Stunner: Teamsters Union Donates to RNC

After Months of Punishing News‚ Harvard is Ready to Back Away from Politics

Germany has just become the latest to join a select group of countries that have legalized cannabis use. Today‚ February 23‚ 2024‚ the Bundestag passed a law that is due to come into effect from April 1‚ permitting recreational use of the drug for over-18s in both public and private spaces‚ with some restrictions.News that the country’s government was planning a more lenient stance on cannabis first broke in October last year‚ but it’s only now that the official vote has gone through. It joins a small club of other countries like Canada‚ and a number of jurisdictions in the US‚ which have legalized personal use of cannabis. Other places‚ including the UK‚ allow limited access to the drug for medicinal purposes. Clouding the picture even further are regions where the drug remains technically illegal‚ but where its use is decriminalized‚ such as Portugal and the Netherlands.  The legislation passed by 407 votes to 226‚ but its detractors were not going down without a fight.“You are asserting in all seriousness that by legalising more drugs we will contain drug use among young people. That is the most stupid thing I've ever heard‚” said Tino Sorge of the Christian Democrat party during the debate‚ according to Reuters‚ while the BBC reports that another party member‚ Simone Borchardt‚ called it a “completely unnecessary‚ confused law" regardless of warnings from doctors‚ police and psychotherapists.However‚ those in favor of a relaxation of the rules are sticking to their convictions that a harm reduction approach is the best way forward.“We have two goals: to crack down on the black market and improved protection of children and young people‚” said Health Minister Karl Lauterbach as the debate began. Even when the law comes into effect in April‚ that doesn’t mean it’s carte-blanche as far as pot is concerned. Possession of up to 25 grams (0.9 ounces) in public spaces and 50 grams (1.8 ounces) in private homes will be allowed‚ considered a substantial quantity. Growing up to three plants per household will also be permitted.But if the homegrown approach doesn’t work for you‚ purchasing the drug will be more difficult. While the original plans for the law involved the sale of cannabis from specially licensed shops and pharmacies‚ this is no longer on the cards. Instead‚ “cannabis social clubs” with a limit of 500 members each will be set up and will be responsible for distributing the drug to their constituents‚ all of whom must be German residents.Said German residents are so far divided as to the wisdom of this policy. DW reports that a YouGov poll found 42 percent of respondents either somewhat or completely rejected the proposal‚ meaning there are quite a number of people left to convince. The evidence we have from places where legal cannabis has been available for a while paints quite a mixed picture. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that‚ contrary to what many fear‚ teen cannabis use actually went down after legalization. But‚ a study only months earlier concluded that cannabis had overtaken alcohol as the most abused drug among US children.  With similarly conflicting results around the potential benefits and harms of the drug‚ it’s unlikely the controversy will die down any time soon.Indeed‚ according to the BBC‚ opposition politicians in Germany are already hatching plans to scrap the law should they be elected into government next year.As it stands‚ recreational cannabis will no longer be verboten in Germany as of April 1. How long that will be the case remains to be seen.

