follow-up

That Soldier Wooing You Over Facebook Probably Isn't Real

Max Read · 02/27/11 11:37PM

Is a handsome young soldier currently professing his love to you on Facebook? He might be real! But probably, he's not. Especially if he's asking you to send him money. The AP reports that the fake-Facebook-soldier (or whatever the snappy conman name is) is "becoming an all-too-common ruse," in one case costing a victim $25,000. It is not a particularly sophisticated ruse, however:

H&M Changes Its Tune

cityfile · 01/07/10 09:37AM

That was quick. Yesterday, the Times revealed that stores like H&M destroyed unsold merchandise rather than give it to the needy. Now the Swedish retailer says it plans to make sure it doesn't happen again, since it isn't the company's "standard practice." [NYT, previously]

Senegal Settles

cityfile · 11/30/09 12:05PM

Remember the amusing lawsuit that a landlord filed against the government of Senegal earlier this month after the African nation agreed to buy a plot of land in Midtown and then backed out of the deal? The suit has been settled, the Observer reports today, and a "Maison du Senegal" will soon be erected on East 44th Street. Get excited! [NYO, previously]

Bernie: Officially Cancer-Free

cityfile · 08/24/09 11:27AM

Bernie Madoff may not be dying of cancer, after all. The Federal Bureau of Prisons just released a statement on the subject, and it's denying the report in today's Post that the fraudster's days are numbered:

Pink Elephant Responds

cityfile · 06/18/09 01:17PM

The folks at Guest of a Guest forwarded us a statement from Pink Elephant regarding the bankruptcy filing we reported on earlier. They'd like to make it clear that it's just the Southampton outpost of Pink Elephant that filed Chapter 11. Since it's a franchise operation, the club in Manhattan (as well as the one in São Paulo) won't be affected by it. So if you were concerned you'd no longer have the opportunity to meet the sort of sweet, down-to-earth girls you see pictured, don't you worry. You will!

Mixed Messages at Pfizer

cityfile · 06/09/09 11:47AM

When we revealed recently that Pfizer had put two of its corporate jets up for sale, we assumed it was a cost-cutting measure on the pharma conglomerate's part. It may be. But not necessarily! David Collins of the Connecticut newspaper The Day attempted to get to the bottom of things last week and was initially told by a press rep that the company was selling the planes as a "function of cost reduction initiatives." A couple of days later, though, Pfizer reversed course, informing Collins that the company would evaluate its options "for replacing these vehicles." So if you were concerned about poor Jeff Kindler having to deal with the indignity of commercial air travel, guess you needn't give up hope just yet. [The Day, previously]

Kathy Griffin Seeks Viking Superbaby!

ian spiegelman · 10/19/08 10:41AM

We got an email from a person identifying himself as the Craigslist advertiser whose "A+" "Irish/Danish" "well-endowed" sperm could be yours just for the cost of his college education. The Aryan semen factory tells us that bids on his little swimmers have been rushing in. "So far have recieved about 250 emails containing offers. One email claiming to be from Kathy Griffin. The largest offer so far is $1.5 million." Kathy Griffin? If that is true, doesn't she realize that her overwhelmingly Irish stock will cancel out his 50% great Dane genes? So, Kathy, are you really shopping around for supersperm? Let us know! tips@gawker.com

These Woman Are Not Whores

ian spiegelman · 03/30/08 12:02PM

Innocent real estate wasn't the only victim of sloppy reporting at the Times last week. "An article on March 16 profiling three sex workers in the wake of Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s resignation after revelations that he patronized prostitutes misconstrued how two of the women, identified by the pseudonyms Faith O’Donnell and Sally Anderson, said they earned a living. The resulting misrepresentation of the two women’s work included a headline that referred to them as 'high-priced call girls' and a paragraph that said they practiced 'the 21st-century version of the oldest profession.'