Peanut Butter Problem

You all probably heard about the salmonella outbreak in peanut butter by now, but some people still don't know how and why it happened. The maker of peanut butter was the cause of a nationwide outbreak of salmonella that it knew had tested positive for the bacteria. It is reported that the Peanut Corporation of America's (PCA) own testing program found strains of salmonella 12 times in 2007 and 2008 at its Blakely, Georgia, plant. FDA inspectors that visited the plant this month, still found more salmonella contamination. Its own testing found salmonella in peanut paste, peanut butter, peanut meal, peanut granules and oil-roasted, salted peanuts. But all they did was retest until the test results became negative instead of solving the problem. They tried to find a way to clear there product so they could ship it.
When the proper thing to do is to believe the test that said the containment was positive and that lot should be destroyed. Well here is a case of stingyness that led to hundreds of people being sick and other dying.


Falco, Miriam (Wed January 28, 2009). FDA: Peanut plant knew product was tainted with salmonella. Retrieved January 31, 2009, from cnnhealth.com Web site: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/01/28/salmonella.outbreak/index.html?iref=newssearch

Octuplets

I'm pretty sure you heard about the mother who gave birth to octuplets recently. The mother had six other children before the set of eight. They are the second set of octuplets recorded in the U.S. So far all is well with the mother and her children. It is unclear how this woman ended up with eight embryos her mother said that she had received fertility treatment and that she had embryos implanted last year. Every ethicist and fertility specialist agrees that this was irresponsible and unethical to implant that many embryos. Multiple birth carries tremendous risks both to the mother and the babies. Risks for the children include bleeding in the brain, intestinal problems, developmental delays and lifelong learning disabilities. What I want to know is why someone would want 8 babies when they have 6 already it will be interesting how they handle a family of 14 children.

Landau, Elizabeth (Fri January 30, 2009). Octuplets: Eight times the ethical questions. Retrieved January 31, 2009, from cnnhealth.com Web site: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/01/30/embryos.ethics/index.html

Kentucky Crisis

You may have thought that we suffered from severe weather last week, but its nothing compared to Kentucky. The storm has left hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians without electricity and fresh water. It is not clear how long it will take until its back to normal there. Of 120 counties in the state, 91 had declared emergencies. Several nursing homes are without power and they are one of there first priorities. They have called up 4,600 National Guard troops Saturday to distribute water, food and other supplies. The storm left ice-laden power lines and tree branches still drooping heavily Saturday, hampering efforts to restore infrastructure and deliver relief to residents without power. I feel sorry for them the temperatures will reach a high of about 40 degrees on Sunday which means they will miss the Superbowl. I hate it when the weather gets cold I'd rather have it hot.













(January 31, 2009). Kentucky National Guard goes door-to-door to deliver aid. Retrieved January 31, 2009, from cnn.com/us Web site: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/weather/01/31/winter.weather/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

Blagojevich Kicked

I'm pretty sure everyone has heard of Rod Blagojevich by now, he was arrested in December on federal corruption charges. Federal authorities say that he was trying to sell the Senate seat that became vacant after Barack Obama was elected president. After the his arrest, the state House voted unanimously to impeach him 59-0. As if that wasn't enough moments after removing him from office, the Illinois Senate also voted unanimously to prevent Blagojevich from ever holding political office in the state again. That's pretty harsh one day you are living a smooth life the next day BAM your impeached. I kinda feel sorry for him he even tried to plea for his innocence.

(Thu January 29, 2009). Illinois senators vote to oust Blagojevich from office. Retrieved January 31, 2009, from cnnpolitics.com Web site: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/29/illinois.governor/index.html

Drone Attacks

Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has called on the United States to halt its drone attacks against al Qaeda and Taliban fighters on Pakistani soil and warned that the missile strikes were fueling militarism in the country's troubled tribal border region. Around 17 people were killed in two drone strikes near the Afghan border on Friday. Some people claim that Pakistan was aware of the U.S. strikes against the militants there, but Gilani denied any agreement existed between Islamabad and Washington. Gilani said that no agreement was made with the government of the U.S.. And he said that if they have any credible information that they tell Pakistan's intelligence and they will handle it themselves. The Pakistani army was working with the locals to operate against the militants and said the drone attacks jeopardized the locals support and urged Obama to respect the sovereignty of Pakistan. I don't think this is the first time that the U.S. has neglected the sovereignty of other nations and I don't ink anyone would like it if someone just came trespassed on your territory to search for something they claim to be there.




