Yes, it's strange, was there anything in the media leading up to this decision? If not, it lends credence to Hasbrouck’s claims.
One possible problem with this (imho) are trademark problems for US businesses. Large corporations won't have any problem, as most are international conglomerates anyway, but middle and small US businesses could have big problems. Am I interpreting this correctly?
I haven’t read enough about it yet, so I don’t know.
As to your other point about the Drive-By Media, I am in a constant state of pissed-off-ness about the socialist-corporate media suppressing important news.