Free Republic

So much time between now and then.

An employee at an insurance agency in central Sweden will lose 15 days of pay as punishment for surfing the web on the job, spending over 40 hours this summer mainly using social media. Multiple employees at a branch of Försäkringskassan (Swedish Social Insurance Agency) in Gävle face serious repercussions for browsing the web instead of helping customers. In one case, the employee spent about 50 hours of work time during one month visiting 350 websites - including plenty of shopping, weight-loss sites, and blogs. Over a period of seven months the woman had worked 51 hours overtime, but over...

Washington D.C. (IMpossible News) - Have you been so fortunate as to have played any of the land developing games found at Facebook.com? There are several like Farmville, Frontierville, Cityville and so forth. The object is to settle in, set up shop or manage the land and resources in a way that increases your points and levels of experience. My wife, the real estate tycoon has been at it longer than myself, the hobby farmer. I think these games have tremendous merit when it comes to teaching the basics of freedom and free enterprise. You basically make your own choices...

Woman shook infant because it interrupted her playing Farmville on FacebookA north Florida mother has pleaded guilty to shaking her baby to death after the boy's crying interrupted her game on Facebook. Alexandra V. Tobias pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Wednesday and remains jailed. The Florida Times-Union reports that she told investigators she was angered because the boy was crying while she was playing the game FarmVille. The paper also reports that she told investigators she shook the boy, smoked a cigarette to compose herself and then shook him again. She will be sentenced in December. State guidelines call...

<p>JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) Alexandra Tobias, a Florida mother accused of shaking her 3-month-old son to death after he interrupted her FarmVille game on Facebook, has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.</p> <p>The 22-year-old was charged in the January death of her baby, Dylan Lee Edmondson.</p>

A Jacksonville mother charged with shaking her baby to death has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Alexandra V. Tobias, 22, was arrested after the January death of 3-month-old Dylan Lee Edmondson. She told investigators she became angry because the baby was crying while she was playing a computer game called Farmville on the Facebook social-networking website.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that 10 popular Facebook applications have been transmitting users' personal identifying information to dozens of advertising and Internet tracking companies. The newspaper said today that the breach also includes users who set all their information to be completely private. And in some cases, it says, the apps provided access to friends' names.

Major Update Below!As I posted yesterday, there was a disturbing blurb in a NY Times article that indicated Faisal Shahzad, the now infamous Times Square Bomber, was under surveillance as a potential terrorist during the Bush administration. George LaMonica, a 35-year-old computer consultant, said he bought his two-bedroom condominium in Norwalk, Conn., from Mr. Shahzad for $261,000 in May 2004. A few weeks after he moved in, Mr. LaMonica said, investigators from the national Joint Terrorism Task Force [JTTF] interviewed him, asking for details of the transaction and for information about Mr. Shahzad. It struck Mr. LaMonica as unusual, but...

Okay, so I’m not sure how Wonkette got a hold of the above image, but apparently it’s a screenshot Faisal Shahzad’s Facebook page. The main suspect in an attempted bombing of Times Square last Saturday night was supposedly a fan of Farmville, enough at least to join the group “Farmville Cows.” If the evidence is accurate, then Shahzad was one of more than 3.5 million people who’ve devoted themselves to the bovines of Farmville, asserting their dominance over the 1.8 million-strong Farmville sheep. And judging from the couple other pages listed — a mayor and a restaurant in Pakistan —...

Many players have noted the “work” in FarmVille seems somewhat educational. This, in fact, is what intrigues educators about video games in general. They are so interactive and require focused attention to progress. So, the thinking goes, if we can have students play with educational elements perhaps they’ll absorb some pedagogical content in ways they can’t through books or television. Could FarmVille be a tool leveraged for classroom use?

Four people found slain in a small Virginia college town were bludgeoned to death, authorities said Tuesday, and the aspiring Castro Valley rapper suspected of killing them befriended two of the victims through a subculture of violent, macabre music.

FARMVILLE, Va. — Richard Alden Samuel McCroskey III rapped about the thrill of murder in songs he posted on the Internet. Police believe the fantasy lyrics became a gruesome reality in a small Virginia college town. McCroskey, 20, was being held Sunday in the killings of four people who were found at a Longwood University professor's home near campus in Farmville, which is about 50 miles west of Richmond. McCroskey, of Castro Valley, Calif., faces charges of first-degree murder, robbery and grand larceny of an automobile, said Farmville police Capt. Wade Stimpson. The aspiring rapper in the underground horrorcore genre,...

FARMVILLE, Va. (AP) — A California man who rapped about murder in songs posted on his MySpace page was arrested Saturday by investigators who suspect him of killing four people in a central Virginia college town. Richard Alden Samuel McCroskey III, 20, of Castro Valley, Calif., was taken into custody at Richmond International Airport, where authorities believe he tried to catch a flight back to California. Officers found McCroskey asleep in the baggage claim area, Farmville police Capt. Wade Stimpson said. McCroskey is being held in Farmville, where he faces charges of first-degree murder, grand larceny of an automobile and...