Rue Merlot
@ruemerlot.bsky.social
For building things, against decline. Posts about healthcare, institutions, and public safety. https://twitter.com/EtRueMerlot
I did not know that the Sacklers still had another pharma company they're using to push the opioid crisis to other countries :(
Like many criminals; lack of consequences proportional to the harm they've done incentivizes them to keep harming others
Like many criminals; lack of consequences proportional to the harm they've done incentivizes them to keep harming others
November 15, 2025 at 12:22 AM
I did not know that the Sacklers still had another pharma company they're using to push the opioid crisis to other countries :(
Like many criminals; lack of consequences proportional to the harm they've done incentivizes them to keep harming others
Like many criminals; lack of consequences proportional to the harm they've done incentivizes them to keep harming others
And even within hospitals, there wasn't a big decline in diverted opioids during 2020-2023... there was just a pandemic that meant the tracking got worse while everything was in chaos
October 13, 2025 at 1:49 AM
And even within hospitals, there wasn't a big decline in diverted opioids during 2020-2023... there was just a pandemic that meant the tracking got worse while everything was in chaos
This is a new one for me, but in my area there's been a noticeable rise in retail storefronts with locked doors that require you to ring a doorbell to be let in. Not large grocery or drugstores (they all have security now), but for stores small enough to only have 1-2 employees working at a time
October 4, 2025 at 4:59 AM
This is a new one for me, but in my area there's been a noticeable rise in retail storefronts with locked doors that require you to ring a doorbell to be let in. Not large grocery or drugstores (they all have security now), but for stores small enough to only have 1-2 employees working at a time
Very good summary of the middle path that all governments are struggling to walk
It's not compassionate to let people prey upon the homeless or the public, but we're mostly choosing not to enforce the law against predators in the name of compassion
www.timescolonist.com/opinion/les-...
It's not compassionate to let people prey upon the homeless or the public, but we're mostly choosing not to enforce the law against predators in the name of compassion
www.timescolonist.com/opinion/les-...
September 26, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Very good summary of the middle path that all governments are struggling to walk
It's not compassionate to let people prey upon the homeless or the public, but we're mostly choosing not to enforce the law against predators in the name of compassion
www.timescolonist.com/opinion/les-...
It's not compassionate to let people prey upon the homeless or the public, but we're mostly choosing not to enforce the law against predators in the name of compassion
www.timescolonist.com/opinion/les-...
And yes, despite Trump, its still a serious concern that as the US cracks down on fentanyl from Mexico it will incentivize more production and smuggling to come from Canada. Proactively fighting this is good for Canada, outside of its impact on US trade relations
September 19, 2025 at 2:49 PM
And yes, despite Trump, its still a serious concern that as the US cracks down on fentanyl from Mexico it will incentivize more production and smuggling to come from Canada. Proactively fighting this is good for Canada, outside of its impact on US trade relations
The criminal justice system exists not just to protect the public from criminals, but to protect criminals from the public
A system that can't protect the public and dispense justice is a bad state for the public (directly) and for criminals too (second order effect)
A system that can't protect the public and dispense justice is a bad state for the public (directly) and for criminals too (second order effect)
September 10, 2025 at 8:27 PM
The criminal justice system exists not just to protect the public from criminals, but to protect criminals from the public
A system that can't protect the public and dispense justice is a bad state for the public (directly) and for criminals too (second order effect)
A system that can't protect the public and dispense justice is a bad state for the public (directly) and for criminals too (second order effect)
Outside of home invasions specifically, recent BC story about a violent repeat offender terrorizing a small community is a good example of this as well
I can't count how many people I've heard trying to report crimes being told some variation of this "what did you do to provoke the assault?"
I can't count how many people I've heard trying to report crimes being told some variation of this "what did you do to provoke the assault?"
September 2, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Outside of home invasions specifically, recent BC story about a violent repeat offender terrorizing a small community is a good example of this as well
I can't count how many people I've heard trying to report crimes being told some variation of this "what did you do to provoke the assault?"
I can't count how many people I've heard trying to report crimes being told some variation of this "what did you do to provoke the assault?"
Suing for damages for lost income, where the income is proceeds from prolific theft, caused by being beaten while trying to steal a car. Certainly an interesting legal strategy, though I'd be shocked if this was the first time someone had attempted it?
www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews...
www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews...
August 30, 2025 at 2:23 AM
Suing for damages for lost income, where the income is proceeds from prolific theft, caused by being beaten while trying to steal a car. Certainly an interesting legal strategy, though I'd be shocked if this was the first time someone had attempted it?
www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews...
www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews...
