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Quebec’s religious-symbols ban is stranger than fiction – but the pushback from society must be real

April 11, 2019

In a cold open for a 2017 episode of the ABC comedy Black-ish, protagonists Bow and Dre walk into a bakery to buy a gender-reveal cake. The bakery has every type of cake, the employee says – but not for gay weddings. Bow and Dre leave in disgust. At the next bakery, they cut to the chase: “You don’t discriminate against people based on race, gender or sexual orientation, do you?” To which the stern-looking baker replies: “Do not like French-Canadians.” Initially stunned by the random reply, Bow and Dre quickly indicate they can live with that, and proceed with the order.

What passed for laughs in America would never fly up here. But the mention of French-Canadians in juxtaposition with fundamental civil rights was downright prescient, if not ironic. In this fictitious TV show, everyone’s fundamental civil rights are worthy of protection – except if you’re French-Canadian.

Read more at The Globe and Mail

Filed Under: Nutty Stuff

Pharmacist sentenced for fraudulent PharmaCare claims that benefited low-income patients

March 11, 2019

Jin Tong (Tom) Li of Richmond receives 12-month conditional sentence after guilty plea

A Richmond pharmacist who submitted thousands of fraudulent claims to B.C.’s PharmaCare system, mainly to save money for his poor and elderly clients, has been sentenced to a year of house arrest.

Jin Tong (Tom) Li, 41, pleaded guilty this week to one charge of obtaining more than $5,000 under a false pretense.

That crime can carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, but Provincial Court Judge Georgia Docolas said the 12-month conditional sentence recommended by Crown and defence lawyers was more appropriate.

“This is what I will describe as a low-sophistication crime, committed primarily to benefit his low-income, senior patients,” Docolas said Wednesday.

Nonetheless, she added, Li’s actions have had a serious impact.

“Any time there is a breach of trust involving a public body like PharmaCare … the impact is high because it affects all British Columbians,” the judge said.

Li sold his house to pay back the more than $616,000 he owed the province, the judge said, and he and his wife have had to move in with family. Li is now a stay-at-home dad to their three children while his wife had to go back to school so she could find a job to support the family.

Read the full article at CBC News.

Filed Under: Healthcare Fraud, Nutty Stuff Tagged With: health care fraud, health care system

Android 9 Pie rolls out with new tools to fight tech addiction: Here’s everything you need to know

August 9, 2018

Google released the latest version of its mobile operating system Android on Monday, and the new software includes a series of substantial changes.

Android 9 Pie boasts a machine learning-powered system to save battery power, a new gesture-based navigation tool and features to track how much time you spend on your phone.

Read more at telegraph.co.uk

Filed Under: Nutty Stuff Tagged With: growth, technology

Can a gadget save you from the distraction of gadgets?

August 6, 2018

Most people I know are, to some degree, addicted to their cellphone. We’ve all felt it. How an illuminated screen demands every ounce of your attention. How an unexpected text message evokes a physiological response like an amphetamine. And then there’s that seemingly insatiable impulse to check the time, check the weather, then check the time again. It’s gotten to the point that much, if not most, of the time I spend on my phone is in a state of distraction, not productivity. I’d bet you’re in the same boat.

Read more at digitaltrends.com

Filed Under: Nutty Stuff Tagged With: growth, technology

Artificial intelligence sorter by Machinex arrives in Illinois

June 28, 2018

US company Lakeshore Recycling Systems has installed the new Machinex SamurAI waste sorter at its Heartland Recycling Center. It is the first recycler America to invest in this innovative artificial intelligence-powered machine.

The SamurAI sorter by Machinex achieves 70 picks per minute, compared to an average of 35 picks per minute for a human sorter. It recognises material in dirty, commingled and ‘constantly changing conditions’ including the introduction of new packaging and product designs.

Read more at recyclinginternational.com

Filed Under: International Waste, Nutty Stuff Tagged With: growth, recycling, technology, waste management

Florida police are using Amazon’s creepy real-time facial-recognition tech

May 24, 2018

Between its cloud services and retail business, Amazon has plenty of angles when it comes to raking in the cash. But CEO Jeff Bezos’ ecommerce giant has one more unusual money maker up its sleeve: Selling facial recognition technology to the police.

