New Vending Machine In Beverly Hills Dispenses Caviar, Escargot, Truffles... -

New Vending Machine In Beverly Hills Dispenses Caviar, Escargot, Truffles... - 



Caviar is not the usual fare one would expect from a vending machine.

Beverly Hills Caviar has unveiled its first touch-screen vending machine at the Burbank Towne Center, offering “a large selection of the world’s finest selection of caviar, truffles, escargot, bottarga, blinis, oils, Mother of Pearl plates and spoons, gift boxes and gourmet salts.”

Prices range from under $50 up to $500, KNX 1070’s Vytas Safroncikas reports.

“Oh my God, too expensive for me. I can’t afford that,” one passersby said of the products offered by the vending machine.

All manner of products are now being offered via vending machine – ranging from the usual fare of candy, snacks and soda all the way to pricey electronics like iPods and iPhones – but fresh foods seem to be the latest trend.


Earlier this year, the LA-based cupcake bakery that started the cupcake craze began dispensing the treats via an ATM called 24-Hour Sprinkles.

“Yeah, I can think of probably better things I can buy out of a vending machine than fish eggs,” another passersby said.

Curious to try the automatically-dispensed caviar? The vending machine is at Burbank Towne Center mall, 201 E. Magnolia Blvd., on the second floor across from Bath and Body Works and operates daily from 7 a.m. till 2 a.m.

Read more -
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/11/23/caviar-dispensing-vending-machine-opens-at-burbank-towne-center/

Sales of adult diapers in Japan exceed those for babies... -

Sales of adult diapers in Japan exceed those for babies... - 

Last year, for the first time, sales of adult diapers in Japan exceeded those for babies. Factor in how the strong yen has been making the country’s critical exports more expensive, and you can see why the world’s No. 3 economy (recently pushed into third place by China) has been quicksand for investors; when international markets hit bottom in early 2009, Japan’s Nikkei slumped to levels it hadn’t seen since 1983. A Merrill Lynch survey of global fund managers discovered that their net exposure to Japan is at its lowest in a decade

Read more -
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-11-23/japanese-stocks-yes-they-really-think-so

$300,000 worth of gold dust found in home during HVAC installation -

$300,000 worth of gold dust found in home during HVAC installation - 



Sacramento homeowners called for what was going to be an expensive new heating and air system but ending up striking gold.
Workers installing the equipment found a secret gold stash hidden away in the house. They pride on customer service at Clark & Rush, but this is one guarantee they say they can’t make, finding gold on every house call. 


The total value of what they found was $300,000 worth of gold. The total cost of the HVAC installation was around $6,500. After hundreds and hundreds of HVAC installations, Steve Ottley said the jackpot discovery was one of a kind. “I still can’t believe it today,” he said. “It’s unreal. We kind of just looked at each other and said ‘wow’.”

Back in September, beneath the floor grille of an older home, Steve and his partner discovered 12 baby food jars filled to the brim with gold dust. “I looked at it and said, ‘I think that’s gold,’” he said. Clark & Rush has been in Sacramento for 50 years and they’re celebrating their golden anniversary. But don’t expect a guarantee of “gold after every installation.” 

“That’s one promise we can’t make, but I can say this, the integrity and professionalism of Clark & Rush, every time we find this type of thing, we are always trustworthy and upfront,” Mark Thyne said. Where the gold came from is still a mystery. The lucky homeowners didn’t want to be part of the story, but we’re told they’re handling their new gold just fine.

Read more - 
http://arbroath.blogspot.ca/2012/11/300000-worth-of-gold-dust-found-in-home.html

Sweet tooth thieves steal 18 tons of Austria chocolate -

Sweet tooth thieves steal 18 tons of Austria chocolate - 


Thieves with a huge sweet-tooth have driven off with 18 tons of chocolate in Austria.
State broadcaster ORF says on its website that the driver of a Slovak tractor trailer loaded the 33 pallets of milk chocolate onto his vehicle from the producer in the western town of Bludenz earlier this week — supposedly to deliver an order from a company in the Czech Republic. But, police in the westernmost province of Vorarlberg say that the license plates and papers of the Slovak truck and driver were apparently counterfeit.
The trip should have taken less than a day, but as of Friday — four days after the truck was loaded — the delivery was still outstanding.
Police are investigating.


