Just because your company is on the verge of bankruptcy— well, that's no reason not to arrive in style. Right?

From ABC:

All three CEOs - Rick Wagoner of GM, Alan Mulally of Ford, and Robert Nardelli of Chrysler - exercised their perks Tuesday by flying in corporate jets to DC. Wagoner flew in GM's $36 million luxury aircraft to tell members of Congress that the company is burning through cash, asking for $10-12 billion for GM alone.

"We want to continue the vital role we've played for Americans for the past 100 years, but we can't do it alone," Wagoner told the Senate Banking Committee.

While Wagoner testified, his G4 private jet was parked at Dulles airport. It is one of eight luxury jets in the GM fleet that continues to ferry executives around the world despite the company's dire financial straits.

ABC estimated that the trip cost GM $20,000, as opposed to a first class ticket on Northwest Airlines flight 2364 from Detroit to Washington — which would have cost about $800.

Amazingly, private jets are a luxury that even free-spending AIG is reconsidering.

AIG, despite the $150 billion bailout, still operates a fleet of corporate jets. The company says it has put two out of its seven jets up for sale and is reviewing the use of others. Though there are no such plans by GM or Ford.

Big Three CEOs Flew Private Jets to Plead for Public Funds [ABC]
(Photo: Bonita Sarita )

ABC says that the documents show that the company, yes the company, paid more than $400,000 for a week long retreat at the resort. The bill included $200,000 for rooms, $150,000 for meals and $23,000 in spa charges.

"They're getting their pedicures and their manicures and the American people are paying for that," said Cong. Elijah Cummings (D-MD).

AIG's former CEO told Congress today that AIG was a victim of a "crisis in confidence" and an "unprecedented global catastrophe," but records show that there were serious concerns about the way the company was being managed.

In March, 2008, the Office of Thrift Supervision wrote AIG, "We are concerned that the corporate oversight of AIG Financial Products…lacks critical elements of independence, transparency, and granularity."

Congressman Waxman also said that there was evidence that the former CEO changed the bonus schedule in order to insure that top executives would continue making multi-million dollar salaries, even as their company went broke.

"Mr. Sullivan and the other top executives should have had their bonuses slashed due to poor performance," said Waxman.

Sullivan received a $15 million golden parachute payment when he was let go in June, says ABC.

After Bailout, AIG Execs Head to California Resort [ABC] (Thanks, Melanie !)

Since 2004, UCSF said it provided the names and addresses of 30,590 patients to Target America, paying the company $12,000 a year.

Hospital officials said it contracted with the company to assist "with identifying names of individuals who could potentially receive communications from UCSF."

"Identification of potential donors who were active in the philanthropic community was one objective, along with identifying individuals who had corporate relationships, such as board service, or were affiliated with relevant community programs and health care biomedical organizations," Kaarlela said.

After the breach was discovered, the hospital said it required Target America to hire "an objective third-party firm" to investigate. UCSF received the forensic analysis report March 26. It showed that information was potentially accessible from July 1 to Oct. 9 last year "if a query for a specific name was made." Notification letters were mailed to patients April 4.

To Dixon, the expert on medical identity, the disclosure lag was far too long.

"In Internet years, that's a century," she said.

In January, California began requiring health care providers to alert consumers if their medical information is breached. Swift notification is considered important so consumers can monitor credit reports and bills.

According to Joanne McNabb, chief of the California Office of Privacy Protection, notice should be given "in the most expedient time possible, without unreasonable delay."

"It's a judgment call, the how and the when part," McNabb said. "The idea is to give early warning so that people can take defensive action. On the other hand, you don't want to needlessly worry people."

It's not the worst case of lost records we've seen, but mining for donors seems so much worse than "whoops, lost another laptop!" At least people's social security numbers weren't included with the data. People who think their identity may have been stolen should pour themselves a stiff drink before sitting down to read this comprehensive post.

