Canadian physics professor steps back from job over Epstein questions

 

Epstein files place Perimeter Institute's Lee Smolin and other prominent Canadians under scrutiny

A highly regarded theoretical physicist is stepping away from the Ontario institute he helped found, after his ties to the late American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were revealed in recently released files.

Lee Smolin, an American Canadian professor of physics and philosophy, has "agreed to pause his working relationship" with the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ont., according to an email on Thursday from Perimeter's executive director, Marcela Carena. 

Smolin was a founding faculty member of the independent research centre, which is known around the world for pioneering work in quantum theory and got much of its initial funding from BlackBerry co-founder Mike Lazaridis. 

Smolin was working at the Perimeter Institute part time and also has academic appointments at the University of Waterloo and University of Toronto. 

His correspondence with Epstein was part of more than three million new pages of files released by the U.S. Department of Justice on Jan. 30. 

Nothing CBC News has seen suggests Smolin did anything illegal or participated in any of Epstein's illicit activities, and appearing in the files is not an indication in itself of any wrongdoing. However, questions have emerged after the documents revealed his relationship with the financier continued for years after Epstein's conviction for sex offences.

The files show that Smolin continued to correspond with Epstein, and the two made repeated efforts to talk by phone and meet up, until at least 2013 — five years after the latter pleaded guilty in Florida to state charges of soliciting prostitution from a minor and another criminal count. The paper trail appears to contradict Smolin's own account of his relationship with Epstein.  (more...)

Canadian physics professor steps back from job over Epstein questions

Epstein Recruited NSA Codebreakers For BIOHACKING 'Manhattan Project'

 

Ryan and Emily discuss Epstein recruiting NSA codebreakers for biohacking.

BP's 'toxic influence' on UK STEM education faces scrutiny

 

BP's influence over UK STEM education through its sponsorship of the Science Museum’s teacher training academy comes under attack, raising concerns over fossil fuel industry ties and greenwashing in educational spaces.

BP is facing renewed criticism over its influence on science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) education in the United Kingdom, following revelations about its longstanding partnership with the Science Museum Group.

Documents obtained through freedom of information requests show that the oil and gas giant funded a key research project, Enterprising Science, which led to the launch of the Science Museum Group Academy, a training program for teachers and educators.

Since its creation, the academy has run more than 500 courses, reaching over 5,000 teachers across the UK.

Campaigners argue that the documents reveal the extent of BP’s involvement in the project. The original contract for Enterprising Science reportedly included a clause stating that no major decisions could be approved unless backed by BP’s representative.

Chris Garrard, co-director of Culture Unstained, a group advocating for ethical sponsorship in the arts and education, said, "BP’s toxic influence over young people’s learning is calculated and insidious. We wouldn’t allow tobacco companies to be involved in crafting educational content, so why should a fossil fuel company with a record of ignoring climate science play such a central role?"  (more...)

BP's 'toxic influence' on UK STEM education faces scrutiny

Related:

Activists hail end of 27-year BP sponsorship deal with British Museum

Science refutes Zionism

 

Zionism is a mix of corrupted biology and mythic stories

As a holdover of 19th-century colonialism, Zionism is infused with that era’s mix of scientific formulae and classical mythology. Science has moved on from these outdated formulae; history has moved on from the literal interpretation of myth.

The outdated scientific argument underlying Zionism is that today’s Jewish Israeli colonists are the descendants of the ancient kingdoms of Judah and Israel described in biblical texts.

The notion that such descent could confer upon these colonists a right to steal others’ land today is a preposterous notion, but it has nothing to do with science, so science isn’t required to refute it - logic and ethical reasoning are sufficient.

To the scientific question: are today’s Jewish Israeli colonizers the descendents of the ancient kingdoms of Judah and Israel described in biblical texts? Does their claim to the land go back 3000 years?  (more...)

Science refutes Zionism

Western and Israeli Politicians Use Holocaust to Justify Gaza Brutality

 

Former Israeli PM Naftali Bennett attempted to downplay Gaza casualties by comparing them to figures from the Second World War during an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan.

I Am the Very Model of a Modern Climate Modeler

 

I am the very model of a modern climate modeler,

Ecologist, empiricist, there's no one Aristotle-er,

Employing mathematics, theoretic and statistical, 

And arcane correlation computations syllogistical;

I prove that human action, agricultural, industrial, 

Will overheat with CO2 the planet, therefore must we all

Obey the Queen of England's populational reduction goals

And late at night I like to ogle Greta Thunberg videos.

And late at night he likes to ogle Greta Thunberg videos!

And late at night he likes to ogle Greta Thunberg videos!

