Marijuana users celebrate legalization in Washington state

Though the law does not allow pot smoking in public, that didn't stop users from gathering near Seattle's iconic Space Needle. Though it is now legal to possess marijuana in Washington under state law, possession remains a federal crime.?

By Laura L. Myers,?Reuters / December 6, 2012

From left, Andre Edwards, G.E. Montoya, and J. Smiley pass around a glass pipe as they smoke marijuana, Thursday, Dec. 6, just after midnight at the Space Needle in Seattle. Possession of marijuana became legal in Washington state at midnight, and several hundred people gathered at the Space Needle to smoke and celebrate the occasion, even though the new law does prohibit public use of marijuana.

Ted S. Warren/AP

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Washington state made history on Thursday as the first in the nation to legalize marijuana?for adult recreational use, an occasion celebrated by dozens of users near?Seattle's famed Space Needle amid blaring reggae music and a haze of pot smoke.

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The pre-dawn public gathering defied a key provision of the state's landmark marijuana?law, which allows possession of small amounts of?marijuana?but forbids users from lighting up outside the privacy of their homes.

The gathering also underscored mixed law enforcement messages about the statute. Hours earlier,?Seattle's city attorney issued a stern warning that public pot puffing would not be tolerated and violators faced citations with $100 fines.

But the prosecutor's admonition was contradicted by the?Seattle Police Department's own instructions to officers to limit their enforcement actions to warnings, at least for now.

The new law, passed by voters last month in a move that could set the state up for a showdown with the?federal government, removes criminal sanctions for anyone 21 or older possessing 1 ounce (28.5 grams) or less of pot for personal use.

Colorado?voters also chose to legalize pot for personal recreational use, but that measure is not due to take effect until next month. Both states are among 18 that have already removed criminal sanctions for medical use of marijuana.

The Washington law legalizes possession of up to 16 ounces (0.45 kg) of solid cannabis-infused goods - like brownies or cookies - and up to 72 ounces (2.4 kg) of weed in liquid form.

But driving under the influence of cannabis or imbibing in public places where the consumption of alcohol is already banned remain illegal.

"If you're smoking in plain public view, you're subject to a ticket,"?Seattle City?Attorney?Pete Holmes?told a news conference on Wednesday. "If drinking in public is disallowed, so is smoking?marijuana in public."

'Victory for hemp'

The new law ultimately will permit cannabis to be legally sold and taxed at state-licensed stores in a system to be modeled after those in many states for alcohol sales. The state?Liquor Control Board, along with agriculture and public health officials, have until next December to set up such a system.

For now, it remains a crime to sell, cultivate or even share one's own stash, even though the law allows individuals to purchase a limited amount for personal possession.

Ironically, an early court challenge of the law came from a medical?marijuana patient in Olympia, who filed suit last week seeking to block enforcement of a new standard for?marijuana impairment while driving, similar to the blood-alcohol standard for drunken driving.

The plaintiff,?Arthur West, says the new legal limit - 5 nanograms per milliliter of blood of?THC, pot's active ingredient - would unfairly subject him to prosecution for a?THC?level at which he routinely drives without impairment. A hearing on his request for an injunction was set for Friday.

Little if any of the law's fine points seemed to matter to the mellow and largely middle-aged gathering of about 100 people near the foot of the Space Needle as the statute took effect at midnight.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/ydmCWl2iu1o/Marijuana-users-celebrate-legalization-in-Washington-state

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TOWARDS A GENUINE ECONOMIC AND MONETARY UNION - Report by President Herman Van Rompuy in close collaboration with the Presidents of the European Commission, Eurogroup and European Central Bank

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Source: http://www.consilium.europa.eu//uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/134069.pdf

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When will lawmakers get serious on the "fiscal cliff"? (cbsnews)

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SwiftKey Launches Public Beta for SwiftKey Flow, Offers Gesture Typing and Predictive Text to All

Android: If you took notice when SwiftKey announced SwiftKey Flow back in October, now's your chance to get in on the action. The company has launched a public beta of the new swipe-to-type keyboard, and beefed it up with new features at the same time.

To get in on the beta, you just have to be a SwiftKey VIP member, to do so, just sign up at the SwiftKey VIP Forum to get access. Plus, any users who signed up to be notified when the announcement came out will get access today as well. SwiftKey Flow is still in beta, so keep that in mind if you give it a try. There will likely be changes between this version and the final release, but all of the other features we love about SwiftKey?including its excellent predictive text?are also available in the beta.

The beta version of SwiftKey Flow does come with the new swipe-to-type feature, and it works much like other similar Android keyboards. However, it also includes their new "flow through space" feature, which allows you to swipe to the space bar like any other key to break up words. This means you can "type" entire sentences without lifting your finger off of the screen, as shown in the video above. Hit the link below to grab the beta.

