Rue Merlot
@ruemerlot.bsky.social
For building things, against decline. Posts about healthcare, institutions, and public safety. https://twitter.com/EtRueMerlot
I get that many people think three strikes laws are draconian, but surely everyone could agree on adapting a 63 strikes rule?
www.orilliamatters.com/court/repeat...
www.orilliamatters.com/court/repeat...
Repeat offender lashes out in court after being sent back to jail
'The community needs a break from you,' judge tells Cody Martin, who went on crime spree last summer around Simcoe County
www.orilliamatters.com
January 22, 2026 at 4:19 AM
I get that many people think three strikes laws are draconian, but surely everyone could agree on adapting a 63 strikes rule?
www.orilliamatters.com/court/repeat...
www.orilliamatters.com/court/repeat...
Reposted by Rue Merlot
Maybe my NYT essay can create common ground: Factory farms should be regulated like factories. Animal poop should be regulated like human poop. We can still fight about other stuff but this should be Big Ag against Everyone Else.
nytimes.com/2026/01/20/opinion/manure-population-rivers-water.html
nytimes.com/2026/01/20/opinion/manure-population-rivers-water.html
Opinion | This Is Why Our Rivers Are Turning Into Sewers
nytimes.com
January 20, 2026 at 10:53 PM
Maybe my NYT essay can create common ground: Factory farms should be regulated like factories. Animal poop should be regulated like human poop. We can still fight about other stuff but this should be Big Ag against Everyone Else.
nytimes.com/2026/01/20/opinion/manure-population-rivers-water.html
nytimes.com/2026/01/20/opinion/manure-population-rivers-water.html
You could change the title to "Ontario's Everything Are Increasingly Staffed by Underqualified Hires"
thelocal.to/ontarios-day...
thelocal.to/ontarios-day...
Ontario’s Daycares Are Increasingly Staffed by Underqualified Hires | The Local
New data shows Ministry of Education approvals for non-ECEs working in ECE-designated roles jumped more than 1,000 percent over the last five years.
thelocal.to
January 20, 2026 at 10:07 PM
You could change the title to "Ontario's Everything Are Increasingly Staffed by Underqualified Hires"
thelocal.to/ontarios-day...
thelocal.to/ontarios-day...
So on the one hand, yes, its EXTREMELY shocking that Canada releases prolific child sex offenders in under 2 years, even when the sentence was for 7 years (already very low!)
On the other hand... how is a JUDGE not aware of how Canada's early release system works
On the other hand... how is a JUDGE not aware of how Canada's early release system works
January 20, 2026 at 4:41 PM
So on the one hand, yes, its EXTREMELY shocking that Canada releases prolific child sex offenders in under 2 years, even when the sentence was for 7 years (already very low!)
On the other hand... how is a JUDGE not aware of how Canada's early release system works
On the other hand... how is a JUDGE not aware of how Canada's early release system works
While I think this piece is both poorly argued and misleading, I do think the general trend towards broader diagnostic labels over narrower ones probably does have some underdiscussed downsides
But it might still be better than the alternative
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/a-vi...
But it might still be better than the alternative
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/a-vi...
Why Are We Still Calling People ‘Schizophrenic’?
The term "schizophrenia" was unclear in meaning from its beginning and has remained unclear ever since. It is long past time to replace it with better alternatives.
www.psychologytoday.com
January 17, 2026 at 4:48 PM
While I think this piece is both poorly argued and misleading, I do think the general trend towards broader diagnostic labels over narrower ones probably does have some underdiscussed downsides
But it might still be better than the alternative
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/a-vi...
But it might still be better than the alternative
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/a-vi...
Reposted by Rue Merlot
The City of Toronto failed to meet key commitments that they agreed to under the Housing Accelerator Fund. As a result, their funding was reduced from $471 million to... $461 million.
Why bother meeting commitments when the penalties are so weak?
Why bother meeting commitments when the penalties are so weak?
Update on the Housing Accelerator Fund Agreements for Red Deer, Toronto, Vaughan | CMHC
Updates on the Housing Accelerator Fund agreements.
www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca
January 16, 2026 at 9:08 PM
The City of Toronto failed to meet key commitments that they agreed to under the Housing Accelerator Fund. As a result, their funding was reduced from $471 million to... $461 million.
