“Please list any and all, current personal or business websites, web pages or memberships on any Internet-based chat rooms, social clubs or forums, to include, but not limited to: Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube.com, MySpace, etc.,” the City form states. There are then three lines where applicants can list the Web sites, their user names and log-in information and their passwords.
Why anyone would want to work for the city of Bozeman after being notified of this requirement is beyond me. Pathetic.
“We’re always going to do something to make sure the child understands the seriousness of having something that could potentially harm another student, but we’re going to be reasonable,” he said.
HILTON HEAD ISLAND — A 10-year-old boy here has been suspended from school for having something most students carry in their supply boxes: a pencil sharpener.
The problem was his sharpener had broken, but he decided to use it anyway.
A teacher at Hilton Head Island International Baccalaureate Elementary School noticed the boy had what appeared to be a small razor blade during class on Tuesday, according to a Beaufort County sheriff’s report.
It was obvious that the blade was the metal insert commonly found in a child’s small, plastic pencil sharpener, the deputy noted.
The boy — a fourth-grader described as a well-behaved and good student — cried during the meeting with his mom, the deputy and the school’s assistant principal.
He had no criminal intent in having the blade at school, the sheriff’s report stated, but was suspended for at least two days and could face further disciplinary action.
District spokesman Randy Wall said school administrators are stuck in the precarious position between the district’s zero tolerance policy against having weapons at school and common sense.
Want to get rid of your goldfish? Swiss owners who have been flushing them down the toilet – still alive – must now find other methods since strict new animal protection laws took effect today.
Instead, a fish must be first knocked out and then killed before its body can be disposed of, the law stipulates.
The new legislation spells out in exhaustive detail how all domestic animals are to be treated, whether they be pets, farm animals or destined for scientific experiments.
Wild animals are also covered by the law if they reside in zoos or circuses.
However, just like in George Orwell’s satire, Animal Farm, some animals enjoy more “equal rights” than others.
Not only are goldfish now afforded a more “dignified” death than being dispatched round the S-bend, but it is now also forbidden for Swiss anglers to practise catch-and-release fishing or recreational catching only to throw the fish back in the water, or to use live fish as bait.
In the domestic sphere, common household pets such as budgerigars and hamsters can no longer be kept by themselves.
The same applies for more exotic breeds such as lamas, alpacas and yaks – admittedly not your average pet but a common feature in zoos.
Even sheep and goats must have at least “a visual contact with their fellows”, according to the new law.
Man’s “best friend”, the faithful hound, comes in for special treatment as dog owners will be obliged by law to take special classes on how to raise Fido properly so he is less likely to bite.
And Swiss dog-owners wishing to “customise” their pets as a fashion accessory will not be allowed to crop their tails or ears – nor “force them to have surgery to get droopy ears”.
However it’s questionable whether the animals will welcome all of the provisions the lawmakers have generously bestowed upon them.
Pigs, for example, are often said to be happiest when rolling around in the mud – but now they have the legal right to a shower to freshen up.
Based on the short story Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut, 2081 “depicts a dystopian future in which, thanks to the 212th Amendment to the Constitution and the unceasing vigilance of the United States Handicapper General, everyone is finally equal…”
A mother mistakenly branded a violent junkie must have her fingerprints checked against every unsolved crime in Britain to clear her name.
Amanda Hodgson had a routine criminal record check for a job looking after youngsters during breaktimes at her children’s school.
The 36-year-old was expecting the all-clear but was horrified to open a letter claiming she had assaulted police officers and was a recovering heroin addict.
‘When I first read the letter, I didn’t fully understand. I couldn’t work out why I’d been sent all this information,’ Mrs Hodgson said.
‘I was horrified when I realised. It is really embarrassing and I have had to explain to my son that his mum isn’t a criminal and I’m not going to jail.’
Mrs Hodgson only applied to be a welfare assistant at the school after staff said she would be perfect for the job.
But the Criminal Records Bureau sent her the history of a woman with the same name and date of birth – then told Mrs Hodgson, of Preston, it was up to her to prove her innocence.
The CRB investigated but could not ensure she was not the person named in the report.
It then asked her to produce her passport and fingerprints.
‘To have my fingerprints taken in the first place is bad enough but then to be told they will be cross-checked against all unsolved crimes is ridiculous,’ she said. ‘I have done nothing wrong.’
A spokesman for the CRB said the Police National Computer had a 99.98 accuracy record. It only asked a person to supply their fingerprints if all other investigations had failed.
‘This may be the only sure way to remove the match,’ said the spokesman.
‘The alternative may result in appropriate information not being released with catastrophic results.’
The City Council of Canton, OH has proposed sending people to jail who refuse to mow their lawns by making the 2nd grass-too-high offense a misdemeanor with jail time. Stop reading and fire up your mower.
Your Daily Chum 