Federal contractors set up roadblocks in 30 U.S. cities to harvest DNA samples -

Federal contractors set up roadblocks in 30 U.S. cities to harvest DNA samples - 



Federal contractors have been setting up roadblocks in cities across the country with the purpose of collecting DNA samples from passing motorists.  The multi-million dollar federal program has been disturbing drivers and alarming civil libertarians.

The checkpoints consist of uniformed agents blocking a public road and flagging drivers into a testing area or a parking lot.   There, the drivers are requested to submit a saliva or blood sample to the federal government.

The roadblocks were part of a study orchestrated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).  The agency contracted the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, based in Calverton, MD, to perform the roadblocks.  The program costs taxpayers $7.9 million over 3 years, according to NBC News Dallas-Fort Worth.

The agency confirmed that the operation is currently being launched in 30 different U.S. cities.

Drivers are offered cash for surrendering DNA samples.  The going rate is $10 for a cheek-swab and $50 for blood drawn from the vein.  The goal, according to the NHTSA, is to decrease impaired-driving accidents by analyzing raw bodily fluids fresh off the street.

“They want to find out of all the people surveyed, how many people were driving with alcohol in their system, or prescription drugs, things like that,” said Lt. Freddie Turrentine of the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department, in Pell City, Alabama.

Voluntary or not?

The NHTSA says that the samples are “voluntary,” but drivers have had varying experiences.

“How voluntary is it when you have a police officer in uniform flagging you down?”
Kim Cope, of North Fort Worth, Texas, said that the checkpoint she experienced was not voluntary at all.  She was forced off the road into a parking lot on November 15th and pressured into submitting to a breathalyzer.  Cope was on her lunch break when she was forced into the checkpoint.  ”I gestured to the guy in front that I just wanted to go straight, but he wouldn’t let me and forced me into a parking spot,” she said to NBC Dallas-Fort Worth.

“They were asking for cheek swabs. They would give $10 for that. Also, if you let them take your blood, they would pay you $50 for that.” But Cope was not interested in getting paid. “I finally did the Breathalyzer test just because I thought that would be the easiest way to leave.”

“How voluntary is it when you have a police officer in uniform flagging you down?” asked Susan Watson, executive director of the Alabama chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. “Are you going to stop? Yes, you’re going to stop.”

“Although this was voluntary it was not voluntary that you stop and hear the DNA for CASH pitch,” said Alabama resident ‘J. Bosey‘ after experiencing a checkpoint in June.

“It just doesn’t seem right that you can be forced off the road when you’re not doing anything wrong,” said Cope, discovering the tyranny of police checkpoints.  “None of it felt voluntary.”

Read more - 

http://www.blacklistednews.com/Federal_contractors_set_up_roadblocks_in_30_U.S._cities_to_harvest_DNA_samples/30547/0/38/38/Y/M.html

Doctors Warn Against 'Cotton Ball Diet' Craze Among Teenaged Girls... -

Doctors Warn Against 'Cotton Ball Diet' Craze Among Teenaged Girls... - 



 Doctors and nutritionists are warning against what may be a new weight loss fad…the “cotton-ball diet.”

Several Youtube videos have been popping up claiming it’s a good way to lose weight, reports MedicalDaily.com.

In the videos, young girls girls soak cotton balls into orange juice or lemonade in order to add taste.

The idea is to eat the cotton balls to limit the amount of food a person eats during the day.

Extreme dieters say the cotton expands in the stomach and tricks the body into thinking its full.

But health care professionals fear the diet craze could be dangerous.

“You’re really kind of playing russian roulette when you use these types of diets,” treatment professional at the Eating Recovery Center of California, Jennifer Lombardi, told KCRA.

“The biggest concern is it can cause a blockage in the digestive system, and if that happens to a certain extent, they are going to end up in surgery. Just like with any extreme diet, it is very dangerous because you’re depleting your body of needed nutrients.”

“The problem being that taking the non-nutritive foods is you’re not getting the vitamins, the minerals, the calories, the proteins, the fats that our bodies need to survive off of,” manager of Fairwinds Eating Disorder Program, Kourtney Gordon, told WTSP. “So you can have a lot of growth and development issues, you can have complications of being malnourished.”

