University of Sydney to fire academics for not publishing enough

Probably a good idea. Although with some academic fields there isn't much more to say about their subject matter. The colleges here in America would never be able to pull this off, sadly. [via Slashdot.org]

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2010: 308 homicides, 1,170 shot

Detroit is so broke it can't afford to bury paupers and unclaimed dead any longer: Bury them? I thought that's how they made Soylent Green?

Jackson county district judge busted for fixing his and his wife's traffic tickets - MLive (Jackson)
Judge James Justin did this for years it is alleged. A real confidence builder for the concept of "equal justice under the law".

Pissed off kook shoots up Detroit PD precinct: Gunman killed, four officers are wounded. Even cops aren't safe around here.

University of Michigan Provost proposes changes to tenure policies: From the comments: "Tenure seems to be an antiquated process that one can argue creates an educational and research environment that fosters freedom of inquiry and scholarship. On the other hand, it can also offer a life-time job to people that have figured out how to game the system to their advantage." That's pretty much how I see it too. Offer the profs continuing contracts for as long as they behave themselves and are productive.

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A photo essay about an abandoned island city - Mg Photo Agency
"The feeling of being in some far off post-apocalyptic land is immense. To experience a place where every way you turn is abandoned desolation, immediately overwhelms; you do not need to imagine what it would be like to stand in a once occupied city after a plague, The Bomb, or at the end of time."


Airborne Laser zaps in-flight missile- CNET
A flying Maginot Line. Very expensive, and very impressive too, (in a geez-whiz! kinda way), but largely worthless unless you have it deployed exactly where and when the NorKs, Iran, China, India or Pakistan or whoever else are about to launch a nuke at the U.S.
Secession In The Air - Taki's Magazine
"The secession taking place in America is a secession of the heart—of people who have come to believe the government is 'them', and not 'us'." Heh.
Australian Judge Rules Facts Cannot Be Copyrighted - Slashdot.org/
Regardless of the amount of effort that was spent collecting them.
Why Tenure Harms Education - American Thinker
Backpack-style rifle slings - Gun Slings Direct.com/
What biathlon competitors use to hold their rifles securely while downhill skiing.
Not all fun & games at Olympics - Washington Post
Mob smashes windows in downtown Vancouver shopping area. Friday night too.