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A ship carrying 2,300 Hyundai’s and Kia’s was captured by Somali pirates about 600 miles off the coast of Somalia late Friday, The Car Connection reports.

Not to make light of something as serious as a pirate attack, but PR manager at Hyundai Motor America Dan Bedore tweeted that: “Even Pirates seem to be switching to Hyundai.”

He also ReTweeted @Hyundai’s official response: “We hope for the prompt and safe return of the 25 crewmen aboard the Asian Glory.”

No one aboard was injured in the attack.

The autos were headed for Saudi Arabia from their home port of Ulsan when the hijack occurred just before reaching EU-patrolled international shipping channels.

It is expected that the pirates will hold the ship for ransom, just one of at least 11 also currently being held by Somali pirates.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Oil Tanker Lays The Smack Down On Somali Pirates
• Somalian Pirates Pool Funds, Form Criminal Stock Exchange

In response to last month’s legislation whereby Congress ordered GM and Chrysler to give independent arbitration hearings to those terminated dealers who so request them, General Motors’ CEO Ed Whitacre has announced that he expects hundreds of GM dealers to be reinstated.

He cautioned however, that the number could be as low as 100, and that the company might benefit from some of the dealers being reinstated.

Whitacre admitted that GM probably made a few mistakes during the closing process, but that by its very nature, an arbitrary line had to be drawn.

“It was a pretty arbitrary cutoff point, but you have to do it that way,” Whitacre said. “It probably caught some good ones and probably missed a bad one or two.”

– By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Detroit News

The enTourage eDGe dualbook has been officially ushered in at CES, along with the news it’ll be on sale in February for $490. It’s the world’s first dualbook, which translates as an ereader, tablet, notepad and PMP.

The dual-screen enTourage eDGe sounds more than decent, for anyone considering either an ereader, tablet PC or PMP. I like convergence when it actually works, and this Android job sounds like it works. The device has a 9.7-inch e-paper screen on the left, and a 10.1-inch LCD screen on the right. Wi-Fi is included for web browsing, or downloading ebooks, and a noise-cancelling microphone and 1.3-megapixel camera allows for video and audio recording, with audio files saved as MP3s.

Ebooks are downloaded in PDF and EPUB format, with enTourage creating its own ebook store, with everything coming from Google. It may not be up and running by the time it goes on sale in February, but obviously you can download ebooks through other means.

With all those functions, battery life is six hours when using the LCD screen, or seven days when using just the ereader. It’s possible to use both screens at once, either held flat like a book, or with one screen folded back to show just one side.

Available for pre-order now, it’s on sale in February for $490. If only they’d sort out the annoying capitalization of their name. [enTourage eDGe]

Even though eating light can often mean eating less or more healthy foods — it can also be nice to cook with less “stuff.” We do a great deal of baking and quite often, we just don’t feel like pulling out the mixer and washing all the attachments when we’re done. Which is why we like this quick, customizable no mixer cake recipe!

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One morning last February, a bomb exploded in Trent Pierce’s driveway in West Memphis, Ark. Pierce, a family doc who chaired the state’s medical board, was severely burned and lost an eye.

Yesterday, a doctor named Randeep Mann — an internist who had been disciplined by the state medical board — was accused of planting the bomb. Here’s the grand-jury indictment, and here’s coverage from the Associated Press and the New York Times.

Investigators first talked to Mann at his house on the day of the explosion. He is a registered arms dealer, and he showed the investigators a grenade launcher, according to the feds. The next month, a canister of grenades was discovered buried in the woods a few hundred feet from Mann’s home. Investigators got a search warrant and found several similar canisters of grenades in Mann’s house, as well as multiple grenade launchers and more than 100 automatic and semi-automatic weapons.

“The majority” of the weapons were lawfully registered, the feds say, but not all of them, and the unregistered weapons led to charges against Mann. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges. The indictment yesterday adds the bombing charges; Mann’s attorney declined to comment on the new charges on Wednesday, the AP said.

The state board had stripped Mann of the right to prescribe narcotics in 2006 after 10 of his patients fatally overdosed. He argued that some of the patients overdosed on medications prescribed by other doctors, and in other cases he didn’t receive hospital reports of non-fatal overdoses suffered by his patients.

Photo of Pierce’s car after the bombing by Associated Press

Ranking Senate Finance Committee member and Republican Senator from Iowa Charles Grassley, has asked the DOT for an accounting of the administrative costs for the ‘cash for clunkers’ program.

The program was risked out in a very ad-hoc manner, and this causes concern for Grassley. The Dept. has thus far spent $77 million and expects to keep the total to under $100 million. The legislation required the program to run in 30 days and that, says Grassley, creates an inherent risk error.

“‘Cash for clunkers’ was set up very quickly, and there hasn’t been an accounting of the administrative costs of the program,” Grassley said. “There also hasn’t been publicly available information about how contractors were picked to process the thousands of transactions that the program generated. My concern is the waste, fraud and abuse that may have resulted from the vulnerabilities that can come with such a quick start.”