Why bother meeting commitments when the penalties are so weak?
Why bother meeting commitments when the penalties are so weak?
Reposted by Rue Merlot
More details emerge on how mRNA vaccines work:
mRNA Vaccines: What's the Adjuvant?
www.science.org
January 15, 2026 at 7:09 PM
More details emerge on how mRNA vaccines work:
Reposted by Rue Merlot
New piece! Governments have a choice: either lower construction costs today, or have homeprices spike tomorrow. As much as governments might like to, they can't ignore "Q".
Read here: www.missingmiddleini...
Read here: www.missingmiddleini...
January 13, 2026 at 12:51 PM
New piece! Governments have a choice: either lower construction costs today, or have homeprices spike tomorrow. As much as governments might like to, they can't ignore "Q".
Read here: www.missingmiddleini...
Read here: www.missingmiddleini...
In terms of pure moral outrage, this might be one of the worst SCC rulings on the rights of predators yet. As if the system wasn't already stacked against victims enough, and ESPECIALLY marginalized victims
www.thestar.com/news/gta/sex...
www.thestar.com/news/gta/sex...
Sex assault conviction tossed. Toronto judge wrong to assume woman with Down syndrome couldn’t handle testifying against support worker
“Trauma should not be presumed,” the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled.
www.thestar.com
January 13, 2026 at 4:38 PM
In terms of pure moral outrage, this might be one of the worst SCC rulings on the rights of predators yet. As if the system wasn't already stacked against victims enough, and ESPECIALLY marginalized victims
www.thestar.com/news/gta/sex...
www.thestar.com/news/gta/sex...
If I were in the position of Christine Trang, I'm not sure I could achieve this level of grace and restraint. Canada must return to treating victims of crime with dignity, rather than treating them as an obstacle to the goal of plea deals and early releases
Opinion: Why victims of crime feel abandoned by Canada's justice system
Justice should not be a privilege reserved for the accused.
edmontonjournal.com
January 8, 2026 at 2:45 PM
If I were in the position of Christine Trang, I'm not sure I could achieve this level of grace and restraint. Canada must return to treating victims of crime with dignity, rather than treating them as an obstacle to the goal of plea deals and early releases
Great thread on societal benefits for universal chickenpox vaccination!
Woohoo! Chickenpox vaccines are on the menu in the UK - finally!!
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Ignore the sceptics: with this new vaccine, chickenpox could become a thing of the past | Wes Streeting
Thousands develop serious complications from the varicella virus. Today the NHS rolls out a new jab, alongside measles, mumps and rubella, says health secretary Wes Streeting
www.theguardian.com
January 3, 2026 at 3:54 PM
Great thread on societal benefits for universal chickenpox vaccination!
Reposted by Rue Merlot
So many great union songs and yet at every protest and strike for the last 30 years it's still an insufferable "hey hey, ho ho..." chant. RETVRN!
We're bringing back the great union songs in 2026, and we're doing it very strongly www.instagram.com/reels/DS-uIn...
boygenius source 🦷 on Instagram: "@lucydacus & @_sarahgoldstone_ performing ‘Bread and Roses’ at @zohrankmamdani’s inauguration ceremony today in new york city!"
In this moving performance of 'Bread and Roses,' @lucydacus and @sarahgoldstone_ bring to life the powerful lyrics that speak to the human struggle for dignity and equality. The inauguration ceremony ...
www.instagram.com
January 1, 2026 at 10:35 PM
So many great union songs and yet at every protest and strike for the last 30 years it's still an insufferable "hey hey, ho ho..." chant. RETVRN!
Unironically, a big driver of NIMBYism for market housing is public amenities becoming less accessible/enjoyable from crowds. Some things (like gyms, playgrounds) you can scale up, others (hiking trails, beaches) you can't
January at the gym is the closest I find myself to NIMBYism.
