As usually happens when I neglect to blog for a long time the news has piled up. With the food crisis hitting Europe hard, the speculations increase and mainstream media encourages what would previously be described as paranoid behavior. Many say that the crisis is artificial or scare-mongering, but prices continue to rise. Meanwhile artists in the U.S. prepare to protect their rights to their own artistic creations.

Truckers in London blocked off a highway on May 27th to protest fuel prices. In Spain, fishermen are also striking against fuel prices. Iceland's economy is suffering, and Austrailia's media warns that the cost of food could double within a few years due to the combination of the drought and fuel prices.

As bad as things are in Europe, the UK Telegraph claims that the dollar is not as strong as it seems and that China and certain Middle Eastern countries may be holding it afloat. Media sources say that more and more Americans are becoming a new kind of survivalist, moving to the country, starting farms, abandoning commercial and materialistic ideals for a more simple life. Economist Darryl Schoon says that things are getting worse and that all one needs to do is to study up on the history of the Soviet Union right before the hyperinflation hit. He's not the only one saying things like that. With this tone of advice coming from economists and popular authors like Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad Poor Dad) it's no wonder that Americans are starting to sock away foods and silver coins just in case.

Artists in the U.S. are in a panic over the new Orphaned Works Bill, Nikon explains why it could be very bad for photographers, although it would not be limited to photography or even visual media:

In essence the amendment as worded makes it okay to steal from a photographer if you don't know who they are or how to ask them for permission. And if you get caught the worst that can happen is that you have to pay what you would have anyway, or maybe not even that.

Although most sources are predicting that this year's Orphaned Works Bill has little chance of passing many artists are offended and view it as an attempt at corporate theft. Videos illustrating indignation at the concept can be found on Youtube and other video hosting sites.

If the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is put into practice, travellers to and from any signator country may face unprecedented scrutiny if traveling with a laptop, mp3-player, or any other digital storage device. Customs officials would "randomly" search the digital contents of any electronic device in an attempt to determine what materials are illegally copied, but presently there is no way to tell, for instance, which songs on an ipod came from a legally purchased cd, and which may have been illegally downloaded. Airlines passengers may be forced to choose between risking their beloved gadgets to the whims of a disgruntled customs official or sitting through a ten-hour flight without them. It has been suggested however, that this agreement has less to do with copyright protection than setting a legal precedent allowing authorities to snoop through digital materials.

A London man was threatened with arrest at Heathrow airport (in London) for wearing a Transformers t-shirt that depicts a robot with a gun for an arm. Luckily Brad Jayakody, an IT consultant who was on his way to Germany for a business trip, happened to have another shirt in his carry-on luggage and was able to change and continue on his way. The supervisor explained to him that the shirt was offensive because it had a picture of a gun. If readers are wondering where the line may be drawn, I have flown domestically wearing a t-shirt bearing a cat in a suit of armor holding a sword. However, it would be advisable to avoid any Spy Vs. Spy t-shirts if flying through London.

In case of a hurricane evacuation in Texas area, Customs and Border Protection agency says it will be checking for U.S. citizenship both on buses and by traffic checkpoint. Humanitarian groups are outraged fearing an even worse scenario than hurricane Katrina in which illegal immigrants and their relatives might choose to stay behind and die rather than risk deportation. It isn't clear how citizenship will be determined, leading one to wonder if truly everyone will be targeted or only those who appear poor and of color? In the case of an emergency evacuation I wonder how many people will happen to have their birth certificates or passports on hand? Will citizens without papers also be forced into detention centers?

Science and religion seem to be intertwined in recent news stories. Biologists have discovered that burning frankincense may act as an antidepressant. Mythologist William Henry believes that CERN's Large Hadron Collider, christened the Genesis Machine by Michio Kaku, may fulfill prophecy as physicists use it to search for the God particle.