Jesus Malverde
Jesus Malverde's JournalMarijuana's march toward mainstream confounds feds
The next 25 years took the nation from Bill Clinton, who famously "didn't inhale," to Barack Obama, who most emphatically did.
And now, in just a few short years, public opinion has moved so dramatically toward general acceptance that even those who champion legalization are surprised at how quickly attitudes are changing and states are moving to approve the drug — for medical use and just for fun.
It is a moment in America that is rife with contradictions:
—People are looking more kindly on marijuana even as science reveals more about the drug's potential dangers, particularly for young people.
—States are giving the green light to the drug in direct defiance of a federal prohibition on its use.
—Exploration of the potential medical benefit is limited by high federal hurdles to research.
Washington policymakers seem reluctant to deal with any of it.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/medical/article/Marijuana-s-march-toward-mainstream-confounds-feds-4637771.php
Paula Deen fallout: QVC to "take a pause," Sears cuts ties
Mike George, president and CEO of QVC, announced on the company's website Thursday that QVC will "take a pause" from the celebrity cook.
In a letter to customers, George wrote that QVC, Deen and her team have "talked extensively over the last several days, and together we have considered what is best for our customers, for Paula, and for QVC."
George explained, "For now, we have decided to take a pause. Paula won't be appearing on any upcoming broadcasts and we will phase out her product assortment on our online sales channels over the next few months. We all think it's important, at this moment, for Paula to concentrate on responding to the allegations against her and on her path forward."
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-207_162-57591487/paula-deen-fallout-qvc-to-take-a-pause-sears-cuts-ties/
CFTC Sues Jon Corzine Over MF Global Failure; Seeks to Ban Him From Futures Industry
Source: CNBC
U.S. regulators on Thursday settled charges against MF Global over the futures brokerage's collapse, and also charged former Chief Executive Jon Corzine and former Assistant Treasurer Edith O'Brien in connection with the alleged misuse of customer funds.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said MF Global had agreed to settle all charges against it, pay a $100 million penalty, and pay all the funds still owed to commodity customers.
MF Global collapsed in October 2011 under the weight of aggressive bets on sovereign debt, thin capital and questionable disclosures to investors. Customers were left reeling after it was revealed that more than $1 billion of their money could not immediately be found.
Corzine, a former co-chairman of Goldman Sachs and New Jersey governor, was charged with violating his legal obligations to diligently supervise. He was also charged with not acting in good faith as a "control person" at the firm.
Read more: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100803569
Syrian priest dies during ‘rebel attack’ on Franciscan convent
Franciscan Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the head of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, told Vatican Radio on Monday that Father Francois Murad was not a Franciscan, but had taken refuge in the convent when it became clear he was not safe at the Syriac Catholic hermitage he was building nearby.
Syriac Catholic Archbishop Jacques Behnan Hindo of Hassake-Nisibi told Fides, the news agency of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, that Father Murad “sent me several messages which showed he was aware of living in a dangerous situation and was willing to offer his life for peace in Syria and the world.”
Father Pizzaballa said that Ghassanieh, “like other Christian villages, has been almost completely destroyed and is almost totally abandoned.” He said he believes the only people left in Ghassanieh “are the rebels with their families, rebels who are not from Syria and who are extremists.”
http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2013/06/25/syrian-priest-dies-during-rebel-attack-on-franciscan-convent/
Standing man inspires silent protests in Turkey.
A Turkish man has staged an eight-hour silent vigil on Istanbul's Taksim Square, scene of violent clashes between police and anti-government protesters in recent weeks, inspiring hundreds of others to follow his lead.
"Standing man" said he wanted to take a stand against police stopping demonstrations near the square, DHA news agency reported.
He stood silently, facing the Ataturk Cultural Centre which was draped in Turkish flags and a portrait of Ataturk, from 6 p.m. (4.00 p.m. British time) on Monday until 2.00 am on Tuesday.
By 2 a.m. (12.00 a.m. British time), when the police moved in, about 300 people had joined him.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22949632
New Electronic License Plates Could Be Controlled By DMV, Law Enforcement Agencies
Now that Big Brother is all up in your cell phone and your email, why not your car, too?
Under a proposal reportedly being considered in South Carolina, metal license plates could be swapped out for electronic ones that would give the DMV or law enforcement agencies the power to broadcast messages directly onto the back of cars.
Such messages could read "Uninsured" or "Suspended" for people who are driving without insurance, or "Stolen" in cases of auto theft.
"We actually put that wording on the license plate across the top and, depending on how the state wants it, it could be in bright red, and we can actually [have the plate] flashing as it goes down the road," Brian Bannister, the co-founder of Compliance Innovations, the company that developed the technology, told CBS local affiliate WSPA-TV.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/11/electronic-license-plates_n_3424050.html
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Name: Jesus MalverdeGender: Male
Hometown: SF
Current location: Japan
Member since: Fri May 17, 2013, 11:44 PM
Number of posts: 10,274