XIAM007 - Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World: 01/19/10

Tuesday, 19 January 2010

Gillian Cooke Female UK Bobsleigh team splits her spandex pants live on TV -

Watching - Gillian Cooke Female UK Bobsleigh team splits her spandex pants live on TV - Nice Bum! -

Weight Watchers Sues Jenny Craig Over 'Deceptive' Ads -

Reading - Weight Watchers Sues Jenny Craig Over 'Deceptive' Ads -

Weight Watchers International is suing rival weight-loss company Jenny Craig over ads it says are misleading and deceptive.

Weight Watchers, based in New York, says in the suit that Jenny Craig is running ads that refer to a study comparing Weight Watchers current weight-loss program and Jenny Craig's pre-packaged meals system.

But Weight Watchers says no such study has been done and the claims in the ads are not supported by fact or science.

"It is outrageous that Jenny Craig is trying to trick and fool consumers through this blatantly misleading advertising campaign, which makes clearly false and unsupported claims,” David Kirchhoff, Weight Watchers president and CEO said in a news release “The fact that Jenny Craig chose to deceptively try to compare themselves to Weight Watchers in a manner that is clearly unsupported by fact or science suggests to us a lack of confidence in their own current offerings.”

The lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court in New York City. It asks for an injunction and damages along with a ban of the ads.

A call to Jenny Craig Inc., based in Carlsbad, Calif., was not immediately returned.

Amazed Border guards discover a 15-year-old Afghan boy hiding inside luggage -

Reading - Amazed Border guards discover a 15-year-old Afghan boy hiding inside luggage -

This was the amazing sight that greeted Italian immigration police during routine spot check - a teenage boy hidden in a suitcase as he tried to illegally enter the country.

The 15-year-old Afghan boy was discovered curled into foetal position inside the case while his 17-year-old brother was hidden in the foot well covered with blankets.

Officers immediately arrested the Greek driver of the car, Alexandros Lepesiotis, 42, and charged him with illegally smuggling people into the country.

Desperate: This Afghan illegal immigrant, 15, was discovered hiding in a zipped suitcase in the boot of a Peugeot 207 by Italian border guards

The discovery was made at the Adriatic port of Bari, a well known entry point for people smugglers, on a ferry which had just arrived from Greece, the Sea Trade.

Officers pulled over Lepesiotis for a spot check in his Peugeot 207 and became suspicious of him as he reacted nervously when they began examining the car.

The boys told police they had paid €2600 to be smuggled into the country, raising the money by doing waiting jobs in Greece when they were told Lepesiotis would be willing to smuggle them into Italy.

Yesterday the teenagers were in care in the care of Bari social services while investigators tried to track their parents or decide whether they should be given asylum.

People smuggling: Police arrested the Greek driver of the car, Alexandros Lepesiotis

A Bari police police spokesman said:'We get thousands of people passing through the part every day and like any other immigration authority we do spot checks.

'We have found in the past people hiding in the boot or hiding in the foot well but we have never found anyone curled up and hidden in a suitcase. The poor boy looked so frightened when we found him.

'It just goes to show the desperate measures and the high prices people are willing to pay to be smuggled into Italy.

'This is just one success story but for this there are probably dozens who get through.'

390 tons of ground beef produced by a California meat packer is being recalled for fear of potentially deadly E. coli bacterium -

Reading - 390 tons of ground beef produced by a California meat packer is being recalled for fear of potentially deadly E. coli bacterium -

Some 390 tons of ground beef produced by a California meat packer, some of it nearly two years ago, is being recalled for fear of potentially deadly E. coli bacterium tainting, U.S. officials said on Monday.

The beef was produced by Huntington Meat Packing Inc of Montebello, California, and shipped mainly to California outlets, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's food safety arm said.

An initial problem, in ground beef shipped by the plant from January 5 to January 15, was discovered during a regular safety check, the Food Safety and Inspection Service said.

It said it had received no reports of illnesses associated with consumption of the recalled products.

During a follow-up review of the company's records, government inspectors determined additional products produced and shipped in 2008 to be of concern because they may have been contaminated with E.coli, the service said in a notice on its web site.

This batch was produced from February 19, 2008, to May 15, 2008. It also had been shipped to distribution centers, restaurants and hotels within California, the notice said.

"While these products are normally used fresh, the establishment is taking this action out of concern that some product may still be frozen and in commerce," it said.

E. coli is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause kidney failure in the most serious cases.

The service said it routinely conducts checks to verify that recalling firms notify customers, including restaurants, of the recall and that steps are taken to make sure the product is no longer available to consumers.

Nevermore? Mystery birthday visitor doesn't show at Edgar Allan Poe grave, breaking tradition

Reading - Nevermore? Mystery birthday visitor doesn't show at Edgar Allan Poe grave, breaking tradition -

Is this tradition "nevermore?"

A mysterious visitor who for decades has left roses and cognac at the grave of Edgar Allan Poe has failed to show up for the anniversary of the writer's birthday.

The curator of the Poe House and Museum in Baltimore says the graveyard tradition dates back to at least 1949 and has never been interrupted before.

Tuesday is the 201st anniversary of Poe's birth and some three dozen fans waited all night with the curator, Jeff Jerome, for the visitor to arrive at the downtown church cemetery.

But early Tuesday, Jerome announced that the visitor, who had always appeared between midnight and 5:30 a.m., never showed. He had no explanation why.