News Bites

[gotsnowgotslush]

Food Recalls
Another Peppermint Tea Brand Recalled in Canada
Mar 16, 2011

Another tea brand has been added to the recall of organic peppermint herbal tea that may be contaminated with Salmonella.

First announced March 7, in the United States, the recall involves tea produced by Aromatics Inc. of Basin City, WA. It has involved tea retailed by the

Atlanta-based Teavana chain, RemedyTeas in Seattle and Metropolitan Tea Co. in Canada. Now the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning

the public not to consume David's Tea peppermint tea.

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/03/another-peppermint-tea-brand-recalled-in-canada/

 

[Frisco_Slug_Esq]

Do they not properly steep in Canada?




Too cold to steep?

 

[unregistered]

 

[Frisco_Slug_Esq]

They need more coffee drinkers up North.

Coffee and Molson, eh?

 

[unregistered]

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

He could well ask- "Where is the helmet I posed with, from the original photograph?"
"I did not pose with a pic from 911!"

Photoshop gives the wrong impression?

"It's an insult to the Fire Department. It's an insult to all the families who lost people that day," said Keiley, 34,
an ex-cop who now works out of an engine company in Flatbush, Brooklyn.

Keily had threatened to sue.

"It makes me look like I'm cashing in on 9/11, saying I was there even though I was never there, and that I'm sick and possibly suing, trying to get a chunk of money."

March 28, 2011

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/agency_pulls_controversial_ad_ttIJMdgnLsZ4lQK5Es8foM

Worby Groner Edelman & Napoli Bern ad.

Worby Groner directed all calls to the ad agency, Barker/DZP.

A rep insisted the agency was well within its rights to use the image because Keiley signed a release.

"He really signed his rights away," said Kim Tracey, an account director at the agency. "[The release] allows for use in ads, promotional usage, really anything you want."

VS

"We issue a sincere and deep apology to Firefighter [Robert] Keiley and this ad will not run again," said John Barker, president of the Barker/DZP ad agency.

March 12, 2011

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/lawyers_queezed_heroes_v5EjxhQXijKwKyERxJUFaK

A motion filed by Worby Groner Edelman & Napoli Bern -- then withdrawn -- revealed the firm was "deeply in debt, to the extent of millions of dollars,

secured by personal guaranties of the principals of the firm, payable at high, compounding interest rates," Manhattan federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein said yesterday.

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

Recall

March 30, 2011

Have a headache? Aches and pains? Sinus pain? Younglings not feeling well?
Need some over the counter meds?

It smells musty! It smells moldy! There is a reason. The pallets were chemically treated.
The odor penetrated the bottles.

http://www.mcneilproductrecall.com/

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

The French soldiers take the control of the airport of Abidjan

03.04.11

RTI recorded the defense of Laurent Gbagbo's presidential residence by a "human shield" consisting of several hundreds of men, women and young people.

Alassane Ouattara denies charges that he is connected with the massacre that occurred in the town of Duékoué.

http://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/artic...rt-d-abidjan_1502431_3212.html#ens_id=1476585

April 3, 2011

As forces loyal to Ivory Coast's rival presidents fought pitched battles in the country's biggest city, the Red Cross reported an ominous development in the increasingly brutal struggle for control: the massacre of up to 1,000 civilians in a western town.

The killings in Duekoue reportedly came over the course of three days last week after forces loyal to the internationally recognized winner of last fall's presidential election, Alassane Ouattara, took control of the town.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationw...st-fighting-20110403,0,767972.story?track=rss

April 2, 2011

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast — Laurent Gbagbo’s 10-year grip on the Ivory Coast seemed to be in its final hours yesterday after fighters encircled both his residence and the presidential palace and battled to unseat the man who has refused to recognize his defeat in last year’s election.

Gbagbo had delayed the November election for five years, canceling it every year only to promise, but fail, to hold it the next.