– By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Detroit News

Avatar has been named the fastest-bootlegged movie of all time!

James Cameron’s sci-fi blockbuster was illegally downloaded 500,000 times during its initial two days of release, building to 900,000 over the first week, according to Torrent Freak. Avatar has even surpassed the previous pirated record-holder, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, which is believed to have been downloaded 610,000 times during its first week in theaters.

According to Variety, Avatar has raked in more than $1 billion at the international box office since its release on Dec. 19. The total makes it the fourth highest-grossing film of all time, behind Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (third place), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (second place), and Titanic — which earned $2 billion after its release in 1997.

Am I the only person left on the Planet who hasn’t seen this movie?

Guest contributor: Karen Collins, M.S., R.D., C.D.N.
Karen Collins holds a B.S. degree from Purdue and an M.S. degree from Cornell, both in nutrition. When she’s not writing or speaking, she conducts a private nutrition practice in Jamestown, New York.

Q: Is it true that selenium supplements help to prevent or control diabetes with its antioxidant power?

No. Selenium is an antioxidant, yet research repeatedly links high blood selenium and selenium supplements with increased risk of diabetes and shows no benefit for blood sugar control. Especially in the United States, where people have selenium intake well above recommended levels and selenium deficiency is rare, adding more selenium does not offer diabetes–prevention benefits.

In one study of selenium supplements, among those who began with high blood levels of selenium, those given selenium supplements were almost three times as likely to develop diabetes as those given a placebo. Several other studies also raise concerns about possible increased risk of diabetes, including the SELECT trial that was studying whether selenium supplements could reduce prostate cancer risk.

The strongest steps for prevention and control of type 2 diabetes (the most common type) remain weight control, regular physical activity and a healthy, high–fiber diet filled with antioxidant–rich foods.

Q: Breakfast is often said to be a vital meal. But it seems crazy to force myself to eat if I’m not hungry. What’s your advice?

Start by considering whether your current eating pattern seems to be working for you. When you don’t eat breakfast, do you have energy to get through your morning well, eat a healthy lunch and avoid overeating the rest of the day and evening? Do you reach recommended amounts of the healthy foods your body needs? Are you maintaining a healthy weight?

If your answer to all these questions is “yes,” then there’s probably no reason to force yourself to eat breakfast, unless you have a medical condition or take medicines that necessitate a morning meal.

However, if you answered “no” to any of those questions, perhaps you should reconsider. Studies show that people who eat breakfast tend to overeat less throughout the rest of the day. Many people who report lack of early morning hunger are those who eat large amounts of food through the evening.

Because this pattern often involves lots of excess calories and “junk food,” perhaps once you address the evening eating problems, you will want breakfast.

Some people run around so frantically in the morning they don’t have time to notice or respond to hunger signals. Whether they call it breakfast or a morning snack, they often find that if they take time to re–fuel with a balanced selection of healthy foods once the initial frantic activity subsides, it does help the day go better than when they wait until they’re famished to grab candy, a doughnut or whatever’s handy.

Q: Can I assume the nutrition information in blogs posted on websites of reputable companies and organizations is as accurate as the information elsewhere on their sites?

Not necessarily. Blogs have become popular ways of sharing ideas with a wide community of people. Blogs posted on some websites may be screened or hosted by a nutrition expert who adds comments to clarify that someone’s posting is not supported by well–controlled research. Other blogs include comments that have not been screened or evaluated in any way.

Although you may feel comfortable trying a recipe or considering a new way of tackling a barrier to healthy eating that you see in one of these blogs, it’s not wise to make significant changes, like avoiding certain foods or choosing a supplement, based on this advice.

Even when the blogger is sharing information conveyed to them by a health professional, advice appropriate to the blogger is not necessarily appropriate for others, and sometimes someone is repeating a misunderstanding of what they were told (kind of like the game called “telephone”).

The Internet can be a great source of nutrition information, but make sure that both the website and the source of individual information are trustworthy. If what you see seems questionable, check it with another authoritative website or a registered dietitian with expertise in that area.

(This article was provided by the American Institute for Cancer Research in Washington, D.C. A registered dietician is available to respond to questions about diet, nutrition, and cancer at the free AICR Hotline at 1 (800) 843-8114 during business hours.)

From the RSS feed of CalorieLab News (REF3076322B7)

Selenium and diabetes, the importance of breakfast and trust us, we’re bloggers

Now when the demand of sound techno people is increasing, the students are ready to deliver the innovation to the world of technology and the management. As many companies provide the best features like client value creation, talented development people, global network, research and development capabilities, business transformation outsourcing and the other broad and involving services the students must lean about the working procedure.