Hooper, Simon (Thu January 29, 2009). Pakistan: U.S. must halt drone attacks. Retrieved January 31, 2009, from cnn.com/asia Web site: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/01/28/davos.pakistan.pm/index.html

The Furture of Air Travel

We all know how stressful flying is and its not near fun. But the folks at Finnair have looked into their crystal ball and seen a future where flying is green, and possibly enjoyable. The Finnish carrier is curious to see how air travel might look far in the future so they invited academics, business types and journalists to tell us what we might see in 2093. Their vision includes sleek planes that run on algae and venture into space, airlines that offer everything from personal flight attendants to pre-flight yoga and an industry that runs efficiently. Departure 2093 is full of cool ideas, but it's hard to know which are real and which are just wishful thinking from an industry that really couldn't make air travel any worse. Besides — you'd think 85 years would be long enough to straighten it all out. This industry is talking about going green by finding alternatives to fossil fuels. There is a lot of talk and ideas of a more efficient industry, but lets see if they can back that up with some actions. I think these people will never make anyone believe there claims unless they show some improvement soon because I don't know if I will be alive to see this change =\.










Demerjian , Dave (January 23, 2009 ). Air Travel Won't Suck in 2093. Retrieved January 25, 2009, from Wired blog network Web site: http://blog.wired.com/cars/2009/01/in-85-years-air.html

Model Dies of Amputations

Brazilian model Mariana Bridi da Costa, whose hands and feet were amputated in a bid to save her from a deadly and little-known illness, died early Saturday. She was resisting an illness and couldn't any more, it was highly destructive disease known as necrosis, or a fast deadening of tissue due to septicemia. It causes insufficient blood flow that leads to organ failure which is why doctors decided to amputate first her hands and then her feet after to reduce the amount of oxygen being delivered to her limbs. It is pretty disturbing how they amputated so much to stop the disease even if she made it, it would be a pretty gruesome sight.


(Sat January 24, 2009). Brazilian amputee model dead at 20. Retrieved January 24, 2009, from cnn.com/world Web site: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/01/24/brazil.amputee.model/index.html

Peanut Scare

Its all over the news and most of you have probably heard the salmonella outbreak. And its pretty hard to avoid eating it, its almost everywhere from candy to cookie dough even in dog biscuits. More than 125 products have been recalled as authorities are trying to track down the contaminated peanut butter and peanut paste. "Peanuts' heavy presence in snacks is creating a complicated federal investigation after an outbreak of salmonella typhimurium in 43 states. The bacteria have sickened at least 486 people, killing six, and have been linked to products manufactured by the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) in its Blakely, Georgia, plant. The average American consumes more than six pounds of peanuts and peanut butter products each year." If you don't know that the product you are eating is from PCA you are recomened to throw it away. Well what is salmonella it is rod shaped bacteria that lives in the intestines of some animals and is usually harmless. The type of salmonella that is a dangerous is usually contracted by touching raw meat, raw eggs, raw shellfish or unpasteurized animal products such as milk and cheese. Well if I were you I'd try hard to stay away from that because that is pretty disgusting I know I need to try harder.














Park, Madison (Fri January 23, 2009). Peanut popularity complicates salmonella probe . Retrieved January 24, 2009, from cnnhealth.com Web site: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/01/23/peanut.probe.salmonella/index.html?iref=mpstoryview#cnnSTCText

Knife Attack

Two children and one adult were killed Friday after a man with a painted face launched a knife attack at a children's daycare center in Belgium. Two adults and 10 children were being treated in hospital following the attack in Dendermonde. Witnesses say that the suspect looked calm and there was no security so he just walked in, then he began stabbing children and staff witness said he just went crazy killing 3 innocent people. He was arrested a hour and a half later, because he tried to make a run for it on his bike. They were caught of guard because you wouldn't expect something like this happening in a daycare center. That sound pretty crazy I tried to imagine it in my head and I think the man just a psychological problem.



(Sat January 24, 2009). Children dead in Belgian nursery knife attack. Retrieved January 24, 2009, from cnn.com/europe Web site: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/01/23/belgium.nursery.attack/index.html?iref=mpstoryview#cnnSTCText

Acid Attacks

Last year on a warm November morning in Kabul, Afghanistan 19-year-old Shamsia and her sister 16-year-old Atifa were headed to school. On there way they saw two men they were going to run away but they saw that he had something black in his hand that they thought was a water pistol. The man grabbed Shamsia's arm and asked 'Will you be going to school anymore?' and poured acid on her and her sister. Both of them were severely burned by the acid, but they were not the only ones attacked that day many other teachers and students were targeted. Kabul is the third largest city in Afghanistan and is influenced by the Taliban. Its not the first time girls have been targeted by the Taliban for going to school. During the Taliban rule over Afganistan women were forbidden to go to school and were beat if they did. Despite the attack know Shamsia is still going to attend school. I think its really cowardly and cruel for a grown man to assault a little girl. These men are shameless for attacking undefended women and I think everyone should try to stop the Taliban by ruling with terror.



