XIAM007 - Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World

Saturday, 10 November 2012

A motel in Montreal is one of several motels across Canada showing traces of C. difficile and MRSA -

A motel in Montreal is one of several motels across Canada showing traces of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, according to a CBC Marketplace investigation.

The investigation found traces of Clostridium difficile — better known as C. difficile — and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in major hotel chains in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

Traces of the bacteria were found in the Super 8 in Vaudreuil.

"We're very disappointed in the results … all of our hotels are going to take a very close look at their policies and procedures, particularly in cleaning," said William Brown, executive vice-president of the Montreal Hotel Association.

According to University of Montreal biochemistry department chair Christian Baron, the bacteria are not a cause for panic, but they could be a problem for people with weakened immune systems and the elderly.

Microbiologist Keith Warriner, who did the tests for Marketplace, called the findings as “alarming.”

“It was a surprise at the start, but amazing that all these hotels had superbugs,” he said. “When you get … the antibiotic-resistant bacteria we're finding, that's not scare-mongering, that's real. These are real pathogens that can cause real illnesses.”

Using an ultraviolet flashlight and an adenosine triphosphate (ATP) meter that measures microbial contamination, Warriner found the worst bacterial hot spots in the hotel rooms.

Comforters proved the dirtiest, while faucets, remote controls, bed throws, bathroom sinks and toilet bases were the most commonly contaminated spots.

Hidden cameras in the rooms also captured maids using cleaning techniques that would actually help spread bacteria.

One camera captured a maid using a toilet brush to clean a sink, and another using the same rag to wipe a toilet seat and then a faucet.

Wyndham Hotels, which owns the Super 8 franchise, replied with written a statement that its hotels are all independently owned and operated, but all franchises will face action if they compromise quality or customer safety.

Read more -
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2012/11/09/montreal-hotels-bacteria.html

Did Paula Broadwell’s Cuckolded Husband Write a Letter to Chuck Klosterman in the The New York Times? -

In the July 13th edition of Klosterman's The Ethicist advice column for the New York Times, an anonymous reader wrote in seeking advice about an affair his wife was having with a "government executive" whose job "is seen worldwide as a demonstration of American leadership." The anonymous reader went on to praise the government executive as "gracious" and "absolutely the right person for the job." He then asked if he should acknowledge the affair or let it continue until the project succeeds. Sounds like the government executive could hold a position like, say, the director of the CIA, right? In other words, did Paula Broadwell's husband know about her affair with David Petraeus and then turn to, of all people, Chuck Klosterman for advice? Maybe!

Let's look at the facts. The reader says he's "watched the affair intensify over the last year," which matches the Wall Street Journal's timeline of the affair (August 2011 until "several months ago"). It also makes sense that Broadwell's husband would have some idea about the affair considering she apparently was always off jogging with Petraeus, not to mention the fact that she's spent a good deal of her career worshipping/writing "fan fiction" about the former general.

And since the reader asked Klosterman for help, we have to assume he'd at least consider the writer's advice, which was:

Don't expose the affair in any high-profile way. It would be different if this man's project was promoting some (contextually hypocritical) family-values platform, but that doesn't appear to be the case. The only motive for exposing the relationship would be to humiliate him and your wife, and that's never a good reason for doing anything. This is between you and your spouse. You should tell her you want to separate, just as you would if she were sleeping with the mailman. The idea of "suffering in silence" for the good of the project is illogical. How would the quiet divorce of this man's mistress hurt an international leadership initiative? He'd probably be relieved.

So maybe that's why the affair ended several months ago? Because of Chuck Klosterman? Did Chuck Klosterman's wisdom trigger a series of events that would eventually lead to the resignation of the director of the CIA?

It should be noted that Klosterman was suspicious of the letter writer's motives: "I halfway suspect you're writing this letter because you want specific people to read this column and deduce who is involved and what's really going on behind closed doors (without actually addressing the conflict in person). That's not ethical, either."

If any of this story is true, and I vote yes, it is all true, then one thing is for sure: Chuck Klosterman is an American hero.