And late at night he likes to ogle Greta Thunberg viddi-iddi-oes!

I'm getting paid to demonstrate the world is far too populous,

Especially the poorer dark complexioned countries where we must

Kill off six billion babies, adults, teenagers, and toddlers: 

I am the very model of a modern climate modeler!

To kill six billion babies, adults, teenagers and toddlers,

He is the very model of a modern climate modeler!

The climate factors cosmic and galactic I must disregard,

They contradict the green agenda, I refuse to think so hard.

Atomic power doesn't produce very much of CO2, 

But 'twill increase potentials of the population, that won't do;

'Twould mean from pole to pole more Northern, Southern, Central 'Mericans,

'Twould mean More Europeans, and more Asians and more Africans,

From poverty, disease, and hunger many people could  be saved,

And dear old Bertrand Russell would be spinning in his honored grave!

And  Bertrand Russell will be spinning in his rotten stinky grave!

And Bertrand Russell will be spinning in his rotten stinky grave!

And Bertrand Russell will be spinning in his rotten stinky-inky grave!

My opposition to the Peaceful Atom isn't brains I lack,

But geopolitics taught me that "Green is Good." and "Snow is Black."

And if your mother disagrees, I may well have to throttle her: 

I am the very model of a modern climate modeler!

And if your mother disagrees, he may well try to throttle her, 

He is the very model of a modern climate modeler!

The Green New Deal and Great Reset will stop greenhouse pollution

And to the Human Question is a Final End Solution,

But even a first strike at China and at Russia I would goad,

Protecting the environment from progress on the Belt and Road.

Alas, I fear too many people are beginning to defy

My peer-reviewed and flawless calculations proving they must die,

Perhaps they'll organize to generate eight thousand gigawatts

Instead of playing Grand Theft Auto as they fry their brains on pot.

Instead of playing Grand Theft Auto as they fry their brains on pot,

Instead of playing Grand Theft Auto as they fry their brains on pot,

Instead of playing Grand Theft Auto as they fry their precious brains on pot!

And then we’d see the living standards of the population zoom,

For radical Malthusians like me there would be no more room,

With hundreds more of happy humans in each square kilometer,

I’ll be a very unemployed and moody climate modeler.

With hundreds more of happy humans in each square kilometer,

He’ll be a very unemployed and moody climate modeler!

What was Operation Paperclip?

 

Operation Paperclip was a secret program conducted by the United States of America during the Cold War. It was a mission to bring German scientists, engineers and technicians from Nazi Germany to the United States. The aim was to keep these scientists from falling into the hands of the Soviet Union and to gain access to their research and technological secrets. 

The operation was highly controversial in its secrecy and the failure to properly investigate the backgrounds of the scientists and the potential use of the technology they brought with them. There were also concerns that some of the scientists may have been involved in war crimes. The United States government was quick to deny these allegations.

The Renaissance vs. the Enlightenment

 

A cogent history of the development and conflicts in Western thought.

Are there 2,000 SERIAL KILLERS roaming the streets of the US?

Using his computer code, which he sometimes calls the serial killer detector,
Hargrove searches for anomalies among the most common murders that result
from gang fights, robberies or love triangles

A researcher has estimated that there are nearly 2,000 serial killers at large in the United States.

Archivist and researcher Thomas Hargrove has developed his own algorithm that he uses to track the habits and status of serial killers.

He told The New Yorker that according to the FBI, 1,400 murders remain unsolved but are linked to other killings through DNA.

Hargrove, who is a part of the Murder Accountability Project (MAP), said his estimate of 2,000 serial killers at large is the number he came to after analyzing data available.

Hargrove collected records of murders for the last seven years, and he has a catalogue with 751,785 murders carried out since 1976, according to the New Yorker.

That number is roughly 27,000 more than appear in the FBI's files.

In order to obtain this figure, Hargrove needed records from each state. In some cases he had to sue states that either reported inaccurately or failed to report the murders altogether.  (more...)

Are there 2,000 SERIAL KILLERS roaming the streets of the US? 

Related:

The Serial-Killer Detector

Serial Killers Should Fear This Algorithm

Murder Accountability Project

Final thoughts:

Hitler, Manson, and The Ultimate Evil

A Nerd's Take on Feminism: Women Really Are Crappy in Math (And Logic)

Professor Fiamengo discusses the pain, humiliation and suffering inflicted upon men by two decades of feminism.

Another Sanctuary Defiled: Women In Astronomy

Professor Fiamengo discusses how feminism is creeping into the sciences with special emphasis on recent incidents in Astronomy.

