Month: July 2012

Academia, Bizarre, Criminal law, International, Politics, Religion, Society

Islamic Militants Destroy Historic Sites In Timbuktu

Islamic militants destroyed two of the historic tombs at the famous 14th century Djingareyber mosque in Timbuktu this week. The militants from the Ansar Dine group say the centuries-old shrines of the local Sufi version of Islam are idolatrous. In the meantime, some Egyptian Muslim extremists are following the victory by the Muslim Brotherhood with demands that the pyramids be destroyed for the same reason. Obviously these are extreme groups within the Muslim community. This later story is based on accounts coming from various sites but appear based on the same claimed translation of sites, though some have called it a hoax.

Continue reading “Islamic Militants Destroy Historic Sites In Timbuktu” →

Bizarre, Criminal law

Utah Officer Accused of Shaking Down Foreigners In Speed trap

Three police officers in Springdale, Utah have been accused of taking roughly $12,000 from foreigners caught in a speed trap set up near the Zion National Park. While city officials are not apparently upset with the speed trap used to generate funds for the city, they are ticked that they never saw the money.

Continue reading “Utah Officer Accused of Shaking Down Foreigners In Speed trap” →

Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

New Mexico Man Arrested For Seventh DWI . . . After Hitting Local Judge

It was bad enough that Junior Yazzie, 54, was arrested for his seventh DWI this week. However, his latest victim could not be more worse — Aztec Magistrate Judge Carla Vescovi-Dial. Judge Vescovi-Dial is still recovering from the accident where she was a passenger. She is one of six magistrate judges in San Juan County and handles primarily . . . you guessed it . . . drunk driving cases.

Continue reading “New Mexico Man Arrested For Seventh DWI . . . After Hitting Local Judge” →

Bizarre, Congress, International, Society

The Inconvenient Country: Denise Rich Renounces Citizenship And Saves Millions In Taxes

The Rich couple is back in the news. If you recall, President Bill Clinton pardoned billionaire trader Marc Rich in one of the most unwarranted presidential acts under the pardon power — a pardon rightfully denounced as little more than a payback for a wealthy supporter by Clinton. Now, Rich’s wife, Denise, has given up her U.S. citizenship — reportedly to avoid taxes. Clinton should be doubly ashamed of his association and assistance to this couple.

Continue reading “The Inconvenient Country: Denise Rich Renounces Citizenship And Saves Millions In Taxes” →

Animals, Bizarre, Environment

“Ball Cutter” Fish Found In Illinois Lake

Ok, things are already bad in Illinois with a rise in the murder rates and thugs allegedly jumping out of stretch limos to assault people. Now, a swim in the state could result in your losing more than the afternoon heat. Officials at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources confirm that they have caught pacu fish in Lake Lou Yaeger in Litchfield, Illinois. The pacu has an unsettling reputation in in Papua New Guinea for eating testicles — giving it the local name as the “ball cutter.”

Continue reading ““Ball Cutter” Fish Found In Illinois Lake” →

Bizarre, Criminal law

Four Men Charged With Allegedly Driving Around Chicago in Limo Assaulting Bystanders

These four men have been arrested in a bizarre series of attacks on people where they drove up in a white stretch limousine and jumped out to assault pedestrians. Relatives insist that they were just shooting a video for a song called “Take a Sip” and got made when people spontaneously shouted racial epithets. The attacks occurred near my childhood home in Chicago in the Wrigleyville area.

Continue reading “Four Men Charged With Allegedly Driving Around Chicago in Limo Assaulting Bystanders” →

Bizarre, Criminal law, Free Speech, Society

Do the Hokey, Go To The Pokey: New York Couple Arrested For Dancing At Subway Station

This dangerous looking Bonnie and Clyde couple has finally been nabbed by the police in New York City. Caroline Stern, a dentist, and George Hess, a movie prop master, were returning from Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Midsummer Night’s Swing when they decided to cut loose at the Columbus Circle station. They danced. That’s right. Right in front of drug dealers, purse snatchers, and assorted felons, they danced. Thankfully, they were promptly arrested and the New York subway system was able to return to its joyless natural state.