Read more -
http://gawker.com/5959398/did-paula-broadwells-cuckolded-husband-write-a-letter-to-chuck-klosterman-aka-the-new-york-times-ethicist

Friday, 9 November 2012

'Up' adventurer plans flight across Atlantic with 365 helium balloons -

Jonathan Trappe, 38, plans to fly 2,500 miles across the pond next summer in a seven-foot lifeboat carried by the balloons.
Mr Trappe has harnessed the huge public interest in his previous adventures to launch a $300,000 appeal to crowd-fund online the expensive helium and special UV resistant balloons he will need for his record-breaking flight. He has already invested $170,000 into the mission.
The Atlantic crossing has presented a challenge to balloonists for decades. Five others have died attempting it, and none have achieved the crossing attached to cluster balloons.
In 2010, Mr Trappe made global headlines when he flew from England to Belgium dangling from scores of helium balloons - just like the Disney character Carl Fredricksen from the film "Up".
The balloonist, from Raleigh, North Carolina, is learning to sail a lifeboat, in case he needs to ditch into the ocean during the mission.

The unique gondola will have an open roof for take-off but a canopy to protect its pilot from high-altitude winds and frostbite during the crossing.
If something goes wrong, Mr Trappe will change out of his UV protection suit into a cold water suit, pop enough balloons to bring the gondola close to the water, and attempt to land in the ocean.
Mr Trappe will float at between 18,000ft and 25,000ft, beating his previous world altitude record of 21,600ft. Previously the furthest distance he had flown uninterrupted was a world record 230 miles. To achieve the crossing, he must fly ten times that.
Mr Trappe plans to set off from Maine, USA, and set a course for Paris, France. He will be at the mercy of the elements, however, and could have to land anywhere from Norway to North Africa, or be forced to abort and ditch into the ocean.

Read more -
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/aviation/9663681/Up-adventurer-plans-flight-across-Atlantic-with-365-balloons.html

Thursday, 8 November 2012

School apologizes after kids taught about gay foreplay -

A school district in Maine is apologizing after middle school students learned about homosexual foreplay during what was supposed to be a “Diversity Day” presentation.
“I don’t want my child taught heterosexual foreplay, let alone homosexual foreplay,” outraged parent Kristy Howard told Fox News.
The principal of Gorham Middle School sent a letter to parents apologizing for the graphic nature of the presentation by PRYSM, Proud Rainbow Youth of Southern Maine.
“They went beyond the scope of our intentions and discussed topics that we do not deem appropriate for our middle school,” Robert Riley wrote in a letter obtained by The American Journal. “We do not intend to expose them to ideas that are not within the scope of our teaching about responsible citizenship as it is embedded in our code of conduct.”
The incident occurred two weeks before the state voted to approve gay marriage – and involved a classroom of 25 eighth graders.
Howard’s 13-year-old son was one of those who came home shocked by the presentation’s graphic nature.
“They were talking about sex and if you didn’t have a condom – saran wrap could be used in place of a dental dam,” Howard told Fox News. “It was all new to me.”
Howard said the PRYSM presenters also cursed and questioned whether the children had been taught about safe homosexual sex.
James Hagen, chairman of the school committee, told The American Journal that teachers felt uncomfortable about the presentation and reported it to the principal.
“Teachers were in such shock,” he told the newspaper. “Everyone just froze.”
Principal Riley defended the way the teacher’s handled the situation – noting that the conversation about gay foreplay happened near the end of the presentation.
“I think if it had gone longer, they would have intervened,” he told Fox News.
He said the school is taking steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Read more -
http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/school-children-taught-about-gay-foreplay.html

IRANIAN JETS FIRE ON U.S. DRONE IN GULF - and Not revealed until after election because mission was 'classified'... -

Fox News reports:

Iran fired on an unarmed U.S. drone last week as it was hovering in international airspace, the Pentagon announced Thursday.

Spokesman George Little said the incident occurred Nov. 1 at 4:50 a.m. ET. He said the unarmed, unmanned drone was conducting "routine surveillance" over the Persian Gulf when it was "intercepted" by Iran. He said the MQ1 Predator drone, which was not hit, was not in Iranian airspace.

