Pensioner Fined For Littering After Police Knock Cigarette From His Hand While Arresting Shoplifters 'A grandfather was left humiliated after being handed a £60 litter fine when his cigarette was knocked out of his hand as he walked past a scuffle between police and shoplifters. Lazaris Michael, 76, had taken a single puff before his smoke was sent flying as officers apprehended two girls who were trying to flee a branch of Boots. But the pensioner did not have time to bend down and pick it up before a council warden pounced on him and hit him the fixed penalty for littering in front of a large crowd. When he begged the council to show common sense and drop the case they responded by threatening him with an even bigger fine if he does not pay up.' Drone to Patrol Part of Border With Canada 'Federal Customs and Border Protection authorities are preparing to launch unmanned aircraft patrols from this state, the first time such monitoring will occur along the nation’s northern border. A Predator B aircraft, delivered to Grand Forks on Saturday, will make runs along the northern edge of North Dakota using sensors that can provide video and detect heat and changes to landscape, Customs and Border Protection officials said. The plane, which can go 260 miles per hour and fly as high as 50,000 feet, can stay aloft for 18 hours. The first missions, designed to help spot people crossing the border illegally or avoiding ports of entry, are expected to start next month.' Pakistan Asserts “Hoax” War Call Was Real 'Pakistani officials have asserted that the so called “hoax” phone call to its President Zardari on November 28, which threatened war in response to the Mumbai attacks, was in fact real and that Indian High Commission officials have since circulated a report in the media suggesting it was false. Pakistan Information and Broadcasting Minister Sherry Rehman has stated that the call was put out from “a verified official Phone Number of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs”.' Illinois Governor Suspends All State Business With Bank Of America 'In a stinging note of support for the laid off workers that have taken up residency in Chicago's Republic Windows & Doors factory, the Governor of Illinois has suspended business with Bank of America until it reissues credit to the shuttered company.' 'Tragically, over the Thanksgiving holiday, the world was reminded how evil and cruel people can be. According to emerging accounts of the events in India, about a dozen well-armed and devastatingly well-trained terrorists laid siege on the city of Mumbai, killing almost two hundred people, and terrorizing thousands. Regardless of the reasons, the indiscriminate shooting on masses of unarmed and defenseless people is chilling and reprehensible. How were these terrorists able to continue so long, relatively unchallenged, killing so many?' What Are The Greek Riots Really About? 'We've been told that the ongoing riots in Greece were prosecuted by anarchists as a reaction to the Greek police's shooting of a 15 year old boy on Saturday. But is this really what lies behind such an outpouring of civil unrest? Is the official reason for the rioting just a cover to paper over some real problems facing the Greek government? Take a look at the common thread in all of these reports.' How To Unplug From The Grid 'I haven't paid an electricity bill since 1970," says Richard Perez with noticeable glee. He can afford to be smug. While most of us fretted over soaring utility bills this year, he barely noticed. Nor is he particularly concerned about forecast price hikes of 30 to 50 per cent in 2009. Perez, a renewable-energy researcher at the University at Albany, State University of New York, lives "off-grid" - unconnected to the power grid and the water, gas and sewerage supplies that most of us rely on. He generates his own electricity, sources his own water and manages his own waste disposal - and prefers it that way. "There are times when the grid blacks out," he says. "I like the security of having my own electricity company." School Forces Students To Question Their Own Heterosexuality 'The mother of a Wisconsin teenager was stunned when her high school senior brought home a questionnaire assigned by his English teacher that asked, among several provocative questions, "Is it possible that your heterosexuality stems from a neurotic fear of others of the same sex?" The mother, Marilyn Hanson, reviewed the questionnaire and thought it completely inappropriate for any class, but especially for a required English class, where, Hanson told WND, "They should be taught to read and write and prepare for college." "I really believe this was outright indoctrination to the homosexual viewpoint," Hanson said. "I could see this being discussed in a debate class, where both sides were presented. But the other side was not presented." 'Israel to Help India Against Pakistan' 'Israel is willing to help the Indians carry out punitive forays into Pakistan because it has its own scores to settle for the brutal murder of six Israelis in Mumbai's Chabad Center by the Islamist terrorists and for the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency's hand in the atrocity. Security sources in New Delhi disclosed Saturday, Dec. 6, that ISI officers actively trained the terrorists on military lines and selected their targets, including two big hotels and the Jewish-Israeli center. Indian sources told DEBKAfile that Israel was asked for assistance because its special undercover forces were long seasoned in plotting and executing reprisals for terrorist attacks; above all, they were expert in getting away after covert operations without leaving a trail. New Delhi wants its commando operations in Pakistan to be stealthy and focused, and does not propose to admit responsibility.' Classic Problem - Reaction - Solution ! Cigarettes To Be Sold 'Under The Counter' 'Tobacco products will be barred from display in shops despite fears it could hit small stores during the economic downturn. The new restrictions come after an extensive consultation on measures to reduce the number of children who take up smoking and helping those already addicted to quit. But ministers will not go as far as recommending all cigarette packaging be plain with only the brand name and health warnings printed on them.' Arresting MPs and Nationalising Banks Happen in Dictatorships 'I've never actually seen a cabinet minister caught on camera with his (or in this case, her) eyes tightly closed before. When Andrew Marr began addressing the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, yesterday morning, she looked as if she was desperately trying to catch up on the sleep she had lost over the past three days. Or perhaps she was just attempting to shut out the image of Kenneth Clarke, who had preceded her on the air. Mr Clarke had just proclaimed that, if he had been told as Home Secretary that an MP had been arrested and detained in the way that Damian Green had been, he would have insisted on issuing an immediate apology. His reaction to being informed that a senior opposition spokesman who was not suspected of any crime, had had his home and office raided by the police would have been horrified fury.' The UK 'Ministry of Truth' Censors Childrens Dictionary 'Oxford University Press has removed words like "aisle", "bishop", "chapel", "empire" and "monarch" from its Junior Dictionary and replaced them with words like "blog", "broadband" and "celebrity". Dozens of words related to the countryside have also been culled. The publisher claims the changes have been made to reflect the fact that Britain is a modern, multicultural, multifaith society. But academics and head teachers said that the changes to the 10,000 word Junior Dictionary could mean that children lose touch with Britain's heritage.' In The Shadow Of Nemesis 'As this commentary is being written, the latest runaround in the judicial flim-flam of “who lacks ‘standing’ to demand production of Barack Obama’s original Hawaiian birth certificate (if one actually exists)” has just taken place. According to a newspaper report, Hawaiian Judge Bert Ayabe has dismissed a suit filed by one Andy Martin, on the ground that Martin “does not have a direct and tangible interest in the vital statistic records being sought, namely the birth certificate of President Obama.” Zbigniew Brzezinski: Israel's Push For Iran Strike May Hurt U.S. Ties 'Zbigniew Brzezinski, the former national security adviser to Jimmy Carter, said in an interview with Haaretz over the weekend that Israel will do harm to its relations with the United States if it insists on lobbying Washington for an American military strike on Iran.'Tuesday, 09 December 2008 Tuesday, 09 December 2008 Tuesday, 09 December 2008 Tuesday, 09 December 2008 Tuesday, 09 December 2008 Gun Control: Protecting Terrorists and Despots
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Tuesday, 9 December 2008
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