Nice to see that despite big losses on vaccination and nicotine consumption, there's at least one victory for public health- more people than ever recognize even moderate drinking is bad for your health
August 25, 2025 at 2:13 AM
Nice to see that despite big losses on vaccination and nicotine consumption, there's at least one victory for public health- more people than ever recognize even moderate drinking is bad for your health
NYT has issued a correction on their data, but still extremely impressive for ZM/atrocious for Cuomo/interesting overall
July 1, 2025 at 1:57 AM
NYT has issued a correction on their data, but still extremely impressive for ZM/atrocious for Cuomo/interesting overall
On his website at least he talks about it primarily as a way to make groceries cheaper. Which I think is a perfectly fine goal, but I don't think it's achievable JUST via savings on rent and taxes while operating something that otherwise looks like a typical private sector grocer
June 26, 2025 at 3:28 AM
On his website at least he talks about it primarily as a way to make groceries cheaper. Which I think is a perfectly fine goal, but I don't think it's achievable JUST via savings on rent and taxes while operating something that otherwise looks like a typical private sector grocer
A lot of people who haven't worked with criminal offenders would be surprised by how insightful they can be. Remember, a rehabilitative justice system would require LONGER sentences, not shorter ones. Rehabilitation is not possible in Canada's current revolving door justice system
June 21, 2025 at 1:53 AM
A lot of people who haven't worked with criminal offenders would be surprised by how insightful they can be. Remember, a rehabilitative justice system would require LONGER sentences, not shorter ones. Rehabilitation is not possible in Canada's current revolving door justice system
An inability to consider the existence of bad-faith actors seems to be a big problem with the Canadian government writ large
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
June 14, 2025 at 12:06 AM
An inability to consider the existence of bad-faith actors seems to be a big problem with the Canadian government writ large
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
The article (and the physician's lawsuit) appropriately link this to the violence crisis in healthcare. Because HCPs would have a lot more ability to cope if they weren't faced with both a collapsing system AND patients constantly trying to murder them on the job
June 10, 2025 at 3:22 AM
The article (and the physician's lawsuit) appropriately link this to the violence crisis in healthcare. Because HCPs would have a lot more ability to cope if they weren't faced with both a collapsing system AND patients constantly trying to murder them on the job
It was always bad in healthcare, but its shocking how much worse things have gotten so quickly for assaults against all public service workers
globalnews.ca/news/1100177...
globalnews.ca/news/1100177...
February 15, 2025 at 5:48 PM
It was always bad in healthcare, but its shocking how much worse things have gotten so quickly for assaults against all public service workers
globalnews.ca/news/1100177...
globalnews.ca/news/1100177...
Like, recognizing that the Peel public board is one of the worst in Canada, when this is the state of your elementary school... do you really think you can have a cell phone ban without fixing the much larger issues first?
February 15, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Like, recognizing that the Peel public board is one of the worst in Canada, when this is the state of your elementary school... do you really think you can have a cell phone ban without fixing the much larger issues first?
Canadian prison capacity is so low that we don't have much choice but extreme triage, even severely violent offenders get released (both pre-trial and early releases)
But it REALLY fucking sucks for the victims when the person who tried to kill them is walking free
globalnews.ca/news/1100195...
But it REALLY fucking sucks for the victims when the person who tried to kill them is walking free
globalnews.ca/news/1100195...
February 6, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Canadian prison capacity is so low that we don't have much choice but extreme triage, even severely violent offenders get released (both pre-trial and early releases)
But it REALLY fucking sucks for the victims when the person who tried to kill them is walking free
globalnews.ca/news/1100195...
But it REALLY fucking sucks for the victims when the person who tried to kill them is walking free
globalnews.ca/news/1100195...
So its good that we're getting a 30 day reprieve. And if Trump wants to call this a victory and walk away, that's a great outcome for the Canadian economy
But Canada loves to make announcements that we're spending money on a problem, and then just not actually fix anything. This feels like that
But Canada loves to make announcements that we're spending money on a problem, and then just not actually fix anything. This feels like that
February 4, 2025 at 12:29 AM
So its good that we're getting a 30 day reprieve. And if Trump wants to call this a victory and walk away, that's a great outcome for the Canadian economy
But Canada loves to make announcements that we're spending money on a problem, and then just not actually fix anything. This feels like that
But Canada loves to make announcements that we're spending money on a problem, and then just not actually fix anything. This feels like that
Trump is untrustworthy, and while he has stated that the tariffs on Canada will last until the fentanyl problem is addressed, there's no guarantee that fixing our very real problems in the fentanyl trade would relieve the tariffs
However... we should be tackling these problems anyway
However... we should be tackling these problems anyway
February 1, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Trump is untrustworthy, and while he has stated that the tariffs on Canada will last until the fentanyl problem is addressed, there's no guarantee that fixing our very real problems in the fentanyl trade would relieve the tariffs
However... we should be tackling these problems anyway
However... we should be tackling these problems anyway
That's a good price! I bought 10kgs of pinto beans and 10kgs of red kidney beans over the summer, even with Costco pricing and stacking sales it was ~$50 (for ~44lbs)
December 31, 2024 at 3:57 AM
That's a good price! I bought 10kgs of pinto beans and 10kgs of red kidney beans over the summer, even with Costco pricing and stacking sales it was ~$50 (for ~44lbs)
Results from South Africa's modern alcohol bans are a good reminder that far from prohibition being a failure, it was a public health success on the same order as vaccines, antibiotics, and smoking cessation
www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10...
www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10...
November 26, 2024 at 10:01 PM
Results from South Africa's modern alcohol bans are a good reminder that far from prohibition being a failure, it was a public health success on the same order as vaccines, antibiotics, and smoking cessation
www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10...
www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10...