SwiftKey Flow | SwiftKey

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/SZlv8hQifrk/swiftkey-launches-public-beta-for-swiftkey-flow-offers-gesture-typing-and-predictive-text-to-all

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Cadet quits, cites overt religion at West Point

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) ? A cadet quitting West Point less than six months before graduation says he could no longer be part of a culture that promotes prayers and religious activities and disrespects nonreligious cadets.

Blake Page announced his decision to quit the U.S. Military Academy this week in a much-discussed online post that echoed the sentiments of soldiers and airmen at other military installations. The 24-year-old told The Associated Press that a determination earlier this semester that he could not become an officer due to clinical depression played a role in his public protest against what he calls the unconstitutional prevalence of religion in the military.

"I've been trying since I found that out: What can I do? What can I possibly do to initiate the change that I want to see and so many other people want to see?" Page said. "I realized that this is one way I can make that change happen."

Page criticized a culture where cadets stand silently for prayers, where nonreligious cadets were jokingly called "heathens" by instructors at basic training and where one officer told him he'd never be a leader until he fills the hole in his heart. In announcing his resignation this week on The Huffington Post, he denounced "criminals" in the military who violate the oaths they swore to defend the Constitution.

"I don't want to be a part of West Point knowing that the leadership here is OK with just shrugging off and shirking off respect and good order and discipline and obeying the law and defending the Constitution and doing their job," he told the AP.

West Point officials on Wednesday disputed those assertions. Spokeswoman Theresa Brinkerhoff said prayer is voluntary at events where invocations and benedictions are conducted and noted the academy has a Secular Student Alliance club, where Page served as president.

Maj. Nicholas Utzig, the faculty adviser to the secular club, said he doesn't doubt some of the moments Page described, but he doesn't believe there is systematic discrimination against nonreligious cadets.

"I think it represents his own personal experience and perhaps it might not be as universal as he suggests," said Utzig, who teaches English literature.

One of Page's secularist classmates went further, calling his characterization of West Point unfair.

"I think it's true that the majority of West Point cadets are of a very conservative, Christian orientation," said senior cadet Andrew Houchin. "I don't think that's unique to West Point. But more broadly, I've never had that even be a problem with those of us who are secular."

There have been complaints over the years that the wall between church and state is not always observed in the military. The Air Force Academy in Colorado in particular has been scrutinized for years over allegations from non-Christian students that they faced intolerance. A retired four-star general was asked last year to conduct an independent review of the overall religious climate at the academy.

There also has been a growing willingness in recent years by some service members to publicly identify themselves as atheists, agnostics or humanists and to seek the same recognition granted to Christians, Jews and other believers. Earlier this year, there was an event at Fort Bragg that was the first known event in U.S. military history to cater to nonbelievers.

Page said he hears about the plight of other nonreligious cadets in part through his involvement with the West Point affiliate of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. The founder and president of that advocacy group said Page's action is a milestone in the fight against "fanatical religiosity" in the military.

"This is an extraordinary act of courage that I do compare directly to what Rosa Parks did," said Mikey Weinstein.

Page, who is from Stockbridge, Ga., and who was accepted into West Point after serving in the Army, said he was notified Tuesday of his honorable discharge. He faces no military commitment and will not have to reimburse the cost of his education.

West Point confirmed that it approved his resignation and that Page had been meeting the academic standards and was not undergoing any disciplinary actions. Page said he had been medically disqualified this semester from receiving a commission in the Army as a second lieutenant ? like his classmates will receive in May ? because of clinical depression and anxiety. He said his condition has gotten worse since his father killed himself last year.

It's not unusual for cadets to drop out of West Point, an institution known for its rigorous academic and physical demands. But the window for dropping out without the potential for a penalty is in the first two years. Dropouts are rare after that point.

Page expects to leave for his grandparents' home in Wright County, Minn., in the coming days. He plans to remain an activist on the role of religion in the military.

"I'd really love to be able to do this for the rest of my life," he said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-05-West%20Point-Proselytizing%20Protest/id-0ad4106453164a81ae281e8bfb2c6355

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SpaceX lands first US military launch contracts

Startup rocket company Space Exploration Technologies, which flies NASA cargo to the International Space Station, has landed its first launch contracts for the U.S. military, the company said on Wednesday.

The U.S. Air Force will pay $97 million for a Falcon 9 rocket to launch in 2014 the Deep Space Climate Observatory, a solar telescope that will be operated by NASA. It will also pay $165 million for a Falcon Heavy rocket for the military's Space Test Program-2 satellite, which is expected to fly in 2015.

