Author: Serkadis

Dear Taco Bell,

It has come to my attention that you have recently created a Drive-Thru Diet. You are clearly taking bold new steps to change the way Americans view healthy eating, so I am writing this letter to express my gratitude and enthusiasm and to offer insight for further improvement.

I first noticed your “Drive-Thru Diet” ad on a billboard outside of a childrens’ extra-curricular learning studio in west Los Angeles. Ever the inquiring mind, I visited Tacobell.com for some heavy research. I read Christine Dougherty’s 80 word story about losing 50 lbs over 2 years with Taco Bell. Very convincing. Then I watched TV personality Chris Rose interview four paid actors, and every single actor praised Taco Bell’s seven healthy Fresco menu items. Next I learned from registered dietitian Ruth Carey that some food choices are nutritionally better than others. These people clearly weren’t lying. The Drive-Thru Diet looked legitimate, so I decided to make a Frescolution. I hit a road block when attempting to fill out my pledge. The form required me to fill out “what I know.” I attempted to write, “I live a healthy lifestyle based on the 10 immutable Primal laws validated by two million years of human evolution…,” but Taco Bell overrode that with, “My idea of exercise involves the all-you-can-eat buffet marathon.” Oh well, I suppose what I know isn’t nearly as important as eating Taco Bell Fresco menu items.

So here I am, having soaked up the thorough and detailed information on your website, almost ready to embark on my two year plan of eating Taco Bell food every day. However, I have a few simple questions before starting such an exciting, healthy journey.

First, I am slightly confused by the math of calorie reduction. I understand that a Fresco taco is 20 calories less than a regular taco (kudos for that feat of engineering!). If I am trying to reduce my daily consumption by 500 calories by eating Fresco tacos rather than regular tacos, does that mean I need to eat 25 Fresco tacos a day? (20 calorie reduction x 25 = 500 calorie reduction). That means I need to eat roughly six tacos a meal, including, of course, fourthmeal. Speaking of which…

I am still trying to work out the logistics of fourthmeal. If I eat fourthmeal after midnight, is it technically firstmeal? In calculating daily calories, which day does fourthmeal count for? If I eat fourthmeal at the stroke of midnight, does it count for both days or neither? And also, if I eat fourthmeal every day, when do I sleep?

Finally, what exactly did Christine eat? If I know the combination of Taco Bell choices she made, I would feel much more confident moving forward. Did she keep a food log?

Once you have answered my questions, I will be delighted to fulfill my Frescolution.

Additionally, while I have no criticism of your company or your dietary philosophy, I do see room for improvement in your quest to convert American eaters into healthy decision makers. Below, I’ve listed a few possible menu adjustments…

1. A “Sans Queso!”option

After close scrutiny of your seven Fresco menu items, I discovered the secret to your revolutionary way of creating healthy foods: You replace the cheese with tomatoes. I’m no food lab scientist, but with careful engineering it seems you could apply the Cheese Removal Principle to not just seven menu items, but to every single product you offer. Call it “Sans Queso!” and you’ve got an entire menu full of super-healthy foods. Want a healthy Mexican pizza? Sans Qeuso! it. Sans queso! that volcano nachos and you’ve turned a 1,000 calorie item into a 920 calorie health food. It’s not a reduction of quantity, it’s an upgrade of health. You can even charge an extra thirty cents to Sans Queso! a food. The new anti-supersize.

2. A calorie total at purchase – All your food items have calorie amounts the same as they have prices. How hard would it be to include a function on the cash register that adds up the total calories of the foods purchased and prints it on the receipt? Heck, take it a step further and tell the customer directly, “Your total is $8.76 and your calorie total is 2,400. Would you like to Sans Queso! your meal for an extra thirty cents?” Bam. Satisfied customer, more profit, and less wasted ingredients. Is that genius or what?

3. Salsa – I’m not one to make rude accusations, but it does occur to me that you are a Mexican restaurant without a salsa bar. I do respect your little border sauce packets of modified food starch, autolyzed yeast extract, sugar, onion juice, and xantham gum, but including a secondary option of fresh chopped tomatoes, onions, and tomatillas could improve both taste and the amount of nutrients your customers consume. So get yourself a salsa bar. People like salsa and they like bars, it’s a win-win.

