thursday reads

A gay teenager who sought sanctuary in Britain when his boyfriend was executed by the Iranian authorities now faces the same fate after losing his legal battle for asylum.


A U.S. government office in Quantico, Virginia, has direct, high-speed access to a major wireless carrier's systems, exposing customers' voice calls, data packets and physical movements to uncontrolled surveillance, according to a computer security consultant who says he worked for the carrier in late 2003.


Schoolgirls worldwide suffer abuse, says Amnesty

Thousands of girls around the world are not attending school through fear of physical attack or sexual abuse by teachers and fellow pupils, an Amnesty International report claimed today.

The report, Safe schools - every girl's right, found that girls frequently faced harassment, violence and intimidation by strangers on their way to school and in class by teachers and fellow students.

A couple retiring this year will need about $225,000 in savings to cover medical costs in retirement, according to a study released Wednesday by Fidelity Investments.


A small explosion caused minor damage to a U.S. military recruiting center in New York's Times Square area in the early hours of Thursday but there were no injuries, police said.


Denver Marijuana Arrests Up Despite New Law

Denver voters made it clear last November that they don’t want police spending time and resources busting people who smoke marijuana.

But marijuana activists have said possession arrests are actually going up, and they want to know why.

In Wednesday night’s Marijuana Policy Review Panel, members questioned police and city prosecutors about whether their policies have changed since the successful 2007 ballot initiative to make adult marijuana possession the “lowest law enforcement priority.”

"It's very simple. There's no excuse for it. The people voted for change. Nothing has changed, and that's a problem," said Mason Tvert, with Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation.

If only Congress were as responsible and ethical as steroid-ridden baseball players.


Remixing the London police's anti-photographer terror posters