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Comcast Spending Big On Legion Of Lobbyists To Try To Win Approval For TWC Merger

Mergers are an expensive business. Not only is Comcast spending $45 billion just to buy Time Warner Cable, but also there are the costs of getting the deal approved. Trying to convince regulators and lawmakers that this arrangement is not only not harmful, but potentially beneficial, is a hefty undertaking. That means a legion of lobbyists.

The Hill reports today on the scope of Comcast’s lobbying campaign, calling it the “shock and awe” approach. The cable company has employed no fewer than 40 separate lobbying firms to blanket DC with arguments on its behalf.

Comcast keeps a large stable of lobbyists working anyway; The Hill says that at the start of the year they employed 33 firms. The extra seven were hired since Comcast and TWC announced their merger intention in February.

Why hire so many different firms? Because lobbying isn’t really about filing forms and moving money. It’s a giant game of matching up the people you know — or have paid — with the people they know. And lobbyists know lots of people in government, because that’s where they used to work.

The lobbyists and lobbying groups Comcast has hired all have ties to the regulatory agencies and Congressional committees that the cable giant needs to win over in order to see its merger bid approved. The Hill outlines several. For example, one who was formerly with the House Judiciary Committee and the DoJ Antitrust Division:

Joseph Gibson of The Gibson Group, which started lobbying for Comcast in April, has held several prominent roles with the House Judiciary Committee, whose members grilled Comcast executives for four hours earlier this month. Gibson also worked at the Justice Department, including a stint advising the assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division.

Over 80% of the lobbyists Comcast currently has on their roster formerly worked for the federal government, The Hill adds, and in 2013 the only company to outspend them on lobbying was Northrop Grumman (an enormous defense contractor).

And of course these lobbyists are all in addition to the significant campaign donations Comcast is sprinkling through Congress, and the well-timed philanthropic projects that the company uses to buy extra “good-guy” cred.

Not everyone is in favor of the merger, of course. Our colleagues down the hall at Consumers Union joined a protest yesterday at Comcast’s annual shareholder meeting to oppose the planned merger. You can see a video from the event embedded below.

Comcast goes for shock and awe [The Hill via DSLReports]

by Kate Cox via Consumerist

New Arby’s Ad: Watch 13 Hours Of Brisket Cooking

Brisket_440x282 Here at Consumerist headquarters, we enjoyed Netflix’s original programming for April Fool’s Day 2014: streaming films of bacon frying and rotisserie chickens roasting. They had a lovely, meditative quality, and made fine sleep aids. Would they make a good advertisement, though? That’s what Arby’s aims to find out with their mission to create the longest-ever TV advertisement.

Maybe it’s a natural evolution. The first-ever TV ad was only 10 seconds long, and now we have program-length extended infomercials. Why not run 13 hours of meat-roasting footage?

The Arby’s ad promotes the chain’s new brisket sandwich, and the crew who made the video say that it was filmed in the smokehouse where the actual briskets that will be used nationwide are cured.

“The real news about this sandwich is the brisket is smoked for 13 hours and really nobody knows that,” the man behind this ad told the New York Times. What better way to get the message across to customers that the smoke flavor isn’t bottled than to show the meat being smoked, live on camera?

The whole 13-hour smoking process will show on broadcast TV in Duluth, Minnesota tomorrow afternoon. (It has to show on a real TV station, not just online, in order to make the Guinness Book of World Records.) The rest of us will have to wait until next week, when they will stream the ad online, offering cash prizes to viewers that will pop up at random. At the end of the epic film, the company’s executive chef slices off a piece and assembles a sandwich on-camera. Of course.

Televising Sizzling Meat to Bump Up Sales of a Brisket Sandwich [New York Times]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

How To Not Suck At Booking A Vacation Rental

(Misfit Photographer)

For many, summer means renting a vacation home. Perhaps you dream of a week at the beach or some quiet time at a secluded lakeside cottage deep in the woods. Whatever your vacation fantasy, don’t let your excitement for some time away lure you into making a major vacation mistake.

Like renting a place that’s not a palace, but a pit.

Or learning your down payment money went to a ne’er-do-well who never had the right to rent you a property in the first place.

(Not to mention what’s gone wrong for some Airbnb-ers — from having homes turned into brothels or a crib to host sex parties.)

Looking online may seem to be the fastest and easiest way to get a reasonably-priced rental, but it’s also a great breeding place for real estate scammers.

Before you plunk down any money — especially if you’re a faraway traveler who can’t see a property ahead of time — follow these six tips on how to not suck at booking a vacation home.

1. If it looks too good…

There are plenty of reasons a vacation property may be listed for rent at a surprisingly cheap rate, but, well… We can’t think of any that are good.

Anyone can post photos of a beautiful seaside retreat and say it’s the property they have for rent. Maybe the photos are real, or maybe they were borrowed from a legit travel web site and a completely different property.

