Facebook Piles on the Guilt Before You Deactivate Your Account

One of the biggest challenges social networking sites face is retaining users. While Facebook seems to be doing just fine with its roughly 250 million current members, the site has a pretty sly trick up its sleeve for those considering deactivating their account. If you head to the deactivation page, you'll be shown five photos of your friends with a message saying they'll miss you. The page also notes how many friends you have and how they'll no longer be able to keep in touch with you, as well as providing a direct link to send a message to your displayed friends.

While I have no plans of deactivating my own account, I hit up the page to see which of my friends appeared in the photos. Surprisingly, every photo was of me with a friend. It's likely the algorithm first chooses photos that have both you and your friends in them to deepen the emotional connection. Sneaky. I have to admit, tugging at the good ole heart strings to keep me on the site is clever, and damned if I didn't feel a pang of guilt when their sad eyes stared accusingly at me for trying to leave.

Alice in Wonderland Trailer Is Released

From the looks of the new trailer for Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland, Alice – and movie-goers – will be in for a wild ride when the film hits theaters next year.

The fanciful Walt Disney Pictures adaptation stars Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter and Australian actress Mia Wasikowska as Alice.

Check out what happens when she falls through the rabbit hole.

Alice In Wonderland is due out March 5, 2010, which the trailer calls "a very important date," indeed.

"¡Yo quiero Taco Bell!" No More. Taco Bell Chihuahua Dies

She charmed millions without ever saying a word, and managed to make fast food tacos adorable. Gidget, the Chihuahua best known for her Taco Bell ad campaign, died from a stroke on Tuesday night at age 15. 

"She made so many people happy," says Gidget's trainer, Sue Chipperton. Her last gig was at a Hollywood animals photo shoot in February, where it was reported that the pup was a consummate pro and delighted the crew with her playful nature. 

The mostly retired actor lived out her days laying in the sun – "I like to joke that it's like looking after a plant," says Chipperton – and entertaining at shoots when her trainer brought her along. "Gidget," says Chipperton, "always knew where the camera was." 

Ringling Bros. Beats Animals - PETA

A new video provided by an animals rights group shows handlers at the Ringling Bros. circus repeatedly hitting elephants before they enter the ring to perform.

The footage of "The Greatest Show on Earth," which also shows trainers whipping tigers during rehearsal, was taken by a member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, who posed as a stagehand with the circus for six months.  Throughout the video, backstage handlers are seen striking elephants with bull hooks across the body, legs and head. In one instance, a handler digs the pointed end of the bull hook into the flesh near an elephant's ear and yanks. In another, a man uses profanity, yelling at the animal before beating him.

Visit RinglingBeatsAnimals.com

Chinese Employee Commits Suicide Over Lost iPhone Prototype

A young man responsible for a massively popular tech prototype suddenly finds himself under the scrutiny of police and his employer when a top-secret project goes missing. After intense pressure, possible abuse at the hands of officials, and an illegal search of his private space, the employee can't take it any more, and he commits suicide. A thrilling novel? No, this is the ongoing saga unfolding at Apple's Chinese manufacturer right now. 

Twenty-five-year-old Sun Danyong was a recent engineering graduate working for Foxconn, a company responsible for creating the prototypes that turn into the iPhone.   Apparently, on July 9th, Sun Danyong received 16 prototypes of the fourth generation iPhone from the assembly line at Foxconn. Over the course of the next few days, he discovered that one was missing and reported it to his employer. Two days later, on July 15th, three Foxconn employees allegedly showed up at his house and searched his apartment -- in violation of Chinese law. He was detained and -- according to some reports -- abused. The next night, according to reported surveillance footage, Sun leaped to his death from his apartment window. 

Apple is known for its secrecy and ability to surprise the industry, so we can only imagine that there's considerable pressure to maintain employee silence. Leaking iPhone secrets would mean disaster for Foxconn's relationship with Apple, so when the phone went missing, Sun's employers may have resorted to unethical measures. Unfortunately, it seems that industry pressure concerning one of the world's most sought-after smart phones pushed Foxconn -- and Sun -- way too far

Jamie Lynn-Sigler Replacing "Ugly Betty!"

As fans of Ugly Betty know, last season ended with Betty (América Ferrera) receiving a promotion to features editor, meaning that Mode Editor-in-Chief Daniel Meade is now without an assistant. Enter Jamie-Lynn Sigler!

The Sopranos actress has recently signed on to play the role of Betty's replacement on the hit ABC show. Sigler will play Natalie, a "sexy, spiritual, fun" lady who steps on the scene as Meade's new assistant just when things are going from bad to worse for him. Hmm, sounds like she might be just the right girl for Meade to lean on as he copes with the death of his wife.

I can't wait to see what Sigler does with the character!  She will make her debut as Natalie in Ugly Betty's second episode. The two-hour season premiere of Betty airs Oct. 9.

Leann Rimes & Eddie Cibrian caught by Us Weekly on a date?

Despite repeated denials of an affair between 'Northern Lights' costars Eddie Cibrian and LeAnn Rimes, one person isn't buying the story: Eddie Cibrian's wife.

Us Weekly has the exclusive video of LeAnn Rimes andEddie Cibrian kissing, holding hands -- and even sucking on each other's fingers during a March 7 date at Mosun and Club M in Laguna Beach, California.

SEE THE VIDEO.

Twenty-two seconds into the clip (watch below), Cibrian arrives at the restaurant and they walk in hand-in-hand. Then they're seated -- as seen in the center left of the frame -- and proceed to hold hands (36 seconds) and kiss (1:47). At the 2:10 mark, Rimes suggestively sucks on Cibrian's finger. They leave together shortly after.

Us Weekly has seen the $95 receipt for the dinner, as paid for by Cibrian on his credit card and signed by him.

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The Us Magazine Video Purportedly of Rimes and Cibrian
http://www.usmagazine.com/news/leann-rimes-and-eddie-cibrian-makeout-video-2009193