| Iggle Piggle co-star 'fired over suit complaint'
The trained dancer, from Cardiff, began working on the show in March 2005 and had his contract terminated in July 2006. At the tribunal in Birmingham, Mr Blake said production company Ragdoll Limited ignored his concerns about the faulty camera inside his suit, which allowed him to see out while wearing a mask. On one occasion in November 2005, Mr Blake says he was told to jump up and down on a chair but feared for his safety when the camera cut out. Mr Blake said: "When the camera failed I had no way of seeing where I was going. I was concerned at the difficulty of acting in the suit when I couldn't see anything. .
Chartered to protect the henhouse, has the FTC turned into a fox?
I rarely get e-mail from the USA Today's Byron Acohido (who from time to time interviews me for my opinions on tech). But today, Acohido drew my attention to a story that he has co-authored with Jon Swartz under the headline FTC under fire as credit bureaus sell consumers' data. The story draws attention to a complex Web of potentially conflicting interests involving Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras, the law firm she used to work for, her husband who still works for it, how that law firm represents one of the big three credit reporting bureaus, and whether or not the FTC has morphed into an agent of the credit reporting bureaus' success from the consumer guardian that The People have entrusted it to be. While the targets of this follow-the-money like inquest deny any impropriety, I can certainly understand the position of Robert Kuttner, author of The Squandering of America: How the Failure of Our Politics Undermines Our Prosperity who, who in response to the USA Today inquiry, said: Federal agencies that are supposed to be looking out for the consumer are really protecting the companies that do bad things the agencies were set up to prevent.
Sir Ed passes away - Legendary explorer and mountaineer left mark on ...
Sir Edmund Hillary, New Zealand's favorite and most famous son, died Jan. 11 (local time) at the age of 88 in an Auckland hospital. Hillary, more popularly referred to as Sir Ed, rose to fame in 1953 as the first man to summit Mount Everest, along with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay. But the former beekeeper also left his mark in the Antarctic, helping to establish New Zealand's Scott Base on Ross Island in 1957 and leading the first overland vehicle traverse to the South Pole in 1958. The residents at Scott Base, located near the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP)'s McMurdo Station, held a brief memorial ceremony at 1 p.m. local time and lowered the New Zealand flag in his memory. The flag remained down until midnight Jan. 12. The base staff will lower the flag again on the day of his funeral, which had not been set at the time of this writing.
Eric Halvorson's Blog
Today, in our 5 o'clock newscast we offered some ideas for enjoying a "green" Christmas. In that case, the Natural Resources Defense Council offered ideas comparable to others I heard earlier in the day from the Sierra Club. A spokesman for the club says, between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, we generate an extra five million tons of garbage - and a lot of it is probably wrapping paper that can't be recycled. That's why the NRDC and the Sierra Club encourage alternatives to wrapping paper. For certain people, old maps would be a great idea. (My dad, for example, would probably enjoy the map as much as the gift inside it.) A member of the Sierra Club says you might try something like butcher paper and have kids draw something on the paper. Club members also suggest making the wrapping part of the gift - such as in a scarf or a decorative box that can be re-used in some way.
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TechPad Agency announces the launch of the first new search directory to launch in the small business and webmaster categories this year. Dotster has signed on as a major distribution partner. 2005-06-23 The Straight Spouse Network Launches Fundraising Campaign During Gay Pride MonthThe Straight Spouse Network is an international organization that provides confidential support to help spouses and mixed-orientation couples,cope, heal and move forward with their lives through the "coming out" process. 2005-06-23 Move Over, Dr. Phil: Americans Have a New Way to Deal with Their Issues (No Humiliation Required)Mental Yoga E-sessions eliminate traditional obstacles to self-help, offering real breakthroughs to millions through their PCs, 24 hours a day 2005-06-23 Hot New High Dollar Condos and Lofts Leave Buyers ColdLisa Kristensen, owner of Gallery West Studio has hopes that the opening of her new online art gallery will warm things up a bit.
Citizens at eye of storm over state investment pool
Citizens Property Insurance Corp., Florida's largest property insurer, is hoping its investments in a troubled state investment pool bounce back before hurricane season starts in June.
About $7 billion it taps to pay storm claims is managed by the State Board of Administration, which floundered late last year when its risky investments tied to the nation's subprime mortgage crisis came to light.
In a big move to protect its investments, Citizens officials said Friday they plan to diversify by moving $5.1 billion, or about half of the insurer's total assets, from SBA to private money managers.
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