A man recently filed suit against Canadian airline Air Transat because the flight attendants refused to give proper medical attention… to his scrotum. According to the suit, the plaintiff was flying from Montreal to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, when he went to the bathroom to check on a discomfort in his groin area, only to see spots of blood. The passenger asked two different flight attendants — first a female and then a male — to get a closer look at his business to determine the exact nature of the spotting. Not surprisingly, both attendants passed on the opportunity and offered him some sanitary towels instead. He then asked to see a doctor and the attendants told him they would contact a doctor if his condition worsened. The passenger made his way to the hospital in Mexico and was diagnosed as having ruptured a vein in the area near his scrotum. It took three stitches to stop the bleeding. In the suit filed against both the airline and the staff on that particular flight, the plaintiff charged that they failed to provide appropriate medical assistance and sought monetary damages. However, the judge in the case found no merit in the suit and not only dismissed it outright, but ordered the plaintiff to pay the airline’s court costs. “It was not incumbent upon a flight attendant to conduct the medical examination of a passenger, a measure reserved for the medical profession,” wrote the judge in her decision. “Nothing in the facts proves that that the situation was dangerous or worrisome to the point of requiring the immediate attention of a doctor.” Man sues airline for not looking at his scrotum [Toronto Sun via Jaunted ]

  • Share/Bookmark

{ 0 comments }

Have you noticed Netflix’s new movie information page? A lot of other people have. The new, cleaner layout rearranges the user interface a bit, and removes social features from movie pages–you can’t see which of your friends have watched, rated, or reviewed that particular movie. Is this a good move, or a terrible one? Users had their say on Netflix’s blog. The entry announcing the change currently has 449 comments, and commenters on that page claim that the first 150 comments were removed. Here’s the new layout, if you haven’t logged in to Netflix in the past week: This redesign is helping Netflix phase out community features, like friends’ ratings and lists. If you use Netflix, are these useful to you? Do you like the new changes hate them, or do you even care? Do you like the social features on Netflix? survey What Do You Think of the New Netflix Movie Information Pages? [Hacking Netflix] New Movie Details Page Rolled Out [Netflix Official Blog]

  • Share/Bookmark

{ 0 comments }

The story — TV star stands accused of going nuts on a store employee — is something straight out of any one of the numerous Law & Order shows on NBC. But this time it’s real, and the actor in question is Richard Belzer, long-time co-star on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. The NYPD — the real NYPD — was called to the Apple Store on Manhattan’s Upper West SIde last night in response to a call about an assault in progress. Belzer, had gone to the store with two associates to buy a computer. And according to the store employee alleging the attack, “I approached him like he was a regular customer. I asked how can I help you. He told me what he needed, and then before I was able to speak again, he lunges in and grabs my neck. It was no gentle manner. There is no gentle manner to grab someone’s neck.” For his part, the actor and comedian admits that he did put his hands on the employee’s shoulder, but says he did nothing more than ask her for help. The police called to the scene reviewed the incident on taped surveillance footage and determined nothing illegal had been done on the actor’s part. Says Belzer, “The sad part of it was that police officers were called and had to report to the scene and God knows we don’t need all that manpower wasted on a trivial accusation that was clearly done either for attention or to embarrass a famous person… I don’t want her to be fired, I just want her to seek help.” According to reports, the employee has filed a harassment complaint with the NYPD, which is a matter for the civil court. ‘Law & Order’ cop: Choking claim is pure fiction [NY Post]

  • Share/Bookmark

{ 0 comments }

The story — TV star stands accused of going nuts on a store employee — is something straight out of any one of the numerous Law & Order shows on NBC. But this time it’s real, and the actor in question is Richard Belzer, long-time co-star on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. The NYPD — the real NYPD — was called to the Apple Store on Manhattan’s Upper West SIde last night in response to a call about an assault in progress. Belzer, had gone to the store with two associates to buy a computer. And according to the store employee alleging the attack, “I approached him like he was a regular customer. I asked how can I help you. He told me what he needed, and then before I was able to speak again, he lunges in and grabs my neck. It was no gentle manner. There is no gentle manner to grab someone’s neck.” For his part, the actor and comedian admits that he did put his hands on the employee’s shoulder, but says he did nothing more than ask her for help. The police called to the scene reviewed the incident on taped surveillance footage and determined nothing illegal had been done on the actor’s part. Says Belzer, “The sad part of it was that police officers were called and had to report to the scene and God knows we don’t need all that manpower wasted on a trivial accusation that was clearly done either for attention or to embarrass a famous person… I don’t want her to be fired, I just want her to seek help.” According to reports, the employee has filed a harassment complaint with the NYPD, which is a matter for the civil court. ‘Law & Order’ cop: Choking claim is pure fiction [NY Post]

  • Share/Bookmark

{ 0 comments }

Interbrand Design Forum– part of a global brand consulting firm– has ranked the top retail brands and guess what? Walmart is most valuable. Here are the top 10: Walmart Target Best Buy The Home Depot Walgreens CVS Sam’s Club Dell Coach Amazon.com Do you agree? Walmart, Target, Best Buy Named Most Valuable Brands [Brandweek]

