XIAM007

Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World

Wednesday 30 January 2013

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall take the Tube -


Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall take the Tube - 


To mark the 150th anniversary of the London Underground Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall took a trip on the Tube.

Click here to see the gallery.

The pair touched in with their new Oyster Cards at Farringdon station before catching the Metropolitan line to Kings Cross.

They were given a tour of the station including platform 9 3/4 from the Harry Potter books. 

Read more - 
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/prince-charles-and-the-duchess-of-cornwall-take-the-tube-8472729.html

Bronx Women Busted At JFK With Cocaine In ‘Diapers’ - More Than 6 Kilos Of Coke -


Bronx Women Busted At JFK With Cocaine In ‘Diapers’ - More Than 6 Kilos Of Coke - 

Talk about a loaded diaper.

Priscilla Pena and Michelle Blassingale, of The Bronx, arrived at JFK Airport on a JetBlue flight from the Dominican Republic on Saturday.

Pena was selected for inspection by customs agents because a drug-sniffing dog alerted agents to something around Pena’s midsection, according to the court documents.

According to an affidavit, agents searched Pena’s luggage and said she appeared very nervous during the search.

An agent then requested a pat-down and Pena agreed. That is when the agent found a hard object around Pena’s stomach and buttocks.

Read more - 
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/01/30/officials-bronx-women-busted-at-jfk-with-cocaine-in-diapers/

New App Lets Users ‘Bang’ Facebook Friends - facilitate sexual encounters with users -


New App Lets Users ‘Bang’ Facebook Friends - facilitate sexual encounters with users - 


A controversial new sex app called “Bang With Friends” claims to facilitate sexual encounters with users and their Facebook friends without the embarrassment of rejection.
“Anonymously find friends who are down for the night,” the company website said. “Your friends will never know you're interested unless they are too!”
The Bang With Friends app, aimed at 20-somethings, was created by three college-aged men from California, who are withholding their identities, according to US media reports.
The app, launched a week ago, only alerts users of a potential hookup if both parties express interest by selecting what is called the “Down to Bang” button.
The creators of the app said it has already gained more than 30,000 users, registering five new users every minute according to a report on the online tech site Mashable.
“By being honest and forward, we’re taking the no [BS] approach [to sex],” one of the apps creators told The Daily Beast.
But critics of “Bang With Friends” told RIA Novosti, putting the physical first is the reason for the demise of the majority of marriages and relationships in the United States.
“Back in the day people would court, they would go out with different people without exploring the sexual relationship because it allowed you to get to know what you may or may not have in common,” said Kristen Crockett, a Washington based relationship coach.
And while some who use the app may be more interested in sex than building a relationship, Crockett cautions users with the potential drawbacks of getting physical with a Facebook friend.
“Once you start sleeping with someone, your red flags, your fears, all of those things get pushed into the back of your mind,” she said, adding often times people ignore signals and signs because of how the person makes them feel physically.
One of the app’s creators told The Daily Beast, the group came up with the idea as a way to improve traditional online dating sites like Match.com.
“It would be great, as guys, if you could find out which girls are actually into you and not dance around anything,” he said.
Skip the dating and jump straight to the sex, one of the creators said.

Read more -
http://en.rian.ru/business/20130131/179131785/New-App-Lets-Users-Bang-Facebook-Friends--------.html

Leafy Greens Cause the Most Illnesses—Mushrooms, the Least -


Leafy Greens Cause the Most Illnesses—Mushrooms, the Least - 


Sometimes a diet of Tang and chewing gum seems the only safe option left. A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study finds that leafy greens—for example, lettuce, spinach, kale, and arugula (or “rocket,” as some Canadians call it)—cause more illnesses than any other food. Anxious herbivores need not worry themselves sick, though: Mushrooms were associated with the fewest cases of illness among all foods.

Together, fruits, nuts, and vegetables accounted for 46.1 percent of food borne illnesses from 1998 to 2008. Leafy greens accounted for 2.1 million cases, or 22.1 percent of the total, often by carrying viruses. Fungi were responsible for only 4,542 cases, due mostly to toxins produced by the food and to chemicals such as pesticides.

People often cook mushrooms, rather than eat them raw, and they consume them less frequently than leafy greens. It’s also rare that people eat poisonous mushrooms, CDC spokesperson Candice Hoffmann wrote in an e-mail.

The study did not measure how much of each food is typically consumed. (This might explain why there were few incidents—only 9,097 cases—of illness associated with game such as venison and bear.) The average American eats only 4 pounds of mushrooms each year, compared to 30 lbs. of lettuce.

Also, greens such as lettuce and spinach cause illness more frequently because they are consumed more often, not because they are grown or harvested in a riskier way than other vegetables, says Scott Horsfall, chief executive officer of the California Leafy Green Products Handler Marketing Agreement, a program under the state’s Department of Food and Agriculture.

