Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Nothing to see here...except a plain brown bag

Chicago Called Most Corrupt City In Nation

A former Chicago alderman turned political science professor/corruption fighter has found that Chicago is the most corrupt city in the country. He cites data from the U.S. Department of Justice to prove his case.

University of Illinois at Chicago professor Dick Simpson, who served as alderman of the 44th Ward in Lakeview from 1971 to 1979, estimates the cost of corruption at $500 million a year. Since the 1970s, four of Illinois’ seven governors have been convicted (Otto Kerner, Dan Walker, George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich). In addition, dozens of Chicago alderman and other city and county public officials have been found guilty.

Corruption, Simpson said, is intertwined with city politics. Simpson found that about a third of sitting alderman since 1973 have been corrupt. “We have had machine politics since the Great Chicago Fire of 1871,” he said. “Machine politics breeds corruption inevitably.” Simpson is set to present his full report Wednesday morning, and testify before the new Chicago Ethics Task Force at City Hall Wednesday night.

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/02/14/chicago-called-most-corrupt-city-in-nation/

And who can forget Operation Greylord?

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2004/march/greylord_031504

A very sad state of affairs.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Be Safe. Only enjoy your coffee with Z&H

Today...

(Reuters) - More than 1.7 million single cup coffee brewers made by Tassimo and another 4 million Tassimo espresso coffee pads were recalled on Thursday after reports that dozens of consumers were sprayed with hot liquid and some were severely burned, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said.

Among the more than 160 consumers injured was a 10-year-old girl from Minnesota who was hospitalized with second-degree burns on her face and neck and a 2-year-old girl from Canada with second-degree facial burns.

"The plastic disc, or T Disc, that holds the coffee or tea can burst and spray hot liquid and coffee grounds or tea leaves onto consumers using the brewer and onto bystanders, posing a burn hazard,".

The bursting appliances resulted in 140 reports of consumers sprayed with hot liquid, coffee grounds or tea leaves. Of those, 37 reported suffering second-degree burns, including the 10-year-old girl, the website said.

The agency advised consumers to immediately stop using the affected models and to contact the company to order a free replacement T Disc holder for the brewing mechanism.

The second recall was issued by Kraft Foods Global Inc., of Northfield, Illinois, maker of the Tassimo espresso T Discs, which are pre-packaged ground beans in their own filter. Kraft recalled about 2.1 million packages in the U.S. and another 1.9 million in Canada, saying they can get clogged and spray hot liquid and coffee grounds, posing a burn hazard.

Consumers were advised to stop using the discs immediately and to contact the firm for a refund.