The United States of Crazy Laws!

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-30/united-states-crazy-laws

Below are some of the more questionable, comical or just plain dumb laws that exist in each of the fifty states.

Alabama

You can’t wear a fake mustache that causes laughter in church.

Don’t even think about it, kid.

Alaska

If you see a sleeping bear, it’s illegal to wake it up for a photo op.

Also known as “suicide.”

Arizona

Donkeys cannot sleep in bathtubs.

This man has no respect for the law.

Arkansas

You’re not allowed to pronounce “Arkansas” incorrectly.

Not to be confused with “KANzis”.

California

It’s unlawful to allow a dog to pursue a bear or a bobcat at any time.

But in Homeward Bound, the dogs just run away from them.

Colorado

Tags may be ripped off of pillows and mattresses.

Which means everyone is a criminal outside of Colorado.

Connecticut

A pickle is not a pickle until it bounces.

 Yes. We made a GIF for this.

Delaware

You are forbidden to sell the hair of a dog.

The real reason the Newton family had so many St. Bernards.

Florida

They accidentally banned every computer in the state by poorly wording a law which outlawed Internet Cafés.

If you’re in Florida reading this, please turn yourself into the local police.

Georgia

You can’t keep an ice cream cone in your back pocket on Sundays.

Forrest totally has an ice cream cone here.

Hawaii

You cannot use imitation milk in a milkshake without warning the drinker.

But Spam can go in anything, anywhere, all the time.

Idaho

Giving your sweetheart a box of chocolates weighing more that 50 pounds is illegal.

But unlimited McDonald’s is totally cool.

Illinois

You can drink under 21, if you’re enrolled in a culinary program.

“I got my culinary license so I could test out the rich flavors of Franzia and Yellowtail…”

Indiana

The value of Pi is 3.

Maybe Hoosiers should stick to basketball.

Iowa

One-armed piano players must perform for free.

Same goes for people (or, um, space critters) without noses.

Kansas 

If two trains meet on the same track, neither shall proceed until the other has passed.

You CAN pass, just wait a moment.

Kentucky

A person can’t dye ducklings, baby chicks, or bunnies.

Let’s just call this, “The drunk uncle at Easter law”

Louisiana

It’s a $500 fine for sending a pizza man to a friend’s house without them knowing.

Pizza is not a joke.

Maine

It is illegal for Christmas decorations to still be up after January 14th.

Honestly, this should be a national law.

Maryland

A vending machine may NOT dispense a non-latex condom.

It’s how you use it.

Massachussetts

You cannot own an explosive golf ball.

But they only explode if you hit them.

Michigan

A woman isn’t allowed to cut her own hair without her husband’s permission.

DO YOU WANT TO GO TO JAIL?

Minnesota

Using goldfish as bait is against the law.

Body parts are still up for debate.

Mississippi

High school teachers may not have sex with their students.

It is illegal, but mostly: gross.

Missouri

One cannot drive with an uncaged bear.

One is also insane if they’re driving with a bear, caged or uncaged.

Montana

Seven or more Indians are considered a raiding or war party… and you can shoot them.

This law has another word – “racism.”

Nebraska

Whale fishing is illegal.

Shark fishing is totally cool, though.

Nevada

A man can’t buy drinks for more than three people at a time.

Putting roofies in them is frowned upon, also.

New Hampshire

It’s illegal to show a movie before 2 pm.

Seeing Frozen alone at 1 p.m. is no longer an option.

New Jersey

If you’ve been arrested for drunk driving, you lose the privilege of personalized plates.

And that kids, is how bumpers stickers were invented.

New Mexico

Idiots may not vote. Nor can insane people.

And the list continues:

http://www.ijreview.com/2014/12/222618-50-state-laws/

How racially skewed are the Oscars?

FOR the 20 actors nominated for an Oscar all to be white could at best be seen as a surprise. For that to be true two years running is, to many, a scandal. While there will be no empty seats at the 88th Academy Awards ceremony on February 28th—live television does not permit such things—there may be a lot of missing faces. Confronted with what is seen as a “whitewash”, many prominent black Americans are saying they will boycott the ceremony.

In fact, as our analysis of film casts and awards shows, the number of black actors winning Oscars in this century has been pretty much in line with the size of America's overall black population. But this does not mean Hollywood has no problems of prejudice. As the data show, it clearly does. 

