Apple Granted Patent To Disable Cameras According To Location - prevents people taking video during protests or events -

Apple Granted Patent To Disable Cameras According To Location - prevents people taking video during protests or events - 



Apple was granted a patent last week that will enable it to wirelessly disable the camera on iphones in certain locations, sparking fears that such techniques could be used to prevent citizens from communicating with each other or taking video during protests or events such as political conventions and gatherings.
The camera phone has revolutionized the flow of information in the digital age. Any time a major event takes place, news networks and video websites are immediately inundated with footage and photographs from the scene.
That could all change in the future however, with a flick of a switch, according to U.S. Patent No. 8,254,902, published on Tuesday, titled, “Apparatus and methods for enforcement of policies upon a wireless device.”
It states:
Apparatus and methods for changing one or more functional or operational aspects of a wireless device, such as upon the occurrence of a certain event. In one embodiment, the event comprises detecting that the wireless device is within range of one or more other devices. In another variant, the event comprises the wireless device associating with a certain access point. In this manner, various aspects of device functionality may be enabled or restricted (device “policies”). This policy enforcement capability is useful for a variety of reasons, including for example to disable noise and/or light emanating from wireless devices (such as at a movie theater), for preventing wireless devices from communicating with other wireless devices (such as in academic settings), and for forcing certain electronic devices to enter “sleep mode” when entering a sensitive area.

Read more -
http://www.prisonplanet.com/apple-granted-patent-to-disable-cameras-according-to-location.html

EPA changes rules to allow more toxic cleaning chemicals in mainstream food -

EPA changes rules to allow more toxic cleaning chemicals in mainstream food - 



Just in case you’ve forgotten, EPA stands for Environmental Protection Agency. That was sarcasm. You haven’t forgotten. But it appears the EPA has.
Reading alphabet soup can be confusing. The FDA, USDA and EPA all seem to cross over each other when it comes to what happens with food.
Recently, the EPA made a ruling on the use of a chemical that’s used for a variety of products, including sanitizing cleaners for facilities of food industry providers and restaurants. The chemical will show up in processed foods.
Government safety agencies safeguard industry profits, not health and safety
An August 22, 2012 Courthouse News edition contained a short article entitled “More Ammonia Now Allowed in Processed Food.” It was a reference to the EPA’s latest revision for limits using Didecyl Dimethyl Ammonium in the carbonate or bicarbonate form (DDACB). Focus on ammonia.
The former limit of 240 ppm (parts per million) was raised to 400 ppm. A petition to raise the allowed limit was issued to the EPA by a principle provider of the chemical, Lonza, according to the Courthouse News press release.
The reason for limiting DDACB is residual amounts of highly toxic ammonia used in food facilities are carried by the foods and consumed.

According to the EPA’s own document on the ruling, those industries affected (favorably) by the increased DDACB toxicity allowance are: Dairy, food manufacturing, beverage manufacturing, and pesticide producers.

Read more -
http://www.naturalnews.com/037052_EPA_toxic_chemicals_food_supply.html

China denies kids are GM rice guinea pigs despite published research paper -

China denies kids are GM rice guinea pigs despite published research paper - 



Authorities in China's Hunan province denied recently that children in a rural school were guinea pigs in a United States research project on the effects of genetically modified rice.

A research paper involving 68 Chinese primary-school children in the province was published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition on Aug. 1, with Guangwen Tang at Tufts University in the US named as the lead author.

The unapproved experimental rice, widely referred to as "golden rice" and genetically engineered to produce provitamin A, was created by Ingo Potrykus at the Institute of Plant Sciences in the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and Peter Beyer at the University of Freiburg more than 10 years ago.

Chen Peihou, deputy director of the Hunan Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, confirmed that the second author of the paper, listed as Hu Yuming, is a researcher for the centre.

"I was aware of the project in Hengyang in 2008, which involved children and was mainly testing for beta-carotene bioavailability and bioconversion to retinol," or vitamin A, Chen said yesterday. "But as far as I know, no golden rice was used, and all the food involved was locally produced."

He also said that Hu was not asked by the journal to sign the paper before its publication.

"In the project, we just provided the site and assistance to the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and we have not dealt with any US institution," he added.

According to Chen, Yin Shi'an, listed in the paper as the third author, is with the China CDC.

Wang Lin, information director of the China CDC, declined to comment.

Chen said his centre will continue its investigation and contact the journal about the issue.

