Spider crawls in woman's ear, lives there for 5 days -

Spider crawls in woman's ear, lives there for 5 days - 



That old urban legend about spiders crawling into your orifices while you sleep has come true. A woman who checked into China's Changsha Central Hospital Wednesday (Aug. 8) with an itchy ear learned she had a small spider dwelling in her ear canal, according to news reports. It had crawled inside five days earlier while she slept.
At the hospital, heebie-jeebie-inducing pictures of the patient's ear canal revealed a stocky, hairy, four-eyed arachnid peering out at the camera, much to doctors' and the patient's surprise.
Amid concerns that disturbing the spider would cause it to "instinctively drill its barbs deeper, scratching the ear canal," local news sources reported that doctors succeeded in removing the creature by pouring saline solution into the ear canal and flushing it out.
As the spider's outstretched foot emerged from her ear, the patient, identified only as "Ms. Lee," reportedly "almost started crying."


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/08/09/spider-crawls-in-woman-ear-lives-there-for-5-days/

Doctors remove Lego from boy’s nose after 3 years -

Doctors remove Lego from boy’s nose after 3 years - 


A little boy can breathe a little easier now after doctors removed a Lego piece from his nose.  The toy had been stuck up his nose for three years.
Issak Lasson, 6, began having sinus problems when he was three. His parents brought him to several doctors before finding the real problem. A Lego tire had been stuck up the child’s nose for years.
Issak doesn’t remember putting the Lego piece up there. His parents say since the toy was removed, he has more energy, more of an appetite, and he can finally sleep soundly.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/08/09/doctors-remove-lego-wheel-from-boys-nose-after-3-years/?test=latestnews

Newspaper apologizes for adding LOL to dead man’s photo caption -

Newspaper apologizes for adding LOL to dead man’s photo caption - 





As reported by the U.K.’s Press Gazette, the tweet spread quickly. A spokesman for the paper’s parent company told the Gazette:

The caption error in today’s Western Mail is under internal investigation. We apologise for any offence this error may have caused.
Hat tip to McClatchy Watch.

Read more - 
http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/regret-the-error/184576/newspaper-apologizes-for-adding-lol-to-dead-mans-photo-caption/

“Not having a Facebook account could be the first sign that you are a mass murderer” -

“Not having a Facebook account could be the first sign that you are a mass murderer” - 



If you’re a Facebook holdout, or have chosen to abandon the social media hangout for any number of reasons, be prepared to be labeled a misfit — or worse.

The net has been abuzz this week about a story attributed to a German newsmagazine in which a psychologist concluded that accused killers Norwegian Anders Breivik and Colorado theatre gunman James Holmes’s slim social media presences were suspicious.

“Not having a Facebook account could be the first sign that you are a mass murderer,” is how tech news site slashdot summed up Der Taggspiegel's story.

With a global population of seven billion and about 955 million registered Facebook user — technological and economic barriers notwithstanding — that’s a scary proposition.

However, an immediate concern may be the weight placed on the social network by employers.

While the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services have backed off earlier demands for the Facebook passwords of workers to check their profiles for troubling behaviour, it’s still seen as a tool to vet potential employees.

“Anecdotally, I’ve heard both job seekers and employers wonder aloud about what it means if a job candidate doesn’t have a Facebook account. Does it mean they deactivated it because it was full of red flags? Are they hiding something?” asked a Forbes.com writer.

And the dating game tells a similar story.

Slate advice columnist Emily Yoffe told one woman: “I’m fine with people not having a Facebook page if they don’t want one. However…. If you’re of a certain age and you meet someone who you are about to go to bed with, and that person doesn’t have a Facebook page, you may be getting a false name. It could be some kind of red flag.”

For the digital generation, that kind of sentiment is understandable, said Queens University media professor Sidneyeve Matrix.

“Facebook really is the way that you vet folks that you like, you cross paths and socialize with,” she said. “There’s a lot of common sense wisdom there, because we do want to vet people.”

Read more - 
http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1239000--people-who-don-t-join-facebook-are-suspicious-say-pundits

Popcorn ingredient found to be linked with Alzheimer's -

Popcorn ingredient found to be linked with Alzheimer's - 



Movie popcorn has often been criticized for its high calorie count, but now the tasty treat may harm more than just your waistline.
A recent study has found that diacetyl, an ingredient in popcorn responsible for its buttery flavor and smell, may be linked to Alzheimer’s disease, UPI.com reported.
The scientists said they focused on the substance, because it has already been associated with respiratory and other health issues in workers at microwave popcorn and food-flavoring factories.  According to UPI.com, diacetyl is used in other products such as margarines, snacks and candies, baked goods and in some beers and chardonnay wine.
Robert Vince, director of the Center for Drug Design at the University of Minnesota and the study’s lead author, said diacetyl is similar in structure to another substance that aids the clumping of beta-amyloid proteins in the brain – a significant indicator of Alzheimer’s.
Just like this substance, diacetyl was found to increase the amount of beta-amyloid clumping, UPI.com said.  The popcorn ingredient was also able to penetrate the blood-brain barrier, a defense which prevents harmful substances from entering the brain.
The study was published in the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology.


