Blog Heap of Links for the day 23 March 2009

Medical marijuana users and dispensary owners in California have held their breath for years, fearful they would be targeted for prosecution by the federal government. They finally exhaled this past week when U.S.A. Attorney General Eric Holder said federal agents will now target marijuana distributors only when they violate both federal and state laws, a departure from the policy of the Bush administration. It's not seen by many as a move by the Obama administration toward the legalization of marijuana. [Yeah, sure]

Three European Union nations - France, Spain and Portugal - do not prosecute consenting adults for incest, and Romania is considering following suit. ... Laws exempting parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters from prosecution for incestuous acts if they are not forced upon adult family members are decades old in France, Spain and Portugal. In Romania, decriminalizing incest among consenting adults is being considered as part of a wide range of reforms to the country's criminal code. ...

IT solution providers in Alaska are watching the skies with trepidation as the ash fall from Alaska's Mount Redoubt volcano begins to creep closer to the downtown Anchorage region. ... Volcanic ash is known for its ability to wreak havoc on desktops, servers, and basically any type of IT infrastructure that has moving parts. And it also contains silica sand, a conductive material that's capable of destroying circuit boards....

A text-messaging hoax that apparently began making the rounds yesterday in at least 16 states warns women to stay away from Walmart stores or risk being killed. ... News reports from around the U.S. say police departments have been besieged by calls regarding the hoax texts, and Walmart has reached No. 5 on Twitter's list of trending topics. The text messages appear to be tailored to local conditions -- warning of gang activity in areas where gangs are active, but vaguer threats in areas, such as Walmart's home of Northwest Arkansas, where they aren't. ... A text rumor making the rounds in New Mexico says three women are to be killed in an initiation rite for a Mexican gang. ...

THREE Vietnamese men were killed while trying to saw through a war-era shell to salvage metal and explosives.... "The poor men wanted to sell the metal for money. They could not escape the sudden blast...." more than 38,000 Vietnamese nationals have been killed and 100,000 injured by explosives left over from the Vietnam War

The State Legislature honored Miss Oklahoma 2008 Kelsey Cartwright this week. During her reign, Cartwright has been traveling around the state and nation promoting her platform of open adoption to nontraditional families. She got the idea from her father's experience in attempting to learn about his adoption. Oklahoma currently has closed adoption laws and has placed legal barriers in the path of those wanting information about their adoption.

A security guard found her on Nov. 2, 1994, wandering through the Woodbridge Center mall, well-dressed and clean but lost and disoriented. She carried no identification in her purse, and in broken English explained she couldn't remember who she was or how she had gotten there. For years, a private room at the Senator Garrett W. Hagedorn Psychiatric Hospital in Hunterdon County has been her home, where she has remained a Jane Doe unknown to herself and the world -- missed, it seemed, by no one. All the while, Hagedorn's mystery woman drifted deeper into Alzheimer's, losing her ability to speak. But through the diligence of a Human Services police officer who made her case his own special mission for six years, she now has her name back and some of her past. ... "The fact that she was deprived of her IDs... whoever left her at the mall didn't want her to be identified and didn't want to be found themselves...."

Carbon Motors Corp.'s new high-tech cop car prototype might not be quite up to superhero specs, but some police say it could be a welcome addition to their arsenal. ... every feature on the Carbon E7 concept vehicle draws on suggestions from more than 3,000 law enforcement professionals. ... 300-horsepower clean diesel engine, flashing lights visible from all angles, an ergonomic cockpit, an onboard computer with voice command and instant license plate recognition, integrated shotgun mounts, and more. (Weapons of mass destruction detectors are available as an option -- seriously.)

A New York hotel with luxury sheets and state-of-the-art audio for less than $100 a night? All you have to sacrifice is a bit of privacy and a little—well, a lot—of space. Moving beyond budget accommodations to an idea that borrows from a ship's berth or a train's sleeper car, developers are gambling that in tough times travelers looking for a little pampering at lower prices will embrace micro-hotels.