Shakespeare just got better with cannabis say scie...

According to Wikipedia, Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later known as the King’s Men.

He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare’s private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others.  Among his suspected peccadilloes were his possible use of marijuana to enhance his writing ability.  Read about it here:

(Newser) An academic is willing to risk falling afoul of a 400-year-old curse to find out whether William Shakespeare was a pothead. South African anthropologist Francis Thackeray, who discovered marijuana and cocaine residue in pipe fragments found in the bard’s garden, believed pot gave Shakespeare a creative boost. He is seeking permission to open up Shakespeare’s grave in a church in Stratford-upon-Avon, LiveScience reports.

Analysis of hair, teeth and fingernails in the grave could ...

Horny turtles shut down JFK runway

Apparently, nothing can stand in the way of a turtle’s libido—not even a 747. Turtles crawling to breeding grounds across a tarmac at JFK airport have forced the shutdown of a runway several times this week, delaying flights, reports the New York Post. “Running over turtles is not healthy for them,” says a Jet Blue rep. “Nor is it good for our tires.” “The sandy spot on the other side of Runway 4L is ideal for egg laying,” says an airport spokesman. “It is a naturally provided turtle maternity ward. When your airport is virtually surrounded by water, your neighbors sometimes come in the hard shell variety.” A runway at JFK was also closed in July 2009 when 78 turtles crawled from nearby Jamaica Bay.  

Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks and Javier Colon sing...

Stephanie Lynn “Stevie” Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac and an extensive solo career, which collectively have produced over forty Top 50 hits and sold over 140 million albums. She has been noted for her ethereal visual style and symbolic lyrics. Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac on December 31, 1974, along with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham. Fleetwood Mac’s second album after the incorporation of Nicks and Buckingham, 1977?s Rumours, produced four U.S. Top 10 singles (including Nicks’s song “Dreams”, which was the band’s first and only U.S. number one) and remained at No.1 on the American albums chart for 31 weeks, as well as reaching the top spot in various countries around the world. To date the album has sold over 40 million copies worldwide, making it the ninth highest selling album of all time.

Hacking outfit LulzSec release 700 documents belon...

The hacking group known as LulzSec has published about 700 confidential documents belonging to the Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS). The cache includes e-mails, memos and training manuals as well as intelligence bulletins detailing work with informants. The group said it had targeted AZDPS because of a controversial state law designed to stop illegal immigration. On 24 June, Lulzsec announced that it was putting 400MB of documents on the Pirate Bay file-sharing website via a short message on its Twitter feed and a statement on its website. It said that AZDPS had been targeted because of its role in upholding the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, also known as SB1070. The legislation, passed in 2010, forces legal aliens to carry their ID documents at all times. It also obliges Arizona police to check those papers when they have a reasonable suspicion that a person may be there illegally. Who are LulzSec? Lulz Security, commonly abbreviated as LulzSec, is a computer hacker group that claims responsibility for several high profile attacks, including the compromise of over 1,000,000 user accounts from Sony in 2011. The group also claimed responsibility for taking the CIA website offline. It has gained attention due to its high profile ...

Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011

Barney Frank and Ron Paul introduce a bill to decriminalize marijuana. Do you know how I know conservatives/Republicans aren’t serious when they say they want smaller government and less government interference in our lives? Because the overwhelming majority will not support this bill despite the fact that it will shrink the size of government, it will reduce government interference in our lives, and it will provide a new platform for entrepreneurs. (For the record, I don’t think Democratic politicians are serious about a lot of their principles either. Why is there such a huge gap between the principles of conservatism/liberalism and the politicians that are supposed to uphold them?)

Pot Legalization Bill Reaches House Floor

Are the days of smoking pot in fear of arrest coming to an end? After a report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy stated that the international War on Drugs has failed, Representatives Barney Frank (D-MA) and Ron Paul (R-TX) have sponsored a bill that would end the federal prohibition on marijuana, and leave the decision of legalization to the states. The bill would also reduce Washington’s role in the War on Drugs to combatting organized crime and illegal smuggling, rather than individual possession offenses. Rep. Frank supports marijuana laws moving to the states, stating that “prosecuting responsible adults who make the decision …to smoke marijuana interferes with their personal freedom,” and likened this proposed piece of legislation to the 21st Amendment that repealed federal alcohol prohibition. However, due to the large number of pot prohibitionists in Congress, Rep. Frank admitted that the bill has “no chance of passing” but introducing the piece will help the “educational process” of marijuana laws within government, and lead to change down the road. In 2019, our rebels are allowed to smoke marijuana legally, one of the few personal freedoms afforded to the citizens during an ...

