Iraqi Gets $240,000 for T-Shirt Incident

An Iraqi-born resident of the United States who was ordered to cover a T-shirt with Arabic script before boarding a plane in New York has received $240,000 in a settlement with two officials of the Transportation Safety Administration and JetBlue Airways.

The Iraqi, Raed Jarrar, was headed for a JetBlue flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Oakland, Calif., in August 2006 when, according to court papers, he was told at a security checkpoint that his T-shirt, which said “We will not be silent” in Arabic and English, would have to go.

One federal employee, according to Mr. Jarrar’s account, told him that wearing a shirt with Arabic script to an airport was like going to the bank in a shirt that said “I am a robber.”

Ultimately, the JetBlue workers gave Mr. Jarrar another T-shirt to wear over the first one, and led him to a seat at the back of the plane, even though his original ticket had been issued for a seat at the front.

In an interview, Mr. Jarrar, 30, a legal resident, called the experience “very painful.” At the time, he said, he was a new immigrant to the United States and had been reading histories of discrimination and the civil rights movement, which he thought of as “things that happened in the past, and in this other place and time.”

“When it happened to me,” he said, “it was very much of a shock.”

Advani’s letter for Abu Salem’s rescue

What’s happening in my country???? It is at times like these when I wish the movie WEDNESDAY was a reality.

Underworld don Abu Salem should thank senior BJP leader L.K. Advani. It is Advani’s December 17, 2002 letter to the Portuguese Foreign Minister in his capacity as Deputy Prime Minister that has resulted in charges against Salem under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) being dropped by a Mumbai court.

In his letter, Advani had assured Portuguese Minister for Foreign Affairs Antonio Martins Da Cruz that “if extradited by Portugal for trial in India, Abu Salem Abdul Qayoom Ansari and Monica Bedi would not be visited by death penalty or imprisonment for a term beyond 25 years.” Portugal’s extradition order is based on this assurance.

I’ll sue you, GOD!!!!

Sounds funny??? Well, this US senator actually filed a case in court sueing God!!! Wow! How is that? Filing a case against the almighty in a system formed by us mere mortals!

PS: I don’t know what amuses me most – That he filed such a case? or that  A SENATOR representing the people filed such a case? or that he is STILL A SENATOR after this whole drama? !!!!!

A US judge has thrown out a case against God, ruling that because the defendant has no address, legal papers cannot be served.

The suit was launched by Nebraska state senator Ernie Chambers, who said he might appeal against the ruling.

He sought a permanent injunction to prevent the “death, destruction and terrorisation” caused by God.

Judge Marlon Polk said in his ruling that a plaintiff must have access to the defendant for a case to proceed.

“Given that this court finds that there can never be service effectuated on the named defendant this action will be dismissed with prejudice,” Judge Polk wrote in his ruling.

Mr Chambers cannot refile the suit but may appeal.

‘God knows everything’

Mr Chambers sued God last year. He said God had threatened him and the people of Nebraska and had inflicted “widespread death, destruction and terrorisation of millions upon millions of the Earth’s inhabitants”.

He said he would carefully consider Judge Polk’s ruling before deciding whether to appeal.

The court, Mr Chambers said, had acknowledged the existence of God and “a consequence of that acknowledgement is a recognition of God’s omniscience”.

“Since God knows everything,” he reasoned, “God has notice of this lawsuit.”

Mr Chambers, a state senator for 38 years, said he filed the suit to make the point that “anyone can sue anyone else, even God”.

[ source: BBC NEWS ]

It makes sense…

A prospective juror in a Dallas District Court was surprised by the
definition of voluntary manslaughter given the panel:

“an intentional killing that occurs while the defendant is under
the immediate influence of sudden passion arising from an
adequate cause, such as when a spouse’s mate is found in a
‘compromising position.’”

“See, I have a problem with that passion business,” responded the jury
candidate. “During my first marriage, I came in and found my husband in
bed with my neighbor. All I did was divorce him. I had no idea that I
could have shot him.”

She wasn’t selected for the jury.

Spam me & end up in jail

It’s high time somebody did something about this. But still, honestly don’t you think imprisonment for 30 months is a bit too harsh? After all, all he did was send mails. He didn’t rob or hurt anyone. For all we know it’s just a few extra emails in everyone’s inbox. Hmmm……

New York: Beware! Sending a spam is enough for police to take you to jail. A federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday sentenced a Brooklyn man, named Adam Vitale, to 30 months imprisonment for sending spam e-mails to more than 1.2 million subscribers of America Online (AOL), the online division of Time Warner. In this filthy act, Vitale, along with another man Todd Moeller, defeated AOL’s filter system by using several different computer servers to relay the e-mails and changed the e-mail header information to ensure the spam e-mails could not be traced back to them.

Vitale was sentenced after pleading guilty more than a year ago to breaking anti-spam laws. He was also ordered to pay $180,000 to AOL in restitution. Moeller, another defendant in the case, was sentenced last November to 27 months for his role in the scheme.

[ Original Source: You may be jailed for spamming ]

Saudi Arabia Marks 136th Beheading of 2007

Slightly old news. But worth reading.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi authorities on Sunday beheaded a citizen convicted of shooting a man in the head with an assault rifle, the Interior Ministry said.

In a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, the ministry said that Ali bin Suweid Al-Domnan killed Diyab bin Ali al-Mansour following an argument in the southern city of Najran.

Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islam under which those convicted of murder, drug trafficking, rape and armed robbery are executed in public with a sword.

Sunday’s execution brought to 136 the number of people beheaded in the kingdom this year, according to an Associated Press count. Saudi Arabia beheaded 38 people last year and 83 people in 2005.

[ Read from original source ]