Saturday, December 02, 2006
Friday, December 01, 2006
Penn and Teller: Bullshit! War on Drugs
| Penn and Teller make the argument that the war on drugs is plain and simple worthless bullshit. | |
Friday, November 24, 2006
The first remarkable close-up pictures of animals in the womb
An unborn elephant, tiny but perfect in every way. A dolphin swimming in the womb, just as it will have to swim in the ocean the moment it is born. An unborn dog panting.
Each one amazing and now, thanks to these remarkable pictures, they can be seen for the first time.
Each one amazing and now, thanks to these remarkable pictures, they can be seen for the first time.
Blue october / What If We Could
Artist: Blue october
Song: What If We Could
Album: Foiled
what if we could
put our lives on
hold and meet some
where inside of the world
i would meet you
would you meet me?
2, 3, 4...
on a park bench
on a skyscrape
on a mountain
oh yeah, whatever it takes
i would meet you
would you meet me?
i'm glad to say that we've met
but i'm sad to say that the circumstances where
on our side
so go on
go on be your own
go on be your own star
what if we could?
where would we go?
if it felt right
would you want me to know
i would meet you
would you meet me
it's like a last chance
for a first dance
you're a sunrise
can't somehow exist
i would meet you
would you meet me
i'm glad to say that we've met
but i'm sad to say that the circumstances where
on our side
so go on
go on be your own
go on be your own star
a simple star in my eyes
in my eyes
look in my eyes
just look in my eyes
my eyes
my eyes!!!
what if we could
put our lives on
hold and meet some
where inside of the world
i would meet you
would you meet me?
on a park bench
on a skyscrape
on a mountain
oh yeah, whatever it takes
i would meet you
would you meet me?
god i would
god i would
i would meet you
would you meet me
i would meet you
i would meet you
i would meet you
Song: What If We Could
Album: Foiled
what if we could
put our lives on
hold and meet some
where inside of the world
i would meet you
would you meet me?
2, 3, 4...
on a park bench
on a skyscrape
on a mountain
oh yeah, whatever it takes
i would meet you
would you meet me?
i'm glad to say that we've met
but i'm sad to say that the circumstances where
on our side
so go on
go on be your own
go on be your own star
what if we could?
where would we go?
if it felt right
would you want me to know
i would meet you
would you meet me
it's like a last chance
for a first dance
you're a sunrise
can't somehow exist
i would meet you
would you meet me
i'm glad to say that we've met
but i'm sad to say that the circumstances where
on our side
so go on
go on be your own
go on be your own star
a simple star in my eyes
in my eyes
look in my eyes
just look in my eyes
my eyes
my eyes!!!
what if we could
put our lives on
hold and meet some
where inside of the world
i would meet you
would you meet me?
on a park bench
on a skyscrape
on a mountain
oh yeah, whatever it takes
i would meet you
would you meet me?
god i would
god i would
i would meet you
would you meet me
i would meet you
i would meet you
i would meet you
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone
Happy Thanksgiving to all and wish the best to everyone. Please remember those who can't be with there
loved ones on American holiday. Remember those who are in harms way today not because we are
(wrongly?) at war but because they are following the orders that they were given. If it was not for men and
women who obayed the orders that they were given in years past the world would be a different place and we
might not even have this privlige. Be thankful for them for those that served and those who died. Pray that
one day we will be thankful that the world had finally found peace and that there were no more wars.
loved ones on American holiday. Remember those who are in harms way today not because we are
(wrongly?) at war but because they are following the orders that they were given. If it was not for men and
women who obayed the orders that they were given in years past the world would be a different place and we
might not even have this privlige. Be thankful for them for those that served and those who died. Pray that
one day we will be thankful that the world had finally found peace and that there were no more wars.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Judge Says: Legalize Drugs
Judge Gray believes that the U.S. drug war is a failure. After three decades and over half a trillion dollars, the U.S. drug war is choking our court system with an ever-increasing number of nonviolent drug offence prosecutions. Our quadrupled prison population has made building prisons this nation’s fastest growing industry.
Click on link above for the whole story.
Click on link above for the whole story.
