| MONDAY • NOVEMBER 16, 2009 |
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 LBN-INVESTIGATES: According to one study, using a cell phone while driving can be just as dangerous as driving while intoxicated, causing drivers to miss traffic signals and react more slowly to driving conditions. Frighteningly, the NHTSA estimates that more than 100 million U.S. drivers use their cell phone while driving and about 8% of drivers on the roadway at any given daylight moment are either conversing or texting on their cell phone.
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DRUG MAKERS JACK PRICES: Drug makers may have promised $8 billion in savings to legislators writing health-care reform, but here’s what they didn’t tell us: In the past year, they’ve raised prices by $10 billion. The 9-percent increase in cost for brand-name prescription drugs is the highest rate of inflation since 1992.
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46 COMPANIES BEHIND ON TARP PAYMENTS: American taxpayers may be unable to recoup their bailout money from 46 companies that had missed dividend payments to the government by the end of September. Analysts expect that many bailed-out firms will fail or struggle to repay the government in the coming months.
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 SMART PEOPLE READ THE LBN E-LERT: Attorney Adam Levin along with approximately 317,000 other “influencers” understand that information is power and the LBN E-Lert is a power-tool.
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OBAMA: UNCENSORED INTERNET IS GOOD: Has President Obama set China on the path toward LOL cats, pornography, and, well, Obama? The American president endorsed an uncensored Internet in a meeting with Chinese students in Shanghai on Monday, lauding the tool that helped launch him to the White House. “I think that the more freely information flows, the stronger the society becomes, because then citizens of countries around the world can hold their own governments accountable,” Obama said.
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GIULIANI FURIOUS ABOUT 9/11 TRIAL DECISION: Stop coddling the 9/11 killers — the war on terror is far from over, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani fumed yesterday. The decision by the Obama administration to put the self-proclaimed mastermind of the terror attacks and four accomplices on trial in New York is pure politics, Giuliani charged in interviews yesterday on Fox News and CNN. The decision, he said, proclaims, “both in substance and reality, the war on terror, in their point of view, is over.” “There seems to be an over-concern with the rights of terrorists and a lack of concern with the rights of the public.”
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 ATLANTIS SET TO LAUNCH MONDAY: The space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to blast off from Florida on Monday afternoon to haul key spare parts to prolong the life of the international space station. Liftoff is planned for 2:28 p.m. ET at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The delivery will add years to the station’s life after the space shuttle fleet is retired next year, according to NASA. Monday’s launch is among six planned before then.
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 LEONID METEOR SHOWER TO PEAK TUESDAY: This year’s Leonid meteor shower will peak early Tuesday, forecasters say, producing mild but pretty sparks over the United States and a more intense outburst over Asia.”We’re predicting 20 to 30 meteors per hour over the Americas and as many as 200 to 300 per hour over Asia,” said Bill Cooke, of NASA’s meteoroid environment office. “Our forecast is in good accord with … work by other astronomers.” The Leonid shower is made of bits of debris from the Tempel-Tuttle comet, which streaks through Earth’s inner solar system every 33 years.
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TWELVE AFGHANS DIE AS MILITANTS TARGET GENERAL: ROCKETS FIRED INTO MARKET WHERE HEAD OF FRENCH FORCES WAS IN A MEETING: Insurgents fired two rockets Monday into a crowded market northeast of Kabul where the head of French forces in Afghanistan was holding a meeting with tribal elders. The attack killed 12 Afghan civilians and wounded at least another 38, the French military said.Lt. Col. Lionel, who can only be identified by his first name in accordance with French military policy, witnessed the attack in the town of Tagab in Kapisa province and said the target had been the meeting, known as a shura, where Brig. Gen. Marcel Druart was discussing with tribal elders a major French offensive in the Tagab Valley the previous day.
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 CHAVEZ ASKING CUBANS TO ‘BOMB CLOUDS’ AMID DROUGHT: Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez says he will join a team of Cuban scientists on flights to “bomb clouds” to create rain amid a severe drought that has aroused public anger due to water and electricity rationing. Chavez, who has asked Venezuelans to take three-minute showers to save water, said the Cubans had arrived in Venezuela and were preparing to fly specially equipped aircraft above the Orinoco river.
