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January 31, 2012
247 notes
fuckyeahdrugpolicy: YouTube Ignores Cop’s First Place Marijuana Legalization Video Question for Obama | Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Today YouTube ignored a question advocating marijuana legalization from a retired LAPD deputy chief of police that won twice as many votes as any other video question in the White House’s “Your Interview with the President” competition on the Google-owned site. They did, however, find the time to get the president on record about late night snacking, singing and dancing, celebrating wedding anniversaries and playing tennis.    Stephen Downing, the retired LAPD police officer and a board member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), had this to say about the site ignoring his question: “It’s worse than silly that YouTube and Google would waste the time of the president and of the American people discussing things like midnight snacks and playing tennis when there is a much more pressing question on the minds of the people who took the time to participate in voting on submissions. A majority of Americans now support legalizing marijuana to de-fund cartels and gangs, lower incarceration and arrest rates and save scarce public resources, all while generating new much-needed tax revenue. The time to discuss this issue is now. We’re tired of this serious public policy crisis being pushed aside or laughed off.” The top-voted video question from Downing is as follows: “Mr. President, my name is Stephen Downing, and I’m a retired deputy chief of police from the Los Angeles Police Department. From my 20 years of experience I have come to see our country’s drug policies as a failure and a complete waste of criminal justice resources. According to the Gallup Poll, the number of Americans who support legalizing and regulating marijuana now outnumbers those who support continuing prohibition. What do you say to this growing voter constituency that wants more changes to drug policy than you have delivered in your first term?” The question can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0IpiATxdR4. Downing’s question came in first place for video questions and ranked second out of all questions (with the overall top spot going to a text question about copyright infringement). Many of the other top-ranking questions were about marijuana policy or the failed “war on drugs,” as has been the case every other time the White House has invited citizens to submit and vote on questions via the web. +

fuckyeahdrugpolicy:

YouTube Ignores Cop’s First Place Marijuana Legalization Video Question for Obama | Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

Today YouTube ignored a question advocating marijuana legalization from a retired LAPD deputy chief of police that won twice as many votes as any other video question in the White House’s “Your Interview with the President” competition on the Google-owned site. They did, however, find the time to get the president on record about late night snacking, singing and dancing, celebrating wedding anniversaries and playing tennis.  

 Stephen Downing, the retired LAPD police officer and a board member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), had this to say about the site ignoring his question: “It’s worse than silly that YouTube and Google would waste the time of the president and of the American people discussing things like midnight snacks and playing tennis when there is a much more pressing question on the minds of the people who took the time to participate in voting on submissions. A majority of Americans now support legalizing marijuana to de-fund cartels and gangs, lower incarceration and arrest rates and save scarce public resources, all while generating new much-needed tax revenue. The time to discuss this issue is now. We’re tired of this serious public policy crisis being pushed aside or laughed off.”

The top-voted video question from Downing is as follows: “Mr. President, my name is Stephen Downing, and I’m a retired deputy chief of police from the Los Angeles Police Department. From my 20 years of experience I have come to see our country’s drug policies as a failure and a complete waste of criminal justice resources. According to the Gallup Poll, the number of Americans who support legalizing and regulating marijuana now outnumbers those who support continuing prohibition. What do you say to this growing voter constituency that wants more changes to drug policy than you have delivered in your first term?” The question can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0IpiATxdR4.

Downing’s question came in first place for video questions and ranked second out of all questions (with the overall top spot going to a text question about copyright infringement). Many of the other top-ranking questions were about marijuana policy or the failed “war on drugs,” as has been the case every other time the White House has invited citizens to submit and vote on questions via the web. +

(via purehemp)

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January 28, 2012
2,051 notes

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Link
January 28, 2012
610 notes
Protecting the Internet Activist

ideasandopinions:

Necessary: 

  • HTTPS
  • Consciousness of what information you write to the public domain.

Safe:

Marginally Paranoid:

Paranoid:

On the Run:

Please edit and share.

