If legal, marijuana would be a $40-billion-a-year industry in the U.S.
Though not nearly as popular as alcohol or tobacco, marijuana has become part of the nation's social fabric.
Some 30 million Americans consume cannabis in the average year.
Decriminalized in 11 states and legal for medical purposes in 14, marijuana is no longer considered an enemy of the people in many quarters.
GO HERE to see how marijuana stacks up across the country.
Source: Federal and state agencies.
“When Jacob Barnett first learned about the Schrödinger equation for quantum mechanics, he could hardly contain himself.
For three straight days, his little brain buzzed with mathematical functions.
From within his 12-year-old, mildly autistic mind, there gradually flowed long strings of pluses, minuses, funky letters and upside-down triangles -- a tapestry of complicated symbols that few can understand”"
HOW SMART IS JACOB?
“In fact, his work is so strong that he's being courted by a top-notch East Coast research center. IUPUI is interested in him moving from the classroom into a funded researcher's position.”
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
By Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard
Posted: 03/20/2011 01:27:26 AM PDT
Have you ever wondered how many people have died in the name of religion? How many were tortured by “God fearing” men? How many millions were demonized because they didn't practice certain religions? I have.
Before you decide I'm about to indulge in religion bashing, and the hair on your neck stands up, please read on. For the record, I believe all religions are right for those who choose to follow them. There are many positive things about religion that can't be ignored.
Some would argue that civilization bloomed because of religious influence upon governments. Religion is often the basis for laws and rules of behavior. Nearly all religions promote love, in one form or another. To each his own, I always say.
Now, I'll go right to my real bone of contention. That's the intolerance shown by some who claim to be peaceful followers of God. Case in point; the Christian extremists who are trying to sell the lie that Muslim “Sharia Law” is being forced upon people in the USA.
The poster boy for this attack on Islam is Pastor Terry Jones, the controversial Gainesville, Florida, pastor who made world headlines when he threatened to burn the Koran. He's at it again, folks.
He's promoting “International Judge the Koran Day,” today. Jones says the Koran will be judged, and he believes Muslims have to prove the book is a peaceful one.
Apparently Pastor Jones doesn't believe in the Christian admonition “Judge not, least ye be judged.” And who put him in charge of which religion is OK in America? Perhaps Pastor Jones should pay more attention to our Constitution. It guarantees freedom of religion.
During an app
He said, “I would not like it, but it's our right. We live in America. It is time to stand up and speak out on what we believe in. We believe that Islam is of the devil and is causing millions of people to go to hell. It is a deceptive religion. It is a violent religion. That has been proven many times.”
His reply clearly shows how screwed up he is. His hateful rhetoric would be laughable, if it didn't have such deadly overtones. No one in America is forced to practice Sharia Law, regardless of his baseless claims.
“Their (Muslims) desire is to disobey the laws of the land and institute Sharia Law instead,
What's Pastor Jones and his followers biggest beef with Islam? It's really quite simple; “The Koran does not accept a normal Christian doctrine as presented by the Bible. It denies the crucifixion, resurrection, the existence of the Holy Trinity and the fact that Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected.” They believe this is totally wrong.
Heavens! Can you imagine? Because another religion doesn't believe in your religion, they must be evil and out to destroy the world. Where do you think that kind of mindset will lead?
“We will be setting up a structured court session, including a judge, a jury, witnesses and representatives for both sides of the debate. We have issued pleas for Islam's best defense lawyers and attorneys to attend the event and make their case on behalf of all these so-called peaceful Muslims,” P
Did you catch the part about “so-called peaceful Muslims” like such a thing is impossible? That tells you that no matter what argument is made for Islam, Pastor Jones and his prejudiced flock will find the religion guilty. Then what? Threaten to burn the Koran again and incite every devout Muslim in the world?
Perhaps the most troubling aspect of this attack on Muslims is how many Americans are willing to believe the worst about Islam. I've heard people who normally don't strike me as extreme rant about the threat American Muslims present to our society. It's disheartening to say the least.
As It Stands, demonizing a religion out of mindless fear of a different doctrine will only lead to a societal breakdown and senseless prosecution of innocent people.
Early Feedback:
there’s been several positive emails, and this interesting one from the Council on American-Islamic Relations:
“As-salaamu alaikum (peace be upon you),
Someone, possibly you or a friend, wanted to join our e-mail list to receive pertinent information regarding news and events in the Muslim community.
