Something a little different today.  The following is a list of headlines that interested me recently.   About half of them are authentic and half are simply my imagination.    Go through them and click on Authentic or Not so Much.  If the headline is authentic - there will be a link to the headline.  Take a point for each correct guess.  Use the comment to note your score.

Oh, and one last point… just because a headline is authentic - that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily true.

1. Somolia patriarch’s CIA connection
   Allegations are emerging that Samaal Samaale, an influential elder in the largest tribe implicated in recent piracy outrages, was a key CIA contact in the early eighties.  Authentic or Not so Much.
2. Paris liberation made ‘whites only’
   Papers unearthed by the BBC reveal that British and American commanders ensured that the liberation of Paris on 25 August 1944 was seen as a “whites only” victory. Authentic or Not so Much
   
3. Player assaulted over plagiarism of Second Life avatar
   Popular Second Life game has spawned a nasty outbreak of violence at recent convention in Monterey.  Authentic or Not so Much
4. Study shows grooming at red lights a bigger danger than cell phones.
   Put away the cosmetics.  Researchers at the University of Manchester have demonstrated that preening drivers are actually much more preoccupied than those that chat while driving. Authentic or Not so Much
5. COBOL code almost all gone at 50th anniversary.
   According to David Stephenson, the UK manager for the software provider Micro Focus, “only about 7% to 8% of UK plc business transactions are still based on Cobol”.  Authentic or Not so much
6. New rare orangutan find in Borneo
   A hitherto unknown population of orangutans numbering perhaps 1-2,000 has been found on the island of Borneo, conservation researchers say.  Authentic or Not so Much.
7. Ever Heard Of A Four-Eared Feline?
   Unlike the cruel and unusual punishment of the cat o’nine tails, this cute cat o’ four ears is nothing to be afraid of.  Authentic or Not so Much.
8. Sesame Street to lay off the letters Q, X, Z, J, and the semicolon
   In yet another troubling sign of the flailing economy, iconic television children’s show Sesame Street has announced layoffs, which the show’s producers say will affect 20% of its staff. However, the cuts don’t stop there.  Authentic or Not so Much
9. Chinese Bias for Baby Boys Creates a Gap of 32 Million
   A British Medical Journal paper says that males under 20 outnumber young females by 32 million, largely because of sex-selective abortion.  Authentic or Not so Much
10. Google quietly announces acquisition of Zipcar
    Citing a need a greater need for open, on-demand mobility, the Mountain View search giant announced in their blog the acquisition of Zipcar.  Does this signal a new direction for Google?  Authentic or Not so Much