(via solitaryforager)

Link
January 28, 2012
24 notes
Canadian Aboriginal groups labelled “adversaries” by federal government: document

solitaryforager:

The document, obtained by the Climate Action Network Canada under the Access to Information Act, surfaced Thursday on the heels of a Crown-First Nations gathering which saw the Harper government and First Nations chiefs, through the Assembly of First Nations, agree to joint plan to begin discussing a host of issues that have defied resolution for years.

The gathering was hailed as ushering in a “new day” in the relationship between Canada and First Nations by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

The document, which was contained in an email sent by Kumar Gupta, a diplomat based in London, outlined a strategy for the Canadian government to execute in order to counter the negative publicity tar sands development has garnered in Europe.

The strategy document also identified First Nations as “influencers” in the battle over the tar sands, along with provincial and federal governments, energy companies and associations. The strategy also aimed to increase understanding among European “stakeholders” of Canada’s and Alberta’s consultation with First Nations and that both governments were working to “address” health concerns linked to the tar sands, the document states.

The decision to put Aboriginal groups under a list of “adversaries,” while the federal Aboriginal Affairs department was placed under a list of “allies,” however, reveals the true colours of the Conservative government, said Clayton Thomas-Muller, with the Indigenous Environment Network.

“It’s just another example of how the federal government went into (the Crown-First Nations Gathering) in bad faith,” said Thomas-Muller. “This government continues to try and erode the collective bargaining rights First Nations have as first peoples of this land and continues to label us as stakeholders when, in fact, we are priority rights holders.”

Thomas-Muller said the document also shows the government is concerned about the growing “Indigenous rights movement,” which he said has increasing clout.

“We have a generation of young people that are coming up that are more educated than any generation since colonization,” he said. “We have (AFN National Chief) Shawn Atleo sitting there at the meeting and negotiating how we as First Nations can participate in an economy that will result in the destruction and desecration of our homeland. We need to come up with a new path.”

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January 28, 2012
45 notes

(Source: magicaleaf, via thetruthisone)

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January 19, 2012
10,439 notes
thedailywhat: Animated GIF of the Day: An important reminder from blackout participant The Oatmeal of all the wonderful things at stake in sitting idly by while SOPA/PIPA are allowed to pass. Look it up. [oatmeal.]

thedailywhat:

Animated GIF of the Day: An important reminder from blackout participant The Oatmeal of all the wonderful things at stake in sitting idly by while SOPA/PIPA are allowed to pass.

Look it up.

[oatmeal.]

(via goblet-of-shire)

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January 19, 2012
129 notes

(Source: hookahsmoke, via lysergiocacid)

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January 18, 2012
3,265 notes
sun-hawk: “What is Cob?” Cob is a traditional building technique using clay, sand, straw and water- wet enough to shape, yet dry enough to build up without forms. The clay acts as the glue, while the sand gives strength to the mixture and the straw gives the walls tensile strength once hardened into place. It dries to a hardness similar to lean concrete and is used like adobe to create self supporting, load bearing walls. A cob house is essentially monolithic. This with it’s curved walls gives them greater strength in earthquakes. Earth is an abundant resource that can produce beautiful and sustainable homes with a minimal footprint. Most of the materials used for building an earth house are unprocessed, natural and local products such as sand, clay, straw and recycled materials. Cob invites creativity to be expressed in the process of building your space. Because cob is very flexible to work with, you are able to create just about any shape, curves, arches, shelves, benches, niches, fireplaces and ovens. Earth homes are cool in summer, warm in winter. Cob’s resistance to rain and cold makes it ideally suited to cold, rainy climates like the Pacific Northwest, and to desert conditions. History of Cob COB is not a new material it is a building material that has been around for centuries. The word cob comes from an Old English root meaning a rounded mass or lump. It was started in England around the 13th century from other types of earth building techniques like adobe, sod, rammed earth, straw-clay, and wattle-and-daub just to name a few. Thousands of cob houses have weathered rainy England for hundreds of years.. Earth is probably still the world’s most common building material. With recent rises in the price of lumber and increasing interest in natural and environmentally safe building practices, cob is enjoying a renaissance. In this age of environmental degradation, dwindling natural resources, and chemical toxins hidden in our homes, doesn’t it make sense to return to nature’s most abundant, cheap and healthy building material? What are the advantages of building with cob? Cob is gentle on the planet. Earth is non-toxic and completely recyclable, creates no waste, and requires minimal tools to construct. “Buildability” – Cob homes are owner built. It is easy to learn, cob is a very flexible and forgiving medium.There is obviously, quite a bit of labor involved but if time is not a factor, a house of this type could be built with just a couple of workers. Basic carpentry, plumbing and electric skills are required. It is Affordable and Inexpensive – The walls of the home are made entirely of natural resources that are available under your feet. Fire proof Cob is very durable and requires little upkeep Energy Efficiency – A cob house provides a large amount of thermal mass. This helps keep the house cool in the summer and warm in the winter. It is ideal for passive solar homes. Fun – If you like playing in the mud, this is the house for you. Seriously, this is an excellent style of house to build for those with imagination. You can be very creative with the walls of your house. Also a Safe building material with kids.

