A Scott Morrison bushfire meme

As Scott Morrison continues to sideline Australia's bushfire holocaust,
we can only send him our thoughts and prayers.

Feel free to share! As the worst bushfires in our history destroy people, homes, forests and animals, Scott Morrison is enjoying Christmas in Hawaii. He has left the nation in the charge of Deputy PM Michael McCormack, who says only "raving lunatics" accept the science of climate change. It's amazing that the very thing those lunatic 'alarmists' warned about is coming true, but denialists are not alarmed. That's why they call it denial.

Sniffer dogs not so effective as top cop claims

As young people at music festivals continue to die at alarming rates, harm reduction experts call for pill testing while police and the NSW government dig in and defend the use of sniffer dogs followed by strip-searches.

But Police Commissioner Mick Fuller has misrepresented their effectiveness, claiming that the dogs successfully found drugs in 40% of indications. Never mind that many of these are for cannabis, the world's safest drug with a death rate of zero – he's wrong anyway.

ABC Fact check looked into it with the help of data wrung from the police via multiple Freedom of Information requests from them and Greens MLC David Shoebridge. It looks like the true rate is significantly less, at 24.3%.

And everyone seems to have forgotten that the dogs were brought in under the pretence they would target dealers rather than users.

The fact-check says, "However, evidence from as early as the 2006 NSW Ombudsman's review of the use of drug detection dogs suggest that the dogs have been ineffective in targeting supply offences.

Of more than 10,000 drug dog indications during the review period, 141 identified a trafficable amount of drugs (1.4 per cent). Just 19 (0.19 per cent) led to a successful prosecution for supply."

So the credibility gap from NSW cops has shrunk from 40% to 24% to, arguably .19%.

What a great way to spend taxpayers' dollars.

How good is prohibition?

"A Florida man was jailed for 90 days after cops had suspected he had cocaine in his vehicle, which turned out to be white powdered drywall."

All the initial tests – and a sniffer dog – indicated the white powder all over this black handyman's car was cocaine. Because obviously if you were dealing cocaine you would have it dusted all over the inside of your car. The lab tests – after 90 days of jail – later showed it was plaster residue. 

Prohibition arguably causes more injustice in the world than any other law. How many people has Fentanyl-addict Rodrigo Duterte had gunned down in the Philippines by now?