The long road to intellectual castration:

The Faustian Face of Modern Science: Understanding the Epistemological Foundations of Scientific Totalitarianism

Coup of the temple whores

Great Men Under Siege

Professor Fiamengo discusses the ease with which small-minded feminists can destroy the lives of great men with a trivial petty complaint. Fiamengo uses the examples of Larry Summers, Timothy Hunt, and Matt Taylor.

What driver training teaches us about sex education

Some years ago, when the American motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson celebrated the 100th birthday of Milwaukee’s illustrious “hog,” the eminent columnist George F. Will quoted with approval the manufacturer’s saying that motorcycling means freedom, adventure and individual expression. “As does America,” Will added, although by then, “as America used to do, once,” might have been more accurate.

Having been an avid biker myself, I agree with the sentiment, even if the Harley mystique leaves me cold. Though a triumph in styling — Harleys look and sound spectacular — I always regarded the venerable hog as a sound effect masquerading as a motorcycle.

Be that as it may, summer is here. For many weeks now, motorcycles have been emerging from their winter hibernation and last Sunday, some parents and children rallied at Queen’s Park in Toronto to protest Ontario’s new curriculum for sex education.

The topics may appear unrelated, but they are not.

Motorcycling often reminds me of another blood sport: sex. More precisely, rider education reminds me of sex education. The preoccupations of road warriors and sexual explorers overlap in several ways. Both, for instance, need to be concerned with safety.  (more...)

What driver training teaches us about sex education

Academic fraud, again: Mathematicians refute oft-cited 'diversity trumps ability' study

A widely touted study claiming diversity is a better attribute than ability in spurring productivity and problem solving – claims used to push diversity classes as graduation mandates at universities – is actually fundamentally flawed, two mathematicians tell The College Fix.

University of Michigan Professor Scott Page, director of the campus’ Center for the Study of Complex Systems, authored the book “The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools and Societies” in 2007 which states “the veracity of the diversity trumps ability claim is not a matter of dispute. It’s true, just as 1+1=2 is true.”

Page’s work has since been cited by universities such as UCLA to create new diversity graduation requirements, and has also been touted by the likes of the U.S. Geological Survey, the Lawrence Berkeley Labs, and even NASA.

It’s a model that has been used “to give a scientific veneer to the diversity field,” according to Professor  Abigail Thompson, a mathematician at UC Davis.

The problem is, she adds, the model is “an example of the misuse of mathematics in the social sciences.” Thompson makes that point in her peer-reviewed critique of the model published September by the American Mathematical Society.  (more...)

Academic fraud, again: Mathematicians refute oft-cited 'diversity trumps ability' study

Behind the math class door

Another American teacher-student sex romp is making worldwide headlines.

This time, the educator is Meredith Powell, a 24-year-old math teacher at Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Wash.

Powell stands accused of engaging in oral sex and other sexual acts behind the locked door of her classroom with two different male students, reports local CBS affiliate KIRO-TV.

The students were either 15 or 16 year of age.

Police say she also sent at least one racy Snapchat photo of herself lounging in the bathtub to a third underage male student.  (more...)

Behind the math class door

Retired University of Alberta math professor charged in international child exploitation investigation

Andrew Liu, 66, a retired longtime University of Alberta math professor, is
among the 341 people charged globally as part of a three-year child exploitation
investigation initiated by Toronto police that’s dubbed Project Spade

EDMONTON - Three Alberta men, including a retired math professor at the University of Alberta, were among more than 300 people charged globally as part of a three-year child exploitation investigation initiated by Toronto police.

Andrew Liu, 66, was arrested and charged Oct. 23 with one count of possession of child pornography after the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team’s Internet Child Exploitation unit conducted a search warrant on his downtown house, RCMP Sgt. Mike Lokken said Thursday in Edmonton. The pornography charges cover the time period between May 2007 and October 2013.

Various computers, DVDs and electronic storage devices were seized, Lokken said. Liu was released on bail and must abide by certain conditions. His next court date is Dec. 20.  (more...)

Retired University of Alberta math professor charged in international child exploitation investigation 

Other coverage:

Retired math professor charged in world-wide child porn probe

The State of Math Education in Western Canada

The purpose of this initiative is to form a coalition among concerned parents, citizens, teachers, employers, scientists, mathematicians, and post-secondary instructors with the purpose of rallying together to improve K-12 mathematics education. This is a non-partisan initiative that was founded by math professors in Manitoba and Saskatchewan who feel that math education has reached a state of crisis in schools and are prepared to lobby for changes.

If you are frustrated, as we are, by the state of math education in Canadian schools, we encourage you to join our initiative  (more...)

The State of Math Education in Western Canada