We have upgraded our e-mail system and would like to offer you a choice for how CAIR press releases, action alerts and news updates can best serve you.
If you’re interested in what this group does go to info@cair.com.
WEBSITES THAT HAVE PICKED THIS COLUMN UP THUS FAR
World Focus News – The World’s latest news updates.
NEWSVINE.COM – Newsvine is continuously updated by citizens like you, NewsVine is an instant reflection of what the world is talking about at any given moment.
TOPIX NEWS FORUM – Linked to the Times-Standard
Christian Books – online shopping site for all things Christian
Article Newsvine – a website that generates news items from around the world
Genesis Christian Book Store – another online shopping site for Christian material.
After two years of walking the same route every day, Millie refused to go that way today! Say What? She was fine with going in the opposite direction – and we did end up taking a good walk in new territory, but that’s not the point.
Why? Is that “Supermoon” today/tonight a Bad Moon rising?
“Even more than a normal full Moon, this “super Moon” gets a bad reputation for triggering natural disasters thanks to stories posted on the Internet. NASA says the facts don’t back that accusation. They point to the “super Moon” of March 1983 and the “almost super Moon” of December 2008 that resulted in no natural disasters occurring. In fact, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) states that lunar gravity at perigee will only pull tide water nor more than an inch or so higher though local geography could result in a pull of up to six inches. That may be alarming if you’re an insect living on the beach, but it shouldn’t be to humans.” Source
I have to admit that I’m still mystified by her behavior. What was suddenly different today? Or, was it something simple like just being tired of the same old walk and she opted for a change? Maybe I’m wasting my time wondering what a pug is thinking. Especially a female pug! Like her human counterparts, she reserves the right to change her mind…anytime.
Now if it wasn’t for this guy’s prediction: “Earthquake forcaster Jim Berkland warns of a 'high risk' seismic window and potential for a massive quake poised to strike somewhere in North America in between the dates of March 19th and 26th,” I’d be fine and would think no more on the subject. Does Millie know something I don’t? I guess I’ll have to wait and see.
Gotta hand it to Sal at Planet Tapperass
This is his second year of introducing Humboldt Blogs in a quasi-competition based on mystery methodologies. It’s a great way for outsiders to get glimpses of our Humboldt Blogisphere
If you haven’t already checked out Sal’s website, then please do. We need more humor in this world and it’s a lot of good fun.
Thanks again Sal, and maybe next year I’ll get in the finals!
First Missouri considers a bill that would repeal child labor laws in the state, calling it an interference with how parents choose to raise their kids.
Now freshman Republican Congressman Mike Lee of Utah is lecturing that federal child labor laws are unconstitutional, and it really should be up to states to pass rules.
Via Raw Story:
"Congress decided it wanted to prohibit that practice, so it passed a law. No more child labor. The Supreme Court heard a challenge to that law, and the Supreme Court decided a case in 1918 called Hammer v. Dagenhardt," Lee said. "In that case, the Supreme Court acknowledged something very interesting -- that, as reprehensible as child labor is, and as much as it ought to be abandoned -- that's something that has to be done by state legislators, not by Members of Congress."
Lee's reasoning was that labor and manufacturing are "by their very nature, local activities" and not "interstate commercial transactions." He added: "This may sound harsh, but it was designed to be that way. It was designed to be a little bit harsh."
The key Congressional law that addresses child labor is the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which placed a series of restrictions against the employment of people under 18 in the public and private sectors.
The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the law in the 1941 United States v. Darby Lumber decision, overturning Hammer, on the basis of the constitutional authority of Congress to regulate interstate commerce. It has hardly run into controversies since.”
Is Lee's lecture on giving child labor laws back to the states an opening for more states to consider repealing their own laws, and allow young children into the workforce? Or is the GOP simply back to calling everything they don't like -- unemployment insurance, health care, public education, and apparently federal law -- unconstitutional? VIA Care2
If you have never heard about a Japanese wood sculptor named Haroshi, then read on:
“As a creator of amazingly beautiful wooden sculptures out of old, crashed and broken skateboard decks, Haroshi passed for a man of considerable resourcefulness.
