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Friday, August 27, 2004

Tasteless Candy

CNEWS - Weird News: Miami company pulling candy bags with toy depicting 9-11 attack

MIAMI (AP) - Small toys showing an airplane flying into the World Trade Center were packed inside more than 14,000 bags of candy and sent to small groceries around the United States before being recalled.

Lisy Corp., the wholesaler that distributed the candy, said Friday the toys were purchased in bulk from a Miami-based import company. The toys came in an assortment purchased sight unseen from L&M Import in Miami and included the toys depicting the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the twin towers, whistles and other small toys, said Luis Pedron, Lisy's national sales manager. The invoice said the toy was a plastic swing set.

"I hate to blame the importer," Pedron said. "He probably did not know what he was getting. He brings them in 40-foot (12-metre) containers. But whoever made it knew exactly what they were making."

Pedron said Lisy did not notice the small plastic figurines until two people complained, but there is no mistaking what the toys represent: At the bottom of each is the product number 9011.

"When we found out what happened, we recalled them immediately," said Pedron, who said the toys do not reflect the company's view. "I was offended by them."

The company's 100 distributors sent out the candy bags. Most are sold to small Hispanic and Mexican groceries, Pedron said. He estimated about 90 per cent of the bags had been retrieved.

Anna Rodriguez, who bought a bag of the candy for her grandson, said she was stunned when she saw the toy.

"It makes me angry," she told television station WFTV. "I was offended because I couldn't believe that someone would give something like that to a kid."

Pedron said he is saving the toys to return to the distributor.

A woman who answered the telephone at L&M and refused to give her name said Friday she did not know anything about the toy.

CNEWS - Weird News: Miami company pulling candy bags with toy depicting 9-11 attack

Wednesday, August 25, 2004

Russian Computer Expert Predicts Internet Terrorist Attack

MOSNEWS.com the Moscow news site posted this interesting story today:


Russian Computer Expert Predicts Internet Terrorist Attack - NEWS - MOSNEWS.COM


Terrorists will paralyze the Internet on August 26, a Russian expert in antivirus programs said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a conference hosted by Russian Information Agency Novosti, Aleksandr Gostev from Kaspersky Labs said information on this terrorist attack was published on special websites. He did not elaborate.

First of all, the United States and Western Europe will suffer from the attack, Gostev was quoted by the agency as saying. The head of the labs, Yevgeny Kaspersky, reminded the audience that similar attacks had earlier paralyzed the Internet in South Korea. He added that it would be “impossible” to stop terrorist organizations if they “get down to business”.

The executive director of Dr.Web antivirus lab, Mikhail Bychinsky, quoted by Lenta.ru web agency said he had not heard of such an attack. “I do not believe in mass internet attacks because the main servers are defended, and Kaspersky Labs has been foretelling doomsday for a long time.”


Russian Computer Expert Predicts Internet Terrorist Attack - NEWS - MOSNEWS.COM

Monday, August 23, 2004

Tornado in Los Angeles

WEATHER SERVICE 'WARNING' CATCHES LOS ANGELES BY STORM; REPORT STATED DANGEROUS TORNADO HEADED DOWNTOWN
Sun Aug 22 2004 16:40:44 ET

The skies in the Los Angeles basin were fair Saturday morning when computers connected to the National Weather service in Oxnard began screaming.

"AT 825 AM PDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A LARGE AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TORNADO 7 MILES SOUTH OF GLENDALE...OR ABOUT NEAR DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH."

An official bulletin issued at 8:39 AM PDT warned residents that a Tornado Warning was in effect until 9:15.

"IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS."

There was hardly a cloud in the sky, but the alert stated in horrifying detail: "THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR PASADENA BY 8:50."

The warning remained on the state's EMERGENCY DIGITAL INFORMATION SERVICE database for 4 minutes, without further comment.

Until:

EDIS-08-21-04 0858 PDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES/OXNARD CA

"PLEASE DISREGARD THE PREVIOUS TORNADO WARNING. NO TORNADO EXISTS."

It's not clear if weather service employees believed they were actually living through a shock scene from this summer's fuss film DAY AFTER TOMORROW, or if the event was simply a computer glitch gone horribly wrong.

But one weather service staffer reached at the Oxnard office hours after the commotion joked how someone there will surely be hiding in a ditch for the misfire.


DRUDGE REPORT FLASH 2004

Friday, August 20, 2004

Garrett's Basketcase...

Check out the artistry of Garrett Barker at G A R R E T T B A R K E R . C O M

Tuesday, August 17, 2004

Welcome to the all new Spillers.cc