for life and liberty

Hacker Forces Colin Powell To Deny Affair While At State Department

"Powell’s swift denial of an affair--especially one possibly conducted with an official of a foreign government while he served as America’s chief diplomat--was clearly prompted by the sensitive nature of the e-mails sent to his personal AOL account. In the 'very personal' correspondence cited by Powell, Cretu calls him the love of her life and describes a relationship that spanned more than a decade. The 2010-2011 e-mails would leave most readers with the clear impression that the forlorn Cretu is writing about the twilight of a lengthy romance. Powell’s e-mail and Facebook accounts were illegally accessed by 'Guccifer.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHacker Forces Colin Powell To Deny Affair While At State Department

Obama nominates former Freddie Mac executive to lead IRS

"President Barack Obama on Thursday nominated John Koskinen, who has held a variety of roles in government, to lead the Internal Revenue Service amid a controversy over the agency’s scrutiny of conservative political groups. Koskinen was in charge of the government’s effort to prevent computer failures to prepare for the year 2000, is a former executive of Freddie Mac, the government-controlled mortgage funding group, and served as deputy mayor for Washington, D.C." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama nominates former Freddie Mac executive to lead IRS

Portuguese court orders rehiring of drunk ‘happy worker’ garbage collectors

"A Portuguese court has ordered a waste removal company to rehire an employee it fired for being drunk on his rounds and said tipsy trash men appear happier to members of the public. The appeals court in Porto, a northern city renowned for its port wines, also ordered the company to pay the man 14 months’ worth of back wages. The three judges ruled that the waste collector had not broken any rules on alcohol consumption at work because the firm had not written any. It also rejected the use of a blood alcohol test submitted as evidence without his permission." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPortuguese court orders rehiring of drunk ‘happy worker’ garbage collectors

Illinois man pays $150,000 legal settlement in truck full of quarters

"A man in Williamson County, Illinois pulled a truckload of bags of quarters up to a law office on Wednesday, delivering his share of a court-ordered payment in a wrongful death suit. When asked why he was paying the $150,000 in quarters, Roger Herrin told WSIL-TV, 'Because I couldn’t do it in pennies.' In 2001, Herrin’s 15-year-old son was killed in a car accident when an uninsured truck driver ran a stop sign. The three other passengers in the car were injured. Immediately afterward, the families of the injured victims began to squabble with Herrin over the settlement, he said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIllinois man pays $150,000 legal settlement in truck full of quarters

Drone-Hunter’s Motto: “The Fly in Town — they Get Shot Down”

"On two occasions in a single week, surveillance drones operated from Florida’s Tyndall Air Force Base were destroyed in incidents that put the public at risk. This is one of many reasons why cities across the country should emulate the example set by Deer Trail, Colorado. The municipal government of that village of 540 people is considering a proposal under which it would issue a $100 reward to 'any shooter who presents a valid hunting license and … identifiable parts' of a federally operated drone. As Deer Trail resident Philip Steel explains: 'We do not want drones in town. They fly in town, they get shot down.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDrone-Hunter’s Motto: “The Fly in Town — they Get Shot Down”

French president promises to keep ban on Monsanto GMO corn despite court ruling

"French President Francois Hollande said Friday that a ban on growing GM corn sold by US giant Monsanto would remain in place, despite a court ruling reversing the suspension. 'The moratorium will be extended,' he said on a visit to the southwestern department of Dordogne. France’s Council of State court ruled Thursday that the French moratorium imposed on growing MON810 corn since March 2012 failed to uphold European Union law. MON810 includes an inserted gene that makes the corn plant exude a natural toxin that is poisonous to insect pests. This offers a potential financial gain for farmers, as they do not have to use chemical pesticides." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrench president promises to keep ban on Monsanto GMO corn despite court ruling

FDA: ‘Gluten-free’ foods now must legally have less than .002 percent gluten

"The FDA began examining potential regulations more than six years ago when Congress passed the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act, requiring the FDA to develop guidelines for gluten-free labels. The agency proposed gluten-free regulations in 2007 but did not finalize them. The delay came from scientific assessments, interaction with the celiac community and a safety assessment to validate 20 parts per million as a safe cut-off level, Taylor said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFDA: ‘Gluten-free’ foods now must legally have less than .002 percent gluten

Florida won’t investigate police shooting of Chechen man during questioning

"State investigators in Florida have rejected a request for an independent investigation of the fatal shooting of a Chechen man while he was being questioned about his ties to one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects. Florida’s department of law enforcement declined the request by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida to look into the death of Ibragim Todashev. Todashev was killed in May while being questioned by FBI agents and others. Officials originally said Todashev lunged at an FBI agent with a knife. They later said it was no longer clear what happened." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFlorida won’t investigate police shooting of Chechen man during questioning

Bill Gates: Flip-Flopping IP Hypocrite

"A couple decades ago, Bill Gates seemed to have some appreciation of the damage wrought by patent law. Yet over the years Microsoft relied on the other major form of intellectual property—copyright—to dominate aspects of the software industry, and then to use the monopoly profits to accumulate thousands of patents. These two forms of IP are then used together to squelch competition. Now that Gates has used state-granted IP monopolies to acquire billions of dollars that he can then use to be a bigshot philanthropist, he is all for patents (as my friend Rob Wicks says, Gates is 'America’s wealthiest welfare queen')." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Gates: Flip-Flopping IP Hypocrite

Who’s Hiring in the U.S. and What They Pay

"The segment of the economy that has added the most jobs since the recession ended in June 2009 is classified as 'professional and business services.' About 2.12 million jobs have been created for architects, engineers, scientists, managers, computer geeks, and yes, journalists. This is normally high-paying work with an average hourly wage of $28.41 an hour, which translates into $1,136 a week. Unfortunately, almost half of the new professional jobs since mid-2009 were created at temporary-hiring agencies. The work doesn’t always lead to a full-time job and these positions pay far less: $15.74 an hour." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWho’s Hiring in the U.S. and What They Pay