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http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/dc/in-dc-no-such-thing-as-too-poor-for-medical-pot-080510
In DC, No Such Thing as Too Poor For Medical Pot
Updated: Thursday, 05 Aug 2010, 5:47 AM EDT
Published : Thursday, 05 Aug 2010, 5:47 AM EDT
WASHINGTON - There should be no such thing as too poor to buy pot if you live in D.C., at least if the marijuana is for a medical condition.
That's part of the conclusion of a new law enacted in the nation's capital earlier this year. The medical marijuana law allows people to legally obtain the drug for medical reasons. But the law also includes a provision different from the 14 other states with medical marijuana laws, requiring the drug to be provided at a discount to poor residents. Who will get the reduced-price marijuana and how much it will cost, however, is still being worked out.
City officials say they plan to publish their first draft of regulations implementing the law on Friday. Patients aren't expected to be able to purchase medical marijuana in the city until 2011.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Bradley Cooper looks a lot like Zeppo Marx
***
So, I guess it's Hannibal, Murdoch, B.A., and Zeppo after my revelation at the dollar theater.
Zeppo Marx:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8hk9pUtVwA
http://www.yorktech.com/department/electeng/zeppo02.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeppo_Marx
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLpvi6Ngu-4EO6eu57OfXRuddyEN1v2wMVuNHI_JLkFDIrrMu_yNAh4fGd_zURsAkcekDJuGCuu6ShvVsDqrS4kcqnNVlbece9OFDAWn2p5tKb8-saOPeaN3HUHnmKYILegpfkzHBo84gX/s1600-h/zeppo+marx.jpg
Bradley Cooper:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0177896/
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1986563584/nm0177896
So, I guess it's Hannibal, Murdoch, B.A., and Zeppo after my revelation at the dollar theater.
Zeppo Marx:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8hk9pUtVwA
http://www.yorktech.com/department/electeng/zeppo02.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeppo_Marx
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLpvi6Ngu-4EO6eu57OfXRuddyEN1v2wMVuNHI_JLkFDIrrMu_yNAh4fGd_zURsAkcekDJuGCuu6ShvVsDqrS4kcqnNVlbece9OFDAWn2p5tKb8-saOPeaN3HUHnmKYILegpfkzHBo84gX/s1600-h/zeppo+marx.jpg
Bradley Cooper:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0177896/
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1986563584/nm0177896
Mind-Controlled Artificial Arm Begins the First Human Testing
http://singularityhub.com/2010/08/03/mind-controlled-artificial-arm-begins-the-first-human-testing/
by Drew Halley
The MPL will be hard-wired directly into the brain.
The world’s first human testing of a mind-controlled artificial limb is ready to begin. A joint project between the Pentagon and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), the Modular Prosthetic Limb will be fully controlled by sensors implanted in the brain, and will even restore the sense of touch by sending electrical impulses from the limb back to the sensory cortex. Last month APL announced it was awarded a $34.5 million contract with DARPA, which will allow researchers to test the neural prosthesis in five individuals over the next two years.
We’ve been reporting on major advances in artificial limbs for a while now, but this is the holy grail of prosthetic technology. Phase III testing – human subjects testing – will be used to tweak the system, both improving neural control over the limb and optimizing the algorithms which generate sensory feedback. The Modular Prosthetic Limb (MPL) is the product of years of prototype design – it includes 22 degrees of motion, allows independent control of all five fingers, and weighs the same as a natural human arm (about nine pounds). Patients will control the MPL with a surgically implanted microarray which records action potentials directly from the motor cortex.
Researchers plan to install the first system into a quadriplegic patient; while amputees can be outfitted with traditional prostheses, the MPL will be the first artificial limb that can sidestep spinal cord injury by plugging directly into the brain. This isn’t the first brain-controlled interface to be used in humans – we’ve previously reported on Braingate, a system that uses brain impulses to control computer cursors and restore communication to locked-in patients. But the MPL will offer the first hard-wired neural control of bionic body parts, whether lost to injury or neurodegenerative disease.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is the one of more conceptually adventurous R&D agencies run through the Department of Defense. The brain-interface MPL is the most cutting-edge project – in fact, the original purpose – of their larger Revolutionizing Prosthetics program, which aims to improve prosthetic technology to treat veterans who have lost limbs in combat. DARPA often collaborates with (i.e. funds) university research teams and companies whose expertise can speed research along.
