A federal appeals court in Manhattan today struck down the Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional, becoming the second such court to do so and making it that much more likely that the issue will be decided by the Supreme Court sooner than later.
The Associated Press: The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued its ruling Thursday. The decision upholds a lower court judge who ruled that the 1996 law that defines marriage as involving a man and a woman was unconstitutional. The three-judge panel says the law violates equal protection. A federal appeals court in Boston earlier this year also found it unconstitutional.
Appeals court rules Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional
Americans eat more than their body weight in GMOs every year, study shows
The consumer advocacy organization Environmental Working Group (EWG) has put out a new paper that estimates the average person's yearly consumption of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). And based on the figures, which EWG admits are very likely understated, the average person consumes more than their own body weight's worth of GMOs every single year, a shocking reality with unknown, long-term health consequences.
For their study, EWG researchers compiled data from 2011 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data sheets on average per capita consumption of various GM foods, including corn-based sweeteners like corn syrup, salad oils, and various other "corn products" like corn oil and corn meal. They then analyzed these figures based on the percentages of each of the crops used to make these products that are genetically engineered in the U.S.
US more of a killer than hijackers - accused 9/11 plotter
The alleged mastermind of 9/11 has said the US is responsible for the deaths of far more people than the hijackers who killed nearly 3000 in the 2001 attacks. He also accused the US of abusing the term national security to justify its actions.
Khalid Sheik Mohammed was allowed to address the military tribunal at the US base in Guantanamo Bay, during a pretrial hearing focused on the secrecy rules that will govern legal proceedings against him.
"When the [US] government feels sad for the killing of 3,000 on September 11, we also should feel sorry that the US government … has killed thousands of people, millions," Mohammed said in Arabic through his translator, as quoted by AP.
Alex Baer: Another Round of Hoarse, American Style
Round 2 of the Predictably Over-hyped and Inappropriate Over-talking Shouting Match between The Professor and The Spewer is now over. Now, maybe our national, throbbing-temple meltdown of a migraine will back off a bit.
It is a good time in America to drop to your knees, break out the secular hallelujahs, remember there is only one more of these things left to go, and be thankful for this Second Gasp of Conclusion. (While you're down there, do you mind checking if that's a stain, or just the lighting in here?)
Once again, candidates were able to shout themselves raw in the peculiarly childish American game of political basketball -- this one spelled HOARSE.
The Tea Party Will Win in the End
This is a nation that loathes government and always has. Liberals should not be deluded: The Goldwater revolution will ultimately triumph, regardless of what happens in November.
Were the 2012 campaign a Hitchcock movie, Mitt Romney would be the MacGuffin—a device that drives a lot of plot gyrations but proves inconsequential in itself. Then again, Barack Obama could be, too. Our down-to-the-wire presidential contest is arguably just a narrative speed bump in the scenario that has been gathering steam throughout the Obama presidency: the resurgence of the American right, the most determined and coherent political force in America.
Keystone XL Contractor and SUNY Buffalo Shale Institute Conduct LA County's Fracking Study
A huge report was published on Oct. 10 by Los Angeles County that'll likely open the floodgates for hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") for unconventional oil and gas in the Monterey Shale basin. The report, as it turns out, was done by LA County in name only.
As the Los Angeles Times explained, the study found "no harm from the method" of fracking as it pertains to extracting shale gas and oil from the Inglewood Oil Field, which the Times explains is "the largest urban oil field in the country."
High Levels of Coal Ash Contaminants Found in N.C. Waters
A Duke University-led study has found high levels of arsenic, selenium and other toxic elements in coal ash effluents and in North Carolina lakes and rivers located downstream from coal-fired power plants’ settling ponds.
Researchers collected and analyzed more than 300 water samples from 11 lakes and rivers for the study, which was published today in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Science & Technology.
Daily Multivitamins Cut Cancer Risk in Men, First Study of Its Kind Finds
Taking a daily multivitamin pill may reduce the risk of cancer in men, a new study revealed. The study found that men ages 50 and over who regularly used daily multivitamins were 8 percent less likely to develop cancer over 11-year period compared to men who took a placebo.
Scientists said that the lowered cancer risk was a modest but valuable reduction.
Alex Baer: Reminders of Our Place in the Freak Show
Words and language are odd things: They can make us howl in laughter, or, change the arrangements, they can cast us into a pit of despair. Then, time went by, and we all more or less made it out of third grade psychologically intact -- but it was close for some, right?
If you kept both those extremes conceptually close, you're probably well-armed for everything else that followed. However, as we are all spiraling in on dementia, sooner or later, maybe some memory-joggers of those old survival skills will prove useful.
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