Things Around the Web

I wasn’t online very much over the weekend, so this morning before work I spent a little time reading a bunch of my favorite blogs and news sites.

I thought I’d share some of the interesting things in my Monday web-romp.

This Money NEEDS to be Laundred!

In Japan a unknown philanthropist (of sorts) has been putting envelopes filled with money in public toilets, with a small handwritten note telling people the money is for “self enrichment”

Hummm, what kind of wack job puts money IN a toilet, and who pulls anything OUT of a toilet?

I certainly hope these people washed their hands afterwards!

Funny News Headlines

1. Sex Education Delayed, Teachers Request Training
2. Plane Too Close to Ground, Crash Probe Told
3. Iraqi Head Seeks Arms
4. Man Struck by Lightning Faces Battery Charge
5. Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says
6. Safety Experts Say School Bus Passengers Should Be Belted
7. Drunk Gets Nine Months in Violin Case
8. Survivor of Siamese Twins Joins Parents
9. Farmer Bill Dies in House
10. New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
11. Is There a Ring of Debris around Uranus?
12. Stud Tires Out
13. Prostitutes Appeal to Pope
14. Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
15. Soviet Virgin Lands Short of Goal Again
16. Enraged Cow Injures Farmer with Ax
17. Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors
18. Miners Refuse to Work after Death
19. Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
20. Two Soviet Ships Collide, One Dies
21. If Strike isn’t Settled Quickly, It May Last a While
22. Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
23. Enfields Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide
24. Red Tape Holds Up New Bridge
25. Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead
26. Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
27. New Vaccine May Contain Rabies
28. Man Minus Ear Waives Hearing
29. Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft
30. Some Pieces of Rock Hudson Sold at Auction
31. Include your Children when Baking Cookies
32. War Dims Hope for Peace
33. British Left Waffles on Falkland Islands
34. Eye Drops off Shelf
35. Teacher Strikes Idle Kids
36. Clinton Wins on Budget, But More Lies Ahead
37. Squad Helps Dog Bite Victim
38. Shot Off Woman’s Leg Helps Nicklaus to 66
39. Stolen Painting Found by Tree
40. Two Sisters Reunited after 18 Years in Checkout Counter
41. Killer Sentenced to Die for Second Time in 10 Years
42. Drunken Drivers Paid $1000 in 84
43. Steals Clock, Faces Time
44. Old School Pillars are Replaced by Alumni
45. Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
46. Arson Suspect is Held in Massachusetts Fire
47. British Union Finds Dwarfs in Short Supply
48. Ban On Soliciting Dead in Trotwood
49. Lansing Residents Can Drop Off Trees
50. Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
51. Deaf College Opens Doors to Hearing
52. Air Head Fired
53. Lung Cancer in Women Mushrooms
54. Chef Throws His Heart into Helping Feed Needy
55. Bank Drive-in Window Blocked by Board

source

Funny Stories in the News

I came across some funny stories today on line, here are a few tidbits.

A Little Gas

A Dutch veterinarian was fined 600 guilders (about $240)
for causing a fire that destroyed a farm in Lichten Vourde,
the Netherlands. The vet had been trying to convince a farmer
that his cow was passing flatulent gas; to demonstrate, the
vet ignited the gas, but the cow became a “four-legged
flame-thrower” and ran wild, setting fire to bales of hay.
Damage to the farm was assessed at $80,000. The cow was
unharmed. AP

Anna Nicole Lives On!

The spirit of our favourite tragically flawed celebrity Playmate, Anne Nicole Smith, lives on in 22 year old Kristin Georgi – who recently married 84 year old Joe Hardy (a wealthy lumber magnate) in a private ceremony in Las Vegas.  He is 62 years her senior, and well old enough to be her grandpapie. . .

I wonder what the bookie’s odds are when this old chappie will croak!??

I wonder what the prenup says. . .  . .

   

Talk About ‘HAPPY’ Meal

A New Zealand Grandmother found a green wrapped condom in her 7 year old grand daughters happy meal. . . .

 I tell you, the toys in the happy meals just get better and better since I was a kid!

Story & Link below

Clogs Clog Medical Machinery. What a load of Croc!

  

I came across this story from Sweden, apparently my FAVOURITE comfort shoes (Crocs) are interferring with medical equipement in the hospitals, and are now being banned.

 What is the world coming to, nooooooooo!

 I adore my Crocs (I have two pairs, one regular pair, and the Mary-Jane’s style).  They are bar-none the most comfortable pairs of shoes I own.  Every person should own at least one pair.

I don’t think the story is a Croc, but those that read by blog know how I enjoy a good play on words. . . . .

Wear a White Ribbon for Virginia Tech Massacre Victims

  

As a Canadian, and now someone who lives in Montreal – The White Ribbon Campaign is something we are all aware of, and take part in every year. The white ribbon campaign is specifically Men Againist Violence Aganist Woman.

