Grandma’s Fried Fruit Pies
These little pies are so good. The last time I made them, the people who said “I’ll just have one,” had at least two.
This pastry recipe will make twelve 5- to 6-inch pies.
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 cup Crisco or other good vegetable shortening
* 1 egg, lightly beaten
* 1/4 cup cold water
* 1 teaspoon white vinegar
Mix together the flour and salt. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender, fork, your hands, or whatever method works best for you, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir together the beaten egg with the water and sprinkle over flour mixture. Sprinkle in the vinegar, mixing lightly, until ingredients are well combined. Form the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
The Filling
Although the basic recipe is listed, please note that for each cup of dried fruit, you need at least a half-cup and probably more of water, and 2 tablespoons of sugar. If you make a dozen pies, you may want to mix up the flavors. Using the proportions in this recipe, for example, I made six Apricot and six Apple/Cherry by using approximately 1-1/2 cups of dried apricots and 1 cup of apples and 1/3 cup of dried cherries. Of course, I cooked the apricots separate from the apples and cherries.
* 3 cups dried fruit (apricots, peaches, apples)
* 1-1/2 cups water
* 6 tablespoons sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
On very low heat, simmer the dried fruit in the water for 30 to 45 minutes, or until very tender. Add water if necessary to prevent scorching. Allow to cool; mash fruit slightly. Stir in the sugar and spices. This step may be done in advance and refrigerated; however, warm up the fruit (microwave is fine) enough to take the chill off and make it workable before filling your pies.
Putting It All Together
Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and cut it into four equal pieces. You can then cut each of the four pieces into three equal pieces, leaving you with 12 golf-ball-size dough balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a 5- to 6-inch circle. Your circles do not have to be perfect, and ragged edges are okay.
Put 2 generous tablespoons of filling onto one side of the circle of dough. Seal the pie by wetting the inside edge of the dough with water (use your finger), and then fold over the dough, making the familiar half-moon-shaped pie. Make sure the edges of the dough are even, and press and crimp to insure a good seal. You can use a fork to give you a bit of a decorative edge if you like. You can also correct the more ragged edges during this step because the dough is pliable. Just make sure the filling is sealed in and any holes in the dough are crimped.
Frying
I use two methods and both are good. To deep-fry, heat the oil in a deep pan with steep sides or a deep-fryer. Carefully lower the pies into the oil, one at a time, and fry until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. You don’t have to worry about cooking the filling since it’s already cooked. The frying process merely cooks the dough.
The second method is panfrying. Fry the pies in about a half inch of oil in an electric frying pan set to 375° F. Panfrying takes a little longer and the pies have to be turned, but the end result will be every bit as good. Sprinkle the hot fried pies with confectioners’ sugar or cinnamon sugar.
Note: Whatever the frying method, be sure your oil is very fresh. You don’t want your pies to take on the flavor of last week’s onion rings.
http://www.texascooking.com/recipes//friedpies.htm
© 2009 Texas Cooking Online, Inc
http://www.resourceshelf.com/2009/03/02/resource-of-the-week-the-financial-crisis-timeline/
[Many hidden links]
The Financial Crisis Timeline
Resource of the Week: The Financial Crisis Timeline
By Shirl Kennedy, Senior Editor
As is painfully obvious by now, the current financial crisis is complex and multifaceted, affecting virtually every sector of the economy. The Financial Crisis Timeline, from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, is a valiant attempt to help us make sense of it all.
Says James Bullock, chairman of the St. Louis Fed:
The Federal Reserve and other agencies have taken many steps to contain the ongoing financial crisis and limit its impact on the broader economy. It is critically important that we clearly communicate our actions to better ensure their success. This web site was created to provide the public with useful information about major financial events and policy actions, both over the past months and going forward.
A quick look at the site is enough to tell you there is much more here than a timeline. You’ll find relevant articles and papers; an FAQ that tackles such issues as causes of the current crisis and how it compares to the Great Depression; a large collection of data, including financial data, national and international economic trends, and yields on various treasury securities; links to other government agencies offering relevant information and reports; and a glossary of financial terms.
