Archive for March, 2009
Military Laser Hits Battlefield Strength
Noah Shachtman, WIRED: Huge news for real-life ray guns: Electric lasers have hit battlefield strength for the first time — paving the way for energy weapons to go to war.
In recent test-blasts, Pentagon-researchers at Northrop Grumman managed to get its 105 kilowatts of power out of their laser — past the “100kW threshold [that] has been viewed traditionally as a proof of principle for ‘weapons grade’ power levels for high-energy lasers,” Northrop’s vice president of directed energy systems, Dan Wildt, said in a statement.
That much power won’t get you a Star Wars-style blaster. But it should be more than enough to zap the mortars and rockets that insurgents have used to pound American bases in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The battlefield-strength breakthrough is just one part in a larger military push to finally make laser weapons a reality, after decades of unfulfilled promises. The Army recently gave Boeing a $36 million contract…
Ron Paul, Stephen Baldwin Debate Marijuana
On the Larry King Live show March 13th, 2009 Rep. Ron Paul debated Stephen Baldwin on the subject of marijuana legalization. Amazingly (or not, if you’re familiar with these guys), its the republican congressman who is pro-legalization, and the Hollywood actor who once played the “Macguyver Stoner” arguing against.
Healthcare Enemy #1
Christopher Hayes, The Nation: Rick Scott is the man who best embodies the spirit of the current conservative opposition. Politico recently reported that the millionaire Republican would be heading up Conservatives for Patients’ Rights (CPR), a new group that plans to spend around $20 million to kill President Obama’s efforts at healthcare reform.
Having Scott lead the charge against healthcare reform is like tapping Bernie Madoff to campaign against tighter securities regulation. You see, the for-profit hospital chain Scott helped found — the one he ran and built his entire reputation on — was discovered to be in the habit of defrauding the government out of hundreds of millions of dollars.
But in Washington there’s no such thing as permanent disgrace, and as the healthcare debate heats up, Scott has established himself as a go-to source for reporters looking to hear from the opposition. He’s been quoted in the Wall Street Journal…
A Pizza Boy’s Lesson for the Monied Class
How the Mighty Have Fallen – One day you’re a hedge fund-running member of the monied class, the next you’re delivering pizza. What the story of Ken Karpman can teach us about class divisions.
Man Assaulted with Bowling Ball
A California man was assaulted with a 16-pound bowling ball after a dispute over lane etiquette ended in an alley melee.
U.S. High School Held ‘Cage Fights’
Staff at a high school in the U.S. state of Texas had students settle their differences by fighting inside a steel cage, a local newspaper has reported.
The Dallas Morning News says it has obtained a school board report that says two “cage fights” took place at South Oak Cliff High between 2003–2005.
Jimmy Carter Promised to End Prohibition in 1976, Should Obama Deliver in 2009?
“In 1973 Oregon became the first state to modify its law and decriminalize marijuana use, which meant possession became a civil offense punishable by a fine. A key reason for this legislative change was pressure exerted by the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws (NORML), a private citizens group founded in 1971 that believed drug laws were unfair to recreational users. The American Medical Association (AMA) ad the American Bar Association (ABA) also supported marijuana law reform – the AMA came out in favor of dropping penalties for possession of insignificant amounts of marijuana in 1972, while the ABA recommended decriminalization in 1973.
“Ten other states followed Oregon in decriminalizing marijuana and it appeared the nation was well on its way toward a federal policy of less stringent marijuana regulation. This policy seemed all but guaranteed when Jimmy Carter, a liberal politician, was elected to the White House in 1976.”
Official Puts Motion to Council to Buy Sex Toy for Adversary
An Australian councilor was so upset with a New South Wales State minister that he put forth a motion to buy her a sex toy.
World’s Deadliest Spider Found In Bananas At Tulsa Whole Foods
A Brazilian wandering spider was found in a bunch of bananas which had been shipped from Honduras to a Whole Foods store in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Regarded as the most venomous spider in existence, the species’ bite can cause intense pain, paralysis, and then death by asphyxiation in less than 25 minutes. The lesson: always remember to take a look with your eyes before you start rooting around with your hand for the perfect piece of produce, and be prepared for deadly spider attacks at Whole Foods.
UW-Milwaukee Study Could Realign Climate Change Theory
Scientists Claim Earth Is Undergoing Natural Climate Shift
The bitter cold and record snowfalls from two wicked winters are causing people to ask if the global climate is truly changing. The climate is known to be variable and, in recent years, more scientific thought and research has been focused on the global temperature and how humanity might be influencing it.
However, a new study by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee could turn the climate change world upside down. Scientists at the university used a math application known as synchronized chaos and applied it to climate data taken over the past 100 years.