Government Anti-Marijuana Ads Backfire, Report Buried
On the heels of a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) assessment questioning the effectiveness of the White House-sponsored anti-marijuana advertising campaign, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) this week finally released an evaluation of the ad campaign that was kept under wraps for a year and a half. The report finds that the anti-marijuana campaign has not only failed to reduce teen marijuana use, but it actually increased marijuana use among certain adolescents.
Click link above for the complete story.
Click link above for the complete story.
Top 10 Pot Studies Government Wished it Had Never Funded
10) MARIJUANA USE HAS NO EFFECT ON MORTALITY: A massive study of California HMO members funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) found marijuana use caused no significant increase in mortality. Tobacco use was associated with increased risk of death. Sidney, S et al. Marijuana Use and Mortality. American Journal of Public Health. Vol. 87 No. 4, April 1997. p. 585-590. Sept. 2002.
9) HEAVY MARIJUANA USE AS A YOUNG ADULT WON’T RUIN YOUR LIFE: Veterans Affairs scientists looked at whether heavy marijuana use as a young adult caused long-term problems later, studying identical twins in which one twin had been a heavy marijuana user for a year or longer but had stopped at least one month before the study, while the second twin had used marijuana no more than five times ever. Marijuana use had no significant impact on physical or mental health care utilization, health-related quality of life, or current socio-demographic characteristics. Eisen SE et al. Does Marijuana Use Have Residual Adverse Effects on Self-Reported Health Measures, Socio-Demographics or Quality of Life? A Monozygotic Co-Twin Control Study in Men. Addiction. Vol. 97 No. 9. p.1083-1086. Sept. 1997
8) THE "GATEWAY EFFECT" MAY BE A MIRAGE: Marijuana is often called a "gateway drug" by supporters of prohibition, who point to statistical "associations" indicating that persons who use marijuana are more likely to eventually try hard drugs than those who never use marijuana — implying that marijuana use somehow causes hard drug use. But a model developed by RAND Corp. researcher Andrew Morral demonstrates that these associations can be explained "without requiring a gateway effect." More likely, this federally funded study suggests, some people simply have an underlying propensity to try drugs, and start with what’s most readily available. Morral AR, McCaffrey D and Paddock S. Reassessing the Marijuana Gateway Effect. Addiction. December 2002. p. 1493-1504.
7) PROHIBITION DOESN’T WORK (PART I): The White House had the National Research Council examine the data being gathered about drug use and the effects of U.S. drug policies. NRC concluded, "the nation possesses little information about the effectiveness of current drug policy, especially of drug law enforcement." And what data exist show "little apparent relationship between severity of sanctions prescribed for drug use and prevalence or frequency of use." In other words, there is no proof that prohibition — the cornerstone of U.S. drug policy for a century — reduces drug use. National Research Council. Informing America’s Policy on Illegal Drugs: What We Don’t Know Keeps Hurting Us. National Academy Press, 2001. p. 193.
6) PROHIBITION DOESN’T WORK (PART II: DOES PROHIBITION CAUSE THE "GATEWAY EFFECT"?): U.S. and Dutch researchers, supported in part by NIDA, compared marijuana users in San Francisco, where non-medical use remains illegal, to Amsterdam, where adults may possess and purchase small amounts of marijuana from regulated businesses. Looking at such parameters as frequency and quantity of use and age at onset of use, they found no differences except one: Lifetime use of hard drugs was significantly lower in Amsterdam, with its "tolerant" marijuana policies. For example, lifetime crack cocaine use was 4.5 times higher in San Francisco than Amsterdam. Reinarman, C, Cohen, PDA, and Kaal, HL. The Limited Relevance of Drug Policy: Cannabis in Amsterdam and San Francisco. American Journal of Public Health. Vol. 94, No. 5. May 2004. p. 836-842.
5) OOPS, MARIJUANA MAY PREVENT CANCER (PART I): Federal researchers implanted several types of cancer, including leukemia and lung cancers, in mice, then treated them with cannabinoids (unique, active components found in marijuana). THC and other cannabinoids shrank tumors and increased the mice’s lifespans. Munson, AE et al. Antineoplastic Activity of Cannabinoids. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Sept. 1975. p. 597-602.