4. An “UnFried Salad” – The traditional Taco Bell Mexican salad sits in an edible bowl of fried enriched bleached flour and corn. That fried bowl sits in a second, plastic bowl. I suggest removing the edible bowl and placing the salad directly into the plastic bowl. You may have concerns about the way customers will react to this “one bowl” concept. The problem can be solved easily by using a “do not eat this bowl” warning label. Fill the plastic bowl with a bed of lettuce, grilled chicken, salsa from your newly installed salsa bar, and a couple slices of avocado (the fresh kind, not the green stuff I’ve seen your employees squeeze out of a caulking gun) That’s a healthy menu item if ever there was one. Sans Queso! that salad for thirty cents and make it even healthier.

5. Water – I can’t help but notice the 32 oz cup of Diet Pepsi that accompanies all the pictures of your Fresco menu foods. Have you considered creating a 32 oz cup that says, “Water!” I’ve never seen a fast food water cup before. Taco Bell could be the first.

6. Rename all products according to the Gordita methodology

I’d never heard of a Gordita before you added one to your menu. I had to pull out the old translation dictionary to learn that “gordita” is Spanish for “chubby.” What a brilliant concept! Right there in the name of the food you’ve included a warning for how the food will make you look and feel. I love it! You should rename other menu items to include similar warnings. A nacho bell grande could be called an “estomago grande,” a caramel empanada could be a “caramel diabetica,” and a mexican pizza could simply be “El Diarrea.”

7. A weekly taco limit – Like the bartender who cuts off the alcoholic, set a hard limit on the number of tacos a customer can buy. Consult Ruth Carey, your registered dietitian, and figure out how many tacos a week someone must eat to remain healthy. Never sell a customer more than that number.

Last, but certainly not least…

8. TELL PEOPLE WHERE YOUR MEAT COMES FROM – Consumers are fickle, skeptical doubters, and I’m sure you’ve heard some of the rumors and urban legends surrounding the origins of your meat. To jog your memory, there have been claims that your meat is of lower quality than dog food meat; that it contains feces; that there are fingernail fragments, human blood, ash, worm, copper wire residue, cellophane, and bits of Jimmy Hoffa floating around in your meat. While I’m fairly certain these accusations are false, I was unable to find any information on your website as to meat origin and quality. I even called your hotline, with no further success. Why not replace one of the 3 giant 5 layer burrito posters on each store using the third to show a picture of the grass fed, grass finished cows that I’m sure you use to make those burritos.

I do realize making these changes may take a small upfront investment. Because I feel as responsible for America’s health as I’m sure you do, I am willing to put my money where my mouth is. If you make all eight of the suggested changes, I will donate $10,000 to a charity of your choice (perhaps the American Diabetes Association?). Thank you for reading my letter and for creating a diet that does not require me to leave my car. Maybe one day you will take the next step by creating a “Delivery Diet” so I won’t have to leave my house.

Yours in good health,

Mark Sisson

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For your enjoyment, we found this satellite-based video of global air travel to be quite beautiful, especially as you pay attention to the waves of flights in relation to the movement of daylight.

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Ilyas Kashmiri & Retired Pakistan Major Charged in Denmark Plot

A federal grand jury today returned a superseding indictment adding three defendants, including Tahawwur Rana, to charges filed last month against David Coleman Headley, alleging that they and others participated in conspiracies involving a planned terrorist attack against a Danish newspaper and the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, that killed approximately 164 people, including six Americans.

The 12-count superseding indictment contains the identical charges that were filed against Headley on Dec. 7, 2009, while adding Rana as a defendant in three of the counts charging material support of the terrorism plots in Denmark and India, as well as in support of the designated foreign terrorist organization Lashkar e Tayyiba.

Also indicted were Ilyas Kashmiri (pictured at right), an allegedly influential terrorist organization leader in Pakistan who is alleged to be in regular contact with leaders of al Qaeda, and Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed (Abdur Rehman), a retired major in the Pakistani military, both of whom were charged in two conspiracy counts relating to the Denmark terrorism plot.

Both Rana and Abdur Rehman were charged separately in previous court filings, but today’s indictment charges Kashmiri for the first time, although he was identified by name in the charges filed previously against Rana, Abdur Rehman and Headley.