The golden records carried by the Voyager missions have become famous as an effort for humanity to explain ourselves to any aliens who might find them. As well as being our introduction to the universe‚ they were also a sort of love letter to Earth‚ a reminder to humanity of what is precious about ourselves and our home. So it’s appropriate that tucked away among the more familiar sounds is a testament to the records’ two leading creators’ relationship.Space is so big that the chances the Voyager missions will ever be found by aliens is tiny‚ no matter how long they last. Already the spacecrafts’ power supplies are running low. By the time they drift into the vicinity of any other star system‚ there will be radio blips to detect them by‚ so the question of whether aliens would be able to work out how to operate a phonograph is largely moot.Everyone involved in the project knew this. The message was mostly for humanity‚ to encourage us to see each ourselves as part of a common species‚ rather than members of sometimes warring nations‚ and to remind us what we love about Earth. But in the end‚ room was found for something much more personal: the brainwaves of one creator thinking about another.Officially known as the Murmurs of Earth: The Voyager Interstellar Message Project‚ the Golden Records were an Initiative of Carl Sagan‚ an advance on the more basic Pioneer plaque he had championed.“The spacecraft will be encountered and the record played only if there are advanced spacefaring civilizations in interstellar space‚” Sagan said.  “But the launching of this bottle into the cosmic ocean says something very hopeful about life on this planet.”Ann Druyan was hired as the creative director‚ tasked with finding the images and music to include‚ and to try to have at least some of them make sense to minds very different from our own. While Druyan was putting together the possibilities‚ decisions on the records’ contents were made by a committee chaired by Sagan.Druyan worked closely with the committee members‚ including Frank Drake‚ but particularly with Sagan‚ and found herself falling in love with him.Among the sounds of machines operating‚ wind and rain‚ the greetings of various animals‚ and the music of humans and whales alike‚ the record contains an hour’s worth of recordings of Druyan’s brainwaves‚ squeezed down to a minute. The capacity to track brainwaves and turn them into sound was a new technology at the time‚ and Druyan and Sagan wondered if they might someday be resurrected to reveal her thoughts.Druyan has said that her thoughts during the time covered roamed widely‚ on the theme of the things we might like aliens to understand about ourselves. This included the history and challenges of human civilizations‚ but also what it was like to fall in love. Druyan told Radiolab that her brainwaves were recorded just two days after she and Sagan had declared their love for each other. Consequently‚ the thoughts on love were more than theoretical‚ and specifically about Sagan himself.Sagan and Druyan married and were together until his death. Their collaborations included the documentary series Cosmos‚ still regarded as a landmark in science communication. Druyan also contributed to Sagan’s book Pale Blue Dot‚ which includes his famous reflections on Voyager 1’s photograph of Earth‚ returning to the theme of our common humanity and our dependence on the “only home we’ve ever known.”Interstellar space is large and lonely‚ but also safe compared to the vicinity of stars. The Voyagers’ instruments will fail soon‚ but the structure of the craft‚ and the records on board‚ are expected to survive a billion years‚ give or take. Whatever becomes of humanity and the Earth in that time the record‚ including Ann’s thoughts of Carl‚ will live on.The complete sounds of the golden record can now be found online‚ and the records have been reissued for those who prefer the original.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) has become a global issue‚ affecting pig farms since around the 1980s. A new type of gene editing hopes to tackle the fatal disease by creating CRISPR pigs that are immune – and it’s expected they could reach the market within two years.Also known as “blue-ear pig disease‚” PRRS is a viral disease that causes minimal symptoms in some animals while killing others. The leading symptoms include reproductive failure‚ respiratory distress‚ and a high rate of mortality for piglets.PRRS is the “most economically significant disease to affect US swine production since the eradication of classical swine fever‚” according to the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Vaccine programs already rolled out have only been able to reduce symptoms rather than eradicate the disease‚ which is why scientists began exploring gene editing as an alternative.Using CRISPR technology‚ they’ve been able to snip out the part of the DNA that codes for a protein called CD163‚ the virus’s preferred binding point. The effect is reported to be pigs that are immune to PRRS‚ but otherwise function normally.“This is a groundbreaking accomplishment in agriculture toward improving animal health‚ reducing waste‚ lowering production costs‚ and potentially reducing antibiotic use on the farm‚” write the authors of a new paper on the research. “Further‚ applying these learnings to eliminate other livestock diseases that are not only harmful to animals (African Swine Fever) but also to humans (swine influenza) would be a major step to benefit consumers‚ society‚ and the environment.”The project hasn’t been without its setbacks‚ however. Mosaicism saw some gene-edited pigs displaying the desired change to their DNA in some‚ but not all‚ of their cells. Should they reach Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval‚ the gene-edited animals will be available as sperm‚ rather than live animals.Some have also been critical that the solution is missing the point‚ stating that traditional farming practices will continue to give rise to new pathogen threats.“Keeping animals crowded together‚ and in stressful conditions‚ provides an ideal environment for pathogens to spread and evolve‚” Catherine Jadav of Compassion in World Farming said to New Scientist. “If PRRS-resistant pigs are used to perpetuate the current highly intensive model of pig farming‚ then other diseases will continue to develop – bringing disease after disease that ‘requires’ new gene-edited animals.”The study is published in The CRISPR Journal.

