| Republican Senator Asks Gonzales to Resign
The scandal surrounding the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys took a climactic turn Thursday when one Republican Senate Judiciary Committee member called for the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. After a morning of heavy scrutiny over Gonzales' role in the Dec. 7 firing of seven U.S. Attorneys, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., told Gonzales point-blank, "I believe the best way to put this behind us is your resignation." Gonzales appeared before the committee to answer questions about the dismissals in what many say is his last chance to save his job. It was clear from the outset that things weren't going well. Many Republicans on the panel expressed their dismay about the attorney general's faulty memory and conflicting explanations of his role in the firings.
Water fight in St. Lucie County headed for mediation
FORT PIERCE It looks like St. Lucie County taxpayers are going to end up paying for the water wars going on in the southwestern part of the county after all. St. Lucie County commissioners voted 3-2 Tuesday night to begin the mediation process with Port St. Lucie to resolve who will provide water and wastewater to an unincorporated part of the county west of Rangeline Road. .
Mbeki confident mediation can help Zim crisis
Johannesburg - South African President Thabo Mbeki said he was confident new mediation could help resolve Zimbabwe's political crisis, but warned that neither the government nor opposition should attach conditions to the talks. Mbeki, named last week by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to promote dialogue between President Robert Mugabe and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), told the SABC broadcaster Western calls for tougher moves on Zimbabwe were misplaced. "As a region we are quite convinced that the only way to solve the problem is the direction we have taken," Mbeki said in an interview broadcast on Saturday. .
When 'Winning' Is the Expensive Solution
In my years directing litigation and acting as a legal counselor to Motorola, I often realized that lawyers and businesspeople tend to approach litigation and conflict differently. Once when I was telling a senior manager how much a lawsuit was going to cost if it proceeded to trial, he asked me, "Do you know how many thousands of semiconductors I have to make to cover that cost?" To the manager, I was talking about taking away from the company's profitability. Of course, I knew that we usually filed suits only as a last resort in egregious situations. Still, the business perspective is that litigation is a waste of money and internal resources, and it diverts critical attention away from the primary goals of business. This kind of resistance turned out to be a good thing for me and for the company.
Union victory at Gask & Hawley
Trade union Amicus is to be given collective bargaining rights at Gask & Hawley Web Offset in Liverpool, following a decision by the Central Arbitration Committee. Originally, the firm refused to negotiate a voluntary recognition agreement with the union, despite more than half of its staff being members.Amicus head of organising Bernard Rutter said: "This case should have been settled without a hearing given the high level of membership."We hope the company will now work with Amicus to negotiate a proper recognition agreement."The CAC awarded recognition without a ballot and both parties are due to meet before 21 May 2007.Gask & Hawley declined to comment on the ruling. .
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