Ouattara’s victory with 54 percent of the vote was recognized first by the country’s electoral commission and then by the United Nations, which pored over thousands of tally sheets before certifying the results. He has been recognized by governments around the world, and leaders from US President Obama to French President Nicolas Sarkozy have made personal appeals to Gbagbo to step down.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/af...ighters_tighten_circle_around_defiant_gbagbo/

In a four-month organized campaign of human rights abuses, which probably rise to the level of crimes against humanity, Gbagbo's forces have killed, "disappeared," and raped real and perceived supporters of Ouattara, Human Rights Watch has found. Armed men supporting Ouattara have also engaged in numerous extrajudicial executions of presumed pro-Gbagbo fighters and supporters.

According to UN estimates, approximately 500 people, the vast majority civilians, have lost their lives as a result of the violence. In March alone, forces aligned with Gbagbo killed at least 50 civilians by firing mortars into neighborhoods known to be Ouattara strongholds. Pro-Gbagbo forces have also beaten and hacked and burned to death numerous perceived Ouattara supporters at checkpoints set up by militias.

On March 25, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that between 700,000 and one million people have been displaced, largely from Abidjan. On March 29, UNHCR reported that 116,000 Ivorians have fled to eight West African countries: Liberia, Ghana, Togo, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, and Nigeria

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/03/31/c-te-d-ivoire-west-african-immigrants-massacred

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

Thailand, Cambodia cease-fire reached after week

PHANOM DONGRAK, Thailand — Thai and Cambodian military commanders agreed to a cease-fire Thursday after seven days of artillery duels
killed 15 people, Cambodia said. Thailand did not immediately confirm it, but the contested border was quiet most of the day.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/apr/28/thailand-cambodia-cease-fire-reached-after-week/

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

The sliver of land in northwest Mississippi, home to hardship and bluesman Muddy Waters, is in the crosshairs of the slowly surging river,
just like many other areas along the banks of the big river.

To points much farther north, thousands face the decision of whether to stay or go as high water kept on rolling down the Mississippi and its tributaries, threatening to soak communities over the next week or two. The flooding is already breaking high-water records that have stood since the 1930s.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/2...Memphians-move-out?odyssey=mod_sectionstories

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

2 American imams heading to Islamaphobia conference in N.C. ordered off plane

May 08, 2011

CNN Travel

VS

May 9, 2011

American baby patted down by TSA agents

The Rev. Jacob Jester, an Independence evangelist who snapped the photo Saturday after he cleared security for a flight to Albuquerque, N.M.,
said it didn't sit right with him to see the baby being patted down. He said he thought the boy was about 8 months old.

Posted online and soon it was a cyberspace hit with more than 300,000 viewers.

CBS news

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

April 27, 2011

Newly-Named Tibetan Exile Leader Faces Task of Reshaping Government

Tibetan exile officials made it official Wednesday: 42-year-old Lobsang Sangay will be the community's new leader.

Sangay, a senior fellow at the Harvard Law School, won 55 percent of the votes cast in March by more than 50,000 exiled Tibetans living in dozens of countries. He is still in the United States, but is expected to relocate within months to Dharamsala, the de facto capital of Tibetan exiles in northern India.

The Dalai Lama has played what many Tibetans see as an irreplaceable role as spiritual arbiter, head of state, and celebrity activist. However, in March, the Dalai Lama announced he would relinquish his political role, delegating administrative decisions to elected officials.

Sangay is scheduled to be inaugurated as prime minister - a post that Tibetans call Kalon Tripa - in August.

http://www.voanews.com/english/news...s-Task-of-Reshaping-Government-120789674.html

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

2011
May 19, 2011
Recently, the climate on campus has come under scrutiny — not only because of the incident involving DKE, but also because of a complaint that 16 Yale students and alumni filed on March 15.