According to documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union, Amazon recently sold access to its real-time “Rekognition” facial recognition tech to the Orlando, Florida police department, which could potentially use it as part of their future crime-solving goals.

Read more at digitaltrends.

Filed Under: Nutty Stuff Tagged With: cyber security, technology

Ghosts in Google Maps a risk to banks and national security, ‘internet police’ claim

April 25, 2018

On Google Maps, Inna Bogdanov is standing in front of a plaza in Richmond Hill, Ont., a few steps away from a Scotiabank branch. Click on the pin marking her apparent position, and you get a website that belongs to the bank.

“Hello, Inna speaking,” said a woman who answered a call to the listed phone number and confirmed her identity to CTVNews.ca. “I’m a mortgage broker. I used to be a mortgage specialist with Scotiabank.”

According to Richard Trus and Sydney Eatz, “internet police” who investigate questionable content on Google Maps, Bogdanov is “ghosting.” It’s essentially gaming Google Maps to deceive users who rely on the widely-used platform to find the businesses they are looking for.

Read more at CTV News

Filed Under: Nutty Stuff Tagged With: google, internet security

Politics Briefing: Facebook’s online privacy concerns mount

April 5, 2018

Canada’s privacy commissioner says he’s considering joining his B.C. counterpart’s investigation into a Victoria data firm’s ties to the Brexit vote and the ongoing Facebook data controversy. Daniel Therrien says he’s already been in touch with B.C.’s information and privacy commissioner, which announced last year that it was investigating AggregateIQ. The company has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Read more at The Globe and Mail

Filed Under: Nutty Stuff Tagged With: privacy breach

Chilliwack parent raises flags over school district privacy breach

February 27, 2018

About 1,000 past and present students in the Chilliwack School District may have been affected by a privacy breach that took place between 2005 and 2015.

A letter explaining the breach was published by the district on their website on Dec. 22, 2017, but the information has not come up in any recent public meetings. It happened through the district’s participation in research with a not-for-profit group called Educational and Community Supports, a program of the University of Oregon.

Read more at The Chilliwack Progress

Filed Under: Nutty Stuff Tagged With: data breach

Google launches new feature ‘Symptom Search’ for medical conditions

February 27, 2018

New Delhi: In a bid to make it easier for patients to understand their medical symptoms and improve the quality of search results, Google on Tuesday rolled out a new feature called ‘Symptom Search’. With the latest update, users can now find quality information around various medical symptoms, right on their mobile devices.

Read more at LiveMint

Filed Under: Nutty Stuff Tagged With: google, healthcare

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Publisher’s Views by Robert D. Smith

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Latest News

  • 20TH ANNUAL CTF TEDDY AWARDS FOR GOVERNMENT WASTE April 11, 2019
  • The most outrageous ways the Canadian government is spending our money April 11, 2019
  • Quebec’s religious-symbols ban is stranger than fiction – but the pushback from society must be real April 11, 2019
  • Ontario’s trillium logo getting makeover under Doug Ford government: sources April 11, 2019
  • Black-market value of your health information March 26, 2019
  • EXCLUSIVE: Docs reveal costs not considered in Canada 150 ice rink “wish list” March 22, 2019
  • $173K spent to trumpet PST cut a waste of taxpayers’ money, Liberals argue March 21, 2019
  • This is why greedy pharmacists are costing taxpayers millions of dollars March 11, 2019
  • Pharmacist sentenced for fraudulent PharmaCare claims that benefited low-income patients March 11, 2019
  • Health minister says ‘action’ is needed but vague on how to stop crooked pharmacists March 11, 2019
  • Pharmacy fraud is costing us millions. Why won’t Ontario take it more seriously? March 11, 2019
  • Greedy doc loses licence after scamming OHIP for $2M March 11, 2019
  • Ontario failing to recover millions in fraudulent OHIP billings by doctors March 11, 2019
  • Dispensing Harm. How a handful of pharmacists flooded Ontario’s streets with lethal fentanyl amid a national opioid crisis March 11, 2019
  • Getting away with pharmacy fraud is ‘no problem’ in Ontario February 27, 2019

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