Other links and resources you can find here:
* The FDIC Failed Banks List
* A Foreclosure Resource Center
* Dynamic Maps of Nonprime Mortgage Conditions in the United States
* SEC Actions During Turmoil in Credit Markets
* International Monetary Fund: The Financial Crisis
* OECD: Tackling the financial and economic crisis
* World Bank: Financial Crisis
Oh, by the way…the timeline itself is in the center of the home page. There’s a link to download it in PDF (153 KB). The earliest entry is:
February 27, 2007 | Freddie Mac Press Release
The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) announces that it will no longer buy the most risky subprime mortgages and mortgage-related securities.
But since this timeline is continually updated, you may want to opt for the RSS feed.
Americans’ Online Search Behavior Points to Significant Increase in Personal Financial Turmoil
From the News Release:
Searches for several terms related to the economic downturn showed dramatic gains during the past year. Among the most notable increases were searches relating to the deteriorating job market, including searches using the term “unemployment” (up 206 percent to 8.2 million searches) and “unemployment benefits” (up 247 percent to 748,000 searches). Meanwhile, terms relating to personal asset situations, including “mortgage” (up 72 percent to 7.8 million searches), “bankruptcy” (up 156 percent to 2.6 million searches), and “foreclosure” (up 67 percent to 1.4 million searches) also grew strongly. And Americans, resilient as they are, are seeking ways to save money, as evidenced by the increase in the number of searches for “coupons” (up 161 percent to 19.9 million) and “discount” (up 26 percent to 7.9 million).
Source: comScore
Update: More Than 112,000 Newspaper Pages Added to Chronicling America
From the Announcement:
On Feb. 26, the National Digital Newspaper Program added more than 112,000 additional historic newspaper pages to the Chronicling America Web site, hosted by the Library of Congress. The site now provides free and open access to 977,440 pages from 112 titles, that were published between 1880 and 1910 in 9 states (CA, FL, KY, MN, NE, NY, TX, UT, VA) and the District of Columbia. Six additional states–Arizona, Hawaii, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington–will be contributing content later in 2009. Chronicling America is a project of the National Digital Newspaper Program, a partnership between the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.
Direct to Chronicling America Database and Web Site
Source: Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/chroniclingamerica/
snipped.
Welcome to Chronicling America, enhancing access to America’s historic newspapers. This site allows you to search and view newspaper pages from 1880-1910 and find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).
http://www.rand.org/news/press/2009/03/03/index.html
Snipped.
Because of its image as a victimless crime and the fact that those who buy are complicit in the crime, information about counterfeiting is sparse and information about the involvement of organized crime sparser still, Treverton said. Because most instances of counterfeiting go unaddressed, there is reason to believe that the more formal data, like arrests and convictions, understate the extent of counterfeiting.
The RAND report outlines three cases where film piracy has helped support terrorist groups:
* Historically the best documented case involves the Irish Republican Army that used many criminal activities, including film piracy, to support its efforts to drive the British from Northern Ireland. A political agreement in 1998 ended its violent acts, but at least parts of the IRA continue to operate as a criminal enterprise that remains involved in counterfeiting activities.
* The D-Company is an organized crime group active for generations in India. Since the 1980s, it has been the major syndicate involved with film piracy in India. The group was transformed into a terrorist organization when it carried out the “Black Friday” bombings in Mumbai in 1993 that killed more than 257 people and injured hundreds more. It continues to advance a political agenda with its actions funded at least partly by the proceeds of crime.
* Another case involves the tri-border area of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay that has emerged as the most important financing center for Islamic terrorism outside of the Middle East, channeling $20 million annually to Hezbollah. At least one transfer of $3.5 million was made to Hezbollah by known DVD pirate Assad Ahmad Barakat, who received a thank-you note from the Hezbollah leader. Barakat was labeled a “specially designated global terrorist” by the U.S. government in 2004.
