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If you’re frustrated by poor service at a restaurant, think twice before you decide to not tip. You may be in for a bit more than just a dirty look from the waiter. "Nobody, nobody wants to be forced to pay a tip or be arrested for terrible service," Leslie Pope said when her happy hour ended in handcuffs. Pope and John Wagner were hauled away by police and charged with theft for not paying the mandatory 18 percent gratuity totaling $16 after eating at the Lehigh Pub in Bethlehem, Pa. with six friends. Pope claimed that they had to...

SOUTH BEND, Ind.- An ex-University of Notre Dame catering employee has agreed to pay the Indiana school back for half of a $30,000 tip mistakenly deposited in her bank account. Sara Gaspar, who received a $29,387 deposit in her bank account due to an April 17 error for a deposit that should have been $29.87, said she spent the money on bills and a new car, the South Bend (Ind.) Tribune reported Friday. Gasper agreed to pay the university back $16,859.79, about half of the original sum, in $50 monthly payments for about 28 years, court documents said. As part...

INDIANAPOLIS – A woman who worked catering events for the University of Notre Dame says it was her lucky day when the school tipped her $29,000 in her check. But now the university is suing to get back the money she says she's already spent.

Note: The following SNIPPET is a quote: Al-Qaeda's "Islamic State of Iraq" Calls on Muslims to Join Uighur Jihad against China On August 22, 2009, the media division of Al-Qaeda's "Islamic State of Iraq" organization (ISI) released the sixth video in its "Knights of Martyrdom" series, which celebrates jihadists killed in the war in Iraq. This time, the video was dedicated to the Muslims of East Turkestan, i.e. the Uighurs of China's Xinjiang Province. The clashes that took place in Urumchi in July between Uighurs and the Chinese authorities and other Han Chinese elicited a large wave of popular support...

The Chicago Diner was joking when it labeled it's tip jar "Palin Retirement Fund," during Market Days Chicago's gay-pride-like festival. No one would actually expect a GLBT-friendly, vegan business to donate money to the gay-marriage-opposing, moose-shooting former governor of Alaska. But it seems one blogger didn't get the joke. A writer at HillBuzz.org approached the manager and demanded to know if the money collected would be donated to SarahPAC, the former governor's federally registered political action committee. "No, of course not. That's for us," the manager said, according to the blogger. "Are you a 501(c)(3) authorized to ask for donations...

SNIPPET: "The leader of the al Qaeda-linked Chinese terror group has threatened to attack Chinese interests around the world to avenge the death of Uighurs in the eastern province of Xianjiang. Abdul Haq al Turkistani, the leader of the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Party, threatened to attack Chinese embassies worldwide as well as targets within the country. Haq made his threats on a video that was released on an Islamist Internet site." SNIPPET: "Haq, who is also known as Maimaitiming Maimaiti, became the leader of the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Party in late 2003 after Hassan Mahsum, the group’s previous leader, was...

Jihadi journals, Jihadi media SNIPPET: "The Global Islamic Media Front released the 35th volume of “Sada al-Jihad” or “Echo of Jihad.” The table of contents includes:" SNIPPET: "The Turkistan Islamic Party released the fourth volume of the “Islamic Turkistan” journal. Its table of contents includes:"

Without a doubt the biggest story in the jihadi web this past week is China, in response to the perceived oppression of the Uighur Muslims of Xinjiang, AKA East Turkistan. Examples of postings include • a history of Muslims in China • an article on "The Strategic Importance of Xinjiang for Eurasian Energy Infrastructure" (complete with a translation into Arabic of the source English-language article, and a map of pipelines in Central Asia) • a chapter from a book by Mohammed Qutb about Communism • and last, but certainly not least, a statement from Commander Sayfullah of the Uighur 'Turkistan...

Senior al Qaeda and Afghan Taliban leaders are reported to have met with Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud to advise him to move his group's operations into Afghanistan and halt attacks against the Pakistani state. Several meetings were said to have been held last week after an 11-man delegation of al Qaeda and Taliban heavy hitters arrived in Waziristan to deliver a request from Mullah Omar, the Amir al Mumineen, or the leader of the faithful in Pakistan and Afghanistan, according to a report in The Nation. The Taliban dispatched Sirajuddin Haqqani, the powerful military commander of the Haqqani Network,...

Take someone emotionally uninvolved with you to see the puppy. Take someone who has no stake in the decision with you to see the puppy. Take a sibling, a parent or a friend. Give them veto power. If they say no to your buying that puppy, back away from the purchase. Take them aside and listen to why they are uncomfortable. Making a good decision to buy a puppy means putting aside emotions and looking at facts. Someone uninvolved can be a great help in doing just that. I have seen many people who are otherwise very rational become very...

http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/196481.php "Al Qaeda's China Affiliate Releases First Magazine" (Bonus: e-mail an al Qaeda terrorist) (Added February 21, 2009) SNIPPET: "The Islamic Party of Turkistan has released its first internet publication through al Qaeda's al Fajr media center. The group is al Qaeda's affiliate which is active in western China, especially Xinxiang, but is also known to hit targets in the Han populated East. The group was active in Afghanistan prior to the US invasion. 12 of the group's members were held in Guantanamo at one time or another."