This campaign was started in 1991 after the school masscare at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal.  A lone gunman, Marc Lepine,  killed 14 woman before killing himself on December 6th, 1989.

“I Told You So” – Birkhead is the father of Anna Nicole’s baby Danielynn

Today news broke that Larry Birkhead is in fact little Danielynn’s father, by results from a DNA test.  He left the court proclaiming “I told you so”.

Howard K Stern will not fight Birkhead for custody, although none of those details have been decided.

I’m glad that this long coming decision is finally out – but I hope Birkhead realizes that Stern has been an important part of the baby’s life, and allows him to continue to have a relationship with her.

 

Are You SMARTER than a 5th Grader??? 5th-graders accused of sex in Louisiana school

Late March I made an entry about a little daughter of one of my co-workers, she is six, and the little ‘sex’ song she came up with – read about it here.  That amuzed and worried me.. . . . then  I stumbbled across the below posted article, about 5th graders having sex in an unsupervised class room.

My jaw dropped, not only for the pure fact that its about 11 year old fornicating, but by how severe the penalities may be for these children.   Shocked yes, do I agree,  is it unfair.  I’m not sure.

I’m just shocked. I’m not sure how to wrap my head around it.  Problems of our kids are far more grave than they were when we were children.

When did sex become a “problem” for pre-teens?   Parents, have you had “the talk” with you teeny boppers?

Keith Richards: `I Snorted My Father’

FIFA dragged into Canadian row over girl´s hijab

Source: about.com (What Age do Muslim Girls start to wear the Hijab?)

Source:  Antara 

Source: Soccerway  Written by: AFP

MONTREAL (AFP) – A young girl’s expulsion from a tournament this weekend for wearing a hijab will be upheld by Quebec soccer officials, they said Monday, unless the world soccer federation FIFA changes gear rules.

Asmahan Mansour, 11, was ousted from a tournament on Sunday in a Montreal suburb after refusing to take off her hijab, the head scarf many Muslim women wear under religious principles.

Brigitte Frot, executive director of the Quebec Soccer Federation, told AFP she was not allowed on the field for safety reasons, not religious objections.

“It’s unfortunate,” she said. “I believe FIFA will have to rule, yes or no, whether hijabs are permitted on the soccer field. Whatever they decide, we’ll abide by the rules.”

Until then, however, Mansour and other Muslim women would not be allowed to play soccer in Canada’s French-speaking Quebec province while wearing a head scarf, she said.

The incident that sparked a national outcry occurred about five minutes into a game Sunday, when the Nepean coach wished to substitute Mansour, who was not in the starting line-up, for another player.

Media reports said the referee, who is coincidentally Muslim himself, feared Mansour could be choked if the scarf were tugged on.

“Based on FIFA rules, the referee asked the young girl to remove her hijab, fearing it posed a danger to her and other players. She refused,” Frot said.

Mansour’s Nepean Hotspurs Selects team quit the tournament to show solidarity with their teammate. Four other teams also joined the boycott.

Rules of the Zurich-based FIFA, which governs international soccer play, do not specify a ban on head scarves.

But Frot insisted local players are covered by FIFA’s strict dress code, which bans any equipment or wear, including jewellery, that could be dangerous to players.

The Quebec federation had previously disallowed players who wore piercing rings or medical bracelets, she noted.

What a sad story, sad on two fronts.  The first is simply that this child cannot partake in a common childhood event – soccer.  The second is that this even has to be an issue.

In all honesty, an 11 year old girl did not come up with this idea for a battle on her own, it is most common in Muslim customs for girls of puberty age and older to wear the hijab, because they are affirming their beliefs and roll in the Muslim society, no small decision for a child.  Sadly I believe she was forced into starting a battle.

Although, the rules in Ontario and Quebec differ for their soccer associations.  Ontario uses the rules of the Canadian federation for soccer, while Quebec uses a variation of the FIFA rules.  Canadian rules allow for reglious head dress, while the Quebec rules were not clear (hense the reason this has come up as a debate)

I’m trying to see what FIFA would not allow the Hijab.  The only reasoning I can come up with is that they would have to rule it yeah or ney for all relgious head dresses, take the Sihk turban one could argue that it could be used as additional padding and provide an unfair advantage.

What do you think?

Rules To Live By ::: New Rules for Immigrants in Rural Quebec Town

Source Source

OTTAWA, Canada (Reuters) — Immigrants to the small Quebec town of Herouxville must not stone women in public, burn them alive or throw acid on them, according to an extraordinary set of rules made public by the local council.

The declaration, published on the town’s Web site, has deepened a debate in the predominantly French-speaking Canadian province over how tolerant Quebecers should be toward the customs and traditions of immigrants.