Read more - 
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/11/23/sweet-tooth-thieves-steal-18-tons-chocolate/?test=latestnews

Spire for 1 WTC making its way to New York City by barge from Canada -

Spire for 1 WTC making its way to New York City by barge from Canada - 



The giant spire that will top 1 World Trade Center is making its way to Manhattan from Canada.

The spire is divided into 18 sections that weigh between five tonnes and more than 67 tonnes. Eight of the sections are being transported via barge from Canada on the Atlantic Salvor.

It left Quebec on Nov. 16 and is expected next week at Port Newark in New Jersey.

The remaining sections are expected to arrive via truck in mid-December.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the World Trade Center site, says progress of the barge and the spire can be tracked online: http://bit.ly/UWwvio.

Once the 125-metre spire is installed, the tower will stand 541 metres tall, making it the tallest in the Western Hemisphere. The Port Authority says it will take about three months to install.



Read more - 
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/fp/yourmoney/Spire+making+York+City+barge+from+Canada/7597948/story.html

Those interested can follow the barge’s journey via the WTC Spire Tracking Web site.

Women in Saudi Arabia are now monitored by an electronic system that tracks any cross-border movements -

Women in Saudi Arabia are now monitored by an electronic system that tracks any cross-border movements - 



Denied the right to travel without consent from their male guardians and banned from driving, women in Saudi Arabia are now monitored by an electronic system that tracks any cross-border movements.

Since last week, Saudi women's male guardians began receiving text messages on their phones informing them when women under their custody leave the country, even if they are travelling together.

Manal al-Sherif, who became the symbol of a campaign launched last year urging Saudi women to defy a driving ban, began spreading the information on Twitter, after she was alerted by a couple.

The husband, who was travelling with his wife, received a text message from the immigration authorities informing him that his wife had left the international airport in Riyadh.

"The authorities are using technology to monitor women," said columnist Badriya al-Bishr, who criticised the "state of slavery under which women are held" in the ultra-conservative kingdom.

Women are not allowed to leave the kingdom without permission from their male guardian, who must give his consent by signing what is known as the "yellow sheet" at the airport or border.

The move by the Saudi authorities was swiftly condemned on social network Twitter -- a rare bubble of freedom for millions in the kingdom -- with critics mocking the decision.

"Hello Taliban, herewith some tips from the Saudi e-government!" read one post.

"Why don't you cuff your women with tracking ankle bracelets too?" wrote Israa.

"Why don't we just install a microchip into our women to track them around?" joked another.

"If I need an SMS to let me know my wife is leaving Saudi Arabia, then I'm either married to the wrong woman or need a psychiatrist," tweeted Hisham.

"This is technology used to serve backwardness in order to keep women imprisoned," said Bishr, the columnist.

"It would have been better for the government to busy itself with finding a solution for women subjected to domestic violence" than track their movements into and out of the country.

Saudi Arabia applies a strict interpretation of sharia, or Islamic law, and is the only country in the world where women are not allowed to drive.

In June 2011, female activists launched a campaign to defy the ban, with many arrested for doing so and forced to sign a pledge they will never drive again.

No law specifically forbids women in Saudi Arabia from driving, but the interior minister formally banned them after 47 women were arrested and punished after demonstrating in cars in November 1990.

Last year, King Abdullah -- a cautious reformer -- granted women the right to vote and run in the 2015 municipal elections, a historic first for the country.

In January, the 89-year-old monarch appointed Sheikh Abdullatif Abdel Aziz al-Sheikh, a moderate, to head the notorious religious police commission, which enforces the kingdom's severe version of sharia law.

Following his appointment, Sheikh banned members of the commission from harassing Saudi women over their behaviour and attire, raising hopes a more lenient force will ease draconian social constraints in the country.