Rana, 49, a Canadian citizen, Chicago resident and native of Pakistan, has remained in federal custody in Chicago since he was arrested on Oct. 18, 2009, in connection with the planned attack in Denmark.

He was indicted today on three counts of providing material support to terrorism or a terrorist organization — one count of providing material support in preparation for and in carrying out the Mumbai attacks; one count of providing material support to the Denmark terrorism plot; and one count of providing material support to Lashkar e Tayyiba (Lashkar.)

Translated as the “Army of the Good,” Lashkar operated in Pakistan for the principal purpose of fighting to separate from India portions of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Lashkar was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States in December 2001.

No date has been set yet for Rana to be arraigned in federal court in Chicago. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Harry D. Leinenweber.

Kashmiri and Abdur Rehman, also known as “Major Abdur Rehman” and “Pasha,” were each charged with one count of conspiracy to murder and maim persons in Denmark, and one count of providing material support to the Danish terrorism plot. Neither man is in U.S. custody.

Headley, 49, a U.S. citizen and Chicago resident, faces the same 12 counts that were filed against him last month — six counts of conspiracy involving bombing public places in India, murdering and maiming persons in India and Denmark, providing material support to foreign terrorist plots, and providing material support to Lashkar, and six counts of aiding and abetting the murder of U.S. citizens in India.

Headley has remained in federal custody in Chicago since he was arrested in Chicago on Oct. 3, 2009. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges but previously authorized the Justice Department to disclose that he is cooperating in the ongoing investigation.

In 2002 and 2003, Headley allegedly attended terrorism training camps in Pakistan maintained by Lashkar, and conspired with its members and others, including Rana, Kashmiri and Abdur Rehman, in planning and executing the attacks in Denmark and India.

He allegedly conducted extensive surveillance of targets in Mumbai for more than two years preceding the November 2008 attacks that killed approximately 164 people and left hundreds more injured.

The superseding indictment was announced by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the FBI; and David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and the FBI offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., are also participating in the investigation and prosecution.

Mumbai Terror Attacks

According to the charges, unnamed Lashkar Member A, who served as a “handler” for Headley and another person associated with Lashkar, advised Headley in late 2005 that Headley would be traveling to India to perform surveillance of potential targets for Lashkar.

Headley changed his given name of Daood Gilani on Feb. 15, 2006, in Philadelphia, enabling him to present himself in India as an American who was neither Muslim nor Pakistani.

In the spring of 2006, Lashkar Member A and a Lashkar associate discussed with Headley the idea that he could open an immigration office in Mumbai as a cover for his surveillance activities.

In approximately June 2006, Headley allegedly traveled to Chicago, advised Rana of his assignment to scout potential targets in India, and obtained approval from Rana, who owned First World Immigration Services in Chicago and elsewhere, to open a First World office in Mumbai as cover for his activities.

Rana allegedly directed an individual associated with First World to prepare documents supporting Headley’s cover story of opening a First World office in Mumbai, and advised Headley how to obtain a visa for travel to India.

Headley misrepresented his birth name, his father’s true name and the purpose of his travel in his visa application, the indictment alleges.

In July 2006, unnamed Person A in Pakistan gave Headley approximately $25,000 to establish and operate the Mumbai office of First World and to pay for living expenses while Headley carried out his assignment for Lashkar, the charges add.

Headley later made five extended trips to Mumbai — in September 2006, February and September 2007, and April and July 2008 — each time taking photographs and making videotapes of various potential targets, including those attacked in November 2008, and using his association with First World as cover for his travels.

Before each trip, Lashkar members and associates allegedly instructed Headley regarding specific locations where he was to conduct surveillance, and Headley traveled to Pakistan after each trip to meet with Lashkar members and associates, report on the results of his surveillance, and provide the surveillance photos and videos.

During his meetings with Lashkar members and associates in Pakistan after the September 2007 surveillance trip to Mumbai, Lashkar Member A showed Headley a styrofoam mockup of the Taj Mahal hotel, and Person A provided Headley with approximately $2,000 worth of Indian currency for expenses, according to the indictment.

Before the April 2008 surveillance trip, Lashkar Member A provided Headley with an additional $1,000 worth of Indian currency.

