Top drug reformer: ‘Obama is worse than Bush’ on marijuana policy | The Raw Story: “Rob Kampia (pictured, left), director of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), has been working on drug policy issues for 17 long years, and during that time he’s seen a dramatic shift toward legalization in the U.S. political climate.

Unfortunately for reform advocates, he told Raw Story recently that the shift in presidential politics has gone in the exact opposite direction. “We started MPP when Clinton was president,” Kampia explained. “Clinton was horrible. Bush was worse than Clinton… and Obama is worse than Bush.”

But it’s not all bad news, he said. ”Congress has generally become more receptive. If you were to take the pulse of Congress, you’d see we have more support for medical marijuana, as well as ending marijuana prohibition entirely, in Congress now than we did a decade ago, there’s no question.”

“

(Via .)

Apple: Greenpeace’s Cloud Math is Busted » Data Center Knowledge: “Apple says it will use 20 megawatts of power at full capacity in its North Carolina data center, about one-fifth the amount estimated by Greenpeace in a report that is sharply critical of Apple and other data center operators for relying upon “dirty” energy sources to power their cloud computing operations.

Apple’s statement raises questions about the credibility of the estimates in the Greenpeace report, and illustrates the difficulty of seeking to estimate data center power usage – a detail that many companies are unwilling to disclose on their own.”

(Via .)

For Army troops, prescription drugs may add to fog of war – latimes.com: “More than 110,000 active-duty Army troops last year took antidepressants, sedatives and other prescription medications. Some see a link to aberrant behavior.”

(Via .)

Marijuana advocates blast Obama over Oaksterdam University raid | The Raw Story: “Six organizations looking to reform U.S. drug laws urged President Barack Obama to halt raids on medical marijuana providers following the raid on Oaksterdam University in California.

“Our coalition represents the views of tens of millions of Americans who believe the war on medical marijuana patients and providers you are fighting is misguided and counterproductive,” Drug Policy Alliance, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, Marijuana Policy Project, National Cannabis Industry Association, National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, and Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) wrote in a letter to the President.

Oaksterdamn University, which trained people to work in the booming medical marijuana industry, was raided by federal agents on Monday.”

(Via .)

Senators Who Voted To Protect Oil Tax Breaks Received $23,582,500 From Big Oil | ThinkProgress: “– The 47 senators voting against the bill have received $23,582,500 in career contributions from oil and gas. The 51 senators voting to repeal oil tax breaks have received $5,873,600.
– The senators who voted for Big Oil’s handouts received on average over four times as much career oil cash as those who voted to end them.
– Overall, Senate Republicans have taken $23.2 million in oil and gas contributions. Democrats received $6.66 million.
– Since 2011, Senate Republicans have voted seven times for pro-Big Oil interests and against clean energy three times.”

(Via .)

McConnell: Marijuana use causes death | The Raw Story: “Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) recently replied back to one of his constituents to declare that marijuana usage leads to death, according to the Huffington Post.

McConnell sent a response letter to the constituent, who posted it on the pot supporting website grasscity.com Tuesday morning. The Kentucky senator candidly expressed his disagreement and concern over legalizing marijuana in the February 14th letter, citing a medical marijuana bill introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) in 2011.”

BBC News – French comics artist Jean Giraud – Moebius – dies at 73: “Jean Giraud, one of France’s leading comics artists, has died in Paris at the age of 73 after a long illness.

He drew for more than 50 years, under various names, but was most widely known as Moebius.

He was popular in the US and Japan, working with legend Stan Lee and manga artists, as well as in his homeland

He also worked on design concepts and storyboards for a number of top science fiction films, including Alien, Tron, The Abyss and The Fifth Element.

Giraud trained at art school and turned to comics after working as an illustrator in the advertising and fashion industries.

His best known work in his native country was probably the Lieutenant Blueberry character but he also worked on the Silver Surfer with Stan Lee.

The Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art staged a major Giraud retrospective in 2010.”

(Via .)

Peter Bergman obituary: Comedian in Firesign Theatre troupe dies at 72 – latimes.com: ”
“

Partners in ‘slime’ – WWW.THEDAILY.COM: “The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s continued purchase of so-called pink slime for school lunches makes no sense, according to two former microbiologists at the Food Safety Inspection Service.

“I have a 2-year-old son,” microbiologist Gerald Zirnstein told The Daily. “And you better believe I don’t want him eating pink slime when he starts going to school.””