A new report from the Electronic Frontier Foundation analyzes more than 2,500 pages’ worth of FBI documents extracted using Freedom of Information Act litigation and finds disturbing, system-wide violations of civil liberties on a scale that is far beyond anything reported to date…
Continue reading… “EFF: FBI May Have Committed More Than 40K Intelligence Violations Since 9/11”
Noted speed freak, serial-killer fangirl, and Tea Party hero Ayn Rand was also a kleptoparasite, sneakily gobbling up taxpayer funds under an assumed name to pay for her medical treatments after she got lung cancer…
Continue reading… “Ayn Rand Slyly Took Government Assistance While Decrying Others Who Did The Same”
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has officially approved the unregulated planting of Monsanto’s genetically engineered alfalfa. In a move that will undoubtedly set a precedent for what comes next (namely, the question of whether or not to deregulate GE sugarbeets) Vilsack did nothing more, and nothing less than obliterate our choice as organic consumers to be assured that we are avoiding genetically modified organisms in our food…
Continue reading… “Monsanto Wins Big and Consumers Again Get Screwed”
Should the government here have this kind of power?
On Thursday Jan 27th at 22:34 UTC the Egyptian Government effectively removed Egypt from the internet. Nearly all inbound and outbound connections to the web were shut down. The internet intelligence authority Renesys explains it here and confirms that “virtually all of Egypt’s Internet addresses are now unreachable, worldwide.” This has never happened before in the entire history of the internet, with a nation of this size. A block of this scale is completely unheard of, and Senator Joe Lieberman wants to be able to do the same thing in the US…
Continue reading… “Egypt Turns Off Internet, Lieberman Wants Same Option For US”
Google, the company that fought censorship in China and vowed not to censor even anti-Semitism, has begun a subtle censorship campaign of its own.
As of today, if a Google search user begins typing in a term such as “BitTorrent,” Google’s Auto Suggest feature stops listing possible terms as soon as he types the second “T” in the word. Likewise, it won’t auto-complete the pirate-familiar words “megaupload,” “utorrent” or “rapidshare.”
Continue reading… “Google Engages in Subtle Form of Censorship”
LOOK! Up in the sky. It’s a bird? It’s a plane?
It’s my weed bags being flung over the border!
Marijuana smugglers apparently have a problem with the US border fence near Tucson, Arizona -and those pesky border patrols. So they’ve turned to ancient technology to deliver the goods -a catapult!
Continue reading… “Mexican Drug Smugglers Catapult Weed Over Border fence into US”
Questions such as how much fresh water we have left on Earth, where it is located, and how we can access it are all nearly impossible to answer. However, scientists working on understanding and revealing the planet’s surface structure are helping to hone in on an answer. University of British Columbia researchers have created a world’s-first with their new map that outlines how fluid flows through Earth’s various porous surfaces. Information gleaned from the map can help us discover more about water supplies worldwide.
Continue reading… “First-Ever Global Map to Delve Deep Into Earth Surface Helps Reveal Water Supply”
Dhar Mann, 26, and Derek Peterson, 36, are the owners of the weGrow marijuana superstore in Oakland, California. The 15,000 square-foot weGrow is just their first hit though. Mann and Peterson are also shooting a reality show pilot, training medical pot growers, and manufacturing high-end grow gear. They say they’re in contract on 75 franchise stores in 5 states and are considering an IPO. According to Mann, their vision is to become the “Wal-Mart of Weed.”
Continue reading… “Becoming The Wal-Mart of Weed”
Here’s a good Boston Globe report on the first decade of Portugal’s bold experiment with drug decriminalization and increased treatment. Ten years ago, Portugal — whose drug problem had been spiraling out of control — decided to treat drug addiction as a public health matter, not as a criminal matter. They decriminalized possession of drugs, and increased treatment available to addicts, and experienced an immediate, dramatic and sustained drop in negative effects from drug use — though the use of some drugs went up…
Continue reading… “Portugal: 10 Years of Decriminalized Drugs”
Unilever is taking a Ben & Jerry’s factory in the Netherlands a green step forward: constructing a bio-digester that will convert the waste products from ice cream production and provide for 40 percent of the factory’s green energy requirements.
Made by Paques and expected to be operational a little later this year, the BIOPAQ®AFR is not like bio-digesters of old.
Paques describes:
After a successful test period, Unilever has opted for a new type of bio-digester from Paques, the BIOPAQ®AFR, in which natural micro-organisms (in this case more than 24 billiard (24•1015) little bugs!) ‘eat’ waste products and convert them into biogas. In this system, wastewater is purified by converting waste products from ice cream production such as milk, cream, proteins, syrups and pieces of fruit into biogas.
Continue reading… “Ben & Jerry’s Factory to Convert Ice Cream Waste into Energy”
Even as you look at this picture you are getting forgetful.
It’s common knowledge that drinking alcohol can impair your memory but what about simply suggesting that you’ve drunk alcohol?
Turns out, alcohol placebos can also impair your memory and judgment…
Continue reading… “Alcohol Placebos Can Impair Memory”
Start clowning around when your are going downtown.
Strange, but true. A recent study led by Shevach Friedler published in the medical journal Fertility and Sterility showed that laughter can promote pregnancy…
Continue reading… “Clowns Can Help Women Get Pregnant”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.