The issue has come to a head because over the past two years some films with a particular emotional resonance were passed over. The original “Rocky” (1976) won three Oscars, and Sylvester Stallone was nominated (though he did not win) for both acting and writing. Critics and fans alike have heaped praise on 2015's new addition to the Rocky franchise, “Creed”, which sees a black fighter as the hero. But the star and the black director, Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler, will have to make do with fans' appreciation and more than $100m at the box office: the film's only nomination went to Mr Stallone, this time for Best Supporting Actor. “Straight Outta Compton”, a hit film about a black hip-hop group with a black director and producer, was nominated only for its screenplay, the writers of which were white. “Beasts of No Nation” delighted our reviewer, and fans of its star, Idris Elba, hope he will be the next James Bond. It also brought a horrifying phenomenon, child soldiering in Africa, to Western audiences. But the Academy ignored it. All this happens in the shadow of last year's nominations, in which “Selma”, a film about the civil-rights movement which our reviewer found “remarkable”, was nominated but did not win Best Picture, as many thought it should. Neither its director, Ava DuVernay, nor its star, David Oyelowo, were recognised by the academy.

Fingers are pointing at the Academy’s 6,000-odd voting members, 94% of whom are white. Spike Lee, whose “Do The Right Thing” is considered one of the great movies not to have won an Oscar, has lamented “another all-white ballot”; Don Cheadle, who got a Best Actor nomination in 2004 for “Hotel Rwanda”, has joked dryly about parking cars at the event. It is possible that the only black actor onstage will be Chris Rock, who is hosting. He has already said that the Oscars seem to have become a white equivalent of the Black Entertainment Television awards.

These years are far from the first whitewashing in Oscars history: no actors from ethnic minorities were nominated in 1995 or 1997, or in an extraordinary streak between 1975 and 1980. Throughout the 20th century, 95% of Oscar nominations went to white film stars. It is an embarrassing anachronism that the prevalence of white Academy electors has been allowed to continue into the 21st century, a trend that the Academy's (black) president, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, has vowed to end.

Could the “whiteout” be a statistical glitch? If the data were random, such a glitch would be hugely unlikely. A 2013 survey of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), an American union for film performers, suggests that 70% of its members are white. If all of the Guild’s members were equally likely to receive Oscar nominations, regardless of race, then over a two-year period 28 out of 40 nominations would be of white actors. The chances of no single person of colour being nominated across two ceremonies would be exceptionally small—even during a 15-year span, the odds of seeing at least one sequence of back-to-back whiteouts are around one in 100,000.

Of course the data are not random. Yet, despite the 2015-2016 whiteout, an analysis of Oscar selections since 2000 suggests that the imbalances are industry-wide, not primarily to do with Academy voters. And they affect all ethnic minorities. Oscar nominations have not dramatically under-represented black actors. Instead, they have greatly over-represented white ones. Blacks are 12.6% of the American population, and 10% of Oscar nominations since 2000 have gone to black actors. But just 3% of nominations have gone to their Hispanic peers (16% of the population), 1% to those with Asian backgrounds, and 2% to those of other heritage (see chart).

Black actors get speaking roles in rough proportion to their percentage of America’s population, according to a study of 600 top films from 2007-2013 at the Annenberg Center for Communication and Journalism. (See “film roles” in the chart above.) Again, Latinos and Asians do much worse. But blacks are under-represented in the roles that count for the Oscars, getting just 9% of the top roles since 2000, according to our own analysis. (We define “top roles” as the top three names on the cast-list on IMDb, an online film database, in films with a rating of 7.5 or greater, an American box-office gross of at least $10m, and which were neither animated nor in a foreign language.)

The numbers indicate that, whereas the film industry most certainly fails to represent America’s diversity, the whitewashing occurs not behind the closed doors of the Academy, but in drama schools (shown in the SAG membership) and casting offices. For most of the past 15 years, the Academy has largely judged what has been put in front of them: minority actors land 15% of top roles, 15% of nominations and 17% of wins. Once up for top roles, black actors do well, converting 9% of top roles into 10% of best-actor nominations and 15% of the coveted golden statuettes, a bit above their share of the general population. 

The view behind the scenes is perhaps more revealing. Blacks really are much more under-represented in the director’s chair, where they account for 6% of directors of the top 600 films, according to the Annenberg study. Black women are nearly nonexistent there (two of the 600, Ms DuVernay being one). These are the numbers that critics of Hollywood should be most concerned about, along with the dearth of top roles for Hispanic and Asian actors. Best Actor nominations and wins—in which black actors have done decently, 2015 and 2016 excepted—seem to be the wrong target.

