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In 1992, Stella Liebeck suffered third degree burns on her groin and thighs after spilling a cup of McDonalds coffee on herself. She was in the hospital for eight days, had multiple surgeries, and skin grafts. She asked McDonald's to pay her medical bills. When McDonald's only offered $800.00, she sued them for selling “unreasonably dangerous” coffee. A New Mexico jury awarded her $2.9 million in damages. The trial judge reduced the total award to $640,000. Latter, the parties settled for a confidential amount. The cup of coffee cost her 49 cents. McDonalds latter reduced the temp of their coffee to 80-90 degrees C, in order to avoid future law suits.

Pearson vs. Chung

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On May 3, 2005, Mr. Roy Pearson took some suits to Custom Cleaners, included was a pair of $800.00 grey trousers. Soo Chung, Jin Nam Chung and Ki Y. Chung own this dry cleaners. Mr. Pearson claimed that he was told the pants would be ready on May, 6 2005. The Chung's informed Mr. Pearson that the grey pants had been misplaced. Pearson then asked to be refunded for the full price of the suit, which he claimed was $1,000. The Chung's agreed to pay for the pants, but not the entire suit. When they refused, he decided to sue. They latter agreed to pay Mr. Pearson $3000, $4600, and then $12,000. Mr. Pearson came up with his own figures. He based his figure on two signs in the drycleaner's- "Satisfaction Guaranteed" and "Same Day Service".

Each sign held a $1500.00 violation. He multiplied 1500.00 times the 120 days his pants were missing and then times three (he decided to sue each owner separately.) He then added $500,000 for "emotional damages" and $542,500 in legal fees for representing himself. That was a grand total of $65,462,500! In 2007, the case was decided in favor of the dry cleaners. Ironically, the judge sanctioned Mr. Pearson $12,000 for "creating unnecessary litigation and making threats. By October Mr. Pearson lost his job as an Administrative Law Judge. The panel cited that he did not demsonstrate a "judicial temperament." - Guess not.

Lincoln vs. Lakewood Church

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Matt Lincoln claims that he was so overcome by the spirit of God that he fell and hit his head while worshiping at Lakewood church. He is asking the Knoxville Tennessee church to pay $2.5 million for medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering. This broke on Fox News July 10, 2008. It has yet to be settled.

Peters vs. Universal Studios

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In 1998, Cleanthi Peters sued Universal Studios. She claimed that the Orlando theme park's annual Halloween Horror Nights haunted house attraction was too scary and that it caused her emotional distress. Specifically, she alleged that as she and her granddaughter were approaching an exit, an employee with a chainsaw chased them toward the exit. This caused her and her granddaughter to slip in a wet spot on the floor. She claimed that the employee continued to scare them as they lay helpless on the ground. The ordeal left the Mrs. Peters and her granddaughter with “unspecified physical injuries” and inflicted "extreme fear, emotional distress and mental anguish." They sought $15,000 in damages.

Jack Ass vs. Jack Ass

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Bob Craft changed his name to Jack Ass in 1997. After MTV's show “Jackass” premiered, Mr. Jack Ass decided to sue Viacom for 10 million dollars. He claimed the show was plagiarizing his name, infringement of trademark, and was defaming his good character. Montana courts dismissed the case.

Kellogg's vs. Exxon

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In 1996, Kellogg Co. sued Exxon Mobil at a local Memphis Tennessee court . They claimed that Exxon had crossed the line by using their "Cartoon Tiger" at their TigerMart stores. They said that Exxon's tiger walked and appeared to much like “Tony” the tiger. The case was thrown out two years later and referred to the Supreme Court. The Supreme court kicked it back to local courts in 2000.

Cabbies in Finland

The Crime: Failed to pay fees for playing music in the cab.

The Law: The cabbie's life is hard enough. But now, the Finnish courts have muscled into make their lives even more miserable. To be allowed to play music in your cab in Finland while you are carrying passengers, you must pay royalties annually. Think this sounds crazy and impossible to enforce? Well, you tell that to taxi driver Lauri Luotonen who found himself in front of a judge who told him to pay 22 Euros per year for each of the two years he had refused to cough up. But let's hope that this law doesn't come to the United States or we will have to listen to the taxi driver rambling on about the government or the gas prices.

Loony Law 2:

Public Display of Videogames

The Crime: To be caught playing videogames in public.

