Under the wire!

There's still time. Happy 4/20!

Mister Whiskers, WHAT have you done with MY bong?!?

Scientists believe cannabis could help prevent and treat coronavirus .

NY Post: Scientists believe cannabis could help prevent and treat coronavirus.

A team of Canadian scientists believes it has found strong strains of cannabis that could help prevent and then treat coronavirus infections, according to interviews and a study.

Researchers from the University of Lethbridge said that a study in April showed at least 13 cannabis plants high in CBD that appeared to affect the ACE2 pathways that the bug uses to access the body.

“We were totally stunned at first, and then we were really happy,” one of the researchers, Olga Kovalchuk, told CTV News.

The results, printed in online journal Preprints, indicated hemp extracts high in CBD may help block proteins that provide a “gateway” for COVID-19 to enter host cells.
[.]
Stressing that more research was needed, the study gave hope that if proven to modulate the enzyme it “may prove a plausible strategy for decreasing disease susceptibility” as well as “become a useful and safe addition to the treatment of COVID-19 as an adjunct therapy.”

Cannabis could even be used to “develop easy-to-use preventative treatments in the form of mouthwash and throat gargle products,” the study suggested, with a “potential to decrease viral entry” through the mouth.

More: Smokers Appear Less Likely to Be Hospitalised with COVID-19.

Bob Marley marijuana recreated.

Bio: Bob Marley

Newshub: Jamaican scientist recreates marijuana originally smoked by Bob Marley.

A "supreme" ganja which disappeared decades ago and was originally smoked by Bob Marley is being recreated by a Jamaican scientist.

The landrace cannabis had grown naturally in the country before it was wiped out by the American war on drugs in the 1980s.
[.]
"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy weed," he said.

"[It's] just like champagne in France," he told The Daily Mail.

Jammin'

Happy 4/20 Day!

Happy 4/20!

Marijuana brick found in children's donation bin valued at $3,000.

AJC: Marijuana brick found in children's charity bin.

According to the Springfield News-Leader, volunteers with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks found a marijuana brick worth $3,000 last May while going through items left in clothing donation bins.

Springfield News Leader: "Most expensive thing ever put in the bin."

Placed on a Patio Heater...

"World has [ fill in the blank with a number ] of years to stop catrastrophic climate change." And Weed in Space.

The Mirror: Only eleven years left to stop global climate crisis.

The Irish Times: Climate change far worse than originally thought.
Of course it is. How could anyone have thought differently?

Smart Cities Drive: UN says we have 12 years to tackle climate change.  Where'd that cagey UN find an extra year?

Uh-oh. From June, 2017, The Guardian: World has three years to stop dangerous climate change. So are we down to two, ten or eleven years? 

Sky News: 'Unprecedented action' needed to avert global warming by 2030.

There it is..."Unprecedented." A favorite adjective of the global warming alarmists. Surely, "Epidemic" must be one other story click away.

We've had about twenty-years or more of "ten-year This Is The End" dire warnings. Amazing how quickly global warming retook its focus now that the Kavanaugh saga is over, isn't it?

And because in space, no one can hear you toke;  Weed. In space.  Tech Crunch: 

Space Tango is taking its own steps to develop experiments on how the zero gravity environment could affect cannabis cultivation.

Alongside two Kentucky hemp and cannabis cultivation and retail companies, Atalo Holdings, which provides hemp genetics, and Anavii Market, an online retailer of hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) therapeutics, ["] Space Tango has set up its own subsidiary to research how microgravity can be used to better cultivate particular strands of hemp for medical compounds...the model is looking at low earth orbit to actually develop and design applications for life on earth.["]

World News Links

Paralympic athlete accused of exaggerating impairment. Sydney Morning Herald:

Amanda Reid, who has represented Australia in swimming and cycling at two Paralympic Games, was accused by her former swimming coach this week of exaggerating her symptoms.

- - -
AI algorithms hate the poor and disenfranchised.  The Next Web:

In an age where algorithms are “helping” government employees do their jobs, if you’re not straight, not white, or not living above the poverty line you’re at greater risk of unfair bias.

 - - -

News24 - Gulfstream blows two tires taking off in New Jersey; emergency lands in New York.

The pilot soon realised [sic] what had happened and began circling the airport for about 30 minutes before the jet was diverted.

- - -
News Australia: Argument over mattress leaves one man dead.
(Advisory: graphic video at link).

“If you come within three feet of me, I’m going to kill you,” Mr Miller tells Mr Howard. Seconds later, two gunshots are heard. The chilling clip — shot by Mr Howard’s wife Kara Box — also shows Michael firing the shotgun after the first two shots are fired.

