I've been pretty busy lately ans haven't had the time to update The Truckug Chronicles. I'm currently in the process of moving into a new place and haven't had internet access at all. I'm surprised I even have it now. Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm still alive and that there will be a real update soon!!
Drug found on 90% of U.S. Bills
If you live in the United States or Canada, chances are you have cocaine in your wallet. Nearly nine out of ten bills circulating in the U.S. and its northern neighbor are tainted with cocaine, according to what's being called the most definitive research to date on the subject.
What's more, researchers were surprised to find hints that more Americans are using the illegal drug, said study leader Yuegang Zuo of the University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth.
In a similar study by the same team in 2007, 67 percent of U.S. bills were found to be tainted with cocaine. The new study puts the percentage at 85 to 95—a jump of roughly 20 percent, Zuo said.
The drug gets on paper money during drug transactions and when people roll bills to snort cocaine powder, Zuo said.
Stress spurred by the worldwide financial crisis may be driving people to abuse cocaine, one of the most common illegal drugs in the world, Zuo said in a phone interview.
The new findings could "help raise public awareness about cocaine use and lead to greater emphasis on curbing its abuse," Zuo said in a follow-up email.
Cocaine Country
Part of the reason the new study is so complete, Zuo said, is because the team used new equipment, a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer, which doesn't ruin the money—allowing the scientists to test more bills without breaking the bank.
The team collected banknotes from the Brazil, Canada, the U.S., China, and Japan.
With 5.8 million people having used the drug at least once in 2007, the U.S. is the world's biggest cocaine market, according to the 2009 UN World Drug Report.
Perhaps not surprisingly, then, the U.S.—along with Canada—had the highest percentage of cocaine-permeated bills in the study.
Of the 234 U.S. bills collected in 17 large and small cities, nearly 90 percent had traces of cocaine, especially in larger cities such as Baltimore, Boston, and Detroit. Ninety-five percent of the dollars found in Washington, D.C., had cocaine embedded in their fibers—among the highest in the study.
In keeping with their reputations for having relatively low rates of cocaine use, China and Japan yielded bills with relatively low levels of cocaine contamination.
Asian drug-taking practices could conceivably be partly responsible for the lower percentages of cocaine-tainted bills. Zuo doesn't know, for example, whether Asian cocaine users inhale through rolled bills as many Western users do.
"It is for sure that drug abuse in different countries and regions has different use patterns which may affect cocaine contamination on money," he said via email. 
Regardless of where you live, though, there's little chance of getting buzzed off your bills, Zuo said. Even in the U.S. and Canada, the concentrations are simply too small.
(See pictures of cocaine-cultivating country in National Geographic magazine.)
Original story written by Christine Dell'Amore
National Geographic News
Cuba Runs Out of Toilet Paper
Cuba, known for its abundance of vintage American automobiles, baseball players and Buena Vista Social Clubs, has found itself in the middle of full-blown Cuban Toilet Paper Crisis.
The state-run company that manufactures the country's T.P. supply, Cimex, said they are currently unable
to produce or import enough raw materials to make more toilet paper until at least December. "The corporation has taken all the steps so that at the end of the year there will be an important importation of toilet paper," said a Cimex spokesperson. Meanwhile, President Raul Castro announced budget cuts last week that slashed imports by 20 percent. That, combined with the raw materials shortage, has led to the rapid disappearance of toilet paper from store shelves. Until more supplies are produced, citizens are encouraged to conserve toilet paper by tearing off fewer squares, switching from two-ply to one-ply or using cigar wrappers.
Original article found at asylum.com
I think that the real question on everyone's mind over there should be...
Reggae was so much fun this year!! Most amazing weekend ever!!!
Unfortunately I forgot to charge my camera before we left so I wasn't able to take any pictures myself, but I've collected some pictures that were taken by other people in our group and have posted them up.
Reggae Rising 2009!!!
Here's a few videos from Reggae '09 that I found on YouTube.