The Law: This law was thought out by the public but it's execution was horrible. The original law was to stop illegal gambling after members of a political party in Greece were filmed having a flutter in an illegal gambling den. The new law also meant that all electronic gaming (even playing chess on the net in the comfort of your own home) became outlawed. The government appeared to find it impossible to tell the difference between Sonic the Hedgehog and an unlawful game of poker. There was uproar all over the European Union and the government amended the law in 2002. However, it was still illegal to play videogames in internet cafes and in 2004, 80 computers were seized from cafes in Greece, and arrests made. The law has now fallen into such ill repute that it has been suspended.

Loony Law 3:

No One Wants to See You Naked

The Crime: Being found naked in your own home.

The Law: Pity anyone who should be so bold as to walk round in their birthday suit while at home. In Singapore, the heartland of uptight laws, being caught in the buff inside your own house is actually illegal because it is considered to be a form of pornography… so keep your (hot) pants on at all times.

 

Jeff rises at 6am and hears this obviously blaring warning horn, Monday through Friday. For Jeff, that sound always seems unexpected. He questions why the limit to the city's decibel law isn't reinforced? Why aren't there a driver, driving, and a cohort watching a highly evolved camera that the vast majority of big industries have? Whatever happened to the guys cocked to the side and hanging on to a steel bar from the back of garbage trucks, smiling at children, like in the day? Is this option too expensive for Jeff's big city of Chicago?

Transportation vehicles are the worst offenders of noise pollution.

It's 6:15am and the city garbage trucks are backing up. In reverse, the sound of the horn is heard on an average of 22 times, 5 days a week. The noise pollution problem is especially inauspicious for him and his neighbors; he shares his backyard with thousands of urban dwellers on an entire city block comprised of many buildings on Chicago's lovely northeast side.

The word noise is derived from the Latin term for nausea, yes - nausea.

Jeff thinks about the sounds that he has no control over like: leaf blowers, car horns, car alarms, airplanes, motorcycles, construction trucks backing up and those reversing garbage trucks. Even though intuitively, he knows noise pollution isn't good for anyone's soul.

Everyone has a psyche that reacts to noise differently. We don't see the harmful consequences because there is no immediate cause and effect. Therefore, noise tends to be viewed by many, not as an environmental problem but as a nuisance that we're becoming used to.

Jeff questions, what are we really doing with environmental integrity? All of today's environmental issues have a tremendous amount of value. A growing number of people also feel like we need to look at the meaning of this proliferating pollutant.

The definition of noise as a pollutant is subjective because of the gray area in which an individual considers a sound to be loud or not desired, not expected, not pleasant and/or not wanted. Noise pollution can be defined as something repeatedly heard or not by any person under any circumstance, which may compromise their mental and/or physical health.

The not desired sound outside will stress, stress causes disease. Disease kills us.

He's only come to dread the sound. He's imagined himself running down the stairs as soon as he hears the beeping and having a conversation with the truck driver as soon they step down from their gigantic cab. However, he always changed his mind because they're just performing their jobs and a good job at that and, it's not their fault.

He's even tried walking the two city blocks to the jogging path right next to the glistening Lake Michigan to do his yoga and that also proved fruitless. Because every few minutes he hears the roaring engine of an airplane taking off or landing at one of the worlds busy and getting busier airports.

Sure, it'd be easy to blame owners of these companies - it must be them that carry the burden of guilt. We could just blame the big industries concerned about money and not social responsibility, but it's a cultural thing, so we can't, we're all in this together.

For him, noise pollution takes its toll, he wonders about his neighbors.

But, he thinks, what about the many squirrels, birds, butterflies, rabbits, cats and dogs that also share the immediate surroundings as their home? What's the outcome of harmful noise with those beings?

The cement square beneath his windows is a metaphor for life right now because in the meantime, the welfare of nature in this area has been ignored.

Because of the increasing mass urbanization, the world is hearing more harmful noise.

Noise is measured in decibel units; there are present noise decibel laws but if you go around your neighborhood with a decibel reader that you can buy at Radio Shack, it's obvious that we're constantly breaking these laws and nobody seems to care.

We hear the rapid expansion of O'Hare Airport day and night. Due to lax laws initiated by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act, O'Hare is expected to triple the number of loud engines, in the next ten years taking off from what is currently allowed, hundreds of planes an hour, hundreds. Hey, it's getting worse, more runways. Quieter aircraft are being created but aircraft is increasing at such a rate that noise pollution will increase even with the expanding roaring of planes.

He's seen many people moving in and out from his studio windows. He laughs to himself and thinks the condo owners probably have their prospective buyers stay over on Saturday night so they won't have to listen to the "Beep!" until Monday. Do people talk about it as noise pollution? Are we so used to it we don't really notice?

Often we turn on a different noise in our home to hide the problem our world faces outside. Sometimes that doesn't even work because the vibration felt by the human body is omnipresent.

