‘Looting’ the looters—The UK-based Accident Group, specializing in injury insurance, created turmoil when it dispatched e-mail and written letters informing 2,500 employees they were fired. They also offered an administration phone number. Callers got a voicemail message telling them that their month’s salary would not be paid. The Times of London reported that some enraged workers walked off with some office equipment in small compensation for the wages stolen. The paper smeared them as “looters.”

Read it and rebel—“MOBILE, Alabama—Federal authorities continued their investigation of the Mobile County Metro jail where an inmate in solitary confinement died from flesh-eating bacteria. James Carpenter died in July 2000 [!] after spending most of 15 days naked and hand-cuffed. He was arrested on misdemeanor charges.”—USA Today.

Due process—ICN Pharmaceuticals is suing its former top dog to get back the $38 million bonus it handed him last year. Why? Because shareholders are suing to get the money back.

Hand-to-mouth—Richard Scrushy, recent top dog at Healthsouth, is “worth” a reported $175 million. But the bread has been impounded, apparently while it’s determined who stole what from whom. Meanwhile, Scrushy has to live and has pleaded with the court that he needs $223,000 a month living expenses. The family grocery bill alone is $2,000.

101, picking right swivel chair —“Orange County’s [California] human resources department spent $3.2 million in unemployment insurance funds to pay for unrelated expenses like ‘enlightened leadership’ management training.”—Orange County Register.

From piddles grow puddles—A housing development for farm workers, the first in a decade, is under way in Oxnard, north of Los Angeles County. The $5.9 million project will offer 24 units to farm workers in desperate need of housing. Conceding it as “a drop in the bucket,” the Los Angeles Times headlined it as a “foot in the door.”

Another foot in the door—In the Palm Springs area, not too far from Oxnard, a fully furnished “Palace of Dreams” is up for sale. The estate includes awesome amenities—Three king-size plasma TVs, computer controlled rooms, etc. Asking price: $13.9 million.

Everything’s up to date in L.A.—The folks in City Hall are bickering over whether or not the most recent guesstimate of the number of homeless people is inflated. The counters concluded there were 84,000 homeless. That was a decade ago.  
 
 
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