It is hard to know the details surrounding the lives of prehistoric people‚ especially when their remains are recovered in unusual places – and especially when they died under mysterious circumstances. One example is the so-called “Vittrup Man”‚ a partial skeleton recovered from a peat bog in northern Denmark during the early 20th century. For years‚ the identity and background of this mysterious and unfortunate man was a mystery‚ though it was clear he had met a violent end before disappearing into the bog. But now‚ with the help of advanced genetic analysis‚ researchers have unlocked fresh details about this man’s past.The coldest of cold casesAs far as we know‚ sometime around 5‚200 years ago‚ an unknown man found himself entangled in some sort of situation that resulted in him being murdered and his body left in a bog in what is now Vittrup‚ Denmark. The man’s remains were first recovered in 1915 and consisted of a right anklebone‚ a lower left shinbone‚ his jawbone‚ and parts of his skull. Intriguingly‚ and like a classic “whodunnit?”‚ the man’s body was recovered alongside a wooden club. The plot thickens.Previous analysis concluded that the Vittrup Man probably died after being beaten over the head around 8 or so times‚ making his death a murder mystery that dates back to around 3100 BCE to 3300 BCE.So who was the Vittrup Man and what led him to this grisly end? Dozens of other Neolithic human remains similar to his have been found in bogs across Europe. These “bog bodies”‚ as they are known‚ are often remarkably well preserved due to the conditions that sealed them away for centuries. Archaeologists think these people could have been killed as part of a ritual sacrifice. In many cases‚ the bones show malformations that may have marked the individual as significant in some way. However‚ the case of Vittrup Man appears slightly different from other examples because of the extremely violent nature of his death.A traveler from overseasDNA analysis of Vittrup Man’s remains has helped shine a light on who he was‚ though the details of his life remain unclear. Firstly‚ his genetic signature was distinct from other remains found within that local area. So Drs Anders Fischer and Karl-Goran Sjögren‚ and colleagues‚ decided to take a closer look.Through an analysis of his tooth enamel‚ which contained traces of strontium‚ carbon‚ and oxygen isotopes‚ the scientists were able to conclude that Vittrup Man had grown up along the coast of the Scandinavian Peninsula. To corroborate this‚ the team found a close match between his DNA and Mesolithic people from Norway and Sweden.At some point in his young adulthood‚ Vittrup Man probably became a farmer. How do we know this? Well‚ isotope and protein analysis of his teeth and bones indicated a shift in diet from coastal food (marine mammals and fish) to farm foods (sheep or goat‚ cereals‚ and dairy) as he aged.It seems the previously mysterious man was also originally part of a northern foraging society‚ but later relocated to a farming society in Denmark. This may have happened naturally‚ as part of a broader migration towards Denmark‚ or‚ as the team suggests in their study‚ he may have been a trader or captive who was integrated into the local society.Regardless of the details of how he ended up in Denmark‚ this new analysis indicates that there was a more detailed and complex level of exchange between Mesolithic and Neolithic societies living in Europe at this time.As the authors explained in a statement‚ “To our knowledge‚ this is the first time that research has been able to map a north European inhabitant’s life history in such a high degree of detail and in such high distance of time.”The study is published in PLOS ONE.

Just imagine you’ve got a tiny cat and a big dog at home. Naturally‚ you’d get a small bed for the cat and a larger one for the dog. It’s just common sense‚ right? But‚ as many pet owners know‚ things don’t always go as planned. You might just walk in to find your little... The post Golden’s comical ‘showdown’ with kitten over bed scores 41M views appeared first on Animal Channel.

Welcome to Woke of the Weak where I’ll update you about the most woke‚ progressive‚ insane‚ and crazy clips and stories that the left thinks is tolerable and well‚ point out why exactly they’re nuts. Our grandparents and great grandparents are probably terrified while up in heaven and looking down at how nutso our world has gotten. Seriously! This week the UK insisted that transgender women‚ so biological men‚ can breastfeed their babies. They‚ along with a transgender individual featured in this week’s video‚ insisted that a baby sucking out discharge from a hairy man’s tit is just as good as the baby drinking his or her mom’s naturally occuring breastmilk. Poor kid! Speaking of poor kids‚ a little boy insisted that he was a little girl and his mom allowed him to actually follow through on it with tutus‚ long hair and nail polish included. This is coming from the same side of the aisle as people who think that God is trans‚ that drag is educational and that a transgender atheist prostitute should have his funeral at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York.  Going back to the nipple issue for a second‚ one user decided to get her boobs cut off to further her delusion that she’s a boy. She chose to opt out of getting her nipples‚ or her “little burnt pepperonis” as she called them‚ put back on. She said she felt like Aladdin and a Ken Doll. Ironically‚ another user insisted that she wanted a velcro chest so that she could detatch and reattach her boobs based on the outfit she was wearing. Leftist lunacy at its best!!!