4) OOPS, MARIJUANA MAY PREVENT CANCER, (PART II): In a 1994 study the government tried to suppress, federal researchers gave mice and rats massive doses of THC, looking for cancers or other signs of toxicity. The rodents given THC lived longer and had fewer cancers, "in a dose-dependent manner" (i.e. the more THC they got, the fewer tumors). NTP Technical Report On The Toxicology And Carcinogenesis Studies Of 1-Trans- Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol, CAS No. 1972-08-3, In F344/N Rats And B6C3F(1) Mice, Gavage Studies. See also, "Medical Marijuana: Unpublished Federal Study Found THC-Treated Rats Lived Longer, Had Less Cancer," AIDS Treatment News no. 263, Jan. 17, 1997.
3) OOPS, MARIJUANA MAY PREVENT CANCER (PART III): Researchers at the Kaiser-Permanente HMO, funded by NIDA, followed 65,000 patients for nearly a decade, comparing cancer rates among non-smokers, tobacco smokers, and marijuana smokers. Tobacco smokers had massively higher rates of lung cancer and other cancers. Marijuana smokers who didn’t also use tobacco had no increase in risk of tobacco-related cancers or of cancer risk overall. In fact their rates of lung and most other cancers were slightly lower than non-smokers, though the difference did not reach statistical significance. Sidney, S. et al. Marijuana Use and Cancer Incidence (California, United States). Cancer Causes and Control. Vol. 8. Sept. 1997, p. 722-728.
2) OOPS, MARIJUANA MAY PREVENT CANCER (PART IV): Donald Tashkin, a UCLA researcher whose work is funded by NIDA, did a case-control study comparing 1,200 patients with lung, head and neck cancers to a matched group with no cancer. Even the heaviest marijuana smokers had no increased risk of cancer, and had somewhat lower cancer risk than non-smokers (tobacco smokers had a 20-fold increased lung cancer risk). Tashkin D. Marijuana Use and Lung Cancer: Results of a Case-Control Study. American Thoracic Society International Conference. May 23, 2006.
1) MARIJUANA DOES HAVE MEDICAL VALUE: In response to passage of California’s medical marijuana law, the White House had the Institute of Medicine (IOM) review the data on marijuana’s medical benefits and risks. The IOM concluded, "Nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety are all afflictions of wasting, and all can be mitigated by marijuana." While noting potential risks of smoking, the report added, "we acknowledge that there is no clear alternative for people suffering from chronic conditions that might be relieved by smoking marijuana, such as pain or AIDS wasting." The government’s refusal to acknowledge this finding caused co-author John A. Benson to tell the New York Times that the government "loves to ignore our report … they would rather it never happened." Joy, JE, Watson, SJ, and Benson, JA. Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base. National Academy Press. 1999. p. 159. See also, Harris, G. FDA Dismisses Medical Benefit From Marijuana. New York Times. Apr. 21, 2006
9) HEAVY MARIJUANA USE AS A YOUNG ADULT WON’T RUIN YOUR LIFE: Veterans Affairs scientists looked at whether heavy marijuana use as a young adult caused long-term problems later, studying identical twins in which one twin had been a heavy marijuana user for a year or longer but had stopped at least one month before the study, while the second twin had used marijuana no more than five times ever. Marijuana use had no significant impact on physical or mental health care utilization, health-related quality of life, or current socio-demographic characteristics. Eisen SE et al. Does Marijuana Use Have Residual Adverse Effects on Self-Reported Health Measures, Socio-Demographics or Quality of Life? A Monozygotic Co-Twin Control Study in Men. Addiction. Vol. 97 No. 9. p.1083-1086. Sept. 1997
8) THE "GATEWAY EFFECT" MAY BE A MIRAGE: Marijuana is often called a "gateway drug" by supporters of prohibition, who point to statistical "associations" indicating that persons who use marijuana are more likely to eventually try hard drugs than those who never use marijuana — implying that marijuana use somehow causes hard drug use. But a model developed by RAND Corp. researcher Andrew Morral demonstrates that these associations can be explained "without requiring a gateway effect." More likely, this federally funded study suggests, some people simply have an underlying propensity to try drugs, and start with what’s most readily available. Morral AR, McCaffrey D and Paddock S. Reassessing the Marijuana Gateway Effect. Addiction. December 2002. p. 1493-1504.
