Watercooler Stories

Judge clears debt, blasts Discover

CLEVELAND, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- A municipal judge in Cleveland has eliminated a 53-year-old disabled woman's Discover Card debt and issued a caustic reproach to the credit-card company.

During a six-year period, Ruth Owens made payments totaling $3,492 on a Discover Card debt of only $1,895 that only increased due to accumulated late fees and other charges, even well after she made her final purchase, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported. Discover eventually inflated her debt to a balance of $5,564 and filed a lawsuit against Owens in August 2003 for breach of contract.

But Cleveland Municipal Judge Robert Triozzi wiped out the balance last week, writing in his ruling: "This court is all too aware of the widespread financial exploitation of the urban poor by overbearing credit-card companies. Defendant has clearly been the victim of plaintiff's unreasonable, unconscionable and unjust business practice."

Triozzi wrote that while Owens' attempts to continue to pay Discover "clearly (placed) her on the moral high road, the same highway unfortunately was her road to financial ruin."

'You're Fired!' tops TV buzzwords

DANVILLE, Calif., Sept. 14 (UPI) -- "You're Fired!" -- Donald Trump's trademark phrase from NBC's "The Apprentice" -- tops the Television Buzzword List for the 2003-2004 season.

Global Language Monitor reported Tuesday that close behind were the buzzwords: "Mess O Potamia" from Comedy Central's "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, "Girlie Men" from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, "God" from "Joan of Arcadia" on CBS and "Wardrobe Malfunction" from the Super Bowl XXXVIII.

Also on the list were: "Infectious disease," from CBS's "CSI" franchise, "OCD" from "Monks" Tony Shaloub's trademark obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Buzzwords no longer hot included: "fahgeddaboutit" from HBO's "The Sopranos," and "Voted off the island" from the "Survivor" series on CBS.

"Television has always had a disproportionate impact on culture, reverberating far beyond the confines of the studio world," said Paul JJ Payack, president of The Global Language Monitor.

Two German films feature Hitler

COLOGNE, Germany, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Two German film producers have released movies centered on Adolf Hitler in an attempt to examine the humanity of the 20th century dictator.

"Downfall: Hitler and the End of the Third Reich" opens Thursday across Germany, with "The Devil's Architect" scheduled to air on German TV in May, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.

Critics have decried the films for their attempts to evoke sympathy for Hitler, but the producers defended their works.

"The time is ripe for such a film ... if you had an overall sympathy for Hitler, then the film has failed in its intention. But to show sympathy in certain moments is, I believe, quite fine," said Bernd Eichinger, who produced and wrote "Downfall."

"Hitler was a genius seducer, so you have to show that he was charming," said Heinrich Breloer, the director of "Architect." "You have to show him as a human being. But he is also ruthless, a killer with the eyes of a shark. You have to depict all his nuances. We have to look at the man behind the newsreel images."

Red Bull does not keep alcohol's buzz

SÃO PAULO, Brazil, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Researchers in Brazil Tuesday said the energy drink Red Bull does not maintain alcohol's buzz, a common belief among young people.

Maria Lucia Souza Formigoni, at Federal University in Sao Paulo, said young people tend to combine energy drinks with alcohol when partying in a belief the combination will improve stamina.

Energy drinks usually contain a mix of caffeine, taurine, carbohydrates, B-complex vitamins and gluconolactone but there is little research on their purported ability to delay the depressant effects of alcohol on the central nervous system, the researchers said.

Their study of 14 healthy male volunteers, in the September issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, finds the energy drink Red Bull, when consumed jointly with alcohol, does not improve a person's physical performance at all.

The researchers also cautioned that regardless of the energy drink, alcohol consumption can result in impaired judgment and cognitive function.

Target bans Salvation Army

MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Target stores in the Twin Cities area have put an end to the Salvation Army's Christmastime drive in order to standardize their no-solicitation policy.

More than one-third of the charity's bell-ringing income in Minneapolis and St. Paul has come from soliciting customers at Target Brand Inc. storefronts, but the giant retailer notified the Army last January it will have to find alternate sites to entreat the public for donations, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

Target spokeswoman Carolyn Brookter said the bell-ringing ban was precipitated by increasing requests from non-profit groups for similar solicitation rights.

"It's becoming increasingly difficult to have an exception to our policy, so we decided we would have no exceptions. This year we just said it's time to ... make our solicitation policy consistent," Brookter said.

The Army's bell ringers raised more than three-quarters of a million dollars at 43 Target stores in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area last year.