Even the title of AP’s piece showed how pro-abort the outlet is. The Associated Press released a hit piece Thursday bashing the idea that some states are thinking about implementing fetal development videos in their schools' sexual education classes. The piece titled‚ “Sex ed classes in some states may soon watch a fetal development video from an anti-abortion group” was chock full of bias and would rather kids be hidden from the truth of what happens during a pregnancy. Presently bills are going through the Kentucky‚ Missouri and West Virginia legislatures that‚ if passed‚ would require or at least suggest for fetal development videos to be played during sex ed classes.  Two years ago the pro-life group Live Action released a video called Baby Olivia. The video highlights the process that a baby experiences in utero to go from a single-celled human to a baby with a beating heart‚ brainwaves‚ fingers and toes. It’s a lovely and accurate depiction of the nine-month process and is very educational.   States like those above‚ as well as North Dakota‚ which passed a similar law last year‚ recognize that. They believe students who are learning about sex and reproduction‚ should learn about the gestational process too. Nonetheless‚ AP is not satisfied with the move. “Baby Olivia isn’t a real baby. It’s an animated fetus that develops over the course of a three-minute video‚” AP asserted. AP critiqued the fact that the video was animated. By that logic‚ should diagrams of penises and and vaginas be actual pictures of penises and vaginas for schools? Or what about the plastic body parts used to understand anatomy? Should those be real body parts then AP? The outlet went on to insist that the Baby Olivia video is “anti-abortion misinformation.” Seeing how a baby develops isn’t anti-abortion. In fact‚ the Baby Olivia video doesn't have anything to do with abortion. It simply points out the fact that at the moment of conception‚ life begins‚ but AP‚ like much of the left‚ doesn't want the public to know that because it goes against their narrative. AP noted that “Iowa physicians and educators said references to fetal ‘heartbeats’ are widely disputed. At six weeks‚ the embryo isn’t yet a fetus and doesn’t have a heart.” It also critiques the words that the Baby Olivia video uses like “playing‚” “exploring‚” “sighing‚” and making “speaking movements.”  “Those words assign human traits and properties to a fetus‚” AP wrote. Yeah … maybe because the "fetus" is a human …? Just a thought. AP did bring in some great points that supporters of the bill made. Iowa Representative Luana Stoltenberg said‚ “What’s the worst that can happen? Maybe a young child learns how they are developed and grow and so if they become pregnant‚ they decide maybe I don’t want an abortion? Is that a horrible thing?” Lila Rose‚ president and founder of Live Action also insisted that critics against playing the video in sex ed classes are in opposition of it because it “directly threatens their worldview‚ which is that this is not a life that is worthy of protection.” AP’s language and phrasing asserted that Rose was incorrect. (HINT: she’s not) In all‚ it’s obvious that AP is threatened by the educational Baby Olivia video. It shows what really happens during a pregnancy and AP‚ like most of the left doesn’t want you to see the truth as it may make you understand that ending life at any stage of a pregnancy is morally wrong.    

