Tuesday July 8, 2014 the state of Washington has allowed for the legal sale of recreational Marijuana. Washington is the second state after Colorado to legalize the sale and consumption of recreational Marijuana. With only a handful of locations open to the public, lines have formed outside of the lucky Marijuana businesses. While the state received overwhelming support for the initiative, some cities have protested and written counter-legislation to outlaw the sale and use of Marijuana. However, despite these few rebellious cities, the majority of Washington’s population is in favor of the initiative.
Colorado and Washington are now the social experiment of the United States as their techniques of monitoring and taxing the plant are being monitored closely. Meanwhile investors and venture capitalist are jumping at the opportunity to make serious profit from this unique time. So many years of prohibition towards Marijuana has made the public reluctant to accept the status quo but activists remain hopeful that the trend will spread. With the economy in a vulnerable state and our national debt to China on the rise, it’s hard to see how there’s any resistance to this new source of income.
I began to think about the benefits and consequences of legalizing Marijuana in Florida and I too believe that more good than bad can come from this type of legislation. Speaking for myself, I would like to see a national effort to change these laws and lift this current state of prohibition. The legalization of Marijuana has the potential to divert billions of dollars of revenue to hard working Americans, instead of illegal drug traffickers. In addition the revenue from its taxation could prove to be useful in this time of economic struggle.
Currently 23 states have legalized the medical use of Marijuana and 2 states have legalized the recreational use of Marijuana. Florida recently passed a bill that allows for the consumption of Marijuana for medical patients with chronic illnesses given that it has a low dose of THC and is not smoked but rather vaporized or in pill form. Little by little progress is being made around the country and it seems that we are well on our way to the end of this prohibition. I would love to hear from anyone living in Colorado or Washington. What do you think about the new laws? Leave a comment and let me know. Thanks for stopping by!
Above is a video titled “Solar Freakin Roadways”, which is the campaign kick starter by Indiegogo that was intended to capture the attention of big time investors. With a goal of one million dollars to get an initial prototype project underway, the campaign was flooded with more than two million dollars and over 48,000 supporters in just a couple of months. Needless to say, these solar powered roadways, sidewalks and parking lots are pretty amazing. Aside from providing energy solutions, these roadways could open up a new market for job creation and also generate income from an unlimited supply of renewable energy.
As you watch the video, you’ll notice that the benefits of having solar powered roadways are countless. The installation of these roadways would call for an underground electrical channel which could be used in conjunction with each cities electrical infrastructure to remove the use of power lines. Heated solar roadways would also prevent the buildup of snow during the winter months which would result in less corrosive damage from salt, safer travel and savings from minimizing snow plow costs. Regular streets have to constantly be repaved and patched up wherever potholes appear, another possibly obsolete problem solved with solar roadways.
Each of the solar panels is lined with a high impact resistant material to prevent damage and also with LED lights which could be used in a number of configurations. For instance, let’s say there’s an accident up ahead, the LED lights could signal for you to slow down or merge lanes. Parking lots could be rearranged as needed in seconds because with the LED lights in place, painting the space will not be necessary. Like I said before, the benefits are seemingly endless so it’s best if you watch the whole video. I myself was a little skeptical at first, but the video convinced me otherwise. I believe this stuff could change the world one day and it could make our country an energy independent nation if taken seriously. So enjoy the clip and thanks for stopping by!
Have you ever heard of a group by the name of Golden Dawn? If you’re not from Greece it’s likely that you haven’t. I was shocked when I learned about this group and there ideals. This political group has mastered the Nazi-styled propaganda, riot tactics and racial discrimination that once flourished in Germany. Today Golden Dawn has gathered 8% of the political vote for government and their popularity is increasing. Since the economic downfall in 2008, Greece has suffered staggering unemployment and rapid inflation. The combination of slowed economic success and a mostly unemployed youth has crippled the country’s ability to provide for its people. That’s where Golden Dawn comes in.