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 LBN-NOTICED: ***Famed L.A. Times rock critic Robert Hilburn signing his new book last night at Book Soup on the Sunset Strip. USA Today music writer Edna Gunderson in the audience. ***Film producer Mike Flint having dinner last night at Cafe Med on the Sunset Strip. ***Paris Hilton danced the night away with boyfriend Doug Reinhardt at L.A. hotspot Voyeur. Ryan Phillippe was also at Voyeur hanging out with friends. ***Jennifer Love Hewitt and Jamie Kennedy enjoyed a weekend getaway at San Diego’s Hard Rock Hotel. ***Stacy Keibler and boyfriend Geoff Stults partied at San Franciscos Verizon Wireless Samsung Rogue bash. ***Adam Levine and the rest of the Maroon 5 bandmates had fun bowling at the Lucky Strike Lanes & Lounge Hollywood. ***BE AN LBN CORRESPONDENT Send your celebrity sightings to LBNElert@TimeWire.net.
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LBN-MUSIC INSIDER: ***Sure, he’s been knighted by the Queen of England, and has enough Grammys to use “as doorstops” as The Washington Post put it, but now Paul McCartney has another honor to add to the pile. On Monday, the Library of Congress is to announce that Sir Paul is the third recipient of the 2010 Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, thanks to his “indelible and transformative effect on popular song and music of several different genres.” ***Over 300 winner of the Grammy Award read this LBN E-Lert daily.
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 LBN-HISTORICAL COMMENTARY By Adam Smith: What improves the circumstances of the greater part can never be regarded as an inconveniency to the whole. No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable. (1776)
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LBN-BUSINESS INSIDER: ***In its first earnings report since coming out of bankruptcy, General Motors said Monday that it lost $1.2 billion from the time it left bankruptcy protection through Sept. 30, far better than previous quarters and a sign that the auto giant is starting to turn around. The chief financial officer, Ray Young, cautioned however that the second- and third-quarter figures do not comply with U.S. accounting standards and should not be compared with previous earnings. ***Japan’s economy grew at an annual rate of 4.8 percent in the third quarter and appeared to bring the country out of its worst recession in the postwar era.
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 LBN-SEE IT:….Meth Addicts Gots To Travel Too
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LBN-HEALTH WATCH: Real men drink their water straight from the faucet, perhaps? Scientists at the University of Rochester say that chemicals in plastic, called phthalates, have the ability to disrupt hormones and alter brain chemistry, causing boys to be less likely to play in a masculine way. The study found that boys exposed to two types of phthalates in the wombDEHP and DBPwere less likely to play with cars, trains, and guns and were less likely to roughhouse.
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 LBN-THE “INSIDE” STORY: US President Barack Obama was branded the Groveller-in-Chief over the weekend after he gave an exaggerated bow to Japans Emperor Akihito, the son of Hirohito, the ruler who authorized the December 7th 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Coming just after Remembrance Day, the Presidents deep bow caused an outcry in the US where photographs and videos of the moment were widely publicized. For while it was seen as a sign of deep respect in Japan, Mr. Obama was blasted in America for bowing and scraping to a foreign leader particularly a Japanese leader, as wartime scars are reportedly still raw for many Americans. Right-wing circles are apparently particularly enraged.
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EVERY DAY: Every day tens of thousands of LBN E-Lert readers forward this LBN E-Lert to tens of thousand of friends, family and associates. Do you? Do you?
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LBN-HOLLYWOOD INSIDER: ***Now that MGM has confirmed it is exploring a possible sale, folks are wondering what’s next for the Lion. Variety reports on the state of production and development at the studio while The Hollywood Reporter says preliminary offers to buy the debt-burdened company are expected from at least a handful of rival studios within the next few weeks. ***Over 100 winners of the Academy Award read this LBN E-Lert daily.
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LBN-MEDIA INSIDER: ***George Stephanopoulos, the leading candidate for co-host of “Good Morning America,” has communicated to ABC that he is not willing to join the program unless it is significantly changed to suit him. Stephanopoulos does not want to spend much time doing “fluffy features.” ***As Facebook broadens its audience, the older teens and twentysomethings that drove the social-networking site’s initial popularity are using it less. Facebook’s cool factor may be waning. “When you start getting friended by your grandmother, that’s when it starts to lose its cool.” ***The official Craigslist app will soon be exclusively available to BlackBerry users. The $5 app created by Movela and Pyxis Mobile will allow users to browse and search through Craigslist postings across different categories, reply to them and save searches. ***The front-runners for Time’s “Person of the Year” award appear to be Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke — and Twitter. At Thursday’s annual debate leading up to the announcement, panelist and 2001 winner Rudy Giuliani nominated Bernanke, and also said he’d start using Twitter, even though he doesn’t even use e- mail. “Top Chef” judge Tom Colicchio also went with Bernanke, though Gayle King and Barbara Walters both opted for the micro-blogging service. The choice of Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravensthal, on the other hand, was more political: the unemployed worker.
