in the throes of a heatwave.

Yet, the climate change narrative persists. Kikilias continues,

“The difference with other years were the weather conditions. Climate change, which yielded a historic and unprecedented heatwave, is here. There were very few days where the extreme weather was not combined with strong winds.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/28/greece-fires-arsonists-extreme-weather

Same goes with wildfires in Greece.

Blaming climate change for every calamity removes the onus of personal responsibility. Climate change did not light these fires; people did. Governments, NGO’s, the UN, and activists are now hiding behind the arson and weather to deflect attention from their actions inducing inflation, spiraling energy prices, and poverty around the world.

We need to address immediate human factors causing damage. As we grapple with the complexities of the world, let’s remember to keep our eye on the human element that can both cause and prevent such disasters.

After all, the most effective solutions often start with individual responsibility. As the saying goes, ‘Think globally, act locally’. Perhaps it’s high time we took that advice to heart, and dealt with the flames in our own backyards before attributing them to a global inferno.

[Ptarmigan]

You are being conned: Data, studies & UN IPCC all reveal Canadian fires not due to ‘climate change’ – ‘There has been a significant & continuing decline in the number of fires’
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/06/10/you-are-being-conned-data-studies-un-ipcc-all-reveal-canadian-fires-not-due-to-climate-change-there-has-been-a-significant-continuing-decline-in-the/

Marc Morano statement: “The media and climate activists are again weaponizing wildfires and linking them to climate change. Wildfires, both globally and in Canada, have been declining significantly. Despite these facts, climate activists now want to use Canada’s wildfires as another excuse to take away even more of our freedoms and raise the price of electricity. Better forest management, cracking down on arson, and improved fire impression [sic] suppression practices are what is needed, not the Green New Deal.

Blaming global warming for the fires makes them ‘our fault’ — it’s our SUVs, our gas stoves, which have caused these Canadian fires and smoke! Now they can use this as a premise to justify more regulations to fix the problem. First, masks, stay-at-home orders, school, business, and sporting event cancelations. Second, to ‘fix’ the climate, we will give up more freedoms and modern necessities like gas-powered cars, eating meat, home appliances,  freedom of movement, and cheap reliable energy. Welcome to climate lockdowns.”

By: Marc Morano – Climate Depot

Despite the scientific evidence, climate activists are still pushing a man-made climate change link to the Canadian wildfires.

Biden joins AOC in linking Canadian wildfires to ‘climate crisis’ – Ocasio-Cortez has used the wildfires to push for her signature Green New Deal

Climate change has no link to wildfires.

According to Canada’s Department of Natural Resources, fires have been occurring for thousands of years in the boreal forests of eastern Canada – not exactly unprecedented. In addition, they call fire a primary change agent that is as crucial to forest renewal as the sun and rain -perhaps not a calamity either.

It appears that 2023 is on pace to be a year with unusually high numbers of fires. Yet the previous year was one of historically low numbers. The Canadian National Fire Database (2023) provides facts to dispute the idea of climate change-driven increases in fires in Canadian fires. According the CNFD, there has been a significant and continuing decline in the number of fires and no discernible trend in the area burned.

Even the UN IPCC Admits Climate Change Doesn’t Increase Forest Fires– Roger Pielke JR, a former chairman of the American Meteorological Society Committee on Weather Forecasting, points out that even the alarmist Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change (IPCC) “has not detected or attributed fire occurrence or area burned to human-caused climate change.”

Canadian Wildfires – CLIMATE LOCKDOWNS BEGIN! Masks, stay-at-home orders, canceled schools, businesses & sporting events– Economist Martin Armstrong: “The governments are testing an ECONOMIC LOCKDOWN.”

Mega wildfires were more common back then.

“The ‘wildfire problem’ is essentially more a social than a natural one.” Researchers from the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid found that “climate change” is not to blame for increased forest fires in the Mediterranean basin.”…

“In the United States, wildfires are also due in part to a failure to thin forests or remove dead and diseased trees. In 2014, forestry professor David B. South of Auburn University testified to the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that “data suggest that extremely large megafires were four-times more common before 1940,” adding that “we cannot reasonably say that anthropogenic global warming causes extremely large wildfires.” As he explained, “To attribute this human-caused increase in fire risk to carbon dioxide emissions is simply unscientific.”

Some of the wildfire problems is due to suppressing every forest fire that destroys dead and diseased trees.

[Eupher]

You are being conned: Data, studies & UN IPCC all reveal Canadian fires not due to ‘climate change’ – ‘There has been a significant & continuing decline in the number of fires’
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/06/10/you-are-being-conned-data-studies-un-ipcc-all-reveal-canadian-fires-not-due-to-climate-change-there-has-been-a-significant-continuing-decline-in-the/

Climate change has no link to wildfires.

Mega wildfires were more common back then.

Some of the wildfire problems is due to suppressing every forest fire that destroys dead and diseased trees.

IOW, shitty forest management. Maybe, just maybe, there would be fewer wildfires (especially out west) if the bureaucrats in the Department of the Interior would get off their asses and get rid of the so-called "Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement". More questionable "bureaus" -- "Bureau of Indian Affairs" and "Bureau of Indian Education".

WTF? You mean to tell me those two "bureaus" are separate and distinct?

The "Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement" sounds more like jackbooted thugs to me, very much like the IRS armed agents that love to drop in on SharterJoe's political opponents, case in point Matt Taibbi.

This is just a very small example of how bloated the f'n feds are.

A larger example of graft, waste, corruption, and abuse is right there in the Pentagon. As long as Raytheon, Boeing, Black Water, and the rest of the arms manufacturers get their money, all is well. 

But back to the point -- better forest management yields fewer wildfires. Just ask those in California, Oregon, and Washington just how expensive those fires are and maybe the dipshit bureaucrats ought to "adjust" their budgeting accordingly.