Parting Shots: A Street Art Optical Illusion

Wooster Collective points to a remarkable piece of street art, that appeared on the streets of Berlin a few weeks ago. What you see in this photo below, is a creation by an unknown artist, who has created a subtle but effective lenticular image on the slats of a fence. Head-on it doesn’t look like much, but when you move yourself to the left (or right), an image of a face appears.

Why should we care about Presidential Memorandums?

What are the three types of Presidential memorandums? Who knows? Who cares? You might after reading this Sunday’s AS IT STAND’s column in The Times-Standard:

Presidential Memorandums: or how to stay under the media radar

Obama is already toughest president on leaks

More prosecutions sought in 17 months than any previous administration

In 17 months in office, President Obama has already outdone every previous president in pursuing leak prosecutions.

“Hired in 2001 by the National Security Agency to help it catch up with the e-mail and cellphone revolution, Thomas A. Drake became convinced that the government’s eavesdroppers were squandering hundreds of millions of dollars on failed programs while ignoring a promising alternative.

He took his concerns everywhere inside the secret world: to his bosses, to the agency’s inspector general, to the Defense Department’s inspector general and to the Congressional intelligence committees. But he felt his message was not getting through.

So he contacted a reporter for The Baltimore Sun.”

Though he is charged under the Espionage Act, Mr. Drake appears to be a classic whistle-blower whose goal was to strengthen the N.S.A.’s ability to catch terrorists, not undermine it.

Photo source

Marijuana Delivery Services Evade Bans on Dispensaries, Spread Across California

A flourishing and unregulated industry of pot delivery services is circumventing bans on storefront dispensaries and bringing medical marijuana directly to Californians' homes.

The exact number of delivery services operating in California is unclear, since the state does not keep a registry of medical marijuana distributors or outlets.

In April, 758 services advertised direct delivery of marijuana to patients on Weedmaps.com, a commercial listing service.

It was 1967 since I visited Haight Street – some things haven’t changed 53 years later

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For San Francisco’s controversial proposed sit/lie law, the inciting incident happened on a Wednesday night in early December in the Haight — an act of violence so brutal it inspired a grass-roots movement.

For the full story, check out Scott James's column on the sit/lie controversy.

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Sixty years later, U.S. and England meet again

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Before long-awaited game, Bradley says, ‘We believe we're going to win’

The last time the USA defeated the powerful English soccer team to win the World Cup Finals was the year I was born; 1950.

PHOTO: U.S. national soccer players, including Jozy Altidore, front, train at Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg, South Africa, on Friday.

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Guest Opinion: The LA Times Insults Obama Regularly

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“Why does one of the largest newspapers in the country allow its political writer to routinely disrespect the president in a casually insulting way?”

Eric Boehlert asks…

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COULD CYBER SKIRMISH LEAD U.S. TO WAR?

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Now, the U.S. government is faced with a chilling question: Should it get dragged into a shooting war by a cyber attack on an ally? Or should it decline and threaten the fiber of the NATO alliance?

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Louisiana leaders want Gulf drilling to resume

When I read this story I nearly got sick! Can you believe the gall of those bastards? In the midst of the worst ecological disaster in the world, they want to resume drilling!

Politicians say moratorium is a knee-jerk reaction

“At the same time they are venting their fury on BP over the Gulf of Mexico spill and its calamitous environmental effects, Louisiana politicians are rushing to the defense of the oil-and-gas industry and pleading with Washington to bring back offshore drilling —now.”

Retail Recall: McDonald's paying $3 for Shrek glasses

Company is paying customers more than they spent, in hopes of getting back millions of glasses recalled over cadmium.

Pot Delivery Services Cropping Up Across California

As communities across California crack down on medical marijuana dispensaries, a new business model has emerged:companies that will deliver pot directly to your doorstep.

 Read more at NPR

PHOTO: A worker at C420, an online dispensary, weighs pot that will be shipped to customers. The company offers to ship pot overnight to qualified medical marijuana users at "almost any legal address in California."

Parenting vs texting: ‘Stop texting, Dad! I'm talking to you’

Researchers fret about the risks of parenting while plugged in

From left, Rakesh Thakkar, Anika, 5, Sharmila Rao Thakkar, Shiv, 2, eat dinner in their home in Chicago, last week. Parents' use of technology, and its effect on their offspring, is now becoming an equal source of concern to some child-development researchers.