“We wish to inform these new arrivals that the way of life which they abandoned when they left their countries of origin cannot be recreated here,” said the declaration, which also says women are allowed to drive, vote, dance, write checks, dress as they want, work and own property.

“Therefore we consider it completely outside these norms to … kill women by stoning them in public, burning them alive, burning them with acid, circumsizing them, etc.”

No one on the town council was immediately available for comment Tuesday. Herouxville, which has 1,300 inhabitants, is about 100 miles (160 km) northeast of Montreal.

André Drouin, the councilor who came up with the idea of the declaration, told the National Post newspaper that the town was not racist.

“We invite people from all nationalities, all languages, all sexual orientations, whatever, to come live with us, but we want them to know ahead of time how we live,” he said.

The regulations say girls and boys can exercise together and people should only be allowed to cover their faces at Halloween. Children must not take weapons to school, although the Supreme Court of Canada has already ruled that Sikh boys have the right to carry ceremonial daggers.

Frosted windows to avoid offense

The Herouxville declaration is part of a wider discussion over “reasonable accommodation,” or how far Quebecers should be prepared to change their customs so as not to offend immigrants. Figures from the 2001 census show that around 10 percent of Quebec’s 7.5 million people were born outside Canada.

Last year a Montreal gym agreed to install frosted windows after a nearby Hassidic synagogue said it was offended by the sight of adults exercising.

Newspapers say a Montreal community center banned men from prenatal classes to respect Hindu and Sikh traditions, and an internal police magazine suggested women police officers leave interviews with Hassidic Jews to their male colleagues.

Survey: 59 percent admit to racist feelings

Earlier this month the Journal de Montreal published a poll showing that 59 percent of those surveyed admitted to harboring some kind of racist feelings.

Montreal’s police force is investigating one of its officers after it emerged that he had posted an anti-immigrant song on the Internet.

Some teachers have complained that Jewish and Muslim colleagues get extra paid time off for religious holidays.

The Herouxville declaration is available, in English and in French, at the “avis public” section of the town’s Web site, http://municipalite.herouxville.qc.ca.

A step forward or a step backwards? (I have to come back to revisit this topic, I just can’t wrap my head around it)

Naked Sundays at Dutch Gym

source

By TOBY STERLING, Associated Press Writer Fri Feb 2, 5:33 PM ET

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands – Self-conscious about what you wear while working out? A Dutch gym plans to introduce “Naked Sunday” for people who like to huff and puff in the buff.

Patrick de Man, owner of Fitworld gym in the town of Heteren, said he got the idea in part from two of his customers who are avid nudists.

“I heard that some other gyms are offering courses on ‘pole-dancing’ as a sport, so I thought: Why not bring something new to the market?” de Man said.

He said the response had been overwhelming — positive and negative.

The 70,000-member Dutch Federation of Naturists was curious to see if Fitworld’s plan would work, spokesman Bernd Huiser said.

“We recently conducted a large survey among our members, and most prefer to exercise with their clothes on,” he said. “The most popular activities (for nudists) are things you do outdoors, like walking on the beach, or swimming in a lake, or maybe gardening.”

De Man said the first question Fitworld customers were asking was whether it would be sanitary.

Nude exercisers would be required to put towels down on weight machines and to use disposable seat covers while riding bikes. All machines would be cleaned and disinfected afterward. “We clean them every day anyway,” he said.

The first “Naked Sunday” is scheduled for March 4.

EWWWWWWW, I’d hate to use the bike after an old naked sweaty guy.  But you’d certainly get into shape quickly that way.

Its nice they are supporting and offering services for all their varied clientel.

Its Never too Late to Return Your Books

Source 

Man Pays Library $171, 47-Year Late Fee

Jan 7, 10:16 AM (ET)

HANCOCK, Mich. (AP) – Robert Nuranen handed the local librarian a book he’d checked out for a ninth-grade assignment – along with a check for 47 years’ worth of late fees.

Nuranen said his mother misplaced the copy of “Prince of Egypt” while cleaning the house. The family came across it every so often, only to set it aside again. He found it last week while looking through a box in the attic.

“I figured I’d better get it in before we waited another 10 years,” he said after turning it in Friday with the $171.32 check. “Fifty-seven years would be embarrassing.”

The book, with its last due date stamped June 2, 1960, was part of the young Nuranen’s fascination with Egypt. He went on to visit that country and 54 others, and all 50 states, he said, but he never did finish the book.

Nuranen now lives in Los Angeles, where he teaches seventh-grade social studies and language arts.

The library had long ago lost any record of the book, librarian Sue Zubiena said.

“I’m going to use it as an example,” she said. “It’s never too late to return your books.”

 I know for a fact I have four books from my High School at my mom’s house.  Perhaps in this spirit I should return them.  Perhaps if I just drop them off in the drop box I can get away without paying any late fees. . . .