Peace and quiet has become unmanageable. And with the movements towards urbanization, we're facing consequences. Let's be aware of noise pollution and begin to enforce the laws.

Fort Qu ' Appelle, Quebec

This is one of the more unbelievable laws I came across. Did you know that in Fort Qu ' Appelle Quebec it is illegal for a teen to walk downtown main street with his shoes untied? Its true. Who comes up with these laws?

Anywhere In Canada

Get this, it is illegal anywhere in Canada to pay for a 26 cent item in all pennies. The limit is 25 cents. If you are paying for your item in nickels, then its illegal to pay for it in nickels if its over $5. Its also illegal to pay for something over $10 dollars in all dimes. Wild!

Canada ' s Radio Stations

Did you know that Canadian law states that every 5 th song on the radio must be by a Canadian born citizen? Well believe it or not it is true!

Very Old ” Alberta Law

In Alberta back in the day, it was the law when a prisoner was released from jail that he would be given a gun and horse to ride out of town or city.

Ontario Provincial Law

Through out Ontario the average speed limit is 80 km/h for cars, BUT bicyclists have the right away.

Anywhere In Canada

No one in Canada is allowed by Canadian law to watch or listen to encrypted broadcast which is not licensed by the Canadian Government. This basically means that its illegal to use US satellite systems like “ Direct TV ” .

New Brunswick:

I don ' t know how true this one is since I live on the opposite side of the country but supposedly its illegal to buy cigarettes for minors (Under 19), but you can supply them with cigarettes as long as its not in public places. I know here where I live outside of Toronto, its illegal period to give cigarettes to children and teens.

London, Ontario:

Here ' s a law I found that kind of surprised me. In London, Ontario it is against the city by-law to allow your grass in your front yard to grow any taller then a inch and a half. If you do, the city will come by and cut it for you then give you a fine for $200. Crazy!

British Columbia:

Now I couldn ' t find a date for this law but its so off the wall it must be from around the late 1800 ' s or early 1900 ' s. There ' s a law on the British Columbia books that states if you ' re a bankrupt drunk who got thrown into jail, the law requires the jailer to bring you a bottle of beer on demand. Nuts!

All Of Quebec:

Quebec law states that all business signs must be in French. If the owner wants English on the sign then the French print has to be twice as large as the English print.

It never seems to amaze me what I find when I look into my countries history and laws!

For more than ten years, the United Nations, led by Khoffi Annan, and others, has tried to get the United States on the bandwagon of worldwide gun databases, including the names, addresses, makes and models of every gun owned, made, and held by American citizens. The U.N.'s view is that guns are evil, and if all guns are banned, and subsequently destroyed, the world will be a safer place. How is this so? How do they propose all guns be registered? Are the criminals going to come in to the local gun store, the local police department, and sign up to have their guns registered? Are the criminals going to stop running illegal guns, stealing guns, making straw purchases? No. That is why they are criminals. A criminal commits crimes. Laws mean nothing to these people. If the rule of law meant anything to a criminal, he would not be a criminal, but an honest, law-abiding citizen. The U.N. even thinks it is a good idea to place serial numbers on the cases of individual bullets for identification purposes. They believe guns can be “finger-printed”, just like a human being. Printing serial numbers on individual bullets only identifies new bullets. What about people who hand-load their bullets? The serial number only identifies a new bullet. If the brass is left at the range, and re-loaded there, then how do they identify who it belongs to? They can't. A gun will make an individual stamp on a shell casing, yes, but fire two hundred more rounds through the gun, and the fingerprint changes.

The United Nations has since 1995, and particularly since 2001, have been trying to take away and infringe our rights as Americans. Syria, Iran, Cuba, China, and other Communist, anti-American countries, have been voting for the international registration of our guns for years. The U.N. proposes a national registry of legal firearms. This registry would include four things:

1. Promote national registries and tracking lists for all firearms. Suddenly, this creates international registration for legal firearms.
2. Part of this registration would be an international tracking certificate.
3. These first two clauses would create and call for worldwide record keeping for an indefinite amount of time.
4. This registration would also call for comprehensive worldwide gun control. This would include a total ban on certain types of legal firearms, which the U.N. currently refuses to name.

This referendum is funded by the likes of the International Network on Small Arms. The director of the IANSA is none other than Rebecca Peters, the spearhead of Australia's gun control laws. Rebecca Peters' organization is funded by billionaire George Soros. George Soros has been a vocal proponent of gun control for many years.