The complaint, filed with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, alleges that Yale has a sexually hostile environment and has failed to adequately respond to concerns about that.

http://articles.courant.com/2011-05...hapiro-yale-students-college-dean-mary-miller

In late March, the Office of Civil Rights announced that it would investigate the claim.
The Courant and other news organizations have sought a copy of the complaint under the Freedom of Information Act, but it has not been released

Yale Suspends Bush Family's Fraternity For Sexist Chants
05/17/11
Yale has said it will cooperate with the investigation and takes such allegations "extremely seriously." University officials said they have begun programs in recent years to respond effectively to sexual misconduct.

The students cite incidents in which fraternity members held up a sign saying, "We love Yale sluts" outside a women's center and chanted "no means yes" on campus last fall. They also say incoming female freshmen were ranked on attractiveness


10/19/10
Yale Fraternity Under Fire For Alleged Misogyny

Delta Kappa Epsilon, which was founded at Yale in 1855, has been under fire since amateur video appeared online of pledges marching through the New Haven campus on Oct. 13, chanting about women in the context of necrophilia and a specific sexual act.

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

May 23, 2011

Comedian Lampanelli donating $50,000 to pro-gay group after Westboro Baptist Church protest

Topeka — Comedian Lisa Lampanelli says she will present a check for $50,000 to the Gay Men's Health Crisis this week.

Friday, 49 News reported that Lampanelli was challenging the Westboro Baptist Church for every protestor who showed up
to her picket her performance at the Topeka Performing Arts Center. She said she would donate $1000 to a pro-gay charity.

The Church says 48 people showed up. Lampanelli tweeted that she will present a $50,000 check to GMHC on Wednesday.

http://www.ktka.com/news/2011/may/23/comedian-lampanelli-donating-50000-pro-gay-group-a/

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

May. 23, 2011

"The spectacular failure of Aquila's trading venture practically wiped out the hard-earned retirement savings of veteran employees. Richard Itteilag, a plaintiff in the Aquila class action, lost 87 percent of his savings. Robert Goodson, a 20-year Aquila employee, lost 75 percent. Michael Reinhardt lost a staggering 94 percent.

All told, thousands of employees saw their retirement funds eviscerated thanks to Aquila's Enron-esque activities."

(In 2007, Aquila settled with the employees for $10.5 million. Not long after, Aquila merged with other Midwestern energy companies and now no longer operates as Aquila.)

Cain served on the board of directors throughout Aquila's ill-fated trading misadventure and the subsequent collapse of the company's retirement fund. In fact, he chaired the board's compensation committee, which, according to the lawsuit, had direct oversight of the push to get employees to invest more and more in Aquila stock. As chair of the compensation committee, Cain also saw fit to dole out $30 million in bonuses, not including stock options, to the top five execs at Aquila in 2002, with the company's stock plummeting. A month after the Kansas City Star reported on the hefty bonuses in July 2002, the company laid off 500 employees, and the losses to employees holding company stock had reached hundreds of millions of dollars.

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/05/herman-cain-aquila-lawsuit-2012

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

May 23, 2011

"The Battle for Patagonia Has Just Begun" in Chile

Tens of thousands of Chileans have joined in protests against a bill that will affect six national parks, 11 national reserves, 26 priority conservation sites, 16 wetlands and 32 private protected areas in Patagonia and seven other regions, according to its opponents.

On May 9, the Environmental Assessment Committee of the southern region of Aysén approved the HidroAysén mega-project, a Spanish-Italian-Chilean joint venture involving the construction of five hydroelectric plants in Patagonia. The 2,750 megawatts of electricity produced by the plants will be transmitted along power lines that will cut through eight regions.

The regional secretary of the Ministry of Environment was forced to resign, because he obviously couldn’t endorse a procedure like this.
Four public officials who were supposed to vote had to disqualify themselves because of company-related conflicts of interest.

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=55748

May 20, 2011

Protest against Chile dam plan ends in violence

The protest was against a some $7 billion project by the multinational consortium HidroAysen to dam two of the world's wildest rivers in Chile's Patagonia for electricity.

The project recently won environmental approval from a Chilean government commission, despite a groundswell of opposition. The dams would flood part of the area,
requiring the relocation of its residents.

