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Tuesday, June 29, 2010

US Homeland Security puts a 6 year old Indian girl on the no-fly list for suspicion of being a terrorist

Ever since the 9/11 attacks, the US Department of Homeland Security has the responsibility of ensuring that no further terrorist attacks happen in the US. Over a period of time, they seem to have succeeded in ensuring that no further attacks happen, and when attacks are being planned, they are nipped in the bid. A part of this is to ensure that people who are terrorism risks are not allowed on flights (and the fact that they have caught people on flights who are risks seems to have increased the determination to ensure that people are prevented from boarding flights if they are deemed as risks). As a part of this, the Department maintains a no-fly list of people who are not allowed to board. This must have been fairly successful, but there are several occasions when the Department has to be embarrassed about certain people who are prevented from flying, who are obviously not risky.
In this case, one can add one more. There is this girl (6 years old) whose parents were advised that she was on the list, and that they should contact the Department for getting her name off the list (link to article):

Alyssa Thomas, 6, is under spotlight of the US government, and her family recently came to know that she is on the "no fly" list maintained by the US homeland security. During a recent trip from Cleveland to Minneapolis, the girl’s father, Santhosh Thomas, and his wife were made aware of the listing.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Weird news - Man kills wife since she cast a vote for the 'wrong' candidate

People kill their spouses for many reasons, such as for money, or for infidelity (and these two are the 2 biggest reasons for these murders). In most cases, however, when people have major disagreements that they are not able to resolve, they either learn to live with these disagreements or go in for a resolve. It is only in rare cases, when the husband or wife feels that the hurt is too bad and causes an emotional upheaval, or when they feel that the other person has to obey them without questioning, then they do such horrific acts such as subjecting their spouse to such cruelty, or kill their spouses.
What do you do with such cases where a person has asked his wife to vote for a specific candidate, and she goes ahead and votes for another candidate who is distantly related to her ? This causes so much trauma to him (and he gets so angry with her decision) that he actually kills her (link to article):

A 25-year-old woman was allegedly killed by her husband in Malab village in Nuh district, around 30km from Gurgaon, after she did not vote for the candidate her husband asked her to and instead voted for one of her relatives in the sarpanch elections, which were held on Saturday.
According to police, Tahira was strangulated by her husband Shahid after she voted for Kamaal, who was standing for the post of sarpanch of Malab village. Tahira’s sister Ruksana is Kamaal’s sister-in-law.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Weird laws from Canada - Part 4 (always fun to read such laws and wonder about the situation when they were implemented)

The 4th part of the weird laws of Canada.

31. It is illegal to kill a sasquatch.
32. Bylaw states that no more than 3.5 inches of water is allowed in a bathtub.
33. "For Sale" signs are not permitted in the windows of moving vehicles.
34. One's rear license plate may not be protected by glass or plastic.
35. You may not swear in French.
36. Citizens may not relieve themselves or spit on the street.
37. It is illegal to kill a sick person by frightening them.
38. It is illegal to pretend to practice witchcraft.
39. You may not paint a ladder as it will be slippery when wet.
40. In Quebec, No language other than French is permitted to be shown out doors.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Weird laws from Canada - Part 3 (always fun to read such laws and wonder about the situation when they were implemented)

The third set of such laws (would welcome comments on whether these still stand or not)

21. You may never use dice to play craps. An inspector would be always present to check things.
22. It is illegal to turn right on a red light at any time.
23. Margarine producers can’t make their margarine yellow. Orange / black / purple etc should all be fine.
24. Citizens may not publicly remove bandages.
25. It is illegal for clear or non-dark sodas to contain caffeine.
26. Businesses must provide rails for tying up horses. Wonder how many people have horses nowadays.
27. Wooden logs may not be painted.
28. Homeowners are responsible for clearing snow off of municipal sidewalks.
29. All business signs in the province of Quebec must be in French. Part of the regional language agreements.
30. You can’t work on your car in the street.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Weird laws from Canada - Part 2 (always fun to read such laws and wonder about the situation when they were implemented)

The second set of such laws from Canada, but not confirmed whether these are true or not.

11. Now I couldn't find a date for this law but its so off the wall it must be from around the late 1800's or early 1900's. There's a law on the British Columbia books that states if you're a bankrupt drunk who got thrown into jail, the law requires the jailer to bring you a bottle of beer on demand. Nuts!