- - -
UK PM Theresa May,"demands respect." MSN:

"Throughout this process, I have treated the EU with nothing but respect. The UK expects the same. A good relationship at the end of this process depends on it," [said May].
[.]
May will hope that her tough stance against the EU will insulate her from further such criticism, ahead of the Conservatives' annual conference, which begins September 30.

Yeah...good luck on the 'hope', there, Teereeeeza.
- - -

WSTP: More Baby Boomers turning to marijuana, says study.

A new study from researchers at New York University shows the number of baby boomers using marijuana is skyrocketing. And the amount of people age 65 and up is also increasing.

“They’re using it more because it helps,” said Joe Redner, a medical marijuana advocate and owner of Mons Venus strip club in Tampa. A cancer patient, he has been fighting for the right to grow his own medicinal pot.

- - -
Tit: Deutsche Welle - Iran says, "Trump a threat to Middle East."

...[the] threat is the Trump administration's sense of entitlement to destabilize the world along with rogue accomplices in our region," [said Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter].

Tat? Islamic Republic News - "Pompeo threatens Iran."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a stark warning to Iran Friday, telling CNN that Washington will take direct action against Tehran for any attacks, even those using proxy forces, against US interests.

- - -
China is updating its military and no one is saying much. The Diplomat:

...Chinese military power has been very good and continues to improve, [with a trend] toward emphasizing new pieces of equipment over upgrades of existing equipment. This is unfortunate for it leads to an underestimation of Chinese military power and a misunderstanding of possible future trajectories.

- - -
Whiny canoeists try to sue Trump for frequent Potomac closings. Washingtonian:

“This is not a personal animosity against the Trump, or any, administration. We’re just trying to paddle our own canoes,”  [said Canoe Cruisers Association chair Barbara Brown].

- - -
AFP: Journalist murdered in Mexico is ninth in 2018.

Mario Gomez, a reporter with El Heraldo de Chiapas [...] was leaving for work when two unidentified men arrived and "murdered him in cold blood" with a series of shots to the abdomen.
[.]
Mexico is the second-deadliest country in the world for journalists after war-torn Syria, according to the watchdog group Reporters Without Borders.

- - -
Convicted drug trafficker at the centre of the Australian strawberry contamination scandal. Stuff-New Zealand:

Donnybrook Berries, at Elimbah near Caboolture in the heart of strawberry country north of Brisbane, is owned by [drug trafficker] Pasquale "Pat" Cufari from Mildura, in the Australian state of Victoria.

He was not at the family property on farmland, on the outskirts of Mildura, when Fairfax Media arrived.  Two men came to the front of the home where a red Ferrari was parked in the drive.

1): Would anyone really expect him to be at home?
2): Wouldn't we all be disappointed if anything less than a red Ferrari was parked in the drive?
- - -
See the car on the left...backing-up? Can you guess where it's going? View the video at the New Zealand Herald:

Image-Video: Blair Powell

 "They passed me at speed at first," he recalls, adding that, once they approached Beaumont Bridge, a one-lane bridge, they did not even seem to notice the traffic light was there.

"They went straight through the red light, completely ignored it," [said Blair Powell].

Tech News

Three members of You Tube Channel High on Life die in tragic accident. C|Net:

[Megan Scraper] ...  slipped and fell from the top of the falls into the water below[.]
[.]
[Ryker Gamble and Alexey Lyakh] jumped in after her in an attempt to save her, but no one survived.

- - -
Will your financial institution survive a tech meltdown? BBC Tech:

UK banks have been told to explain how they would cope with a technology failure or cyber-attack.

The Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority have given financial firms three months to detail how they would respond if their systems failed.

Does this really matter since...The Illuminati controls everything?!?!?!
- - -
Gadgets Now: Over 50% of smartphones not password protected.

[A Kaspersky Lab survey] showed that less than 48 per cent of people password-protect their mobile devices and just 14 per cent of people encrypt their files and folders to avoid unauthorized access.

- - -
Do we have a say in this? Amazon wants Alexa EVERYWHERE.  PC Mag:

[We caught up with Zain Gulamali who manages the $100 million Alexa Fund] and [posed]  a few questions about the personal digital assistant and its future.

- - -  
Extreme Tech: Self-driving Acura steers driver into oncoming traffic:

...the camera that peers ahead through the windshield needs to be re-aligned when the windshield is replaced.

- - -
eWeek: WordPress had some security vulnerabilities:

A new version of open-source content management system WordPress, 4.9.7, was released on July 5 that patches a pair of security vulnerabilities that could expose WordPress sites to risk.