Abawi, Atia (Fri January 23, 2009). Afghan girls maimed by acid vow to go to school. Retrieved January 24, 2009, from cnn.com/asia Web site: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/01/22/acid.attacks/index.html#cnnSTCText

Possible Life on Mars

Scientists have discovered methane in Mars' atmosphere, raising the possibility that life might exist on the planet. There are many reasons like methane could have been produced from past or present subsurface microorganisms, geological activity or comets striking the planet. Methane is the main component of natural gas on Earth. It is interesting to astrobiologists because organisms release much of Earth's methane as they digest nutrients. Other purely geological processes, like oxidation of iron, also release methane. "Microbes that produced methane from hydrogen and carbon dioxide were one of the earliest forms of life on Earth," said Carl Pilcher, director of the NASA Astrobiology Institute, which partially supported the research. "If life ever existed on Mars, it's reasonable to think that its metabolism might have involved making methane from Martian atmospheric carbon dioxide." At first I didn't really care, but now with all this info suggesting life that is perfectly plausible is making me believe that there could be life on Mars.



Ansari , Azadeh (January 15, 2009). Methane discovery could mean life on Mars. Retrieved January 17, 2009, from cnn.com/technology Web site: http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/01/15/mars.methane/index.html?iref=newssearch

Nuclear Deal

The United States signed an agreement Thursday on civil nuclear cooperation with the United Arab Emirates. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed the deal, along with UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed. Congress has to ratify the agreement before it can take effect, the UAE's ties to Iran also have caused concern. Under the "1-2-3 deal," Washington would share nuclear technology, expertise and fuel in return, the UAE abides by the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty and the International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. The deal is part of the UAE investment in nuclear energy. The UAE doesn't want to be dependent on oil and gas, even though they are rich in oil and gas they want to hce a peaceful nuclear program to sustain there futture needs. The U.S. has held up the UAE's development of nuclear energy in stark contrast to Iran. Iran is the among the UAE's largest trading partners. UAE is really concious in preserving our fossil fuels or may for something else, but I think trouble will brew here as well.




Labott, Elise (January 16, 2009). U.S.-United Arab Emirates sign nuclear deal. Retrieved January 17, 2009, from cnn.com/world Web site: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/01/15/us.uae/index.html

Viral Virus

A new sleeper virus that could allow hackers to steal financial and personal information has now spread to more than eight million computers. The Downadup or Conficker worm exploits a bug in Microsoft Windows to infect mainly corporate networks, where it potentially exposes infected PCs to hijack. The purpose of the worm is unclear, its unique "phone home" design, linking back to its point of origin. It is suspected to have originated in Ukraine. This is the most serious large scale worm outbreak seen in recent years because of how widespread it is, but not in terms of what it does. it had affected over 8 million PCs all over the world especially in Europe, United States, and Asia. It is extremely complicated most likely made by a group making it hard to analyze and remove. It spreads when an infected laptop is connected to your corporate network, it will immediately scan the network looking for machines to infect. Its weird why someone creating something so complex without a reason I think it might just be a ticking time bomb.




Neild, Barry (Fri January 16, 2009). Downadup virus exposes millions of PCs to hijack. Retrieved January 17, 2009, from cnn.com/technology Web site: http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/ptech/01/16/virus.downadup/index.html

Gaza Ceasefire

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, the Defence Minister of Israel, is expected to announce a unilateral cease-fire Saturday evening during a news conference after a security Cabinet meeting. They think that Hamas has learned his lesson and have decided to stop, but also because international pressure to end the fighting. People say that the level of violence in Gaza is unprecedented because in searched of Hamas operatives there were heavy civilian casualties. The three-week conflict has killed 1,203 people in Gaza and injured more than 5,000 more. On the Israeli side, 10 soldiers and three civilians have been killed and more than 200 soldiers have been wounded since the fighting began. I don't get why they didn't stop a long time ago because the casualties in Gaza are way way more then those in Israel I just think its inhuman they kept on attacking Gaza without solid proof.











http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/01/17/israel.gaza/index.html

Plane Crash in Water

A US Airways plane with 155 people on board ditched into a chilly Hudson River on Thursday, this happened after an apparent bird strike which took out on of the the planes engines while it was taking off from New York's LaGuardia Airport. There were no casualties out of the 155 people, 15 are being treated at hospitals. Flight 1549 which was headed to Charlotte, North Carolina. The plane was scheduled to land make an emergency land at a nearby airport, but the pilot, Chesley B. "Sully", knew that they weren't going to make it so he thought of landing the plane in the Hudson River. Witnesses saw the pilot land the plane and said that the way it landed seemed like the best possible way. Its kind of funny how a flock of birds toke something that big down, what happened was that the birds got sucked into the engines and stopped them from spinning taking them out and its amazing how the pilot made such a skillful landing.



