A Good Samaritan in New York intervenes in a mugging and gets stabbed. As he is lying on the sidewalk bleeding to death, more than 20 people pass by him, and do nothing. Strike that. One guy did take pictures with his cell phone. It’s just wrong that the one person who did care about his fellow man, and acted on it, died.
There is no substitute for proofreading. And to all you kids out there (don’t hate The Juice for saying this) “spell check” is not proofreading. Heresy! But as for the importance of proofreading, check out this story from the Jakarta Globe:
A single clerical error can change the course of one’s life. Just ask Kamjai Khong Thavorn, 53, a Thai national who spent nearly three extra years in the maximum-security Pasir Putih Penitentiary in Nusakambangan, West Java, because of a typing error.
Kamjai was due for release in 2007 after a 20-year sentence he received in 1987 for heroin possession, but up until Wednesday, he was still behind bars. Having spent an extra three years in jail for no fault of his own, Kamjai was promptly released on Thursday after a chance meeting with Justice Minister Patrialis Akbar, who happened to be visiting the prison for an inspection.
“Kamjai was released this morning and taken by immigration officials from Cilacap to the Thai Embassy in Jakarta,” Pasir Putih’s warden, Sutrisman, told the Jakarta Globe. Kamjai was arrested in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, on Aug. 20, 1987, for possession of 17.76 kilograms of heroin and sentenced to life in prison. His sentence was reduced to 20 years by a presidential decree. However, the decree mistakenly stated his first year in prison as 1997, instead of 1987.
Sutrisman said no relatives came to pick the inmate up from prison, so the nearest immigration office, in Cilacap, transported him to his embassy. “We realized the mistake that was made. So he was released unconditionally and immigration officials accompanied him to Jakarta without waiting for further response from the Thai Embassy,” Sutrisman said. Kamjai was “happy and enthusiastic” as he left the prison, the warden said. When Patrialis visited his maximum-security cell on Wednesday, Kamjai used the occasion to complain that he should have been released in 2007. Kompas newspaper reported that the minister assured the inmate he would be released the next day, causing Kamjai to burst into tears.
So he would still be in jail if not for this chance encounter. Damn! Here’s the source.
Of all the reasons to fire somebody, this has got to be among the most idiotic. As reported by China Daily:
Two women have been fired from their jobs for refusing to drink at a company party.
No doubt they would have been fired had they gotten shitfaced. Maybe each employee should get a breathalyzer, along with guidelines for the acceptable BAC range…
He, an executive manager of an auto parts company in Hanyang, and her assistant refused to drink alcohol when their boss made a toast at their company’s New Year party.
They were fired the next day on grounds of incompetence.
“This is not fair at all,” He, who joined the company just a month back, fumed after receiving her termination letter.
There are more 5 million people in Scotland. So would it shock you to learn that some people have the same name? Me either. One name that at least 2 people in Scotland share is “Derek Lyon.” One of them is a convicted drunk driver who lost his license, and the other is … just Derek Lyon. Guess who the police busted? The wrong Derek Lyon. He told them that – but – you see – the machine had spoken.
And it got worse after the bogus bust. Mr. Lyon was taken to jail, where he spent 4 hours before being released. His car was impounded. Because he couldn’t afford to pay the fees to get his car back, the police CRUSHED it! Nooooooooo! Without his car, Mr. Lyon couldn’t get to work, and was fired. He also couldn’t visit his kids for months because he lacked transportation. (He was arrested in July, and just recently acquitted.)
Think he’s going to sue? Hell yes. As reported by Scotland TV:
Speaking after his court appearance, Mr Lyon, 36, of Balgarthno Terrace in Dundee, said he was going to sue Aberdeen Sheriff Court’s clerk’s office, the DVLA and Tayside Police.
He said: “I’m going to take legal action against the police for taking my car, the DVLA for putting somebody else’s offence on my licence, and the court in Aberdeen.
“I haven’t been able to drive until today. I spent four hours in the cells when I got arrested and my car got crushed even though I told them at the time it wasn’t me.
“The police came the next day and I told them again that I’d never been in Aberdeen Sheriff Court and that I wasn’t disqualified. The police in Dundee didn’t believe me but a local policeman in Blairgowrie where I lived at the time did and he tried to sort things out for me.”
To see the story as reported by Scotland TV, click here.
So this British woman (Penny Batkin) is driving her disabled son (he’s 4, can’t walk or talk, and has frequent seizures) to a hospice when she hears him gasping for air, as reported by The Telegraph. Of course she immediately pulls over to resuscitate him, which she does. Apparently almost everything in Britain is captured by CCTV (closed circuit television). Unfortunately for our heroine, patrolling CCTV-camera-wielding traffic wardens taped her pulling over – illegally, and fined her £100 ($145 US).