If consumers want their films to reflect the society in which they live—as they do their parliaments and executive boards—it is these areas that must see improvement. And film-goers may have more power to provoke that change than they realise. Hispanic Americans buy 25% of the nation’s cinema tickets. If they, like the actors tweeting with the #OscarsSoWhite, are sick of a whitewashed Hollywood, then Hollywood would be wise to listen.

Correction: This piece has been updated. We originally said that “Selma” had received no Oscar nominations; it was nominated for, but did not win, Best Picture. It did win Best Original Song. Apologies.

Full > http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2016/01/film-and-race

Zika virus could become 'explosive pandemic'.

Zika virus is spread to people through mosquito bites. The most common symptoms of Zika virus disease are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes). The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting from several days to a week. Severe disease requiring hospitalization is uncommon.

In May 2015, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) issued an alert regarding the first confirmed Zika virus infection in Brazil. The outbreak in Brazil led to reports of Guillain-Barré syndrome and pregnant women giving birth to babies with birth defects and poor pregnancy outcomes.

In response, CDC has issued a travel alert (Level 2-Practice Enhanced Precautions) for people traveling to regions and certain countries where Zika virus transmission is ongoing.

• ZIKA-AFFECTED AREAS

• PREVENTION

• SYMPTOMS, DIAGNOSIS, & TREATMENT

• VECTOR SURVEILLANCE AND CONTROL

• FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS

• FOR PREGNANT WOMEN

  
  

  Full Article > http://www.cdc.gov/zika/

  
  

  
  

10 Crazy High-Tech Military Weapons That Actually Exist

The United State's 2012 budget for the Department of Defense is a staggering $707.5 billion. For comparison purposes, that's nearly $200 billion more than the gross domestic product of Switzerland. Where does all that money go? Well, not surprisingly, a large chunk of it gets siphoned to the overseas military operations in which we're currently involved. A smaller portion, around $80 to $100 billion, goes towards research, development, testing, and evaluation of weapons. It's from there we get all the newest and craziest weapons used in modern-day warfare. The private sector, in turn, has been keeping pace by developing equally high-tech firearms that have been demonstrated at firing ranges and gun shows.

The U.S. army is already using one of these new armaments in Afghanistan, while other fully functioning firearms and prototypes are patiently waiting to go into full-scale production. All of this may seem unneeded, especially as we remember the brave solidiers who have fallen, but these weapons will help ensure a larger number of our troops make it home. From digital revolvers to smart grenade launchers, peek into the scope and get a look at 10 of the craziest high-tech weapons currently used by our military. 

RELATED: Most Badass U.S. Military Vehicles

Magpul FMG-9

Developed as a potential firearm for the U.S. Secret Service, the FMG (Folding Machine-Gun) disguises itself as a external laptop battery and unfolds into a fully functional weapon that can empty a 9mm 30-round clip. The portable design offers additional space for an auto-sear to be installed and has an attached tactical light created by Insight Technologies. Best of all, you can slide it in the back of most pants pockets. While the FMG-9 is still in its prototype phase, submachine fiends could see an automatic version in the near future. But don't be surprised if you see first see it on the big screen.

Corner Shot 40mm Grenade Launcher

Sharp shooters trapped in corners and other closed environments won't need to engage in blind fire to save their ass anymore. The Corner Shot sports a hinged frame that extends the grenade launcher barrel horizontally at a 60-degree angle, along with a digital camera under the barrel and a video screen that provides sneak-peak viewing and accurate targeting. It's capable of firing single 60mm rounds, tear gas, and less- and non-lethal explosives, and has a target range of 150 meters as well. Why didn't anyone think of this before?

Matador Rocket Launcher

Specifically designed for urban warfare, the Matador was built to destroy brick walls and vehicle armor. It uses a warhead with minimum blast back that works best in confined and indoor settings, and features a switch that alters the time intervals between the two detonation charges contained in the projectile. There are two firing modes. Short Interval Mode sets off the second detonation immediately after the first to create a passageway through a wall and Blast Mode can trigger the second explosion inside a building after the first breaks through the wall by increasing the time intervals between both detonations. Check the blast master in action to see what we're talking about.

Full article > http://tinyurl.com/jbhqnlw