China Bans ‘Time Travel’ On Television

Kevin Voight writes for CNN:

Hong Kong, China – China has been cracking down on dissent of late, as the recent detainment of artist Ai Weiwei suggests. But the latest guidance on television programming from the State Administration of Radio Film and Television in China borders on the surreal – or, rather, an attack against the surreal. New guidelines issued on March 31 discourages plot lines that contain elements of "fantasy, time-travel, random compilations of mythical stories, bizarre plots, absurd techniques, even propagating feudal superstitions... Read more »

ACLU Sues South Carolina Jail That Bans All Written Materials Except The Bible

0413_Jail_full_600Obviously the issue of freedom-of-religion is at hand. (Jewish and Muslim prisoners were blocked from receiving their holy books.) But beyond that, isn’t it a damaging and cruel form of punishment to prevent inmates from reading books, newspapers, magazines, letters, and other printed material of any kind for years upon years? That’s rehabilitation, South Carolina-style, Christian Science Monitor writes:

The US Justice Department is asking a federal judge in South Carolina to allow it to intervene in a lawsuit against a sheriff who allegedly forbids prisoners in his jail from receiving books, magazines, or printed materials other than copies of the King James version of the Bible.

Berkeley County Sheriff H. Wayne DeWitt denies that restrictions imposed at the county lockup in Moncks Corner, S.C., rise to the level of a constitutional violation or violate US law.

A Jewish prisoner seeking a Torah said he was told by jail officials that the prison only provides…

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One year ago ALL Republicans voted AGAINST raising the debt limit

Funny how a power affects them. Time to march on Washington again and remind the GOP this time who is the boss. http://politics.nytimes.com/congress/votes/111/house/1/988 read more Read more »

Bush Cousin Presides over 9/11 Suit against Cheney, Rumsfeld, Myers

No, it’s not a joke. A 9/11 lawsuit against former high officials in the Bush White House is being presided over by a cousin of former president George W. Bush – a shocking and blatant conflict of interest that should embarrass even believers in... Read more »

Sony v. Hotz Ends With a Whimper, I Mean a Gag Order

After months of expensive litigation, Sony has finally settled its case against George Hotz and dismissed the remaining defendants from the case. Was it worth the thousands Sony paid in lawyers fees? That depends on Sony’s motivation. What Sony g... Read more »

Radiation Risks in Europe From Fukushima ‘No Longer Negligible’

The risks associated with iodine-131 contamination in Europe are no longer "negligible," according to CRIIRAD, a French research body on radioactivity. The NGO is advising pregnant women and infants against "risky behaviour," such as consuming fresh m... Read more »

Berlusconi Walks Out of Fraud Court

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has walked out of a court room during his tax fraud trial, saying the hearing was “a waste of time.” In an open court on Monday, about two and a half hours after the hearing started, Berlusconi, who was s... Read more »

Ohio Bans Liquefication Of The Dead

1300895381990What is the simplest, cheapest, and most environmentally friendly option for dealing with a cadaver? Easy: turn it into a coffee-colored liquid which “can safely be poured down the drain.” Ohio has ordered a funeral parlor to cease liquefying corpses, however, though there is no law against it, Associated Press reports:

An Ohio funeral home that is the first in the nation to use a cremation alternative that dissolves bodies with lye and heat has effectively been blocked from using the procedure by state regulators.

Edwards Funeral Service in Columbus is the only U.S. funeral business offering the procedure called alkaline hydrolysis to the public, according to Jessica Koth, a spokeswoman for the National Funeral Directors Association. The process is touted by proponents as being better for the environment than cremation. While funeral homes in other states are moving toward the method, Edwards’ owner, Jeff Edwards, told The Columbus Dispatch that he has…

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The Last Free People On Earth

Joanna Eede writes for National Geographic:

Deep in one of the remotest parts of the Brazilian Amazon, in a clearing at the headwaters of the Envira River, an Indian man looks up at an aeroplane. He is surrounded by kapok trees and banana plants, and by the necessities of his life: a thatched hut, its roof made from palm fronds; a plant-fiber basket brimming with ripe pawpaw; a pile of peeled manioc, lying bright-white against the rain forest earth.
The man’s body is painted red from crushed seeds of the annatto shrub, and in his hand... Read more »

Libyan Rebels had NATO Weapons from Day One

Libyan rebels from the Feb. 17 armed coup attempt to overthrow the Libyan government had brand new weapons since the first day of the uprising. These weapons were of non-Libyan origin and had already been secretly imported into Libya in advance of Feb.... Read more »

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