Before you put any money down, do some investigating of your own. Use online satellite map programs to get a real look at the address, or simply add the address to a Google search and see what you find.

If that’s not enough, consider contacting a local real estate agent or even a local shop to see if anyone can vouch for the quality of the property.

2. Know who you’re renting from

If you’re going directly through an owner and not a property management or real estate company, put on your sleuth’s hat.

Search for the owner’s name on social media and see what you can come up with. Plug the name into a search engine, too.

Some states have property ownership records online, or you can call the local municipality and request the info. You’ll want to make sure the person renting the property to you actually owns it.

If you can’t find public records to support this, ask the landlord for a copy of a utility bill with his/her name and the property address.

Even if you think you’re working with a reputable real estate firm, you still need to double check. Some scammers have hacked into listings of legit rental sites, stealing property info and pretending to unsuspecting vacationers that they have the right to rent a property they have no real ties to.

Also ask to have a phone conversation with the owner. Hearing a person’s voice is no guarantee, but it may help you go with your gut depending on what you hear.

3. Read online reviews like a skeptic

Anyone can post a positive review (or two, or six…) about a property on a rental web site. That doesn’t mean the author actually stayed in the property.

Most renters, even those who absolutely loved a home, may have small criticisms. Any review that’s all glowing words with no caveats could very well be fake.

Also look for mentions of the owner’s names in the reviews, and make sure they match the landlord you’re talking to.

4. Where you shop matters

While free listings services like Craigslist can be a good place to look for a rental, they can also be home to many unsavory characters.

If you’re not going to go through a real estate company, only use web sites that have a proven track record. Sure, some of the properties listed could be phonies, but many sites perform background checks on those who list properties, or at the very least they do some research to make sure a listing is the real thing.

5. Get it in writing

A huckster can certainly come up with a fake contract, or choose not to honor one, but getting the details of the property in writing is always a smart move. (A legit landlord should want this anyway to protect her property.)

If it turns out that the property isn’t what was promised, you may have some recourse with a contract.

6. Pay the right way

Many property management companies will accept credit cards for deposits, and that will give you the most protection should something go awry.

Landlords who rent directly may not accept credit cards. Ask if you can use PayPal or a similar service because this will at least give you some protections and the ability to trace the person who received your funds.

Your landlord may want a personal check. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but be aware that you’re putting your account number and address in the hands of the check-casher.

If something goes wrong, you won’t have much recourse, and the bad guy will have your banking information.

Of course, the flip side of that could work to your advantage if something goes wrong. You will have a copy of your cashed check with the casher’s account number and signature on it, and that may help track a scammer down… Unless they use a check-cashing service.

If the landlord wants cash, beware. Don’t use wire transfer services either because you’ll have no way to track down stolen down payments.

7. Home exchanges

One way to get a vacation rental is to trade your property with someone else’s for the week. Of course lots can go wrong here, too — not just with your rental but with your home — but you can do the same research mentioned above on possible home swap candidates.

Have a topic you’d like to see covered in How To Not Suck? Or maybe you’re an expert who would like to share your insight with Consumerist readers? Send us a note at notsuck@consumerist.com.

You can read Karin Price Mueller’s stories for The Star-Ledger at NJ.com, follow her on Facebook, and on Twitter @kpmueller.

DISCLAIMER: Any websites, services, retailers, or brands mentioned in the story above are only intended as some of many options available to consumers, and do not constitute an endorsement by Consumerist, Consumerist Media LLC (CML) or its staff. Per Consumerist’s No Commercial Use Policy, such information may not be used by others in advertising or to promote a company’s product or service. In addition, this policy precludes any commercial use of any of CML’s published information in any form, or of the names of Consumers Union®, Consumer Media, Consumer Reports®, The Consumerist, consumerist.com or any other of CU or CML’s publications or services without CU or CML’s express written permission.

by Karin Price Mueller via Consumerist

Pinco: pin collage creado con pinterest

via Educación tecnológica http://ift.tt/1jKXdXD www.bscformacion.com

Hummus Sold At Target, Trader Joe’s, Giant Eagle Recalled For Potential Listeria Contamination

ucm398121 Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen that can have unpleasant consequences for most people, and serious, life-threatening consequences for people who are very old, very young, already ill, or who are pregnant. A company called Lansal, Inc. that manufactures hummus for Tryst Gourmet and the private-label brands of retailers Target, Trader Joe’s, and Giant Eagle, reports that the pathogen may be in their hummus and related products.

Those products include a five-layer dip sold at Trader Joe’s stores that includes a layer of black bean dip, and sandwich wraps available at SuperTarget stores that include hummus. Random testing of a container of Archer Farms (Target brand) hummus turned up the potential contamination, and other items made in the same plant at the same time have been recalled as a precaution.

