"You know a police force is bent when its officers start dumping their name tags. That's what happened before an illegal traffic stop in Malheur County, Oregon. The Malheur County Sheriff's Department has a sweetheart deal with the infamously cruel Big Loop Rodeo, in the remote and dying town of Jordan Valley, Oregon." Continue reading →
"A stockbroker with a crippling bone disease who has smoked more than 130,000 joints in his lifetime credits the relaxing drug for his long life. Irvin Rosenfeld, 60, says he would not be alive if he hadn't been issued with 12 daily government-supplied marijuana cigarettes for more than 30 years, for the treatment of the rare bone disorder, multiple congenital cartilaginous exostosis. Mr Rosenfeld, from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is the longest surviving patient to be assigned to the federal medical cannabis program, which began during the HIV epidemic in the 1970s, and is sharing his experience with lawmakers in a push to get it legalised." Continue reading →
"America’s gulag is its prison system, filled up by the War on Drugs. This major domestic tyranny hits black and Hispanic males disproportionately. About 7 percent of black men between the ages of 25 and 39 are in prison. No matter what the causes of the higher imprisonment rates of black males are, they are now 5 times higher than in 1930, and the rate relative to the also higher white male number has also jumped. The War on Drugs has to be one major reason, no matter how complex are the causes, which remain very controversial, of the various other differences between the white and black populations." Continue reading →
"After police stopped the rapper’s vehicle in an Oklahoma traffic stop, its occupants refused to let officers climb on board and search for drugs. According to Sergeant Jennifer Wardlow, the vehicle was stopped due to a broken taillight. Once the driver was outside the bus, the people inside closed and locked the door. They reportedly insisted on seeing a search warrant – setting off a night-long deadlock. Around 7:30 am, officers towed the rapper’s bus to a police training centre and finally served the occupants with a warrant. 2 Chainz and his entire entourage were arrested 'on complaints of interfering with official process.'" Continue reading →
"Kevin Powell, the city’s acting manager of housing inspection, says officials plan to use $5.2 million to raze 475 abandoned properties by the end of September. The city knocked down 1,172 abandoned structures - single-family homes, strip malls, multi-unit buildings, commercial properties etc. — between 2009 and 2012, using money that included $8 million in federal funds. The average cost for a demolition, which includes asbestos removal, is $11,000. Abandon properties have a negative impact on the city’s tax collection, which are used to remove abandon properties and pay for other city services. 'It’s a complete circle that keeps eating upon itself,' Powell said." Continue reading →
"This 2010-11 BBC documentary, Predators in Your Backyard, shows how 'Rewilding' is being accomplished in the US and other places. They state up front that this is a dangerous experiment but strangely fail to show the real downsides to the actual project. For instance, the BBC film would leave you believing that the reintroduction of wolves in the west has been an unparalled success. The Predators in Your Backyard gives the viewer the impression that efforts to reintroduce predators such as the wolf, bear and panther, into areas of human habitation are edgy projects but also entirely noble ones." Continue reading →
"Instead of the traditional wing-like mirror jutting out into the air, the Model X used small video cameras built into the doors with display cameras on the inside. This drastically improved the aerodynamics of the Model X, but also broke Federal safety regulations. While Federal regulations requiring the addition of back-up cameras to cars was slated to go into effect this year, lawmakers have pushed that law back to 2015. That means Tesla has time to lobby lawmakers to rewrite the law to allow for the option of eliminating side mirrors and replacing them with video cameras. Some estimates say that by just getting rid of side mirrors, aerodynamics could improve as much as 5% overall." Continue reading →
"West Lake Landfill is an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund site that's home to some of the oldest radioactive wastes in the world. A six-foot chain-link fence surrounds the perimeter, plastered with bright yellow hazard signs that warn of the dangers within. On one corner stands a rusty gas pump. About 1,200 feet south of the radioactive EPA site, the fire at Bridgeton Landfill spreads out like hot barbeque coals. No one knows for sure what happens when an underground inferno meets a pool of atomic waste, but residents aren't eager to find out." Continue reading →
"More than 38,000 New Yorkers have paid $103 for a year-long subscription, but many are still awaiting their blue key — needed to access the bikes. Officials have said 'batches of keys' are going out daily to fix the problem. But those with weekly and day passes are also dealing with spotty problems. Sometimes, docking stations in popular neighborhoods are full and users cannot park their bikes. Other times, the locking mechanisms do not work. And near busy Midtown offices, it is sometimes impossible to find a bike at night. And at some stations, payment via debit or credit card — the only way to purchase a short-term pass — does not function." Continue reading →
"A documentary of how citizens are being punished in their lives due to a faulty transit system." Continue reading →