On Twitter, Fox News' Jennifer Griffin follows up by saying the attack on the American drone by Iran was not revealed until after the election because it was a "classified" mission.

DoD didn't reveal Iranian fighter jets fired at US drone in days before the US Presidential election because drone on "classified" mission.

Read more -
http://weeklystandard.com/blogs/iran-attack-us-drone-not-revealed-until-after-election-because-classified-mission_662098.html

Dead candidates win elections in Florida and Alabama -

Florida Democrat Earl K. Wood and Alabama Republican Charles Beasley won their respective elections but they will not take office.
Both men died weeks before the November 6 election yet managed to beat their very much alive opponents by comfortable margins.
Wood died on October 15 from natural causes at age 96, during his campaign for a 12th term as Orange County Tax Collector in Orlando, Florida.
Criticized for rarely coming into the office while collecting a $150,000 salary and $90,000 pension, Wood initially announced he would step down, only to change his mind when a longtime political foe made plans to seek the seat.
Wood's wide name recognition after almost half a century in office scared off several serious contenders. His name remained on the ballot and he took 56 percent of the votes to 44 percent for a Republican who promised to eliminate the office altogether if elected.
Beasley, 77, died on October 12, possibly due to an aneurysm, while trying to reclaim his old seat on the Bibb County Commission in central Alabama.
Beasley's name also remained on the ballot and he won about 52 percent of the vote. His Democratic opponent, incumbent Commissioner Walter Sansing, took the loss especially hard.
"It is a touchy situation. When you are running against a dead man, you are limited as to what you can say," Sansing told Reuters.
He blamed people voting straight Republican tickets for his loss.
In Orlando, Scott Randolph, an outgoing Democratic state legislator and state party activist, was selected by his party to receive votes cast for Wood and he will assume the office. In Alabama, the governor will appoint a new commissioner with input from local Republicans.

Read more -
http://news.yahoo.com/dead-candidates-win-elections-florida-alabama-142443633.html

Kentucky race tied after candidate's wife doesn't vote -

A candidate for city council in Kentucky has learned that home may be where the heart is, but it’s not always where your political support lies.
The Kentucky Enquirer reports that 27-year-old Robert McDonald finished tied with Olivia Ballou for the sixth and final seat on the Walton City Council. McDonald and Ballou both captured 669 votes -- McDonald later learned that his wife, Katie, didn’t manage to vote on Tuesday.
“If she had just been able to get in to vote, we wouldn’t be going through any of this,” McDonald told the newspaper. “You never think it will come down to one vote, but I’m here to tell you that it does.”
McDonald, 27, said his wife did not want to discuss the matter.
“She feels bad enough,” McDonald said. “She worked extra hours, goes to school and we have three kids, so I don’t blame her. She woke up about ten minutes before the polls closed and asked if she should run up, but I told her I didn’t think one vote would matter.”
The rules for absentee voting in Kentucky are much more restrictive than in neighboring Ohio, so that wasn’t an option. Boone County Clerk Kenny Brown said it appears that because of the tie, the final seat on the council will be determined by the flip of a coin -- unless one of the candidates requests a recount.
“I am waiting for clarification from the State Board of Elections, but we are pretty sure the (Kentucky Revised Code) says a tie is resolved by a coin toss,” Brown said.
Ballou could not be reached for comment.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/11/08/kentucky-city-council-race-tied-after-candidate-wife-doesnt-vote/?test=latestnews

Wednesday, 7 November 2012

Treasury Quietly Warns: 'Expect Debt Limit to Be Reached Near End of 2012' -

The U.S. Treasury quietly warned at the end of a statement issued last Wednesday that it expects the federal government to hit its legal debt limit before the end of this year--which means before the new Congress is seated--and that "extraordinary measures" will be needed before then to keep the government fully funded into the early part of 2013.

On Aug. 2, 2011, President Obama signed a deal he had negotiated with congressional leaders to increase the debt limit of the federal government by $2.4 trillion. But, now, after only 15 months, almost all of that additional borrowing authority has been exhausted.

