Chick Fil-A Claims Henson Toy Recall Unrelated To Same-Sex Marriage Controversy

Chick Fil-A Claims Henson Toy Recall Unrelated To Same-Sex Marriage Controversy:
As you have probably already heard, the Jim Henson Company announced last Friday that it was severing ties with restaurant chain Chick fil-A because its leadership has recently affirmed its stance against same-sex marriage. Now there is murmuring on the Internet that Chick fil-A pulled its existing inventory of Henson toys from stores, claiming an unrelated safety recall.
A photo taken at a Chick fil-A in a Texas mall has become huge on Reddit in recent hours. For those who can't make out the above image, it reads, in part:

We apologize for any inconvenience but as of 7/19/2012 Chick-fil-A has voluntarily recalled all of the Jim Henson Creature Shop Puppet Kids Meal toys due to a possible safety issue. Please be advised that there have not been any cases in which a child has actually been injured, however there have been some reports of children getting their fingers stuck inthe holes of the puppets.

Unsure of whether or not this was legitimate, I contacted Chick fil-A HQ, which confirmed that it did issue a voluntary recall of the toys and that "the two issues are unrelated... the voluntary withdrawal happened before the Jim Henson announcement."
However, things get a bit murkier when I attempted to confirm with the Jim Henson Company, where a rep first said there was no further comment beyond the initial Facebook post, and then later simply told me to "check with Chick fil-A," which I already had.
I checked with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is usually the one issuing the statements regarding recalled toys. A rep at the CPSC told me that the agency has no record of any recall related to these toys. I've asked Chick fil-A for comment on why it chose not to involve the CPSC in the recall and will add any statement the company provides on the topic.
UPDATE: In spite of the language on the above sign, a rep for Chick fil-A says "This is not a recall – it is a voluntary withdrawal."

ATM skimmers that fit in the card-slot

ATM skimmers that fit in the card-slot:


Police in an unidentified European nation have retrieved wafer-thin ATM skimmers that are so small that they can be fitted inside the credit-card insertion slot. Brian Krebs describes the finding:

That’s according to two recent reports from the European ATM Security Team (EAST), an organization that collects ATM fraud reports from countries in the region. In both reports, EAST said one country (it isn’t naming which) alerted them about a new form of skimming device that is thin enough to be inserted directly into the card reader slot. These devices record the data stored on the magnetic stripe on the back of the card as it is slid into a compromised ATM.

Another EAST report released this week indicates that these insert skimmers are continuing to evolve. Below are two more such devices. Insert skimmers require some secondary component to record customers entering their PINs, such as a PIN pad overlay or hidden camera.

ATM Skimmers Get Wafer Thin

ACLU’s “Police Tape” App for Android Lets You Discreetly Record and Backup Police Interactions

ACLU’s “Police Tape” App for Android Lets You Discreetly Record and Backup Police Interactions:



I don’t know about you, but whenever I get pulled over by the 5-0, the first thing I do is reach for my cell phone, and open up my voice recording app. That, or I have my passenger record everything on video using their cellphone. Call me paranoid, or just plain overly cautious — I like to keep my bases covered should I end up on the hood of a cop car with a tazer up my you-know-what.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered a brand new app by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey called “Police Tape” that was just uploaded to the Play Store. Using the app, an Android user can easily — and most importantly, discreetly — record police interactions using either video or audio recording. Once an option has been selected, the app will seemingly close, but actually remain open in the background, recording the entire, hopefully, peaceful interaction. Should things head south and you find your phone confiscated by the police, you wont have to worry about a crooked cop deleting the evidence. The app can back up the video, uploading it to the ACLU’s servers where it can be further analyzed for civil liberty violations at the user’s discretion.
What’s more is the app provides all kinds of useful legal information on your citizen’s rights when interacting with the police. I can’t tell you how many episodes of Cops I’ve seen where someone voluntarily agreed to a search of their car — without probable cause — only to then end up in the slammer. Now, I have much respect for our men in blue. Really, it’s a tough job, no denying that. But to say there aren’t a few overzealous cops with chips on their shoulders would be naive. Now you can protect yourself — with the power of Android.
[Google Play Store]