Such was the case with the Deka Luke Arm, a competing prosthesis technology which we covered last year. Deka, which is owned and run by Segway inventor Dean Kamen, was awarded $18 million by DARPA as part of the Revolutionizing Prosthetics program. The result is the Luke Arm, a prosthesis with 18 degrees of freedom that can be controlled in several ways. Generally, the prosthesis is hooked up to both pads under the feet (kind of like a remote joystick) as well as shoulder sensors. The Luke Arm has also been wired into patients’ remaining chest nerves, using a technique called targeted muscle reinnervation. This technique allows something comparable to the MPL (users’ thoughts control their own nerves, wired to the prosthesis). The Smart Hand (which we covered last year) was developed by EU researchers and uses a similar prosthesis-to-nerve connection.
The Luke Arm is an impressive leap forward for prosthetic technology, offering precise movement as well as pressure control – plus it’s already in clinical trials. But if the MPL can deliver on its promise of a cleanly-controlled prosthesis that is wired directly to the brain, it will most likely become the gold standard of artificial limbs. What remains to be seen is how well the brain sensors can translate a patient’s intentions into smooth, functional movements of the arm (and whether they can do better than muscle reinnervation). The agency is working to improve the precision of neural recordings, as well as boost the maximum number of impulses that can be recorded per second. Improving these spatial and temporal recordings will help to match the MPL’s movements to the patient’s intentions.
The biggest problem with neural interfaces is their short lifespan. Over time, silicon chips embedded in wet tissue begin to break down within the body, and need to be replaced within about two years. Earlier this year, DARPA announced a program called Histology for Interface Stability Over Time; the goal is to pinpoint how and why neural implants fail, and ultimately to boost their lifespan to 70 years. Without more permanent neural arrays, patients would need to undergo replacement surgery multiple times over their lifespan.
While the research is primarily a joint venture between Johns Hopkins and DARPA, the project will tap multiple institutions for varying forms of expertise. The University of Pittsburgh (who have already implanted monkeys with sensors to control robot arms) and CalTech will help with brain-computer interface design. The University of Chicago will aid the project with restoring sensory input, which will be an integral part of the MPL. The University of Utah will provide experience with the actual brain sensors to be implanted, and HDT Engineered Technologies will bring their skill in prosthetic technology to the project.
The program has some serious hurdles to overcome, and undoubtedly more technical obstacles will present themselves as trials begin. That being said, this is the most exciting project in prosthetic science to date. A fully integrated artificial limb would mark a new milestone in bionic technology: wiring external devices safely and directly into the nervous system. No more remotely controlled sensors, no more muscular myosensors… instead, a direct line from thought to action, and sensory experience restored to the brain.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on the MPL as new information emerges on Phase III trials. And until we can show you its neural integration, check out the MPL working remotely:
by Drew Halley
The MPL will be hard-wired directly into the brain.
The world’s first human testing of a mind-controlled artificial limb is ready to begin. A joint project between the Pentagon and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), the Modular Prosthetic Limb will be fully controlled by sensors implanted in the brain, and will even restore the sense of touch by sending electrical impulses from the limb back to the sensory cortex. Last month APL announced it was awarded a $34.5 million contract with DARPA, which will allow researchers to test the neural prosthesis in five individuals over the next two years.
We’ve been reporting on major advances in artificial limbs for a while now, but this is the holy grail of prosthetic technology. Phase III testing – human subjects testing – will be used to tweak the system, both improving neural control over the limb and optimizing the algorithms which generate sensory feedback. The Modular Prosthetic Limb (MPL) is the product of years of prototype design – it includes 22 degrees of motion, allows independent control of all five fingers, and weighs the same as a natural human arm (about nine pounds). Patients will control the MPL with a surgically implanted microarray which records action potentials directly from the motor cortex.
Researchers plan to install the first system into a quadriplegic patient; while amputees can be outfitted with traditional prostheses, the MPL will be the first artificial limb that can sidestep spinal cord injury by plugging directly into the brain. This isn’t the first brain-controlled interface to be used in humans – we’ve previously reported on Braingate, a system that uses brain impulses to control computer cursors and restore communication to locked-in patients. But the MPL will offer the first hard-wired neural control of bionic body parts, whether lost to injury or neurodegenerative disease.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is the one of more conceptually adventurous R&D agencies run through the Department of Defense. The brain-interface MPL is the most cutting-edge project – in fact, the original purpose – of their larger Revolutionizing Prosthetics program, which aims to improve prosthetic technology to treat veterans who have lost limbs in combat. DARPA often collaborates with (i.e. funds) university research teams and companies whose expertise can speed research along.
