You'll Put Someone's Eye Out

November 30, 2007

Several boys at a London, England, school were flicking wads of paper at each other with elastic bands when one 12-year-old got hit in the eye. He suffered no permanent damage to his eye, but his parents complained to the police. The police, in turn, arrested the 12-year-old who shot him with a piece of paper, took his fingerprints and DNA and held him for four hours until his parents could make bail. They charged him with causing grievous bodily harm. The boy endured three months of legal wrangling, including three court appearances, before prosecutors dropped the charges.

Genetic Mistake

November 29, 2007

The British government reportedly has the largest DNA database in the world, with DNA samples from some 4 million people. The government takes DNA from anyone arrested for an imprisonable offense and keeps it even if they are found not guilty or charges are dropped. But the largest DNA database in the world contains a lot of misinformation. Government statistics show it contains more than 550,000 files with incorrect or misspelled names.

Good Old English Food

November 28, 2007

Students at Wigan, England's Standish High School weren't happy with the school food, so they began calling out orders to a nearby sandwich shop. Owner Michael Daley would then deliver the food to the students though the school gates. But school officials found out what was going on and asked the police officer assigned as the school liaison officer to pay Daley a visit and tell him to stop. "We offer a wide variety of meals which the majority of children are satisfied with," said school head Hugh Crossan.

Whip Inflation Now

November 27, 2007

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has banned pay raises along with increases in rents, prices and service charges. The government says this is an attempt to rein in inflation, which is running at around 8,000 percent. Anyone caught raising prices or salaries without government approval faces fines, up to six months in jail or both.

You're Not It

November 26, 2007

Colorado Springs' Discovery Canyon Campus elementary school has banned tag and any other form of chasing. Assistant Principal Cindy Fesgen says students were complaining about being chased.

He's Gonna Need a Stiff Drink After That

November 23, 2007

Police in Tehran held down Saeed Ghanbari and gave him 80 lashes across his back while a large crowd watched. Ghanbari was reportedly being punished for drinking and having sex outside marriage.

Picture This

November 22, 2007

Bogdan Mohora is $8,000 richer, thanks to the Seattle police. Mohora snapped some photographs of a man being arrested last year. That's when two Seattle police officers stopped him and demanded he give them his camera. When he asked what he had done wrong, they arrested him and took the camera along with his wallet and satchel. An hour later, they released him but warned him he could be charged with disturbing the peace, provoking a riot or endangering a police officer. But he was not charged, and when the ACLU took his case on, they found that the officers had not written an incident report on his arrest, in violation of department policy. The city settled the case for $8,000.

Who You Gonna Call?

November 21, 2007

Fourteen-year-old Mariya Fatima began vomiting and collapsed in the hallway at Queens, New York's Jamaica High School. But medical help did not arrive until 90 minutes later. Mariya had a stroke that cost her the use of her right hand and left her with difficulty walking. Her family says the stroke might not have been so damaging if she'd gotten help sooner, and they blame a school policy barring teachers from calling 911 "for any reason."  Their lawyer and a teacher's union representative say the policy was adopted to make it seem as if there is less crime at the school than there actually is.

Throwing the Sausage

November 20, 2007

Police in Manchester, England, charged a 12-year-old boy with assault after he allegedly threw a cocktail sausage at an old man. A youth court judge has asked them to reconsider the case.

That's Nothing to Be Proud Of

November 19, 2007

Chinese officials refused to let Yuan Weijing leave the country, confiscating her passport and telephone when she tried to fly to the Philippines. Yuan is married to Chen Guangcheng, a blind self-trained lawyer who was imprisoned after documenting numerous cases where family planning officials had forced women to have abortions or committed other abuses. Yuan was going to the Philippines to accept a humanitarian award on her husband's behalf.