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LBN-HEALTH WATCH: ***Researchers say that people at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes who participated in a diet and exercise program for three years reduced their risk of developing the disease by 58% compared with those who received a placebo. At the same time, participants placed on the diabetes drug metformin saw their risk decline by nearly a third. Seven years after the trial ended, the risk of diabetes for the diet and exercise group was over a third lower than the placebo group. Researchers say the data point to the importance of lifestyle interventions in the prevention of obesity-linked diseases like type 2 diabetes.
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LBN-SPORTS INSIDER: ***New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick isnt used to being second-guessed, but this one will hang over his head for awhile: Belichick went for 4th-and-2 against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night, even though his team was on its own 28 yard line and up by six with two minutes remaining in the game. The Colts, who had already scored twice in the fourth quarter, scored against behind quarterback Peyton Manning, completing a 17-point fourth-quarter rally. The Colts remain undefeated on the year.
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LBN-COMMENTARY By PAUL KRUGMAN: The problem of international trade imbalances is about to get substantially worse unless China changes its weak-currency policy.
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LBN-COMMENTARY By TINA BROWN (Founder, The Daily Beast): That Sarah Palin, what a tease! This book tour of hers is one of the all-time great hoochie coochie dances. The tea partiers are lining up like rubes at the Direct from Gay Par-ee! tent at the Dingleberry County Fair. The star attraction knows that you may take it off, but you dont take it all off. As governor, she left the stage when she still had her political pasties on. As author, she knows that the key is to take off just enough to keep the crowd transfixed and wanting more, but not so much as to stand revealed in all her nakedness.
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THE RANT LIST By ERICKA T. BASS: 1. For ten bucks, I would be willing to wear a Snuggie in public. Would you? 2. If I weren’t alive, the king’s forces would be dismissed. 3. I am bitter and truculent when excited and speak without reserve or softening. 4. Bob Dylan can’t carry a tune even if his life depended on it. 5. My gay friend Howard can’t understand why hot guys don’t want anything to do with him. Two words - Fat and broke. 5. O.K., I confess my writing is at times ugly and vicious. 6. Wimps are always peaceful by temperament and desire which is why they are wimps. 7. I am not being negative when I see a credibly grim scenario for our immediate future. Most of the crowd that hangs out at Wal-Mart and Cosco are infected with a deadly virus of stupidity and wander around in their own putridly boring days and nights. 8. Kiss me once and you will get nothing but crude desire for the rest of your life. 9. Celebrities I would love to watch a porn movie with - Jessica Simpson, Kimora Lee Simmons, Mark Wahlberg, Brooke Shields, Jude Law, Ashley Olsen, Tyra Banks, and Marie Osmond. ***To reply directly to Erika T. Bass e-mail LBNElert@TimeWire.net. (Please note: The opinions expressed by Erika T. Bass are those of hers along an do not necessarily reflect those of the LBN E-lert or its staff.)
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 LBN-A DIFFERENT VIEW:….Demi Moore…..
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LBN-OVERHEARD: ***Diddy is promising the “party of the century” to celebrate his 40th birthday on Thursday. Sean Combs will take over the Plaza Hotel’s Grand Ballroom in NYC. He’s hired event planner Bronson Van Wyck to create a “fantasy dreamland” with fashion installations, a labyrinth, performance art and a display by “wizard of light” Bentley Meeker, who promises the lighting will grow “dimmer and sexier,” punctuated by a “blizzard of light.” Those expected include Queen Latifah, Russell Simmons, Spike Lee, Zac Posen, Lil’ Kim and a “very special” musical guest. ***Flavor Flav must be hard-up for cash. We hear the VH1 reality show star and rapper is trying his hand as a TV commercial director as part of Doritos’ annual “Crash the Super Bowl” ad contest, in which users are asked to submit their own ads to compete for a $1 million prize.” ***David Letterman’s people made a bold statement this weekend — not every supermarket tabloid story about Dave’s marriage is true. One of Dave’s reps flatly denied a recent report in the National Enquirer, which explained how Dave’s wife threw him out of their Westchester mansion — over that whole affair/extortion thing — and is now living in a loft in Manhattan.
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DID YOU KNOW: ***The thin line of cloud that forms behind an aircraft at high altitudes is called a contrail. ***In the early days of film making, people who worked on the sets were called movies. The films were called motion pictures. ***The back of the human hand is called the opisthenar. ***People that study fish are called ichthyologists. ***Someone who uses as few words as possible when speaking is known as pauciloquent.
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LBN-QUOTE: “When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.” - Thomas Jefferson.
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LBN-HISTORY: On Nov. 16, 1933, the United States and the Soviet Union established diplomatic relations. President Roosevelt sent a telegram to Soviet leader Maxim Litvinov, expressing hope that United States-Soviet relations would “forever remain normal and friendly.'’
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