Andrea Grossman, a public-relations officer for Tufts University's Human Nutrition Research Centre on Aging, however, was quoted by Beijing Youth Daily over the weekend as saying that the month long research on golden rice was approved by authorities in both countries after an examination by ethics committees.

Feeding trials with human adults in China have also been carried out to measure the effect of fat in the diet, on bioconversion and bioavailability, according to the Golden Rice Project website, the official golden-rice homepage supported by the Rockefeller Foundation.

Last Thursday, Greenpeace, the international environmental campaign group, reported the study, backed by the US Department of Agriculture, which involved feeding golden rice to 6- to 8-year-old children in Hunan.

The study, assigned to the Hunan CDC by the China CDC in 2008, selected 68 primary-school children in a school in Hankou township of Hengyang city.

According to the Hunan CDC, the study was listed as on the Programme of National Natural Science Foundation of China.

After the discovery was posted on Sina Weibo, a Chinese micro-blogging website, the news received massive attention online.

After an investigation, the publicity department of Hengyang said over the weekend that there had been no such research project on golden rice. It said on its micro blog there was instead a study on the transformation of carotene in vegetables to vitamin A in children's bodies.

According to Chen Peihou, all results were submitted to the China CDC immediately after the experiment ended, and no paper on that has been published within the country.

Worldwide, debates on long-term safety for genetically modified (GM) food continues.

In China, the Ministry of Agriculture in 2009 issued bio safety certificates to two strains of pest-resistant GM rice and corn in what was considered a major development in promoting the research and planting of GM crops.

The strains still need registration and production trial - which will take three to five years - before commercial planting could begin, according to the ministry.

The certificates triggered concern among the public and professionals since there is still no consensus on whether such food is harmful to humans.

As early as 2001, the State Council introduced a regulation to ensure the safety of GM food, with strict provisions of its research, testing, production and marketing.

At present, the only three kinds of GM food crops that have been approved for commercial planting in China are sweet peppers, tomatoes and papayas, Shi Yanquan, an official at the ministry, was quoted as saying by china.com.cn during an online interview in April.

Also, the country has imported other GM crops, including soybean, corn and rape, from overseas market to satisfy domestic need. For instance, China imported more than 50 million tonnes of GM soybeans in 2011, most of which were processed to edible oil, he said.

"The country has launched strict transgenic safety and quality assessment system to ensure GM food in the market is as safe as conventional food," he added.

Yang Xiaoguang, a researcher at China CDC, was quoted in April as saying: "So far, we have received no report to show any genetically modified food on the market is harmful to human health. GM food that consumers purchase from the market is safe to eat."

Read more -
http://www.asianewsnet.net/home/news.php?id=35896&sec=1

September Arrives, As Does The French "Dexia Moment" - France Nationalizes Its Second Largest Mortgage Lender -

September Arrives, As Does The French "Dexia Moment" - France Nationalizes Its Second Largest Mortgage Lender - 


September has arrived which means for Europe reality can, mercifully, return. First on the agenda: moments ago the French government suddenly announced the nationalization of troubled mortgage lender Credit Immobilier de France, which is also the country's second lagrest mortgage specialist after an attempt to find a buyer for the company failed. "To allow the CIF group to respect its overall commitments, the state decided to respond favourably to its request to grant it a guarantee," Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said according to Reuters. What he really meant was that in order to avoid a bank run following the realization that the housing crisis has finally come home, his boss, socialist Hollande, has decided to renege on his core campaign promise, and bail out an "evil, evil" bank. Sadly, while the nationalization was predicted by us long ago, the reality is that the French government waited too long with the sale, which prompted the Moody's downgrade of CIF by 3 notches earlier this week, which in turn was the catalyst that made any delay in the nationalization inevitable. The alternative: fears that one of the key players in the French mortgage house of cards was effectively insolvent would spread like wildfire, leading to disastrous consequences for the banking system. End result: congratulations France: your Fannie/Freddie-Dexia moment has finally arrived, and the score, naturally: bankers 1 - taxpayers 0.

From Le Figaro:

Here comes another crisis that the new government could do well without. After the latest downgrade by Moody's, the fate of Crédit Immobilier de France (CIF) was sealed. After failing to find a willing buyer, the lender called the State to the rescue.

"To allow the group CIF to meet all its commitments, the government decided to respond favorably to its request to grant a guarantee," said Saturday the Ministry of Economy, confirming a report in Le Figaro. "This guarantee will be implemented subject to the approval of the European Commission and Parliament, which will be seized within the next Finance Bill," says the statement of Bercy. As in the granting of state guarantees for Dexia, the government needs the approval of Brussels under the State aid procedure.

