5584519
submission
NewsWatcher writes:
The BBC has an interesting story about the link between sightings of UFO and sci-fi films.
From the article: "Documents from the Ministry of Defence released by the National Archives show the department recorded 117 sightings in 1995 and 609 in 1996."
Those years correlate with the screening of the film Independence Day (1996) and when The X-Files was at the height of its popularity in the UK (1995).
"The more that alien life is covered in films or television documentaries, the more people look up at the sky and don't look down at their feet," said an expert on UFO sightings based at Sheffield Hallam University.
5584437
submission
suraj.sun writes:
Verizon Sued After Tech Punches Customer In The Face
According to a lawsuit filed by a Verizon customer in Queens, NY — the tech the company sent out wasn't quite as affable as the ones in the commercials. Instead of fixing the customer's problem — the tech allegedly punched him in the face.
The New York Post says the tech attacked the customer after he asked to see some ID before allowing access to the apartment.
"You want to know my name? Here's my name," Benjamin snarled, slapping his ID card into Isakson's face, according to Isakson's account of the December 2008 confrontation.
"The guy essentially snapped. He cold-cocked me, hit me two or three solid shots to the head while my hands were down," said Isakson, a limo driver.
He said the pounding bloodied his face and broke his glasses.
But things got uglier, Isakson said, when Benjamin squeezed him around the neck and pressed him up against the wall.
"He's prepared to kill me," Isakson said. "That's all I could think of."
The customer broke free and ran away. The Verizon tech then chased the customer until he was subdued by a neighbor who was an off-duty cop.
The DA apparently agreed to dismiss the case and Verizon didn't fire the guy because, "In the months since this incident, his conduct has been blameless. As a result, we will not take further action."
Consumerist : http://consumerist.com/5339237/verizon-sued-after-tech-punches-customer-in-the-face
5584307
submission
ewlslash writes:
Scientists in Israel have demonstrated that it is possible to fabricate DNA evidence, undermining the credibility of what has been considered the gold standard of proof in criminal cases.
The scientists fabricated blood and saliva samples containing DNA from a person other than the donor of the blood and saliva. They also showed that if they had access to a DNA profile in a database, they could construct a sample of DNA to match that profile without obtaining any tissue from that person.
"You can just engineer a crime scene," said Dan Frumkin, lead author of the paper, which has been published online by the journal Forensic Science International: Genetics. "Any biology undergraduate could perform this."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/18/science/18dna.html