More Americans Dislike the Tea Partiers Than Ever Before

Now that it's become more clear what the Tea Parties stand for, more and more Americans have a low opinion of them.

“When the previous poll was taken you could not turn on your television without being hit in the face with Tea Party lunacy.

But the media has effectively out-hyped itself on the Tea Party and now some folks are disgusted and tired of seeing the angry-old-white-guy movement just as we are tired of seeing the incompetent-old-white-guys in Washington, D.C.”

Web Conferencing for Dummies: Yup, you're on

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Social blunders and mishaps are more frequent than you might think

PHOTO: This fellow, shown in a Web site ad, is dressed appropriately for a Web-based video conference. However, some folks don't dress well — or much — and others forget that the mike is on.

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Remind me not to wear the Calvin Klein cologne that attracts jaguars if I ever go to Guatemala

Biologists tracking jaguars in the Guatemalan jungle might smell nice but it's all in the name of science, with researchers finding the Calvin Klein cologne Obsession for Men attracts big cats.

I enjoy irony in life, and the name of this cologne is certainly ironic when you think about it being used to attract jaguars.

The cologne is known for its complex scent, and is used to help lure the big cats for research and hopefully ultimately preserve jaguars in the Central American country.

Odd News For a Wednesday: Woman wants to be world's fattest!

N.J. mother of two is striving to top 1,000 pounds

Donna Simpson weighs 600 pounds and hopes to gain another 400 to become the world's heaviest living woman.

View related photos

Marion Curtis / AP file

Stress of daily grind takes toll on teeth

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Effects of job worries, freaky disasters seen in dentist's chair

PHOTO: Dr. Michael Sinkin, a Manhattan-based dentist, talks with bruxism patient Mark Naples about combating the effects of grinding his teeth.

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Your new nightmare worms its way into view

A healthy, 25-year-old Christian minister went to an Alameda, Calif., emergency room in September 2008, complaining of something in his eye, reports a case study in this month’s issue of The Annals of Emergency Medicine.

An eyelash, maybe? A pesky speck of dust, perhaps? Or, ew, maybe a stray contact lens had wedged its way somewhere in there?

It’s just so much worse. Israel Orellana’s discomfort was caused by something called an African eye worm. That’s a worm. In his EYEBALL.

Guest Opinion: Kucinich Calls for the End of America’s Longest War

Why aren’t more Congressman pushing to end the war? Is Kucinich the only one with the guts to speak out against the insanity of staying there? It sure looks that way.

If we really want to get on the road to economic recovery then ending the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are the first things to do. The billions going over there would be better used here at home where Americans could use the help now.

Today, the War in Afghanistan is officially the longest war Americans have ever been asked to endure. In observance, Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today released the following statement:

“The War in Afghanistan has now surpassed the number of years we spent in Vietnam, making it the longest war in U.S. history.

This grim landmark must serve as an awakening for the human and financial costs of the war. Our continued presence in Afghanistan foments resentment toward us, undermines the human rights of the Afghan people, and places our troops in harm’s way.

Prior to the Memorial Day break, the House passed a bill authorizing $159.3 billion for the continuation of the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the so-called “war on terror” with little-to-no discussion of the cost our constituents must bear to keep the wars going.

The war is creating a new generation of Americans who will experience the trauma of war, like Vietnam veterans before them. Billions of dollars go toward our supposed nation-building in Afghanistan. Yet millions of Americans struggle as funds for essential social services get cut.

“The greatest casualties of this long war are the children of the world for whom war becomes as ordinary as the sunrise. Children, who go to bed hungry each night, who are denied the fullness of health, who are ill-housed, ill-clothed, who do not have a chance for a decent education, whose opportunities in life are limited because the resources of nations are squandered in unnecessary wars based on lies.

What a terrible legacy this generation of leaders will leave for the children of the world unless we finally come to an understanding of the utter futility f war, unless we challenge the underlying thinking that leads to war, unless we firmly explore the science of human relations which leads away from war and towards understanding and human unity. This is the surge the world is waiting for.

“In the coming weeks, Congress is expected to be asked to give another $33 billion for war efforts. Congress must stop funding this misguided war. We need to bring the troops home now.” said Kucinich.

Great Escape veteran Harrison dies at 97

He was 98th on the list of 200 inmates set to escape, but only 76 got away

PHOTO: Jack Harrison, at right, the veteran thought to be the last survivor of the World War II prisoner-of-war breakout from Stalag Luft III, is seen with other prisoners-of-war in this undated file photo.