Read more: http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2012/08/08/Popcorn-ingredient-linked-to-Alzheimers/UPI-65661344400751/

NYC hands out 10,000 dildos today from hot dog carts -

NYC hands out 10,000 dildos today from hot dog carts - 



Trojan is planning a publicity stunt in NYC today wherein they are handing out 10,000 top of the range dildos from two hot dog carts.
The company plans to give out over half a million dollars in dildos – $540,000 to be precise – in the month of August to strengthen their campaign to bring sex toys into the mainstream. The use of the hot dog carts is an attempt to show that, y’know, things that you stick in your vagina (or up your butt) are totally mainstream. Just wait until you get home to use them.
This being New York City, I can only hope that this becomes a regular thing and that years from now there’s a third generation dildo salesman getting up at the crack of dawn to push his dildo-cart out into the streets. His young boy pulls at his father’s dildo-apron strings. “Papa! Papa! Will you bring back enough money for my operation?” the child will cough and look into his father’s eyes. The mustachioed dildo salesman will look back at his son and well up, before rubbing his son’s head and telling him to run along. Then he will stand in the street, with his cart full of fake penises, and he will bellow “Dildos! Dildos here! Get your dildos!”
One can hope, anyway.

Read more -
http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/186835/nyc-hands-out-10000-dildos-today-from-hot-dog-carts/

Emails show Geithner behind terminating the pensions of 20,000 retirees at Delphi because they were not union -

Emails show Geithner behind terminating the pensions of 20,000 retirees at Delphi because they were not union - 



Emails obtained by The Daily Caller show that the U.S. Treasury Department, led by Timothy Geithner, was the driving force behind terminating the pensions of 20,000 salaried retirees at the Delphi auto parts manufacturing company.

The move, made in 2009 while the Obama administration implemented its auto bailout plan, appears to have been made solely because those retirees were not members of labor unions.

The internal government emails contradict sworn testimony, in federal court and before Congress, given by several Obama administration figures. They also indicate that the administration misled lawmakers and the courts about the sequence of events surrounding the termination of those non-union pensions, and that administration figures violated federal law.

Delphi, a General Motors company, is one of the world’s largest automotive parts manufacturers. Twenty thousand of its workers lost nearly their entire pensions when the government bailed out GM. At the same time, Delphi employees who were members of the United Auto Workers union saw their pensions topped off and made whole.

The White House and Treasury Department have consistently maintained that the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) independently made the decision to terminate the 20,000 non-union Delphi workers’ pension plan. The PBGC is a federal government agency that handles private-sector pension benefits issues. Its charter calls for independent representation of pension beneficiaries’ interests.

Former Treasury official Matthew Feldman and former White House auto czar Ron Bloom, both key members of the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry during the GM bailout, have testified under oath that the PBGC, not the administration, led the effort to terminate the non-union Delphi workers’ pension plan.

“As a result of the Delphi Corporation bankruptcy, for example, Delphi and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation were forced to terminate Delphi’s pension plans, which means there are Delphi retirees who unfortunately will collect less than their full pension benefits,” Feldman testified on July 11, 2012.



Read more - 
http://dailycaller.com/2012/08/07/emails-geithner-treasury-drove-cutoff-of-non-union-delphi-workers-pensions/

Avatar Border Agent Screens Commuters At Arizona Post – a virtual border guard -

Avatar Border Agent Screens Commuters At Arizona Post – a virtual border guard - 



U.S. Customs and Border Protection has a new officer working in Arizona.
He’s hardworking, bilingual, a bit mechanical and not very social with other employees, but he doesn’t complain about long hours or troublesome commuters.
That’s because unlike his flesh-and-bone counterparts this worker is something straight out of a science fiction film. Once given to the realm of films like Blade Runner and the Terminator, this CBP worker is an avatar – a virtual border guard who resides in a kiosk created by researchers at the University of Arizona to help expedite certain border crossings.
Located at the U.S.-Mexico border crossing in Nogales, Arizona, the avatar, who sports a clean-cut look of thick black hair and a striped gray tie, is part of an expansion of the CBP’s Trusted Traveler Program. The idea behind the program is to “provide expedited travel for pre-approved, low-risk travelers through dedicated lanes and kiosks,” the CBP stated.
The Trusted Traveler program was created after the 9/11 attacks, as security ramped up and became longer. To qualify for the program, travelers must undergo a thorough background check against criminal, law enforcement, customs, immigration, agriculture, and terrorist as well as have biometric fingerprint checks and a personal interview with a CBP Officer following their avatar questioning.
As of now, the avatar is monitored by a live and breathing CBP officer who takes cues via an iPad tablet, which they can then use in a follow-up interview. Using speech recognition and voice anomaly-detection software, the avatar will flag any questionable responses for a CBP officer to follow up on, Scientific American reported.