Read more - 

http://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2013/11/22/cotton-ball-diet-rotten-say-nutritionists/

Would you eat cheese made from HUMAN FEET? - Scientists develop cheese from human feet... -

Would you eat cheese made from HUMAN FEET? - Scientists develop cheese from human feet... - 



It's long been known than a smelly pair of feet bears more than a slight resemblance to a block of ripe cheese, but scientists have taken this link to the next level by making cheese from a foot.
Experts have made the stomach-churning creations using bacteria from the human foot as well as a belly button and even an armpit.
Scientist Christina Agapakis and scent expert Sissel Tolaas gathered microbes for their project 'Selfmade' which recently debuted at an exhibition about synthetic biology in Dublin.
Ms Tolaas said on her website: 'Selfmade is a series of ‘microbial sketches’, portraits reflecting an individual’s microbial landscape in a unique cheese.'

The cheese is supposed to reflect the flavours of the humans they belong to.
Like the human body, each cheese has a unique set of microbes that metabolically shape a unique odour.

There are eleven cheeses in the exhibition.
Each cheese was created using starter cultures sampled from the skin of artists, scientists, anthropologists, and cheese makers. 
The samples of bacteria used in the cheese came from armpits, a foot, a bellybutton and tears and were taken using sterile cotton swabs.
Ms Agapakis told Dezeen: 'Despite [their] chemical and biological similarities, there are obviously very different cultural and emotional responses to stinky cheese and stinky feet.

'By making cheese directly from the microbes on the body, we want to highlight these bacterial connections as well as to question and potentially expand the role of both odors and microbes in our lives.'
A short film was also created that explains the process of the human cheesemaking, along with interviews with the people who donated bacteria samples.
However, the designers said that the cheese wasn't made to be eaten and instead has been created 'to inspire new conversations about our relationship to the body and to our bacteria.'

Read more: - 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2511272/Would-eat-cheese-HUMAN-FEET-ARMPITS.html

US Postal Service ad for 'holiday stamps' includes Kwanzaa, Hanukkah -- but not Christmas... -

US Postal Service ad for 'holiday stamps' includes Kwanzaa, Hanukkah -- but not Christmas... - 



Where’s Christmas? As one social media commentator rapidly noticed, a recent U.S. Postal Service advertisement to sell “holiday stamps” curiously omitted a Christmas or Christian-themed message, yet included portrayals of Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.
The ad reported by The Blaze contained the text: “Don’t forget your holiday stamps. You’ll find them at your nearest post office or on eBay.” And below the text were pictures of three stamps: One showed a candle holder with nine lighted candles, emblazoned with the word “Hanukkah.” Another showed an colorful symbol over an open book, above the block-type word “Kwanzaa.”
And the third, in the middle, showed — a gingerbread house.
Twitter reflected the outrage of at least one eagle-eyed writer.
The poster @RennaW said: “Don’t forget those three American holidays: Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and … gingerbread house.” The same poster followed with another comment: “What happened to Christmas?” And a couple more, from the same poster: “Oh yeah, because Christians celebrate the Holy Day of Gingerbread House, seriously? This is awful” and “I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a very merry Gingerbread House.”
A postal office worker jumped into the Twitter fray to explain, The Blaze reported: “The holiday stamp collection varies each year. We do have the Holy Family, Virgin & Child, Santa & Poinsettia stamps.”


Read more: - 

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/nov/22/usps-ad-holiday-stamps-omits-christmas/

Another JFK-related mystery: Why were the X’s removed? -

Another JFK-related mystery: Why were the X’s removed? - 



The transformation of Dealey Plaza began in earnest Tuesday morning as heavy machinery clawed at the earth while crews assembled the tubular ribcages of a grandstand.

On Friday, politicians, VIPs and more than 500 reporters from around the globe will gather here to witness the 50th-anniversary commemoration of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

It’s a dicey deal for the city, this event which aspires to honor Kennedy’s life and legacy without memorializing his murder.

Threading that needle proved controversial Monday as city workers removed two stretches of pavement marked with white X’s, the spots where Kennedy was shot and killed.

“To me, everything they’re doing is about tamping down what happened that day,” said Richard P. Sheridan, a self-described extremist and former Dallas City Council candidate.

“Tear it down and tone it down, that’s the city’s strategy.”

Sheridan wore a 2-foot-tall top hat decorated with an American flag and the words “Who killed JFK?”

City officials would not comment on the removal of the marks, which observers said have been painted on Elm Street for at least 30 years.

“We are laying asphalt to level out the streets and remove any trip hazards,” said City Hall spokesman Frank Librio. “With thousands visiting the area this week, we think it’s prudent.”

Cam Reed, a 46-year-old Dallas resident, scoffed at Librio’s explanation.

“You can’t trip on paint,” he said. “It’s clearly just a sad manipulation of the event.”