Although Treasury revealed in its statement on Wednesday that it was likely to hit the debt limit by the end of the year, Treasury Secretary Geithner failed to respond to a letter that Senate Finance Ranking Member Orrin Hatch and Senate Budget Ranking Member Jeff Sessions sent to him on Oct. 15 demanding that he notify them by Nov. 1 what he believes to be the exact date Treasury will hit the debt limit and the date he expects to begin using "extraordinary measures" to avoid it.

"Treasury continues to expect the debt limit to be reached near the end of 2012," says the tenth paragraph of the "Quarterly Refunding Statement" put out by Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Markets Matthew Rutherford.

"However, Treasury has the authority to take certain extraordinary measures to give Congress more time to act to ensure we are able to meet the legal obligations of the United States of America," said the statement. "We continue to expect that these extraordinary measures would provide sufficient 'headroom' under the debt limit to allow the government to continue to meet its obligations until early in 2013."

Prior to the release of this statement, Sen. Hatch and Sen. Sessions sent Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner a letter asking him specific questions about the approaching debt limit and the administration's plans for dealing with it. Hatch's and Sessions's questions included these two: 1) "What is Treasury’s forecast of the date upon which Treasury will find it necessary to use extraordinary measures to manage to keep federal debt at or below the statutory debt limit?" 2) "What is Treasury’s forecast of the date upon which the U.S. government will reach the statutory debt limit given use and exhaustion of these extraordinary measures?"

The senators gave Geithner a "hard deadline" of Nov. 1 for providing an initial response to these questions. Julia Lawless, spokesperson for the Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee, confirmed that as of Nov. 6 the committee had received no response from the Treasury secretary.

As of Oct. 31, according to the Daily Treasury Statement (DTS), the portion of the federal debt subject to the legal limit was $16,222,235,000,000--just $171.765 billion below the $16,394,000,000 debt limit.

In October alone, according to the DTS, the debt subject to the limit increased by $195.214 billion.

Read more -
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/treasury-quietly-warns-expect-debt-limit-be-reached-near-end-2012

Virus Breaks Out at Shelter; Refugees Puking in Hallways... -

A Brooklyn high school being used as a shelter for Sandy victims has to be shut down and sanitized after about a dozen storm refugees came down with a stomach virus.

Mayor Bloomberg said John Jay High School will be closed Wednesday instead of opening for classes as scheduled.

"The school will be thoroughly cleaned and then reopened," Bloomberg said.

The mayor said none of the sickened storm victims was severely ill. The cleaning is being done as a precaution, he said.

Thousands of city residents from low-lying areas stayed in shelters as Sandy smashed the tri-state.

Bloomberg also said 10 schools that suffered storm damage or lost power will open Wednesday. The majority of city schools reopened on Monday.

Another 47 schools still won't be open Wednesday. Bloomberg said parents should check www.nyc.gov to see where those students will need to report.

Read more -
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/treasury-quietly-warns-expect-debt-limit-be-reached-near-end-2012

Three phone calls President Obama should make right away -

I have some advice for President Obama. Here it is:
Mr. President, you should make three phone calls -- as soon as you and your team finishes celebrating, with justification, having run a great victory. These three calls should be made to three conservative Republican senators who care about the country and who want to solve problems more than winning ideological wars.

They are Sens. John McCain, (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Orrin Hatch(R-Utah).

These three men should be invited to the White House and Mr. President, you should say something like:

"What would it take to win your support? And to other Republican conservative Senators and House members -- to do the Grand Bargain to pay down our $16 trillion debt?"

"Will you join me in endorsing Simpson-Bowles?

"In finding a centrist immigration reform solution?

"To reform the tax code?

"Tell me - I want to find a compromise. Help me. Let's work together."

This is the Barack Obama of the 2008 campaign -- the keynote speaker in 2004 - running for history, not for reelection.

If our president can do this, or something like this, there is a chance we can once again be a "purple nation" -- not a polarized "red" and "blue" state nation.

President Obama can then find a broad center-left and center-right bipartisan majority Congress and actually start to solve the problems facing our country.

Read more: -
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/11/07/president-obama-should-make-effort-to-compromise-with-republicans-in-second/