Monday, November 28, 2005 U.S. Representative Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R–CA) pled guilty today to conspiring to take bribes in exchange for using his influence as a member of the House Appropriations Committee to help a defense contractor get business. In total he pled guilty to one count of income tax evasion and four counts of conspiracy, namely mail fraud, wire […]
Payment pending; Canadian recording industry set for six billion penalties?
Wednesday, December 16, 2009 A report published last week in the Toronto Star by Professor Michael Geist of Canada’s University of Ottawa claims a copyright case under the Class Proceedings Act of 1992 may see the country’s largest players in the music industry facing upwards of C$6 billion in penalties. The case is being led by the family and estate […]
California’s violent video game ban law ruled unconstitutional by US Court of Appeals
Sunday, February 22, 2009 A U.S. Court of Appeals on Friday has declared unconstitutional California Assembly Bills 1792 & 1793, the California “ultraviolent video games law” that sought to ban the sale or rental of violent video games to minors. Federal judge Consuelo M. Callahan has ruled that the 2005 statewide ban, which has yet to be enforced, violates minors’ […]
Choosing The Best Dog Care In Alexandria, Va
Here’s An Opinion On: Toy Cavoodles Cavoodle Puppies byadmin A business trip will have the pet owner out of town for the better part of two weeks. That brings up the question of what to do with the dog. While friends might be willing to take in the pet for that period of time, there is another option to consider. […]
French parliamentarian questions Jacques Chirac’s Elysée budget
Thursday, October 6, 2005 A member of the French National Assembly, René Dosière, denounces the “opacity” in the budget of the Élysée Palace, the office of the President of the French Republic. According to him, the president’s real budget is approximately three times the budget given for his services in the yearly national budget voted by the French Parliament, because […]
New Zealand Government announces record surplus
Wednesday, October 11, 2006 Today the New Zealand Government announced that they had a record surplus of NZ$11.5 billion for the 2005 and 2006 financial year. This amount was $2.5 billion more than the government expected to get, however $1.8 billion of the surplus was because of a change to the recording of the tax take. However the surplus is […]
Woman returns home with Christmas turkey, a month after setting out
Tuesday, January 19, 2010 A Scottish woman who set out before Christmas to purchase a turkey finally made it home on Monday, after being cut off by snow for a month. Kay Ure left the Lighthouse Keeper’s cottage on Cape Wrath, at the very northwest tip of Great Britain, in December. She was heading to Inverness on a shopping trip. […]
US VX nerve gas disposal test a success
Monday, May 9, 2005 Workers at Newport Chemical Depot in Indiana have completed a successful test-run of a chemical reactor designed to dispose of Cold War stockpiles of VX nerve agent. After encountering initial difficulties when the temperature in the reactor grew too high, workers were able to adjust the speed of the device. 180 gallons of VX and water […]
A portrait of Scotland: Gallery reopens after £17.6 million renovation
Thursday, December 1, 2011 Today saw Edinburgh’s Scottish National Portrait Gallery reopen following a two-and-a-half-year, £17.6m (US$27.4m) refurbishment. Conversion of office and storage areas sees 60% more space available for displays, and the world’s first purpose-built portrait space is redefining what a portrait gallery should contain; amongst the displays are photographs of the Scottish landscape—portraits of the country itself. First […]
Togo’s new leader promises elections, but doesn’t say when
Thursday, February 10, 2005The new leader of Togo, the late president Gnassingbé Eyadéma’s son, Faure Gnassingbé, pledged to hold “free and transparent elections which reflect the will of the people” as soon as possible, though he did not mention a specific timeframe, nor did he address international criticism of his ascession to power. Togolese politics have become a subject of […]