Environmentalists and others are angry over the $7 billion plan to build five dams on two free-running rivers in a mostly road-less region of Patagonia known for
picturesque Andean glaciers and stunning deep green valleys and fjords.

http://www.salon.com/wires/techbiz/2011/05/20/D9NBJDL00_lt_chile_patagonia_protests/index.html

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

May. 23, 2011

The House Energy and Commerce Committee is holding a hearing on a bill that would set a Nov. 1 deadline for the State Department to decide whether to allow a Canadian company to build a 1,900-mile pipeline to carry crude oil extracted from tar sands in Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Texas.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/05/23/general-us-oil-pipeline_8480674.html

A dispute over a plan to send oil from western Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast moved to Capitol Hill on Monday, where a House panel debated whether to speed a decision by the Obama administration.

Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are backing a bill that would set a Nov. 1 deadline for the State Department to decide on the $7 billion project. A Canadian company wants to build a 1,900-mile pipeline to carry crude oil extracted from tar sands in Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Texas.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110523/ap_on_re_us/us_oil_pipeline_3

A Koch Industries operation in Calgary, Alberta, called Flint Hills Resources Canada LP, supplies about 250,000 barrels of tar sands oil a day to a heavy oil refinery in Minnesota,
also owned by the Koch brothers.

Flint Hills Resources Canada also operates a crude oil terminal in Hardisty, Alberta, the starting point of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.

Koch Industries also owns Koch Exploration Canada, L.P., an oil sands-focused exploration company also based in Calgary that acquires, develops and trades petroleum properties.

An unknown amount of company profits — figures are unavailable as the company is privately held — come from the Pine Bend Refinery near St. Paul, Minnesota, which supplies 30 to 40 percent of Wisconsin's transportation fuel and a large percentage of the jet fuel used at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

The 1,959-mile pipeline would cut through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma to refineries in Texas, and crisscross the Ogallala Aquifer,
which Americans living in the Midwest rely on for fresh drinking water as well as irrigation.

http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2011/05/will-kochs-benefit-proposed-tar-sands-pipeline

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

May 24, 2011

Crimson-faced Harvard University officials learned a tough lesson in sex “edu” after they were forced to scrub pornographic images splashed
across the Ivy League school’s Web domain by hackers and spammers.

“We are aware that a number of Harvard servers were affected last week and we are addressing the issue,” Harvard spokesman Kevin Galvin said.

BU and MIT were moving to address the problems yesterday.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/re...vard_crimson/srvc=news&position=recent_bullet

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

5/24/2011

Internet Freedom and You

The Who's Who of the e-world have their say

2011 G8 Paris, France

Speaking to the BBC afterwards, Mr Jarvis said that President Sarkozy's comments betrayed the true intent of many world leaders.

"At least Sarkozy acknowledged that he doesn't own the internet and his government doesn't own the internet.
Nonetheless, he is claiming sovereignty here and so will the G8 and I have fear in that.

Yochi Benkler, a Harvard University professor known for championing open source ideas, said governments must be careful about unintended consequences of strict copyright rules.

"You can make the Internet safe for Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga, or you can make it safe for the next Skype," said Benkler, referring to two pop music stars and the wildly successful start-up Internet telephony service. "You have to choose."

Thank you, BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13518871

Giant bobble heads!
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/oxfam-members-wear-masks-representing-g8-summit-leaders-114927890.html

 

[philosophygirl]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/05/23/international/i044222D57.DTL

Police scrambled helicopters and ordered tranquilizers to hunt what they feared was an escaped wild animal in southern England — but found that the tiger was a toy.

Hampshire Police say they responded after several residents called in to say they'd seen a white tiger in a field near a golf course in Hedge End, near the English coastal city of Southampton.

A tongue-in-cheek recorded message posted to the force's media line said that after "a brief stalk through the Hedge End savannah ... it became obvious that the tiger was a stuffed, life-sized toy."

A second message posted on Sunday emphasized police had a duty to take such sightings seriously. As for the renegade tiger, "it's being treated as lost property."



