By Natasha Courtenay-Smith
It seems too lunatic to be true. But here a hair salon boss reveals how she was driven to the brink of ruin - and forced to pay £4,000 for 'hurt feelings' - after refusing to hire a Muslim stylist who wouldn't show her hair at work
For Sarah Desrosiers, meeting Bushra Noah was not a moment in her life that she would describe as especially memorable.
Not only was it brief  -  lasting little more than ten minutes  -  but it was rapidly obvious to Sarah that Bushra was not the person for the junior stylist position she was trying to fill at her hairdressing salon.
Sarah's reasoning? Quite simply that Bushra, a Muslim who wears a headscarf for religions reasons, had made it clear she would not be removing the garment even while at work.
Enlarge    Sarah Desrosiers says she did nothing wrong by not employing Bushra Noah and would have done the same if an employee refused to remove a baseball cap
Sarah felt that a job requirement of any hairdresser was that the stylist's hair would provide clients with a showcase of different looks. Especially one working in a salon such as hers, ...   more »

Woman uses search engine to find ways to kill husband
To paraphrase an old Paul Simon song, there must be 50 ways to kill your husband.
Kate Knight found them all and then some, using the search engine Google. After researching methods of murder involving the drug ecstasy and iron overdoses, the 28-year-old from Staffordshire, England, settled on lacing Lee Knight's food and wine with antifreeze.
On the night of their seventh anniversary, Kate laced Lee's food with the deadly substance. However, Lee survived, suffering brain damage, kidney failure, permanently losing his sight as well as his hearing.
While on trial, a neighbor of Kate's mentioned that she had mentioned hiring a hit man but found other means with Google.
The prosecution explained that Kate's motives were financial. She believed she could obtain life insurance upon her husband's death.
In another murder trial, a detective testified in a U.S. court that a laptop of Neil Entwistle, a British man accused of killing his wife and 9-month-old daughter, revealed a Google search on "knife in neck kill," four days before the murder.
The victims, however, were shot to death, not stabbed. But further searches revealed that Entwistle searched "quick suicide method" ...   more »

Attorneys argue 10th Circuit ruling also would permit 'Hitler memorial'
Could some wealthy private party force the U.S. to allow a "Statue of Tyranny" in New York harbor alongside the famed Statue of Liberty? Yes, unless the U.S. Supreme Court reverses a confused free speech decision from a split 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, according to a law firm advocating for constitutional rights.
Adolf Hitler could be honored alongside World War II heroes, should an appeals court decision ont be reverses, a law firm says
"The court of appeals' approach would make the government's display of the Statue of Liberty the speech of France, not the United States, entitling others to erect counter-monuments," said a brief filed with the high court by the American Center for Law and Justice, which represents the city of Pleasant Grove, Utah, in the dispute.
"Likewise, the Vietnam, Korean, World War II, and upcoming Martin Luther King, Jr., monuments in the nation's capital would likely be deemed private speech, not government speech, entitling Summum and everyone else with a monument to occupy their own corner of the National Mall," the brief said.
The case arose from a demand by the group Summum ...   more »

Attorney warns water group to preserve legal evidence
By Chelsea Schilling
Concerns about fluoridation are quickly surfacing as the National Kidney Foundation withdrew its support of the chemical additive at the same time the largest association of water professionals in the world was warned not to destroy evidence that may be required in legal actions filed by individuals harmed by drinking fluoridated water.
Following reports of the NKF's acknowledgement that patients with kidney disease "should be notified of the potential risk" to their health from drinking fluoridated water, the American Water Works Association has been given notice that it must not eliminate or tamper with documents or recordings, indicating lawsuits could be filed in the near future.
Attorney Robert Reeves delivered a fluoride evidence preservation notice to the 60,000-member water association last week. The document named AWWA's Denver headquarters, regional offices and national and regional officers as "potentially responsible parties" who might be named in lawsuits filed on behalf of kidney patients and other individuals injured by ingesting fluoride.
Daniel Stockin of the Lillie Center Inc., a public health training firm that works to end fluoridation, said organizations should immediately withdraw support for use of the water additive.
"The letter ...   more »

Benedict issues statement asserting that Jesus established ‘only one church’
LORENZAGO DI CADORE, Italy - Pope Benedict XVI has reasserted the universal primacy of the Roman Catholic Church, approving a document released Tuesday that says Orthodox churches were defective and that other Christian denominations were not true churches.
Benedict approved a document from his old offices at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that restates church teaching on relations with other Christians. It was the second time in a week the pope has corrected what he says are erroneous interpretations of the Second Vatican Council, the 1962-65 meetings that modernized the church.
On Saturday, Benedict revisited another key aspect of Vatican II by reviving the old Latin Mass. Traditional Catholics cheered the move, but more liberal ones called it a step back from Vatican II.
Benedict, who attended Vatican II as a young theologian, has long complained about what he considers the erroneous interpretation of the council by liberals, saying it was not a break from the past but rather a renewal of church tradition.
In the latest document — formulated as five questions and answers — the Vatican seeks to set the record straight on Vatican II’s ...   more »

By Chris Christoff  
Was told that because of a sensitive political environment, Dem presidential candidate should not be photographed with Muslims wearing head scarves
ETROIT — One of two Muslim women who were denied visible seats behind Barack Obama's stage at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on Monday because they wore head scarves said they deserve a personal apology from Obama and close-up seats at a future campaign rally.
Hebba Aref, 25, and her friend, Shimaa Abdelfadeel, received apologies from the campaign Tuesday after they complained that they were not allowed to sit near the podium when campaign volunteers learned that they wear the traditional Muslim head garb called a hijab.
Aref said a group of her friends and friends of Abdelfadeel were approached separately by two different campaign volunteers at Joe Louis Arena. In each case, she said, the friends were told Aref and Abdelfadeel would not be allowed near the stage because of their head scarves.
Aref said one aide told her friends that because of a sensitive political environment, Obama should not be photographed with Muslims wearing head scarves.
Aref said she was especially disappointe because she was attracted to Obama's message of unity and inclusion. She ...   more »

Nuke detectors being tested on private jets
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 Enlarge Department of Homeland Security
 
Homeland Security agents scan planes at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., this month during a test of radiation-detection equipment. Critics say scanning in the USA isn't the answer.
 

 


Yahoo! Buzz Digg Newsvine Reddit FacebookWhat's this?By Mimi Hall, USA TODAY
ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. — In between two hangars, near planes used to transport heads of state and military cargo, agents from the Homeland Security Department are searching every cranny of a DC-9 and a Gulf Stream jet.
They are looking for what security officials say could be the components of terrorists' deadliest weapon yet: radioactive and nuclear material that could be used to make bombs.

The agents' work is part of a four-month, $4 million test to see if the government's radiation-detection equipment can pick up depleted uranium and other radioactive material hidden aboard passenger planes.

Vayl Oxford, who runs the department's Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO), says agents began radiation screening of private planes at the start of the year amid concerns ...   more »