Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Coinciding with Easter Sunday, Glasgow Cannabis Social Club’s annual 420 event was held on Glasgow Green, under sunny blue skies, and overlooking the river Clyde. Despite the city’s council attempting to revoke permission for the gathering at the last minute, police were happy for it to go-ahead with approximately a dozen officers attending in high-visibility vests.

The Daily Record reported five arrests were made for minor offences, likely smoking and possession of small quantities of cannabis. Taking a less-sensational — and more accurate — line of reporting, the Monday edition of Glasgow’s Evening News stated five were referred to the Procurator Fiscal who is responsible for deciding if charges should be brought.

Official figures provided by the police were that 150 attended. With people coming and going, Wikinews reporters estimated upwards of 200 attended, compared to nearly 700 who had signed up for the event on Facebook. Hemp goods were advertised and on sale at the event, and some attendees were seen drinking cannabis-themed energy drinks.

“I was searched and charged under the Misuse of Drugs Act (which is a lot of bollocks)” one attendee noted online, adding “not fair to happen on a brilliant day like it was, other than that I had a great day!” A second said they were openly smoking and ignored by police, who “were only really focusing on people who looked particularly young”.

Cannabis seeds were openly and legally sold at the event and a hydroponics supplier brought a motortrike towing an advertising trailer. Actually growing cannabis is, however, illegal in the UK.

With the event openly advocating the legalisation of cannabis, speakers put their arguments for this to a receptive crowd. Retired police officer James Duffy, of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, spoke of the failed United States alcohol prohibition policy; stressing such policies needlessly bring people into contact with criminal elements. Highlighting other countries where legalisation has been implemented, he pointed out such led to lower crime, and lower drug use overall.

One speaker, who produced a bottle of cannabis oil he had received through the post, asserted this cured his prostate cancer. Others highlighted the current use of Sativex by the National Health Service, with a cost in-excess of £150 for a single bottle of GW Pharmaceuticals patented spray — as-compared to the oil shown to the crowd, with a manufacturing cost of approximately £10.

Similar ‘420’ pro-cannabis events were held globally.

Aviation articles by Wikinewsie Iain Macdonald.

This Category ‘sub-page’ will display up to 500 articles which one of the project’s contributors has written on a specific topic.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is prepared to spend one billion dollars of his own money for a 2008 White House bid, the Washington Times reports, citing his friends and “close associates” .

However, Mayor Bloomberg yesterday made light of Senator Chuck Hagel‘s suggestion that Bloomberg could run as an independent with Hagel as running mate. Bloomberg has so far denied that he is running but has not ruled out the possibility either.

Media reports speculate that Bloomberg is considering a run if the Democratic and Republican nominees cater more to the parties’ bases, leaving room for an independent candidate who can attract moderate voters for both camps.

TIME magazine reports that Bloomberg was at first ready to consider spending US$500 million for a presidential run.

Michael Bloomberg could have more money than either party candidates, former FEC chairman Michael E. Toner told the Times. Those funds would come in handy to mobilize the thousands of petitions needed to qualify for a run in some states.

The Washington Times also has reports of a Bloomberg adviser saying some people involved with John McCain‘s Presidential Campaign are prepared to leave and join Bloomberg’s campaign if he does indeed run.

Bloomberg’s advisers have also said that they have been studying and learning from Ross Perot‘s Presidential campaign in 1992. They have called and talked with Perot’s former advisers and campaign workers to learn from their mistakes and experience.

Bloomberg made his fortune with his company Bloomberg L.P., a financial news and data company. Forbes magazine ranked him 44th on a list of wealthiest Americans and 142nd on a list of billionaires worldwide. His net worth is estimated at US$5.5 billion.

Monday, May 21, 2007

Do you have a hard time finding a parking space? Take the bus or tram if you go to the city. That’s the message Belgian bus company De Lijn (The Line) is sending to promote public transport as a solution for car parking problems. As a part of their media campaign, they have jokingly suggested that people use the top of the busses as parking space.

Another idea they are using in their media campaign: maybe you could park your car on the bottom of a canal? The bus company is using an invented diving company called Cardive, which has divers that offer to dump your car in the canal. The divers walk around in cities and hand out free bus tickets and maps of the bus network.

To reach car drivers who are not using public transport, the media campaign has several radio commercials that present other solutions to the car parking problem. You could use “asphalt-spray” to camouflage your car, making it invisible for policemen (although you then need to remember where you’ve parked). Or you could use the “flat tire kit”, which comes with a fake flat tire and an inflatable dummy, so it looks like you’re replacing your flat tire. The final idea the bus company has is to use a View-Master to fool parking guards into believing that your car has been stationed correctly.

A survey among 4000 customers of De Lijn shows that two out of three car owners who use public transport, do so to avoid parking space troubles, and in cities this percentage rises to 90%. The survey further shows that 39% use the bus to go shopping.

During the month of May, the auto-bus and the divers tour several cities in Flanders (Leuven, Hasselt, Ghent, Bruges and Antwerp).

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

More than 100 protesters gathered Saturday in San Francisco to object to the Human Rights Campaign‘s (HRC) stance on gender identity.

The protesters picketed the HRC’s annual fundraising dinner to protest the organization’s efforts to remove gender identity protections from legislation that would add sexual orientation to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

The group was clad in a variety of outfits, ranging from street clothing to drag to camp gear; some wore make-up or fake moustaches. Cross-dressers, gays, lesbians, transgender and gender inspecific individuals were in attendance. The group claimed a unified purpose: to express feeling betrayed by the HRC’s action, a move the protesters argued is opposed by over 350 local, statewide and national LGBT advocacy organizations.

The event quickly developed into more than ordinary civil disobedience. The “Left OUT Party: A Genderfal Gay-la” elicited a festive mode among individuals who oscillated between roles of protester and entertainer. At times, it was difficult to determine one from the other.

“Some may say that incrementalism is a smart and sound political strategy, but we don’t think that throwing the transgender community under the bus in the name of incrementalism [is] really what the LGBT community is all about,” explained Left OUT organizer Hunter Hargrave.

Some HRC dinner invitees smiled in acknowledgment of the protest, which handed out fliers supporting a united position on the ENDA and encouraging invitees of the $300 event to partake in the picketing.

The counter-party was organized by a coalition of queer progressive organizations, including Pride at Work, And Castro for All, the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club, the Trans March, the SF Labor Council, the Queer Youth Organizing Project and the Lou Sullivan Society/FTM International. Protesters were treated to speeches by San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, who was honored by the Left OUT party as a local hero for his work in ending the ban on same-sex marriage in the California Courts, as well as City Supervisor Tom Ammiano.

Mila Ponder, host of transition issues podcast Trans-Ponder.com, said she found out about the event at San Francisco’s annual Gay Pride weekend in June, where supporters were handing out flyers. Other attendees had learned about the event through word-of-mouth or networking sites like Facebook.

In addition to Herrera, other honors were presented. “2008 Human Rights Heroes” included State Assemblyman Mark Leno, Police Commission President Theresa Sparks, National Center for Lesbian Rights Legal Director Shannon Miller, San Francisco Supervisor Bevan Duffy and San Francisco Labor Council Executive Director Tim Paulson.

[edit]