These all features attract the students of B. Tech to get jobs in the leading company that is the Accenture. They start dreaming during their study years for Accenture, as this is the world’s leading management and technology company. Here some guidelines are being given for the B. Tech students that are helpful to successfully clear the interview. There are mainly 4 rounds in accenture placement procedure-

1. Written aptitude test
2. Group Discussion
3. Technical interview
4. HR interview

Here some links are given below that also may help in the selection procedure of Accenture

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/7368031/accenture-placement-papers

http://www.123eng.com/placementpapers/accenture_placement_papers.pdf

http://www.placementpapers.net/helpingroot/search/node/accenture

http://previouspapers.blogspot.com/2008/03/accenture-all-placement-papers-and.html

http://www.indiastudychannel.com/resources/77259-Accenture-Placement-Paper-Numerical-Ability.aspx

By using the upper mentioned links, the B. Tech student can see the papers of Accenture placement procedure and also the experiences of the last appeared students.

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Though they’re a little late, Ralph de la Vega, CEO of AT&T, announced that the wireless carrier will launch five new Android smartphones in the first half of 2010. Dell, HTC, and Motorola are the manufacturers of these new phones, and we’re told that three of the five phones will be exclusive to AT&T. The mystery of the Dell device was solved today when the computer giant released the Mini 3, their new smartphone previously available only in China and Brazil. Details on the specs of this phone are still a little sketchy since Dell hasn’t officially released any information, but we can gather from images that it is a full touchscreen phone. (The model sold in China is said to have a 3.5-inch, 640×360 display).
 
We can assume that the Motorola device is or will be something similar to the recently released Motorola Backflip. Seeing as how the AT&T Press Release described the Motorola phone as having a “unique form factor” and the Backflip is probably the most unique thing I’ve seen in a while, this is more than likely a safe bet. The device will be based on Android and powered by MOTOBLUR. So expect a Motorola Cliq but kind of weird-looking. If it is the Backflip, it will be running Android 2.1 along with all of Motorola’s other Android phones.
 
As for the HTC device(s), we’re not really sure. We assume that since there are five new devices coming and Dell and Motorola have only claimed two spots, HTC will claim the remaing three, by either releasing three totally new phones or taking models they’ve designed for other carriers and switching up the form factor for AT&T. There is some speculation that one of these phones could be an AT&T version of the Nexus One.
 
To follow up on the Android release, AT&T has set up a new page for consumers: www.att.com/android.
 
There weren’t a lot of details released on the new WebOS devices, but we’re assuming he’s talking about the Palm Pre and Pixi. I mean, these are the only two WebOS devices on the market right now and it’s doubtful that Palm will surprise us with two new ones. However, stranger things have happened. (Remember when Furbys came out? Tell me that didn’t totally catch you off guard.)
 
Along with new smartphones, AT&T has also launched “a major initiative to expand the universe of mobile applications beyond smartphones to more mobile phones”. This so-called “Apps for All” program will give developers the initiative and tools they need to create apps, not only for the iPhone or other prominent smartphones, but Quick Messaging phones as well. AT&T will do this by working with Qualcomm and adopting the BREW Mobile Platform to standardize apps development. Instead of developers only creating apps compatible with one phone or being forced to develop several versions of an app for wide usage, BREW, which will be featured on all new AT&T Quick Messaging Devices by the end of 2010 or early 2011, will allows developers to create a single app that can be available to millions of users on several different devices. As a way of solidifying this promise, AT&T announced a new SDK which is available today.
 
Not only that, but AT&T will work with these developers, giving them technical support via live chat, a 70/30 split of revenue for third-party developers, a virtual network called Sandbox that will give developers a place to test their apps, and the Developer Dashboard, which will allow developers to track the progress of their apps, set prices, and receive vital performance stats.
 
All in all, it’s clear that AT&T takes their role in the cellular industry seriously. No longer will it be just one phone that has access to thousands of apps while the rest are left in the dark. They’ve also given their customers more choices when deciding on which models and operating systems to use. It’s a big step for the wireless giant, and quite frankly it’s nice to know that they aren’t content with providing only one option to their customers, but branching out and even improving the products they already have.
 
Now if only they could fix that “dropped calls” problem

Many large retailers reported their December sales numbers this week, with most of them coming out the morning of Thursday, Jan. 7. Following an announcement in May, Wal-Mart and its units no longer publish monthly sales figures. Updates to come as more retailers report sales. (Last updated Jan. 7, 2009)

Sort the chart below by company name, category, change in total or same-store sales, and total sales. Also, see November’s chart.

Although some still consider the Tata Nano as being two small for such a big country, the Indian manufacturer and Tata Technologies (which, by the way, has a regional headquarters in Novi, Michigan) seem to think otherwise. Why else would they bring the Nano, in all its glory, to Detroit, for all to see starting January 14.

Now, we all know what all of you are wondering: would the Nano attend the 2010 North American International Auto Show? No, it won’t. The Nano will be showcased… (read more)

Drats! The long-awaited premiere of the sixth and final season of Lost may be pushed back after a potential clash with President Obama’s State of the Union address. The White House is considering preempting programming and airing an update on the affairs of America on Feb. 2. This is the same night as the two-hour return of Lost!

White House officials are also said to be considering Tuesday, Jan. 26. However, if the Feb. date is selected, ABC may be forced to delay Lost until Feb. 9. The White House has refused to comment on the scheduling matter.