It appears, according to the New York Times, that there are some 20 hookah bars in the city, no fewer than half of which are located on a single street in Queens, in a place known as Little Egypt. The city's "Department of Health and Mental Hygiene [sic]" — whose online "Complaint Form" encourages the citizenry to turn informer on anti-social elements — has decided to send "agents" (i.e., inspectors who couldn't make the real police force) to enforce the mayor's strictures.
"They've been very aggressive lately," lamented Ali Mohamed, a bar-owner, to the Times, "Two weeks ago, they sent their guys to every shisha [tobacco] shop on the block. It's harassment." Mohamed, whose customers rent water-pipes to smoke, for an hour or so at a time, fruit-flavored 'baccy for the princely sum of $4, was recently handed a pauperizing fine of $1,200. "We're hard-working people trying to earn a living. I worked 20 years driving a cab for the money to open this store," Mohamed added. "Now they're trying to close us down."
So what we have here is a place where people go for the exclusive purpose of smoking, but the mayor sees fit to fine owners for allowing this to happen.
10:44 AM
Thursday, March 11, 2004
DRUNKEN CHIMPS THREATEN HUMANS
Officials report beer contributes to the threat chimpanzees sometimes present in western Uganda. The chimps have been raiding illegal brewing operations in forested river valleys and getting drunk on the country beer. Once intoxicated, they become hostile and attack and at times kill human children, parks officials say. A Uganda Wildlife Authority report on the attacks says that local beer is usually brewed illegally along river valleys, which are also the habitat of chimps. "When chimps come across the local brew, they drink it, become drunk and in that state any encounter with people means an attack," says the report.
