Chinese officials are very upset at a terrible mistake made by police officers. The officers beat a woman outside of a government office. Nothing strange there. Officers routinely beat Chinese citizens who try to present petitions for relief to the government as a deterrent. It turns out, however, that this was Chen Yulian, the wife of a provincial law enforcement officer. She had come to go out to lunch with her husband. The local Communist Party Chief appeared aghast — not with beating citizens of course but that an elite party member was given the same treatment: “Our police officers never realized that they beat the wife of a senior leader.”
Category: International
A conservative German legislator, Marco Wanderwitz, has called for a formal tax on citizens determined to be obese. Wanderwitz insists that obese people are imposing public costs that are unreasonable — akin to polluting industries.
Continue reading “Belt-Tightening: German Legislator Calls For Taxing the Obese”
Two prisoners in Argentina, Walter Pozo and Cesar Andres, made a less than impressive escape from a prison after they discovered that the towers were guarded by dummies with footballs for heads. Budget cut backs led the prison to replace guards in 13 out of 15 towers with the dummies, who they named “Wilson” after the movie “Cast Away.”
Continue reading “Two Inmates Escape Prison as Dummy Guards Look On”
A Saudi father has chained his 29-year-old son to his bed for more than six years because he is possessed by a female genie. Many of us went through the same period of possession after exposure to “I Dream of Jeannie” during our critical adolescent years.
Continue reading “Possessed By a Genie: Saudi Man Chained to Bed For Six Years”
A German court has issued a notable ruling in the case of the Rabbit-phobic teacher. The court rejected a defamation case by a teacher against a 16-year-old student who spread rumors that the teacher was terrified of rabbits. The court concluded that teacher was in fact rabbit-phobic.
Continue reading “German Court Rejects Defamation Case After Finding Teacher To Be Rabbit-Phobic”
Peter Cox, 49, is seeking possible legal action after an officer shot him in the groin with a 50,000 volt taser. The officer from the police department in Bridgwater, Somerset insists that it was an accidental discharge.
Continue reading “Police Officer Shoots Man in Groin with 50,000 Volt Taser”
There is a disturbing case out of Israel where an Israeli man of Arab origin has been convicted of rape after having consensual sex with a woman after he allegedly told her he was Jewish and looking for a lasting relationship. Sabbar Kashur, 30, was sentenced to 18 months in prison by a Jerusalem court.
Continue reading “Israeli Arab Man Convicted of Rape For Assuring Lover He is Jewish”
Just when you thought British Petroleum (BP) could not get more unpopular. As tests indicate a leak and massive readings of methane release at the Gulf spill site, reports have indicated that it was BP that lobbied for the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi in order to secure a lucrative oil deal from Libya. BP it appears (as its slogan says) “to make the day a little better” for al-Megrahi and a lot better for BP investors.
Continue reading “BP Accused of Lobbying For Release of Lockerbie Bomber To Secure Oil Rights”
Millions of Muslims in Indonesia have been praying to Africa, but not by choice. The Indonesian Ulema Council had Muslims praying West to what they thought was the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It turns out that Mecca is Northwest.
Continue reading “Now Everyone Shift To Your Right: Millions of Muslim Indonesians Discover That They Have Been Praying Toward Africa”
Scotland reportedly is about criminalize sending anyone an “indecent communication” without their consent. It is one of the new crimes covered by a law against “Outraging Public Decency.”
Continue reading “Scotland’s Crime of “Outraging Public Decency””
In Gaza, police are cracking down on the latest public scourge: women smoking water pipes (or shisha or hookahs). Citizens were handed an announcement that the Hamas government was now banning women from smoking water pipes because it leads to divorces.
Continue reading “Hooked on Hookahs: Hamas Bans Women From Smoking Water Pipes”
In a surprising move, Montreal officials have barred this campaign using Pamela Anderson’s picture marked up like a butcher shop diagram display. The city has denied permits for the display with the caption "All animals have the same parts. Have a heart — Go vegetarian."
Continue reading “Montreal Bans Pamela Anderson’s Body Parts”
A leading partner at a Toronto law firm has filed a $2.3 million lawsuit against former associates Adrian Jakibchuk, a fourth-year lawyer, and Sarah Diebel, a second-year lawyer, after they accused him of sexual harassment. The firm, Mathews, Dinsdale & Clarke, advises companies on sexual harassment claims and David Cowling, the partner, has sued two junior lawyers, who have left the firm, for defamation and intentional interference with economic relations.
Continue reading “Partner Accused of Sexual Harassment Sues Accusing Associate Lawyers”
The Russian media is reporting that Dmitry Kazachuk, 4, died during an exorcism in the Primorye region. Doctors believe the boy had pneumonia. No one by the shaman was present with the boy when he stopped breathing.
Alana Newhouse has an interesting op-ed in the New York Times about a move in the Israeli Knesset that would give the Orthodox rabbinate control of all conversions in Israel. The authority (extending to matters of all Jewish births, marriages and deaths) would allow ultra-Orthodox (or Haredi rabbis) to define who is Jewish under standards that could exclude a significant portion of the population.