The government supports the establishment to avoid panic on a large French issuer. Because if the CIF is a small branch network with 300 branches, more than 30 billion euros in loans bear its signature. However, the downgrade by Moody's gave investors the right to be reimbursed for certain bond lines. Therefore unable to refinance since the first degradation of the note in February, was moving rapidly towards the liquidity crisis. Friday evening, a board of CIF followed up with the inevitable next step.
Just so the French government doesn't look like it is folding like a cheap lawn chair after all those loud populist campaign promises, there was a casualty:

The government has set conditions for their intervention. One of them has already been met. Claude Sadoun, CEO of the banking system, leaves office. His successor will be chosen by the state. It is up to the banking group, owned 56 SACICAP, regional companies and local communities around the world HLM - prepare a resolution plan that will be presented in Brussels.
In other words, France just had its Dexia moment, roughly one year after the Belgian bank suffered the same fate, and 4 years after America's had its own Fannie/Freddie mortgage lender nationalization incident. Looks like history will rhyme yet again.

Read more -
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/september-arrives-does-french-dexia-moment-france-nationalizes-its-second-largest-mortgage-lend

Paul Ryan Admits Marathon LIE - said he ran a "two hour and fifty-something" marathon - actually over 4 hours -

Paul Ryan Admits Marathon LIE - said he ran a "two hour and fifty-something" marathon - actually over 4 hours - 



Paul Ryan's campaign walked back comments the VP nominee made about running a marathon.

"I had a two hour and fifty-something" marathon, Ryan said last week an interview. "I hurt a disc in my back, so I don’t run marathons anymore."

But the Ryan campaign confirmed to Runner's World that he has only run one marathon, the 1990 Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota, which he finished in just over 4 hours.

"The race was more than 20 years ago, but my brother Tobin—who ran Boston last year—reminds me that he is the owner of the fastest marathon in the family and has never himself ran a sub-three," Ryan said in a prepared statement. "If I were to do any rounding, it would certainly be to four hours, not three. He gave me a good ribbing over this at dinner tonight."

The admission comes after wide speculation that Ryan had exaggerated his marathon time. Running a sub-3 hour marathon means averaging under 7 minutes per mile for the entire race, a possible but extremely impressive feat. As the New Yorker's Nicholas Thompson put it, "It’s the difference between racing and running."

This isn't the first time Ryan has come under fire this week for stretching the truth. His RNC speech was chastised for misleading claims about Medicare and the 2008 closing of a Wisconsin plant.

Read more -
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/01/paul-ryan-marathon-time_n_1848715.html

Half of Americans die with almost no money -

Half of Americans die with almost no money - 



Almost half of U.S. retirees die with savings of $10,000 or less, but that grim finding doesn’t fully describe the variability and uncertainty that characterize retirement in America, according to a recent study.

While some retirees struggle profoundly, living at or below the poverty line, others enjoy wealth and health—in fact, the two are strongly linked—while still others have little in savings but enjoy a decent income, according to the report, based on a survey that tracked retirees from 1993 through 2008.

While 46% of retirees have just $10,000 in savings when they die, “That doesn’t mean their standard of living is very low—they might have a relatively generous pension plan, most of them will have Social Security,” said James Poterba, professor of economics at M.I.T., president of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a co-author of the study.

But the findings “suggest something about the financial resiliency of these households,” Poterba added. “They may not have much capacity to absorb a shock, such as an out-of-pocket medical expenditure. They don’t have very much in the way of liquid assets they can access.” 

Read more - 
http://www.blacklistednews.com/Half_of_Americans_die_with_almost_no_money/21293/0/0/0/Y/M.html

Man Complains to Police of Prostitute PRICE HIKE... -

Man Complains to Police of Prostitute PRICE HIKE... - 



Police in southeast Michigan say a man called to complain that a woman he had agreed to pay for sex unexpectedly increased the price.

AnnArbor.com reports that police were called to an Ann Arbor home late Wednesday on a report of a robbery. Police say the 45-year-old man and a 19-year-old Ohio woman he contacted online had agreed on a price, but that the man claimed she upped the cost after taking his money.

Police say the woman was arrested. The man wasn't taken into custody.

According to investigators, the man and woman gave vastly different accounts of what happened. The case is under investigation and prosecutors will determine any possible charges.