“Imagine that you have four synchronized swimmers and they are not holding hands and they do their program and everything is fine; now, if they begin to hold hands and hold hands tightly, most likely a slight error will destroy the synchronization. Well, we applied the same analogy to climate,” researcher…
Obama Failing Credit Check
President Obama has been trying to buy a a new car here in Washington, because he doesn’t feel right about always having to ask the Secret Service to take him places.
He’s finding out how tough it is to get credit these days. He picked out a car at a showroom, but then they did a credit check on him and it wasn’t pretty.
The President of the United States has a bad credit rating?
Sure, look at the stuff the credit agencies monitor. They reported to the dealership that this Obama guy…
* recently moved to a new city
* has been in his current job for only two months
* doesn’t own his current home
* lives in a non-residential downtown area
That’s the kind of stuff that gives lenders the heebie-jeebies. No wonder he’s sweating the results.
Bill O’Reilly’s Dirty Audio Book
“Say baby, put down that pipe and get my pipe up.” The Village Voice has culled the best moments (there’s a lot of them) from Bill O’Reilly’s audio book recording of his 1998 thriller novel Those Who Trespass. To provide some background, it’s the story of a tough-talking, breast-grabbing Irishman trained by the IRA to assassinate a bunch of people who have it coming, including “a powerful ‘bitch’ named Hillary and a ‘fat slob’ named Martin Moore.” With some hot female characters involved, things get a bit saucy, especially in Bill’s reading of the crack den sex scenes.
Burning Toxic Waste is Making U.S. Soldiers and Iraqis Sick, But the Pentagon Refuses to Admit It
Nora Eisenberg (AlterNet): Six years into the war, many U.S. bases in Iraq are still without incinerators, leaving open pits spewing toxic plumes over soldiers and civilians.
Acetaldehyde, Acrolien, Arsenic, Benzene, Carbon Monoxide, Ethylbenzene, Formaldehyde, Hydrogen Cyanide, Hydrogen Fluoride, Phosgene, Sulfur Dioxide, Sulfuric Acid, Toluene, Trichloroethane, Xylene. These are just some of the chemicals detected in smoke from the Balad Burn Pit, one of the many vast open pits spewing toxic plumes over Iraq and Afghanistan.
But not to worry; In “Just the Facts,” an information sheet for troops, the Department of Defense has stated that “the potential short- and long-term risks” from Balad “were estimated to be low.” The VA has just announced it will monitor reports of veterans’ pit-related illness. But the DoD has yet to declassify old air sample reports or issue current findings.
The Pentagon’s fact sheet appeared after VAWatchdog.com linked to a memo showing that, as early as…
Gambians Abducted By ‘Witch Doctors’
Up to 1,000 Gambian villagers have been abducted by “witch doctors” to secret detention centres and forced to drink potions, a human rights group says.
Amnesty International said some forced to drink the concoctions developed kidney problems, and two had died. Officials in the police, army and the president’s personal protection guard had accompanied the “witch doctors” in the bizarre roundup, said witnesses.
The Obama Administration, Your Information, and You
This is a quick survey of some of the recent troubling calls the current administration has made regarding electronic privacy and domestic spying. While the Obama administration has supported transparency in some areas, in other areas it has adopted the Bush administration’s stance on electronic freedoms and domestic spying.
Obama Same as Bush Regarding Information Security?
This is a quick survey of some of the troubling decisions made by the Obama administration regarding privacy and internet security. While he’s transparent on some things, it seems Obama is still following in the Bush Administration’s footsteps regarding privacy, domestic spying and freedom on the internet.
FCC Trying to Regulate the Internet and Tax Bloggers for Posting Content
If you have not already heard how the Internet is under attack please check out our other post on this. First let’s answer this question what is Net Neutrality?
Network Neutrality — or “Net Neutrality” for short — is the guiding principle that preserves the free and open Internet.
FCC trying to regulate the INTERNET and tax bloggers for posting content?
If you have not already heard how the Internet is under attack please check out our other post on this. First let’s answer this question what is Net Neutrality?
Network Neutrality — or “Net Neutrality” for short — is the guiding principle that preserves the free and open Internet.
Charles Manson Jail Photo Released
California corrections officials have released a new photo showing a 74-year old Charles Manson.
The infamous murderer’s photo was taken for routine updates. Manson is serving a life sentence in California’s Corcoran State Prison for conspiring to murder seven people, including the actress Sharon Tate who was married to director Roman Polanski.
Manson in 1970 and Manson now. Click through to see a slideshow of Manson, his accomplices and others who were affected by his murderous rampages.