I Think You'll Be Drinking

November 16, 2007

Police in England and Wales now have the authority to bar people from town centers for up to 48 hours if they believe those persons will cause alcohol related crimes or disorder. They can issue those orders to people who have not had any alcohol if they believe those people are going to drink. Those who refuse to leave can be arrested and faces fines of up to £2,500.

He Was the Barber of Tehran

November 15, 2007

Police on Tehran have closed at least two dozen barber shops and hair salons for giving people Western-style haircuts or tattoos or plucking their eyebrows. One woman's salon was closed after police found that one employee was a man.

We Can Work It Out

November 14, 2007

No job? Not in school? That's a fine. The British government has unveiled plans to issue fines on the spot to any teens who are found not working, in school or in a job-training program. Those who still don't find work or go back to school will face further penalties. Children's secretary Ed Balls reportedly called the move "the biggest educational reform in the last 50 years."

It Must Have Been Casual Friday

November 13, 2007

Florida's Golden Gate High School suspended student Austin Perkins for wearing a jacket and tie to school. School officials say he'd been warned that violated the school dress code.

Mob Mentality

November 12, 2007

The rules were simple. The guns are invisible or made by pointing your finger. When you get the signal, point at someone, say "Bang!" and lie down. That's what organizers of a flash mob at an Ottawa, Canada, mall posted, and that's just what Henrick Vierula and Stephane Laurence-Pressault did. And because of that police have charged them with mischief and disturbing the peace.

What Would Jesus Smoke?

November 9, 2007

The Malaysian government shut down for one month Makkal Osai, a Tamil-language newspaper that published a drawing of Jesus holding a cigarette and what appeared to be a can of beer. The government last year closed two newspapers for publishing cartoons of Mohammad that some Muslims said were offensive. Some observers say the government's actions against Makkal Osai were an attempt to appear even-handed, even though Christian leaders in the country say they accepted the newspaper's apology and didn't want it shut down.

In the Bush

November 8, 2007

When John Sampieri got the final inspection done on his new Brevard County, Florida, home, the inspector gave him some odd news. The house met all codes, but the lawn wasn't up to standard. Sampieri says he was told he had to plant five hardwood trees and 15 shrubs to get it up to required standards. Sampieri's yard is less that one-eighth of an acre.

The Great Pumpkin Caper

November 7, 2007

Justin Sanford helped his sons Robin, 7, Jack, 4, and Benjamin, 3, set up a pumpkin stand by the side of the road near their home to raise money for Halloween costumes for the boys. When police community support officers showed up at the South Wiltshire, England, stand, Sanford said he was afraid they were going to tell him that a relative had been killed. Instead, they warned the boys they could face a fine for selling pumpkins without a license if they didn't close shop.

Trick or Treat

November 6, 2007

When Staten Island, New York, police officers Thomas Elliassen and Michael Danese caught a 14-year-old boy tossing eggs at cars on Halloween, they did what any law enforcement officers would do. They reportedly took him to a swampy area, made him strip to his shorts and socks and left him there.

Know the Score

November 5, 2007

The International Music Score Library Project, an online storehouse of scores in the public domain, has shut down after it received a cease-and-desist letter from Universal Edition, a European music publisher. According to a post on Slashdot, most of the scores on the site were in the public domain worldwide. Some were still under copyright in the United States or Europe, but were in the public domain in Canada, where the site was hosted. The site warned users to follow their home country's laws.

No Mercy

November 2, 2007

When Ibrahim Mohammad Lawal's neighbor became ill, he took the 63-year-old woman to the local hospital. In most countries, that sort of thing is considered a good deed. Unfortunately, Lawal was in Saudi Arabia's, which isn't one of them. He was seized by religious police on charges of being alone with a woman not related to him and held in jail for some 50 days.

Busted

November 1, 2007

Portage County, Ohio Judge John Plough ordered deputies to take assistant public defender Brian Jones into custody when he told the judge he wasn't ready to take a case to trial. It's the second time Plough has done that, and the public defender's office says in each case the attorney had been assigned the case only a day or so before.