Consumerist
Carpocalypse Now
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Travel
Airline Passengers Stranded For 9 Hours
200 passengers were held captive for 9 hours on the tarmac outside LA this week. TACA Airlines blamed fuel delays, lack of staff, and fog. As they waited, they were fed water and crackers. [FOX] (Thanks to Justin!) (Photo: Getty) -
Fees
FDIC Critizes Banks' Overdraft Fees
It took 18 months for the FDIC to figure out that banks' practice of clearing checks largest to smallest makes banks a lot of money. More » -
Tweeter
Inside The Mind Of A Liquidator
Interesting facts from a Boston Globe article profiling a member of the Tweeter liquidation team, David "The Junkyard Dog" Spehar: More » -
dollar tree
Dollar Tree To Murdered Black Employee: Drop Dead
Prosecutors say Taneka Talley was killed while working at Dollar Tree because she was black, and now Dollar Tree is denying her 11-year-old her worker's comp because they deem racially-motivated murders on-the-job to be "personal" and not "work-related." Empathy costs more than a dollar, it seems.
Firm denies workers' comp in racial killing [SFGate] (Thanks to Kevin!)
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Tipping
What You Should Tip
Ever wonder what the "right" tip was to give a service provider? Well, wonder no longer as Yahoo Hotjobs offers the following tip suggestions for a variety of workers: More » -
Most Popular Stories
- No Tween Girl Clothes Are "Sexy" (9,964 views, 112 comments)
- You Can Steal The Empire State Building In Only 90 Minutes (6,443 views, 23 comments)
- 2008 Bailout Costs As Much As Several Large And Famous Government Projects Combined (6,006 views, 95 comments)
- Auto CEOs Promise To Ditch The Private Jets And Drive To Washington (163 comments, 5,532 views)
- Monster Cable Sues Monster MiniGolf For Trademark Infringement (97 comments, 5,465 views)
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Bally Total Fitness has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy... again. [MarketWatch]
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Scams
You Can Steal The Empire State Building In Only 90 Minutes
The Daily News has stolen the Empire State Building, and it only took 90 minutes. They made up some fake paperwork and successfully got the deed to the 102-story landmark transferred to a fake company called "Nelots Properties LLC." Get it? Nelots? Stolen? The information provided to the city register was laughably fake — King Kong star Fay Wray was listed as a witness. More » -
Tweeter
Tweeter Turns Over To Liquidators Early, Customers' Pre-Paid Items In Question
Tweeter, a MA mid to high-end electronics retailer, and not a misspelling of a popular microblogging service, decided yesterday to close its doors 6 days ahead of schedule, and send home everyone without paying them. Furthermore, customers who have already paid for the merchandise, expecting to be able to come by and pick it up, will have to deal with the liquidators. [BoingBoing Gadgets] (Thanks to Hawkins!) (Photo: dalvenjah) -
Douchebags
Monster Cable Sues Monster MiniGolf For Trademark Infringement
Monster Cable has decided to sue Monster MiniGolf for trademark infringement. Monster MiniGolf is a family startup by Patrick & Christina Vitagliano glow-in-the-dark monster-themed minigolf franchise with 23 locations. Monster Cable, which has an illustrious history of suing anything and everything with Monster in its name, makes the expensive cables that Best Buy is always trying to upsell you on that are no better than coat hangers. More » -
Auto bailout
Consumers Don't Think Saving The Auto Industry Would Help The Economy
A majority, 61% of Americans are not in favor of bailing out the auto industry, says CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll. Ford, Chrysler and GM have requested up to $34 billion dollars in emergency loans, but a majority of Americans polled thought that bailing out the automakers wouldn't help the economy. More » -
2008 Bailout Costs As Much As Several Large And Famous Government Projects Combined
This graphic demonstrates how the 2008 bailout, so far, costs as much as several large and famous government projects added up together. Yes, these numbers are inflation adjusted.
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Harvard University's endowment, the largest of any university, has lost 22% of its value in the past year — or approximately $8 billion. Ouch. [MarketWatch]
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privatization
Chicago To Lease Parking Meters To A Company That Will Charge $6.50 An Hour?
The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago is trying to get "quickie" approval for a proposal to privatize the city's parking meters. Under the 75 year lease, Chicago's 36,000 parking meters would be controlled by a partnership that includes Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and LAZ Parking. This partnership will, naturally, raise prices. Critics of the proposal say that charging $6.50 an hour by 2013 to park downtown would hurt local businesses. More » -
Blackest friday
Shoppers Suing Police Over Deadly Walmart Stampede
Who is to blame when shoppers attack en masse? The store? The individual shoppers? The police? Two shoppers who say they were injured during the deadly Walmart Black Friday stampede in New York are suing the local police — claiming that they didn't do enough to calm down the crowd minutes before the mob surged through the doors killing one employee. More » -
Carpocalypse Now
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Auto bailout
Auto CEOs Promise To Ditch The Private Jets And Drive To Washington
The big three auto CEOs Bob "Big Bob" Nardelli, Alan "Leavin' On A Jet Plane" Mulally, and our personal favorite Rick "The Station" Wagoner are apparently going to drive to Washington to beg for your money. Previously, they all flew on private jets. More » -
Readers
Steve & Barry Auto Industry Fail Shirts On Sale
Steve & Barry's is in Bankruptcy, and the Big 3 are rattling their tin cups around Washington. It's a great synergy of failed brands, and it's on sale! 2 more fail shirts, inside! (Thanks to Nathan!) -
Badvertising
No Tween Girl Clothes Are "Sexy"
I don't think it's ever appropriate to market clothes to tween girls using the term "sexy." Manufacturer "PrettySinful" has a different opinion, as seen in these "sexy" tights sold on Amazon, accompanied by a picture of a prepubescent girl. Perhaps the picture is in error because the rest of the clothier's offerings are along the lines of crotchless bodystockings and various "do-me" adult party costumes. In any event, it's gross and should be fixed.
Girls Stripe Sexy Tights Hosiery Leg Wear [Amazon] (Thanks to Jasmine!)
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Sales
Morning Deals
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- Dell Home: Sony PS3 80GB for $322.99 w/ coupon code: CTV2$2HX963145 & TP5NV0VMFJ9BCZ w/ Free shipping
- Lowe's: Black & Decker 109-Piece Drilling & Screwdriving Set for $9.97 + Shipping
- Hewlett Packard: HP Pavilion dv5t Notebook, Pentium Dual-Core 2.0GHz, 15.4", 4GB, 320GB Wi-Fi + Printer for $549.99 after coupon code: SV2132 w/ Free shipping
- Buy.com: Aerobed Twin Bed in a Minute II Inflatable $40 Shipped
- HobbyTron: Buy 2 Intelli Heli Mini Helicopters Get One Free
- Amazon: Save Extra $10 off Omron Scales & Health Monitors
- Buy.com: Uniden FRS / GMRS 2-Way Radio 2-Pack for $29 + free shipping
- Amazon.com: Romancing the Stone with Jewel of the Nile on Blu-ray for $30 + free shipping
