Texas Law Prevents Veterinarian from Offering Consultations Over Internet
April 10th, 2013Via: U.S. News and World Report:
But in March—after more a decade of dispensing veterinary advice over the Web for a small fee— the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners sent Hines a letter claiming the department “has received a complaint alleging you have and are currently operating an internet consultation service which provides medical recommendations to clients.” This practice, the letter continues, “may constitute the practice of veterinary medicine in violation of the Veterinary Licensing Act 801.351.”
The law—which Hines claims he never heard about—says “a veterinarian-client-patient relationship may not be established solely by telephone or electronic means.” In other words, it has been effectively illegal to treat an animal over the internet in the state of Texas since the law was passed in 2005, at least in cases in which the veterinarian has had no direct contact with the animal in question. Since that first letter was sent Hines has faced fines and even a suspension of his veterinary license.
So Hines decided to fight the state, claiming the law is a violation of his free speech rights and is merely a product of economic protectionism.
…
Jeff Rowes, a lawyer for the Institute for Justice, a libertarian public interest law firm that has taken on Hines as its client, claims that the Veterinary Licensing Act is one of many state laws passed in recent years at the behest of industry groups that seek to inoculate themselves from outside competition.
Research Credit: SO
Earthquake Strikes Near Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Plant, Kills 20
April 9th, 2013Via: NBC:
A magnitude-6.3 earthquake struck near Iran’s only nuclear power station Tuesday, killing 20 people and injuring 500, according to one report, and generating tremors that were felt on the other side of the Persian Gulf.
The quake struck about 60 miles southeast of the city of Bushehr on Iran’s south coast, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
Initial reports suggested the city’s nuclear plant had not been affected, but the southern province where the quake struck is vast and remote and details were not immediately clear.
ATF Sting Operation Used Brain-Damaged Man, Then Charged Him
April 9th, 2013Via: Journal Sentinel:
ATF agents running an undercover storefront in Milwaukee used a brain-damaged man with a low IQ to set up gun and drug deals, paying him in cigarettes, merchandise and money, according to federal documents obtained by the Journal Sentinel.
For more than six months, federal agents relied on Chauncey Wright to promote “Fearless Distributing” by handing out fliers as he rode his bike around town recommending the store to friends, family and strangers, according to federal prosecutors and family members.
Wright, unaware that the store was an undercover operation being run by agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, also stocked shelves with shoes, clothing, drug paraphernalia and auto parts, according to his family.
Once authorities shut down the operation, they charged the 28-year-old man with federal gun and drug counts.
“I have never heard of anything so ludicrous in my life,” said Greg Thiele, who spent 30 years working for the Milwaukee Police Department including on undercover stings with federal agents, including those with the ATF. “Something is very wrong here.”
Wright’s IQ measures in the 50s, about half of a normal IQ, according to those familiar with him. Wright’s score is classified as mildly or moderately disabled, depending on the IQ scale used.
At Wright’s sentencing in June, prosecutors will recommend probation, based on his “mental functioning,” according to his plea agreement on file with the court.
Research Credit: bretwalda
Japan: Patriot Missile Systems Deployed in Tokyo
April 9th, 2013Via: CNN:
Japan deployed missile-defense systems at three sites around Tokyo early Tuesday ahead of a possible missile launch by North Korea, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.
The Patriot missile batteries were set up in the central district of Ichigaya and in the suburbs of Asaka and Narashino, Suga told reporters Tuesday. The deployments come as U.S. and South Korean officials warn Pyongyang could be preparing for another provocative move after weeks of belligerent rhetoric.
FUKUSHIMA: AT LEAST THREE OF SEVEN UNDERGROUND CHAMBERS LEAKING RADIOACTIVE WATER
April 9th, 2013Via: New York Times:
The operator of Japan’s crippled nuclear plant halted an emergency operation Tuesday to pump thousands of gallons of radioactive water from a leaking underground storage pool after workers discovered that a similar pool, to which the water was being transferred, was also leaking.
At least three of seven underground chambers at the site are now seeping radioactive water, leaving the Tokyo Electric Power Company with few options on where to store the huge amounts of contaminated runoff from the makeshift cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
…
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has stressed that he will not permit Tepco — which has effectively been nationalized following the disaster — to again release contaminated water into the ocean. But Tepco says it already stores more than a quarter-million tons of radioactive water in hundreds of tanks at the site, or in underground pools, and that the amount of runoff could double within three years.
The company has said it is building more storage space, and also filters much of the runoff. But with its underground pools vulnerable to leaks, Tepco is being forced to scramble for alternatives.
Workers at the plant had been emptying the No. 2 underground pool after Tepco found that about 120 tons of toxic water, or almost 32,000 gallons, had breached its inner plastic linings and seeped into the soil. Tepco said the leak appeared to be the biggest since the early months after the March 2011 disaster.
Navy Unveils Drone-Killing Laser
April 9th, 2013Via: U.S. News and World Report:
The Navy’s top officer unveiled new technology Monday that allows ships to shoot down drones or other vehicles for about the cost of a pack of gum.
The USS Dewey tested an onboard laser weapons system in July 2012, in which it successfully shot down a test drone. Navy Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the chief of Naval Operations, screened video of the event while speaking at the Sea-Air-Space expo.
The Laser Weapon System or LaWS only costs roughly $1 per shot and could be employed against fast attack ships or even be used in the future for missile defense.
This kind of “non-kinetic” weapon that does not involve shooting a projectile at an enemy craft will define the future of naval war, Greenert said.
Related: Navy Deploying Laser Weapon Prototype Near Iran
Margaret Thatcher Dead at 87
April 8th, 2013Via: BBC:
Former Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher has died “peacefully” at the age of 87 after suffering a stroke, her family has announced.
Successor David Cameron called her a “great Briton” and the Queen spoke of her sadness at the death.
Lady Thatcher was Conservative prime minister from 1979 to 1990. She was the first woman to hold the role.
She will not be accorded a state funeral, in accordance with her own wishes, Downing Street said.
Mr Cameron, who is in Madrid for meetings, has cancelled planned talks in Paris with French President Francois Hollande and will return to the UK later on Monday.
USD Bitcoin Exchange Rate
April 8th, 2013Update: Bitcoin Crash
The correct answer was that it hit $100 first, after reaching a high of $266.
—
Current Bitcoin Rate: Mt. Gox (USD)
Going forward, Bitcoin will first hit...
- $300 (62%, 161 Votes)
- $100 (38%, 97 Votes)
Total Voters: 258
Related: Bitcoin.org
The Nonsense About iMessage Supposedly Frustrating DEA
April 8th, 2013I think I’m making progress. Readers who submitted this DEA / iMessage nonsense knew it was bullshit.
Congratulations. You guys get it.
Via: TechDirt:
In reading over this, however, a number of people quickly called bullshit. While Apple boasts of “end-to-end encryption” it’s pretty clear that Apple itself holds the key — because if you boot up a brand new iOS device, you automatically get access to your old messages. That means that (a) Apple is storing those messages in the cloud and (b) it can decrypt them if it needs to.
Biden: “Create a New World Order”
April 7th, 2013Via: CSPAN:
Vice President Joe Biden calls for the creation of a “new world order” at the Export Import Bank conference in Washington on April 5, 2013.
Flashback: 1992 Biden Speech: “On the Threshold of the New World Order: A Rebirth for the United Nations”