In addition, Lashkar Members A and B provided Headley with a global positioning system device and showed him how to use it to record the locations of possible landing sites and potential targets in Mumbai, which Headley then used during his surveillance trips in April and July 2008, the charges state.

Before the July 2008 visit, Person A provided an additional $1,500 worth of Indian currency to Headley to keep the First World office open, but approved closing that office in the future and opening a new business in Delhi, India, to be used as cover for future activities.

During Headley’s July 2008 surveillance mission, Person A communicated with Headley by passing messages to him through Rana, the indictment alleges.

Starting Nov. 26, 2008, and continuing through Nov. 28, 2008, 10 attackers trained by Lashkar carried out multiple assaults with firearms, grenades and improvised explosive devices against multiple targets in Mumbai, including the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, the Leopold Café, the Chabad House and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus train station, each of which Headley allegedly had scouted in advance, killing approximately 164 victims.

The six Americans killed during the three-day siege are identified in the charges as Ben Zion Chroman, Gavriel Holtzberg, Sandeep Jeswani, Alan Scherr, his daughter Naomi Scherr and Aryeh Leibish Teitelbaum.

Denmark Terror Plot

Regarding the Denmark terror plot, Headley allegedly conspired between October 2008, and Oct. 3, 2009, with Kashmiri, Abdur Rehman and others to plan and carry out terrorist attacks, including murder and maiming, against the facilities of the Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, a Danish newspaper, and two of its employees, Editor A and Cartoonist A.

In 2005, the newspaper had published 12 cartoons, some of which depicted the Prophet Mohammed, setting off protests throughout the Muslim world. In early 2008, the Jyllands-Posten and other Danish newspapers republished one of the cartoons which had drawn particularly strong criticism.

Today’s indictment alleges that Headley met with Lashkar Member A in Pakistan in October 2008 and discussed the prospect of an attack on the newspaper, including extensive surveillance work that Headley would perform.

Lashkar Member A allegedly provided Headley with a thumb drive containing information about Denmark, the city of Copenhagen, and the newspaper. In late December 2008 and early January 2009, after reviewing with Rana how he had performed surveillance of the targets attacked in Mumbai, Headley advised Rana of the planned attack on the Danish newspaper and his intended travel to Denmark to conduct surveillance of its facilities.

Headley allegedly obtained Rana’s approval and assistance to identify himself as a representative of First World and gain access to the newspaper’s offices by falsely expressing interest in placing advertising for First World in the newspaper.

At the same time, while in Chicago, Headley exchanged emails with Abdur Rehman to continue planning for the attack and to coordinate his travel to Denmark to conduct surveillance.

Before departing Chicago, Headley and Rana caused business cards to be made that identified Headley as a representative of the Immigration Law Center, the business name of First World, according to the charges.

Headley allegedly traveled in January 2009, from Chicago to Copenhagen, Denmark, to conduct surveillance of the Jyllands-Posten newspaper offices in Copenhagen and Aarhus and to videotape the surrounding areas.

On Jan. 29, 2009, Rana, posing as Headley, allegedly sent an email to the Jyllands-Posten pretending to be interested in placing an advertisement in the newspaper on behalf of First World.

In late January 2009, Headley traveled to Pakistan and met separately to discuss the planning with Abdur Rehman and Lashkar Member A. In February 2009, Abdur Rehman allegedly took Headley to meet with Kashmiri in the Waziristan region of Pakistan.

During the meeting, Kashmiri allegedly indicated that he had reviewed the surveillance videos made by Headley and suggested using a truck bomb in the operation. Kashmiri further indicated that he could provide manpower for the operation and that Lashkar’s participation was not necessary, the indictment alleges.

Subsequently, in March 2009, Lashkar Member A advised Headley that Lashkar put the newspaper attack on hold because of pressure in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, according to the charges.

In May 2009, Headley and Abdur Rehman met again with Kashmiri in Waziristan and Kashmiri allegedly directed Headley to meet with his European contacts who could provide Headley with money, weapons and manpower for the newspaper attack.

In late July and early August 2009, Headley traveled from Chicago to various places in Europe, including Copenhagen, attempting to obtain assistance from Kashmiri’s contacts and, while there, made approximately 13 additional surveillance videos, according to the charges.

In September 2009, Headley and Rana allegedly spoke about reports that Kashmiri had been killed in a drone attack and the implications of his possible death for the plan to attack the newspaper.