But the kingdom's "religious establishment" is still to blame for the discrimination of women in Saudi Arabia, says liberal activist Suad Shemmari.

"Saudi women are treated as minors throughout their lives even if they hold high positions," said Shemmari, who believes "there can never be reform in the kingdom without changing the status of women and treating them" as equals to men.

But that seems a very long way off.

The kingdom enforces strict rules governing mixing between the sexes, while women are forced to wear a veil and a black cloak, or abaya, that covers them from head to toe except for their hands and faces.

The many restrictions on women have led to high rates of female unemployment, officially estimated at around 30 percent.

In October, local media published a justice ministry directive allowing all women lawyers who have a law degree and who have spent at least three years working in a lawyer's office to plead cases in court.

But the ruling, which was to take effect this month, has not been implemented.

Read more - 
http://www.france24.com/en/20121122-electronic-tracking-new-constraint-saudi-women

Deer attacks two men, then takes man's cigarettes -

Deer attacks two men, then takes man's cigarettes - 



Joseph Rose and Cole Kellis were leaving their home in Whitehouse on Friday morning when they noticed a deer in their front yard.

Rose approached the deer and he says the deer seemed friendly. But then Kellis and Rose say the deer then charged them and started to attack.

Rose and Kellis ran to Rose's pick-up truck to try to get away from the wild buck. The deer then "poked" Rose in his ribs, so Rose jumped out of his truck into the back-bed. Rose says he left his driver-side door open and the deer climbed in and took his pack of cigarettes that were sitting in his center console.

The deer starting eating Rose's smokes, and when Rose tried to get them back, Rose says the deer got more aggressive.

They then had to call Whitehouse police and the Game Warden. When police arrived they had to tase the deer and then Rose says it took more than 5 men to restrain the buck.

KETK spoke to Smith County Game Warden, Dustin Dockery, and he says, "Admire deer from a distance but do not approach them because they can be dangerous."

Read more - 
http://www.ketknbc.com/news/deer-attacks-two-men-then-takes-mans-cigarettes

Women are over-treated for cancer -

Women are over-treated for cancer - 


ONE of Australia's top medicos has agreed with a US study on mammograms that says women are treated for cancers that are not life-threatening.

The study, led by Dr H. Gilbert Welch of Dartmouth Medical School and Dr Archie Bleyer of St Charles Health System and Oregon Health and Science University, is claimed to be the most detailed look yet at over-treatment of breast cancer.

But Steve Hambleton, federal president of the Australian Medical Association, has slammed another of the report's claims that mammograms have "done surprisingly little to catch deadly cancers before they spread".

"It is completely false screening does not pick up cancers before they spread," he said.

"Early detection plays a huge part in the fight against breast cancer, but yes, I agree there are times when there is overdiagnosis.

"Sometimes there is no way of telling if a cancer will spread. There are cases where women end up having surgery or chemotherapy when their cancers were not life-threatening.

"But while there is a small degree of harm from screening, the benefits heavily outweigh them," he said.

"It is often the fear factor and a cautiousness in patients that leads to surgeries. Patients may pressure doctors to cut out the tumours. It is a very emotional thing.

"Cancers need to go under the microscope to study them further and of course that will involve biopsies and other tests. But screening is necessary. Self-examination is not enough."


He admits mammograms are not the perfect screening tool, but reminds Australian women that detecting abnormalities helps save lives.
The breast cancer death rate in Queensland has significantly decreased and survival rates have dramatically improved, according to the Queensland Cancer Council.

It says the five-year survival for breast cancer is now 89 per cent and that has improved from 74 per cent from 1982 to 1989.

More than half of Queensland women aged 50 to 69 participate in BreastScreen Queensland.

According to the Queensland Cancer Council: "Mammograms are not 100 per cent accurate, but they remain the best method for the early detection of breast cancer."

The authors of the US report concluded that: "The good news in breast cancer - decreasing mortality - must largely be the result of improved treatment, not screening."