- - -
Mobile Syrup - Canada is having a tough time retaining cyber talent:

...Canadian demand for cyber talent is increasing by seven percent annually.
[.]
Deloitte says addressing cybersecurity risks is critical because they could slow the pace of global technological innovation by as much as $3 trillion USD in lost economic value in 2020.

- - -
Having issues with Win 10? ZD Net: Some free tech and trouble shooting tips:

Windows 10 upgrade: Survey finds half of users experience problems[.] (Win users...experiencing...problems? Really?-DD)

Dump Win; Covert to Linux.
- - -
Beta News: The NSA is deleting millions of files.

The NSA...has announced that it is deleting hundreds of millions of call and text records because of "technical irregularities".
[.] While full details of the reasons for the deletion are not given, the NSA notes that it collected data it was not authorized to collect.

..."because of technical irregularities." Anyone buying this? It's reassuring that the NSA collects info they're not authorized to collect, isn't it?
- - -
Tech Explore - Bandages go high-tech.

[Engineers] led by Tufts University developed a prototype bandage designed to actively monitor the condition of chronic wounds and deliver appropriate drug treatments to improve the chances of healing.

Credit: Tufts University

- - -

Engadget - Pot In a Blender:

The Rosinbomb Rocket is a $600, 13-pound tabletop rosin extractor designed to squeeze and melt the THC crystals present on the surface of the flower into a solventless dabbable hash similar to shatter. Think of it as a panini press for weed.

[.]...tokers can get stonier than a rock garden.

I don't know what any of it means. Is this about rock gardens...comments,  anyone?
- - -
File Hippo - Free data recovery software for Windows that boasts a 96% recovery rate.

Recoverit retrieves your data from all data loss scenarios including emptied recycle bin, accidental deletion, disk formatting, partition loss, external device corruption, virus attack, system crashes...[.]

- - -
Have you ever wondered why cruise ships and yachts are painted white? Technology.Org:

Container ships and all other kinds of cargo and fishing ships are all kinds of colours...[while] cruise ships and luxury yachts are usually white. Why?

- - -
And because I know you've been waiting on this news: Pokémon Quest downloaded 7.5 million times.  Mobile Syrup:

The game launched on May 30th for the Nintendo Switch and was followed on June 27th with a mobile release across iOS and Android. Pokémon Quest has been climbing the charts[.]

- - -

The Rosinbomb Rocket-Image: Marijuana Retail Report.com

World News Links - October 1, 2017

News Asia: Two killed by knife attack in Marseille, France. Suspect shot and killed; witnesses say he shouted "Allahu Akbar".
- - -
NDTV: More on the two stabbings in France.
- - -
UPROXX: Multiple terrorist attacks in Edmonton Saturday night.

...a driver apparently used two different vehicles to carry out mayhem spread over three different crime scenes. The 30-year-old male suspect conducted his first attack outside the Commonwealth Stadium during a Edmonton Eskimos game. There, he slammed a Chevy Malibu into a traffic-control barricade, and in doing so, he struck a police car, exited the Malibu, and stabbed a cop multiple times.
[.]
The Edmonton Journal reports that an ISIS flag was found in the Chevy Malibu used within the first attack.

- - -
NDTV: British Prime Minister Theresa May said she's sorry her Conservative Party lost seats in June[.]
- - -
Pravada: Op/Ed shreds Theresa May:

She may occasionally make a foray into a fashion magazine and order a pair of shoes online or some ghastly trouser suit which makes her look like an alien that has been dragged through a swamp before being thrown into a wind tunnel but after an encounter with a shredder.

A bit like a pot-bellied crossdresser[.]

...but tell us what you really think of Theresa May?
- - -
TASS: Russian backlash against Theresa May for her comments on "Russian aggression."
- - -
Italy News Net: Libya asks Europe for help in fighting migration.
- - -
Daily Mail: Mafia don Gennaro Panzuto extradited from UK back to Italy:

The leader of the Neapolitan Piccirillo gang ran his murder, extortion and drug trafficking outfit from his small in home in Catterall, near Preston.

Panzuto's UK home.

- - -

Business Standard: UAE initiates "sin taxes":

The United Arab Emirates has begun collecting new "sin" taxes on tobacco products, energy drinks and soft drinks.

Beginning today, tobacco and energy drinks will be taxed at 100 per cent and soft drinks at 50 per cent.
[.]... includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia

- - -
RTT News: JACKPOT in Nevada with legal marijuana.
- - -
Business Standard: China's crackdown on Bitcoin.

Beijing's decision to shut down bitcoin trading platforms has left investors scrambling to cut their losses[.]

