Daily Brickbats...

[RS Davis]

When federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents
showed up at a warehouse complex owned by Harold Chapman, he gave them the
keys and offered to show them anything they wanted. But Chapman, who has
previously allowed local police to use the complex for training exercises,
says they still knocked down doors and caused $1 million in damage. All
they took with them, he says, was a few documents and some machine parts.
The warrant for the search is sealed. But the San Francisco Chronicle
reports agents were searching for "military weapons and explosives."
Chapman says to his knowledge he has no weapons or explosives. But he
often buys items at government auctions. "Some of the stuff they sold me
is in sealed boxes that we still haven't had time to open...So if there's
anything illegal in here, it's their own damn fault," he told the
Chronicle.
More brickbats:
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[RS Davis]

For years, those who work at the English National Opera have called each
other "darling." But now they've been warned against using it. A new code
of conduct says some may view the term as sexual harassment. "Whilst it
may be acceptable between friends, it would be thought of very differently
if the term is used by a senior colleague and accompanied by a wink," said
a spokesman. The policy also warns against "offensive" flirtation.
More brickbats:
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[RS Davis]

Japan's social security system has a problem. Self-employed workers,
especially young people, just aren't paying into because they don't think
they'll get their money back. Contributions are 37% below where the
government says they should be. The government has started a campaign to
encourage people to pay, but it has run into a few snags. Three cabinet
ministers have been found to be behind in payments. In fact, Trade
Minister Shoichi Nakagawa has admitted he hasn't paid into the system for
21 years.
More brickbats:
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[RS Davis]

When companies engage in a price war that slashes prices in half, that's
good, right? Not according to the government of Norway. Competition among
retailers has pushed the price of beer down too low, according to the
government, which maintains some of the highest alcohol taxes in Europe.
The taxes are so high that many people brew their own beer or buy it in
neighboring countries. To try to entice people to buy more beer, some
stores have been selling it at a loss, but the government says they have
to stop that or lose their licenses.
More brickbats:
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[RS Davis]

A subsidized housing center for pensioners in London, England, will be
reserved for Muslims of Southwest Asian origin. The center, which will
offer halal meals and Bengali-speaking staff is said to fill a need in the
community. But David Davis, the Conservative shadow home secretary, says,
"There would rightly be outrage if a council offered a whites-only housing
block."
More brickbats:
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[RS Davis]

The Nigerian state of Zamfara introduced laws based on Islamic Shariah in
2000. Since then, several women convicted of adultery have been sentenced
to death by stoning and conflict between Christians and Muslims has led to
thousands of deaths. Now, as part of a package of laws aimed at
strengthening Shariah, the state says all "unauthorized" places of worship
will be closed. It isn't clear yet whether churches will be closed under
the law, but that's a concern for local Christians.
More brickbats:
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[RS Davis]

Missouri police are demanding that lawmakers classify many cold and
allergy medicines as narcotics and make them available only in pharmacies.
It seems some people in the state have figured out how to turn the drugs
into methamphetamine. The legislature has already placed restrictions on
how much pseudoephedrine a person can buy at one time and on where stores
can place cold medicines. But police say they still can't stop the flow of
meth without making it harder for law-abiding citizens to get cold and
allergy medicines.
More brickbats:
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[RS Davis]

Zimbabwe has closed all private schools and sent the children home because
it says their fees are too high. The education minister says the schools
set fees high in order to keep out blacks. But the overwhelming majority
of the students in the schools are black. Armed policemen were stationed
in the schools to keep parents from sending their children.
More brickbats:
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[RS Davis]

Four baggage screeners from the federal Transportation Security
Administration have been charged with stealing from luggage at Detroit
Metro Airport. The four allegedly took laptop computers and cameras and
sold them, sometimes to other screeners.
More brickbats:
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[RS Davis]

A federal investigation found that one Navy employee used a government
credit card to buy two cars, cosmetic surgery and a motorbike. In all,
that person made 59 fraudulent purchases worth more than $132,000. And
that's just one of numerous examples of credit card abuse and fraud in a
half dozen federal agencies that investigators uncovered. Among the items
purchased were a mounted deer head, LEGO toy robots and a Louis Vuitton
briefcase.
More brickbats:
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[RS Davis]

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control is charged with
investigating the finances of terrorist organizations. It's also tasked
with enforcing America's economic embargo of Cuba. Want to guess which of
those two duties is the higher priority? At the end of 2003, the office
had just four full-time workers assigned to tracking the money of Al
Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, and Saddam Hussein. It had 21 agents trying to
enforce the Cuban embargo.
More brickbats:
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[RS Davis]

Federal investigators say the United Nations has turned over just 20
percent of the paperwork they requested for their investigation of fraud
in the Iraq oil-for-food program. And investigators say that the documents
the UN did turn over are riddled with errors.
More brickbats:
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[RS Davis]

Saparmurat Niyazov doesn't like gold fillings. Unfortunately for the
people of Turkmenistan, Niyazov is their leader, and his whims are law. So
people who work for government agencies, state-run companies, and
universities—-not to mention anyone else who doesn't wish to get on the
dictator's bad side—-are rushing to have their gold fillings removed.
Niyazov has also banned beards, ballet, and circuses. He has jailed more
than 20,000 people who defied his edicts.
More brickbats:
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[RS Davis]

The state of Nebraska can't account for thousands of dollars spent by its
anti-tobacco program. And a state auditor says hundreds of thousands more
may have been mismanaged. Rock Mueller, the man in charge in charge of the
program, was hired in 2001, while he was in the state penitentiary for
theft. His wife is an official in the state personnel office.
More brickbats:
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[RS Davis]

New York City Councilwoman Margarita Lopez wanted to protest a proposed
requirement that third graders in city schools pass a standardized test
before they are allowed to enter fourth grade. In doing so, she sent out
two press releases containing spelling and grammatical errors. "Why is
Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein ignoring the fact that the test is
flawed and discriminatory?" she asked. Later, she wanted to know "Why are
advocates targeted for examining testing prodecures and policies
implemented by the Department of Education?" She later sent out a letter
correcting the first mistake, but that letter spelled procedures
"proceedures."
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