Posted on 11/24/2006 4:05:35 PM PST by lowbridge
Bridegroom lands in jail for lighting up
A British bridegroom spent his wedding night in jail after refusing to abide by the no-smoking rule at the golf club where his wedding reception was held.
Mark Phillips, 35, of Tinsbury, was fined $497 for court costs and threatening the club's chef, The Sun reports.
Prosecutor Nick Barr told the judge Phillips was informed about the no-smoking rule when he and his bride booked the Farrington Golf & Country Club near Bristol for their wedding reception.
When Phillips lit a cigarette at the post club, staff members told him to put it out.
"I've paid $4,750 for this place, I can do what I like," he said.
Police were called after a scuffle broke out when Phillips lit a second cigarette.
He had to interrupt his honeymoon to appear in court.
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
You'd think the management would exercise a bit of common decency. It was his wedding night and they had him thrown in jail for two cigarettes. Not good PR for the club to say the least.
I'm wondering why he threatened the chef . . . that's the story behind the story.
He was informed of the policy before the reception. If he couldn't control his urges, he should have found another hall.
My wife and I recently declined to dine at a local restaurant after being informed at the door it was a non smoking restaurant. No big deal...
Ping
Ping
badda-boom...
He was informed of the policy ahead of time, and there is no excuse for his behavior........but I think tossing him in jail was a bit of overkill.
Just letting people know that even a wedding isn't a day for one to take personally for the whole supersedes all personal achievement.
Maybe the club management moonlight as TSA nazis?
No trans-fats in the wedding cake?
Ever heard of rule by exception? Well, his exception just got revoked.
Somalia: Islamist cops nab 22 in raid on smokers
Nov 14, 2006
Kismayo - Islamic religious police on Tuesday arrested 22 people for smoking in the Somali port of Kismayo, where they will be flogged if found guilty of violating a new tobacco ban, officials said.
Those detained were nabbed just days after local Islamist officials announced a total ban on the use of tobacco in the key southern port, in a new sign of their increasingly strict application of Sharia law.
"We started raids against tobacco users and we have arrested 22 people so far," Kismayo police deputy chief Mohmaed Abdulkadir Jibril told reporters here, about 500km south of the capital Mogadishu.
"Some of them were smoking cigarettes while others were using tobacco leaves when they were caught," he said.
The anti-smoking raids are the latest indication that Somalia's powerful Islamist movement, which is now girding for war with the weak government, is intent on imposing a fundamentalist version of Koranic law in its territory.
The Islamists, who seized Mogadishu in June and now control most of southern and central Somalia, have enacted Sharia in varying degrees but have banned live music and shuttered cinema halls and photo shops in most areas.
Elements of the movement are accused of links with al-Qaeda and their rise has fuelled fears of a takeover similar to that of the Taliban in Afghanistan who harboured Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network.
The Islamists deny those charges.
Public reaction to the tobacco and khat ban was mixed in Kismayo, a freewheeling port town that the Islamists seized in late September from a government-allied militia.
"It is the start of clean days in Kismayo because our children will have brighter future, free from drugs and other bad hobbies that threaten their lives," said businessman Haji Mohamed Mao.
But others denounced the move as a violation of their freedom of choice.
"I have been smoking for 18 years and no government has ever interfered with my cigarettes," said Abdulahi Ali Jumaa, a 37-year-old smoker who has yet to run afoul of the religious police.
"I think this move is derailing democracy in the region."
http://www.garoweonline.com/stories/publish/article_5995.shtml
I expect we will hear more stories like this one.
Just more proof showing how much in common the Health-Reich has with the taliban.
The antis must all want sharia law here, too.
The left wing hippies and peaceniks in the 60's and 70's turned getting arrested as a form of protest into an art form. It became like a badge of honor.
I dunno. Gabz is right though. This will happen all over the place.
They even use the same words - "for the children."
bkmark
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.