Read more - 
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_PROSTITUTION_DISPUTE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-08-31-10-32-58

Japan plans to cut state spending, could run out of money in a month -

Japan plans to cut state spending, could run out of money in a month - 


Japan's government is planning to suspend some state spending as it could run out of cash by October, with a deficit financing bill blocked by opposition parties trying to force Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda into an early election.


The impasse in Japan's parliament has raised fears among investors that the world's third largest economy is being driven towards a "fiscal cliff", Reuters reported.
"The government running out of money is not a story made up. It's a real threat," Finance Minister Jun Azumi told a news conference, making a last-ditch appeal for cooperation by opposition parties to pass the bill.
"Failing to pass the bill will give markets the impression that Japan's fiscal management rests on shaky ground," he said.
Unless the bill clears the current parliamentary session that ends next week, the government will start suspending or reducing some state spending to avoid running out of money for as long as possible, the finance ministry said.
Noda's ruling Democratic Party passed the deficit-financing bill through the lower house on Tuesday. But the opposition boycotted the vote, signalling the bill has little chance of clearing the opposition-controlled upper house.

Read more - 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9510811/Japan-plans-to-cut-state-spending-could-run-out-of-money-in-a-month.html

More Infants Born Addicted to Prescription Drugs - Kentucky the rate rose 2,400 percent, Florida, it rose 500 percent -

More Infants Born Addicted to Prescription Drugs - Kentucky the rate rose 2,400 percent, Florida, it rose 500 percent - 


Instead of the healthy cries of newborns, hospitals are now hearing an increase in shrieking just after birth — just one sign in a rising epidemic of infants born addicted to prescription drugs.

Nationally, the rate of newborns suffering withdrawal, or “neonatal abstinence syndrome,” rose 330 percent from 2000 to 2009, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association last spring.

In some states, it’s much worse: In Kentucky, the rate rose 2,400 percent. In Florida, it rose 500 percent between 2004 and 2011, the Sun Sentinel reports. And those figures are likely on the low side, since they don’t include infants without immediate symptoms who go home with parents who don’t report their drug use.

“It’s a silent epidemic that’s going on out there,” Audrey Tayse Haynes, secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, told USA Today in its story on the issue. “You need to say: ‘Stop the madness. This is too much.’”

It’s no surprise that the numbers are high in Kentucky and other states with rampant prescription drug abuse. Still, when Van Ingram, executive director of Kentucky’s Office of Drug Control Policy, requested statistics on infant hospitalizations, he was shocked.

Read more -
http://www.livescience.com/22782-more-infants-born-addicted-to-prescription-drugs.html

Quebec police are on the hunt for a sticky-fingered thief after $30 million of maple syrup vanished from a warehouse -

Quebec police are on the hunt for a sticky-fingered thief after $30 million of maple syrup vanished from a warehouse - 


Quebec police are on the hunt for a sticky-fingered thief after millions of dollars of maple syrup vanished from a Quebec warehouse.

The theft was discovered during a routine inventory check last week at the St-Louis-de-Blandford warehouse, where the syrup is being held temporarily. The Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers, which is responsible for the global strategic maple syrup reserve, initially kept the news quiet, hoping it would help police solve the crime quickly.


About 10 million pounds of syrup was stored at the site, at a value of more than $30-million.

Anne-Marie Granger Godbout, executive director of the federation, said the organization is still trying to determine how much is missing and declined to offer an estimate. But a spokesman from the Sureté du Québec said the loss was significant.

“We know that it’s millions of dollars that was stolen,” said Sergeant Richard Gagné. “It’s a very large amount.”

All of the maple syrup inventories are fully insured, according to the federation, so there will be no loss to producers.

Ms. Granger Godbout said the theft shouldn’t put the global supply of maple syrup at risk, but warned it could allow the thief to undercut legitimate producers. The federation represents about 10,000 maple syrup producers in Quebec. “Obviously those people stole the maple syrup to sell it somewhere,” she said. “If it’s a big volume, it could be very harmful for the maple syrup industry. The companies that are working in this industry will have to compete with some company that didn’t pay for the maple syrup.”

Quebec produces between 70 and 80 per cent of the world’s maple syrup, with the bulk of export sales taking place in the United States, according to the federation.

The warehouse where the theft occured was a temporary location, and the federation was preparing to move the now-stolen maple syrup to a new location.

Read more -
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/police-probing-quebec-maple-syrup-heist-worth-up-to-30-million/article4510740/