Whatever they put out gives me indigestion:
"Military rescues seafood industry
NEW ORLEANS — Sales of Gulf of Mexico seafood are getting a boost from the military after being hammered by last year’s BP oil spill, which left consumers fearing the water’s bounty had been tainted. Ten products including fish, shrimp, oysters, crab cakes, and packaged Cajun dishes such as jambalaya and shrimp etouffee are being promoted at 72 base commissaries along the East Coast, said Milt Ackerman, president of Military Solutions Inc., which is supplying seafood to the businesses.
Good Lord, they are poisoning our troops!
Gulf seafood sales fell sharply after BP PLC’s Gulf well blew out in April, spewing millions of gallons of oil into the sea (AP)."
No, I will pas on the shrimp, thanks.
Related: US urges sharp drop in salt intake
So now everything will taste like s***.
What else you got?
"Where’s the beef? Taco Bell responds; Chain takes on lawsuit with aggressive ads" by Sarah Skidmore and Bruce Schreiner, Associated Press / January 29, 2011
Taco Bell took out full-page ads in at least nine major newspapers, and launched a YouTube campaign....
What a waste of money!
Taco Bell’s ads appeared in yesterday’s Globe, The Wall Street Journal, and other papers.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in California, alleges the meat mixture has binders and extenders and does not meet federal requirements to be labeled beef....
I'm glad I never eat that s***.
Related: Norwood food company lays off 40 workers
Where's we gonna gets our meats?
The story spread like wildfire, making national headlines and even prompting a bit by comedian Stephen Colbert.
Then you know you have arrived, huh?
Analysts say similar cases show the tempest in a tortilla probably will not hurt Taco Bell’s business, but....
it will strike the consumer when they head for the "al-Qaeda."
--more--"
Something to wash it down?
"EPA to limit rocket fuel chemical in tap water" by Associated Press / February 3, 2011
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency is setting the first federal drinking water standard for a toxic rocket fuel ingredient linked to thyroid problems in pregnant women and young children, the Obama administration announced yesterday....
The standard could take up to two years to develop, the EPA said.
And in the meantime, bottoms up?
Perchlorate is also used in fireworks and explosives. In most cases, water contamination has been caused by improper disposal at rocket testing sites, military bases, and chemical plants....
Then they are crimes of negligence at the very least, right?
Such is the price of Empire.
--more--"
Also see: De Plane! De Plane!
Got anything else?
"New systems speed up drivers’ blood-alcohol tests" by Clifford Atiyeh and Eric Moskowitz, Globe Staff / January 29, 2011
The first working prototypes of systems to prevent drunk drivers from starting their cars were demonstrated in Waltham yesterday, at an event attended by US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
Two systems were demonstrated yesterday, developed by Waltham defense contractor QinetiQ North America Inc. in conjunction with companies in Sweden and New Mexico. One measured a driver’s blood-alcohol level through a quick touch of a finger, and the other analyzed a driver’s breath.
Qa-ching!
QinetiQ engineers said that unlike court-ordered breathalyzer ignition locks, which require a driver to blow into a tube and wait several seconds for the result, their systems will eventually analyze a driver’s blood-alcohol content in less than one second — ideally, performing the test automatically. The project was established in 2008 with $10 million in grants from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety, and ends in 2013.
That's how fast Washington waste tax loot? WOW!
All drunk on tax dough down there!
About 11,000 people — one-third of all traffic fatalities in the United States — die in alcohol-related crashes every year, LaHood said, adding that the concept for an automatic testing system has “evolved from a moon shot idea to a device in development.’’ He said engineers were at least eight years away from bringing a practical system to market.
That's the number of years they will be needing taxpayer outlays.
Also see: Venus Bomb Trap
Don't most suiciders also drink?
At yesterday’s demonstration, researchers from McLean Hospital in Belmont tested a volunteer, a woman whose identity was withheld. The volunteer drank two vodka beverages, then was tested by each of the two prototype systems. Both revealed a blood-alcohol content of 0.06 percent, 0.02 percent below the legal limit.
Then the machine is off or the drinks were strong because I was told in drunk school each drink is .02 (and you burn off a drink an hour).
Was I lied to?
McLean has tested the devices on 12 people in a lab setting, according to hospital researcher David Penetar. The next step, he said, is to see if breath-based systems will be able to isolate results from the driver, and not be affected by passengers who may be intoxicated.
Sorry, designated driver.
The touch sensor was built into a case the size of a shoebox, and the breath sensor was about as large as a box of kitchen matches. That’s too large, and the prototype devices react too slowly to be practical for production vehicles, said Bud Zaouk, a QinetiQ technical manager. Zaouk said the sensors should be small enough to place on the steering wheel, ignition switch, or in the headliner.
Then BY ALL MEANS POUR MORE TAXPAYER "grants" his way!
And while you are at it, BAN the BEER ADS during TONIGHT'S GAME!
Eventually, he said, vehicles could use both types of systems in tandem. “These two systems can complement each other,’’ he said.
And where is the part I have to in$ert up my a$$?
Similar technology is already on the market.
Ow!
The “Attention Assist’’ feature on Mercedes-Benz vehicles uses pressure sensors in the steering wheel to determine whether a driver is dozing. On the Lexus LS, a camera monitors the driver’s eyes, and sounds a warning if they stray from the windshield for too long. Ford offers programmable key fobs that can limit a car’s speed, and even the radio volume.
Rebecca Lindland, an analyst for research firm IHS Automotive in Lexington, said alcohol sensors could be controversial because manufacturers may not want to be associated with technology that implies “an arrest or some past poor behavior.’’
LaHood was joined at the demonstration by David L. Strickland, administrator of the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, who said the agency would not require automakers to install the devices, and hopes insurance companies would provide discounts on driver premiums.
Strickland later spent part of the day meeting with state Secretary of Transportation Jeffrey B. Mullan and other Massachusetts officials to encourage the state to adopt a primary seat belt law, among other safety matters.
Thirty-one states have primary seat belt laws, meaning police can cite people solely for failing to wear a seat belt. In Massachusetts and 17 other states, the law is secondary, meaning police must first suspect another violation before they can pull someone over and issue a $25 ticket for failing to buckle up. Only New Hampshire has no seat belt law for adults. A primary seat belt law came close to passing here in 2006. Subsequent bills have stalled in legislative committees.
LaHood said he hopes to see Massachusetts upgrade its law. A coalition has formed — Belts Ensure a Safer Tomorrow — and legislation was filed last week on Beacon Hill.
“We know that if people buckle up, a lot of lives will be saved,’’ LaHood said.
Advocates say the 10 percent boost in seat belt use that typically accompanies adoption of a primary law would save 18 lives a year and reduce annual health care, labor, and property damage costs by more than $160 million.
--more--"
Sorry, I sort of dozed off there.
Be careful on the way home, dear readers.
Maybe you should get a cup of coffee for the drive.
Also see: Sara Lee is splitting into a pair of businesses
I guess they would be in charge of dessert, huh?