On a daily basis, Golden Dawn seeks out the poorest sectors of the population and distributes food and other goods to them. This political party will gladly give out provisions to any Greek citizens. However despite how wonderful this sounds, there is a catch. If you are not a natural born Greek citizen, then you are not allowed to receive any assistance from Golden Dawn. According to their political platform, Golden Dawn believes that the biggest issue facing Greece today is foreign inhabitants. They believe that a pure Greek society could sustain itself much more efficiently than a society with mixed culture and race. These were the same ideals once held by Adolf Hitler when Germany’s crippled economy failed to provide for its people.
With no other assistance in sight, many people flock to Golden Dawn to seek food, shelter and employment. Despite what their political beliefs once were, these Greek citizens have embraced the Nazi-styled party for its proactive assistance. Meanwhile, as Golden Dawn wins the people hearts and minds with their racial propaganda, non-Greek citizens live in fear. Golden Dawn is known to aggressively assault no-Greek citizens who defy their racial rhetoric. Tensions between Golden Dawn and the Greek police escalate on a daily basis as many of its members actively sabotage their efforts. However despite the Greek polices presence and resistance, Golden Dawn’s influence grows stronger by the day as more citizens join their cause.
As an outside spectator it is hard to imagine what life is like in Greece these days. If you live in Greece or have family that lives in Greece please respond to this post. Have you heard of Golden Dawn? Do you think that they are helping Greece or do you think that they are hurting it with the promotion of racial purification? Please reply to this post if you could provide me and my viewers with some more insight on this topic.
Do you remember the last time that you ate a child’s heart so that you could be invincible in battle? Can’t recall ever doing so? Well take a look at this documentary that I found on youtube.com. The documentary was produced by Vice News, a news agency that does in depth reporting across the globe. In this documentary Shane Smith, Vice News co-founder and field correspondent, travels to the west African nation of Liberia to investigate the so called Cannibal Warlords that live there. Let me warn you that the documentary has some strong content.
After exploring several parts of Liberia, Shane Smith lands a shady interview with former General “Butt Naked.” The general, who gave himself the name “Butt Naked”, explains the origin of his name to Shane. He tells the reporter that he chose this name because of his combat strategy during Liberia’s civil war. A strategy in which he would instruct his rebel soldiers to strip down completely before battle. Once fully nude, he would have his soldiers bring an innocent child to him for ritualistic purposes. He would then cut the child’s heart out of his/her chest, while still alive, and have each of his soldiers consume a piece of it. General “Butt Naked” explained to his soldiers that this sacrifice would bring them magical powers in combat and make them invincible. Only then would the General and his soldiers go into battle, while still completely nude I should add. This ritual of sacrifice was repeated before every single battle, thus causing the needless slaughter of hundreds of innocent children during the war.
Today General “Butt Naked” spends his days preaching to his community. He converted to Christianity after the war and now preaches at churches around Liberia about his struggle with his violent past. Former victims of his cannibal rituals say that he converted to Christianity only to avoid punishment for his war crimes. So the former general’s life is now in constant danger of attack from people affected by his military past. According to him these are false accusations. He says that the reason he converted to Christianity was so that he could be a better person and more importantly a better father to his young daughter. Though he takes the full blame for his actions, he recognizes that if his parents would have raised him instead of abandon him, then he might be a different man today. That thought is what motivates him to be a better father and a better person with the help of Christianity.
I tried to put myself in his shoes and imagine what life must have been like for him in Liberia. I wonder what kind of trauma he experienced before deciding that killing children and eating their hearts was the right thing to do. Maybe he’s just a psychopath with no remorse, incapable of distinguishing right from wrong. However it seems odd to me that a person who is incapable of knowing right from wrong would choose to devote the rest of his life to Christianity seeking forgiveness for his sins. The question of whether or not this man should be executed for his crimes remains a mixed issue. Does punishing a person’s ignorance with death solve the issue of ignorance? Does not punishing this man solve the issue of ignorance? I’m not sure what the solution is, if there even is a solution, but what I do know is that this country and its people are completely foreign to me. I will pray for them and hope that change comes sooner than later…
I would love to hear from someone living in Liberia. If you are from there or have family that lives there, please reply to this blog post. I want to hear your story and know what it is like for you as a citizen of Liberia. I look forward to hearing back from you soon.
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