The cities, counties, states, and countries of the world have passed some dopey laws. Herewith a collection of the more recent silly laws and the silly people who make, interpret and enforce them and the smart people who refuse to put up with them.http://www.newser.com/2008 - Newseren-usNewser Feed GeneratorThu, 28 Aug 2008 7:45:51 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/35399/doggie-dining-goes-legit-in-tampa.html?refid=rss_all_defaultPuppy-lovers can now legally chow down in the company of their canine companions at Tampa's Java & Cream cafe, the first eatery in the city to boast a dog-dining permit. Permits for pups have been required in Tampa since 2006, though restaurateurs have apparently been unaware of the law: The city received its first application just last month, reports the Tampa Tribune .http://www.newser.com/story/35399/doggie-dining-goes-legit-in-tampa.html?refid=rss_all_defaultWed, 20 Aug 2008 22:08:41 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/32476/calif-pol-aims-to-burst-balloons.html?refid=rss_all_defaultA California lawmaker is pushing to ban helium-filled foil balloons, blaming the globe-shaped menaces for flying into power lines and causing more than 800 blackouts in the state last year. The bill easily passed the state's senate, but it’s facing an uproar from balloon artists and balloon lovers alike as it awaits an assembly vote, the Wall Street Journal reports.http://www.newser.com/story/32476/calif-pol-aims-to-burst-balloons.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 15 Jul 2008 7:36:26 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/27508/chicago-ducks-foie-gras-ban.html?refid=rss_all_defaultA Chicago restaurant ban on foie gras pate that animal lovers love to hate has been lifted by city legislators after two years. The ban caused widespread derision among foodies, fury in the restaurant industry—and plaudits from animal rights advocates who wanted to save the force-fed ducks and geese whose super fatty livers make the pate. Mayor Richard Daley bulldozed the repeal through the City Council, reports the Sun Times .http://www.newser.com/story/27508/chicago-ducks-foie-gras-ban.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 15 May 2008 14:20:42 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/27466/us-must-end-ban-on-hiv-positive-immigrants.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThe US is one of only 12 countries (including Sudan, Moldova and Libya) that flouts UN law by barring HIV-positive visitors or immigrants—and the restriction must end, writes Andrew Sullivan in the Washington Post . The HIV-positive Sullivan, a senior editor at Atlantic magazine, remains in the US only with the help of “great lawyers, a rare O visa…a government-granted HIV waiver” and endless legal fees—and he’s one of the lucky ones.http://www.newser.com/story/27466/us-must-end-ban-on-hiv-positive-immigrants.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 15 May 2008 14:22:46 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/26912/china-wont-stop-censoring-web-for-olympics.html?refid=rss_all_defaultChina apparently will continue to censor the Internet during August's Olympics, but says the international press will have the access it needs to function, Jacqui Cheng writes on Ars Technica. Officials said they would guarantee as much access “as possible,” but “controls on some unhealthy websites” would continue. In defense, they said, “every country limits access to some websites.”http://www.newser.com/story/26912/china-wont-stop-censoring-web-for-olympics.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 15 May 2008 14:22:46 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/26860/fritzl-triggers-change-in-austria-sex-law.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThe Josef Fritzl case has spurred Austrian legislators to initiate changes in sex crime laws to prevent child abuse, the BBC reports. As Fritzl kept his daughter imprisoned as a sex slave, he was granted custody for three of the children he fathered with her— despite a rape conviction. His conviction was wiped off the books after 15 years. Austria now wants to keep sex crime records for at least 30 years.http://www.newser.com/story/26860/fritzl-triggers-change-in-austria-sex-law.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 15 May 2008 14:22:46 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/26731/ind-nuns-dont-have-a-prayer-at-polls.html?refid=rss_all_defaultA dozen nuns who lacked proper photo ID were turned away from an Indiana voting booth yesterday—by a fellow nun. None of the nuns, all over 80, had a driver's license because they don't drive, and some presented outdated passports, the AP reports. Their convent has launched a major push to arrange for proper ID in time for November's election.http://www.newser.com/story/26731/ind-nuns-dont-have-a-prayer-at-polls.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 15 May 2008 14:22:46 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/26593/woman-who-defied-interracial-marriage-ban-dies-at-68.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMildred Loving, whose challenge to Virginia law led to the Supreme Court decision overturning bans on racially mixed marriage, has died at the age of 68. Loving, who was black, and her white husband Richard pleaded guilty to “cohabiting as man and wife, against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth” before their suit led to a landmark civil-rights ruling in 1967.http://www.newser.com/story/26593/woman-who-defied-interracial-marriage-ban-dies-at-68.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 15 May 2008 14:22:46 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/26417/aussies-ditch-dueling-law.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThere's no longer a law against challenging somebody to a duel in Queensland, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. As part of an effort to get old laws off the books, the Australian state is also scrapping laws against piracy on the high seas, and mayors will no longer have to read the Riot Act to mobs of angry townspeople before rioters can be charged.http://www.newser.com/story/26417/aussies-ditch-dueling-law.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 15 May 2008 14:22:47 CDT