The 4 Most Jaw-Droppingly Stupid Fines Ever Issued

No one expects the legal system to be perfect. Courts, police departments, and law firms are run by people, after all. And since most people aren’t even capable of plugging a mouse into a USB port without failing two times first, it’s too much to demand a legal system that works 100% of the time.

Still, it’s not unreasonable to expect common sense to rule the day when punishments are dished out. Sadly, even this extremely low bar can be impossibly high for some. This is nowhere more obvious than the stupid fines that are sometimes handed out by cash-strapped local governments.

If you doubt that the old maxim “May the punishment fit the crime” is more ideal than reality, check out these 4 stunningly idiotic fines.

4 Most Iconic Cars In Movie History

Cars have always had a significant role to play in movies. Sometimes, the cars help define the characters, while at other times they are on-screen to thrill audiences with heir good looks, deafening engine sounds and tire-shredding stunts. Many of these cars gain iconic status with automobile and movie lovers alike. Here are 4 of the most iconic cars is movie history.

Cover Reveal: 'The Mirror' by Candace L. Bowser

"A betrayal so deep it has transcended 400 years is now haunting Adrianna Bristol. Will she have the courage to break the curse?"

Ah, yes...Today, we're hosting a Cover Reveal for 'The Mirror', a Paranormal Romance/Horror novel written by Candace L. Bowser. So, you might want to read this post from behind the sofa. Just in case, you know...

Enjoy!
Loup Dargent

Four Arrested Over Blaze At London Islamic Boarding School

Despite claims made by a so-called "journalist" from the Telegraph that revenge attacks on Muslims were not really happening, here is another arson attack against a Muslim building... And, this time, it was a boarding school with kids in it.

Julian Assange: US rule of law suffering 'calamitous collapse'

Assange: US rule of law suffering 'calamitous collapse' (via AFP)

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said Friday that the US justice system was suffering from a "calamitous collapse in the rule of law", as Washington reeled from the sensational exposure of vast spy agency surveillance programmes. Speaking in an interview with AFP at Ecuador's London embassy, where…

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Book Tour: 'Along The Watchtower' by David Litwack

"A novel of striking originality, Along the Watchtower crosses genre borders to deliver a story at once poignant, powerful, and unforgettable. Part love story, part fantasy adventure, part family drama and moving chronicle of recovery and personal growth, it is the story of Lieutenant Freddie Williams, a severely wounded Iraq War vet confined to a hospital for injuries sustained in an IED explosion. But when he sleeps, Williams is Frederick, Prince of Stormwind, heir to the throne in a fantastical realm of demons, elves, and magic, a kingdom now imperiled by a terrifying malevolence. And in these distinct yet strangely similar worlds are the women who will touch both his lives and his heart: Rebecca in Stormwind, the beautiful gardener who is the troubled prince’s destiny…and Becky, Freddie’s physical therapist, who must lovingly guide the broken warrior safely past his personal demons of guilt and memory and may be his only way back from Hell."

On top of the usual bits of info about 'Along the Watchtower' itself and its author, we also have in today's Book Tour stop two (yes, two!) Book Trailers (I know, it's like having Christmas in June, isn't it?)...

Enjoy!

Loup Dargent

Bradley Manning Said To Be 'Very Political' But Effective In Iraq

Manning said to be 'very political' but effective in Iraq (via AFP)

Bradley Manning, the soldier who passed a trove of secret US files to WikiLeaks, was politically outspoken but excelled in computers and did his job well, his army commanders said Wednesday. On day three of Manning's court-martial, it became clear the prosecution will seek to prove that he was trained…

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'Left Over Surgery Items' Or 'Didn't We Start With More Forceps?'

Every surgical procedure carries risks and most of these are pretty obvious, even to the non-medically trained among us. But that's fine and the risks stay low because the people doing those surgical procedures are highly-trained experts with sharp minds, steady hands and countless hours of practice under their collective belts.

So far, so safe – but there is one trait shared by all those surgeons that can't be ignored. They're all human, and as the 18th century poet Alexander Pope noted, "To err is human". And when surgeons err, they can leave you with a surgical legacy that is all sewn up – literally.

We're going to have a look at those times when something has been left behind after surgery – those cases of medical negligence in which surgeons give their all (swabs and surgical instruments included).

Book Tour: 'The Twisted Truth' by Erin Armstrong

Today's Book Tour stop is not for the kind of novels we normally host tours stops for on here... It's for 'The Twisted Truth', a Urban Fiction book written by Erin Armstrong. 

So, yes, it is different and definitely makes a change from the books we usually post about, but I'm pretty confident that you will like reading the info about it and its author made available in this post. 

As our favourite Time Traveller has said himself: "Urban Fiction novels are cool!" (if he hasn't said it yet, he will probably say it sometime in the future anyway)... Then, again, he also said that about bow ties and fezzes. But just because he was wrong then that doesn't mean he is not right now, does it? 

Enjoy!

Loup Dargent

Bradley Manning Goes On Trial Over WikiLeaks Disclosures

Manning goes on trial over WikiLeaks disclosures (via AFP)

The long-awaited military trial of Bradley Manning got under way Monday, with prosecutors accusing the US soldier of helping Al-Qaeda by funneling a horde of secret files to WikiLeaks. The 25-year-old army private faces a possible 154-year jail sentence for his role in the biggest leak of classified…

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• Dirty Wars, Filthy Hands: 5 Unsavory Ways America Conducts Its Global War on Terror 
• Homeland Insecurity: Why the Government Spent Seven Years and Untold Dollars to Silence One Man 

Cat Caught Smuggling Cell Phones Into Russian Jail

Cat caught smuggling cell phones into Russian jail (via AFP)

The Russian prison service said Monday it had caught a cat being used as a courier to smuggle banned cell phones and chargers into a prison camp in the country's remote far north. The prison service in the Komi region said on its website that the cat was detained Friday evening as it climbed the fence…

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Book Tour: 'The Star' by Clemy Warner Thompson

Ah yes, we didn't host any Book Tour stops for a little while and today we're hosting two of them... 

But, I'm sure you'll like this one too. It's for 'The Star', a Urban Fantasy novel written by Clemy Warner Thompson (and it's also not technically a Book Tour stop but more a Release Day Blitz really as the novel has just been published.)

Enjoy!

Loup Dargent