6,000 UCSF patients' data got put online [San Francisco Chronicle] (Thanks to Paul!)
(Photo: Getty)

In the early part of this decade, cell phones started to become less about the phone call and more about the ring tone. Mobile-gaming types began to realize two things.

First, if kids were willing to pay $3 for a 10-second snippet of a 50 Cent song, they'd probably be willing to pay some nonzero amount for a game. Second, consumers aren't going to buy the cow when they can play Virtual Milkmaid for free. It's obvious where this line of reasoning leads: Goodbye Tetris, hello $7 Tetris. But Tetris isn't the industry's endgame. Established gaming companies—images of a potentially multibillion-dollar market dancing in their heads—have bought out mobile-game studios and set to work manufacturing slimmed-down versions of full-platform games. (Electronic Arts paid $680 million for Jamdat Mobile in December 2005, for instance.) If you've felt a primal need to play Age of Empires II in an elevator (just $19.95 on a Windows Mobile Smartphone), your long and burdensome wait is over.

Can You Play Me Now? [Slate]
(Photo: Hu.lag.way)

United appears to be following a strategy set by Air Canada, which gained billions of dollars after it emerged from bankruptcy in 2004 by spinning off its maintenance division and frequent-flier program into separate businesses, analysts say.

"Every management team needs to address it," said Kevin Crissey, senior analyst for U.S. airlines with UBS Investment Research.

The Chicago-based carrier is also the first in the U.S. to navigate the disquiet, even anger, that these strategies engender in employees. Many United workers are dismayed that the company didn't explore the spinoffs during its bankruptcy, when the proceeds could have been used to fund pension plans that were terminated.

United chief chases change [Chicago Tribune]
(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

We interpret this to mean that parents are wasting hard-earned money on awful DVDs. The last of the crappy sequels will be "The Little Mermaid III," and then, parents, your pocketbook is free of Ariel forever.

On the other hand, this could be bad news for the parents of children who like to play the same movie over and over again... Sorry!

Steve Jobs directs Disney [MacWorld]

The title track of the new Smashing Pumpkins CD is a Target exclusive bonus track. Not only that, but the band is releasing several different versions of the CD all with different "bonus" songs.

One for Target. One for Best Buy. One for iTunes, and one for the rest. Collect them all! Oh, wait. Don't. You can skip the one for "the rest." It has no bonus tracks. —MEGHANN MARCO

Smashing Pumpkins to Fans, Indie Stores: Fuck You [Pitchfork]
(Photo: Wikipedia)

"It's just the worst neighborhood in my township," said William A. Birkle, a county assessor in Indianapolis. "At one point in time, the police barricaded the neighborhood with concrete so there was only one way in and one way out so they could control the drug trade."

Now a federal investigation is underway to look into accusations of a network of real-estate and loan fraudsters that have left borrowers with dubious property investments in the neighborhood, as well as potentially permanent black marker on their credit history.

The froth of the housing boom has receded, and now we see the sticky oogjie left in its wake.

"Suit Says Neighborhood's Boom Was Built on Mortgage Fraud" [NYT]

When Jason called to complain about having pictures on his phone and not being able to do anything with them, the customer service rep suggested that the best way to solve his problem was to stop taking picture at that high a resolution.

"Verizon's Greed Hurts its Customers" [Q Daily News]

For starters, the the oven doors were expertly packaged using with real flat panel TV packaging.

In the left panel of the picture at right, you can see one of the faux flat panels. Adjacent, one of the victims.

Make of that what you will.

Previously: Don't Take Any Wooden Flat Screens
Image source: WESH2

Consumer alert! Indianans are filing complaints about a new street scam. Reports have trickled in about people being approached on the street to buy a flat screens for $500. A savvy shopper deal, no? Well, when the Hoosiers got home, they unwrapped the package to find it contained a cord, a remote control, and an oven door.

The police department is linking the scam to a scad of house robberies in the area. Among the items stolen are several oven doors.

Oven Doors Passed Off as Flat-Screen TVs [Sun-Times] (Thanks to Morgan!)