His multicolored and meticulously sculpted art pieces simply astound with lifelike affinity, so in whichever way it’s even possible to mistake them for being real! In his works he stacks many layers with all piece elements being connected either in their original form or in shapes to form wooden mosaic, dots, and pixels. After that they’re cut down to size, shaven to get rid of the debris, and afterwards coated with a final glossy finish. And with a long-term passion for skateboarding, Haroshi even puts a broken metal skateboard piece in the center of each sculpture to give soul to the statue. You’d better see this bewildering craftsmanship and planning involved with the unrolling showcase:” GO HERE TO SEE MORE Photo source
“A whistleblower who exposed a tax fraud scheme by Enron and Wall Street firms has been awarded a $1.1 million reward by the Internal Revenue Service.
The payout came from the new IRS Whistleblower Office, but was made under prior, less generous guidelines. Those older rules, which still apply in some instances, call for a reward of up to 15% of the money that the IRS recovers based on the information.
The whistleblower office was revamped in 2006. Now when whistleblower information about alleged tax cheating leads to IRS collection of unpaid taxes and the subsequent recovery amount exceeds $2 million, the whistleblower can pocket up to 30% of the recovered money.” Rest of Story here
There has never been a satisfactory answer to what the Sphinx actually is or was.
“Anyone who goes to Giza can see for himself or herself that there is something ‘wrong’ with the Sphinx. It only takes an instant. The body is gigantic and the head is just a pimple. The Egyptians never did anything like that, they were always meticulous about proportions in their art. So how is it that we have this monster with a tiny head sitting there in the sand, then?”
There are several other things wrong with the Sphinx. They are: GO HERE
Looks like the New World Order isn’t going to be a global Big Socialist Government (unless, perhaps, you count corporate socialism).
“This may not be a brilliant insight, but it is surely an overlooked one. It is now an Individual vs. Corporate debate – and the Humans are losing.
Consider:
• Many of the regulations that govern energy and banking sector were written by Corporations;
• The biggest influence on legislative votes is often Corporate Lobbying;
• Corporate ability to extend copyright far beyond what original protections amounts to a taking of public works for private corporate usage;
• PAC and campaign finance by Corporations has supplanted individual donations to elections;
• The individuals’ right to seek redress in court has been under attack for decades, limiting their options.
• DRM and content protection undercuts the individual’s ability to use purchased content as they see fit;
• Patent protections are continually weakened. Deep pocketed corporations can usurp inventions almost at will;
• The Supreme Court has ruled that Corporations have Free Speech rights equivalent to people; (So much for original intent!)
None of these are Democrat/Republican conflicts, but rather, are corporate vs. individual issues.
For those of you who are stuck in the old Left/Right debate, you are missing the bigger picture.”
Excerpts above from Barry Ritholtz at this website
Momma watch your babies…
“A New York man has been arrested for allegedly selling illegal prescription drugs from his ice cream truck, making more than $1 million in a year, prosecutors said.
Louis Scala sold ice cream to children from his "Lickity Split" truck and would allegedly make stops at prearranged spots where customers knew they could buy pills, according to the New York Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor.
Scala, 40, is accused of selling more than 40,000 prescription oxycodone pills from his ice cream truck in the borough of Staten Island and heading up a 30-person drug ring that included more than two dozen runners to fill fake prescriptions, prosecutors said.
Another suspect, Nancy Wilkins, is accused of using her position as an assistant at a Manhattan orthopedic office to steal blank prescription pads and allegedly sell them for $100 a page, prosecutors said.
The phony prescriptions would be filled by runners who would be paid in cash or in pills, they said.
The ring earned more than $1 million in the past year, sometimes charging up to $20 for a single pill.”
Read the rest of the story here.
The only thing that rivals the Mormon church’s ability to spread the word is its ability to cope with emergencies.
Within 36 hours of the earthquake striking off the coast of Sendai on March 11, the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that all 638 of its missionaries in the country -- 342 Americans, 216 Japanese and 80 from other nations – were safe.
Within a few days, the church also had accounted for all but about 1,000 of its 125,000 members in Japan.
Photo - Fukuoka Japan Temple is the 88th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Call me paranoid, but I think our media is covering up some information about what’s really happening, while spoon-feeding us facts very slowly.
That part about “first readings” has sinister implications for the future. Maybe it’s just me, but I have an uneasy feeling that before this crisis is under control there will be health-threatening levels of radiation hitting up and down the entire West Coast.
