This & That, Ceci et Cela

F'ed up factoid of the day: foreigners are charged more for certain items by law in the Czech Republic.  WTF?!  Czechs in other countries pay the same for everything else e.g. Czechs in US pay the same for everything as the Americans do, yet most times when foreigners in a Cz resturant get a seperate menu with higher pricing... This is the kind of thing that foreign trade consuls/commissioners ...

Capt Hanadi Zakaria; first Saudi Arabian woman to receive a commercial pilot license from Amman, Jordan.

France holds 'Chameleon' impostor: A 31-year-old serial impostor who passed himself off for a whole month as a schoolboy - aged 15 - is being questioned by police in France. Frederic Bourdin, nicknamed "the Chameleon", attended the Jean Monnet school in Pau posing as "Francisco Hernandez-Fernandez", a Spanish orphan. A teacher unmasked him last week after having ...

British charity Oxfam has had to pay the Sri Lankan government $1m in import duty for vehicles used in tsunami reconstruction work. Absolutely abominable. The Sri Lankan government told the BBC News website the aid had been duty-free until the end of April but was now needed to prevent "market distortions".   WTF?! Hello: The Oxfam spokesman said the Indian vehicles were chosen because ...

Orthodox leader demoted to monk. The Orthodox Church has demoted Irineos, its former Patriarch of Jerusalem, to the rank of simple monk. Irineos had refused to resign after being accused of selling Church land in Jerusalem traditionally occupied by Arabs to Jewish investors. Serious issues I know, but I'm just saying: damn, that's some serious bling bro! The good sh*t too; you know they don't ...

She knew the rules going in, came out with some loot, now she wants more? Psht!  What makes her think that as wife #219 (or whatever rung of the ladder she went in on), she is entitled to more than the standard "severance" package?

In response to growing concern over anorexia and bulimia in local teenagers, the government of Buenos Aires has given fashion retailers six months to stock up on all sizes in its clothing lines for young women, including large sizes. Many chain-stores sell garments that range only from “extra-small” to no larger than “medium”. (The idea that these sizes may be delicately euphemistic was apparently lost on the regulators.) Offending retailers ...

The program "Muslim Chronicle" had an interesting episode on female-led-prayers in Islam, quite the controversial issue today. Thoughtus profoundis (hey, the dictionary can only do so much. Sometimes, I gotta make up terms as needed): Women leading prayer is not so much about the physical issue of the mosque/carpeting/space or the "rebellious" issue of the women leading prayer (which, by the way is not expressed as a sin anywhere in ...

As I commented on the BBC page, I think Apple may as well call it a day and save us the confusion because switching chips is not the point. THE issue is the mounting quality problems that its product lines have been presenting for consumers. I mean, logic board replacements, battery recalls, all within the last 2-3 years? I say something's ...

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously overturned the conviction of Arthur Andersen on Tuesday, declaring that the instructions given the jurors who convicted the accounting firm of obstruction of justice in connection with the ignonimous collapse of Enron had been far too murky. (IHT)