Washington Post Apologizes for ‘Substantial’ Plagiarism In Two Stories
March 18, 2011 by Andrew
Filed under Government
March 18th, 2011
The Huffington Post
By: Jack Mirkinson
The Washington Post suspended Sari Horwitz—who has been with the paper for 27 years and won two Pulitzer Prizes—for three months as punishment for her plagiarism of two stories from the Arizona Republic, the Post announced Wednesday night.
Reporters who are discovered having plagiarized are often fired, but the Post’s editor, Marcus Brauchli, told Post reporter Paul Farhi that, because these were the only instances of plagiarism the paper could find in Horwitz’s work, she was being given a lesser punishment. “We [took] action that we think is appropriately severe and reflects the seriousness with which we view this transgression,” Brauchli said.
Horwitz—who lifted material from two separate stories about Jared Lee Loughner, the suspected gunman in the Arizona shooting—issued a statement as well.
“I am deeply sorry. To our readers, my friends and colleagues, my editors, and to the paper I love, I want to apologize. Under the pressure of tight deadlines, I did something I have never done in my entire career. I used another newspaper’s work as if it were my own. It was wrong. It was inexcusable. And it is one of the cardinal sins in journalism. I apologize to the Arizona Republic and its reporters and editors. I accept the punishment that The Washington Post has given to me. And I am grateful the paper will allow me to return. I hope to come back a better journalist and a better person.”
Click here for the full report from The Huffington Post
ATM Fees Rise as Banks Feel Funding Squeeze
March 18th, 2011
Daily Finance
By: Dawn Kawamoto
Before slipping the old debit card into an ATM, consumers may want to think twice if it’s not their own bank’s machine. ATM fees at these non-customer cash-dispensing outposts are edging up, with some hitting the $5 transaction fee mark, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Some banks are saying so-long to the standard $3 fee as they seek to re-coup lost revenue from debit cards and overdraft charges due to federal regulatory changes, the report notes.
J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM) is trying out a $5 non-customer transaction fee in Illinois, as well as a $4 fee in Texas. PNC Financial Services Group (PNC), meanwhile, is planning to terminate its ATM reimbursement program, which covers transaction fees at non-customer bank machines, later this year. And last week TD Bank Financial Group (TD) eliminated its perk that allowed its customers to use ATMs operated by other banks without charging those customers for a piece of the transaction fee.
Banks brought home a sizable $7.1 billion last year from ATM transaction fees. And of that multi-billion-dollar bonanza, $3 billion was collected by banks whose customers used another institution’s ATM, the report notes.
As more banks are expected to weigh in with higher ATM fees, frequent ATM users may switch to institutions that have the largest network of cash-dispensing machines. Savvy consumers may also opt to double down when at checkout stands that allow them to get cash back when making a purchase, minimizing the impact of the non-customer ATM fee.
Click here for the full report from Daily Finance
Sweat Lodge Accident
March 17th, 2011
JamesRay.com
On October 8, 2009, at a “Spiritual Warrior” retreat conceived and hosted by Ray, at the Angel Valley Retreat Center in Yavapai County near Sedona, Arizona, two participants, James Shore and Kirby Brown, died as a result of being in a sweat lodge exercise. Eighteen others were hospitalized after suffering various physical problems such as pinpoint pupils, shaking organ failure, and cold/hot flashes. According to medical records not one person exhibited the symptoms of dehydration or elevated body temperatures which are critical indicators for heat stroke. Liz Neuman, another attendee, died October 17 after being comatose for a week.
The EMT’s and emergency room doctors all documented that participants appeared to have signs of organo-phosphate (pesticide) poisoning with some believing it to be carbon monoxide. The sweat lodge structure was provided by Angel Valley Ranch for which Ray’s company, James Ray International, paid over $100,000 to provide in addition to food and lodging for the participants. The contract specifically stated that Angel Valley would provide “a 415 square foot space to accommodate up to 75 people.” On the day of the accident the sweat lodge contained 52 people. Angel Valley Ranch is owned and operated by Michael and Amayra Hamilton, both residents of Yavapai County.
