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17 Oct 2009 12:27

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Offbeat: That dead body hanging around outside? Not a Halloween prop

  • One neighbor said he saw the body on Monday but didn’t do anything about it because It looked like a Halloween prop. You could see the body in plain view on the third floor. It did look unreal.
  • RMG News director Austin Raishbrook • Describing the bizarre sight of a body laying outside of an apartment complex in Marina Del Rey, Calif. It wasn’t reported right away because it looked like a Halloween prop. Seriously. What convinced people to finally call authorities? Uh, there was some blood dripping onto the ground. Yuck. • source

17 Oct 2009 12:20

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U.S.: Daily poll: On Balloon Boy and the 24-hour news cycle

  • We just watched Balloon Boy dad Richard Heene’s “big announcement”: He put a box in front of his house and told reporters to put questions in the box. Wha? Sounds like someone’s living his personal PR nightmare. Anyway, this got us to thinking. Between this and talk-show chatter, is the 24-hour news cycle broken? Let us know what you think.source

17 Oct 2009 11:54

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Offbeat: There’s a cat named “Mr. Toes,” and he has a lot of toes, mister

  • 24 toes on “Mr. Toes” – that’s six more than your average cat source

17 Oct 2009 11:43

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Tech: Microsoft screwed over Firefox users with a sneaky update

  • While the vulnerability is in an IE component, there is an attack vector for Firefox users as well. The reason is that .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 installs a ‘Windows Presentation Foundation’ plug-in in Firefox.
  • Microsoft engineers on the company’s Security Research & Defense blog • Describing how a vulnerability which would usually only affect Internet Explorer users also affects IE users, too. The reason? Well, some genius thought it’d be awesome to stealthy foist a Microsoft-centric feature onto Firefox users without them asking – essentially bringing Firefox’s security quality down to the same level as IE. Way to go knuckleheads. • source

17 Oct 2009 11:30

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Tech: If a Facebook app brings up a screen like this, don’t click on it

Facebook app attacks are becoming sophisticated enough that they can end up in an app by simply being on the app developer’s PC. And they look realistic. That’s scary. source

17 Oct 2009 11:17

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U.S.: Your kids probably shouldn’t skip out on that swine flu vaccine

  • 86 children under 18 have died of swine flu since the outbreak first hit source

17 Oct 2009 10:35

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U.S.: GREAT … Balloon Boy’s family has a “big” announcement today

  • I’m going to have a press conference out here at, let’s say, 10 a.m. Okay? So it’s a few more hours. So, I’d like to speak everybody about a few things. Okay? So, it’s a big announcement.
  • Richard Heene • Father of “Balloon Boy” Falcon Heene, on a big announcement that the family plans to share. Is it going to be, “we just hoaxed everyone?” Is it going to be, “we have a new reality TV show deal?” Is it going to be that fame makes Falcon Heene sick? Is it going to be something else? Either way, we’re going to be waiting by the seat of our pants for Noon EST (10 a.m. MST in Fort Collins, Colorado) to roll around. • source
 

17 Oct 2009 10:30

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17 Oct 2009 10:26

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World: Mother Teresa: It seems like everyone wants a piece of her

  • She missed them very much all her life. My request is a very human one.
  • Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha • Describing his country’s desire to bring Mother Teresa back to her homeland from India, where she died. Berisha hopes to open up a museum in her honor. India wants to keep her, though, and Macedonia also holds a claim to her, because she was born there. Why the push to get her? Well, she’s well on the path to sainthood. That might have something to do with it. • source

17 Oct 2009 10:04

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U.S.: Shepard Fairey completely screws up his Obama copyright case

Shepard Faireys Obama “Hope” poster at the National Portrait gallery
  • You screwed up, Shep. What could have been an iconic bellwether in the debate between copyright and fair use just had a major wrench thrown in it. Fairey’s poster, which he originally said was based off a different photo than the one the Associated Press thought he used, was in fact based off the one the AP claimed. Rather than coming clean and admitting he was wrong, he deleted the evidence off his computer. He finally admitted he was wrong yesterday, and says he’ll continue to fight the case, but dude will have to get some new lawyers. When fighting a case like this, Shep, don’t screw it up – it makes everyone in your shoes look really bad.source