The article states it was actually a low speed taxi test, but I agree with your overall point. I don't think I've ever heard of them as "runway trails" only "taxi tests".

I don't want to seem like I'm implying that there wasn't any industrial espionage going on during the development of the TU-144 or the Bakinor shuttle, however there could be valid reasons those designs turned out the way they did. In aerospace engineering (and in other engineering areas as well) form typically follows function. So when you're using technology of the day to design either a supersonic commercial transport or a lifting body orbital spacecraft, you're going to find the optimized aerodynamic shapes look quite similar even when approaching the problem from two initial starting points.

Is it solipsistic in here, or is it just me?

The first part of her statement was "I can't trust Obama, he's not... he's not... he's an Arab."

Maybe it's just my interpretation, but could it be McCain's comment about Obama being a good man be directed towards the first part of her statement about him being untrustworthy and not him saying that Arabs can't be good men?