Even though a written contract was presented between Ray’s company and Angel Valley, the Yavapai County Sheriff, Steve Waugh, said October 10 that the investigation was focusing on Ray and his staff in an attempt to determine if criminal negligence was involved. The county sheriff’s office held firm in the belief that Ray’s staff actually built the sweat lodge completely disregarding the contract.
On the night of the accident, Ted Mercer, an employee of Angel Valley Ranch and the man who built the lodge, told detectives that the tarps used were “stored with chunks of rat poison all year long in a shed,” he further told detectives that this was the first year that they used “pressed wood to heat the stones versus tree wood” and that he was “told by Hamilton to do so.” Pressed wood is well known to contain formaldehyde and other poisons and to be toxic when burned.
Less than 48 hours after the accident, the states detectives released the alleged crime scene and allowed the Hamilton’s to destroy the lodge. All tarps, blankets, and stones were burned or completely destroyed. The Hamilton’s were also told by authorities that “they were not under any investigation.”
While numerous indicators from EMTs and emergency room doctors were present and documented of poisons, the state followed up on none of them. A source close to Ray stated that upon arrival at the scene of the accident the detective stated to Ray, “We’re investigating this as a homicide.” After answering a few basic questions, Ray was detained by authorities until nearly 2 AM that next morning. Regardless of the facts, it was reported in the press that Ray “fled the scene” and “refused to speak with authorities.”
When contacted about the lodge, Angel Valley Resort refused comment on the details of the contract. The site owner’s press release said James Ray was the sweat session facilitator in direction and control. Jack Judd, the county building safety manager, said that there was no record of a permit or an application for a permit to build the sweat lodge.
On October 15, 2009, the Yavapai County sheriff’s office upgraded the investigations into the deaths of James Shore and Kirby Brown to homicide probes, officials claimed the sweat lodge lacked the necessary building permit. James Ray arranged for his own private investigation into the deaths. He expressed sorrow and shed tears during a seminar in Los Angeles, although he did not explicitly apologize for the deaths.[32] Detectives executed a search warrant at James Ray International’s offices.[33] confiscating servers, computer equipment and documents worth multiple tens of thousands of dollars to the company.
On October 15, 2009, print media began reporting that Mr. Ray conducted a conference call with some victims, one of which recorded this call and provided it to the AP. During this call, one of attendees from the Spiritual Warrior retreat recounted that Angel Valley Ranch had brought in a self-described channeler post the accident stating she had communicated with the dead and said they “were having so much fun” out of their bodies that they didn’t want to return. While the statement was clearly not from Ray many media outlets attempted to attribute the supposed “channeling” to him.
On October 17, Ray’s spokesperson Howard Bragman said, responding to the investigation upgrade, “I think they are trying to tar my client. Somebody must be running for re-election in Yavapai County.”
On October 27, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar asked the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate the event to complement the local investigations. This did not occur.
On October 28, the family of victim Kirby Brown said that Ray was insincere. They said he assured them he was working with authorities and yet the sheriff hasn’t received an official statement from Ray. The family had previously announced their intentions to sue him.
On October 29, Ray postponed his event schedule and pledged to fully commit himself to the investigation for the victim’s and family’s benefit of an authoritative response for closure. Ray admitted he had been struggling to respond in the right way since the tragedy started. Ray’s attorney placed no responsibility for the lodge design, construction or maintenance on his client.
On October 30, a wrongful death lawsuit claiming negligence, negligent misrepresentation, fraud and other actions on the part of Ray and the site owners was filed for the family of Liz Neuman. A similar action was filed for Sidney Spencer who was seriously injured. The suits sought compensatory and punitive damages alleging that defendants failed to provide adequate prior warnings, to monitor the participants’ well being in the sweat lodge, and to provide medical treatment. On November 10 Dennis Mehravar, an injured attendee from Canada, joined the Spenser suit. Mehravar had been in a coma and his medical records indicated, “heat stroke not the cause” it further went on to say it appeared to be some type of “toxic poisoning.”