Senator David Vitter (R-LA) sponsored an amendment in th U.S. Senate that would cut off any and all funding from the United States to the United Nations and other organizations that tried to restrict American Second Amendment rights by registration or taxation of legal firearms. The amendment passed, with a vote of 81-10. Now the amendment goes to the House, as part of this particular Senate appropriations bill, will go to a Conference Committee. We as citizens, need to call, write and e-mail our Representatives and tell them to keep the Vitter Language in the bill. With a Democratic Congress in power, and Nancy Pelosi (R-CA) as Speaker of the House, we Americans need to do everything in our power to make certain the U.N. cannot regulate us as Americans. China, Syria, Cuba, Iran, all are helping to push this agenda at the U.N. Senator Pelosi is a very vocal proponent of gun control, and has been for years. We need to vote. We need to write our Representatives and Senators in Congress. Their job is to represent us, the people. They work for us, whether we be a poor waitress living in a bad neighborhood who needs a gun to defend herself with when she comes home at night, or whether we be a CEO of a Fortune 500 company who needs to be able to protect himself and his family when out for an evening.

If you do not know the name or address of your Congress people, now is the time to find out. You can find this information in the Government listings in your phone book. You can register to vote at your local Department of Motor Vehicles in many states, or city hall, or your county courthouse in every state. You can also go to: Write Your Rep or, Congress. Here, you can write directly to your representatives in Congress. Write your Representative, write your Senator, tell your friends, and everyone on your e-mail list. We as Americans cannot afford to let foreign interests regulate us. The United Nations has no business in the United States. They want to take away our rights to defend ourselves. Let's defend ourselves and our rights by getting involved. Write, call, vote. Get involved with the NRA. Let's keep the Vitter language in the Appropriations Bill, and let's keep the U.N. out of our rights to freedom and liberty.

Please note that many of these laws are no longer in effect.

1. In Massachusetts, shooting ranges may not have targets that resemble human beings.
2. In Louisiana, a person could get 20 years in prison for urinating in the water supply.
3. In New Hampshire, you cannot sell the clothes you are wearing to pay off a gambling debt.
4. In Little Rock, Arkansas, dogs may not bark after 6 P.M.
5. In Tempe, Arizona, one must be over 18 to purchase spray paint.
6. In Wyoming, skiing under the influence of alcohol is prohibited.
7. In Freeport, Maine, mercury thermometers are not to be sold.
8. In Iowa, a one-armed piano player must perform for free.
9. In Fort Thomas, Kentucky, dogs may not molest cats.
10. In Mount Vernon, Iowa, no person can pick flowers from a public park.
11. In Louisiana, it is a $500 fine to instruct a pizza delivery man to deliver a pizza to another person without them knowing.
12. In West Virginia, it is illegal to sleep on a train.
13. In Owensboro, Kentucky, one may not receive anal sex.
14. In Massachusetts, taxi drivers may not have sex in the front seat of their vehicle when on shift.
15. In New Hampshire, citizens are not allowed to relieve themselves while looking up on Sundays.
16. In Iowa, kisses may not last for more than 5 minutes.
17. In Wyoming, it is strictly prohibited to fish using a firearm.
18. In Colorado, car dealers may not show cars on a Sunday.
19. In Louisiana, biting someone with your natural teeth is “simple assault”, while biting someone with your false teeth is “aggravated assault”.
20. In Arizona, you cannot refuse someone a glass of water.
21. In Claremont, New Hampshire, it is illegal to do the following at cemeteries: get drunk, picnic, enter at night, and enter by ones self is that person is younger than 10.
22. In Derby, Kansas, it is illegal to urinate on the side of a building.
23. In Owensboro, Kentucky, a woman may not buy a hat without her husband's permission.
24. In West Virginia, road-kill may be taken home for food.
25. In Indianola, Iowa, the “Ice Cream Man” and his truck are banned.

1. Under the Town Police Clauses Act (1847) it is illegal to slide on ice or fly kites in a public place
2. Any resident of Chester is allowed to shoot a Welshman with an arrow if he is within the city walls on a Sunday
3. Taxi drivers are required to ask all passengers if they have smallpox or the plague
4. It is illegal to eat mince-pies in England on Christmas Day
5. A boy under ten years of age is not allowed to see a naked mannequin
6. A bed may not be hung out of a window
7. It is illegal to be drunk on licensed premises
8. In Liverpool it is illegal for a woman to be topless in public, unless they are a clerk in a tropical fish store
9. In Scotland it is illegal to be drunk and in possession of a cow
10. It is illegal for a lady to eat chocolates on a public conveyance

I often hear cops referred to as Pigs, dough boys,and smurfs. Many people refer to them this way because they believe the stereotype that cops are just fat doughnut eating people in blue suits. I personally believe such names are derogatory. Officers risk everything in the line of duty every day.