Later that month, Abdur Rehman, from Pakistan, allegedly called Headley to report that Kashmiri was not killed and was anxious to move forward with attacking the newspaper. In the late summer of 2009, Rana and Headley allegedly agreed that funds that had been provided to Rana could be used to fund Headley’s work in Denmark.

On Oct. 3, 2009, Headley was arrested at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, intending ultimately to travel to Pakistan to meet with and deliver the approximately 13 surveillance videos to Abdur Rehman and Kashmiri, the indictment alleges.

The charges identify Kashmiri as an influential leader of Harakat-ul Jihad Islami (HUJI), an organization that trained terrorists and executed attacks in the state of Jammu and Kashmir under Indian control and other areas. Kashmiri based his operations from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of western Pakistan, an area which served as a haven for terrorist organizations, including al Qaeda.

Kashmiri allegedly was in regular contact with al Qaeda and in particular with an al Qaeda leader, Mustafa Abu al Yazid, also known as “Sheik Said al Masri.”

According to the indictment, in June 2008, al Qaeda, through its media wing known as “As Sahab Media,” took credit for an attack on the Danish Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, and called for further attacks against Danish interests to avenge the publication of the cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohamed first published in the Jyllands-Posten in 2005.

In August 2008, al Qaeda released a video through As Sahab Media calling for further attacks in retaliation for the publication of the cartoons, and Mustafa Abu al Yazid, among others, appeared in the video. The indictment alleges that in July 2009, Headley provided the al Qaeda video to Rana in Chicago.

The counts against Headley charging conspiracy to bomb public places in India that resulted in deaths and aiding and abetting the murders of U.S. nationals each carry a maximum statutory penalty of life imprisonment or death.

All of the other counts against Headley carry a maximum of life imprisonment, except providing material support to the Denmark terror plot — against all four defendants — carries a maximum prison term of 15 years.

The other two material support counts against Rana, and the conspiracy to murder and maim people in Denmark against Kashmiri and Abdur Rehman, also carry a maximum of life in prison.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Collins and Victoria J. Peters, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Grigg and Janet Hudson of the Los Angeles U.S. Attorney’s Office, with assistance from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

The public is reminded that an indictment contains mere allegations and is not evidence of guilt.

The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Jessica Biel is featured on the February 2010 cover of Vogue Magazine — but don’t expect any dish on the actress’ tabloid-attracting romance with Justin Timberlake relationship. Jessica, 27, says she’s not going to dignify rumors about what she considers “the most precious thing” in her life.

“I don’t feel the need to clear anything up,” Jessica told Vogue of her romance with the former boy bander. “It’s the most precious thing that I have in my life, and I care about it so much that I don’t care about what anyone says or thinks. I have just not addressed it in any real way, and I’m not going to. It’s mine. And I really like that about it.”

Jessica On JT Breakup Rumors: “It’s definitely been weird and sort of bizarre to deal with. But you have to have a sense of humor about the whole thing. Honestly, I look at a magazine and they know more than I do…..”

Jessica On Style…..and Rihanna (Who Has Been Romantically-Linked To Timberlake.): “I like really uberfeminine, classic-looking things mixed with something rougher around the edges,” Jessica replied when asked about her style. “I’ve been looking at Rihanna a lot, checking her out. She’s got something going on that I am sort of craving a little bit.”

Jessica On Posing Nearly Nude For Gear Magazine In 2000: “I really wanted to go to college, and it all kind of happened at the same time. I did this photo shoot. The photoshoot came out. It was terribly embarrassing. I had to apologize to everybody, including my parents. It was a big learning experience — learning how to have boundaries and how to say no.”

Jessica will star in the ensemble romantic comedy Valentines Day, which hits theaters on Feb. 12.

Las personas son cada vez más dependientes de la energía para realizar sus actividades diarias, con lo cual las emisiones de dióxido de carbono se han incrementado, produciendo un grave problema para el ambiente.

Es así que los expertos en este campo consideran que la gestión de dicho recurso es uno de los retos que enfrenta el planeta. “Lo importante es concienciar a la gente sobre el uso racional”, comentó Diego Santoliva, gerente general de Schneider Electric en Ecuador, una empresa que se dedica a apoyar a la eficiencia energética.