In November 2009 Ray closed James Ray International, his company of seventeen years. On November 4, Ray listed his Beverly Hills home on the market for $5,495,000. Ray paid $4 million in March, according to public records, for the 7,234-square-foot (672.1 m2) contemporary Mediterranean home.
Ray was arrested in connection with the deaths on February 3, 2010, and bond was set at $5 million. Ray’s attorney stated that he could not afford the $5 million. After spending nearly a month in solitary confinement, Ray was released on February 26, 2010, after bail was reduced to $250,000.
Ray settled all civil claims with families and participants in 2010 for an undisclosed amount. To date, Angel Valley Ranch has not settled.
On April 2, 2010 a suit filed in Maricopa County Superior Court claimed that Ray failed to refund money paid in advance for seminars which Ray cancelled following the sweat lodge deaths. The suit was later dropped and in early 2010 Ray provided an online replacement program for all who had paid in advance.
On July 14, 2010 the court date of August 31, 2010 was vacated due to another overlapping trial with Judge Warren Darrow. Legal sparring is continuing in advance of the current court date of February 16, 2011.
Click here for the full report from JamesRay.com
The Kevin Trudeau Show: 3-17-11
Today, Kevin explains why HCG drops absolutely do not work and why certain steps will guarantee success in network marketing. Plus, Dr. Theresa Dale stops by to reveal the homoeopathic ways to protect yourself from radiation exposure and how to get your hands on homeopathic vaccines!
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Dr. Theresa Dale
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Dr. Theresa Dale on The Kevin Trudeau Show 3/17/11
Control Over Your Food: Why Monsanto’s GM Seeds Are Undemocratic
March 16, 2011 by Andrew
Filed under Government
March 16th, 2011
The Christian Science Monitor
By: Christopher D. Cook
Question: Would you want a small handful of government officials controlling America’s entire food supply, all its seeds and harvests?
I suspect most would scream, “No way!”
Yet, while America seems allergic to public servants – with no profit motive in mind – controlling anything these days, a knee-jerk faith in the “free market” has led to overwhelming centralized control of nearly all our food stuffs, from farm to fork.
The Obama administration’s recent decision to radically expand genetically modified (GM) food – approving unrestricted production of agribusiness biotech company Monsanto’s “Roundup Ready” alfalfa and sugar beets – marks a profound deepening of this centralization of food production in the hands of just a few corporations, with little but the profit motive to guide them.
Even as United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials enable a tighter corporate grip on the food chain, there is compelling evidence of GM foods’ ecological and human health risks, suggesting we should at very least learn more before allowing their spread.
Numerous peer-reviewed studies suggest these crops – the result of reformulating plant and animal genes, with minimal oversight and no food labeling disclosures – increase allergens in the food supply. And according to the World Health Organization, “The movement of genes from GM plants into conventional crops…may have an indirect effect on food safety and food security. This risk is real, as was shown when traces of a maize type which was only approved for feed use appeared in maize products for human consumption in the United States of America.”
Corporate-controlled seeds are undemocratic
But these corporate-controlled seeds pose an even graver threat: Both the technology and economy of GM crops are intrinsically anti-democratic.
What’s wrong with having a few corporations control virtually every aspect of our sustenance? Far from abstract, the genetic and proprietary control of our diets by a handful of companies (Monsanto, DuPont, and Syngenta combined own an astounding 47 percent of the global seed market) directly robs consumers and farmers of the most basic right to choose what they will eat and grow.
The entire concept of creating and selling patented GM seeds is based on proprietary corporate control: The seeds are non-replenishing and must be purchased anew each season, eliminating the time-honored farmer tradition of saving and re-using seeds.