Brooks, Mike (January 15, 2009). Airplane crash-lands into Hudson River; all aboard reported safe. Retrieved January 17, 2009, from cnn.com/us Web site: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/01/15/new.york.plane.crash/index.html

Slave Labor in Brazil

Slavery may seem obsolete notion in a 21st century world, but 40,000 Brazilians find themselves toiling for no real wages and can't leave the distant work camps where they live. Brazilian government officials and human rights activists call it slave labor, they are aggressively trying to eradicate. In Brazil a recruiter plumbs the slums and other poor areas of the vast country and gets people to agree to jobs in distant places. Once separated from home and family, workers are vulnerable to all sorts of abuses, such as being told they owe money for transportation, food, housing and other services. This is known as debt bondage were there labor is consider repayment for there debts; once in debt they lose all control over their conditions of work and what, if anything they are paid making it impossible to repay and trapping them in a cycle of debt. The UN estimates between 25,000-40,000 Brazilians may be slave laborers. Poverty is seen as the main reason people are forced into slave labor.

Yea thats his water and look at what his extreme labor did to his hands.












Bice , Arthur (January 10, 2009). Government fights slave labor in Brazil. Retrieved January 10, 2009, from Cnn.com/world Web site:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/01/09/brazil.slavery/index.html

Pirates?!?!?!?

Pirates holding a Saudi-owned oil supertanker off the coast of Somalia have set the vessel free after receiving a ransom payment today. The supertanker VLCC(very large crude carrier) Sirius Star is on its way to safety and all 23 crew members are safe and healthy. The pirates seized the supertanker on November 15 the tanker was carrying about 2 million barrels of crude oil about $100 million. The pirates were suppose to release the supertanker after receiving the ransom payment on Friday, but four pirates drowned after their skiff capsized in rough seas while they were leaving the Sirius Star, some of the $3 million ransom was lost in the skiff collapse.



McKenzie, David (1/10/09). Somali pirates free tanker after ransom. Retrieved January 10, 2009, from cnn.com/world Web site: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/01/10/pirates.tanker/index.html?iref=mpstoryview#cnnSTCText

Zimbabwe's Spiraling Inflation

Zimbabwe's central bank will introduce a $50 billion note just enough to buy two loaves of bread this is a due to the cash shortages during the spiraling inflation. Zimbabwe is grappling with hyperinflation now officially estimated at 231 million percent, and its currency is fast losing its value. As of Friday, one U.S. dollar was trading at around ZW$25 billion. Three weeks ago a 10 billion dollar not could buy 20 loaves of bread. Due to the worthlessness of there currency most good and services are charged in foreign currency. Zimbabwe is in the middle of and extreme economic crisis with an unemployeement rate of more than 80 percent and many families can't even afford a square meal. The new notes are seen as useless because noone accepts the currency because it loses its value almost 100 percent daily.






(1/10/09). Zimbabwe introduces $50 billion note. Retrieved January 10, 2009, from cnn.com/world Web site: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/01/10/zimbawe.currency/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

Peanut Butter

King Nut Companies issued a total recall of peanut butter that it distributes Saturday amid fears of a salmonella outbreak that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said has infected 399 people in 42 states. Ohio-based King Nut acknowledged that salmonella had been found in some of its peanut butter, it has already contributed to 1 death in Minnesota. The cases have been reporteed since September 3. About 18 percent of victims were hospitalized as a result of their illness, and patients' ages have ranged from 2 months to 98 years. California is reporting the highest case count, with 55, followed by Ohio with 53 cases, Massachusetts with 39, Minnesota with 30 and Michigan with 20. The other 37 states are each reporting fewer than 20 cases. Salmonrlla can be treaded with antibiotics, but some strains are resistant, the symptoms include develop diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps within a few days of infection, and their illness can last up to a week.


(January 10, 2009). Peanut butter recalled amid salmonella outbreak. Retrieved January 10, 2009, from Cnnhealth.com Web site: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/01/10/salmonella.outbreak.cdc/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

UFOs !?!?!?!

On January 8th a 64 foot blade was torn off a wind turbine during reports of strange lights. The 300 foot turbine at Conisholme in Lincolnshire was left wrecked after the incident residents thought that the damage could have been done by UFOs. Ecotricity, the company which operates the turbine, said it was investigating the unprecedented incident. The missing blade was found in the ground beneath the turbine. Around a dozen people saw flashing orange-yellow spheres before the incident which convinces some people to think it was a UFO attack. The Ministry of Defence said it was not looking into the incident. A spokesman said: “The MOD examines reports solely to establish whether UK airspace may have been compromised by hostile or unauthorised military activity. Unless there’s evidence of a potential threat, there’s no attempt to identify the nature of each sighting reported.”




(January 8, 2009). Inquiry launched into 'UFO attack' on turbine. Retrieved January 10, 2009, from Times Online Web site: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article5473254.ece