Continue reading “Do the Hokey, Go To The Pokey: New York Couple Arrested For Dancing At Subway Station” →

Bizarre, Politics, Society

Trump Selected As “Statesman of the Year”

This week Richard Posner, the conservative icon and intellectual on the Seventh Circuit, shocked many by saying that he was estranged from the Republican Party and becoming less conservative due to the “goofy” direction that the GOP has taken in recent years. As if on cue, the Sarasota Republican Party has decided that this year’s “statesman of the year” is none other than Donald Trump. That’s right, according to the Sarasota GOP, Donald Trump is the greatest statesman this year. Some would call it “goofy,” some would say “delusional.” I am honestly curious is GOP leadership in Sarasota are just out to sell tickets at any cost to their own credibility or whether they honestly believe this widely ridiculed character is a statesman in some parallel universe.

Continue reading “Trump Selected As “Statesman of the Year”” →

Bizarre, Society, Torts

Suicidal Texas Man Hit By Car . . . After Being Chased By Man In Gorilla Suit

Police in Texas are dealing with a bizarre tragedy where a suicidal man ran out in front of traffic and was hit by a car. At the time, he was being chased by a man in a gorilla suit. Paul Nimnicht, 32, had announced in the CoCo Bongo nightclub that he was going to commit suicide outside of the club around midnight. When he ran outside, he was chased by a waiter dressed as a gorilla. The chase took them to Highway 281 where Nimnicht was struck by a passing Infiniti.

Continue reading “Suicidal Texas Man Hit By Car . . . After Being Chased By Man In Gorilla Suit” →

Academia, Bizarre, International, Politics, Religion, Society

Right Particle, Wrong God: Pakistani Nobel Winner’s Existence Erased In School Books Due To His Religious Beliefs

You would think that the claimed discovery of the Higgs boson — or God’s Particle — would lead to a new round of celebration in Pakistan over its own Nobel laureate, Adbus Salam. After all, Salam helped develop the theoretical framework that led to the apparent discovery of the subatomic particle. However, before laying the ground work for discovering the God Particle, Salam picked the wrong God in the view of many Pakistanis. Salam, who died in 1996, has been stricken from school textbooks and public acknowledgments because he was a member of the Ahmadi sect that is viewed by Muslims as heretical.

Continue reading “Right Particle, Wrong God: Pakistani Nobel Winner’s Existence Erased In School Books Due To His Religious Beliefs” →

Criminal law, International, Military, Politics, Religion, Society

Afghan Taliban Commanders Fight Over Woman Then Have Her Executed As Adulteress As Dozens Of Men Cheer

We have followed the plight of women in Afghanistan as both the Taliban and the government roll back on advances in women’s rights after the U.S. invasion. Now another disturbing video has surfaced where dozens of men cheer as a man pumps round afer round into a woman accused of adultery. As nine shots are fired into her, the men cheer “God is Great!” in ecstatic celebration, as shown in the video accompanying the article below. Notably, this killing took place not in some far off province but the village of Qimchok to the north of Kabul.

Continue reading “Afghan Taliban Commanders Fight Over Woman Then Have Her Executed As Adulteress As Dozens Of Men Cheer” →

Bizarre, International, Politics, Society

The Smith and Wesson Debate School: Jordanian Member of Parliament Pulls Gun On Debate Opponents

Jordanian MP Mohammed Shawabka has a more direct method of debate that most politicians. During a television debate with an activist, Shawabka first throws a shoe at his opponent and than pulls a gun on him — pointing it at him on live television.

Continue reading “The Smith and Wesson Debate School: Jordanian Member of Parliament Pulls Gun On Debate Opponents” →