Image by Christian Weidinger, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.
Happy Saturday y'all! I have been doing some spring cleaning around the house and purging unnecessary possessions, to make the atmosphere at home calmer and less cluttered. The weather is looking brighter and warmer, which is exciting and uplifting. There will be less links this weekend, as I am still determining the best way to collect them throughout the week. Below are my recommended articles from the past week:
1. Feeling Intense Emotions Doesn’t Make You Crazy — But That’s Not What Big Pharma Wants You to Think — via reset.me. An excellent interview with Julie Holland, author of the new book Moody Bitches, about the pharmaceutical industry's treatment of women, the slick advertising techniques used to market drugs, and how experiencing strong emotions is not a signifier of an underlying health issue.
2. Inquiry of Silk Road Website Spurred Agents' Own Illegal Acts, Officials Say — via New York Times. Agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency and Secret Service have resigned after being formally charged with money laundering and wire fraud. Rather than turning in $1.6 million of Bitcoins gathered from the investigation of online marketplace Silk Road, these agents have been accused of transferring them into their personal bank accounts.
3. Verizon Wireless Customers Can Now Opt Out of 'Supercookies' — via New York Times. The article's lede: "Verizon Wireless customers now have the ability to completely opt out of the phone carrier's controversial ad-targeting program that tagged users with undeletable tracking codes, which critics called 'supercookies.'" If you would like to opt out yourself, you can do so on Verizon's website.
4. Psychedelic Drugs 'Safe as Riding a Bike or Playing Soccer' — via Newsweek. A report on a letter published recently in the Lancet Psychiatry Journal, that argues that drug policies must respect the rights of individuals who choose to use psychedelics as a spiritual, personal development, or cultural activity. It is encouraging to see positive coverage on psychedelics making it to publications like Newsweek.
That's all for this weekend. Enjoy the articles and I will share more next weekend!