Hot off the Press: Sweet Lou hangin’ ‘em up edition

I am slowly but surely establishing myself back in IC. In the meantime, my current affairs upkeep, and blogging, will continue to slowly recover. Enjoy these links.

California is poised to "defrock" the state's official state rock, serpentine, because it contains a type of asbestos: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/14/us/14rock.html?_r=1&hpw. With as many problems as the Golden State has, why the fuck are people even debating this?

A federal appeals court has struck down the FCC's policy on "fleeting expletives" because it is a First Amendment violation: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/14/business/media/14indecent.html. I love how the FCC thinks it's protecting children. As if kids can't go online and find much worse stuff. (I mean, who didn't when they were first surfing "the Web," as we called it back in the '90s?)

After its American members were granted a one-time waiver from Hilary Clinton to travel with their tribal documentation, the UK refused to grant visas to the Iroquois lacrosse team: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us+canada-10634044.

US forces in Afghanistan are now using a non-lethal heat-ray gun mounted on a Humvee, which the military hopes will decrease civilian casualties: http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/10646540. Coming soon to a G20 summit near you... Can anyone explain how this will apparently decrease civilian casualties?