Abuse? OK! ( But Gosh,
Don't Smoke) |
It's a funny old world: the Queensland
Industrial Commission - hearing two separate cases this month - ruled that
its perfectly OK to abuse your employer, but that smoking on the job is a
definite no-no. Commissioner Deidre Swann, hearing the case of a man sacked
by a supermarket chain for calling his boss a "f...wit", declared that such
words are now quite commonplace and while inappropriate, are no longer a
dismissal offence in Queensland. She ruled the complainant had been unfairly
dismissed and ordered his former employers to pay $9,000 compensation. However,
things didn't go so well for another man who'd appealed against his dismissal
for being caught with a cigarette at the QNI Resources nickel and cobalt
refinery in Townsville. The Industrial Commission threw the case out because
the man had clearly breached QNI's no-smoking policy.
(Source: The Courier-Mail and Sunday
Mail, Brisbane) |
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Kuala Lumpur: Amazingly eagle-eyed
officials in northern Malaysia have detained an Indonesian trader who tried
to sell 22 dried crocodile penises as a traditional remedy. News reports
said that the trader in the town of Changiun near the Thai border had offered
the items to an anti-smuggling official. "They didn't look like they came
from Malaysian crocodiles," the official said, "so I arrested him."
(Source: The Straits Times)
Hong Kong: Hong Kong surgeon
Dr Tung Hiu-ming has been banned from promotion and pay rises for 5 years
after taking a mobile phone call about a car he was interested of buying
in the middle of an operation. According to reports, Dr Tung took the call
as he performed a colon operation on a taxi driver. The driver, who was conscious
at the time and heard the conversation, lodged a complaint after his colon
was pierced and he had to undergo further surgery. He recounted at a disciplinary
hearing how Dr Tung has discussed a BMW for sale with a caller in a conversation
that lasted for several minutes. The governing committee of Queen Mary Hospital
subsequently found Dr Tung - who earns a salary of $US13,000 a month plus
allowances - guilty of serious misconduct after a prolonged inquiry. Dr Tung
did not eventually buy the car.
(Source: Hong Kong Standard)
Sao Paulo: A train carrying
nearly 2000 passengers was set ablaze by some of the commuters after it broke
down outside Brazil's largest city this month. Reportedly, some of the passengers
were angry that they would be late to work - so they set fire to three of
the six passenger cars in a fit of "train rage" causing $1.14 million in
damages. No one was injured or arrested. But everyone was late for work,
all the same.
(Source: Washington Post)
Climb Every
Mountain |
Manila:: As part of a physical
fitness campaign, police in the northern Philippines who have waists over
34 inches have been ordered to climb the Mount Pinatubo volcano once a month.
The police chief says the 2.5 hour climb isn't going to be easy. "This is
certainly not a picnic," he said. "We'll bring food, sure - but not sumptuous
meals. That would just defeat the purpose."
(Source: CNN Fringemail) |
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Adelaide: Kenneth Hill had dreamed
of flying most of his life, the South Australian District Court heard this
month. So when he obtained his pilot's licence at the age of 63 he was delighted
and decided to embark on a Melbourne to Darwin flight to celebrate. However,
after landing behind the William Creek Hotel 800km north of Adelaide and
refuelling, Hill tried take off from the Oodnadatta Track (which goes directly
past the hotel) and lost control through inexperience. With his plane heading
towards the hotel, patrons scrambled in all directions until Hill over-corrected
and sent the Cessna crashing into two vehicles parked across the road instead.
Both vehicles were severely damaged, the court heard, and the Cessna was
wrecked. A "highly embarrassed" Hill then had to transport the wreckage back
to Melbourne. Hill, who faced a maximum fine of $26,400, pleaded guilty to
operating an aircraft in a careless manner so as to endanger persons or property,
but was only fined $2,000. He was also allowed to keep his pilot's licence.
(Source: The Australian)
London: A British parliamentarian
has launched a bill to ban muzak (piped music) from public places. Opposition
MP Robert Key told parliament that like other forms of noise pollution, muzak's
symptoms included raised blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and increased
muscle tension. "If people want music in public they should hum," he declared.
"It's a lot more relaxing."
(Source: The Times)
Washington: US taxpayers will
have to foot the bill after Boeing workers accidentally lost two spherical
oxygen and nitrogen tanks belonging to the International Space Station project
last month because of poor housekeeping. According to a company spokesman,
the tanks - worth $US750,000 - were packed in wooden crates and had been
taken outside NASA's Marshall Space Flight Centre during a routine clean-up
of the massive space station assembly building on February 9th. However,
they were subsequently forgotten about and were later taken to a landfill
and pulped.
(Source: Knight Ridder/Tribune)
Not A Crime, But Perhaps It
Should Be... |
Brisbane: Flamboyant drag queen
Tamara Tonite - who ran a clear 3rd in the recent Lord Mayoral election against
the Labor and Liberal candidates - said she was "delighted" with her unexpectedly
strong showing and will probably run again in 2004. "I think it's wonderful
people are more tolerant these days," Ms. Tonite said. "Who would have thought
20 years ago that this could happen? It just goes to show that people were
prepared to take what I've been saying seriously". Ms Tonite said that although
she was disappointed that the media had ignored her and the other four minor
candidates, she felt no "sour grapes". She also vowed to remain independent,
though she did venture that the Liberal Party might want to "look me up next
time they want a candidate for mayor"
(Source: The Sunday Mail,
Brisbane) |
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