HuffPost•April 4, 2018
Juli Briskman gave the one-finger salute to President Donald Trump's motorcade last fall. The image went viral.

WASHINGTON ― Juli Briskman made headlines last fall after a photo of her flipping off President Donald Trump’s motorcade while riding her bicycle went viral ― and got her fired.

Now Briskman is suing her former employer, government contractor Akima LLC, for potentially breaking state law.

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Virginia’s Fairfax County Circuit Court, Briskman’s lawyers argue that Akima violated state employment law in firing her because it is illegal for a government contractor to terminate an employee out of fear of unlawful government retaliation.

According to the suit, Akima told Briskman she had to go because the photo, which she posted on her Facebook page, violated the company’s social media policy. But Briskman claims she was treated differently than another Akima employee who, earlier in 2017, wrote “You’re a fucking Libtard asshole” in a Facebook discussion about Black Lives Matter. That person was allowed to keep his job as long as he deleted his post.

Briskman’s Facebook page also did not identify her as an Akima employee, while the other worker’s Facebook page did name his employer.

That difference shows that Akima LLC did not force her out because of the supposed obscenity of flipping the bird, Briskman argues. Instead, she contends the company terminated her over concerns about upsetting the federal government and potentially losing business.

“I filed this lawsuit against my former employer today because I believe that Americans should not be forced to choose between their principles and their paychecks,” Briskman said in a statement. “Working for a company that does business with the federal government should provide you with greater opportunities, but it should never limit your ability to criticize that government in your private time.”

A spokesperson for Akima LLC did not return a request for comment.

Briskman, a 50-year-old mother of two, doesn’t want her old job back. But according to her lawsuit, Akima said it would give her four weeks of severance pay and only gave her two, so she’s asking for those other two weeks of pay. She also wants the company to pay her legal fees. All told, she’s seeking $2,692.30.

Briskman became something of a hero to progressives last fall after the photo of her surfaced. A White House pool photographer traveling with the president in Sterling, Virginia, snapped the picture of her riding alongside the motorcade. She was anonymous until HuffPost tracked her down, and when she lost her job, supporters raised more than $130,000 for her through a GoFundMe account.

Briskman filed her lawsuit with the help of attorneys from The Geller Law Group and Protect Democracy, a nonpartisan nonprofit that describes itself as “dedicated to preventing our democracy from declining into a more authoritarian form of government.”

 

 

by Frank Cardona February 28, 2018

A report in Barcelona’s El Periodico newspaper says Colombian pop star Shakira paid 20 million euros ($24.4 million) in back taxes while Spain’s tax authority is investigating possible fraud.

The pop star is being investigated for tax fraud stemming from her decision to file as a primary resident of the Bahamas and not Barcelona.

Spanish tax law requires citizens who spend more than half of a year (183 days) in the country to pay taxes on global income. If less than 183 days, only taxes from income earned inside the country are required.

Shakira’s defense responded to reports by saying she spent most of her time away from Spain in the years under scrutiny (2011-2014) and most of her income came from abroad. She claims she did not willfully hide her income to authorities.

She does not agree with criteria that forced her to pay the $20 million in back taxes for 2011 but plans to later challenge the decision made by inspectors.

Sources close to the investigation told El Periodico they have enough evidence to prove her primary residence was Barcelona. If convicted the pop star could be fined tens of millions of Euros.

The pop star’s name appeared last year in the “Paradise Papers,” which leaked files showed she declared the Bahamas as her fiscal residence.

The Paradise Papers are part of recent leaks that revealed the offshore financial dealings of politicians, corporations, and celebrities who allegedly use tax havens to avoid paying higher taxes in their respective countries of residence.

Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos was also named in the Paradise Papers which contained the names of more than 120,000 people and companies.

Shakira is married to FC Barcelona football player Gerar Pique. Prosecutors are reportedly using photos of the celebrity couple and testimony from her employees as proof as for her residence in Barcelona during the years in question.

 

 

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HuffPost•April 5, 2018

Oh, the joys of motherhood.

Kim Kardashian posted her first-ever photo of her family of five — including their baby girl, Chicago — on Instagram Wednesday. At first glance, it looks like a perfectly nice family photo.

But, to quote Kardashian’s former fashion muse, the unappreciated philosopher Cher Horowitz from 1995’s “Clueless,” it’s “a full-on Monet.”

The reality star hinted in her caption on Instagram that the picturesque photo was actually a nightmare to take.

“I don’t think you really understand how hard it is to take a good family pic,” the mother of three wrote. “This was all we got before all three kids started crying. I think I cried too.”

On Twitter, the 37-year-old proceeded to point out some photographic evidence of the chaos that came with snapping the pic. For instance, look closely at Kardashian’s 2-year-old son, Saint.

Kardashian offered some behind-the-scenes insight into how she wrangled him for the photo:

One hand holding the baby and the other hand grabbing the back of Saints shirt because he kept running away lol

An eagle-eyed fan also pointed out that North, 4, is standing on her mom’s foot.

So, we guess in this case, stars really are like us.