The Armless Man, The Bank, and A Thumbprint...

Sometimes one has to wonder about bureaucracy or perhaps bureaucrazy-ness and the truly bizarre results that can eventuate through the literal interpretation of rules. A Bank of America branch in Tanpa, Florida, refused to cash a check being presented by an armless man because he would not provide a thumbprint.

Now, it is not rocket science in terms of being able to work out that a man with prosthetic arms and hands is not going to be able to provide a thumbprint. So, the teller refused to cash the check unless either he came in with his wife or he opened an account. Unfortunately, the wife was not anywhere near by and the man did not want to open an account. He did however show two forms of identification. This, though, was not enough as the clincher here was that he had to, according to the bureaucratic rules of the Bank, provide a thumbprint. Simply, no thumbprint, no cash.

Bank of America has since issued a statement noting that the policy is sound and that the thumprint requirement is only for those that do not have an account with the bank. However, they also added that in the circumstances the Tanpa branch should probably have made an exception for the armless man.

The question now being posed is whether the rights of the armless man have been violated under the provisions of the US Disability Act. In general the act has been enacted to ensure that people with disabilities are not discriminated against. In very simple terms, demanding a thumbprint from an armless man would seemingly be a breach of the armless man's rights.

Child Pornography -- The Cat Did It!

This certainly puts a new twist on the old claim that the dog ate my homework.

A Florida man accused of downloading child pornography is blaming his cat. If one was talking about a single image, or perhaps even two or three, then you might be tempted to think that it is possible, unlikely, but possible.

However, the man, Kevin Griffin, is accused of downloading more than 1000 images onto his home computer. The idea that the cat sat around for most of the night downloading kiddie porn just does not seem possible.

Griffin's excuse is that he was downloading music at the time. He left the room, and when he came back the cat had managed to download all these strange images onto his computer. It sounds sort of like, "Officer, I am not as think you drunk I am!" Worth a shot, but just not convincing.

Sounds like Mr. Griffin could be in a spot of bother.

(Image courtesy of Greg Newington)

Sexual Barrier Protection Devices.

The Internet is a great repository for all kinds of stuff that can be used as base materials for teaching. I teach the odd legal drafting, plain English legal writing, and English for Lawyers courses, and have found some more material for this subject.

A bill to be entitled

An act relating to state inmates; authorizing a nonprofit or public health care organization to distribute sexual barrier protection devices to inmates in the state correctional system; requiring the Department of Corrections to develop a plan to properly dispose of used sexual barrier protection devices; providing an effective date.

I have the Silent Majority to thank for the link.

This is a piece of legislation that is on the cards for Florida. I am actually not so much against the legislation and do not have any moral or ethical issues with the provision of sexual barrier protection devices to inmates of correctional facilities. There are good reasons for the provision of these devices, such as seeking to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases in jails, including HIV, among others.

I was intrigued by what a sexual barrier protection device is. Unfortunately, the bill does not specify in the limited extract I have as to what might be included. It does mention condoms, but I get the distinct feeling that there is more to this than just condoms. Nevertheless, it is still a good lesson in legal drafting.

When one wants legal certainty then it pays to be specific or in this case explicit. It is worth noting that a simple Google search turns up a lot of hits for the term but not a lot of definitive answers.

Obama Wins!

Pennsylvania!

This is one of the "battleground states" and one that most pundits have been saying from day one that John McCain had to win in order to win the White House!

Mathematically, the contest is far from over and by most accounts McCain is doing better in the early counting than many expected. Dropping Pennsylvania though is a pretty big body blow and one that he and the Republicans are unlikely to recover from unless McCain is able to pull Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, and Virginia.

Maybe an update later in the day.

The photo is of Obama and his wife casting their votes.

Russian Billionaires and US Real Estate

Dmitry Rybolovlev, a Russian billionaire, who made his fortune in fertilizer has dropped a cool USD 100 million to buy Maison de l'Amitie from Donald Trump. A house that sells for 100 million dollars has got to be some seriously good real estate.

It is not like Rybolovlev cannot afford it. His personal wealth is estimated to be at USD 13 billion and his company, Uralkali, is capitalized at some USD 33 billion. Nevertheless, the property was not bought to become the family home. Rybolovlev intends to remain living in Moscow and sees the property as an investment for the future. It might be a good buy provided the bottom does not fall out of the super luxurious housing market. Donal Trump acquired the 3,000 sq. foot Maison for USD 41.4 million at a bankruptcy auction. So, the Trump has more than doubled his investment. Yet, the property was originally listed for sale at USD 125 million.

The lives of the rich and famous!

Obama and Clinton - Who Wins?

It is always fun to watch democracy in action and the pundits dissect and deconstruct every little piece of the puzzle. It is also fun to watch when there are a number of possible firsts at stake, including a former President with a shot at becoming First Gentleman.

The race for the White House and who can win is a pollster's dream. Right now in the head-to-head polls it seems that Clinton has the edge on McCain in the General Election and McCain has the edge on Obama. This assumes two things: First, the election is held today and, Second that Obama's number won't improve once the seemingly inevitable happens and Obama gets the Democratic Party nod.

The fun and games will continue for a little while yet as there are still a few more primary contests to be held and a Democratic Rules Committee meeting to determine what is to happen with those currently disenfranchised voters of Florida and Michigan. However, the never shy of the spotlight former President, William Jefferson Clinton, in support of his preferred candidate, who just happens to be his wife, has warned the Democratic party to get with the program and see that Obama just cannot take McCain in the General Election and Hillary can!

So, the slogan is "Hillary Can and Obama Can't!"

The dream ticket that some propose of Obama and Clinton cannot happen, it would never work! This is in spite of my tendencies to never say never! If the Clinton's truly believe Obama cannot take this thing this year then why bother getting onto the ticket? The idea that 2012 is but four years away seems to make better sense. You have the "I told you so" argument about 2008 that you would never have to mention. Maybe any jostling for the VP slot is tacit recognition that maybe, just maybe, Obama can and will pull this thing off and become the first African-American President of the United States of America.

I do not know about anyone else but I will keep watching the drama unfold. It is more exciting than an Indonesian sinetron anyway (personal choice and preference)!

Lucky...

You can find the story here.

There is lucky and then there is "lucky". The owners of this place are very much in the "lucky" category. It is an amazing picture and shows you the unpredictability of nature. Some might attribute this good fortune to God.

Me, I don't know about the God angle, I am still grieving the loss of my little dog (you can make the connections for yourself on that one).

I have to say that arsonists also rank pretty lowly on my scale of goodness and I guess this means conversely they rank pretty highly on my scale of cowardice!

The Right to Bear Arms

This might be one of those "only in America" things but I am sure there are probably other places that have similar laws in place or no laws at all so therefore anything goes anyways!

But this is in the good ol' U.S. of A and in particular it is news out of Florida. The Florida Legislature has passed in a 26 - 13 vote a law that would permit ordinary citizens to take guns to work. The law still needs to be signed by the Governor for it to be enacted.

Any news watcher would know that there are plenty of work and school shootings and generally these are multiple fatality events. Yet, the question that needs to be put to these legislators that voted for this is; "Are more guns in the workplace going to make it a safer environment or one that is even more prone to violence, mayhem, and carnage?"

The first couple of months that this law is in place and perhaps every time a new employee starts there is going to be the obligatory questions of "whatcha packing friend?" and then it will be comparison time to see who has the biggest and best gun...paintball warfare without the paintballs!