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US Treasury Department has given itself free rein in deciding the rescues of companies in the finance and auto sectors, according to two Treasury statements published this week. The Treasury on Friday released guidelines for its Targeted Investment Program (TIP), part of emergency legislation enacted in early October to ease a credit crunch from the worst global financial meltdown since the Great Depression. In the statement, the Treasury outlined the principles of the program under which it rescued ailing banking giant Citigroup on November 23. Under TIP, the Treasury said it would determine the eligibility of...

Not one of the 11 East Texans who approached the podium at Wednesday's hearing on Interstate 69 voiced support for the planned highway. "This is highway robbery, and we should not pursue this project," said David Simpson, a Longview resident and fifth-generation Texan. "This process has bypassed the Constitution. It has bypassed the U.S. Congress, and I'm opposed to it because of the unconstitutional way that it has been pushed through." The public hearing, held at Maude Cobb Convention and Activity Center, was a chance for residents to comment and ask questions about Interstate 69/Trans-Texas Corridor. The corridor would extend...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — U.S. troops uncovered and destroyed a weapons cache containing seven pressure plates Nov. 16 and 17 in the area of Mahdiryia. The plates are used to detonate a form of improvised explosive device (IED) that is specifically targeted against Coalition and Iraqi troops on foot patrol. The cache find was the first indication of these “dismounted” IEDs being used in the area of Mahdiryia. They are already heavily used by al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) the communities of Hawr Rajab and Arab Jabour to the north. Soldiers from Battery B, 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery (FA)...

A Soldier from 1st Platoon, Battery A, 2nd Battalion, 12th Field Artillery, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, from Fort Lewis, Wash., holds up a 12-inch copper plate (the largest size found in Iraq) used to pierce armored vehicles when fired from an explosively formed projectile (EFP). The plate was part of a large EFP cache recently discovered in a home in Husseiniyah. Photo by SSgt. Russell Bassett, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. BAGHDAD — A Concerned Local Citizen (CLC) led Coalition forces to a home Wednesday where explosively formed penetrators (EFP) and improvised explosive...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASERELEASE No. 20071103-04November 3, 2007Tip leads Iraqi National Police to cacheMulti-National Division – BaghdadFORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq – Based off a tip from a concerned citizen, officers with the 1st Battalion, 4th Brigade, 1st Iraqi National Police Division recovered a cache in the courtyard and surrounding areas of the al Mustafa mosque in the Mualameen neighborhood of eastern Baghdad Nov. 1.  The cache included two explosively-formed penetrators, eight rocket-propelled grenades, three rocket-propelled grenade launchers, seven rocket-propelled grenade motors, three rockets, 14 mortars, one sniper rifle with a scope and a 10-round magazine. A spool of wire, body...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 26, 2007 – A concerned citizen led coalition forces to the largest cache of explosively formed penetrators ever found in a single location Oct. 23 in a home in Saada village, Iraq, officials reported. Soldiers from Troop B, 2nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, from Fort Lewis, Wash., and the 717th Ordnance Company explosive ordnance disposal team, 184th Ordnance Battalion, Combined Joint Task Force Troy, Fort Campbell, Ky., empty a massive weapons cache that was discovered at Saada village, Iraq, Oct. 23, 2007. The cache marks the largest discovery of explosively formed penetrators...

BAGHDAD – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers uncovered a cache of improvised explosive device-making materials in Adl, a western neighborhood in the Iraqi capital, based on a tip given by an Iraqi citizen Oct. 20.  An Iraqi approached a joint Coalition Forces patrol comprised of Soldiers from Company A, 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment and Company 3, 3rd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army, and provided information about insurgents constructing IEDs out of a business in Adl.  The insurgents were reported to have plans to use the material in attacks against Coalition Forces on Oct. 30, the anniversary of Saddam's...

ANGOLA, Ind. -- A waitress got more than a $5 tip for her friendly service. She also got a $10,000 gift. Jessica Osborne was so overcome she cried so hard she could barely breathe. When she told a co-worker what had happened she called her a liar. ''I got that a lot,'' Osborne said. The money came from a mother and her two sons who want to remain anonymous. The three were regular customers at the Pizza Hut in Angola and she remembered their order: two Mountain Dews, a cup of hot water for a bag of tea the woman...

Tipsters lead to capture south Baghdad’s most wanted terrorist, cache Tuesday, 10 July 2007 Multi-National Corps – Iraq Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory APO AE 09342 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE RELEASE No. 20070710-14 July 10, 2007 Tipsters lead to capture south Baghdad’s most wanted terrorist, cache Multi-National Division – Center PAO AL-DHOUR, Iraq — With two well-timed phone calls, Iraqi civilians made some Soldiers’ day July 9. The first tipster called Troop C, 1st Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) out of Fort Drum, N.Y., and alerted them to a cache south of the...