Read more - 

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/jfk50/latest/20131119-another-jfk-related-mystery-why-were-the-xs-removed.ece

U.S. Nuclear regulators crack firewalls to surf porn at work... -

U.S. Nuclear regulators crack firewalls to surf porn at work... - 



It’s become tougher to surf porn on government computers after scandals, but some workers at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission managed to find ways to bypass detection software and firewalls to get the illicit content, records show.
One contract employee watched, in his words, two “porn type” Netflix movies during “downtime” on his 12-hour shift at the commission’s office of information services, according to case records reviewed by The Washington Times.
Another employee repeatedly used the photo-sharing site Flickr to search for pornography while at the office.
And for years, a resident inspector at the agency scoured eBay looking for pornographic images.
The case memos don’t suggest as pervasive of a problem as the porn-surfing scandal that embroiled the Securities and Exchange Commission a few years ago. But the records indicate that the problem hasn’t been eliminated, either.

Joseph McMillian, assistant inspector general for investigations, said agents hadn’t been tipped off to any broader problems when they opened the investigation.
“It wasn’t anything specific; it was just being proactive,” he said.
From May 2011 to September 2012, agents with the inspector general’s cybercrimes unit opened seven cases involving computer misuse, records show. Among the examples cited in a case memo, all involved pornography.
In one investigation, agents approached an employee about 100 explicit images and videos traced to his computer. The employee denied looking at the material, and what might have seemed like an excuse turned out to be true.
Investigators later learned that a co-worker filched that employee’s login credentials to search for porn using terms such as “busty women.”
The records reviewed by The Times contain redactions that make it impossible to determine the names or detailed job titles of employees or contractors caught perusing pornography.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is charged with overseeing the nation’s nuclear industry. Many of its 2,800 staff members work at the agency’s headquarters in suburban Maryland.
Mr. McMillian referred questions about discipline to the agency but said the inspector general’s office was satisfied with actions taken after the investigations.
In six cases that The Times inquired about, the agency proposed disciplinary penalties ranging from a three-day suspension to removal from the job, commission spokeswoman Holly Harrington said.
“When determining the appropriate penalty the NRC considers a number of factors, including but not limited to the nature and seriousness of the action and frequency of the action; the employee’s job level; the employee’s past disciplinary record; the employee’s work record, including length of service; and consistency with other like or similar cases,” she wrote in an email.

Read more: - 

U.S. Congresswoman attacked, mugged near Capitol building... -

U.S. Congresswoman attacked, mugged near Capitol building... - 



Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) was hit over the head and robbed Tuesday night near the Capitol.  

An attacker knocked Meng to the ground with a hit to the head while she was walking back to her apartment after eating dinner. The attacker took her bag and ran away near 6th St. and Pennsylvania Ave — a little less than a mile from the Capitol building. 

“While this was a frightening ordeal, I fortunately was not seriously injured,” Meng said. “Obviously, things could have been much worse. I thank the U.S. Capitol Police and the District of Columbia Police for responding quickly and professionally.”
Meng sustained minor injuries, including a bruise to her chin. She was taken to George Washington University Hospital where she underwent a CAT scan. Meng missed the first two votes on Wednesday but was present for subsequent votes.

The New York Democrat is a freshman elected in 2012.

U.S. Capitol Police, which is leading the “open” and “active” investigation, said no arrests have yet been made. Metro police directed questions to Capitol police. 

The lawmaker told reporters Wednesday evening that police are scrubbing for fingerprints on an old cell phone of hers that was found at the scene. The phone was in Meng's bag but was apparently discarded by her attacker.

She said she was fortunate to be carrying her wallet and credit cards in her coat pocket at the time and not in the bag that was stolen.

"I'm lucky," she said.

Read more - 

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/190972-rep-meng-robbed-near-capitol-hill

British army Operated Death Squads in Belfast in 1972 - and killed unarmed civilians -

British army Operated Death Squads in Belfast in 1972 - and killed unarmed civilians - 



Speaking publicly for the first time, the ex-members of the Military Reaction Force (MRF), which was disbanded in 1973, said they had been tasked with "hunting down" IRA members in Belfast.

The former soldiers said they believed the unit had saved many lives.

The Ministry of Defence said it had referred the disclosures to police.

The details have emerged a day after Northern Ireland's attorney general, John Larkin, suggested ending any prosecutions over Troubles-related killings that took place before the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

The proposal has been criticised by groups representing relatives of victims.

Panorama has been told the MRF consisted of about 40 men handpicked from across the British army.

Before it was disbanded 40 years ago, after 18 months, plain-clothes soldiers carried out round-the-clock patrols of west Belfast - the heartland of the IRA - in unmarked cars.