"The authorities don't understand anything about bitcoin!" fumed Zhang Yanhua, founder of an investment fund that was dead on arrival after Beijing started tightening the screws at the start of the month.

In mid-September, the central bank- the People's Bank of China- told virtual currency trading platforms based in Beijing and Shanghai to cease market operations.

The bank has focused its sights not just on bitcoin but also ethereum and any other electronic units that are exchanged online without being regulated by any country.

- - -
RTT News: City on Mars by 2024 says Elon Musk.
- - -
I expect better from Courthouse News than something that reads like a rambling, adolescent-written manifesto one might find on the Deep (not Dark) Web (then again, it's more likely I should drastically lower my expectations of Courthouse News):  

I have a friend, a native-born U.S. citizen, an honest, smart and ardent communist, who voted for Donald Trump because he thought Trump would bring about the destruction of our political system. I’ve got to say he called it.

As my favorite Republican columnist David Brooks wrote this week for The New York Times...

Yeeeeahhhh --- writer Robert Kahn loses any slight credibility he may have had when he says, "my favorite Republican columnist David Brooks..."

Yes, David Brooks is a columnist for The NY Times, but describing Brooks as a "Republican"? Unless this is an attempt by Kahn in writing satire, and "attempt" is the key word here.

House Stops Pot for VA Docs

It's time to declare an end to marijuana being illegal. It's been time for quite some time. And it is the Federal Government that needs to declare marijuana - medicinal, recreational or other - legal.

The U.S. House nixed VA [D]ocs in recommending medicinal marijuana.  Start and Stripes News:

A House committee has struck down a measure allowing Department of Veterans Affairs doctors to discuss and recommend medical marijuana to veterans in states where the drug is legal, blocking it from debate Wednesday on the House floor.

The “Veterans Equal Access” measure has been debated and voted on the past three years in the House as an amendment to the VA appropriations bill, and it passed the House with a vote of 233-189 in 2016. After Tuesday’s vote of the House Rules Committee, it won’t have that chance this year.

President Donald Trump needs to drop his anti-marijuana platform. Business Insider:

Michael Collins, the deputy director of the Drug Policy Alliance, said in an email that Trump continues to send "mixed messages" on marijuana.

"After stating during the campaign that he was '100%' in support of medical marijuana, he now issues a signing statement casting doubt on whether his Administration will adhere to a congressional rider that stops DOJ from going after medical marijuana programs," Collins said.

AG Jeff Sessions also needs to drop the war against marijuana. New York Daily News (June 13, 2017):

 Attorney General Jeff Sessions wants protections for states’ medical marijuana programs to go up in smoke.

The nation’s top prosecutor sent a letter to top congressional leaders opposing the so-called Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, which prohibits Department of Justice funds from being used against medical marijuana users and organizations in compliance with their own states’ laws.

Marijuana is the least of our problems. As a Libertarian, I believe that all drugs should be legalized (that's a whole 'nother post), but a good start is dropping this overblown and expensive war on pot.

Trump, Sessions and other Republicans, and all other politicians (party affiliation irrelevant) - as well as our law enforcement agencies - need to let go of this belief that marijuana usage resembles anything close to how it is portrayed in "Reefer Madness."

How successful, or how much a failure, is the "War on Drugs"? Well, that depends which sources you read and how factual and believable you decide it is.

Additional reading:
Ancient roots of medicinal marijuana. Nugs.com
Marijuana use in Ancient Egypt. Newstarget.com
Medicinal Marijuana could save $ 1 Billion in Medicaid costs. HuffPoo Post
- - -
Grammar 7/27/2017

Patrick Kennedy In Desperate Attempt To Make His Life Relevent

Oh...this is Rich! This is so very, very rich. Creamy chocolate, nougat infused, caramel covered with both whipping and ice cream on top Rich! Cherry optional.

The title says it all.  Patrick Kennedy trying to make his life relevant by preaching an Anti-Marijuana agenda.

Talk. About. Hypocrisy. And Double Standards.

Patrick is the son of famous chauffeur, swimmer and Senator, the deceased Ted Kennedy, Democrat, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts.

Is there any drug that, during his life to date, Patrick Kennedy didn't drink, inhale, snort or other?

From USA MacPaper:

Patrick Kennedy is a former congressman and an honorary board member of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (Project SAM).

Oh..."SAM", you gotta love the acronym; those clever, anti-marijuanaists.

Of course, the SAM Agenda is, as Patrick Kennedy so dutifully writes, "FOR THE CHILDREN."

Written by Patrick Kennedy, and again, USA MacPaper:

"There has been a lot of talk about pot lately.
[.]
But one issue got completely lost: the developing brains of our children.