  • Share/Bookmark

{ 0 comments }

Interbrand Design Forum– part of a global brand consulting firm– has ranked the top retail brands and guess what? Walmart is most valuable. Here are the top 10: Walmart Target Best Buy The Home Depot Walgreens CVS Sam’s Club Dell Coach Amazon.com Do you agree? Walmart, Target, Best Buy Named Most Valuable Brands [Brandweek]

  • Share/Bookmark

{ 0 comments }

A sushi chef in California faces a year in prison and up to $100,000 in fines after being charged with serving endangered whale meat at his restaurant. The chef at popular Santa Monica eatery The Hump, was charged with violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act by serving the meat of the Sei Whale. The restaurant was also named in the charges. “Someone should not be able to walk into a restaurant and order a plate of an endangered species,” U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. said in a statement. Wildlife and Customs officials undertook a sting operation at the restaurant to catch them whale-handed. Two confidential informants ordered whale meat from the chef, who then went to the parking lot and came back with a package of meat and began slicing it. When prodded by another customer about the mystery meat, the chef “quietly said that it was ‘whale.’” and then served it to the informants. Sushi chef, restaurant charged with serving endangered whale [Reuters]

  • Share/Bookmark

{ 0 comments }

A sushi chef in California faces a year in prison and up to $100,000 in fines after being charged with serving endangered whale meat at his restaurant. The chef at popular Santa Monica eatery The Hump, was charged with violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act by serving the meat of the Sei Whale. The restaurant was also named in the charges. “Someone should not be able to walk into a restaurant and order a plate of an endangered species,” U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. said in a statement. Wildlife and Customs officials undertook a sting operation at the restaurant to catch them whale-handed. Two confidential informants ordered whale meat from the chef, who then went to the parking lot and came back with a package of meat and began slicing it. When prodded by another customer about the mystery meat, the chef “quietly said that it was ‘whale.’” and then served it to the informants. Sushi chef, restaurant charged with serving endangered whale [Reuters]

  • Share/Bookmark

{ 0 comments }

Once again looking for anything even vaguely resembling a silver lining in these craptastic economic times, a new report shows that, while foreclosures did increase overall in February, they only increased a little bit… relatively speaking. According to RealtyTrac, February saw the lowest year-over-year increase in filings in Jan. 2006 and filings were actually down 2% from the month before. But before everyone gets their hopes up, RealtyTrac cautions, “This leveling of the foreclosure trend is not necessarily evidence that fewer homeowners are in distress and at risk for foreclosure, but rather that foreclosure prevention programs, legislation and other processing delays are, in effect, capping monthly foreclosure activity — albeit at a historically high level that will likely continue for an extended period.” Though Nevada still ranks highest on the list of states with foreclosures, with one foreclosure for every 102 homes, it did see a decrease in foreclosures of over 30% from last February. The national average was one foreclosure for every 438 homes. Vermont had the fewest foreclosures, with a ratio of only one foreclosure per 39,077 houses. Meanwhile, six states – California, Florida, Michigan, Illinois, Arizona and Texas – accounted for 60 percent of all foreclosure filings in February, though only Michigan (59%) and Illinois (21%) showed major year-over-year jumps in foreclosures. Maryland and Utah had year-over-year foreclosure increases of 80% and 90% respectively. Feb. foreclosure filings at year-over-year low [Philadelphia Inquirer]

  • Share/Bookmark

{ 0 comments }

Once again looking for anything even vaguely resembling a silver lining in these craptastic economic times, a new report shows that, while foreclosures did increase overall in February, they only increased a little bit… relatively speaking. According to RealtyTrac, February saw the lowest year-over-year increase in filings in Jan. 2006 and filings were actually down 2% from the month before. But before everyone gets their hopes up, RealtyTrac cautions, “This leveling of the foreclosure trend is not necessarily evidence that fewer homeowners are in distress and at risk for foreclosure, but rather that foreclosure prevention programs, legislation and other processing delays are, in effect, capping monthly foreclosure activity — albeit at a historically high level that will likely continue for an extended period.” Though Nevada still ranks highest on the list of states with foreclosures, with one foreclosure for every 102 homes, it did see a decrease in foreclosures of over 30% from last February. The national average was one foreclosure for every 438 homes. Vermont had the fewest foreclosures, with a ratio of only one foreclosure per 39,077 houses. Meanwhile, six states – California, Florida, Michigan, Illinois, Arizona and Texas – accounted for 60 percent of all foreclosure filings in February, though only Michigan (59%) and Illinois (21%) showed major year-over-year jumps in foreclosures. Maryland and Utah had year-over-year foreclosure increases of 80% and 90% respectively. Feb. foreclosure filings at year-over-year low [Philadelphia Inquirer]

  • Share/Bookmark

{ 0 comments }