Unnamed officials have told journalists that Mr. Hatfill has failed three successive voluntary polygraph examinations and has refused to take a fourth test...Someone in the FBI reportedly leaked to the media an unpublished copy of a novel Mr. Hatfill has written about a biological attack on Congress.

"Hi Bob, Tammy. What are you doing?"
"Um... we're just..."
"Looks like you're going through my trash."
"Ah... we might have put some of ours in here by accident..."

Are they planning to move this stuff on e-bay or what?

The Axe Man Cometh.

You know those companies that will do the unpleasant job of firing someone in your company if you're too squeamish to do the job yourself? NPR carried a story yesterday on this referring to these rent-a-butchers as "firing consultants," but the industry seems to be averse to "fire" as a verb these days. A check with some of the companies cited in the piece reveals that the preferred term nowadays is "employee separation," and one doesn't have a job anymore, it's an "employment relationship" subject to "involuntary employment separation." Right Management's Howard McCain says there is "an art" to dismissals. He takes satisfaction in his work and tries to make terminations "more humane," adding that "I find it very fulfilling to be in this business," because "we may be the bright spot in an otherwise bad day for that employee." Indeed. Right Management publishes a guide titled Ending the Employment Relationship Without Ending Up in Court in case you're a do-it-yourselfer.

More Stuff to Worry About.

Let's say your job is secure. You still have to worry about Road Rage on the way in, and once you get there, you may have to contend with "Office Rage." According to a British survey published Wednesday, "half of Britain's stressed-out office workers say they have come close to punching a colleague," because "common occurrences such as broken computers and interruptions can push people over the edge at work." From a psychological perspective, you have to wonder about the findings:

The report found 51 percent of women had nearly punched a colleague, compared to 39 percent of the men questioned.

Isn't it possible that equal numbers of men and women contemplate the necessity of administering a sound thrashing to the bozo in the next cubicle who won't stop clicking his pen, but that women are more likely to admit it? Regardless, the study's commissioners say that you can reduce your risk of being walloped "by avoiding gossip," among other things. Like that's likely to happen.
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