Someone failed their high school civics class! Or at least that’s the impression Politico’s democracy investigator‚ Heidi Przybyla left during an appearance on MSNBC’s All In Thursday night. According to the reporter who’s supposedly brushed up on American governance‚ if you understood that your rights as a human came from a higher power‚ it made up part of a dangerous “extremist element” in American politics. She even rhetorically scoffed that people don’t believe we get our rights from Congress. “We hold these truths to be self-evident‚ that all men are created equal‚ that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights‚ that among these are Life‚ Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness‚” was arguably the most well-known line from the Declaration of Independence‚ which set down why the colonies were starting a revolution. But that fact seemed to be ignored or unknown to Przybyla as she lashed out at the political right. She was spurred on by a traitor to the Republican Party‚ former party chairman Michael Steele (filling in for host Chris Hayes) who despised how openly Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) showed his Christian faith: On the other side‚ Heidi‚ you've got the new speaker‚ Mike Johnson‚ who’s not afraid to wear his Christianity on his skleeve [sic] – sleeve‚ his collar‚ his lapel‚ his head‚ wherever he can wear it. How do members react to that? How are they responding to this real strong infusion of Christian nationalism into the body politic of the House?     Przybyla warned that the only people who believed in the idea of Natural Law and actively pushed the notion was the “extremist element” of “Christian Nationalism.” “[T]hey believe that our rights as Americans and as all human beings do not come from any earthly authority. They don't come from Congress‚ they don’t come from the Supreme Court‚ they come from God‚” she scoffed‚ flaunting her ignorance of Christian teachings in general. She did note that Natural Law was “a pillar of Catholicism” and has “been used for good in social justice campaigns. Martin Luther King evoked it in talking about civil rights.” But seemed to play the gender card while also dismissing Natural Law. “The problem from that is that they are determining‚ man – men – it is men‚ are determining what God is telling them‚” she decried. Well‚ Heidi‚ allow us at NewsBusters to give you a little lesson about Natural Law. As noted above‚ Natural Law was a driving force behind the founding of America. Thomas Jefferson also wrote in the Declaration of Independence: “…the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them‚ a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.” Przybyla was rightfully dragged on social media by people all across the political aisle. “The problem here is that literally *ALL* Christians believe our rights come from God‚ @HeidiReports; there is literally not a single Christian denomination that believes otherwise‚” radio host Erick Erickson posted on X.   The problem here is that literally *ALL* Christians believe our rights come from God‚ @HeidiReports; there is literally not a single Christian denomination that believes otherwise. https://t.co/oOVF54rOEs — Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) February 23‚ 2024   Even NewsNation host Chris Cuomo took aim at her suggestion that our rights come from mortal sources. “Where does the constitution say your rights come from congress? (Cuz they dont)‚” he too posted on X. The flailing continued on Thursday as Przybyla took to X to defend herself‚ doubling down on the false idea that only Christian nationalists believed our rights come from God. “While there are different wings of Christian Nationalism‚ they are bound by their belief that our rights come from God‚” she proclaimed. She also asserted that the so-called Christian nationalists were trying to apply Natural Law to their “man-made policy agenda” like “banning abortion.” Clearly‚ Politico's democracy investigator needs to get a clue. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: MSNBC’s All In February 22‚ 2024 8:30:34 p.m. Eastern (…) MICHAEL STEELE: On the other side‚ Heidi‚ you've got the new speaker‚ Mike Johnson‚ who’s not afraid to wear his Christianity on his skleeve [sic] – sleeve‚ is collar‚ his lapel‚ his head‚ wherever he can wear it. How do members react to that? How are they responding to this real strong infusion of Christian nationalism into the body politic of the House? HEIDI PRZYBYLA: I talked with a lot of experts on this and I have seen it with myself with my reporting‚ Michael‚ which is that the base of the Republican Party has shifted. Right? Remember when Trump ran in 2016‚ a lot of the mainline evangelicals wanted nothing to do with the divorced real estate mogul who cheated on his wife with a porn star‚ and all of that. Right? So‚ what happened was that he was surrounded by this more extremist element. You’re going to hear words like “Christian nationalism‚” like the “new apostolic re-formation.” These are groups that you should get very – very schooled on because they have a lot of power in Trump's circle. And the one thing that unites all of them because there's many different groups orbiting Trump. But the thing that unites them as Christian nationalists‚ not Christians‚ by the way – because Christian nationalists is very different – is that they believe that our rights as Americans and as all human beings do not come from any earthly authority. They don't come from Congress‚ they don’t come from the Supreme Court‚ they come from God. The problem from that is that they are determining‚ man – men – it is men‚ are determining what God is telling them. And in the past‚ that so-called natural law is a pillar of Catholicism for instance‚ it’s been used for good in social justice campaigns. Martin Luther king evoked it in talking about civil rights. But now you have an extremist element of conservative Christians‚ who say that this applies specifically to issues including abortion‚ gay marriage‚ and it is going much further than that as you see‚ for instance‚ with the ruling in Alabama‚ this week that judges connected to the dominionist faction in talking about a lot of other issues including surrogacy‚ IVF‚ sex education in schools‚ there's a lot in addition. (…)