False Sense Of Security

In Oregon, The GMO Wheat Mystery Deepens

"The USDA is trying to answer two big questions about this wheat. First, where else can it be found? Second, how did it get into this farmer's field? Hundreds of millions of dollars could hang on the answer to the first question. If rogue genes are present in America's wheat harvest, some customers — especially in Japan and Korea — say they won't take it. Every test that comes up negative eases the worries of the wheat industry, but it also makes the source of this GMO wheat a bigger mystery. Investigators are finding no trail that leads from the Oregon farm back to Monsanto's research operation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIn Oregon, The GMO Wheat Mystery Deepens

Sysco facing thousands in fines for ‘runaway train’ of food storage violations

"Food distributor Sysco could be forced to pay thousands of dollars in fines after officials with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) found insects and rodent droppings at storage sheds the company used for perishable foods throughout northern California, KNTV-TV reported on Tuesday. The station reported that it secretly filmed employees using sheds in six cities to store and transport pork, bread, lettuce and cheese items. One employee, who did not wish to be identified, told KNTV in an interview that the practice had been going on for more than a decade, saying, 'Enough is enough. The public needs to know where their food is coming from.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSysco facing thousands in fines for ‘runaway train’ of food storage violations

Should You Be Able to Buy Food Directly From Farmers? Regulators Don’t Think So

"For the USDA and its sister food regulator, the FDA, there’s a problem: many of the farmers are distributing the food via private contracts like herd shares and leasing arrangements, which fall outside the regulatory system of state and local retail licenses and inspections that govern public food sales. In response, federal and state regulators are seeking legal sanctions against farmers in Maine, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and California, among others. These sanctions include injunctions, fines, and even prison sentences." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingShould You Be Able to Buy Food Directly From Farmers? Regulators Don’t Think So

Leaked memo reveals big pharma’s strategy to combat publishing of drug trial results

"Drugs companies publish only a fraction of their results and keep much of the information to themselves, but regulators want to ban the practice. If companies published all of their clinical trials data, independent scientists could reanalyse their results and check companies’ claims about the safety and efficacy of drugs. Under proposals being thrashed out in Europe, drugs companies would be compelled to release all of their data, including results that show drugs do not work or cause dangerous side-effects. The latest strategy shows how patient groups – many of which receive some or all of their funding from drugs companies – have been brought into the battle." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLeaked memo reveals big pharma’s strategy to combat publishing of drug trial results

How a Pacifist Accidentally Infused the FBI with Cash

"First, never underestimate the incompetence of the bureaucracy. Second, a fugitive bomber can always be 'found' whenever security agencies feel shortchanged by their current budgets. The first might give you a measure of relief in the face of another IRS witch hunt and Edward Snowden’s revelations: The NSA might not be able to do too much with all those emails and text messages you sent. The second puts a damper on that: For one thing, that security we keep being promised — if we’ll just cough up a little more liberty in exchange — never quite seems to materialize. Unfortunately, there are no refunds." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow a Pacifist Accidentally Infused the FBI with Cash

U.S. Marshals lose track of 2,000 encrypted two-way radios

"The U.S. Marshals Service has lost track of about 2,000 encrypted two-way radios worth millions of dollars, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. It said an internal technology office had warned about the issue, but the problems tracking the equipment persisted. The U.S. Marshals Service serves to protect federal courts and judges. It also administers the witness protection program and tracks down fugitives. In interviews with the paper, some Marshals said they were worried not only about the wasted money, but also about the prospect of criminals getting hold of the radios and using them to gain access to privileged law enforcement activities." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Marshals lose track of 2,000 encrypted two-way radios

New York firefighter makes fake 911 calls to rob empty firehouses

"A New York firefighter is accused of making fake 911 calls to dispatch firefighters so he can raid the unmanned firehouses in Queens and Staten Island for money left behind, according to WNBC. Joseph Keene allegedly made three false 911 calls about made-up fires and is accused of nabbing more than $1,900 in cash during May and June. Keene made two false calls in which he reported smelling gas and a third which reported a sparking transformer. Keene is also charged with stealing $50 from a colleague’s locker at the Randall’s Island facility where he worked and stealing $100 from a Queens facility he sneaked into." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew York firefighter makes fake 911 calls to rob empty firehouses

Coroner confirms teenager in Asiana plane crash killed by fire truck

"A coroner announced on Friday that a teenager killed in the Asiana Airlines crash earlier this month in San Francisco was killed by a motor vehicle — likely a fire truck that arrived on the scene to provide assistance — and not injuries sustained in the crash, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The coroner warned as early as July 8 that the the victim, a 16-year-old Chinese high school student later identified as Ye Mengyuan, had sustained injuries more consistent with being struck by an emergency vehicle than that of a plane crash. Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White apologized to the family on Friday." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCoroner confirms teenager in Asiana plane crash killed by fire truck

$25 gadget lets hackers seize control of a car

"Spanish engineers Javier Vázquez Vidal and Alberto Garcia Illera will give a demonstration at the Black Hatsecurity conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. They have built a $25 device that lets them bypass security in a car's electronic control unit. Vázquez Vidal and Garcia Illera will show how their device – which they claim uses a $1 chip to break encryption – can read from and write data to the flash memory of commonly used ECUs, made by Bosch of Germany. 'And it would take no time to gain total control over a vehicle – deploying an airbag, activating the brakes, or immobilising a car at any moment,' says Vázquez Vidal." Continue reading →

Continue Reading$25 gadget lets hackers seize control of a car

$25 gadget lets hackers seize control of a car

"Spanish engineers Javier Vázquez Vidal and Alberto Garcia Illera will give a demonstration at the Black Hatsecurity conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. They have built a $25 device that lets them bypass security in a car's electronic control unit. Vázquez Vidal and Garcia Illera will show how their device – which they claim uses a $1 chip to break encryption – can read from and write data to the flash memory of commonly used ECUs, made by Bosch of Germany. 'And it would take no time to gain total control over a vehicle – deploying an airbag, activating the brakes, or immobilising a car at any moment,' says Vázquez Vidal." Continue reading →

Continue Reading$25 gadget lets hackers seize control of a car