Such was the case with the Deka Luke Arm, a competing prosthesis technology which we covered last year. Deka, which is owned and run by Segway inventor Dean Kamen, was awarded $18 million by DARPA as part of the Revolutionizing Prosthetics program. The result is the Luke Arm, a prosthesis with 18 degrees of freedom that can be controlled in several ways. Generally, the prosthesis is hooked up to both pads under the feet (kind of like a remote joystick) as well as shoulder sensors. The Luke Arm has also been wired into patients’ remaining chest nerves, using a technique called targeted muscle reinnervation. This technique allows something comparable to the MPL (users’ thoughts control their own nerves, wired to the prosthesis). The Smart Hand (which we covered last year) was developed by EU researchers and uses a similar prosthesis-to-nerve connection.
The Luke Arm is an impressive leap forward for prosthetic technology, offering precise movement as well as pressure control – plus it’s already in clinical trials. But if the MPL can deliver on its promise of a cleanly-controlled prosthesis that is wired directly to the brain, it will most likely become the gold standard of artificial limbs. What remains to be seen is how well the brain sensors can translate a patient’s intentions into smooth, functional movements of the arm (and whether they can do better than muscle reinnervation). The agency is working to improve the precision of neural recordings, as well as boost the maximum number of impulses that can be recorded per second. Improving these spatial and temporal recordings will help to match the MPL’s movements to the patient’s intentions.
The biggest problem with neural interfaces is their short lifespan. Over time, silicon chips embedded in wet tissue begin to break down within the body, and need to be replaced within about two years. Earlier this year, DARPA announced a program called Histology for Interface Stability Over Time; the goal is to pinpoint how and why neural implants fail, and ultimately to boost their lifespan to 70 years. Without more permanent neural arrays, patients would need to undergo replacement surgery multiple times over their lifespan.
While the research is primarily a joint venture between Johns Hopkins and DARPA, the project will tap multiple institutions for varying forms of expertise. The University of Pittsburgh (who have already implanted monkeys with sensors to control robot arms) and CalTech will help with brain-computer interface design. The University of Chicago will aid the project with restoring sensory input, which will be an integral part of the MPL. The University of Utah will provide experience with the actual brain sensors to be implanted, and HDT Engineered Technologies will bring their skill in prosthetic technology to the project.
The program has some serious hurdles to overcome, and undoubtedly more technical obstacles will present themselves as trials begin. That being said, this is the most exciting project in prosthetic science to date. A fully integrated artificial limb would mark a new milestone in bionic technology: wiring external devices safely and directly into the nervous system. No more remotely controlled sensors, no more muscular myosensors… instead, a direct line from thought to action, and sensory experience restored to the brain.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on the MPL as new information emerges on Phase III trials. And until we can show you its neural integration, check out the MPL working remotely:
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Attempt to block 'Ground Zero mosque' fails
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10856231
Site of proposed cultural centre and mosque The site is a disused coat factory.
An attempt to stop a plan for a mosque near New York's Ground Zero has failed after the site was denied landmark status.
The scheme for a 13-storey Islamic cultural centre and mosque several hundred feet away from the site of the Twin Towers has drawn criticism.
Opponents had hoped the Landmarks Preservation Commission would protect the building.
Some relatives of 9/11 victims are against the building of a mosque.
Sarah Palin and other prominent Republicans have attacked the mosque plan, but New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said Muslim religious freedom must be respected.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
To build a mosque at Ground Zero is a stab in the heart of the families of the innocent victims of those horrific attacks”
End Quote Sarah Palin
* Battle over mosque site
The commission's vote was on the architectural merits of the disused coat factory that is to be redeveloped.
But it was always thought unlikely that it would be declared a landmark.
The backers of the Cordoba House cultural centre believe it will become a symbol of good inter-faith relations.
But the opponents say it is tasteless to have a mosque so near to a site where Islamist extremists killed thousands.
Former US House of Representatives speaker Newt Gingrich dubbed it an "act of triumphalism".
Former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin wrote that "to build a mosque at Ground Zero is a stab in the heart of the families of the innocent victims of those horrific attacks".
The building is already being used as an impromptu mosque.
Site of proposed cultural centre and mosque The site is a disused coat factory.
An attempt to stop a plan for a mosque near New York's Ground Zero has failed after the site was denied landmark status.
The scheme for a 13-storey Islamic cultural centre and mosque several hundred feet away from the site of the Twin Towers has drawn criticism.