Además, se estima que el país podría ahorrar un 20% de esta capacidad si se realiza un aprovechamiento adecuado mediante un cambio de hábitos, según manifestó Carlos Dávila, director de Eficiencia Energética del Ministerio de Electricidad y Energías Renovables.

Recomendaciones
Santoliva expresó que el 25% de la población mundial no tiene acceso a electricidad, sin embargo, se estima que para 2030 la demanda de este recurso se duplicará.
Por esto es importante ahorrar y “no producir más sino gestionar mejor lo que tenemos”, dijo el experto de Schneider Electric.

Es fundamental, por ejemplo, que al hacer uso de hornos y refrigeradores se procure en lo posible mantener cerradas las puertas de dichos aparatos, ya que al abrir por varias ocasiones requieren de más energía para mantener el calor o el frío, respectivamente.

Otra alternativa que plantea Schneider Electric es la implementación de sensores de movimiento en casas u oficinas para que la luz se encienda únicamente con la presencia de personas y así disminuir el consumo innecesario.

Para evitar la utilización de aires acondicionados pueden optar por la construcción de techos más altos para que el aire caliente suba y no se concentre demasiado.

Finalmente, dos consejos fáciles de implementar son el mantener desconectados los electrodomésticos mientras no se los use y no usar planchas o secadoras durante las ‘horas pico’.

Gran polución
Carlos Dávila, director de Eficiencia Energética del Ministerio de Electricidad y Energía Renovable, explicó que para la generación de cualquier tipo de energía (combustibles o electricidad) se requiere de combustibles fósiles, con lo que se emite dióxido de carbono.

Especificó también que cerca del 40% de la electricidad de Ecuador se genera con este elemento. Además, expresó que “el 80% de la energía que se produce en el país proviene del petróleo”.

Fuente Bibliográfica

Bosch will close its Cardiff UK automotive electrical components plant at the end of 2011 cutting up to 900 jobs, just-auto.com reported.

The factory’s situation has previously been analyzed and a cost-efficiency plan was issued. This stated that the site’s production would be reduced, with a 300 job loss programmed for the current year. The factory was supposed to continue production at a decreased level.

However, the recommendation was denied and the aforementioned decision was adopted i… (read more)

David Rosenberg included this two charts in his daily note, which you can sign up for here.

They’re pretty self-evident. If you’re a landlord you’re screwed.

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Scottish singing sensation Susan Boyle sparked complaints from frequent flyers on Tuesday after she reportedly began singing into a mop in a bizarre meltdown at London’s Heathrow Airport.

The sometimes-unstable Susan stunned travelers by dancing and belting out songs into a mop head in a first-class lounge, while awaiting a British Airways (BA) flight to Chicago, Illinois to film a segment on The Oprah Winfrey Show, according to Britain’s The Sun.

“It was chaos. Susan was very restless and agitated from the minute she walked in and immediately started making a scene. She was singing and dancing around, shouting obscenities at full volume,” says one spywitness.

During her bizarre performance, which sparked complaints to staff, she also used the mop to polish passengers’ shoes. Boyle, affectionately known as SuBo, then fled the lounge, yelling, “I’ve escaped, I’ve escaped!” Airport employees were called to quiet Susan down after she began shouting obscenities.

A spokesperson for British Airways confirms the incident, saying: “A customer in the BA lounge on Tuesday was asked to temper their behaviour as it was becoming disruptive.”

The exhausted Susan was famously admitted to a London clinic in May after losing the championship round on the UK talent series Britain’s Got Talent.

The singer, 48, whose debut album “I Dreamed a Dream” has sold more than three million copies worldwide.

One of our connects just hit us up with some awesome info — T-Mobile’s responding to Verizon’s lower pricing. Here’s what we’ve got:Note: SRP = Standard Retail Pricing and NET = price after 2 year agreement. We’ve been told on average pricing dropped around “$30-$50.”

• BlackBerry Curve 8520 — reduced SRP and NET pricing
• Samsung t349 — reduced SRP and NET pricing
• HTC Touch Pro II — reduced SRP and NET pricing
• Samsung Gravity — reduced SRP and NET pricing
• Samsung Highlight — reduced SRP and NET pricing
• Nokia 3711 — reduced NET pricing
• BlackBerry Bold 9700 — reduced NET pricing
• Samsung Behold II — reduced SRP and NET pricing
• Motorola CLIQ — reduced NET pricing
• T-Mobile G1 — reduced SRP and NET pricing
• HTC Dash 3G — reduced SRP and NET pricing

Pretty nice, right?