“Thanks to a fluke of orbital mechanics that brings the moon closer to Earth than it has been in more than 18 years, the biggest full moon of 2011 will occur on Saturday, leading some observers to dub it a "supermoon." Full Story
Nuke lobbyists clutter the halls of Congress like hyenas ready to spring into action if any legislation results from Japan’s Nuke crisis.
Twist this senator’s arm, pull that one’s finger. It’s shameful how some lawmakers are being lavished with thousands of dollars to turn their head the other way when it comes to the Nuke industry’s practices.
Hoyer (left), Upton and Waxman have all accepted donations from the industry. AP Photos
“Facing its biggest crisis in 25 years, the U.S. nuclear power industry can count on plenty of Democratic and Republican friends in both high and low places.
During the past election cycle alone, the Nuclear Energy Institute and more than a dozen companies with big nuclear portfolios have spent tens of millions of dollars on lobbying and campaign contributions to lawmakers in key leadership slots and across influential state delegations.
The donations and lobbying funds came at a critical moment for the nuclear industry as its largest trade group and major companies pushed for passage of a cap-and-trade bill.
While that effort failed, the money is sure to keep doors open on Capitol Hill as lawmakers consider any response to the safety issues highlighted by multiple nuclear reactor meltdowns in Japan in the aftermath of last week’s monster earthquake and tsunami.” Full Story
Suddenly the rest of the news in the world and nation seems irrelevant. Everywhere I look on TV, and in the blogs, there’s something about what’s happening in Japan and anything remotely related to it.
That’s very understandable. We may be standing on the brink of a disaster that will make all other recorded disasters pale in comparison. The radioactivity levels escaping into the atmosphere, even as I write this, are spiking. No one knows for sure how high they are and we can’t trust the Japanese government or the company that owns the stricken reactors, or the world press – for 100% accurate information.
I remember the Cuban missile crisis and the run on supplies in stores. Even my normally unflappable father went to the nearest grocery story and stocked up on water and canned goods.
The atmosphere was a lot like it is now with the panic run on Iodine (for more information go here.) The same uncertainty. The same lack of accurate reporting. The same suspicions that we have now. The only exception is there’s more access to news sources worldwide to the average American today because of the Internet. (PHOTO - Empty shelves at a supermarket in Hiraizumi in Iwate prefecture.)
Humboldt bloggers who normally talk about all things Humboldt, are now covering the unfolding events in Japan as well as any news source you can go to. Here’s several good examples; Redheaded Blackbelt; Tom Seaborn Blog; and SoHum ParlanceII. I’ve been posting, off-and-on, about Japan’s triple crisis, but part of me has been thinking, “I need to get on with my life. I can’t do anything about what’s happening, so why stress myself out over it?”
The other part of me, the journalist, can’t get enough information on the subject and I’ve been reading headlines from around the world from the moment I wake up, till I retire at night.
Today, I’ve decided to ratchet my Japan crisis reading down. Just a few headlines and maybe an hour of news on the boob tube at 6:00 p.m. It would stress me out if I didn’t know what was going on. Not that I really have all the facts, but anything on the subject is better than nothing.
(PHOTO - An official checks a man at a radiation screening center in Koriyama, some 60 km away from the Fukushima nuclear facilities, on March 17)
Meanwhile, for those who have just been glued to the events in Japan, there’s some other pretty serious stuff going down regarding Libya! In shift, US now urges airstrikes on Libya (US urges UN to approve Libya airstrikes, no-fly zone) If we go though with the No-Fly Z
That’s right. The last thing in the world our nation needs is another OIL WAR!
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, speaking to lawmakers in recent weeks, has cautioned a no-fly zone would be a risky operation requiring air strikes to cripple local air defenses. A draft U.N. Security Council resolution is going to be voted on today at 6 p.m. ET.
UPDATE 6:15 PST UN OKs 'all necessary measures,' no-fly zone to protect Libyans
This can’t be good. I’m not surprised however. Big Oil (draped in an American flag) will do anything to protect it’s worldwide assets.