Both spacecraft will be launched from Space Exploration Technologies' Cape Canaveral, Florida, site.

1. Space news from NBCNews.com

   1. NASA plans to launch Mars rover remake?in 2020

      Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: NASA plans to build another Mars rover based on the Curiosity rover's design for launch in 2020, with the potential to store samples that could eventually be brought back to Earth.

   2. Rover Opportunity seeks signs of life too
   3. Space-flown spider dies in Smithsonian
   4. Holiday calendar: Riyadh at night

The company, also known as SpaceX, has been pursuing U.S. military launch business for years, hoping to break the monopoly held by United Launch Alliance, a partnership of Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

"SpaceX deeply appreciates and is honored by the vote of confidence shown by the Air Force in our Falcon launch vehicles," SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk said in a statement.

In addition to a 12-flight, $1.6 billion space station cargo delivery contract with NASA, SpaceX has a backlog of about 20 commercial and non-U.S. government satellites and payloads to fly on its Falcon family of rockets over the next five years.

The privately owned company plans to begin using a second launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in 2013.

SpaceX also is one of three companies hired by NASA to design a spaceship that can fly astronauts to the station, a $100 billion research laboratory that flies about 250 miles above Earth.

SpaceX's Air Force contracts are part of a four-year, $900 million program that also includes Orbital Sciences Corp and Lockheed Martin, which is offering a new Athena rocket outside the United Launch Alliance partnership.

(Editing by Kevin Gray and Mohammad Zargham)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Check for restrictions at: http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/50094995/ns/technology_and_science-space/

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Internet Security ? Securing Your Online Business with Internet ...

Write-up by Clinton C. Matthews

Securing Your On-line Business with World wide web Security

Nowadays, companies are using benefit of the Net to market and market their goods and solutions. It is now regarded as a necessity for organizations to integrate the Net in their operations in buy to successfully contend with other businesses and grow to be the greatest.

The World wide web gives many positive aspects in your company. It will provide a wider assortment of prospective clients and it also provides a wonderful way to market your products and companies. Integrating the Internet in your business will indicate improved earnings and reduced charge in all round advertising and marketing. It will also supply you with more prospective consumers throughout the world.

However, the Web also has its disadvantages. Because much more and more individuals are spending their funds in the Net by purchasing merchandise and services, they will also depart traces of their financial and private details in their computers. Simply because of this, there are fairly a amount of men and women who are also using edge of the World wide web to steal from other men and women.

Your enterprise will also be vulnerable to this type of crime. Even though the Net exposes your organization to the entire world in get to make far more money, it will also expose your online company to people and software package that aims on destroying your organization or steal cash from it.

This is why it is important for you to get an net security system for your online enterprise in purchase to shield you and your organization from malicious softwares and also from individuals who will want to get access to your company?s secrets and techniques and use it to steal from you.

These days, there are really a number of figures of Web security courses that you can get gain of in get to shield your company computer systems from adwares, spywares, spam and phishing emails, and also safeguard your enterprise from hackers.

Nonetheless, some of the World wide web security software accessible are also weak and can only supply bare minimum security for your computer systems. This is why you really should look for an Web security software program that can properly shield your laptop or computer from malicious software circulating the Internet these days.

You ought to think about purchasing an World wide web security software package plan that is intended especially for on the web businesses. There are very a couple of organizations that offer you great security for computer systems. Below are the factors you really should appear for in an Internet security program that you should set up in your laptop or computer:

? AntiVirus Plans ? Given that there are fairly a lot of viruses circulating the web right now, you really should look for an web security system that provides maximum protection against personal computer viruses. It should also have updateable virus definition attributes in buy to support your laptop or computer combat new pc viruses popping out in the World wide web daily.

? AntiSpam Software package ? Phishing and spam email messages are really hazardous. A excellent internet security software must have an antispam computer software to automatically detect spam and phishing emails and protect your pc from people who wishes to consider gain of your online business.

? Site Lock Functions ? Because your employees might have the urge to down load} issues in the Internet, your Internet security system really should give a site lock function to avert your employees from wandering all around the Web and unintentionally get} files with malicious plans.

? Anti Adware and Spyware ? Adwares and spywares can be bothersome popup adverts. When you accidentally just click on the popup advertisement, you will automatically install a spyware plan. This program is like surveillance gear that reviews to the particular person who designed the program about the actions you do in your computer.

These are some of the factors you really should seem for in an World wide web security plan. With this, you can be confident that your online business will be secured from hackers, identification thieves, viruses and other malicious software package.

Originally posted 2012-02-16 03:09:07.

Source: http://thecommonhoster.com/2012/11/30/internet-security-securing-your-online-business-with-internet-security/

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