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Gov. Pat Quinn today signed a bill into law that will increase public safety by advancing his ongoing overhaul and reform of the Illinois Department of Corrections’ meritorious good conduct credit program that can reduce prison sentences.

“I thank and congratulate the General Assembly for backing my recommendations and taking swift action to enact this important public safety initiative,” said Gov. Quinn.

“This law will protect the public while preserving the integrity of the criminal justice system and the court’s sentencing of offenders.”

The new Public Safety Initiative law establishes key requirements regarding meritorious good conduct credits that can reduce prison sentences.

The law requires prisoners in state custody to serve at least 60 days of their sentences before being eligible for meritorious good conduct credit.

Last month, at the Governor’s direction, the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) reinstated an agency practice requiring inmates to serve this minimum amount of time in a state facility before being awarded such credit.

The law also requires IDOC to provide at least 14 days advance notice to the appropriate local prosecutors prior to releasing an inmate receiving meritorious good conduct credit.

Senate Bill 1013 is one major result of Governor Quinn’s mandate to repair IDOC’s Meritorious Good Time (MGT) program, a release program first authorized by statute in 1978.

On December 30, Governor Quinn announced an overhaul of this prison release program and committed to working with the General Assembly to quickly enact reforms.

These changes are based on feedback from criminal justice expert and former judge David A. Erickson, whose review of the MGT program for the Quinn Administration will include meetings with law enforcement officials, state’s attorneys and other stakeholders, including the John Howard Association.

As part of his ongoing overhaul, Gov. Quinn last month terminated IDOC’s recently-accelerated MGT program, which did not require inmates to spend at least 60 days in IDOC custody before being awarded any meritorious credit.

In addition, the new law formalizes Gov. Quinn’s December order that IDOC must provide local prosecutors with at least 14 days advance notice before releasing an inmate based on meritorious good conduct credit.

This notice will provide local authorities with sufficient opportunity to appropriately respond to and disseminate notices.

The passage of the new law is only one part of Governor Quinn’s continuing effort to reform the IDOC meritorious good conduct credit program.

The Governor recently announced appointments to further improve the administration of IDOC programs affecting public safety.

Governor Quinn named law enforcement veteran Michael J. McCotter as Chief Public Safety Officer at IDOC. The Governor also named Sean Vinck, Chief of Intergovernmental Affairs for the Office of the Governor, as a special administrator for IDOC, and Mark S. Prosperi, a former Assistant United States Attorney, as Public Safety Liaison Officer for the Office of the Governor.

Senate Bill 1013, sponsored by Sen. Michael Noland (D-Elgin) and Rep. Emily McAsey (D-Lockport), is effective immediately.

For more information on IDOC, please visit idoc.state.il.us

Father of the Year Michael Lohan is moving in with Kate Major, the 26-year-old former tabloid reporter once romantically-linked to Jon Gosselin.

Gosselin’s former pal will shack up with the reality star’s ex when the pair move to Los Angeles later this year, RadarOnline reports.

“Kate and I are both moving to California,” Lohan told Radar Friday. “If she can find a house or an apartment that’s right and big enough, then I’ll probably move in.”

Kate, who left her position at Star Magazine to date Jon, has found a new job in L.A. Michael, on the other hand, is hoping to escape allegations that he is a vagina-kicking batterer who has been stalking his 24-year-old ex-fiancee, Erin Muller.

“I am trying to get away from my situation. I want to put some distance between myself and Erin [Muller].”

Bert Reyntjens writes “Some time ago, the (nude) photograph of the wife of Helmut Lotti, a Belgian singer, was used in a famous Flemish quiz ‘de slimste mens ter wereld’ (or in English ‘the smartest man in the world’). Several newspapers and magazines reported on this, some displayed the photograph, others didn’t. Now Lotti and his wife are suing several of these publishers for copyright infringement because they didn’t have the permission to show this picture.