The least the people of their communities and those under their authority can do, is treat them with respect. Police officers give their hearts,blood and lives to make our communities and our country a better place. Next time you see a police officer, don't bad mouth,criticize or make fun of them. Greet them with the honor and respect they have earned with thier dedication to their community safety.

This is to all officers killed in the line of duty, Thanking them for their sacrifices. For those families who are forced by circumstances beyond their control to carry on in the aftermath, I want to offer my loving sympathies and condolences.

May blessings find you well

1. In Bozeman, Montana, a law prohibits all sexual activity from the front yard of a home after sundown.
2. In Salt Lake County, Utah, it's illegal to walk down the street carrying a violin in a paper bag.
3. In San Francisco, it's illegal to pile horse manure more than six feet high on a street corner.





4. In Devon, Texas, it is against the law to make furniture while you are nude.
5. In Oklahoma, you can be arrested for making ugly faces at a dog. ( What if it's an ugly dog...?)
6. In California it is illegal for a vehicle without a driver to exceed 60 miles per hour.
7. In Florida men seen publicly in any kind of strapless gown can be fined.
8. In South Carolina it is legal to beat your wife on the court house steps on Sundays.
9. In Tennessee, you are breaking the law if you drive while sleeping...





10. In New York, the penalty for jumping off a building is: Death. ( Go figure...)
11. In Danville, Pennsylvania, all fire hydrants must be checked one hour before all fires.
12. In Pennsylvania, it's against the law to tie a dollar bill on a string on the ground and pull it away when someone tries to pick it up.
13. In New York City, it's illegal for a restaurant to call a sandwich a "corned beef sandwich" if it's made with white bread and mayonnaise. ( I agree 100%! )
14. In California it is illegal to set a mouse trap without a hunting license.
15. In France, it is against the law to sell an "E.T" doll. They have a law forbidding the sale of dolls that do not have human faces.





16. In Athens, Greece, a driver's license can be taken away if the driver is thought to be either "poorly dressed" or "unbathed"
17. In Calgary Alberta, there is still a by-law that requires businesses within the city to provide rails for tying up horses.
18. In Wilbur, Washington, it is illegal to ride an ugly horse. ( but can you make faces at him? )





19. In Louisiana, biting someone with your natural teeth is considered "simple assault," but biting someone with your dentures is "aggravated assault."
20. In the state of Washington, it is illegal to have sex with a virgin under any circumstances. (Including the wedding night.)
21. In Switzerland, it is illegal for a man to relieve himself while standing up after 10pm.( even with the light on? )
22. In Florida, it is illegal to fart in a public place after 6 P.M. on Thursdays.
23. In Massachusetts, it is illegal to go to bed without first having a bath. (However, another law prohibits bathing on Sunday)
24. In Jidda, Saudi Arabia, women were banned from using hotel swimming pools in 1979.
25. In Samoa, it's a crime to forget your own wife's birthday...

New York:

• It is okay for women to walk topless down the street, as long as it isn't for business reasons, but you are not allowed to wear tight clothing.
• The penalty for jumping off a building is… death.
• You are not allowed to walk down the road on Sundays with an ice cream cone in your pocket. (I will make sure to avoid that one)

California:

• It is a misdemeanor to shoot at any target from a moving vehicle, unless it just so happens to be a whale.
• An unmanned vehicle may not exceed the speed limit of 60 mph.
• In Chico, it is illegal to bowl on the sidewalk.
• In Blythe, it is illegal for you to wear cowboy boots, unless you own two or more cows.

Texas:

• It is illegal to sell one's eye.
• It is unlawful to shoot game (buffalo in particular) from the second story of a hotel.
• A recently passed anticrime law requires criminals to give their victims 24 hours notice, either orally or in writing, and to explain the nature of the crime to be committed.
• The encyclopedia of Britannica is banned, because it explains how to make homemade beer.

Nevada:

• You may not drive a camel on the highway.
• It is legal to hang someone who shoots your dog on your property.
• In Elko, everyone out on the streets is required to wear a mask.

Florida:

• It is illegal for women to parachute on Sunday.
• Men may not be seen publicly in any kind of strapless gown.
• Having sexual relations with a porcupine is illegal.
• If an elephant is tied to a parking meter, its fee will be as though it were a car.

Believe it or not, I have barely scratched the surface. Just remember, if you are driving down the road and you throw your gum out the window, it might land you a $600 dollar fine!