Archive for January, 2009
14-year-old Gets The Best Of Chicago CopsPicture this. A 14-year-old boy walks into a police station in Chicago wearing a cop get up. He not only was not found out to be what he really was, he also managed to get an assignment – to patrol in a squad car for a whole 5 hours! It was not till the end of this period that he was found out to be a boy and not a cop.
So how was his real identity discovered? At the end of his “shift,” some officers noticed that the boy’s uniform lacked a star. Apparently, this star comes with the regulation police uniform. One thing led to another and the disguise was uncovered.
What happens to the boy now? He has been charged with impersonating a police officer – something that is as grave as grave can be, we all know that. However, since he is only 14 years old, he was charged as a juvenile and his name has not been released as well.
What do police officers have to say about the whole thing? First, that they are conducting an investigation as it is a serious security breach (Heck, yeah! A 14-year-old being able to pose as a police officer, you think?). Second, that the boy did it because he has aspirations of being a police officer and not because of malicious intent (I wonder, will he still have the chance of becoming a real one?).
At the end of the day, the responsibility falls back in the cops’ court – they have to make sure that they have proper authentication procedures in place.
First there was the tomato scare, then there was the milk scare, now it’s the peanut butter scare. It seems that even when it comes to food, safety is not something we should take for granted anymore. The recent salmonella contamination of US-made peanut butter has sent people running around, trying to get rid of food products possibly made with contaminated peanut butter.
You’d think it would be easy but no, it is far from that. This recent issue has made one thing clear – food production is not as simple as some of us might have thought it was. The Food and Drug Administration has already pinpointed about 130 food products that have been recalled but you should continue to check that list as they say that more will be added as the investigation continues.
Before consuming any food product, you must take great care to examine the label and make sure that it is safe. Ironically, peanut butter in jars – which we normally buy at the supermarket – is deemed safe.
The most prominent brand of commercial peanut butter which has been linked to the salmonella outbreak is King Nut, which comes in packages anywhere from 5 pounds to 1,700 pounds – unlikely to be consumed by households but generally used in commercial production. Products which you should watch out for include peanut butter cups, ice cream, cereals, cookies, sandwiches, and the like. Fans of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Nutter Butter cookies have nothing to worry about, though, as Hershey’s and Kraft do not use King Nut peanut butter.
I want in! And so does the rest of the gazillions of people inhabiting this tiny planet of ours. Last week, an ad was placed online, encouraging people to apply for what is touted as the best job in the world. The job description?
Whoever “wins” the post gets to be the caretaker of a little island paradise in Australia. This is what is written in the job description as published in the official web site:
The role of Island Caretaker is a six-month contract, based on luxurious Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier Reef. It’s a live-in position with flexible working hours and key responsibilities include exploring the islands of the Great Barrier Reef to discover what the area has to offer.
You’ll be required to report back on your adventures to Tourism Queensland headquarters in Brisbane (and the rest of the world) via weekly blogs, photo diary, video updates and ongoing media interviews.
But that is not all! There are other tasks which the caretaker might be asked to do, including (but not limited to) the following:
Feed the fish - There are over 1,500 species of fish living in the Great Barrier Reef. Don’t worry – you won’t need to feed them all.
Clean the pool – The pool has an automatic filter, but if you happen to see a stray leaf floating on the surface it’s a great excuse to dive in and enjoy a few laps.
Collect the mail – During your explorations, why not join the aerial postal service for a day? It’s a great opportunity to get a bird’s eye view of the reef and islands.
Now tell me if anyone can ever resist that job? Apparently, everyone and his mom visited the site after hearing about the job opportunity, making the web site crash.
I don’t know about you but I have always dreamed of working for any one of the government’s intelligence or law agencies; say the FBI or CIA. This year, it seems that the FBI is going to make some people’s dreams come true. According to Reuters, the FBI is launching a mass hiring campaign for agents. The report states:
The FBI said on Monday it had launched one of the largest hiring blitzes in its 100-year history involving 2,100 professional staff vacancies and 850 special agents aimed at filling its most critical vacancies.
The agency, which seeks to protect the United States from terrorist attack, fight crime and catch spies, among other duties, said it currently has more than 12,800 agents and about 18,400 other employees.
Over 2,000 job openings in the FBI – can you imagine that? This is the premier government agency dealing with all sorts of issues and to be part of the FBI is an honor in itself. If you’re wondering why they are conducting a hiring campaign on such a huge scale, the answer lies in many things, one of them the September 11 attack. Though it has long been over, the FBI has since then received a lot of criticism for not having enough people to handle the needs that they face. These include agents and staff who are multilingual and experts in computer science. As such, the agency is seeking to add fresh blood to its ranks.
If you’ve got the skills – and you pass the security check – then this just might be the perfect time to consider a career move.
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