Archive for July, 2009

Facebook same namers to marry

July 31, 2009

“A couple with the same name who met on Facebook have confirmed that they will marry this autumn.

Female Kelly Hildebrandt, 20, met 24-year-old male Kelly Hildebrandt on the social networking site and sent him a message about them sharing the same name.

After a string of emails, the duo eventually met up and developed a relationship. They have now revealed that they are engaged and will tie the knot in Miami, Florida later this year.”

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Frigidiare recalls 35,000 clothes washers

July 31, 2009

Name of Product: Crosley®, Frigidaire®, Kelvinator®, Kenmore®, Wascomat®, and White-Westinghouse® clothes washers

Units: About 35,000

Distributor: Frigidaire, of Cleveland, Ohio

Hazard: An internal defect in the washer’s drain pump can cause heat to build up, posing a fire hazard to the consumer.

Incidents/Injuries: No incidents or injuries have been reported.

Description: This recall involves the Crosley®, Frigidaire®, Kelvinator®, Kenmore®, Wascomat®, and White-Westinghouse® top load washers, 3.1 cubic foot front load washers and laundry centers.

Model and serial numbers can be located as follows:

Top load washer = open the product’s lid, and the model and serial number are located inside the product’s lid, on the top, right hand corner.

Front load washer = open the door, and the model and serial number are located with other information at the top, center.

Laundry center = open the door to the dryer, and the model and serial number are located on the outer edge of the door nearest the door’s handle.

Sold by: Sears and other retailers nationwide from February 2009 through May 2009 for between $300 and $1100.

Manufactured in: United States

Remedy: Consumers should immediately unplug and stop using the machine. Consumers should contact Frigidaire or Sears (if unit was purchased there) to schedule a free repair.

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FTC sues company for phone scam

July 31, 2009

“Diamond Phone Card and its officers Nasreen Gilani and Samsuddin Panjawani cheat customers of minutes by failing to disclose fees on prepaid calling cards, the FTC says in Brooklyn Federal Court.”

Complainit courtesy of Courthouse News

More banks in trouble

July 31, 2009

“Citing data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act requests, the paper said The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), along with the Federal Reserve, have issued more memorandums of understanding so far this year than in all of 2008.

At the current rate of at least 285, the Fed, OCC and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp are in line to issue nearly 600 of these secret agreements this year, the paper said, compared with last year when 399 such agreements were issued.”

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Friday freebies: photo enhancer

July 31, 2009

“Photo Stamp Remover is a photo correction utility that can remove scratches, dust, stains, wrinkles, tears, date stamps and other unwanted artifacts that appear on photographs.

Offering a fully automatic process, the program uses an intelligent restoration technology to fill the selected area with the texture generated from the pixels around the selection, so that the defect blends into the rest of the image naturally.”

Giveaway:

FTC sending checks to defrauded consumers

July 30, 2009

“On July 15, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission sent refund checks to consumers who allegedly had been defrauded in the case of FTC v. Integrity Financial Enterprises, LLC. Consumers who filed a claim with the FTC received checks averaging more than $200, which covered more than 85 percent of their losses. The refund checks must be cashed by September 13, 2009, or they become void.

In 2008, the FTC sued Integrity Financial Enterprises, LLC (which did business as Infinite Financial and National Benefits Exchange), National Benefits Exchange, Inc., and the companies’ owner, alleging that they promised consumers a “credit card” that could be used like a Visa or MasterCard for an up-front fee of $200 to $300, but which actually could be used only to buy products from the defendants’ Web site or catalog. The resulting court order and settlement in this case required the defendants to forfeit their financial assets to the FTC, which distributed the money to consumers who were harmed by the defendants’ conduct.”

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Hot dog manufacturers sued over cancer risk

July 30, 2009

“New Jersey product liability attorneys- class action lawsuit sues hot dog makers for colorectal cancer link in a American Institute for Cancer Research study.

Newark, NJ—The non-profit organization called the Cancer Project has launched a class action lawsuit against many big hot dog manufacturing companies. The Washington D.C.-based group filed the lawsuit on behalf of three New Jersey residents in the Superior Court of Essex County on Wednesday, July 22, 2009, as reported by the Tristatehomepage.com.”

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2nd click-through suit against Facebook

July 30, 2009

“Reading this morning about a second Facebook click-fraud suit should leave anyone interested in the social network’s monetization model queasy. What this complaint, from the software company Unified ECM, and one from earlier this month, alleges, is that Facebook is charging advertisers for “non-existent, fraudulent or invalid clicks.” (As many Facebook advertisers buy on a cost-per-click basis, the more clicks, the more revenue that goes into Facebooks’ coffers.)”

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Calorie labelling may end up in healthcare reform

July 30, 2009

“The disclosure of calories on chain restaurant menus is no longer just a question of local policy; it is now–due in no small part to Margo’s efforts–a part of the pending health care reform legislation.  If health care passes, so does menu labeling!  What’s remarkable to me is how quickly the policy has progressed in just a couple years — from a mere proposal among public health advocates, to a controversial regulation in a single city, to a measure that’s been adopted by local governments nationwide, to a component of one of the most important pieces of federal legislation in a generation.”

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Walgreens etc. gouge on generics says suit

July 29, 2009

“CVS, Walgreen’s, Wal-Mart and other major pharmacies overcharge customers for generic drugs, a class action claims in Hennepin County Court. Minnesota law requires pharmacies to pass along the discounts they receive on generics to consumers, but the class claims the pharmacies “routinely violate this law and … see the lower acquisition cost of generic drugs as an opportunity to generate higher profit for themselves.”

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