Researchers say that the losses from film piracy have grown as the expansion of digital technology makes it easier to create high-quality counterfeit copies of movies.
Film piracy can be even more profitable than drug trafficking or other enterprises commonly linked to organized crime. In one example cited in the report, a pirated DVD made in Malaysia for 70 cents was marked up more than 1,000 percent and sold on the street in London for about $9. The profit margin was more than three times higher than the markup for Iranian heroin and higher than the profit for Columbian cocaine, according to the report.
continued.
[I am not sure I understand this one, but it does look interesting...granny]
http://web.vivavip.com/forum/LiveWire/read.php?i=16603
Author: Penny Crossland
Date: Friday, 27th Feb 2009 20:42
Views: 353 (excluding Digests and RSS feeds)
Category: Product Comment
URL: http://www.vivavip.com/go/e16603
Internet product blog TechCrunch (http://digbig.com/4yhwg) alerted us today to an interesting facility made available by Wikipedia. A partnership between the Wikimedia Foundation (http://wikimediafoundation.org) and Pediapress (http://www.pediapress.com) a German open source software development company has enabled German-speaking Wikipedia users to create customized books from wiki content since 2007.
Last week, (http://digbig.com/4yhwh ) the wiki-to-print feature was made available in six additional languages: French, Polish, Dutch, Portuguese and simple English (for children and adults learning English). Yesterday, the regular English Wikipedia site added the book printing functionality for logged-on users. (a temporary measure)
Customised books can be put together with table of contents or category lists and are free if downloaded as PDF files, but a charge is made by Pediapress for printing downloaded material in book format. Costs depend on number of pages and where customers are based – shipping costs are extra.
The Wikipedia Special Book page, which allows you to create and manage wiki pages, is available at this site: http://digbig.com/4yhwj . The Wikimedia Foundation has hailed the wiki-to print feature as’ of strategic importance to the cause of free education worldwide’, while PediaPress emphasizes the feature’s value in supplying specialized reference books, affordable textbooks and content in unpopular languages.
This is all very laudable, but Wikipedia’s critics have always pointed to the unreliability of the data. Free education is not worth much, if data is inaccurate. Also, the very nature of Wikipedia, i.e. allowing anybody to edit and update content, makes the printing of wiki pages questionable. Is it cost effective to print a wiki book, if somebody updates the content the next day?
Erik Moeller of the Wikimedia Foundation thinks the wiki-to print feature will affect how people write on Wikipedia, will improve content and encourage new writers to participate. To view a sample wiki book, look at this one on Amphibian aircraft: http://pediapress.com/resources/images/samplebook/samplebook.pdf
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/4943955/Alert-over-kebab-shop-food-poisoning-bugs.html
Alert over kebab-shop food poisoning bugs
One in 20 salads and sauces in kebab shops contained food poisoning bacteria when sampled by the Health Protection Agency it has been announced.
by Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor
Last Updated: 3:27PM GMT 05 Mar 2009
Doner Kebab: One in 20 salads and sauces in kebab shops contained food poisoning bacteria when sampled by the Health Protection Agency it has been announced.
One in 20 salads and sauces in kebab shops contained food poisoning bacteria when sampled by the Health Protection Agency it has been announced. Photo: ANTHONY BLAKE
Spot checks by inspectors found food contained E.coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella. Unsatisfactory and unacceptable levels were found in five per cent of samples and were unfit for human consumption.
A total of 1213 salad and 1208 sauce samples were collected from 1277 randomly selected kebab shops across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
continued.
Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez tightens state control of food amid rocketing inflation and food shortages
President Hugo Chavez is tightening state control over Venezuela’s food supply, setting quotas for food staples which are to be sold at government-imposed prices.
Hugo Chavez seizes control of US-owned rice mill
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has seized control of a rice mill owned by the US food giant Cargill as he tightens state control over the food supply and continues his policy of nationalisation.
snipped....
As Venezuelans suffer food shortages, Mr Chavez has threatened to take over companies that do not comply with new price controls and production quotas for basic food staples.