7) PROHIBITION DOESN’T WORK (PART I): The White House had the National Research Council examine the data being gathered about drug use and the effects of U.S. drug policies. NRC concluded, "the nation possesses little information about the effectiveness of current drug policy, especially of drug law enforcement." And what data exist show "little apparent relationship between severity of sanctions prescribed for drug use and prevalence or frequency of use." In other words, there is no proof that prohibition — the cornerstone of U.S. drug policy for a century — reduces drug use. National Research Council. Informing America’s Policy on Illegal Drugs: What We Don’t Know Keeps Hurting Us. National Academy Press, 2001. p. 193.
6) PROHIBITION DOESN’T WORK (PART II: DOES PROHIBITION CAUSE THE "GATEWAY EFFECT"?): U.S. and Dutch researchers, supported in part by NIDA, compared marijuana users in San Francisco, where non-medical use remains illegal, to Amsterdam, where adults may possess and purchase small amounts of marijuana from regulated businesses. Looking at such parameters as frequency and quantity of use and age at onset of use, they found no differences except one: Lifetime use of hard drugs was significantly lower in Amsterdam, with its "tolerant" marijuana policies. For example, lifetime crack cocaine use was 4.5 times higher in San Francisco than Amsterdam. Reinarman, C, Cohen, PDA, and Kaal, HL. The Limited Relevance of Drug Policy: Cannabis in Amsterdam and San Francisco. American Journal of Public Health. Vol. 94, No. 5. May 2004. p. 836-842.
5) OOPS, MARIJUANA MAY PREVENT CANCER (PART I): Federal researchers implanted several types of cancer, including leukemia and lung cancers, in mice, then treated them with cannabinoids (unique, active components found in marijuana). THC and other cannabinoids shrank tumors and increased the mice’s lifespans. Munson, AE et al. Antineoplastic Activity of Cannabinoids. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Sept. 1975. p. 597-602.
4) OOPS, MARIJUANA MAY PREVENT CANCER, (PART II): In a 1994 study the government tried to suppress, federal researchers gave mice and rats massive doses of THC, looking for cancers or other signs of toxicity. The rodents given THC lived longer and had fewer cancers, "in a dose-dependent manner" (i.e. the more THC they got, the fewer tumors). NTP Technical Report On The Toxicology And Carcinogenesis Studies Of 1-Trans- Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol, CAS No. 1972-08-3, In F344/N Rats And B6C3F(1) Mice, Gavage Studies. See also, "Medical Marijuana: Unpublished Federal Study Found THC-Treated Rats Lived Longer, Had Less Cancer," AIDS Treatment News no. 263, Jan. 17, 1997.
3) OOPS, MARIJUANA MAY PREVENT CANCER (PART III): Researchers at the Kaiser-Permanente HMO, funded by NIDA, followed 65,000 patients for nearly a decade, comparing cancer rates among non-smokers, tobacco smokers, and marijuana smokers. Tobacco smokers had massively higher rates of lung cancer and other cancers. Marijuana smokers who didn’t also use tobacco had no increase in risk of tobacco-related cancers or of cancer risk overall. In fact their rates of lung and most other cancers were slightly lower than non-smokers, though the difference did not reach statistical significance. Sidney, S. et al. Marijuana Use and Cancer Incidence (California, United States). Cancer Causes and Control. Vol. 8. Sept. 1997, p. 722-728.
2) OOPS, MARIJUANA MAY PREVENT CANCER (PART IV): Donald Tashkin, a UCLA researcher whose work is funded by NIDA, did a case-control study comparing 1,200 patients with lung, head and neck cancers to a matched group with no cancer. Even the heaviest marijuana smokers had no increased risk of cancer, and had somewhat lower cancer risk than non-smokers (tobacco smokers had a 20-fold increased lung cancer risk). Tashkin D. Marijuana Use and Lung Cancer: Results of a Case-Control Study. American Thoracic Society International Conference. May 23, 2006.
