This will come as no shock to those that have been following the abhorrent practices of AstraZeneca, one of the world’s most destructive pseudoscience corporations in this blogger’s humble opinion.

The Washington Post (not my usual first news source) has produced a surprisingly decent and balanced report about a study from 1997 showing that AstraZeneca’s flagship poison which they call Seroquel, was no more effective than older ‘antipsychotics’ (industry term) and had far worse side effects.

Psychonauts the world over will lament, “Well, duh!”  This Serotonin Antagonist is designed to disable the tryptamine system in the human brain – one of the most important and study-worthy neurochemical systems.  It’s a sledgehammer of a drug, and really has no business as a therapy for people who have any possibility of recovery and leading a normal life.

As students of the psychedelic mind, it’s important that we question this toxin and all others that seek to disable the neurochemical system that we know to be connected to spirituality, insight, love, and our sense of the profound.  It is alarming that this drug is available for a medical professional to administer, but not LSD, Psilocybin, or MDMA.

It seems that at least two Universities in Canada have banned a poster with a drawing depicting a gunship with the word “Israel” on it firing a missile at a young boy.

To my mind, a college campus can ban no poster on the basis of its content and still claim to promote a free-thinking environment.  Even if this poster is a little over-the-top, there is no reason for a ban.  If it’s really that offensive, other students will ensure that it is removed.  After all, it’s college!

Haaretz reports.

I just stumbled upon a wonderful blog called “Photography is not a crime” by Carlos Miller. A very abridged version of Mr. Miller’s photo:  He was arrested and charged with a number of criminal offenses for taking the very photo that appears in the header of his blog.

As many of my readers and viewers know, I have been harassed several times for documenting police actions.

As the new paradigm of the information age enables increasingly frightening government surveillance, so to it enables all of us to document government action in ways never before imagined.  If we settle for any mitigation of this right, we will be doomed to a police state for sure.

Has everyone heard about this?  I just stumped upon it, but I see it’s already on Yahoo News, so I suppose I’m a bit late.

This guy was using some of his sat. dishes to broadcast Hezbollah, and apparently that’s a crime.  Unless I’m missing something, that seems pretty scary.