“Prepare the decree, we are going to expropriate Cargill. We are not going to tolerate this,” Mr Chavez during a televised address. “I warn you this revolution means business.”
Cargill is not the only company in the sights of the government. Polar, Venezuela’s largest food company, has also been targeted, but decided to fight the government’s action, taking the case to court.
Production quotas and prices have now been set for cooking oil, white rice, sugar, coffee, flour, margarine, pasta, cheeses and tomato sauce. White rice is the staple for many Venezuelans, and thanks to government pricing must now be sold for 2.15 Bolívares (71p) a kilo.
continued
PSYCHOSIS - NICARAGUA: (ATLANTICO NORTE)
****************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Wed 4 Mar 2009
Source: Tico Times, Nica Times report [edited]
http://www.ticotimes.net/dailyarchive/2009_03/030409.htm#story1
Outbreak of mysterious ‘grisi siknis’ illness grips indigenous towns
in Nicaragua
Centuriano Knight, the regional health coordinator for the RAAN told
The Nica Times yesterday [3 Mar 2009] in a phone interview that 34
people have reportedly fallen ill with grisi siknis in the river
community of Santa Fe, 7 people in the nearby community of Esperanza,
and 2 in the neighboring community of San Carlos. The outbreak of
grisi siknis, which has no scientific explanation, is the largest
case of collective hysteria since a massive outbreak in the RAAN
community of Raiti in 2003.
Though doctors, anthropologists, and sociologists have all studied
previous cases, no one has been able to explain the phenomenon, Knight
said. Traditional healers and witches have different theories ranging
from a curse to incomplete witchcraft.
The strange illness apparently affects young people more than old,
putting them in a trance and giving them super-human strength,
according to Knight and other witnesses. “A 15-year-old girl with
siknis can overpower 6 or 7 men,” Knight said. “The men can’t detain
her, and have to tie her up in bed sheets.”
Knight said the illness doesn’t necessarily make people violent, but
it does make them hysterical. Many of the affected will take off
running madly, and other villagers can’t stop them, he said.
Sometimes, however, grisi siknis can turn violent. In the case of
Raiti in 2003, some of the affected people ran around town with
machetes trying to cut others.
Knight said the mysterious illness has existed in the indigenous
communities since the 1960s, but had disappeared for years until the
2003 outbreak. The illness apparently only affects indigenous Miskito
and Mayagna populations [Amerindians].
In 2004, the illness was cured by a local healer who treated it with
herbs and other natural medicines. The 3 local healers sent to the
communities Tuesday [3 Mar 2009] will employ the same techniques,
Knight said.
[Byline: Tim Rogers]
—
Communicated by
Robin Lake
lake@apk.net
[Extensive background on this condition is given in ProMED archive
(02) below. The 2005 outbreak was in response to the stress of
famine. It would be interesting to know if there is famine there
again, or any other stressful condition.
Photo of Miskito tribespeople:
http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/refugee/images/miskito.jpg
Location map of Nicaragua:
http://www.mapsofworld.com/nicaragua/maps/nicaragua-location-map.jpg
Map of Nicaragua:
http://healthmap.org/promed/en?v=12.8,-85,6
Map showing Rio Coco:
http://mapmaker.rutgers.edu/355/MapDesign/MiskitoCoast.jpg
- Mod.JW]
[see also:
2005
http://www.ic3.gov/media/2009/090305.aspx
Intelligence Note
Prepared by the Internet Crime
Complaint Center (IC3)
March 5, 2009
Fake Military Twist On Vehicle Sale Scams
The FBI
continues to receive reports of individuals victimized while attempting to purchase
vehicles via the Internet. Victims find attractively priced vehicles advertised
at different Internet classified ad sites. Most of the scams include
some type of third-party vehicle protection program to ensure a safe transaction.
After receiving convincing e-mails from the phony vehicle protection program, the
victims are directed to send either the full payment, or a percentage of the payment,
to the third-party agent via a wire payment service. No vehicles are delivered to
the victims.