Read more - 
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/women-are-over-treated-for-cancer/story-fndo45r1-1226522332272

Gun store employee accidentally shoots customer -

Gun store employee accidentally shoots customer - 


Authorities say an employee at a New Mexico gun shop was unloading a handgun when he accidentally shot a customer in the back, wounding him.
The Las Cruses Sun-News reports the 65-year-old customer was airlifted from Silver City to a Texas hospital, where he is listed in stable condition.
Silver City Police Chief Ed Reynolds says an employee at Copper County Sporting Arms was unloading a .45 caliber handgun Tuesday when the weapon went off, shooting the man in the back.
Emergency responders closed off the street in front of the shop so a medical helicopter could land. The helicopter then flew the man to an El Paso, Texas, hospital for treatment.
Reynolds says the investigation is ongoing, and it's unclear whether any charges will be filed. No names have been released.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/11/21/gun-store-employee-accidentally-shoots-customer-in-back/?test=latestnews

Nose cell transplant enables paralysed dogs to walk -

Nose cell transplant enables paralysed dogs to walk - 



Scientists have reversed paralysis in dogs after injecting them with cells grown from the lining of their nose.

The pets had all suffered spinal injuries which prevented them from using their back legs.

The Cambridge University team is cautiously optimistic the technique could eventually have a role in the treatment of human patients.

The study is the first to test the transplant in "real-life" injuries rather than laboratory animals.

Olfactory ensheathing cells

The only part of the body where nerve fibres continue to grow in adults is the olfactory system.

Found in the at the back of the nasal cavity, olfactory ensheathing cells (OEC) surround the receptor neurons that both enable us to smell and convey these signals to the brain.

The nerve cells need constant replacement which is promoted by the OECs.

For decades scientists have thought OECs might be useful in spinal cord repair. Initial trials using OECs in humans have suggested the procedure is safe.

In the study, funded by the Medical Research Council and published in the neurology journal Brain, the dogs had olfactory ensheathing cells from the lining of their nose removed.

These were grown and expanded for several weeks in the laboratory.

Treadmill
Of 34 pet dogs on the proof of concept trial, 23 had the cells transplanted into the injury site - the rest were injected with a neutral fluid.

Many of the dogs that received the transplant showed considerable improvement and were able to walk on a treadmill with the support of a harness.

None of the control group regained use of its back legs.

The research was a collaboration between the MRC's Regenerative Medicine Centre and Cambridge University's Veterinary School.

Professor Robin Franklin, a regeneration biologist at the Wellcome Trust-MRC Stem Cell Institute and report co-author, said: 'Our findings are extremely exciting because they show for the first time that transplanting these types of cell into a severely damaged spinal cord can bring about significant improvement.

"We're confident that the technique might be able to restore at least a small amount of movement in human patients with spinal cord injuries but that's a long way from saying they might be able to regain all lost function. '

Prof Franklin said the procedure might be used alongside drug treatments to promote nerve fibre regeneration and bioengineering to substitute damaged neural networks.

Partial repair
The researchers say the transplanted cells regenerated nerve fibres across the damaged region of the spinal cord. This enabled the dogs to regain the use of their back legs and coordinate movement with their front limbs.

The new nerve connections did not occur over the long distances required to connect the brain to the spinal cord. The MRC scientists say in humans this would be vital for spinal injury patients who had lost sexual function and bowel and bladder control.

Prof Geoffrey Raisman, chair of Neural Regeneration at University College London, who discovered olfactory ensheathing cells in 1985 said: "This is not a cure for spinal cord injury in humans - that could still be a long way off. But this is the most encouraging advance for some years and is a significant step on the road towards it."

He said the clinical benefits were still limited: "This procedure has enabled an injured dog to step with its hind legs, but the much harder range of higher functions lost in spinal cord injury - hand function, bladder function, temperature regulation, for example - are yet more complicated and still a long way away."

Jasper, a 10-year-old dachshund, is one of the dogs which took part in the trial.

His owner May Hay told me: "Before the treatment we used to have to wheel Jasper round on a trolley because his back legs were useless. Now he whizzes around the house and garden and is able to keep up with the other dogs. It's wonderful."


Read more - 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20365355