sun-hawk:

“What is Cob?”

Cob is a traditional building technique using clay, sand, straw and water- wet enough to shape, yet dry enough to build up without forms. The clay acts as the glue, while the sand gives strength to the mixture and the straw gives the walls tensile strength once hardened into place. It dries to a hardness similar to lean concrete and is used like adobe to create self supporting, load bearing walls. A cob house is essentially monolithic. This with it’s curved walls gives them greater strength in earthquakes. Earth is an abundant resource that can produce beautiful and sustainable homes with a minimal footprint.

Most of the materials used for building an earth house are unprocessed, natural and local products such as sand, clay, straw and recycled materials.

Cob invites creativity to be expressed in the process of building your space. Because cob is very flexible to work with, you are able to create just about any shape, curves, arches, shelves, benches, niches, fireplaces and ovens.

Earth homes are cool in summer, warm in winter. Cob’s resistance to rain and cold makes it ideally suited to cold, rainy climates like the Pacific Northwest, and to desert conditions.

History of Cob

COB is not a new material it is a building material that has been around for centuries. The word cob comes from an Old English root meaning a rounded mass or lump. It was started in England around the 13th century from other types of earth building techniques like adobe, sod, rammed earth, straw-clay, and wattle-and-daub just to name a few. Thousands of cob houses have weathered rainy England for hundreds of years.. Earth is probably still the world’s most common building material. With recent rises in the price of lumber and increasing interest in natural and environmentally safe building practices, cob is enjoying a renaissance. In this age of environmental degradation, dwindling natural resources, and chemical toxins hidden in our homes, doesn’t it make sense to return to nature’s most abundant, cheap and healthy building material?

What are the advantages of building with cob?

  • Cob is gentle on the planet. Earth is non-toxic and completely recyclable, creates no waste, and requires minimal tools to construct.
  • “Buildability” – Cob homes are owner built. It is easy to learn, cob is a very flexible and forgiving medium.There is obviously, quite a bit of labor involved but if time is not a factor, a house of this type could be built with just a couple of workers. Basic carpentry, plumbing and electric skills are required.
  • It is Affordable and Inexpensive – The walls of the home are made entirely of natural resources that are available under your feet.
  • Fire proof
  • Cob is very durable and requires little upkeep
  • Energy Efficiency – A cob house provides a large amount of thermal mass. This helps keep the house cool in the summer and warm in the winter. It is ideal for passive solar homes.
  • Fun – If you like playing in the mud, this is the house for you. Seriously, this is an excellent style of house to build for those with imagination. You can be very creative with the walls of your house. Also a Safe building material with kids.

(via buddhainteriors)

Photo
January 18, 2012
468 notes
fuckyeahpsychedelics: “Flower Of Life” by ludi-vine

fuckyeahpsychedelics:

“Flower Of Life” by ludi-vine

(via mopoki)

Photo
January 17, 2012
439 notes

(Source: adamthegirl, via unfoldingconsciousness)