Lew Rockwell 
At the local public high school graduation last night, there was no valedictorian or salutatorian speaking or even announced. I guess, just as that government institution abolished its honors classes in the name of egalitarianism, it has gotten rid of recognition for individual achievement. So, there were no prizes, either. Instead, the class president gave an interminable talk full of chants. Then he lead the chorus, the band, and the students in a rendition of “Lean on Me.” Oh, and there were also idiot speeches by the head of the board of education, the superintendent of schools, and the principal. The kids did finally escape their warden and guards, so that was good news.
Daily Archives: 29 May 2012
ACTA Gets Killed, Score A Partial Win For The Internet
After MegaUpload received a fatality at the hands of Homeland Security, it was looking as if SOPA and PIPA weren’t needed after all to strike fear into the hearts of gamers, movie goers and music aficionados alike. Well, score another win for internet citizens as ACTA is as good as dead…in Europe that is.
A reader tipped us off to the recent news that ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement — a multinational trade agreement that was just as vile as other copyright infringement security establishments, such as CISPA — is dead in the water…in Europe.
The ACTA treaty would basically give undefined control and authority over the censorship and dictation on the flow of information and free speech. (Read more)
Leaked Memo: Afghan ‘Burn Pit’ Could Wreck Troops’ Hearts, Lungs
well, shit.
For years, U.S. government agencies have told the public, veterans and Congress that they couldn’t draw any connections between the so-called “burn pits” disposing of trash at the military’s biggest bases and veterans’ respiratory or cardiopulmonary problems. But a 2011 Army memo obtained by Danger Room flat-out stated that the burn pit at one of Afghanistan’s largest bases poses “long-term adverse health conditions” to troops breathing the air there.
The unclassified memo (.jpg), dated April 15, 2011, stated that high concentrations of dust and burned waste present at Bagram Airfield for most of the war are likely to impact veterans’ health for the rest of their lives. “The long term health risk” from breathing in Bagram’s particulate-rich air include “reduced lung function or exacerbated chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, atherosclerosis, or other cardiopulmonary diseases.” Service members may not necessarily “acquire adverse long term pulmonary or heart conditions,” but “the risk for such is increased.” (Read more)