Read more -
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/08/06/avatar-border-agent-screens-commuters-at-arizona-post/?test=latestnews

Chemotherapy can backfire, sustain tumour growth, and resistance to further treatment -

Chemotherapy can backfire, sustain tumour growth, and resistance to further treatment - 




Cancer-busting chemotherapy can cause damage to healthy cells which triggers them to secrete a protein that sustains tumour growth and resistance to further treatment, a study said Sunday.
Researchers in the United States made the "completely unexpected" finding while seeking to explain why cancer cells are so resilient inside the human body when they are easy to kill in the lab.
They tested the effects of a type of chemotherapy on tissue collected from men with prostate cancer, and found "evidence of DNA damage" in healthy cells after treatment, the scientists wrote in Nature Medicine.
Chemotherapy works by inhibiting reproduction of fast-dividing cells such as those found in tumours.
The scientists found that healthy cells damaged by chemotherapy secreted more of a protein called WNT16B which boosts cancer cell survival.
"The increase in WNT16B was completely unexpected," study co-author Peter Nelson of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle told AFP.
The protein was taken up by tumour cells neighbouring the damaged cells.
"WNT16B, when secreted, would interact with nearby tumour cells and cause them to grow, invade, and importantly, resist subsequent therapy," said Nelson.
In cancer treatment, tumours often respond well initially, followed by rapid regrowth and then resistance to further chemotherapy.
Rates of tumour cell reproduction have been shown to accelerate between treatments.
"Our results indicate that damage responses in benign cells... may directly contribute to enhanced tumour growth kinetics," wrote the team.
The researchers said they confirmed their findings with breast and ovarian cancer tumours.
The result paves the way for research into new, improved treatment, said Nelson.
"For example, an antibody to WNT16B, given with chemotherapy, may improve responses (kill more tumour cells)," he said in an email exchange.
"Alternatively, it may be possible to use smaller, less toxic doses of therapy."


Read more -
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/chemotherapy-backfire-boost-cancer-growth-study-164516832.html

Amtrak’s own employees are likely stealing between $4-$7 million annually -

Amtrak’s own employees are likely stealing between $4-$7 million annually - 




A report by the Government Accountability Office has revealed that taxpayer-funded Amtrak has lost more than $800 million in food and beverage sales over the last ten years, largely due to waste, theft, and a lack of proper oversight.


The New York Times has more information:


The railroad’s food and beverage service has never broken even since it was required by Congress to do so in 1981. The losses were the focus of a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing on Thursday that reflected partisan views over how Amtrak should be run. Republican lawmakers suggested that food services should be privatized. Democrats questioned the need for the hearing, saying the railroad was dealing with the losses.
Joseph H. Boardman, president and chief executive of Amtrak, confirmed the losses but said the railroad was taking steps to address the problem.  “We are still looking for ways to improve our cost recovery,” he said.
According to audits by the Government Accountability Office, an investigative arm of Congress, and the railroad’s own inspector general, Amtrak loses about $80 million a year selling food. Since 2002, Amtrak’s food service has lost $834 million.
Amtrak said it was increasing the use of credit cards for food sales to cut down on cash thefts by employees, reducing staff, creating a better system to track inventory and to collect revenue. It has also set up a three-person loss-prevention unit.
“It’s an outrageous cost to taxpayers,”  said John L. Mica, a Florida Republican and chairman of the House committee. “There has to be a better way. We can’t keep on paying this subsidy.”  

So how is the subsidized rail line managing to lose more than $800 million dollars in food and beverage sales in just ten years?


According to the report, Amtrak’s own employees are likely stealing between $4-$7 million annually, or $40-$70 million over ten years.


Similarly, while the line sells soft drinks for $2, they actually cost the taxpayer $3.40.  Hamburgers sell for $9.50, but cost the taxpayer a whopping $16.  Therefore, even if Amtrak sold 100% of their inventory, it would still be impossible for them to turn a profit.


One Amtrak employee defended the unsustainable budget, saying: “You may just see us handing out hamburgers, but we do other things.”


Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) held a press conference with a $1 burger from McDonald’s to demonstrate that if the private company can turn a profit with $1 burgers, a taxpayer-funded “Soviet-style” rail line selling $16 burgers should be able to at least break even.


“You may even see me on an Amtrak train with a sign that says, ‘Don’t eat the food, it adds to deficit spending,’” Mica joked.


But he’s serious about cutting taxpayer liabilities with Amtrak.


“They’re violating the law,” he said, “and I may look at some legal recourse to stop them from doing it.”


Read more -
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/outrageous-amtrak-employees-likely-stealing-between-4-and-7-million-dollars-per-year/