Saturday Morning Confusion #4

I quit smoking quite a few years ago but even I have to admit that the "no-smoking" crowd is getting out of hand.

This should start you off in a confused state for the weekend.

The town of Bridgewater, N.S., is considering a bylaw that would ban smoking on all town property — streets and sidewalks included.

Opponents of the bylaw plan to take a stand on Saturday by smoking on a provincially-owned bridge that would be the town's last haven if the proposed bylaw gets approved.

In such a scenario, anyone driving on the 66 kilometres of streets in town or walking on the 34 kilometres of sidewalk faces a fine for being caught lighting up. The same rules would apply to public buildings and public parks.

Bridgewater Mayor Carrol Publicover said the proposed ban started with complaints about students smoking around school property.

Town councillor Kevin Marlin decided to draft an anti-smoking bylaw for school property, then went even further to propose banning smoking in all public places in the town, except for two spots — the two bridges that span the LaHave River.

That's because the town landmarks are owned by the Province of Nova Scotia.

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Now, to help get things back into "Perspective" we have this note from the logical and no-nonesense Germany.

Germany moves to outlaw Scientology!

The announcement came Friday after a two-day conference of interior ministers of Germany's 16 states well as federal Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble.

Actor Tom Cruise is one of the world's most high-profile Scientologists.->

Berlin Interior Minister Erhart Koerting, who presided over the two-day conference, told reporters that Scientology is an organization that is not compatible with the German constitution.

The government considers Scientology not a religion, he said, but a commercial enterprise that takes advantage of vulnerable people.

The ministers plan to ask Germany's domestic intelligence agency to begin preparing the necessary information to ban Scientology as well as jumping on couches!

The agency has had Scientology under observation for a decade on allegations that it "threatens the peaceful democratic order" of the country.

Scientologists have long battled to end the surveillance, saying it is an abuse of their right to freedom of religion.

The U.S. State Department regularly criticizes Germany in its annual Human Rights Report for the monitoring practice.

During the summer, Germany initially refused to allow the producers of a movie starring Scientology follower Tom Cruise as Germany's most famous anti-Hitler plotter to film at the site where the man was executed, although it did not expressly state Scientology as its reason.

Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God at www.God-101.com and the blog "Perspective" at http://God-101.blogspot.com