Miss USA to TSA: Ban the Scan!

As people across the country prepare for their summer vacations, some will be taking vacations that involve flying, which means having to deal with the pat-down happy TSA. The obscene practices of this government entity are well-known and much-despised, and those of us that would like nothing better than to see such practices end may’ve gotten a new partner in the fight. Teaming up with Campaign for Liberty, Miss USA 2003 winner Susie Castillo is launching a campaign to get state and local governments to pass anti-groping and anti-pat down legislation similar to that of the Texas State Legislature. Ms. Castillo’s anger at the TSA comes from her own experiences being “violated” by a TSA servicewoman at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport back in April. On her website, she describes the ordeal, which involved frequent and unnecessary touching of her body that was different from her previous pat-down experience at LAX in Los Angeles, which was less thorough. Now Ms. Castillo is using her traumatic experience as a weapon in the ongoing battle against the TSA’s unnecessary pat-downs and searches that are both a violation of the 4th amendment and make traveling ...

5 Places You Should Avoid During the Dollar Crisis

The Dont-Tread-On.Me blog covered a scary but true topic on the coming dollar crash, suggesting its arrival within the next year. Actions leading up to a dollar crisis are predicted to begin with another debt finance package (QE3 or something similar) to enable the Federal Reserve to turn the printing press back on. As the QE2 “funds” come to a close this month, I feel the Fed will be forced into making a decision since the economy is showing little to no signs of improvement. I also believe they’ll have to run a whole new PR campaign on the measure because people saw QE and QE2 fall flat on their face. Who in their right mind would support a 3rd round? One things for sure, when the dollar collapses, there are a few places you’ll want to avoid more than others, per the suggestion of Silver Shield at the Don’t Tread On Me blog. As we all know the dollar is the world’s reserve currency and if or when it fails (according to Silver Circle I’m assuming the latter option) there will be some places around the world and this ...

Warrantless Searches Once Again on Trial

Despite the unfortunate reauthorization of the Patriot Act by Congress last month, provisions of the law, especially with regards to warrantless searches, are being challenged in the courts. This week, the Supreme Court is going to weigh in on the constitutionality of bugging somebody’s car with a GPS tracking device without a proper search warrant, which some believe is a flagrant violation of the 4th amendment. The case in question revolves around Antoine Jones, who was convicted in 2008 for possession and distribution of cocaine. Mr. Jones’ argument is that the evidence presented in his trial was illegally gotten from a GPS tracking device secretly mounted on his Jeep for a month leading up to his arrest. Therefore, the evidence cannot be considered admissible because it was acquired without a search warrant being filed. Last year, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled in Mr. Jones’ favor, stating that the tracking is a violation of the 4th amendment, yet the government maintains that the warrantless GPS tracking is in compliance with previous court rulings regarding searches. As the case goes before the ...

Rebels of the Week: Anonymous

Earlier this month, we at Silver Underground reported the story of the Orlando based organization Food Not Bombs being forced to cease feeding homeless people on city land after some of its members were arrested for violating a city ordinance regarding large gatherings in public parks. As that case makes its way through the court system, the renegade samaritans are now receiving help from an unlikely source: computer hackers who made Orlando their next target. This week, it has been reported that the mysterious computer hacking troop Anonymous is coming to the aid of the beleaguered group through a web campaign called “Operation Orlando”. The purpose of this mission is to attack “city web assets” as well as Orlando tourism sites on the internet in revenge for the arrests. Also, the group is promoting a boycott of the city of Orlando until the city repents on its treatment of the organization. Calling Orlando city officials “human rights abusers”, as well as deeming the arrest for Food Not Bombs president Keith McHenry a “declaration of war”, the attacks will be aimed at disrupting city communications and Internet accounts in an ...