Saturday February 04, 2012
Europe 's Day of Rage Against ACTA
There are several rallies taking place in Swedish cities today as a part of European wide movement for digital freedom.
Access, an organisation that is standing behind the protest is hoping to mobilise people to join an international day of action set up for 11th of February.
From Insider:
With calls to fight the controversial SOPA and PIPA bills in the US — which Google, Wikipedia and other technology giants moved to campaign against – proving a success, similar calls are being made to rally against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trademark Agreement (ACTA) in Europe, by joining a day of protest.
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Friday February 03, 2012
Early Risers May Shine In The Late Afternoon
It is a generally accepted belief that when we face a problem requiring ingenious solution we should attempt to solve it while we are rested and fully alert.
But it could be a wrong assumption as the new research into effects of time of day on creative thinking suggests.
From Miller-McCune:
A pair of Michigan psychologists, Mareike Wieth of Albion College and Rose Zacks of Michigan State University, report their findings in the journal Thinking and Reasoning. They assigned 428 students to fill out a standard “morningness-eveningness questionnaire,” which features 19 questions including “Approximately what time would you get up if you were entirely free to plan your day?” and “How much do you depend upon an alarm clock?”
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Saturday December 17, 2011
Growing Of Cannabis At Home To Be Made Legal In Switzerland
Pragmatic Swiss decided to approve marihuana cultivation for strictly personal use starting from the new year.
Maximum allowed amount of plants is limited but there is a possibility of applying for permit to grow more.
From 420 Times
"In order to combat the increasing illegal sales of cannabis in Switzerland, four of the seven French-speaking Swiss cantons (similar to states in the U.S.) will be allowing individuals to grow four cannabis plants at their home, starting in January 2012."
Posted in: Chemicals by bubblejam at 06:59 PM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry
Tuesday December 28, 2010
Ceasefire:
Portugal Wins War on Drugs
Portugal was once a country troubled by widespread drug addiction. Since 2000, the country has pursued a policy of decriminalisation where addicts are given medical help.
The policy seems to have paid off and other countries are now looking to Portugal as a model for dealing with their own problems.
From The Washington Post:
These days, Casal Ventoso is an ordinary blue-collar community - mothers push baby strollers, men smoke outside cafes, buses chug up and down the cobbled main street.
Ten years ago, the Lisbon neighborhood was a hellhole, a "drug supermarket" where some 5,000 users lined up every day to buy heroin and sneaked into a hillside honeycomb of derelict housing to shoot up. In dark, stinking corners, addicts - some with maggots squirming under track marks - staggered between the occasional corpse, scavenging used, bloody needles.
At that time, Portugal, like the junkies of Casal Ventoso, had hit rock bottom: An estimated 100,000 people - an astonishing 1 percent of the population - were addicted to illegal drugs. So, like anyone with little to lose, the Portuguese took a risky leap: They decriminalized the use of all drugs in a groundbreaking law in 2000.
Posted in: Chemicals by bubblejam at 10:11 AM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry
Tuesday November 09, 2010
Clearing the Air:
Seattle's Mayor Puts Cops Straight About Pot Raids
Seattle's Mayor Mike McGinn is sitting down with top law enforcement officials to change the way they enforce cannabis laws. The move comes in the wake of an overzealous raid on a medicinal cannabis user.
Police officers carrying machine guns burst through the door of Will Laudanski, a patient who was following state law and city policy on cannabis by having the relevant permit from a doctor.
To make matters worse, the police destroyed his front door and went on to claim that they repaired the damage. But the door was actually replaced by the Cannabis Defense Coalition (CDC), a Seattle-based activist group which advocates for medical cannabis users.
From Toke of the Town:
"This makes my blood boil," commented CDC activist Phil Mocek on Facebook. "The police are apparently lying about cleaning up the mess they made -- that we at CDC cleaned up because they didn't do a damned thing about it.
"We're not going to let this drop," Mocek said. "They bust into this guy's home with no indication that he was doing anything illegal other than possibly using marijuana, and in this city, busting adults for marijuana is, by law, our police department's lowest law enforcement priority."
"They went in with a half-dozen cops in SWAT gear with a battering ram," Mocek said. "And found two plants. Legal ones."
Posted in: Chemicals :: Health by bubblejam at 09:25 AM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry
Monday February 08, 2010
No Hope for Dope:
Cannabis Ineffective as Treatment for Alzheimer's
by Sir Thomas More
Researchers investigating cannabis as a possible treatment for Alzheimer's disease have concluded that there is no beneficial effect on the condition.
Although previous animal studies have shown growth of new brain cells after administration of cannabinoids, the new study shows that there may even be detrimental effects.
Posted in: Chemicals :: Health by bubblejam at 11:12 AM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry
Monday February 01, 2010
Black Magic:
How to Get a Good Cup of Coffee at Home
by El Gato Negro
The once staid world of coffee is turning into a real clusterfuck. Once upon a time, it was the domain of borderline autistic ADHD nerds with a penchant for lab-grade glassware.
Now the corporates are leaping in as consumers wake up to the fact that they've been drinking black spew forever.
Even the UK Barista Championships are not immune from the rise of big business -- the likes of Krispy Kreme and Marks & Spencers are fielding competitors in a contest once dominated by independents.
But with corporate hellholes likes Costa offering Flat Whites, how can we avoid sucking Satan's steam nozzle?
The answer is surprisingly close to home.
Posted in: Chemicals by bubblejam at 02:49 PM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry
Saturday December 12, 2009
Go Starbuck Yourself:
The Birth of Ultimate Barista Fighting
by Sir Thomas More
East London plays host to the largest concentration of working artists in the world. Indeed there are creatives of all kinds to be found -- fashion designers, musicians, writers, designers, and so on.
There is a drug that fuels all this creativity. I don't mean the stuff you chop out into lines. I'm talking about rocket fuel, black gold, the devil's cup, or rather coffee if you really insist. Which is why the East has given birth to a curious form of coffee-based competition called Ultimate Barista Fighting.
Posted in: Chemicals by bubblejam at 11:53 PM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry
Friday December 19, 2008
Benidorm new rules to antagonize beach lovers
By Square Point
It is more than likely that Benidorm's beach paradise will be boycotted by many sand enthusiasts this coming holiday season if controversial proposal presented as a 73-article code of conduct will go ahead next year.
Regarded by critics of the plan as another exercise in cash squeezing from unsuspected individuals new law will slap heavy fines for activities usually associated with being on sea front.
Posted in: Environment by bubblejam at 04:26 AM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry
Thursday October 30, 2008
A Tip Of The HAT:
Study Shows Benefits Of Prescribing Heroin
by Simon Magus
A three year study in Vancouver has shown that addicts benefit from taking prescribed heroin -- after one year, illicit heroin use fell by almost 70%.
Posted in: Health by bubblejam at 04:34 PM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry