Honolulu Lite
NOW that City Councilman Andy Mirikitani has been convicted of a phalanx of federal felonies, his fellow council members should be squirming in their seats. By now they all know that if the harsh spotlight of scandal isn't shining on someone else, it could be moving toward them. Council spotlight
seeks next victimThere was Steve Holmes and the questions of his college degrees, there was Jon Yoshimura and his nocturnal driving habits and wasn't there something going on with Rene Mansho a while back? The spotlight left Rene and burned on Mirikitani, leaving everyone else to breathe easy. Mirikitani's history and now the light swings back and forth, searching, searching ... who will be next?
In the meantime, let's see what madness lurks elsewhere ...
From rave to deprave
TEHRAN (Reuters) >> About 50 young Iranians received between 30 and 90 lashes each for attending a "depraved" party. Judiciary agents said many of the men and women were "dancing half-naked" at the party in a plush Tehran suburb.(According to police reports, the wild and crazy youngsters were caught red-handed doing the "Hokey Pokey.")
It's a kick to fight blind
BANGKOK (Reuters) >> A veteran Thai kick-boxing trainer has come up with a new twist on the sport -- blindfold boxing. "This is a really fun show to watch," said Yodthong Sriwaralak, "especially when they boxers mistakenly punch the referee."(They also are trying other sports blindfolded. The blindfolded javelin throw is really fun to watch, especially when the spear mistakenly flies into the stands and kills a spectator.)
New law patently silly
MELBOURNE (AP) >> An Australian man has registered a patent for a "circular transportation facilitation device" -- more commonly known as the wheel. Lawyer John Keogh said he is doing so to show the flaw in a new intellectual property law, which allows anyone to patent virtually anything.(After patenting the wheel, Keogh plans to patent a "mechanical snapping gizmo for catching small rodents.)
Weird Web site: Some sites defy description. Modern Living (www.hoogerbrugge.com) is one of them. It's devoted to strange digital art and computer animation created by someone whose name I couldn't find on the site anywhere. Maybe it's Mr. Hoogerbrugge. In any case, it's an intriguing spelunk into the artist's dreams, hopes, fears and demons.
Honolulu Lite on Sunday: Law enforcement for fun and profit! All you need is a "letter of marque" from the government and you can become a privateer, claiming prizes at will!
Quote me on this: "Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress, but I repeat myself." -- Mark Twain
Alo-Ha! Friday compiles odd bits of news from Hawaii
and the world to get your weekend off to an entertaining start.
Charles Memminger also writes Honolulu Lite Mondays,
Wednesdays and Sundays. Send ideas to him at the
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-210,
Honolulu 96813, phone 235-6490 or e-mail cmemminger@starbulletin.com.
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