Opponents had hoped the Landmarks Preservation Commission would protect the building.
Some relatives of 9/11 victims are against the building of a mosque.
Sarah Palin and other prominent Republicans have attacked the mosque plan, but New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said Muslim religious freedom must be respected.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
To build a mosque at Ground Zero is a stab in the heart of the families of the innocent victims of those horrific attacks”
End Quote Sarah Palin
* Battle over mosque site
The commission's vote was on the architectural merits of the disused coat factory that is to be redeveloped.
But it was always thought unlikely that it would be declared a landmark.
The backers of the Cordoba House cultural centre believe it will become a symbol of good inter-faith relations.
But the opponents say it is tasteless to have a mosque so near to a site where Islamist extremists killed thousands.
Former US House of Representatives speaker Newt Gingrich dubbed it an "act of triumphalism".
Former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin wrote that "to build a mosque at Ground Zero is a stab in the heart of the families of the innocent victims of those horrific attacks".
The building is already being used as an impromptu mosque.
Mexican Drug Cartel Allegedly Puts a Price on Arizona Sheriff's Head
http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/immigration/mexican-drug-cartel-sheriff-arpaio-07292010
$1M offered for Arpaio, $1K to join cartel
PHOENIX - He's been at the center of the discussions and controversies surrounding illegal immigration enforcement in Arizona for quite a while.
On the day parts of Arizona's immigration law, SB 1070, went into effect, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is in the news for another reason: there's a price on his head - allegedly offered by a Mexican drug cartel.
The audio message in Spanish is a bit garbled, but the text is clear.
It's offering $1 million for Sheriff Joe Arpaio's head and $10,000 for anyone who wants to join the Mexican cartel.
A man who wants to remain anonymous says his wife received the text message Tuesday evening. It also included an international phone number and instructions to pass the message along.
"She showed it to me..I was kind of disgusted..I reported it to the Sheriff's department yesterday..they said they were going to direct the threat squad on it."
Lisa Allen of the Sheriff's office says they believe the message originated in Mexico.
Although the Sheriff has received numerous death threats in the past, they believe this threat is credible because of its timing.
"Arpaio gets threats pretty routinely, but obviously with this heightened awareness of his role in the immigration issue we've got to take this one a little bit more seriously with a million dollar contract out on him," said Allen.
But she says what really concerns investigators is how quickly the message may have been spread. "It's going so many different places that our folks are looking at it and thinking well at any given point in time it could land in front of some crazy person who thinks I can do that."
As for Arpaio's reaction to the threat, "It's a little bit like water off a duck's back for him, but you never know if it's that sense of false bravado with him..you just can't read it, I'm sure he's concerned, I'm sure he's concerned for his family more than anything else," said Allen.
The Sheriff's office says investigators are trying to trace exactly where the text message came from, but because it did originate from an international number, that will be difficult too.
$1M offered for Arpaio, $1K to join cartel
PHOENIX - He's been at the center of the discussions and controversies surrounding illegal immigration enforcement in Arizona for quite a while.
On the day parts of Arizona's immigration law, SB 1070, went into effect, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is in the news for another reason: there's a price on his head - allegedly offered by a Mexican drug cartel.
The audio message in Spanish is a bit garbled, but the text is clear.
It's offering $1 million for Sheriff Joe Arpaio's head and $10,000 for anyone who wants to join the Mexican cartel.
A man who wants to remain anonymous says his wife received the text message Tuesday evening. It also included an international phone number and instructions to pass the message along.
"She showed it to me..I was kind of disgusted..I reported it to the Sheriff's department yesterday..they said they were going to direct the threat squad on it."
Lisa Allen of the Sheriff's office says they believe the message originated in Mexico.
Although the Sheriff has received numerous death threats in the past, they believe this threat is credible because of its timing.
"Arpaio gets threats pretty routinely, but obviously with this heightened awareness of his role in the immigration issue we've got to take this one a little bit more seriously with a million dollar contract out on him," said Allen.
But she says what really concerns investigators is how quickly the message may have been spread. "It's going so many different places that our folks are looking at it and thinking well at any given point in time it could land in front of some crazy person who thinks I can do that."
As for Arpaio's reaction to the threat, "It's a little bit like water off a duck's back for him, but you never know if it's that sense of false bravado with him..you just can't read it, I'm sure he's concerned, I'm sure he's concerned for his family more than anything else," said Allen.
The Sheriff's office says investigators are trying to trace exactly where the text message came from, but because it did originate from an international number, that will be difficult too.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
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