Mainstream News

First major hemp crop in 60 years is planted in southeast Colorado

"Springfield, Colo., farmer Ryan Loflin on Monday planted the nation's first industrial hemp crop in almost 60 years. Loflin's plans to grow hemp already have been chronicled, and Monday's planting attracted the attention of more media in southeastern Colorado and a documentary film crew. Its cultivation in small test plots became legal last year under a Colorado law. The passage of Amendment 64 in November allowed commercial growing, even though hemp, like marijuana, is illegal under federal law." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFirst major hemp crop in 60 years is planted in southeast Colorado

Medbox: Dawn of the Marijuana Vending Machine

"'We are in the right place at the right time,' says Bruce Bedrick, a 44-year-old chiropractor, occasional pot user, and chief executive officer of Medbox (MDBX), maker of one of the world’s first marijuana vending machines. 'We are planning to literally dominate the industry.' Medbox’s core product resembles a Redbox DVD dispenser, only it’s black, refrigerated, and armored. Bedrick avoids the term vending machine because you can’t just saunter up to a Medbox, put in a few bills, and walk away with a stash of weed. The devices sit behind sales counters at state-licensed marijuana dispensaries." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMedbox: Dawn of the Marijuana Vending Machine

Montana’s Medical Marijuana Industry Goes Down

"The drop was driven in part by a tougher 2011 law on medical marijuana use and distribution. But more than anything, marijuana advocates say, the demise of the once-booming medical pot industry was the result of the largest federal drug-trafficking investigation in the state's industry. The three-year investigation by the U.S. attorney's office, the DEA and other federal agencies wrapped up last week when the last of 33 convicted defendants was sentenced. That allowed its architect, U.S. Attorney Michael Cotter, to speak publicly for the first time on the crackdown. Cotter said he believes he is on the right side of history, regardless of what is happening in the country." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMontana’s Medical Marijuana Industry Goes Down

USPS to raise stamp prices again, blames shrinking delivery volume

"The U.S. Postal Service board will look into hiking postage prices on all types of mail, as losses continue to plague the agency, the chief of the board said Friday. It would affect those sending first-class mail, the most common type of mail consumers use, as well as businesses that mail periodicals, newspapers, magazines and marketing material. In the three months ended March 30, the agency lost $1.9 billion. The service was hurt as the volume of first-class mail decreased by 4.3%, said USPS chief financial officer Joseph Corbett. 'It's extremely difficult to compete with free,' Corbett said, referring to electronic bill paying." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUSPS to raise stamp prices again, blames shrinking delivery volume

Half of families suffer in NHS hospitals, study finds

"Despite tens of billions of pounds being invested in the NHS, 46 per cent of respondents said they thought standards of care had declined over the past ten years, while just 20 per cent thought standards had risen. Sixteen per cent said they had personally experienced poor care, while another 30 per cent said their relatives had suffered poor care in the past decade - a total of 46 per cent. The figures come in the wake of the Mid Staffs scandal, in which patients were found to be left drinking from flower vases because they were so neglected. NHS casualty units have become like 'warzones' with medics fighting a losing battle to cope with an increasing tide of patients." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHalf of families suffer in NHS hospitals, study finds

IRS official knew in 2011 of ‘Tea Party’ targeting: watchdog report

"A senior Internal Revenue Service official knew in 2011 that IRS agents were giving extra scrutiny to conservative Tea Party groups, according to documents from a watchdog office obtained by Reuters on Saturday. A report from the Treasury Department's Inspector General For Tax Administration (TIGTA) was expected to be issued publicly next week on the IRS practice, who knew about it and when. The TIGTA report finds that Lois Lerner, who heads the IRS's tax-exempt groups unit, knew of the extra scrutiny as early as June 2011. The number of groups seeking 501(c)(4) status more than doubled from 2010 to 2012." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIRS official knew in 2011 of ‘Tea Party’ targeting: watchdog report

FBI surrounds house of Saudi student after carrying pressure cooker full of rice

"A Saudi student living in Michigan was questioned in his home by FBI agents after neighbours saw him carrying a pressure cooker and called the police. Talal al Rouki had been cooking a traditional Saudi Arabian rice dish called kabsah and was carrying it to a friend's house. While armed agents surrounded his apartment block, other agents, asked a 'nervous' Mr al Rouki if they could come in to question him. 'They asked me about my major, when I arrived in the US and what I do in my spare time' he said. Officers said that a woman had seen him walking out of his apartment carrying the pressure cooker pot, which was described as ‘bullet coloured’." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFBI surrounds house of Saudi student after carrying pressure cooker full of rice

The top five myths about Guantánamo Bay

"Renewing his push to close the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, President Obama said what many of his critics have been saying for years – that it is inefficient, inspires new terrorists, alienates the US’s allies and, above all, 'is contrary to who we are'. Coming in response to the detainee hunger strikers, whose numbers increase every day, Obama’s comments suggest that the inmates are close to accomplishing what others opposed to the prison have not: they’re making it necessary that their cases get resolved. Let’s revisit some myths about the prison." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe top five myths about Guantánamo Bay

Dennis Rodman pleads with Kim Jong-Un to release American sentenced to 15 years

"Basketball hall-of-famer Dennis Rodman, who forged an unlikely friendship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on a recent trip, appealed Tuesday for the freedom of an American sentenced to 15 years. 'I’m calling on the Supreme Leader of North Korea or as I call him ‘Kim’, to do me a solid and cut Kenneth Bae loose,' Rodman tweeted. Bae, whose Korean name is Pae Jun-Ho, was sentenced last week to 15 years of hard labor on charges that he tried to topple the North Korean regime. The Korean-American had organized tours into the isolated state." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDennis Rodman pleads with Kim Jong-Un to release American sentenced to 15 years

With ‘Charity’ For All

"Readers of a certain age will remember tedious elementary-school experiences with Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or D.A.R.E. Founded in 1983, D.A.R.E. was, at its height in the 1990s, used in 75% of U.S. school districts and in 54 countries around the world. There was just one problem: D.A.R.E. didn't work. Long-term studies have shown overwhelmingly that the program produced no meaningful reduction in drug use and in some cases actually made kids more likely to use drugs. Yet the nonprofit survives, having consumed an estimated $10 billion to $15 billion in donor and taxpayer funds over the past decade." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWith ‘Charity’ For All