ABRACADABRA

Saudi man gets 1000 lashes, 5 years in jail for public sex talk
Riyadh : A Saudi court convicted a man for publicly talking about sex after he bragged about his exploits on a talk show, sentencing him to five years in jail and 1,000 lashes, his lawyer said.
Talking about sex publicly is a taboo in ultraconservative Saudi Arabia. Lawyer Sulaiaman al-Jumeii said he plans to appeal the court’s ruling and is confident the sentence against his client, which includes a ban on travel and talking to the media after his release, will be revoked.
Al-Jumeii maintains that his client, Mazen Abdul-Jawad, was duped by the Lebanese LBC satellite channel which aired the talk show and was unaware in many cases he was being recorded.
"I hope you will not consider the case closed," the lawyer said. "I will continue pursuing the TV channel, even if no one stands by me, until it gets the punishment it deserves." The program, which aired July 15 on LBC and was seen in Saudi Arabia, scandalised this conservative country where such frank talk is rarely heard in public. Some 200 people filed legal complaints against Abdul Jawad, who works for the national airline. The program, "Bold Red Line, begins with Abdul-Jawad, dubbed a "sex braggart" and "Casanova" by the media. (AP)

Is this the US or third world?
Detroit : Scuffles erupted as several thousands of Detroit residents jockeyed, pushed and shoved to get free money being offered to 3,500 of the city’s homeless. Several received medical treatment for fainting or exhaustion while frantically trying to obtain the applications for federal assistance, which is intended for low-income residents who recently became homeless or are near homelessness. In fact, one in four working-age adults in Detroit is without a job and the city’s home foreclosure rate continues to be among the nation’s highest. One in four families and three out of every 10 individuals live below the poverty level, according to the U.S. Census. Members of the Detroit Police Department’s Gang Squad and other tactical units were called on for the doles started forming well before daybreak. Anger flared within a few hours as more people sought out a dwindling number of applications for the program.

Nagpur civic chief has 14 peons at beck and call

THE Nagpur Municipal Commissioner (NMC) Aseem Gupta seems to be in the race for using more and more peons both at office and home. Thanks to an RTI enquiry, NMC has been forced to reveal that the civic head has 14 NMC peons at his beck and call- 11 staffers at his residence for personal work while three peons are assigned for official work at NMC headquarters.
As per the reply given by NMC’s office to the answer sought under Right to Information Act (RTI) by a vigilant citizen and member of Jansamsya Sangharsh Niwaran Samiti, Rajendra Gangotri, 11 NMC staffers are deputed at the official bungalow of Aseem Gupta for personal work.
The employees deputed there are Gautam Mishra, Balsingh Bista, Sarubai Uike, Shravan Uike, Shailendra Wanjari, Shankar Kapse, Anil Sontakke, Prashant Ramteke, Varsha Patil, Sujata Waghmare and Mahendra Damanwar.
These employees work in two shifts at the commissioner’s bungalow, the reply added. These 11 employees draw salaries in the range of Rs 7,000 to Rs 8,000 per month (over Rs 1 lakh a month).
Aseem Gupta had landed in a controversy recently after his cell phone bill for a month was billed at Rs 1 lakh. Gupta could not be contacted despite several attempts.