Former EMC saleswomen claim they were denied equal pay, forced from accounts and made to visit strip clubs.

Damn, and I missed it!??

No, really, if any of this is true, EMC should be decimated. That's so messed up, it infuriates me that in 2003, a Company of the size of EMC would continue to discriminate.

However, it doesn't surprise me if they're guilty, as the sales staff I knew from EMC were very "frat-boy" like, and overly jocular. Oh, and did I add arrogant? (for those of you who know me, that says quite a bit!)

Bias Suit Depicts EMC as Frat House-esque

Joy Robinson-Van Gilder is a small-town mom from Earlville, Illinois (population 1,778) who began a one-woman campaign to fight the use of biometrics in the schools — and won.

In August of 2005, the public school in Earlville installed biometric equipment, allowing the school to track students by scanning their fingerprints. Use of the scans for school lunch was apparently mandatory. When Robinson-Van Gilder objected, she was told: “If they don’t scan, they don’t eat.”

We need this to be a Federal Law... to protect our youth.

EFF: DeepLinks

Jennifer Stisa Granick Named Civil Liberties Director

San Francisco - Noted computer crime attorney Jennifer Stisa Granick has joined the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) as its new Civil Liberties Director, working on government surveillance, Fourth Amendment, computer security, and computer crime law.

Congratulations Jennifer!!! Many of us love your work!

EFF: Breaking News

A rattlesnake bit Ryan on Aug. 26, 2007, during rehearsals for the competition. She spent 15 hours in a hospital and was given 10 vials of antivenin to counteract the poison from a bite on her right foot.

Ok, after the Ms. Teen South Carolina, I would think that people in the southern states would take the extra time to ensure that they are articulate and well spoken. Along those lines, what is "antivenin"??

Shame, shame, News 5...

NewsChannel 5.com Nashville, Tennessee - Mrs. Tenn. Places Top Three In Mrs. America

possibly noteworthy wrote:

A month from now, $50 billion worth of adjustable rate mortgages will "reset" from the low interest rates at which they originated in October 2005 to much higher rates that will be due for the next 28 years. Hundreds of thousands of people are about to be hit with 30 to 40 percent increases in their monthly payments. Since house prices are falling and October's resets are just the first of many, a long wave of foreclosures seems inevitable.

A fifth of all subprime mortgages made in California since 2005 are headed for foreclosure.

Also, from this week's Economist:

Not surprisingly, Wall Street's seers are chalking down their projections for construction and house prices. Economists at JPMorgan, for instance, now expect the pace of new-home building to fall by a further 30%, while they expect average house prices to tumble between 7.5% and 15% by the end of 2008. Jan Hatzius, an economist at Goldman Sachs, thinks that house prices could drop by between 15% and 30% over the next few years.

Also, from Bloomberg via Marc Andreessen:

Suppose regulators decide to play hardball on how the financial community marks to market, imposing rules that outlaw the existing freewheeling approach to how over-the-counter derivatives are assayed.

Moreover, suppose those new decrees come just as much of the underlying collateral is so tarnished as to be almost worthless compared with its initial valuation.

The ensuing carnage in the balance sheets of every financial-services company in the world would dwarf the damage wrought in the securities industry by the subprime crisis so far.

RESCUE them?

Please, if they can't afford the house, they shouldn't buy!!! And if they haven't figured out that getting to a fixed mortgage isn't important, let them lose their houses.

Why should more of my tax monies go to stupid lenders and dumb buyers?

RE: Rescuing Mortgage Holders

The Teamsters Union said it has been told by officials in the Transportation Department's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that the first Mexican trucks will be coming across the border on Saturday.

It's rare, no unheard of, that I agree with a union.

This isn't a bad idea, it's going to cost lives. Not jobs, not economy, lives.

Union: Mexican Trucks Begin Crossing Border Saturday - Politics News Story - KNSD | San Diego

This rootkitlike behavior is "closely related to the Sony BMG case," Hypponen said. "First of all, it is another case where rootkitlike cloaking is ill-advisedly used in commercial software. Also, the [devices] we ordered are products of the same company—Sony Corporation."

Sony is at it again... this time striking Fingerprint Readers... lovely.

Sony USB Fingerprint Readers Caught in Rootkitlike Action

Will we ever get closure on this issue?

No one is surprised that the NSA is listening to phone calls, but the surprise is that it is occurring on our own soil...

The program was kept secret from all but a handful of lawmakers until its existence was disclosed in 2005. Critics -- including the committee's ranking Republican, Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania -- say it violates the Watergate-era federal law that requires a federal judge to approve electronic surveillance.

As a former military intel analyst, I'm all about keeping secrets secret, but this strays way too far into the "watergate"'esque area of illegal wiretapping. I'm old enough to remember Nixon leaving office... is it time again?

Leahy: 'Time is up' for White House to produce surveillance opinions - CNN.com

Palindrome wrote:

Sample Exquisite Wines, See Amazing Animals, Enjoy the Aquarium and the Oceans Ballroom.

The 2nd Annual “Aqua Vino - The Eight Million Gallon Bash” will take place on Friday, October 12, 2007 from 6:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. at Georgia Aquarium. Tickets for AquaVino are $125. Yours exclusively for one night, the marvel of the animals is sure to excite as you are treated to an epicurean extravaganza including the finest wines from all over the globe and gourmet fare from Wolfgang Puck Catering.

Georgia Aquarium is a center of wonder and marine discovery for thousands of visitors each year; for veterinary students and faculty the Georgia Aquarium is an opportunity to study and perform pioneering maritime research. Proceeds from Aqua Vino support the Aquarium's state-of-the-art Veterinary Services facility and the Correll Center for Aquatic Animal Health.

I know that some of you are into wine.....here is a chance to taste some for a good cause

Now this sounds like fun... who wants to go?

RE: The Eight Million Gallon Bash

Acidus wrote:
People who publicly question my integrity from moral high ground, and then offer me a beer like nothing has happened.

I stand by my achievements, whether they are appreciated or not.
I stand by who I am.
I stopped caring how people accept me a long ago.

And I for one stand beside you, as you are someone I'm proud to know.

As far as those douchebags who try to ride your coattails, they'll never come close... they'll always follow... so simply ignore them... they're trivial.

And when they offer you a beer, simply say, "I'm good, Thanks... " and move on...

Keep up the great work!

RE: Drama