Silly/Odd News Stories from around the World

[Woopzilla]

Small children shouldn't be left in the care of idiots like that. I sure hope the school's board sacks the headmaster.

[Haruka_Kitten]

Originally Posted by Woopzilla

Small children shouldn't be left in the care of idiots like that. I sure hope the school's board sacks the headmaster.

Sadly, the world is a sad place. Red tape has ruined everything.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Harufox

Sadly, the world is a sad place. Red tape has ruined everything.

The headmaster used the red tape to her advantage : avoiding all sorts of liabilities. It is a commodity in modern school systems where most teachers are only interested in their next pay.

[FateAnomaly]

Sadly, it is necessary because of all the spolit kids and arrogant parents nowadays.

[justsomeguy]

British justice system news:Grandma tagged for selling a goldfish.

Her offence was to unwittingly sell a goldfish to a 14-year-old boy taking part in a trading standards 'sting'.

At most, pet shop owner Joan Higgins, 66, expected a slap on the wrist for breaking new animal welfare laws which ban the sale of pets to under-16s.

Instead, the great-grandmother was taken to court, fined £1,000, placed under curfew - and ordered to wear an electronic tag for two months.
Seven-week curfew: Joan Higgins has to wear an electronic tag

Seven-week curfew: Joan Higgins has to wear an electronic tag

The punishment is normally handed out to violent thugs and repeat offenders.

The prosecution of Mrs Higgins and her son Mark is estimated to have cost taxpayers £20,000 and has left her with a criminal record.

Mark, 47, was also fined and ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work in the community.

Last night, as an MP criticised the magistrates, Mrs Higgins - who has run the pet shop for 28 years - said the family's eight-month ordeal had left them traumatised.

She added: 'It's ridiculous. I mean, what danger am I that I have to wear an electronic tag? These last few months have been a very stressful time.'

The seven-week curfew imposed by the court means she is unable to babysit her great-grandson at his home or go to bingo sessions with her sister, and will be unable to attend a Rod Stewart concert after tickets were bought for her by her nephew, actor Will Mellor.
Joan and Mark Higgins

Joan Higgins, 66, and her son Mark, 47, have both been ordered to pay fines after selling a goldfish to a 14-year-old boy

Her son said: 'I think it's a farce. What gets me so cross is that they put my Mum on a tag - she's nearly 70, for goodness' sake.

'She's a great-grandma so she won't be able to babysit a newborn baby. You would think they have better things to do with their time and money.'

Mr Higgins claimed the undercover operation was a clear case of entrapment - when a person is encouraged by someone in some official capacity to commit a crime - and said the case should never have gone to court.

He said: 'The council sent the 14-year-old in to us. It is hard to tell how old a lad is these days. He looked much older than 14.'

He added that his mother almost fainted in the dock when magistrates told her she could go to prison for the offence.

'I told her they wouldn't send her to prison but she was still worried,' he said. 'The only other time she has been in court is when she did jury service.'
Majors Pet shop in Sale, Greater Manchester, where the incident occurred

Majors Pet shop in Sale, Greater Manchester, owned by Joan and Mark Higgins

Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 it is illegal to sell pets - including goldfish - to children under the age of 16 unless they are accompanied by an adult. Pet shops must also provide advice on animal welfare to buyers.

The maximum penalty is imprisonment for up to 12 months, or a fine of up to £20,000, or both.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz0jmIn1haz

Perhaps Mrs. Higgins should have been more discrete, but it would seem that the cops intentionally sent an adult-looking 14yo to buy the fish. Furthermore, the punishment seems more intended to humiliate than to discourage future repetitions. Why should she be tagged and curfewed if she does not rationally pose any harm to the community? The fine should have sufficed.

Meanwhile, that criminal who got beaten up and "brain damaged" is now above the law despite continuing to assault and burglarize, on account of his disability.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by Woopzilla

Small children shouldn't be left in the care of idiots like that. I sure hope the school's board sacks the headmaster.

i think it was the school who came out with those rules.

[Woopzilla]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

i think it was the school who came out with those rules.

Eh? Not sure what you mean. I would've thought the current staff at the school sets their policies... or do you mean the board sets the policies?

The reason I wanted the head to get the boot was for simply being patronising and reporting an obviously innocent person to the police. It just seemed an absurd thing to do. :/

[Haruka_Kitten]

Originally Posted by Woopzilla

Eh? Not sure what you mean. I would've thought the current staff at the school sets their policies... or do you mean the board sets the policies?