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/artic...23/international/i044222D57.DTL#ixzz1NVhtXSWn

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

( I like it when the alligator or crocodile decides that it likes the golf ball and swims away with it. )

meanwhile- In FDA Land and NIH Village

May 26, 2011
Abbott Cholesterol Combination Fails to Protect Heart

The Abbott logo stands outside one of its facilities in Des Plaines, Illinois, U.S. Abbott paid $3.4 billion for Kos Pharmaceuticals Co. in 2006 to gain Niaspan, a version of the vitamin niacin that was seen at the time to be part of the next wave of heart drugs. Photographer: Tim Boyle/Bloomberg

Abbott Laboratories (ABT)’ Niaspan failed to prevent heart attacks and may have boosted stroke risk in a U.S.-funded study that calls into question the benefit of raising good cholesterol to combat the leading cause of death.

The National Institutes of Health said today it stopped a 3,414-person study early after the addition of Niaspan to simvastatin, a standard therapy for high cholesterol, was linked to strokes in 1.6 percent of patients, compared with 0.7 percent in the control group. The combination failed to reduce heart attacks, heart-related hospitalizations and the need for procedures to reduce chest pain and restore strong blood flow.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-...to-protect-heart-in-study-shares-decline.html

Niacin functions in over 50 body processes and is primarily important in the release of energy from carbohydrates. Niacin aids in the breakdown of carbohydrates, protein and fats, in the formation of red blood cells and in the detoxification of several drugs and chemicals. The diversity of niacin's roles makes it essential for the supply of energy to and the maintenance of all body cells. It is an essential vitamin for a healthy nervous system and brain function and is one of the first vitamins to be used–up in times of stress.

 

[Karen Kraft]

Maybe they can try and control their pinkies too.

Hahahahahahahahahaha....

Have to mention that to LittleNinja.

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

( Aww! Littleninja, the sweetheart of the GB.)

May 25, 2011

Joplin radio stations become lifeline for tornado-stricken residents

The staffs of six radio stations, based in a one-story building in Joplin, are providing nonstop disaster coverage. Broadcasters are turning into unofficial public information officers as callers ask for information on loved ones or make offers of assistance.

(The internet went down.)

Radio host Rob Meyer — homeless and haggard since a tornado destroyed his house Sunday — had another shift coming up soon. He had slept for only five of the previous 48 hours, filling the rest with coffee and soda. And talk.

"We've just been answering phones live and seeing what people have to say," Meyer said.

In a town where Internet and mobile connections have become scarcities after an Old Testament-style disaster crippled new media, Zimmer Radio's untouched towers have made its six stations essential listening.

The stations, based in a one-story building in Joplin, have transformed their staffs into impromptu public health experts and unofficial public information officers, consolidating multiple broadcasts into a single feed of nonstop disaster coverage under the call letters KZRG.

Classic-rock jocks and news talk-show hosts have become on-air first responders.

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/25/nation/la-na-tornado-radio-20110526

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

Massachusetts Register of Deeds John O’Brien and Forensic Mortgage Fraud Examiner Marie McDonnell find former Vice-Presidential
candidate Sarah Palin is victim of potential mortgage fraud

June 10, 2011

Yesterday we reported that Sarah Palin has just purchased a new property in North Scottsdale, AZ for $1.75 million. We further speculated that there may have been some fishyness with regard to the terms of the purchase of the JPM short sale which was an over 100% flip in about a year. So far so good. Where this story takes yet another detour into the macabre, is a cursory analysis of the release deed of the prior mortgage holder of the property, one Steven Soraya, who had a loan amounting to $980,500.00 with Wells Fargo, which was released on July 3, 2007 and which just so happens was signed by Robosigner extraordinaire, the one, the only, the infamous Linda Green.

http://4closurefraud.org/2011/05/26...by-a-robosigned-and-fraudulent-title-release/

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

How is a youngling supposed to get an eyeful by touring the world,
when Greece is on strike and everywhere else is having bomb problems?