Illinois: "Let there be
no doubt about the reason I was fired from Western Illinois University,"
George Harker said as he commenced legal proceedings against his former employer.
"I've done nothing wrong. They simply disapproved of my teaching style and
my specialist studies in the area of nude beaches." Harker, who now uses
the trademark Dr Leisure to sell T-shirts in Hawaii, recalled how he'd been
dismissed from his post as Professor of Nude Beaches in the university's
Department of Leisure Studies: "I taught at the university for 21 years and
had tenure there. Over the years I developed an interest in nude beaches
and began arranging weekend field trips to the Californian coast for me and
my seminar groups. We'd visit nude beaches and hold one-to-one tutorials
there - bring your own beer - and further our specialist research. What's
wrong with that?" Harker is suing the university, the union and the state
board along with 17 individual defendants, accusing them of violating his
academic freedom and his right to due process. A spokesman for the university
said that Harker had been sacked after 11 separate charges had been bought
against him, including unauthorised relocation of classes to the Santa Monica
nudist beach in California.
(Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education, USA)
Mallorca: "It will be a long
time before I forget this incident," Juan Malat told Mallorcan police after
they dropped charges of suspected child abuse against him. "And what made
it 10 times worse was that I was arrested at work. My private life is my
own business and I regard this whole affair as a gross defamation of my
character." Defence counsel for Malat, a 30 year old carpenter from Palma,
had earlier explained to the court what had happened late on the previous
Saturday night. "My client is a lonely man and often enjoys the company of
an inflatable doll," counsel said. "On this occasion he drove to a deserted
area of the city, inflated the doll, got undressed and commenced vigorous
intercourse in the back of his car. Unfortunately for him, three passing
youths heard his cries, saw the car rocking to and fro and went to investigate.
Peering through the window they saw what they assumed was a young girl being
raped by a man, so they began banging on the windows hoping to free the child.
But my client, who was still naked, panicked and drove off. The youths noted
the licence plate and reported the incident to police who arrested my client
at his workplace in front of colleagues and customers.
(Source: The Reader, Mallorca)
Ivory Coast: Three women who
had confessed to eating a total of 35 people were sentenced to a year's jail
last month under Article 204 of Ivory Coast's penal code, which forbids creating
a public nuisance. Earlier, Yaoua Agninoua, Kossia Mize and Koffi Mouroufie
had confessed to eating the people as part of a sorcery ritual. "First of
all we transformed ourselves into birds on the orders of the chief," they
said, "and flew into the rooms of our victims through open windows by night
when they were asleep. Then we transformed the victims into grasshoppers,
carried them home in our beaks, cooked them in a pot and ate them. They were
delicious." The judicial tribunal that sentenced the trio in Bondoukou made
their reasons plain: "We are not jailing you for eating people," the tribunal's
chairman said, "but for practising sorcery. You have said that you are very
very sorry, but practising sorcery is an established offence."
(Source: The Bangkok Post, Thailand)
Malawi: "I took this bribe from
the President in good faith," Stephen Mumbaza of the People's Democratic
Party told a press conference in Lilongwe, Malawi. "He promised me 20,000
kwacha, some carpeting and a mini-bus if I withdrew from the election. I
did as he asked. But now we are three months on and I've still received nothing.
It's a disgrace! Politics in this country is totally corrupt." A spokesman
for President Bakili Muluzi of the United Democratic Front agreed that a
bribe had been offered, but said that there had been no formal contract.
"The President has confirmed to me to he met with Mumbaza, but he only offered
him 35 bags of fertiliser to stand down in the by-election. This was delivered
to Mumbaza's house the day after the election, which the UDF won. At no time
was there any mention of carpeting or a mini-bus."
(Source: AAP-Reuters)
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