12. Here's a law I found that kind of surprised me. In London, Ontario it is against the city by-law to allow your grass in your front yard to grow any taller then a inch and a half. If you do, the city will come by and cut it for you then give you a fine for $200. Crazy!

13. Quebec law states that all business signs must be in French. If the owner wants English on the sign then the French print has to be twice as large as the English print.

14. In Ottawa, Ontario you are not allowed to eat ice cream on Bank St on a Sunday! No idea as to why.

15. In Beaconsfield, Canada it's considered an offense to have more than two colours on your house; and you are not allowed to own a log cabin!

16. In Guelph, Ontario, the city is classified as a no pee zone! What about other Canadian cities ?

17. In Toronto, Ontario, it's illegal to drag a dead horse down Younge St on a Sunday!

18. In Nova Scotia a person is not allowed to water their grass when it's raining. Not like someone would do this, but it's against the law in Nova Scotia!

19. In Cobourg, Ontario if you have a water trough in your front yard, it must be filled by 5:00am! Not sure when was the last time this law was implemented.

20. Through out Ontario the average speed limit is 80 km/h for cars, BUT bicyclists have the right away. Does make sense if you go in for more green methods of travel.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Weird laws from Canada - Part 1 (always fun to read such laws and wonder about the situation when they were implemented)

For the Canadians, you may speculate that some of these laws have been repealed, but they are still fun to read.

1. In Uxbridge, Ontario it's illegal to have an internet connection faster than 56k! This must be when the cost of a connection would be high and there would be a lot of competitive jealousy.

2. It is illegal anywhere in Canada to pay for a 26 cent item in all pennies. The limit is 25 cents. If you are paying for your item in nickels, then its illegal to pay for it in nickels if its over $5. Its also illegal to pay for something over $10 dollars in all dimes. What do you do with all your spare change ?

3. In Kanata, Ontario, believe this, it's illegal to have a clothes line in your back yard! Laundries must have paid for this law.

4. In Oshawa, Ontario it's illegal to climb trees!

5. Did you know that in Fort Qu'Appelle Quebec it is illegal for a teen to walk downtown main street with his shoes untied? Its true. Must be a number of them considering it fashionable to not have their shoes tied.

6. Did you know that Canadian law states that every 5th song on the radio must be by a Canadian born citizen? Well believe it or not it is true! France also has a similar law.

7. In Alberta back in the day, it was the law when a prisoner was released from jail that he would be given a gun and horse to ride out of town or city.

8. Through out Ontario the average speed limit is 80 km/h for cars, BUT bicyclists have the right away.

9. No one in Canada is allowed by Canadian law to watch or listen to encrypted broadcast which is not licensed by the Canadian Government. This basically means that its illegal to use US satellite systems like "Direct TV".

10. Supposedly its illegal to buy cigarettes for minors (Under 19), but you can supply them with cigarettes as long as its not in public places. Seems strange.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Weird news: Man spends 7 years on a jigsaw puzzle, but a piece missing when he is near completion

This can be something that is extremely frustrating for anybody. When you spend a lot of time on a quest, you get satisfaction only when you can see the quest near completion, and when you find yourself stuck because of some issue, it can feel real bad. Something similar happened to this person (a senior citizen). He was given a large jigsaw puzzle (with around 5000 pieces), a puzzle over 5 feet long, by his daughter-in-law many years back as a Christmas present, but is no longer supported by the original manufacturer of the puzzle.
Now, in order to ensure that his puzzle gets completed, he is looking for the missing piece of the puzzle; but he is out of luck in getting the piece and the missing piece cannot be found anywhere in his house (one could think that they have completed the puzzle with every other piece inserted but the final piece, but it is not the same) (link to article):

The process was nearly complete when he realised that a vital piece was missing. The jigsaw showed the 19th century oil painting The Return Of The Prodigal Son by James Tissot.
arris searched his home in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, for the key piece, but to no avail. His family now fears one of their two dogs may have swallowed it, Daily Mail reported.
Help was sought from the puzzle's manufacturer to provide a spare piece, but Harris had taken so long to complete it that Falcon Games has stopped making it.

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