Random Thoughts of Mine...

Second-hand copiers can spill secrets
At a warehouse in New Jersey, 6,000 used copy machines sit ready to be sold. CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian reports that almost every one of them holds a secret.

Nearly every digital copier built since 2002 contains a hard drive--like the one on your personal computer--storing an image of every document copied, scanned, or e-mailed by the machine.

In the process, it's turned an office staple into a digital time-bomb packed with highly personal or sensitive data.

Recipe Calls for "Freshly Ground Black People"
(AP) An Australian publisher is reprinting 7,000 cookbooks over a recipe for pasta with "salt and freshly ground black people."

Penguin Group Australia's head of publishing, Bob Sessions, acknowledged the proofreader for the Pasta Bible should have picked up the error, but called it nothing more than a "silly mistake."

The "Pasta Bible" recipe for spelt tagliatelle with sardines and prosciutto was supposed to call for black pepper.

The Subscription Trap
If you've ever opened your credit card bill to find that you've inadvertently joined a club you've never heard of, at a cost of $10 or more a month, you're not alone. Millions of Web consumers have been snared by similar tactics. Our tips will help you fight back. How can companies make more than a billion dollars selling a service that almost no one wants? By signing up millions of members who don't know that they're becoming members. A survey by credit card company Visa estimates that nearly three in ten Americans have been stung by a subscription trap. Here's how it works: You buy airline tickets or flowers or a digital camera at a site like Orbitz, US Airways, or FTD--and just when you think you've completed your transaction, you get an offer for cash back or free shipping. So you click the button, and a screen appears asking for your e-mail address in exchange for that attractive little benefit. It seems like a small price to pay, so you comply and then finish your purchase. Three months later, as you review your credit card statement, you discover that you've been dunned for $50 in membership dues by some company you've never heard of, for a club that you never knew you belonged to and that you've never received any benefit from. (Even when the offer promises something like cash back or free shipping, those promises often apply to your next purchase, not the one you just completed). Unfortunately, getting your money back isn't easy. According to some angry consumers, getting a full refund required writing a letter (the old fashion way) and waiting months to receive a credit card chargeback. Welcome to the world of posttransaction marketing, a billion-dollar industry that most people have never heard of.

Swine Flu is Officially Over: UK National Pandemic Flu Service to be Closed

(NaturalNews) The UK Government has announced that, as of February 11, the National Pandemic Flu Service (NPFS) is to be shut down, following a `steady decline` in the number of cases of swine flu. This has been taken by many to signal the end of the swine flu scare in the UK, and it is hoped that the incessant promotion of toxic antiviral drugs will finally begin to dwindle too.

Health minister Gillian Merron said: "The Department is today announcing the decision to stand down the NPFS with effect from 1am on February 11 2010. This is being done in response to the steady reduction in the estimated number of swine flu cases in the community and is in line with our overall aim of ensuring the operational response is appropriate to the level of threat posed by the virus."

Naturally, many are questioning how appropriate the Department of Health`s response was to the much-hyped threat posed by swine flu. In the spring of 2009, Health Minister Andy Burnham and Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson warned that more than 65.000 could die in Britain alone. Instead, the figure reached just 411. Whilst no doubt a tragedy for those involved, around 3,000 people die of seasonal flu in Britain each and every year.

Allegations have been made that the fearful stance taken by the Government was not one based on naivety, but a deliberate attempt to manufacture consent for the massive spending spree required to subsidise the pharmaceutical industry for another year. And estimated 256m pounds was spent on anti-viral drugs when, due to the financial crisis of 2009, public finances were under more scrutiny than usual. At the time, the World Health Organisation pointed out the raw data showed that the threat posed by swine flu was minimal for otherwise healthy individuals, and that all flu strains were prone to quickly developing resistance against anti-virals like Tamiflu.

Another Terrorist Stopped by Vigilant TSA Officer: 4-Year-Old Boy in Leg Braces

PHILADELPHIA, Penn. (CBS) Now we know how the "Crotch Bomber" got through security – TSA screeners are busy terrorizing disabled toddlers.

4-year-old Ryan Thomas is developmentally disabled as a result of being 16 weeks premature and has to wear corrective braces. His ankles are malformed and his legs have little or no muscle tone. He only just learned how to walk, briefly, on his own, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

But that didn’t seem to matter to the Transportation Security Administration screeners at Philadelphia International airport.

It was Ryan's first trip to Disney in March 2009, according the paper's columnist Daniel Rubin. All was going well for the Thomases -- they had gotten to the airport with hours to spare before their flight, but as it turns out, they would need that extra time.

Ryan's father was breaking down his son's stroller to put it on the conveyor belt as his wife, Leona, walked Ryan through the metal detector. As expected the alarm went off and Leona tried to explain the situation, the paper said.

The screener replied that the boy would have to take the braces off and walk through the detector again. When Leona Thomas attempted to walk with Ryan she was told he would have to do it alone.

She tried, calmly, to explain that Ryan could barely walk with the braces, let alone without them, but the compassionless screener was deaf to her pleas, according to the newspaper.

Meanwhile Bob Thomas was getting increasingly agitated. He is an officer in Camden's emergency crime suppression team, so he understood the need for security, but this was overkill, he told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Thomases eventually complied and Ryan made it through on his own, but Bob immediately asked for a supervisor. The supervisor was less than sympathetic and stood by the screener's actions. A fellow police officer even told Bob Thomas to drop it and go enjoy his vacation.

But Bob Thomas didn’t forget and after his trip he called the airport manager. Eventually, with help from Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Daniel Rubin, the TSA finally responded to the incident saying that the boy never should have had to remove his braces and they would be looking into what went wrong that day in March.

For the Thomases that probably feels like too little too late.