In fact, the problem with leafy greens has less to do with farming than with handling. Many were tainted with norovirus, which causes stomach flu, and “were most often contaminated during preparation or service by a sick food handler,” the report found. Infected persons are contagious “from the moment they begin feeling sick until at least three days after they recover” and can spread the virus through vomit and stool, according to the CDC.

Before sadistic meat eaters start chuckling at the fates of some health-focused, leaf-eating counterparts, they should consider this: While leafy greens may have caused the greatest volume of sickness, poultry accounted for the most deaths, at 19 percent. Pass the portobello mushrooms, please.

Read more - 
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-01-30/leafy-greens-cause-the-most-illness-mushrooms-the-least

Horsemeat could have been in British beef burgers for a year -


Horsemeat could have been in British beef burgers for a year - 

Katherine Brown, chief executive of the Food Standards Agency, told MPs that the Polish supplier at the heart of the scandal has been selling beef "filler" to an Irish meat processor for over a year.

Anne McIntosh, the chairman of the committee, said: "How do we know that this horse meat has not been in beef burgers for months if not years?"

Mrs Brown said: "It is possible that these burgers have been on sale in this country for a year. This filler had been used for a year. And therefore when the Polish get to the bottom of this we will hope to know whether it's likely that this has been going on for a year."

Mrs Brown told MPs that the FSA had not identifies horse meat as a risk in the past, which is why it was not tested for.

But they hope that investigations in Ireland and Poland will get to the bottom of the situation.

Meat from a plant in Ireland was supplied to food companies including Tesco, which withdrew from sale all products supplied by Silvercrest in County Monaghan.

The Irish Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Simon Coveney announced earlier this week that their tests had shown that the horsemeat was probably being imported from Poland.

The result showed “significant levels” of equine DNA in imported “raw material,” amounting to 20 per cent horse DNA content relative to beef.

Read more - 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/9837420/Horsemeat-could-have-been-in-British-beef-burgers-for-a-year-FSA-confirm.html

High School To Collect Students’ Hair For Mandatory Drug Testing -


High School To Collect Students’ Hair For Mandatory Drug Testing - 


A Kansas City high school will begin collecting hair from students to conduct mandatory drug tests.

KHSB-TV reports that Rockhurst High School will start the random drug testing during the 2013-14 school year.

“Our point is, if we do encounter a student who has made some bad decisions with drugs or alcohol, we will be able to intervene, get the parents involved, get him help if necessary, and then help him get back on a path of better decision making, healthier choices for his life,” Rockhurst Principal Greg Harkness told the station.

The school will collect 60 strands of hair from the student and test for several types of drugs, including marijuana and cocaine. If a student comes back with a positive drug test, that student will have 90 days to get drug-free. The station reports the file will be destroyed for a student who tests positive after graduation and colleges and universities will never know about the failed test.

Matthew Brocato, the school’s junior class president, told The Kansas City Star that the mandatory drug testing is not to punish students who fail.

Read more - 
http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2013/01/30/high-school-to-collect-students-hair-for-mandatory-drug-testing/

U.S. Navy minesweeper to be dismantled after running aground off Philippines -


U.S. Navy minesweeper to be dismantled after running aground off Philippines - 


A U.S. Navy minesweeper that ran aground on a reef off the coast of the Philippines two weeks ago will be cut up and removed in sections, officials said.
The 224-foot USS Guardian got stuck Jan. 17 on the Tubbataha Reef, in the Sulu Sea, after leaving a port in Subic Bay. The crew of 79 was evacuated the next day, while Navy brass considered options for dislodging it. Pacific Fleet spokesman Lt. Anthony Falvo told Stars and Stripes they concluded it could only be dismantled and removed in pieces in a process that will take at least a month.

“Our naval architecture and salvage experts have reviewed all possible alternatives, and our only supportable option is to dismantle the damaged ship and remove it in sections,” Falvo wrote in an email to the military news website.
“We have the right team of experienced professionals to conduct this complex operation and to ensure that it is done safely while minimizing damage to the surrounding marine environment. We expect the first floating crane to arrive in a few days and the dismantling to take over a month — we will work to conduct the operation as quickly as safety, weather and environmental protection allows.”
No one was injured when the ship, one of  the Navy's 14 Avenger-class mine countermeasure ships in service, ran aground about 400 miles southwest of Manila.
The ship's hull was scored  in the accident and it has since been shifting on the reef, causing damage both to the reef, which is recognized as a United Nations World Heritage Site, and to the ship. Some 15,000 gallons of diesel have spilled into the sea, though the rest of the ship's fuel was removed.


