• When checked for factual accuracy, the Obama administration’s assessment of a $100 billion government investment in technology appears overly optimistic. [AP]
•Senator Dick Lugar and others are mad at President Obama because he hasn’t even named an ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations trade group, let alone sent one to yesterday’s meeting. [Bloomberg]
• India, which is one of several countries whose intelligence community isn’t smart enough to decrypt messages sent on BlackBerries, is holding an emergency meeting about the Research In Motion device. A BlackBerry ban is in the works if RIM doesn’t start cooperating. [Reuters]
• BP, the company best known for destroying the Gulf of Mexico, is backing off plans to drill in the Arctic Sea, much to the relief of local polar bears and seals. [AFP]
• Diageo, whom can all thank for Smirnoff, Guinness, Jose Cuervo and other coping mechanisms, saw full-year profits rise 1.5 percent, but North American sales were down on pervasive unwillingness to tuck in your skirt and take another shot. [MarketWatch]