PHOTO - New York Times photographers Tyler Hicks (right, in glasses) and Lynsey Addario (far left), run for cover during a bombing run by Libyan government planes at a checkpoint near the oil refinery of Ras Lanuf on Friday, Mar. 11. The other photojournalists pictured, starting from second left are John Moore of Getty Images, Holly Pickett and Philip Poupin. Hicks and Addario, along with NYT correspondents Stephen Farrell and Anthony Shadid, were reported missing near lines of advancing Gadhafi forces two days ago, the NYT announced on Wednesday. Paul Conroy / Reuters
Does it make it easier reading or viewing the rest of the madness going on in this world? No. But it’s necessary (for people like me) in order to keep a perspective on what’s happening all over this planet.
In my overview, I try to balance the negative with the positive news – because both are always happening somewhere. With that in mind, here’s some stories that might even bring you a smile:
I’m happy to report he wasn’t reduced to roast ram and walked away from this experience.
Erin say what?
St. Patrick may be the patron saint of Ireland... but he never even set foot on the Emerald Island until he was 16, and he was dragged there kicking and screaming.
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2. Tennessee would like its own currency. But is meth a stable enough standard?
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you!
We all know that means it’s a day for green beer and cabbage. There’ll be parties in bars and on the streets. Better wear green today or get pinched (where did this ritual get started?).
“Sometime tomorrow, around the time your alarm clock rings, you will hate yourself for trying to keep up with your college self this St. Patrick's Day. You used to b
It's not your imagination. Our bodies really do start to lose the capability to process booze as we get older, an alcohol expert explains.” Full Story
Federal agencies are beefing up their radiation-monitoring capabilities at home and abroad, even as they insist that significant amounts of fallout won’t waft from Japan onto U.S. territory.
At home, the Environmental Protection Agency said it's adding seven monitors in Alaska, Hawaii and Guam to its RadNet radiation-tracking system, which operates about 100 air-sniffing stations nationwide. Putting in those extra stations "allows us to gather data from a position closer to Japan," EPA said in an online question-and-answer guide.
Looking beyond America's borders, the U.S. Air Force is sending out a high-tech aircraft to sniff the air over Japan for radiation. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration are also sending experts to Japan to help counter the growing crisis at Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant complex.
The NRC and the NNSA have teams who track how hazardous materials spread through the atmosphere, based on computer modeling and other methods. It was the NRC's revised analysis that led to today's advisory telling Americans to evacuate the area within 50 miles (80 kilometers) of the Fukushima reactors, or stay indoors if they can't get out of the area.
White House spokesman Jay Carney acknowledged that the NRC's advice goes far beyond what the Japanese government is telling its own citizens — that is, to keep indoors within a 19-mile (30-kilometer) radius of the plant.
"The advice the Japanese government is giving — based on information it has — is different from the advice that we would be giving if this incident were happening in the United States of America," Carney said. "It is not about the quality of information. It is about the standards set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission here in the United States and the kind of advice it would be giving should this incident happen in the United States."
For what it's worth, the NRC calls for protective action when projected doses exceed 10 millisieverts (1 rem) or 50 millisieverts (5 rem) to the thyroid. Radiation levels at the damaged plants rose as high as 400 millisieverts per hour.
Companies controlling the media. Sound familiar? BP basically tried to pull the same trick after the DeepWater Horizon disaster – and succeeded to a point.
Flaws in Japan’s leadership deepen sense of crisis
Excerpts:
“Left-leaning news media outlets were long skeptical of nuclear power and its backers, and the mutual mistrust led power companies and their regulators to tightly control the flow of information about nuclear operations so as not to inflame a broad spectrum of opponents that include pacifists and environmentalists.
“It’s a Catch-22,” said Kuni Yogo, a nuclear power planner at Japan’s Science and Technology Agency.
He said that the government and Tokyo Electric Power, or Tepco, the operator of the troubled nuclear plant, “try to disclose only what they think is necessary, while the media, which has an antinuclear tendency, acts hysterically, which leads the government and Tepco to not offer more information.”
The wariness between the public and the nuclear industry and its regulators has proven to be costly during this nuclear emergency. As the problems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant unfolded, officials from Tepco and the Nuclear and Industry Safety Agency have at times provided inconsistent figures or played down the risks to the reactors and the general public. No person from either side has become the face of the rescue effort.
Politicians, relying almost completely on Tepco for information, have been left to report what they are told, often in unconvincing fashion.” Full Story
I have long since ceased to be surprised by Trump's public grifts but I have to admit his latest fundraiser is one of his foulest... as...