The reason I wanted the head to get the boot was for simply being patronising and reporting an obviously innocent person to the police. It just seemed an absurd thing to do. :/

I'm afraid, in this current day in age, it's all anyone ever does around here. People just sue for the hell of it. One of these days someone will wake up, but until then we got far too much bureaucratic crap shoved down our throats to even try. (If this doesn't make sense, trust me, I don't get it either )

Hospital ordered to pay $260,000 after removing man's single healthy testicle

I am literally pissing myself laughing at the headline alone

[FateAnomaly]

Originally Posted by justsomeguy

British justice system news:Grandma tagged for selling a goldfish.

Perhaps Mrs. Higgins should have been more discrete, but it would seem that the cops intentionally sent an adult-looking 14yo to buy the fish. Furthermore, the punishment seems more intended to humiliate than to discourage future repetitions. Why should she be tagged and curfewed if she does not rationally pose any harm to the community? The fine should have sufficed.

Meanwhile, that criminal who got beaten up and "brain damaged" is now above the law despite continuing to assault and burglarize, on account of his disability.

Wow the police had too much free time and budget on their hands.

[LynnieS]

Originally Posted by FateAnomaly

Wow the police had too much free time and budget on their hands.

That woman was being made an example to warn others who are or will be selling pets to underage kids, but is the problem so large there that the example has to be so extreme, however? Not every kid is responsible and can take care of his pet well enough that the animal won't be, say, dumped out into the wild. There are exceptions, though, I'm sure - even though kids usually have the attention span of a mayfly...

[FateAnomaly]

Kids can buy them when accompanied by an adult though which doesn't make much difference to the end result of the said pet.

[Haruka_Kitten]

Originally Posted by FateAnomaly

Kids can buy them when accompanied by an adult though which doesn't make much difference to the end result of the said pet.

So then it is very much like buying cigarettes and alcohol? Yes, they're banned from being sold to children and yet nothing stops any adult from giving these to children. Since I believe pets are neither addictive, a drug, or in any form something that must be controlled, I cannot see why the poor old woman got into this mess in the first place.

[LynnieS]

Originally Posted by FateAnomaly

Kids can buy them when accompanied by an adult though which doesn't make much difference to the end result of the said pet.

The idea is probably so that the parent would have some say into the pet's care.

In the end, the animal will still die if not taken care of, but hopefully, even if the kid does not handle his responsibility, his parents will. If the parents don't even know, then they might not find out till the animal is dead and rotting... There is also the chance the pet will not be dumped out, still alive, into the wild; if it dies, you risk spreading disease (unlikely but still can happen) when it is eaten, and if it lives, the animal might push out other animals native to the area.

The punishment is still pretty extreme, however, esp. for someone of that age with that many ties in the community.

[LynnieS]

Sorry for the double post, but given that a day has passed, an edit is probably not too good. BTW, "Air hostesses"? I thought the term has been lawyer'ed out by now!

Unpaid Spanish air hostesses strip in protest

(Reuters) - Flight attendants owed up to nine months' wages by a grounded Spanish airline have posed nude for a calendar to draw attention to their plight, one of the cabin crew turned models said on Wednesday.

Same story at Huffington Post, but with more photos. (Note: Photo gallery is a bit NSFW.)

[Woopzilla]

They should consider a career change to be honest.

Do aeroplane companies have some sort of policy of 'We don't employ any air hostesses that are below 'HAWT' in looks'? Or are there a dozen other pictures we'd rather not want to see? :P

[Haruka_Kitten]

Originally Posted by Woopzilla

They should consider a career change to be honest.

Unfortunately, the world is rather close-minded.

Originally Posted by Woopzilla

Do aeroplane companies have some sort of policy of 'We don't employ any air hostesses that are below 'HAWT' in looks'? Or are there a dozen other pictures we'd rather not want to see? :P

I believe the latter . No honestly they may be good looking but I doubt they're friendly people.

[MrTerrorist]

US girl sues for $1m over arrest for desk scribble

[Haruka_Kitten]

Originally Posted by MrTerrorist

US girl sues for $1m over arrest for desk scribble

Something's gotta be done about this stupid litigation thing.

[Vexx]

Peepshi... nothing else need be said:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/0..._n_524626.html

[FateAnomaly]

Originally Posted by Harufox

Something's gotta be done about this stupid litigation thing.

It seems like another opportunistic attempt to make money.