Surely the ticket would be dismissed when the authorities received her written explanation, with supporting documentation from the doctor? Nope. But she is pressing on with her appeal with the help of a disability advice charity called Richmond Aid.
A spokeswoman said: “It is absolutely shocking to discover that Richmond Council’s parking office cannot find it in their hearts to rescind a parking fine incurred by a desperate mother who had no choice if she was to save the life of her child. We are so appalled we struggle to find the words.”
*#@!&+%^! (That’s the Juice also struggling to find the words.) Here’s the source.
I will forever think of this case when I hear anything about the European Court of Human Rights. As reported by The Argus:
[Hypnotherapist Imad Al-Khawaja] was convicted in 2004 of indecently assaulting two women, then aged 20 and 47, while they were hypnotised.
Al-Khawaja was handed consecutive 12-month and 15-month jail sentences after the jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts.
Said the Judge:
“This was an appalling breach of trust. You abused two vulnerable woman in your charge and under your control. You have not expressed any remorse for the distress you caused.”
About that remorse …
When a disciplinary panel met in December to decide if he should be banned from medicine, Al-Khawaja sent them a letter quoting television comedian Catherine Tate: “Look at my face, am I bothered?”
Do you have a pulse? His 2 appeals within the United Kingdom were unsuccessful. But wait! What about the European Court of Human Rights? While they didn’t overturn his convictions, they awarded him 6,000 euros (about $8,000 US) plus attorney’s fees. And why would they do that?
Because he “inevitably suffered a degree of distress and anxiety as a result” of not being able to cross examine one of his accusers, whose written statement was read to the jury, but was not able to testify in person because she committed suicide before the trial! I still can’t believe any court would give this man – who inflicted so much suffering – money for his “distress and anxiety.” Here’s the source.
Straight from Judge in the case, as reported by The Palm Beach Post:
“This case presents the strangest facts and set of circumstances that I’ve witnessed in my 28 years as a lawyer,” Circuit Judge Jorge Labarga said as he sentenced Dean to life in prison.
So what happened?
Regular readers know that the Juice is a hardcore free speech advocate. That said, I think most folks would agree with me that Pembroke Pines Principal Peter [damn you for not having a last name beginning with “P” !] Bayer grossly overreacted. As reported by CBS4:
On Friday, November 9th, 2007, then high school senior Katherine Evans posted a picture of her Advanced Placement English teacher, Sarah Phelps, on her page and called her “the worst teacher I’ve ever met.”
Ms. Sarah Phelps is the worst teacher I’ve ever met! To those select students who have had the displeasure of having Ms. Phelps, or simply knowing her and her insane antics: Here is the place to express your feelings of anger.
Evans created the posting after school hours and on her computer at home.
Principal Bayer suspended Ms. Evans for 3 days and “forced her into lesser honors classes.” The actual “charges?”
At the time, Bayer said Evan’s actions constituted “Bullying/Cyber Bullying Harassment towards a staff member” and “Disruptive Behavior.”
My response? WTF? NFW! Ms. Evans’ response? The ACLU filed suit on her behalf, stating that the posting ….
… was “protected off campus speech” and it didn’t contain any threats of violence, did not disrupt any school activities and “gave rise to a spirited exchange of opinions by students who disagreed with Evans, who ultimately proved her wrong in her assessment of the teacher.”
So what does she want? ” … that the three day suspension be revoked and removed from Evan’s permanent record.” Nevermind “the force.” May the Juice be with her.
Even if this is technically a crime (like you never speed!), what kind of person would report this? Very uncool. The guy wasn’t hurting anybody. As reported by The Republican-American:
A man from Stonington faces public indecency charges after state police said he was driving nude on Interstate 84 on Wednesday morning. Police arrested Seth Roberts, 30, of 1 Minor St., at about 10:50 a.m. Roberts also was charged with breach of peace.
I’m always looking for positives, so consider this: he wasn’t drunk! And apparently he wasn’t speeding either! I’ll take a safe, nude driver over a clothed, unsafe one every time.
This is just outrageous. As reported by the Northwest Arkansas Times:
Fayetteville police responded to the Washington Regional Medical Center on May 24 to investigate suspected child abuse. According to the police report, the victim [a 4-year-old girl] had a 4-inch skull fracture with a pool of blood between her skin and skull [the evidence was unclear regarding how the child’s skull was injured.]
The child appeared unkempt and unwashed. Investigators noted bruises and scars all over the child’s body, scabs on the tips of the her fingers, and visible belt strap and belt buckle marks to her lower back and legs, the report stated.
Legal Juice