Alternative News

Washington DC’s first medical marijuana grow sites win approval

"Some 15 years after voters said yes to medical marijuana, regulators in Washington, D.C. have finally approved the first two grow sites in the district’s history. It’s taken so long mainly because Congress placed repeated delays on the program and denied it any funding, but city officials got the ball rolling again in 2010 when they unanimously votes to move forward with implementation. D.C. will eventually allow up to 10 dispensaries, and patients will be able to obtain up to two ounces of the plant per month from specially licensed doctors. Grow sites like the two approved by regulators will be limited to just 95 plants apiece." Continue reading →

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One nation under drugs, with slavery and sickness for all

"More than 15,000 Americans now die annually after overdosing on prescription painkillers called opioids, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—more than from heroin, cocaine and all other illegal drugs combined. Rising opioid abuse means that drug overdoses are now the single largest cause of accidental death in America. They surpassed traffic accidents in 2009, the most recent CDC data available. And all of this is occurring under the 'watchful' eye of the FDA." Continue reading →

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Verizon Patent Helps Deliver Relevant Ads By Eavesdropping Conversations

"Verizon's technology can work a variety of ways. For starters, it can listen in on conversations - whether it be with someone else in the room or on the phone - and pick out keywords that would aide it in its duties. In reality, it's simple stuff in this day and age, but that doesn't make it any less off-putting. Imagine arguing with your significant other and then seeing marriage counseling ads on the TV - or better, cuddling and then seeing ads for contraceptives! These set-top boxes can also be configured with infrared sensors that draw outlines of inanimate objects in the room along with pets." Continue reading →

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Florida homeowners foreclose on deadbeat banks

"Vigilante homeowners in Florida are turning the tables on banks by foreclosing on them over unpaid homeowner fees, which can amount to tens of thousands of dollars. Although banks are typically the ones foreclosing on homeowners who can’t pay their mortgages, those same banks sometimes fail to pay the homeowners fees that come with holding those properties after foreclosure, reported CNN. And when banks fail to pony up, associations have hit back by imposing liens on those properties. If they still fail to pay, associations pursue foreclosures against the banks — a reversal of the process that banks typically pursue against homeowners." Continue reading →

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U.S. Courts Penetrate Domestic Asset Protection Trusts

"Building on the burgeoning popularity of offshore asset protection trusts (OAPTs), 14 U.S. states have now enacted their own 'domestic' asset protection trust (DAPT) legislation. These laws date back to the 1990s, but only in the last year have I learned of challenges to them in U.S. courts. The record is not encouraging." Continue reading →

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Sweden’s War on Cash Runs Into a Wall–and a Heroic Bank

"The anti-cash movement has been vigorously promoted by major Swedish commercial banks as well as the Riksbank, the Swedish central bank. For three of the four major Swedish banks combined, 530 of their 780 office no longer accept or pay out cash. Fortunately, it seems that the Swedish people are not falling for the anti-cash propaganda spewed by bankers. It is reported that last year the value of cash transactions in Sweden were 99 billion krona, only a marginal decrease from ten years ago. Even more heartening is the fact that Handelsbanken, the largest bank in Sweden, is committed to serving consumers who demand cash." Continue reading →

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Scientists say ‘robot boy’ can be built within nine months

"Robotics engineers say that they can build a humanoid robot 'boy' that will help with everyday tasks within nine months. The childlike 'Roboy' will have special artificial muscles and tendons, and is designed as a companion and helper for sick and elderly patients. A team at the University of Zurich’s Artificial Intelligence Lab, headed by professor Rolf Pfeifer, has enlisted up 15 project partners and more than 40 engineers in the creation of what they hope will be the most advanced humanoid robot ever built. Pfeifer said that the team hope Roboy will be a model for 'service robots' that work alongside humans." Continue reading →

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Better Than Human

"Imagine that 7 out of 10 working Americans got fired tomorrow. What would they all do? It’s hard to believe you’d have an economy at all if you gave pink slips to more than half the labor force. But that—in slow motion—is what the industrial revolution did to the workforce of the early 19th century. Two hundred years ago, 70 percent of American workers lived on the farm. Today automation has eliminated all but 1 percent of their jobs, replacing them (and their work animals) with machines. But the displaced workers did not sit idle. Instead, automation created hundreds of millions of jobs in entirely new fields." Continue reading →

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Candy Cigs Banned. Industrial Food Encouraged.

"A small shop in St. Paul received a visit from a bureaucrat after some nervous nellie saw the candy cigarettes being sold in the store and proceeded to contact the authorities. A city inspector showed up and ordered the items to be removed from the retail floor, and the shop owner was threatened with further fines if there were further complaints. Indeed, we live in a land where baby milk formula is loaded with genetically modified soy, corn syrup, sugars, vegetable oil, corn maltodextrin, soybean oil, and other toxins produced by the industrial system. But those fake Camels with little pink tips that children play with so they can make fun of adults are the problem." Continue reading →

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