ATLANTA — Concern about Salvia divinorum, a shamanistic herb from Mexico that some US teenagers are using to get a hallucinogenic high, not only is spurring parents to have heart-to-heart talks with kids, but also has led some states to outlaw it. A concentrated leaf compound that’s usually smoked in water pipes, Salvia divinorum – known as ‘Sally D’ or ‘magic mint’ on the streets – causes users to briefly lose their grip on reality. Some 3,500 video clips of teens experimenting with the drug have popped up on YouTube, driving up its popularity even as vendors, aware of efforts to ban it, are basically throwing going-out-of-business sales. The highly concentrated compound made from a kind of mint plant remains legal in all but eight states, available in smoke shops and even gas station mini-marts. It can also be obtained via the Internet. Its easy availability and disorienting properties come as a surprise to parents and many lawmakers, who are asking why the US government has not yet outlawed its sale. Yet salvia’s unusual chemistry, nontoxicity, and potential research benefits have made the compound a cause célèbre among some researchers and spiritualists who say prohibition is the […]
Earlier this week, we covered the debate in Congress over a bill that would define net neutrality as part of the nation’s official broadband policy and direct the FCC to ensure that it happens. But regulating communications may not be the only way to get net neutrality enacted; a bill introduced today by Representatives John Conyers (D-MI) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) treats it as an antitrust issue and amends the Clayton Act accordingly. The bill, the Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, will enter the record as H.R. 5994. The text does not differ significantly from a previous attempt that went by the same name in 2006. The bill is intended to ‘promote competition, to facilitate trade, and to ensure competitive and non-discriminatory access to the Internet.’ It does so by outlawing discriminatory fees for providing content, applications, or services over the ‘Net. Internet providers also have to interact fully with the networks of their competitors and provide equal access to all users and any devices they wish to put on the network. Network providers would be allowed to provide favored service to specific types of data but, if they do, they have to provide that same […]
WASHINGTON — Some things about Barack Obama rub some voters the wrong way. ‘We don’t need a Muslim,’ said Jannay Smith, a retiree from Kokomo, Ind. ‘Who’s to say if he gets in there what he’ll do?’ Added Steve Shallenberger, a Kokomo electrician: ‘He’s just calling himself a Christian because he knows that’s what we in Indiana want to hear.’ Then there’s Sherry Richey, also from Kokomo: ‘He wouldn’t put his hand on the Bible; he wanted the Quran. He won’t put his hand over his heart during the anthem or say the Pledge of Allegiance. He’s too un-American.’ All of these slurs on Obama are categorically untrue. Obama, the front-running Democratic presidential candidate, is a Christian, has never been a Muslim, swore his Senate oath on the Bible, says the pledge and generally puts his hand over his heart when he sings the national anthem. So why were people aware enough of current events to attend political rallies in the days leading up to the Indiana primary saying such things? They’d been misled by the Internet. In the ugly new world of online political rumor-mongering, aggressive Googling and e-mailing allow anyone […]
BEIJING — Chinese companies will be encouraged to buy farmland abroad, particularly in Africa and South America, to help guarantee food security under a plan being considered by Beijing. A proposal drafted by the Ministry of Agriculture would make supporting offshore land acquisition by domestic agricultural companies a central government policy. Beijing already has similar policies to boost offshore investment by state-owned banks, manufacturers and oil companies, but offshore agricultural investment has so far been limited to a few small projects. If approved, the plan could face intense opposition abroad given surging global food prices and deforestation fears. However an official close to the deliberations said it was likely to be adopted. ‘There should be no problem for this policy to be approved. The problem might come from foreign governments who are unwilling to give up large areas of land,’ the official said. The move comes as oil-rich but food-poor countries in the Middle East and north Africa explore similar options. Libya is talking with Ukraine about growing wheat in the former Soviet republic, while Saudi Arabia has said it would invest in agricultural and livestock projects abroad to ensure food security and control commodity prices. […]
Arthritis strikes more than half of the 20.6 million American adults who have diabetes, and the painful joint condition may be a barrier to exercise among these patients, a new government report shows. Being physically active helps people manage both diseases better by controlling blood sugar levels and reducing joint pain, according to the report in the May 9 issue ofMorbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a publication of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ‘The prevalence of arthritis is astoundingly high in people with diabetes,’ said Dr. John H. Klippel, president and CEO of the Arthritis Foundation. ‘Over half the people with diabetes have arthritis.’ Although there appears to be a connection between arthritis and diabetes, the reason for it isn’t known, Klippel said. A possible explanation is obesity, which is a risk factor for both osteoarthritis and diabetes, he speculated. ‘In addition, those individuals who have diabetes and arthritis are less physically active,’ Klippel said. ‘We know that physical activity is critically important for the control of diabetes, both for the control of blood glucose and the prevention of complications.’ Using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, CDC researchers found […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
