• by December 15, 2004

HAS BILL GATES BEEN SEARCHING FOR SOME INSURANCE? -- Is there more to the Riff, er rift, between GEICO and Google? We can't help wondering. Especially now that Warren Buffet has tapped old friend Bill Gates to join the board of Berkshire Hathaway, a company run by Buffet that just so happens to own GEICO.

GEICO, as you may recall, tried but failed in a trademark lawsuit against search giant Google. Had GEICO prevailed at trial, Google could have been forced to change the very lucrative business model for its AdWord program, which involved allowing companies to show ads to consumers seeking information about rivals. But, if the lawsuit was all part of a giant plan, it was foiled on Wednesday, when a federal judge threw out the heart of GEICO's lawsuit.

GEICO said it pursued the legal action to protect its own trademark, but given Microsoft's apparent connection to GEICO, and the software giant's own designs on Google's search market dominance, we're just not sure.

WAS IT JUST HER SKIN, OR WAS IT BECAUSE OF CHINA'S SKINS? - Animal rights activist and former Baywatcher Pam Anderson would rather go naked than wear fur, but China's censors are giving Anderson's bare shoulder, well, the cold shoulder. The Associated Press reports Anderson is having a tough time getting her naked body into the People's Republic. The PETA (People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals) campaign shows Anderson, covering her breast with her arm and the slogan "Give fur the cold shoulder." With snowflakes falling in the background, Chinese copy reads: "cold shoulders are nothing compared to the pain they feel" and "please don't wear fur." The poster remains in ad purgatory, waiting for the green light. Good luck. According to PETA, China was the origin of 40 percent of all American fur imports in 2000.