In a new twist, scammers are posing as members of the United States military. The
fictitious military personnel in the scam have either been sent to a foreign country
to improve military relations, or they need to sell a vehicle quickly and cheaply
because of their upcoming deployment to either Iraq or Afghanistan.
Consumers are advised to do as much due diligence as possible before engaging in
transactions to purchase vehicles advertised online. Consumers are also cautioned
to be aware of the rules of or warnings posted by the Internet sites they visit.
If someone is asking a consumer to break or avoid the rules of the Web site, it
is possible that person is trying to scam you.
If you have fallen victim to this type of scam, please notify the IC3 by filing
a complaint at www.IC3.gov.
US-CERT Current Activity
Mozilla Foundation Releases Firefox 3.0.7
Original release date: March 5, 2009 at 8:44 am
Last revised: March 5, 2009 at 8:44 am
Mozilla Foundation has released Firefox 3.0.7 to address multiple
vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities may allow an attacker to
execute arbitrary code, cause a denial-of-service condition, obtain
sensitive information, or spoof the location bar. The Mozilla
Foundation Security Advisories also indicate that these
vulnerabilities affect Thunderbird and SeaMonkey.
US-CERT encourages users to review the following Mozilla Foundation
Security Advisories and update to Firefox 3.0.7 to help mitigate the
risks.
* Mozilla Foundation Security Advisory 2009-07
* Mozilla Foundation Security Advisory 2009-08
* Mozilla Foundation Security Advisory 2009-09
* Mozilla Foundation Security Advisory 2009-10
* Mozilla Foundation Security Advisory 2009-11
Relevant Url(s):
http://www.mozilla.org/security/announce/2009/mfsa2009-10.html
http://www.mozilla.org/security/announce/2009/mfsa2009-07.html
http://www.mozilla.org/security/announce/2009/mfsa2009-11.html
http://www.mozilla.org/security/announce/2009/mfsa2009-09.html
http://www.mozilla.org/security/announce/2009/mfsa2009-08.html
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/
http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/post?id=2181392%2C3752
Needy Students Flooding College Food Banks
Campus Food Banks Say Spike In Need Has Been ‘Exponential’
Christin Ayers, 7NEWS Reporter
POSTED: 8:03 pm MST March 4, 2009
UPDATED: 10:58 am MST March 5, 2009
snipped.
Metro State College opened its food bank last September.
“We went from an average of about eight people a week up to about 12 people a week, and now we’re somewhere around 30 a week,” said food bank coordinator Brittany Pyle.
continue
[Be aware of current plans for spreading terror...granny]
snippet...
Meanwhile, a member of the same forum using the alias ‘Song of Terror’ posted an entire library of bomb-making books including ‘Professional Homemade Cherry Bombs,’ ‘The Manual of Explosives, Military Pyrotechnics and Chemical Warfare Agents,’ as well as ‘Death by Deception,’ which is a book with schematics and descriptions for booby-trapped talking teddy bears and toilet paper.
Algerian Chemist Found Guilty of Fecal Jihad
March 4, 2009
by Kal El
That is not a typo, FECAL jihad. This piece of trash actually used his own bodily waste to contaminate food in multiple locations. The religion of peace, and feces?
Spray-gun nut unleashed mess
A CRAZED chemist was found guilty today of contaminating supermarket food and wine by spraying his URINE and FAECES at them.
Sahnoun Daifallah also sprayed the slurry over children’s books and in a pub as part of a twisted terror campaign.
He concealed a 1.5 litre weed killer container in a lap top computer bag modified to allow the nozzle to poke out.
And then the nut unleashed the potent mixture at Tesco, Morrisons, Waterstones bookstore and a pub in Gloucs.
Algerian national Daifallah, 42, was found guilty of four counts of contaminating goods on May 14 and 16 last year.
A jury at Bristol Crown Court agreed Daifallah had fantasies about biological weapons and wanting to cause public alarm.