Get fit if you'd like but not in my gym 🤬 we're full up already ✋
Get fit if you'd like but not in my gym 🤬 we're full up already ✋
January 1, 2026 at 3:02 PM
Unironically, a big driver of NIMBYism for market housing is public amenities becoming less accessible/enjoyable from crowds. Some things (like gyms, playgrounds) you can scale up, others (hiking trails, beaches) you can't
Reposted by Rue Merlot
The final Calvin and Hobbes, which appeared in papers 30 years ago today.
December 31, 2025 at 5:00 PM
The final Calvin and Hobbes, which appeared in papers 30 years ago today.
While I'm not optimistic that we'll see change; there is currently a case before the SCC that will impact how much weight to give Gladue considerations for Indigenous offenders when the victim is also Indigenous
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
She was assaulted by her partner. Canada's top court is considering a potentially precedent-setting appeal | CBC News
The Mi'kmaw woman at the centre of an aggravated assault case now before the Supreme Court of Canada spoke about what she went through for the first time ever in an interview with CBC News. She says i...
www.cbc.ca
December 29, 2025 at 3:25 PM
While I'm not optimistic that we'll see change; there is currently a case before the SCC that will impact how much weight to give Gladue considerations for Indigenous offenders when the victim is also Indigenous
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
American numbers; but interestingly there is a decline in not just opioid overdoses leading to death, but also meth and cocaine overdoses
So opioid specific explanations (higher tolerance to fentanyl as it becomes the opioid of choice, greater availability of naloxone) aren't a good explanation
So opioid specific explanations (higher tolerance to fentanyl as it becomes the opioid of choice, greater availability of naloxone) aren't a good explanation
December 29, 2025 at 2:41 PM
American numbers; but interestingly there is a decline in not just opioid overdoses leading to death, but also meth and cocaine overdoses
So opioid specific explanations (higher tolerance to fentanyl as it becomes the opioid of choice, greater availability of naloxone) aren't a good explanation
So opioid specific explanations (higher tolerance to fentanyl as it becomes the opioid of choice, greater availability of naloxone) aren't a good explanation
Reposted by Rue Merlot
“Despite the physical and emotional risks placed on surrogates, the practice remains almost entirely unregulated.
Lopsided contracts and wealth disparities mean that when things turn sour, it’s often surrogates who bear costs they can rarely afford.”
Lopsided contracts and wealth disparities mean that when things turn sour, it’s often surrogates who bear costs they can rarely afford.”
Surrogacy Is a Multibillion-Dollar Business—but Surrogates Can Be Left With Big Debts
The booming fertility industry is largely unregulated, leaving the women giving birth with few financial or legal protections.
www.wsj.com
December 29, 2025 at 1:13 AM
“Despite the physical and emotional risks placed on surrogates, the practice remains almost entirely unregulated.
Lopsided contracts and wealth disparities mean that when things turn sour, it’s often surrogates who bear costs they can rarely afford.”
Lopsided contracts and wealth disparities mean that when things turn sour, it’s often surrogates who bear costs they can rarely afford.”
So knowing that the two main groups of problematic e-bike riders are food deliverers, and people who lost their drivers licenses for driving under the influence, is there a way to target mostly just those groups?
I think so
www.thestar.com/news/gta/tor...
I think so
www.thestar.com/news/gta/tor...
Toronto councillors want e-bikes, e-scooters off the sidewalk. Now, staff just need to figure out how to make it happen
A bid to help police impound electric scooters and bikes was softened Wednesday night. Now city staff can propose their own solutions.
www.thestar.com
December 19, 2025 at 2:26 PM
So knowing that the two main groups of problematic e-bike riders are food deliverers, and people who lost their drivers licenses for driving under the influence, is there a way to target mostly just those groups?
I think so
www.thestar.com/news/gta/tor...
I think so
www.thestar.com/news/gta/tor...
Reposted by Rue Merlot
This is a wild hack. a16z gave a million dollars to startup called Doublespeed. They use a phone farm to flood social media with AI generated influencers and ads. A hacker remotely broke into the phone farm, unmasking the AI influencers/fake accounts, gave us the data www.404media.co/hack-reveals...