Symptoms of Listeria infection include high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. If you have any of the recalled items in your home, you can return them to the store for a full refund. If you have any questions about the recall or whether a product in your fridge has been affected, give the company a call at (877) 550-0694 between 8 A.M. and 8 P.M. Eastern time.

Lansal, Inc. Voluntarily Recalls Hummus & Dip Products Due to Possible Health Risk [FDA] (Thanks, catastrophegirl!)

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Let’ Get Summer Started With Photos Of A Krispy Kreme Triple Cheeseburger

Let’s face facts — If you’re reading Consumerist at all today, it’s probably while sitting bored in a half-empty office wondering why you didn’t just make this a four-day weekend like your co-workers Sue, Linda, Ted, and Steve. We feel for you, honestly. While we can’t do anything to get you out of work any earlier, we can try to summer-up your afternoon with photos of a huge cheeseburger on glazed donut buns.

The NY Daily News points us to the below photos posted to Twitter and Instagram of a triple cheeseburger on Krispy Kreme buns that’s apparently being served at the San Diego County Fair by Chicken Charlie’s, a restaurant whose menu includes Krispy Kreme Sloppy Joes, deep-fried White Castle sliders, and something called the Zucchini Weeni.

So because nothing says summer like massive amounts of ground beef sandwiched between glazed donuts, here is some low-grade food porn to get you in the mood:

Here's that triple cheeseburger on Krispy Kreme bun. http://t.co/h3ASq8LeaC—

Nina Garin (@ninagarin) May 21, 2014

If I'm a little lethargic today, blame Chicken Charlie and his Krispy Kreme triple cheeseburger #sdfairfood http://t.co/0CJN2B1gIq—

Michele Parente (@sdeditgirl) May 21, 2014

#sdfair how is this even legal?? Lol triple cheeseburger with Krispy Kreme "buns" lol. 😳 I get sick looking at it. http://t.co/S7Oh93LW1B—

Terra Musgrove (@T_Musgrove) May 21, 2014

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Following Death Of Child, NHTSA Investigating Dodge Ram Ignition Switch

(Kenny Lannert)

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched an investigation into a possible Chrysler Group pickup truck ignition-switch defect that has resulted in one fatality.

According to a NHTSA report [PDF], the investigation involves more than 110,000 model year 2004-2006 Dodge Ram 2500 and 3500 trucks in which the vehicles started without the clutch being engaged.

In an August 25 incident, a child was killed after another child was able to climb into the cab of a 2006 Ram 3500 truck and start the ignition without depressing the clutch. The vehicle began to roll, then struck and killed a child in front of the truck.

According to a complaint [PDF] filed with NHTSA, the clutch interlock safety switch had not been tampered with and was in its original condition but did not function properly. The switch has been tested and found to be defective.

In another instance [PDF] the owner of a 2006 Ram 3500 reported the ignition key was turned without the clutch engaged and the vehicle began to roll on its own due to a faulty clutch safety switch. According to NHTSA, the man, who was working under the truck’s hood when the incident occurred, was knocked to the ground, but was not injured.

Regulators initiated a preliminary evaluation on May 19 after receiving three complaints from consumers. Regulators will work to assess the scope, frequency and safety-related consequences of the alleged defect.

This is just the latest investigation into ignition-switch issues NHTSA has conducted this year.

General Motors has been the subject of several investigations related to the recall of 1.6 million vehicles for an ignition-switch problem that has been connected to at least 13 deaths and set-off a firestorm of inquiries into the company’s recall behavior.

The company faces multiple probes related to the faulty ignition switch recall, including inquests into how long the company knew about the deadly issue before warning drivers. Last week, GM was slapped on the wrist for $35 million for waiting 13 years to acknowledge an ignition defect it knew about before the first recalled vehicles hit the road.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Final AirTran Flight Scheduled To Depart On Dec. 28

(gumby liberation organization)

It’s been three years since Southwest Airlines acquired budget carrier AirTran, but the two airlines’ fleets have yet to be fully integrated. Southwest has finally put a Dec. 28 date on the ultimate AirTran-branded flight.

AirTran Airways Flight 1 will operate on Sunday, Dec. 28, flying from Atlanta to Tampa. Not coincidentally, this is the same itinerary for the carrier’s first flight more than two decades ago on Oct. 26, 1993.

Back then, AirTran went by the more on-the-nose name of ValuJet. The airline changed its name to AirTran following a 1996 crash in the Florida Everglades that claimed the lives of all 110 passengers and crew members.

Southwest paid $1.4 billion to acquire AirTran. That deal was completed in May 2011. Since then, the two airlines have gradually been integrating their fleets, repainting AirTran’s Boeing 737 jets and selling off its Boeing 717s.

The Last Flight for Southwest’s AirTran Scheduled for December 28 [Skift]

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Consumerist Friday Flickr Finds

Here are twelve of the best photos that readers added to the Consumerist Flickr Pool in the last week, picked for usability in a Consumerist post or for just plain neatness.