He was also found guilty of having an offensive weapon, namely a catapult with marbles.
Daifallah first visited the Air Balloon pub near Cheltenham cops were called after he asked a barmaid how much it would cost to rape her.
Calling card
When officers arrived, Daifallah had scarpered - but he had left a trail of stench which prosecutor Stephen Dent said was his calling card.
He then moved on to Waterstones bookstore in Cirencester where he sprayed the brown substance all over a toilet in the coffee shop.
Staff noticed the smell but it was not until after he had left the store that they discovered 38 shelves, from the classics to the children’s section, had been doused.
In total, 706 books were contaminated.
Two days later Daifallah visited the Tesco store in Quedgley where a shopper saw him reach into his bag and produce a jet of brown fluid over the frozen chips.
He moved on to the wine section where a member of staff saw a fine vapour come out of his bag and on to the wine, leaving the brown substance over the shelves.
Daifallah then drove four miles to the Morrisons store in Abbeydale where an employee in the wine section noticed him acting strangely and gagged at the overpowering stench.
Both supermarkets were cordoned off and shoppers were locked in for public safety reasons while the source of the contaminant was traced.
The stores were closed for two days for cleaning, costing hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Police officers called by staff at Tesco identified Daifallah on CCTV and arrived at his home in Gloucester while he was still spraying in Morrisons.
On searching the flat, they found a worrying stockpile of the noxious mixture.
They also found messages scrawled all over the walls referring to biological weapons, smuggling uranium into Britain and micro-organisms being spread.
One of the messages said: ‘The ants get out to every direction to get food, then they bring it back to Tesco and Asda.
‘If you poison those then you kill the ants.’
Daifallah, who chose to represent himself in court, claimed that someone else was responsible for the messages and the spraying.
Judge Carol Hagen adjourned sentencing to a date to be fixed to allow the preparation of psychiatric reports.
She said: ‘I find this a very worrying case and the circumstances are alarming.’
With the references to the biological weapons, one has to wonder if this was merely a dry run, a prelude to an even deadlier attack. I hope they lock him in a dark room and feed him ham sandwiches and pork rinds for the rest of his life.
Source: http://infidelsarecool.com/2009/03/04/algerian-muslim-chemist-found-guilty-of-fecal-jihad/
US-CERT Current Activity
Microsoft Releases Advanced Notification for March Security Bulletin
Original release date: March 5, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Last revised: March 5, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Microsoft has issued a Security Bulletin Advanced Notification
indicating that the March release cycle will contain three bulletins,
one of which will have a severity rating of Critical. The notification
states that these Critical bulletins are for Microsoft Windows. There
will also be two Important bulletins for Microsoft Windows. Release of
these bulletins is scheduled for Tuesday, March 10.
US-CERT will provide additional information as it becomes available.
Relevant Url(s):
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS09-mar.mspx
US-CERT Current Activity
Economic Stimulus Email and Website Scams
Original release date: March 5, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Last revised: March 5, 2009 at 4:08 pm
US-CERT is aware of reports of economic stimulus scams circulating.
These scams are being conducted through both email and malicious
websites.
Some of the email scam messages request personal information, which
can then be used for identity theft. Other email scam messages offer
to deposit the stimulus funds directly into users’ bank accounts. If
users provide their banking information, the attackers may be able to
withdraw funds from the users’ accounts.
The website scams entice users by claiming that they can help them get
money from the stimulus fund. These websites typically request payment
for their services. If users provide their credit card information,
the attackers running the malicious sites may make unauthorized
charges to the card, or charge users more than the agreed upon terms.
US-CERT encourages users to do the following to help mitigate the
risks:
* Review the Federal Trade Commission alert about economic stimulus
scams.
* Refer to the Recognizing and Avoiding Email Scams (pdf) document
for more information on avoiding email scams.
* Refer to the Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks
document for more information on social engineering attacks.
