Weekly Daily Brickbats Archive 2009 December 1-31

A young girl was killed in Afghanistan after she was struck by a box of propaganda leaflets dropped by the British Royal Air Force. The Ministry of Defense called the girl's death "highly regrettable."

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials say they will not allow airline passengers to take snow globes through security. The globes contain liquids, and TSA rules bar passengers from taking liquids, gels or aerosols in containers of more than three ounces in carry-on bags.

Hans Joachim Keil, an ambassador from Western Samoa who holds dual citizenship in the United States, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Branson, Missouri. They charged him with illegally claiming to be a U.S. citizen and falsely presenting a U.S. passport. They held Keil for nine days without letting him contact the Samoan embassy then forced him to remain in Missouri for three months while the charges were pending. The charges were finally dropped after they figured out that Keil, a U.S. Air Force veteran, really is a U.S. citizen. Keil is suing the agents.

In New York City, the Bowery Mission tossed away a batch of fried chicken brought by a local church to help feed the homeless. The chicken contained trans fat, and city law bans all licensed food vendors, including emergency food providers, from serving food with trans fat.

The House of Representatives has passed a bill mandating that the National Park Service take over Billy Carter's old gas station and make it part of the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site in Plains, Georgia. The legislation also calls on the park service to take over a house Jimmy Carter lived in from 1956 to 1961 and a state welcome center that may be closed because of budget cuts. The Congressional Budget Office says it will cost $17 million to upgrade and run the sites for five years.