Three former members of the unit, who agreed to be interviewed on condition their identities were disguised, said they had posed as Belfast City Council road sweepers, dustmen and even "meths drinkers", carrying out surveillance from street gutters.

But surveillance was just one part of their work.

One of the soldiers said they had also fired on suspected IRA members.

He described their mission as "to draw out the IRA and to minimise their activities... if they needed shooting, they'd be shot".

For 15 years, Northern Ireland has been divided about how to deal with the legacy of three decades of conflict.

The compromise has been the establishment of the Historical Enquiries Team, a group of former detectives, who are reviewing all deaths in Northern Ireland during the conflict, primarily to answer questions from their relatives.

But now the Northern Ireland attorney general has reignited the vexed issue of whether truth recovery through a virtual amnesty is preferable to prosecution.

John Larkin has called for an end to all prosecutions and inquiries in relation to Troubles-related killings.

The disclosures by Panorama are bound to add to this debate.

The closest former MRF soldiers have previously come to breaking cover is as the pseudonymous authors of two semi-fictionalised paperbacks, one of whom has referred to the MRF as a "legalised death squad".

The factual account of the MRF may not be quite as colourful. Nonetheless, the evidence gleaned from seven former members, declassified files and witnesses, does point to a central truth - that MRF tactics did sometimes mirror the IRA's.

'Targets taken down'
Another former member of the unit said: "We never wore uniform - very few people knew what rank anyone was anyway.

"We were hunting down hardcore baby-killers, terrorists, people that would kill you without even thinking about it."

A third former MRF soldier said: "If you had a player who was a well-known shooter who carried out quite a lot of assassinations... then he had to be taken out.

"[They were] killers themselves, and they had no mercy for anybody."

In 1972 there were more than 10,600 shootings in Northern Ireland. It is not possible to say how many the unit was involved in.

The MRF's operational records have been destroyed and its former members refused to incriminate themselves or their comrades in specific incidents when interviewed by Panorama.

But they admitted shooting and killing unarmed civilians.

When asked if on occasion the MRF would make an assumption that someone had a weapon, even if they could not see one, one of the former soldiers replied "occasionally".

"We didn't go around town blasting, shooting all over the place like you see on the TV, we were going down there and finding, looking for our targets, finding them and taking them down," he said.

Read more - 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24987465

Can honey bees really be trained to detect cancer in ten minutes? -

Can honey bees really be trained to detect cancer in ten minutes? - 



A Portuguese designer has created a contraption which she says can detect cancer using trained bees. 
The bees are placed in a glass chamber which the patient exhales from. 
If the bees fly into a secondary chamber, then that means the bees have detected the disease, according to Susana Soares.


Miss Soares, who presented her Bee's project at Dutch Design Week, in Eindhoven last month, said: 'Trained bees only rush into the smaller chamber if they detect the odour on the patient's breath that they have been trained to target.

'The bees can be trained within 10 minutes.'
Scientists have discovered that honey bees have an excellent sense of smell which is better than a sniffer dog. 
Bees can be trained to detect bombs and one company called Insectinel is training 'sniffer bees' to work in counter-terrorist operations.

A bee is trained by exposing it to certain odours before feeding them a solution of water and sugar. 
The bees then remember the smell for the rest of their lives if they are always rewarded with sugar. 
The glass object has a big chamber and a small chamber where the bees go if they detect the disease. 
Research carried out by scientists has suggested that bees can accurately diagnose diseases such as tuberculosis, lung and skin cancer as well as diabetes.

Read more: -

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2510800/Can-honey-bees-really-trained-detect-cancer-minutes.html

Boeing 747 mistakenly lands at small Kansas airport -

Boeing 747 mistakenly lands at small Kansas airport - 



A Boeing 747 jumbo jet mistakenly landed a tiny airport in Wichita, Kansas late Wednesday, raising questions about whether or not the plane will be able to take off. 

KAKE.com reports that the jet used to haul 787 Dreamliner parts landed at Jabara Airport instead of its intended destination of McConnell Air Force Base.

A Boeing spokesman confirmed to The Wall Street Journal in a statement that the plane had landed on the 6,101-foot long runway and that "we are working to determine next steps." 

Emergency crews in Wichita were not sent to the airport and no injuries or property damage were reported, KAKE.com reported. Boeing has reportedly dispatched a tug to turn the jet around. 

Officials tell Fox News that the FAA is currently investigating the situation and findings will be released in the coming weeks.   

Read more -

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/11/21/boeing-747-mistakenly-lands-at-small-kansas-airport/?intcmp=latestnews