Relevant Url(s):
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/ST04-014.html
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/03/stimulusscam.shtm
http://www.us-cert.gov/reading_room/emailscams_0905.pdf
1. Off-Road Bike Engine Parts Recalled by Wiseco Due to Crash Hazard
News from CPSC
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Office of Information and Public Affairs
Washington, DC 20207
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 5, 2009
Release # 09-142
Firm’s Recall Hotline: (800) 321-1364
CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908
Off-Road Bike Engine Parts Recalled by Wiseco Due to Crash Hazard
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.
Name of product: Off-Road Dirt Bike Connecting Rods or Crankshaft Assemblies
Units: About 420
Importer: Wiseco Performance Products, of Mentor, Ohio
Hazard: Engine stress could cause the connecting rods to crack and the engine to lock up, posing a crash hazard.
Incidents/Injuries: None reported.
Description: This recall involves the following connecting rods and crankshaft assemblies used in off-road dirt bike engines. Wiseco’s identification number can be found on the neck of the connecting rods between the two circular ends. The part number and date code can be found on the product’s packaging.
Identification Number (on engine part): Part Number (on packaging), Part Type, Dates Sold
WR10082: WPC139, YZ450F Crank Assembly, 02/20/08 - 12/15/08
WR10081: WPC140, YZ250F Crank Assembly, 03/03/08 - 12/15/08
WR10081: WPC141, WR250F Crank Assembly, 03/01/07 - 12/15/08
WR10086: WPC144, KX250F/RMZ250 Crank Assembly, 08/20/08 - 12/15/08
WR10082: WPC145, WR450F Crank Assembly, 08/08/08 - 12/15/08
WR10081: WPR196, YZ/WR250F Connecting, Rod 07/01/07 - 12/15/08
WR10082: WPR197, YZ/WR450F Connecting, Rod 01/20/08 - 12/15/08
Sold at: Off-road dirt bike distributors nationwide and directly to consumers at www.wiseco.com from March 2007 through December 2008 for about $130 for the connecting rods and between $240 and $300 for the crankshaft assemblies.
Manufactured in: China
Remedy: Consumers should stop using off-road bikes on which the recalled connecting rods and crankshaft assemblies were installed and immediately contact Wiseco for free replacement parts and repair, or a full refund if the consumer has already replaced the recalled engine parts.
Contact: For additional information, contact Wiseco at (800) 321-1364 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Thursday, and between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. ET on Friday, visit the firm’s Web site at www.wiseco.com, or email the firm at recall@wiseco.com
To see this recall on CPSC’s web site, including pictures of the recall product, please go to: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09142.html
********************************************************
2. Wall-Mounted Radiators Recalled by Rettig Belgium Due to Crush Hazard; Child’s Death Reported
News from CPSC
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Office of Information and Public Affairs
Washington, DC 20207
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 5, 2009
Release # 09-143
Firm’s Recall Hotline: (866) 963-1477
CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908
Wall-Mounted Radiators Recalled by Rettig Belgium Due to Crush Hazard; Child’s Death Reported
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.
Name of product: Radson Wall-Mounted Radiators
Units: About 36 in the United States, 113,000 worldwide
Manufacturer: Rettig Belgium NV, of Belgium
Hazard: The radiator can come loose from the wall, and fall on people near it.
Incidents/Injuries: None reported in the U.S. There have been 52 incidents reported outside the U.S., including one that involved the death of a child in Belgium.
Description: The recalled radiators are used to heat a home and are mounted vertically to the wall. The recall involves the Radson Vertical 20 and 21, Radson Kos V21, and Radson Faro V21.
Sold by: Plumbing and heating supply companies from October 2007 through January 2008 for between $300 and $700.
Manufactured in: Belgium
Remedy: Consumers should avoid standing or sitting near the recalled radiators and contact their plumbing or heating supplier or Rettig for a free replacement suspension system.
Contact: For additional information, contact Rettig at (866) 963-1477 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site www.radson-replacementaction.com
To see this recall on CPSC’s web site, including pictures of the recall product, please go to: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09143.html
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