Space. The final frontier. These are the voyages of Sirius-XM. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new anti-consumer practices. To seek out new revenue streams and crowd out new competitors. To boldly safeguard the dangerous monopoly granted last night by the FCC.
Government Policy
Man Shoots Lawnmower With Sawed-Off Shotgun, Voids Warranty
By 7.25.08
Not only is it illegal to shoot your lawnmower with a sawed-off shotgun, it’s illegal to own a sawed-off shotgun. Apparently, no one bothered to share this information with Keith Walendowski of Milwaukee, WI.
EPA Moves To Ban Potentially Dangerous Pesticide From Domestic And Imported Food
By 7.25.08
The EPA has announced that it intends to ban a pesticide, carbofuran, from both domestic and imported food because of the danger it poses to “general population” particularly small children. The pesticide isn’t commonly used in the United States but is popular in developing nations and is sprayed on “crops including rice, bananas, coffee and sugar cane,” according to the Washington Post.
Health Officials: We Finally Found Salmonella In A Jalapeño!
By 7.23.08
Government inspectors finally stumbled across a jalapeño which contains the same salmonella strain (Salmonella Saintpaul) that has been responsible for the recent salmonella outbreak in the United States. Health officials found the offending Mexican-grown jalapeño in a Texas plant. However, there are still many questions which need to be answered.
Things You Should Memorize When Flying Without Identification
By 7.23.08
You may be familiar with the TSA’s new rules that went into effect June 21st regarding travelers who try to fly without identification. These travelers are essentially made part of a mini game show where they are the subject of all the questions. Your prize, if you answer correctly, is that you are allowed to board your flight. If you need to travel without ID, Wired magazine has assembled some items which if committed to memory, might help you get through the (game show) process more easily.
AT&T Will Roll Out Tiered Internet Access In October
By 7.22.08
“When AT&T provides broadband service by speed, it will do so in discrete, non-overlapping tiers,” Quinn said in written testimony. “We will strive to provide service within the speed tier purchased by the customer and, if we find that we are not providing service within the ordered speed tier, AT&T will take action either to bring the customer’s service within the ordered tier or give the customer an option to move to a different tier.”
Attorneys Convince Monster That Consumers Can Tell The Difference Between A Deer Lick And An Audio Cable
By 7.22.08
According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, attorneys filed a dismissal motion on behalf of Denco, an ethanol producer in Morris, Minn. that had been selling a product called “Monster Deer Block” since 2005. What were they trying to dismiss? A trademark lawsuit from Monster Cable, of course.
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Google: Of Course [Our Advertisers] Are Seeking To Hijack Or Divert Consumers
By 7.22.08
American Airlines has dropped its trademark infringement lawsuit against the all-powerful Google Inc. The lawsuit stemmed from the fact that the search engine allows search terms like “AAdvantage,” the trademark name of its frequent flier program, to be linked competitors’ sites that have no connection with American. If there was ever any doubt that Google sells out “proper” net searches to the highest bidder, let that doubt be forever melted away.
By 7.21.08
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Email surfaced in a class action lawsuit against NVIDIA and ATI suggesting that the graphics card makers have engaged in illegal price-fixing for the past half-decade. [techPowerUp!]
DirecTV Installer Faces Seven Years Behind Bars After Stealing $5,400 From A Customer
By 7.20.08
21-year-old DirecTV installer Arthur Christian faces felony grand larceny charges after allegedly stealing $5,400 from a locked safe while working unsupervised in a customer’s basement.
Aquadots, The Infamous "GHB-Laced Toys," Are Back With A New Name, "Pixos"!
By 7.18.08
Reader Maya noticed that those GHB-laced toys (distributed in North America by Spin Master) that were recalled last year are back, and they’ve got a brand new name. Pixos!
FDA Warns Of Tendon-Rupturing Antibiotics
By 7.18.08
The FDA slapped a black box warning on a group of antibiotics known as fluoroquinolones for their link to tendonitis and tendon rupture in patients. Drugs in this group include Cipro, Levaquin, Avelox, Oscient, Factive, Proquin XR, Floxin Noroxin. Ruptures associated with the drug have included the achilles tendon, thumbs, shoulder, bicep and hand. Public interest group Public Citizen has been petitioned the FDA in 1996, 2005 and 2006 to add greater warnings to the drug. Only after Public Citizen sued the FDA for not responding to the petitions were the warnings added. One patient described what happened after he was hospitalized for an infection and treated with Cipro…
FDA: Go Ahead And Eat Tomatoes, We Give Up
By 7.17.08
Well, the FDA isn’t sure what caused that salmonella outbreak, but they’re lifting the tomato warning anyway, according to the Associated Press. They’d still appreciate it if you tried not to eat raw jalapeno and serrano peppers, because, well, they have to tell you not to eat something, I guess.
Senator Recommends That UBS Be Shut Down For Helping Thousands Of U.S. Citizens Cheat On Their Taxes
By 7.17.08
Another update to the disgruntled computer technician story: Sen. Carl Levin told ABC News that Swiss banking giant UBS’s banking license should be revoked until the bank “cleans up its act.” The bank is accused of arranging “undeclared” accounts for an estimated 19,000 US citizens, effectively “hiding” $18 billion from the IRS.
5 Steps To Take If Your Identity Is Stolen
By 7.17.08
The website DebtConsolidationCare receives letters like this all the time, “O Heavens! I found that my master card has been stolen from my purse when I had gone to a party. Someone took out $500 from it. I found it out when I saw the billing statement. What shall I do now? What shall I do to get out of this whole thing? I am planning to close the account. What else should I do?” According to their statistics, every minute, 20 people are affected by identity theft which adds up to about 10 million a year. To help people like these, DebtConsolidationCare has put together a list of 5 steps you should take if your identity is stolen. Check out the list, inside…
Did UBS Help Rich Americans Hide Billions Of Dollars In Liechtenstein?
By 7.16.08
Following up on yesterday’s story about a disgruntled computer technician who turned over the bank records from the LGT Bank of Liechtenstein, ABC News says that UBS Bank may have helped set up the secret accounts and been responsible for hiding as much as $20 billion dollars of U.S. money.
Judge Tells Tiffany To Police Their Own Merchandise On EBay
By 7.16.08
Remember the French lawsuit that Louis Vuitton won against eBay earlier this month? A French court said eBay was responsible for policing their auctions for counterfeit items—at least that was the official language. It also, unfortunately, helped solidify LVMH’s tight control over who sells its luxury merchandise. This week a judge in New York ruled the opposite direction against Tiffany & Co., telling them, “Tiffany must ultimately bear the burden of protecting its trademark.” It’s a win for eBay. Is it for the consumer?
Dish Telemarketer Fined $75,000 For Hanging Up On Customers
By 7.16.08
The FTC fined a Dish Network telemarketing firm $75,000 for hanging up on customers, reports the Deseret News. The company used teleautobots to dial peoples’ homes, which were then supposed to connect to a live telemarketer when someone picked up. However, the system would sometimes get more live customers than there were telemarketers, leaving some customers with a silent line. Federal regulations stipulate that if you use teleautobots, you have to connect the customer to a person within two seconds. The FTC made this law because people, in particular women and old people, were worried they were being stalked when they answered the phone and no one was there.