1) MARIJUANA DOES HAVE MEDICAL VALUE: In response to passage of California’s medical marijuana law, the White House had the Institute of Medicine (IOM) review the data on marijuana’s medical benefits and risks. The IOM concluded, "Nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety are all afflictions of wasting, and all can be mitigated by marijuana." While noting potential risks of smoking, the report added, "we acknowledge that there is no clear alternative for people suffering from chronic conditions that might be relieved by smoking marijuana, such as pain or AIDS wasting." The government’s refusal to acknowledge this finding caused co-author John A. Benson to tell the New York Times that the government "loves to ignore our report … they would rather it never happened." Joy, JE, Watson, SJ, and Benson, JA. Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base. National Academy Press. 1999. p. 159. See also, Harris, G. FDA Dismisses Medical Benefit From Marijuana. New York Times. Apr. 21, 2006
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Microsoft Vista's EULA Product Activation Worries
"SecurityFocus is running an article regarding some concerns about Vista's activation terms. Do you have the right to use properly purchased but not validated software? What happens if Microsoft deactivates your OS that was legally purchased? The article goes into some detail about Vista's validation and concerns."
Monday, November 20, 2006
Home-made Sun Jar
DIY extraordinaire web site Instructables has put together a home-made, solar-powered sun jar.
The sun jar is made up of a glass jar with a solar-powered garden light on the inside. The idea is to have an attractive jar that "stores sunlight," and looks great with your patio furniture. A couple of weeks ago, a reader wrote in looking for a DIY path to this beautiful sun jar, so this one's for you, Steve. The $10-$15 Instructable sun jar isn't quite as pretty as the $38 retail version, but I'd imagine with a little ingenuity the DIY version could get there (a yellow light and sandblasted glass would be a good start). Either way, these sun jars would be a great addition to any deck. — Adam Pash
The sun jar is made up of a glass jar with a solar-powered garden light on the inside. The idea is to have an attractive jar that "stores sunlight," and looks great with your patio furniture. A couple of weeks ago, a reader wrote in looking for a DIY path to this beautiful sun jar, so this one's for you, Steve. The $10-$15 Instructable sun jar isn't quite as pretty as the $38 retail version, but I'd imagine with a little ingenuity the DIY version could get there (a yellow light and sandblasted glass would be a good start). Either way, these sun jars would be a great addition to any deck. — Adam Pash
How to buy a Thanksgiving turkey
The Sound Money Tips weblog posts tips for buying the perfect turkey for this year's Thanksgiving feast.
For those of you who aren't sure how to go about picking your bird, the post describes how to choose based on size, sex, and age; frozen, fresh, or hard-chilled; basted or un-basted; and pre-stuffed or un-stuffed. If you haven't picked up your turkey yet, you might want to check out some of these tips before you buy. Got your own methods for turkey-pickin'? Let's hear them in the comments. — Adam Pash
For those of you who aren't sure how to go about picking your bird, the post describes how to choose based on size, sex, and age; frozen, fresh, or hard-chilled; basted or un-basted; and pre-stuffed or un-stuffed. If you haven't picked up your turkey yet, you might want to check out some of these tips before you buy. Got your own methods for turkey-pickin'? Let's hear them in the comments. — Adam Pash
Poop Soap
Fun for both kids and the demented, this soap may be shaped like poo, but unlike real poo, it cleans your hands instead of dirtying them. It took me eight years of my life to learn this concept. And it wasn't even the first eight years!
Find alternate ingredients at the Cook's Thesaurus
Just in time for the Thanksgiving day cooking freakout: The Cook's Thesaurus lists substitutions for recipe ingredients you may not have in the house. Cool Tools author Kevin Kelly says:
O.J. Simpson book, TV special canceled
NEW YORK - After a firestorm of criticism, News. Corp. said Monday that it has canceled the
O.J. Simpson book and TV special "If I Did It."
O.J. Simpson book and TV special "If I Did It."
Craigslist not liable for housing ads: Judge
The popular Craigslist Web site is not legally liable for allegedly discriminatory housing ads posted by its users, a federal judge in Chicago ruled in a case pitting landmark internet and fair housing laws against each other.The decision was a victory for online civil liberties supporters. It was a setback for housing civil rights advocates, though they still found some hope in the judge's ruling.
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