C.M. Rubin's Blog, page 8
February 19, 2013
Steve Beshear, Kentucky Governor, Not Ready To Support State Push For Legal Industrial Hemp
Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (D) on Tuesday added his name to a list of skeptics unwilling to support a state push to plant the seeds for a potential legal hemp industry.
According to the Associated Press, Beshear told reporters that he wasn't ready to back legislation to establish licensing and regulation procedures for industrial hemp, set to go into effect only if a federal effort to legalize the plant is passed. The state Senate passed the bill last week, sending it to the state House, where it is expected to face more serious opposition.
Kentucky Sens. Rand Paul (R) and Mitch McConnell (R) joined two other Democratic co-sponsors last week in introducing the Industrial Hemp Farming Act. In their announcement, the senators argued that the nation was neglecting a multi-million dollar industry because consumers are currently forced to import hemp-based products. Under their bill, any hemp strands with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content under 0.3 percent would be considered a non-drug. According to current Drug Enforcement Agency classifications, both hemp and marijuana with higher levels of THC are listed as Schedule I controlled substances, alongside drugs such as LSD, heroin and ecstasy.
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'Abusive' Guest Worker Programs Offer A Poor Model For Immigration Reform, Advocates Say
WASHINGTON -- With Congress looking to make foreign guest worker programs part of its immigration reform package, advocates for low-wage workers said Tuesday that the programs already in place are rife with abuse and serve as poor models for an expansion or overhaul.
The H-2 visa programs administered by the federal government bring tens of thousands of overseas workers to the U.S. each year to work in mostly low-wage, temporary roles, such as landscaping or hotel housekeeping. Those programs are likely to be altered or expanded in a comprehensive immigration package, with labor unions and the Chamber of Commerce now hashing out what they'd like the new iteration to look like.
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Entrepreneurs: You're More Important Than Your Business Plan
"Would you take a look at my business plan?"
Some member of our staff at Echoing Green, an angel investor and grantmaker in social enterprise, hears this request every week. And we are often happy to review these start-up plans — which include the typical elements such as a product description, competitive analysis, estimate of market size, and projected financials. But we are interested in much more than these traditional plans. We use other criteria to find new people and ideas that can create large-scale social change.
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Campus SaVE Act Depends On Reauthorization Of Violence Against Women Act
Colleges could soon have new national standards for how they handle reported sexual assaults on their campuses, thanks to a provision in the latest re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act.
The Campus Sexual Violence Elimination (SaVE) Act was first introduced in 2010 by Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), but now depends on the passage of the Senate version of VAWA, which has incorporated much of its language. It's the most significant reform of policy on how college sexual assaults are handled since the Jeanne Clery Act of 1990 and the Campus Sexual Assault Victim's Bill of Rights of 1992.
The SaVE Act would require that schools provide victims with contact information for legal assistance and for counseling and health services. Officials handling disciplinary proceedings would be required to receive annual trainings, and campus crime reports would be expanded to include reports of stalking and domestic violence.
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Police Dog's Hilarious 'Witness Statement' To English Prosecutors Gets UK Cops In Trouble (PHOTO)
It's a dog eat dog world, and officials in England apparently have trouble telling dogs and humans apart.
England's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) barked up the wrong tree earlier this month when they requested a witness statement from a "PC Peach," not realizing PD Peach was actually the police dog at the scene -- not an officer.
Officers at the West Midland Police station attempted to correct CPS, informing them Peach was a canine, "to no avail," the Telegraph reports. So in an act of mischief, they went ahead and completed a witness statement from "PC Peach," then displayed it on one of the station's walls for the amusement of their colleagues.
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Anna Lamb-Creasey Learns Of Son's Death Through Bizarre Facebook Message Sent By Police
Anna Lamb-Creasey of Clayton County, Ga., learned of her son's death almost a month after it happened. But she didn't see it on the news or hear it from a neighbor. She found out from a Facebook message sent by a police-controlled masquerade account, reports Atlanta-based news outlet WSBTV.
Lamb-Creasey's son, Rickie Lamb, was killed by a vehicle in Forest Park in the last week in January. It wasn't until Valentine's Day that she found out he had died, according to a post she wrote on the fundraising website set up for her son's funeral.
Clarence Cox, a spokesperson for the Clayton County Police, told The Huffington Post over the phone Tuesday that police sent the Facebook message to the distraught mother from an account bearing the name "Misty Hancock" and a profile photo of rapper TI. The account had been used previously "in an undercover capacity," Cox said. "We had no intention of it getting out all over the media like this."
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Arsenal Vs Bayern LIVE Commentary
Detroit Emergency Manager To Be Recommended For City: City Council President Charles Pugh
DETROIT, Feb 19 (Reuters) - A review team appointed by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to scour Detroit's finances will recommend an emergency financial manager, City Council President Charles Pugh said on Tuesday.
"They are recommending an emergency manager. That's what (Michigan Treasurer) Andy Dillon said," Pugh told city council members during a meeting. Dillon is a member of the review team.
The review team is scheduled to announce its recommendations at a press conference later on Tuesday in Detroit.
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Christopher Shinn, 'Teddy Ferrara' Playwright, Answers Questions About The New Chicago Show
We at the Goodman understand that once the final curtain goes down, the dialogue about a play is only beginning, and Teddy Ferrara is no exception. We’ve appreciated your comments so far and wanted to keep the conversation going, so we sent out a call for your questions on social media and forwarded them to Teddy Ferrara playwright Christopher Shinn, in the Goodman’s first “Ask Me Anything” (or “AMA” as it’s been popularized). Check out his responses below, and let’s continue the discussion!
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More on Tyler Clementi
February 18, 2013
Osseily Hanna: Heartbeat: Palestinian and Israeli Youth Musicians on Debut Tour in U.S.
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