Saturday, June 12, 2010

Parting Shots: A Street Art Optical Illusion

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

capture SF

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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

Image: Jozy Altidore

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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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Friday, June 11, 2010

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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Thursday, June 10, 2010

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

'Shrek Forever After' glasses from McDonald's (© US Consumer Product Safety Commission/AP)

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

Confused and Abused: Average Americans Don't Know What or Who to Believe In

The last decade has been a turning point in American society where traditional norms and truth have fallen alongside the wayside and chaos ...