Read more: - 
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/01/30/moored-naval-minesweeper-to-be-dismantled-and-swept-off-reef/?test=latestnews

Japan's airlines replaced 787 batteries 10 times in brand new planes -


Japan's airlines replaced 787 batteries 10 times in brand new planes - 
boeingbatt12.jpg

U.S. regulators said Wednesday they asked Boeing Co. to provide a full operating history of lithium-ion batteries used in its grounded 787 Dreamliners after Japan's All Nippon Airways revealed it had repeatedly replaced the batteries even before overheating problems surfaced.
National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Knudson said the agency made the request after recently becoming aware of battery problems at ANA that occurred before a Jan. 7 battery fire in a 787 parked at Boston's Logan International Airport. Boeing has already collected some of the information, he said.
ANA said it had replaced batteries on its 787 aircraft some 10 times because they didn't charge properly or connections with electrical systems failed, and informed Boeing about the swaps. Japan Airlines also said it had replaced 787 batteries. It described the number involved as a few but couldn't immediately give further details.
All 50 of the Boeing 787s in use around the world remain grounded after an ANA flight on Jan. 16 made an emergency landing in Japan when its main battery overheated.
The 787 is the first airliner to make wide use of lithium-ion batteries. They are prone to overheating and require additional safeguards to prevent fires. However, ANA spokeswoman Megumi Tezuka said the airline was not required to report the battery replacements to Japan's Transport Ministry because they did not interfere with flights and did not raise safety concerns.
Having to replace batteries on aircraft is not uncommon and was not considered out of the ordinary, she said.
Laura Brown, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, said in Washington that the agency was checking whether the previous battery incidents had been reported by Boeing.
Boeing in Japan said it couldn't comment while the NSTB investigation is underway. GS Yuasa, the Kyoto, Japan-based manufacturer of the batteries, said it could not comment.
With 17 of the jets, ANA was Boeing's launch customer for the technologically advanced airliner. The airline has had to cancel hundreds of flights, affecting tens of thousands of people, but has sought to minimize disruptions by switching to other aircraft as much as possible.
The battery problems experienced by ANA before the emergency landing were first reported by The New York Times.
Japanese and U.S. investigators looking into the Boeing 787's battery problems shifted their attention this week from GS Yuasa to the manufacturer of a monitoring system. That company, Kanto Aircraft Instrument Co., makes a system that monitors voltage, charging and temperature of the lithium-ion batteries.
On Tuesday, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said it was conducting a chemical analysis of internal short circuiting and thermal damage of the battery that caught fire in Boston.
The probe is also analyzing data from flight data recorders on the aircraft, the NTSB said in a statement on its website.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/01/30/japan-airlines-replaced-787-batteries-many-times/?test=latestnews

Man 'follows GPS directions to wrong house'; shot dead... -


Man 'follows GPS directions to wrong house'; shot dead... - 


According to friends of Rodrigo Diaz, they were all going ice skating. Diaz was driving the car, and they were going to pick up one more skater.
They pulled into a driveway, which their GPS -- at least, according to one of the friends -- told them was their destination.
Then, as WSB-TV Atlanta explains, this tale took a troubling turn.
According to Yeson Jimenez, 15, one of the passengers, Diaz pulled into a driveway; then 69-year-old Phillip Sailors peered out of a window of the house.

He allegedly came out, went back inside, then emerged again, firing a gun into the air.
Jimenez says Sailors said nothing to them but "Shut up!"
Jimenez insists they tried to drive away and that as they did, Sailors fired his .22 gun and shot Diaz fatally in the head.

Sailors has been charged with murder with malice.
Lilburn, Ga., Police Chief Bruce Hedley told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "At this point we have established probable cause to charge Mr. Sailors."
Sailors' lawyer, Michael Puglise, told the Journal-Constitution: "He is very distraught over the loss of life from the defense of his home. This incident happened late in the evening hours when he was home with his wife and he assumed it was a home invasion and he maintains his innocence."



Read more - 
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57566488-71/man-allegedly-follows-gps-directions-to-wrong-house-shot-dead/

Husbands who do housework 'have less sex' -


Husbands who do housework 'have less sex' - 

Joe Six Packs take heart.
Married men who shirk traditional “female” housework have more sex with their wives than those who willingly pitch in with the cooking or cleaning, a new study says.
The research, out of the University of Washington, shows that couples who keep to traditional household chores – where men rake leaves or fix the car and women tidy up or shop – have significantly more carnal encounters than their more egalitarian counterparts.
“Where the male is doing the male tasks and the female is doing the female tasks, those are the couples (who) are having more sex,” says Julie Brines, a sociologist at the Seattle school and a study co-author.
The study was released Wednesday by the journal American Sociological Review.
It found that couples spend an average of 34 hours a week on so-called “female” chores and 17 hours on more traditional male tasks. It also found that couples overall reported about five sexual encounters a month.
But households where Dagwood-like dreamboats preformed none of the “women’s work” reported 1.6 times more sexual encounters than those in which men took on the bulk of cooking and cleaning chores.
That increase in sexual frequency went down in an inverse proportion to the amount of traditional “women’s work” a husband took on.
Households where husbands claimed 40 per cent of that housework reported almost one less sexual encounter a month than those in which the males took on none of those chores.

Read more - 
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/01/30/less_housework_equals_more_sex_for_married_men_study.html