July 22, 2010

Man Pays Bond With Fake Cash, Then Wants Half Back

Cinnaminson, NJ (AP) Authorities said a New Jersey man charged with shoplifting paid his bail with phony money and returned to demand a refund. The man, 25, was arrested July 7, accused of shoplifting at a clothing store and supermarket in Cinnaminson.

He was locked up for having two outstanding warrants and paid $400 bail in cash. Police later realized the money was fake. Before they could find him, the man showed up and argued his bail should have been only $200. He wanted $200 back. He was charged with counterfeiting and put in Burlington County Jail on $5,000 bail.

Iran’s Government Issues Style Guide For Men’s Hair

London - (Telegraph) - Ponytails are out but side-partings and Elvis quiffs are in. Not the latest fashion advice from a celebrity magazine, but a list of acceptable male hairstyles issued by the Iranian government. In an attempt to rid the country of “decadent Western cuts”, Iran’s culture ministry has produced a catalogue of haircuts that meet government approval.

The list of banned styles includes ponytails, mullets and elaborate spikes. However,quiffs appear to be acceptable, as are fashioning one’s hair in the style of Simon Cowell or cultivating a 1980s-style floppy fringe.

The “journal of Iranian hairstyles approved by the ministry of [culture and Islamic] guidance” was previewed at a government-approved hairdressing show in Tehran. “We are happy that the Islamic republic of Iran’s government has backed us in designing these hairstyles.” Several barber shops have reportedly been shut down and penalised in recent years for offering Western-style haircuts.

Iranian police carry out regular morality checks, arresting women in short coats and flimsy headscarves as well as men sporting spiky hair and tight, low-slung jeans. Ties are also viewed with suspicion as a symbol of Western decadence.

Conservative clerics have called for firmer action against un-Islamic dressers and criticised President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last month for expressing opposition to a tough police crackdown on immodest attire.

Earlier this year, an Iranian cleric claimed women who wear revealing clothes cause natural disasters. Hojjat ol-eslam Kazem Sediqi, a prayer leader in Tehran, said: “Many women who do not dress modestly lead young men astray and spread adultery in society, which increases earthquakes.”

Ohio To Test Chia Pet-Like Sound Wall On Highway

Cleveland (AP) Ohio plans to build a sound barrier made out of soil and plants in the state’s first eco-friendly attempt at muffling highway noise.

A spokesman for the state transportation department says the 12-foot high wall will be like a Chia Pet: Workers will water bags filled with soil and seeds and watch it grow.

The transportation department says the noise wall will be built this fall. It will span 400 feet along a westbound stretch of Interstate 70 near Columbus.

Wisconsin tried a similar idea. It built a sound wall made out of plastic forms filled with soil and plants, but removed it in 1996 after part of the barrier collapsed and weeds spread.

Iowa Man Who Just Wanted A Hug Lands In Jail

Iowa City, IA (AP) Police arrested a man who they said punched another man who refused to hug him.

Iowa City police responded to a report of someone being aggressive and punching cars Sunday night.

The suspect, a 23-year-old man, told police he became upset after he tried to hug a man and was pushed away.

Police said the man punched and dented the hood of a car before punching the man he tried to hug.

Police said the man had a blood-alcohol content of .086.

He was charged with simple assault and fourth-degree criminal mischief, a serious misdemeanor.

Unwanted Mary Jane Mailed To Uninterested Recipient

Blackman Township, MI (AP) Bills, catalogs, junk mail - marijuana? Indeed, police say a surprise 2-pound package of marijuana arrived in the mail last week at one elderly woman’s home in southern Michigan’s Blackman Township, which is about 75 miles west of Detroit.

The woman called police. Detectives don’t know who sent the weed. They learned that the Arizona return address on the package was bogus.

Police say the pot is worth about $2,400. Deputy Director Jon Johnston told The Jackson Citizen Patriot that the marijuana either was sent to the woman’s home by mistake or someone planned to snatch it from the mailbox before she checked. The pot will be destroyed.

Dang! Catholic Church Rules Confessionals Can’t Be Saunas

Vienna (AP) Some Catholics may well sweat in the confessional as they admit to things they shouldn’t have done. But Vienna’s archdiocese has ruled that the box-like structure where believers confess their sins cannot be turned into a sauna.

Bidding on a confessional described on eBay as ideal for conversion into a one-person sauna, a small bar or a children’s playhouse was ended when the archdiocese stepped in.

Archdiocese spokesman Erich Leitenberger told the daily Salzburger Nachrichten that auctioning “objects that were used for dispensing the sacraments is not acceptable.”

Confessionals “should not be converted into saunas or bars,” he was quoted Tuesday as saying. Leitenberger did not return calls to the AP.

The confessional was offered for auction by a Vienna church undergoing renovations.

Curiously, the highest reported amount offered by one of the 40 bidders before the item was yanked from the internet Monday was 666.66 euros.

The number 666 is commonly associated with the Antichrist - or the devil.

Indonesian Muslims Get Permission To Drink Civet Coffee

Jakarta, Indonesia (AP) Indonesia’s top Islamic body declared Tuesday that Muslims can drink civet coffee - the world’s most expensive coffee, which is extracted from the dung of civet cats (pictured).

A preacher recently suggested the beverage might not be “halal” - or religiously approved - because its provenance makes it unclean. But after a long discussion Tuesday, the influential Indonesian Ulema Council said that the coffee, known locally as Kopi Luwak, could be consumed as long as the beans were washed.

Kopi Luwak, which takes it name from the Indonesian word for civets, is made from hard beans that have been eaten by the nocturnal critters and then fermented in their stomachs before being pooped out and roasted. Civet cats are mongoose-like animals.

The coffee is highly prized for its smooth flavor and bitterless aftertaste, sometimes fetching well over $200 a pound ($440 per kilogram) online.

“Kopi Luwak can be declared ‘halal’ after passing through a washing process,” said Maruf Amien, acting head of the council. “Producing, selling and drinking it is allowed.”

In Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, Kopi Luwak is produced in the main Java island, Sumatra and Sulawesi. It is also found under different names elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Only 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms) are said to be produced annually worldwide.

The Ulema Council has often issued fatwas, or edicts, including several controversial rulings against smoking and yoga. Its edicts are not legally binding, but many devout Muslims abide by them.