Hack Reveals the a16z-Backed Phone Farm Flooding TikTok With AI Influencers
A hacker gained control of a 1,100 mobile phone farm powering covert, AI-generated ads on TikTok.
www.404media.co
December 17, 2025 at 2:35 PM
This is a wild hack. a16z gave a million dollars to startup called Doublespeed. They use a phone farm to flood social media with AI generated influencers and ads. A hacker remotely broke into the phone farm, unmasking the AI influencers/fake accounts, gave us the data www.404media.co/hack-reveals...
Reposted by Rue Merlot
THREAD: The FDA has made it difficult to find where medications are made. Today we're changing that with our latest tool.
With Rx Inspector, it’s possible to see your drug’s manufacturing facility and what the FDA found during its inspections.
Here's how you can use it. 1/
With Rx Inspector, it’s possible to see your drug’s manufacturing facility and what the FDA found during its inspections.
Here's how you can use it. 1/
December 18, 2025 at 4:56 PM
THREAD: The FDA has made it difficult to find where medications are made. Today we're changing that with our latest tool.
With Rx Inspector, it’s possible to see your drug’s manufacturing facility and what the FDA found during its inspections.
Here's how you can use it. 1/
With Rx Inspector, it’s possible to see your drug’s manufacturing facility and what the FDA found during its inspections.
Here's how you can use it. 1/
Reposted by Rue Merlot
A university is so much more than its bricks and mortar facilities. It is also an eduroam network with intermittent access
December 15, 2025 at 11:04 PM
A university is so much more than its bricks and mortar facilities. It is also an eduroam network with intermittent access
Yes, the government should start seizing cars from people who park in bikelanes or on sidewalks AND seizing ebikes when people ride them through crowded sidewalks at high speeds
"The potential to have things seized will send a message that you can't ride on the sidewalk," Burnside said.
December 17, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Yes, the government should start seizing cars from people who park in bikelanes or on sidewalks AND seizing ebikes when people ride them through crowded sidewalks at high speeds
Reposted by Rue Merlot
Apparently Prohibition was a turning point. Courts got overwhelmed with alcohol possession cases, and everyone figured out that if you just asked for a small fine in return for a guilty plea, you could clear hundreds of cases in a week.
This taught the courts a Very Bad Lesson
This taught the courts a Very Bad Lesson
Extremely blackpilling fact is that apparently, as recently as the 1970s, something like 20% of all cases actually went to trial. Today, it's like 1-3%, depending on which state or federal system we're talking about.
December 17, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Apparently Prohibition was a turning point. Courts got overwhelmed with alcohol possession cases, and everyone figured out that if you just asked for a small fine in return for a guilty plea, you could clear hundreds of cases in a week.
This taught the courts a Very Bad Lesson
This taught the courts a Very Bad Lesson
While it hasn't ended the problems; there has been a big rise in awareness of the crisis of violence in hospitals, and attempts to address it
It seems like we're close to recognizing the crisis of violence in schools (where I think addressing it is somewhat more realistic)
cbc.ca/news/canada/...
It seems like we're close to recognizing the crisis of violence in schools (where I think addressing it is somewhat more realistic)
cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Saskatoon teen admits to lighting classmate on fire in 2024 | CBC Central Saskatchewan
A Saskatoon teen is admitting she planned and executed a fiery assault on a classmate at Evan Hardy Collegiate in September 2024.
cbc.ca
December 16, 2025 at 3:29 PM
While it hasn't ended the problems; there has been a big rise in awareness of the crisis of violence in hospitals, and attempts to address it
It seems like we're close to recognizing the crisis of violence in schools (where I think addressing it is somewhat more realistic)
cbc.ca/news/canada/...
It seems like we're close to recognizing the crisis of violence in schools (where I think addressing it is somewhat more realistic)
cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Reposted by Rue Merlot
Grading and googling hallucinated citations, as one does nowadays, and now that LLMs have been around for a while, I've discovered new horrors: hallucinated journals are now appearing in Google Scholar with dozens of citations bc so many people are citing these fake things
December 15, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Grading and googling hallucinated citations, as one does nowadays, and now that LLMs have been around for a while, I've discovered new horrors: hallucinated journals are now appearing in Google Scholar with dozens of citations bc so many people are citing these fake things