Everything so far seems more-or-less normal, except that one magazine (Story) was also sued even though it didn’t publish the photograph (that link is in Dutch — here is the Google translation), it only mentioned it. According to the lawyer for Lotti — ‘a mere reference to an image should be considered a reproduction of the image’!”

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After adjusting for inflation, average U.S. weekly earnings fell by 1.6% in 2009, which was the worst gap between wages and inflation since 1990.

This happened as consumer prices shot up 2.7% during the year. Even core inflation, which excludes food and energy since their prices can bounce around, rose 1.8%.

Overall, this level of inflation is considered tame by economic standards, but it would have actually been far lower, or even negative (deflation) had the Federal Reserve not stepped in to boost liquidity in the financial system and slashed interest rates to near-zero.

While inflation was the lesser evil in Ben Bernanke’s economic calculus (whereby he has been trying to stave off ‘recession-inducing’ deflation), even minor amounts hurt when wage growth is weak. Aware of this, he probably preferred this problem over the damaging effects of a potentially deeper recession.

Nevertheless, it’s still shocking to see how inflation-adjusted wages (In constant dollars) have deteriorated over the course of 2009:

Read the Bureau of Labor Statistics release here >

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Inflation Expectations Keep Rising, Now Back To Pre-Crisis Levels
• Who Needs Gold As An Inflation Hedge When You’ve Got Coke?
• Sorry Ben Bernanke: Your Inflation Fighting Scheme Won’t Work

Real-time search engine OneRiot, which recently launched search ads, is trying to spread the wealth.

Its offering a revenue share from its realtime ad network, RiotWise, for developers that integrate its results into their projects. Partners can choose how they want the ads to look, whether they appear in the content stream, in the form of mobile banner ads, or in a text-block like Google’s AdSense ads.

The company won’t release its actual click-through rates on ads, but says they’re three to four times the standard rates in real-time apps. One their web site, these ads are usually for content like on The Huffington Post or Examiner.

Because of Google’s play in the real-time space, many young startups are trying to focus on distribution of their search results through partners. OneRiot has partnered with companies that offer instant messaging services to Twitter clients.

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Ever wondered what an exact replica of the Kindle DX would look like? Well, if you were thinking that it would look like an exact replica of the Kindle DX, you’re a winner. You’re currently checking out the Boeye E900, a 9.7-inch reader hailing from Guangdong, China. Besides the obvious lack of branding here, we’re hard-pressed to spot another difference — though we do only have the one photo. Both sport WiFi, Bluetooth, and text-to-speech, plus apparently the exact same internals as the DX, including an 825 x 1200 resolution, 3G, 128MB built-in flash memory, and a microSD card slot. We’ll tell you this — the price, at around $311, is way cheaper than Amazon’s actual reader. That is however, seemingly a wholesale price as the minimum order accepted is apparently 100 pieces. Anybody need 99 fake Kindles?

Boeye’s OEM E900 reader is the Kindle DX’s cheaper twin originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jan 2010 11:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After a weeks of speculation, leaks, confirmation and a sneak peek from my colleagues here at Engadget, Google finally told the story of the Nexus One. The Nexus One is the latest and greatest Android device, with a bit of a twist. The Nexus One is available without contract and unlocked directly from Google for $530, as well as subsidized from T-Mobile on a two-year contract for $179. Even with T-Mobile service, the device is only available from Google. Interesting, but hardly the groundbreaking business model that was expected as soon as the words “Google phone” began to make the rounds.

As nice as the Nexus One is — and in my opinion it’s the nicest Android device on the market — it makes me wonder what Google’s up to with Android and why it’s even in the mobile OS business, let alone selling phones directly to consumers. I’d ask the same about Chrome and Chrome OS as well. Android is particularly puzzling, however: Google licenses it for free and it’s turned up on some rather interesting devices, but none of those devices have helped build out an ecosystem. Many of them are proprietary and Android is rapidly becoming fragmented — the Archos5 Internet Tablet, for example, can’t make official use of the Android marketplace. But nothing is as strange as Google getting into the hardware business directly and selling devices, albeit unlocked and unsubsidized ones, directly to consumers.

Continue reading Entelligence: ‘Don’t be evil’ isn’t the basis for a relationship

Entelligence: ‘Don’t be evil’ isn’t the basis for a relationship originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jan 2010 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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