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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.
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!
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
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. . .? . .
?
?? 
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.
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.
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?
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?
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)
What People are Saying