It's about time we start focusing on the rights of our kids, not pot smokers.
[.]

As states rush unwisely to legalize marijuana, will this [present] the commercialization of a new, legal drug that threatens healthy brain development and the mental health of our children.
[.]
Already, candies, cookies, and lollipops high in THC adorn legal marijuana stores in Colorado and Washington."

Ahh, THE CHILDREN...the last card - that of vestige - played by any Liberal.

First of all, it is not Patrick Kennedy's decision whether states "rush unwisely to legalize marijuana," - that is his subjective opinion. He may speak his opinion as any other private citizen but he has no legal authority to do anything about it. Beyond that, we've seen a degree of leniency from both the past Obama Admin and the current Trump Admin in having a hands-off approach with states that are doing their own thing with MJ, and, this is a good thing. This is a State issue and State issue only. As a country, we DO NOT need to make MJ into Roe vs Weed.

Second, it's LEGAL IN COLORADO AND WASHINGTON TO SELL MJ AS CANDY, COOKIES AND LOLLIPOPS.  Have you ever heard of States' Rights, Mister Kennedy, Mister former Congressman, Mister recovering (or otherwise) booze hound, pill popper and who knows what else Patrick Kennedy smoked, snorted or other.

Patrick, try to sell your anti-MJ Agenda to AIDS patients who use medicinal marijuana that will induce an appetite and, as in cancer patients, is found to keep nausea at bay. Sell your agenda to aging baby-boomers who light up every day and find MJ provides relief from physical  pain relief that we all feel as we get older, or who use it to medicate depression. Please update us on the prosperity in selling your agenda.

Patrick, would you prefer a 12 year old cancer patient puking their guts out from the chemo, or give them a medicinally approve lollipop that negates the puking and gives them an appetite?

Patrick Kennedy, Poster Boy for being Drug Free

It was 2006 when Patrick Kennedy crashed his car into a Capitol Hill barrier hopped up on Ambien . He tried to explain it that he thought he was needed to cast a vote in the House. At 2:45AM. Yeah...a vote.

Whether you partake in MJ or not, you'd have to be blind not to see the double standard, irony and absurdity of Patrick Kennedy involved with an anti-MJ agenda. Actually, Patrick Kennedy involved with any anti-drug organization is the pinnacle of comical hypocrisy and absurdity.  Kind of like if his boozer daddy Ted had made a public service announcement for Alcoholics Anonymous while he was alive.

In 2006, Patrick entered into one of many Rehabs.

Pew Research shows that  nearly three-quarters of Americans (73%) say they favor their state allowing the sale and use of marijuana for medical purposes if it is prescribed by a doctor, while 23% are opposed.

Here Patrick, read about how medicinal marijuana can save lives.

Numerous studies by legit colleges and institutions  show MJ as an alternative to addictive opioid pain relievers. (And EVERYONE is jumping on this falsely promoted idea that the U.S. has an "epidemic opioid problem." No - we don't. But that's another post).

Back to Patrick Kennedy, who apparently has a halo around his head now. He states in USA MacPaper:    "There is no reason to believe marijuana will pay for itself, either."

Typical Liberal Illogic, Patrick. Here, pick a story, any story:

One Year of Legal MJ generated $70 Million in Washington State.

From USA MacPaper:

If all 50 states legalized cannabis today, they’d be collectively raking in more than $3 billion a year in taxes.

I think the revenue would exceed $3 Billion a year.

This Study sees nationwide legalization of MJ bringing in $28 Billion annually.

CNBC: Legal pot sales in 2015 top $5.4 Billion:

"You won't find another industry growing at that kind of clip": ArcView Group CEO.

 Over 10,000 studies show benefits from cannabis: 

A comprehensive research review examining 10,000 studies has found conclusive evidence that cannabis and cannabinoids are beneficial for treating symptoms like chronic pain, nausea and vomiting, and spasticity.
[.]
The nonprofit National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) summarized the past 16 years of research on the efficacy of medical marijuana in its report, “The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids.”
[.]
The rigorous and weighty 395-page report is based on the findings of more than 10,700 studies published in peer-review journals since 1999.

Clearly, Patrick Kennedy, has not done his due diligence and knows nothing of which he speaks. You cannot even say that he's "misinformed."  He's so far off base what he writes is fictional.

And it speaks volumes that "Project SAM" has an agenda other than that of compassion and empathy for those who find medicinal and recreational use of MJ beneficial and pleasant.

Patrick Kennedy is desperately trying to make his life relevant. To whom, other than himself, I do not know.

Famous Drinker and sailing enthusiast Ted Kennedy.

4/23/2017, typos and grammar errors fixed to the best of my proofreading ability.