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18 Nov 2010 10:50

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U.S.: Four Loko: The FDA’s ban leading to people buying it en masse

  • Just today we sold 10 cases. I think the news is helping sales.
  • DC liquor store cashier Shashi Sharma • Mentioning how the FDA’s coming ban on Four Loko is having something of a Streisand Effect on the remaining product. Reports of sellouts of the drink far and wide have made it a hot commodity, one which may lead to lots of people actually taking this video seriouslysource

18 Nov 2010 10:35

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Culture: Simon Cowell has a secret admirer … and it’s Sarah Palin

In Palin’s new book, ” America by Heart,” she gushes about how Cowell is “almost alone in his willingness to tell hard truths.” We wonder what he’d say about her. source

18 Nov 2010 10:27

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World: Suspicious device found on flight headed to Germany

  • OK, who tried to bring the bomb on the flight from Nambia to Munich? Germany, already on high alert after warnings of a potential terror attack, had good reason to worry: A suitcase with a fuse, clock and wires was found with the cargo on a plane headed from Windhoek, Nambia to one of Germany’s largest cities. Eventually, the 296 inconvenienced passengers were allowed to take their flight – but without their luggage in the cargo bin. Hope they brought most of their stuff on carry-on. source

18 Nov 2010 10:15

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Biz: GM hopes for, but can’t promise, a full bailout repayment

  • I don’t know where the market is going to be a year or two down the road, so I can’t make such a bold statement. Sure, I’m hopeful, and I’m not saying it can’t happen. I think the company is well positioned … so things look good for General Motors.
  • GM CEO Dan Akerson • Not committing to a full repayment of the taxpayers’ money from the bailout. It sounds like a hedging of the bets, honestly. If he says it now and the stock goes south, he’s on the record offering a promise he can’t keep. For what it’s worth, though, GM’s stock is doing boffo so far in its first day of trading, already up six percent in early-morning trading. source

18 Nov 2010 10:07

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U.S.: Civilian terrorism trials not looking like such a hot idea anymore

  • bad A civilian court trial against embassy bomber Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani only managed to convict the Guantanamo suspect on one charge – out of 285.
  • worse Obama’s failure to secure a conviction in civilian court means other civilian terror trials – including one for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed – are off the table. source

18 Nov 2010 09:54

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Politics: Has Sarah Palin brought up Joe Miller’s Alaska Senate loss?

  • NO she did, however, tweet a link about her new book source

18 Nov 2010 09:46

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U.S., World: Homeland Security: Stuxnet may be most dangerous virus yet

  • This code can automatically enter a system, steal the formula for the product you are manufacturing, alter the ingredients being mixed in your product, and indicate to the operator and your anti-virus software that everything is functioning as expected.
  • The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity Center head, Sean McGurk • Explaining why the Stuxnet computer virus is unprecedented and scary and stuff. The virus, which appears to be targeting Iran’s nuclear power plants, has infected 44,000 computers worldwide, mostly in Iran, although around 1,600 are in the U.S. Even though it’s targeted against Iran right now, it’s clear what McGurk is implying here: That the virus could be rewritten to attack other systems, at which point it could prove extremely dangerous. source
 

18 Nov 2010 00:13

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U.S.: Two dudes floated NYC-Subway-under-Hudson-River idea first

  • Know what’s awesome? When you offer up a crazy idea to make people’s lives easier, it gets ignored, and then, all of a sudden, The New York Times is playing it up as a lead headline. Such is the life of Steve Lanset and Ralph Braskett, who floated the idea of putting a NYC Subway tunnel under the Hudson River a whole five years before Michael Bloomberg got to the idea. source