Month: December 2013
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Who Owns the World’s Biggest #Bitcoin Wallet? The #FBI.
from wired.com: Who owns the single largest Bitcoin wallet on the internet? The U.S. government. In September, the FBI shut down the Silk Road online black marketplace, and it started seizing bitcoins belonging to the Dread Pirate Roberts — the operator of the illicit online marketplace, who they say is an American man named Ross…
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Fracking Chemicals Linked to Birth Defects, Infertility
from naturalblaze.com: A controversial oil and natural gas drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, uses many chemicals that can disrupt the body’s hormones, according to new research accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society’s journal Endocrinology. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals, or EDCs, are substances that can interfere with the normal functioning of the endocrine system. EDCs…
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Nine states propose 16 anti-fluoridation bills
from naturalnews.com: Things are heating up on the fluoride front as states and municipalities all across the country rethink their official water fluoridation policies. According to the Fluoride Action Network (FAN), some 16 pieces of legislation across nine states were introduced or passed just within the past year to protect the public against this pervasive…
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France: Hamburger sales increase 40% in last two years
from rawstory.com: Once considered the worst kind of food sin in France, the hamburger is conquering the land of haute cuisine. From humble fast food to Michelin-starred gourmet burgers, sales of the most quintessentially American sandwich have soared in France and the dish has become a fixture on restaurant menus. “The French discovered the burger…
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#BedStuy School Allegedly Performed “#Occult” Rituals On Boy
from gothamist.com: A set of parents are suing the Brooklyn Waldorf School for allegedly practicing witchcraft on their kid, after he was suspended last year for “grabbing another boy’s privates.” Emily Hartzell and Leslie Nuchow filed court papers earlier this month claiming that school administrator Walkyria Machado forced their then-6-year-old son to undergo a bizarre,…
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Ex-#BP Engineer Convicted of Deleting Texts to Obstruct #GulfOilSpill Probe
from foxnews.co: A former BP drilling engineer was convicted Wednesday of deleting text messages from his cellphone to obstruct a federal investigation of the company’s massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He was found guilty on one charge and acquitted of a second charge. A federal jury deliberated for more than nine…
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Urban Legend: Spring Heeled Jack
Did a supernatural creature – Spring Heeled Jack – terrorize London, beginning early in the 19th Century? The creature would later go on world tour in the 20th Century, heading west to the United States and South America. A tall slender apparition resembling a nobleman in appearance with wings or a cape and a great…
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Religion Writers Agree: #PopeFrancis is No. 1 Newsmaker of 2013
from religionnews.com: He’s Time magazine’s Person of the Year, the most talked about topic on Facebook and the most popular baby namesake in Italy. No surprise, Pope Francis is also the top Religion Story of the Year and the Religion Newsmaker of the Year, according to a poll of Religion Newswriters members. Francis beat out…
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#HaroldCamping, Radio Host Predicted World’s End, Dies at 92
from washingtonpost.com: Harold Camping, the radio preacher who convinced thousands of followers that Jesus would return on May 21, 2011, to usher in the end of the the world, has died, according to a statement released late Monday (Dec. 16) by his Family Radio network. He was 92. Camping died Sunday evening, an employee at…
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Oregon Grocers File Liquor Privatization Measure
from kgw.com: A group led by Oregon grocery stores filed initial paperwork Monday that could lead to a ballot measure asking voters whether to privatize liquor sales. The organization called Oregonians for Competition said in a statement that it’s filed five proposed initiatives and will select one to move forward with. The initiatives differ in…
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Facebook to Show Video Commercials That Play Automatically
Facebook Forces Video Ads on You Because Marketers Told It To* from mercurynews.com: Some Facebook users will see video commercials Thursday that start playing automatically when users scroll through their usual stream of posts and updates from friends, the social networking company said Tuesday. But the commercials won’t make a sound unless a user taps…
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#Satanists Take to Indiegogo to Build Giant #Oklahoma Monument
from geek.com: So, the Satanic Temple isn’t trying to separate church and state, but may perhaps force the state’s hand in removing the Ten Commandments monument, because it’s not fair to other religions. If you want to stick it to the man, want to see your satanist ideals represented in a state in which you…
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FDA Scrutinizes Antibacterial Products for Hormonal Disruption
from wired.com: The FDA has announced that it is formally reconsidering “antibacterial” soaps and other personal-care products, charging that the antibacterial ingredients confer no benefit over regular soap and water while carrying extra risks. In a draft rule that will be published Tuesday in the Federal Register, the agency calls for manufacturers of consumer antibacterial…
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NSA Phone Spying ‘Almost Certainly’ Unconstitutional
from online.wsj.com: A federal judge on Monday ruled against the National Security Agency’s collection of phone records, saying the program “almost certainly does violate” the Constitution. However, the ruling will have little immediate effect and faces a lengthy future of court proceedings. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, who was nominated to the Washington, D.C., bench…
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Met Says ‘No Evidence’ #SAS Involved in #PrincessDiana’s Death
from news.sky.com: The Metropolitan Police has said there is “no credible evidence” the SAS were involved in the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. In a letter obtained by Sky News, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said: “Whilst there is a possibility that the alleged comments in relation to the SAS’s involvement in the death may…