Anyone doubting Monsanto’s obsession with control can just ask just ask the thousands of farmers who have been sued and spied upon for alleged “seed piracy” – at least 2,391 farmers in 19 states through 2006, according to Monsanto website documents obtained by the Washington, DC-based Center for Food Safety (CFS). A report by CFS, using company records, found that “Monsanto has an annual budget of $10 million dollars and a staff of 75 devoted solely to investigating and prosecuting farmers.”
Or ask Monsanto. Under the headline, “Why Does Monsanto Sue Farmers Who Save Seeds?” on its website, the firm states: “When farmers purchase a patented seed variety, they sign an agreement that they will not save and replant seeds produced from the seed they buy from us. More than 275,000 farmers a year buy seed under these agreements in the United States.”
Click here for the full report from the Christian Science Monitor
Pierre Foods Recalls ‘PB Jamwiches’ Over Possible Listeria Contamination
March 16th, 2011
WalletPop.com
By: Linda Doell
Pierre Foods recalled 320 cases of its “pb jamwich” crustless peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwiches because of possible listeria monocytogenes contamination, said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
So far, no one has gotten sick from eating the ready-made sandwiches, which were sold at Giant Food stores in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.
Listeria can cause a potentially fatal infection in young children, the elderly or those with weakened immune systems. In pregnant women, it can cause miscarriages and stillbirths and expectant moms are 20 times more likely to get listeriosis than other healthy adults, said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Even normally healthy people can suffer from a high fever, severe headaches, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Each year, an estimated 1,600 people become seriously ill with listeriosis — with 260 dying.
Included in the recall is one lot of Pierre pb jamwiches in a 12-count red carton with a UPC code of 7599921368 and a “best if purchased by 03-11-2011,” the FDA said. The sandwiches were sold in the grocers’ freezer section. The recall was prompted after a product sample test detected listeria.
Consumers who have the sandwiches can return them to the store for a refund. Call the company at (800) 982-7091 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time.
Earlier this month Taylor Farms Pacific recalled broccoli that was used in pre-cooked meals and supermarket deli salads because of potential listeria contamination.
Click here for the full report from WalletPop.com
Nestle Recalls Lean Cuisine Spaghetti with Meatballs Meals, Might Contain Plastic
March 16th, 2011
WalletPop.com
By: Linda Doell
Nestle Prepared Foods Co. recalled 10,260 pounds of Lean Cuisine Simple Favorites, Spaghetti with Meatballs after consumers in three states complained about finding bits of hard plastic in the meals, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Inspection Service.
The USDA said that so far no one has been hurt from eating the entrees, although it received complaints from consumers in Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. The Lean Cuisine meals were sold at stores in states east of the Rocky Mountains. Nestle said that consumers complained about finding bits of hard, red plastic in the meatball portion of the meals.
Included in the recall are 9.5-ounce packages of Lean Cuisine Simple Favorites, Spaghetti with Meatballs with the establishment number P-7991 and the case code of 0298595519P. The meals have a best-by date of November 2011 printed on the side of the package.
Nestle asked consumers to check any packages they may have in their freezers. The meals have the UPC code 13800-10390. The company said consumers should not eat the meals, but call Nestle Consumer Services at (866) 606-8264 or email. Nestle said that it will provide replacement coupons and also may make arrangements to retrieve the recalled meal for examination.
Nestle apologized to consumers in a statement:
“Nestle is dedicated to food quality, and the health and safety of its consumers. For these reasons, the company initiated this recall. We apologize to our retail customers and consumers and sincerely regret any inconvenience created by this voluntary product recall.”
In 2010, Perdue recalled frozen chicken nuggets sold under Walmart’s Great Value brand because the packages contained blue plastic.
Click here for the full report from WalletPop.com
The Kevin Trudeau Show: 3-16-11
Today, Kevin goes over the basic steps to become successful in network marketing. Find out why everyone should consider starting their own network marketing business and get the secrets behind making money faster than you ever imagined!
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The Kevin Trudeau Show: 3-15-11
Today, Kevin explains how everything in your life, no matter how terrible at first, is always a blessing in disguise. Plus, find out how apple cider vinegar and kelp seaweed could help you from radiation exposure!
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