Logic & Sanity

Horror in London

AP. Explosions at three subway stations and a double decker bus results in 40 dead and 1000+ injured in London.

"The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe" claims responsibility.

Fact of the day

So, who makes up the Iraqi insurgency? Here's the answer:

An analysis of 107 bombers whose names and backgrounds Zarqawi's group published revealed that 45 of the dead extremists, or 42 percent, came from Saudi Arabia, said Rita Katz, SITE director.

Many other bombers were Syrian, Kuwaiti, Palestinian, Afghani, Libyan and even French, while only 10 of the attackers, or 9 percent, were Iraqi-born.

Looks like the insurgency is not all that Iraqi. Expect the New York Times and Washington Post to ignore this.

Nanny 911

Demon dad Jerry Hobbs told cops he murdered his 8-year-old daughter and another little girl with a kitchen knife because they defied his orders to leave a park, Illinois prosecutors said yesterday.

The ex-con, who had just finished serving two years in prison for terrorizing a trailer park with a chain saw, was furious that his daughter, Laura, was out playing when she was supposed to be grounded for stealing money.

"Mr. Hobbs believed that her mother was too lax in her supervision of Laura," Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Jeff Pavletic said.

This guy is a master disciplinarian! How do you prevent a little girl from disobeying in the future? Make sure she doesn't have one!

Bah.

Amateurs!

May 11, 2005 -- The feds busted a Russian immigrant after finding a cache of 1,300 counterfeit law-enforcement badges and a stash of weapons, drugs and cash at his Bronx home, authorities said yesterday.

Sergio Khorosh is charged with possessing and attempting to sell counterfeit shields for federal and local agencies including the FBI, Secret Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Air Marshal Service and the NYPD.

Authorities were led to Khorosh after Customs and Border Protection inspectors in San Francisco intercepted a package from Taiwan that was marked "badges."

"This was a truly frightening discovery," said Martin Ficke, special agent in charge of the New York bureau of the Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

That parcel contained 100 counterfeit U.S. marshal's badges.

Duh..

'Women's issues"

More than 100 students have ordered T-shirts bearing "I [heart] My Vagina" for girls and "I Support Your Vagina" for boys.

"We can't really find out what is inappropriate about it," Rethlefsen, 18, said of the button she wears to raise awareness about women's issues. "I don't think banning things like that is appropriate."

Now that I got your attention, you can read the rest here. ACLU is involved. Naturally.

Must resist!

Keith Whitmoyer, a 24-year-old philosophy student at the New School, is battling lung and stomach wounds in St. Luke's Hospital after Sunday's vicious attack. He was shot in front of his terrified fiance after a thug followed her into their building on West 108th Street and pushed his way into the apartment, demanding cash.

After robbing the pair, the burglar appeared to linger, prompting Whitmoyer to ask, "Are you going to shoot me now?" The thug then pumped three bullets into him.

Unlike Nicole DuFresne, this guy survived.

Whitmoyer and van Leeuwen are human-rights activists and volunteer with "The War Resistors League," friends said

Heh..

"Campaign of hate"

April 16, 2005 -- The yellow brick road ended in court after a Brooklyn man allegedly harassed a midget mother and her equally diminutive daughter, mocking them relentlessly with chants like "Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work we go."

Joseph Izzo's campaign of hate culminated with his arrest Thursday after he spray-painted a yellow line outside the Brighton Beach home of 3-foot-8 Debra Shea and her 3-foot-6 daughter, Concelean Pegues — before telling them to "follow the yellow brick road," according to court documents.

That's low...

Non-Bias Attack

Invoking the name “Martin Luther King? and screaming “Black Power!? a gang of up to 30 black teens attacked four white girls in Marine Park in what police are saying is not a bias crime.

The March 30 attack was a hot topic at state Senator Marty Golden’s recent public safety forum.

According to witnesses and parents of the victims, four young girls from St. Edmund’s had the day off from school due to Easter recess. They were playing basketball during dismissal from nearby Marine Park Junior High School, when several Marine Park students demanded to use the court.

After adults intervened and asked them to wait their turn, the teens left - but returned in a pack of up to 30, both boys and girls, and stormed into the park.

Witnesses say the attackers were all black and called their victims “white crackers? during the bloody melee, which raged for almost 20 minutes.

Nope, no bias here.

Gone fishing...

While some sleep with dogs, others sleep with the fishes:

Albania's most wanted man fought off special police and eluded capture for years only to blow himself up while fishing with dynamite, police and newspapers said Friday.

Dubbed the "Last Cowboy" in northern Albania because of his gunfights with the law, Riza Malaj, 34, failed to accurately gauge the length of the fuse as he tried to blow up trout.

Belorus lowers visa cost for American tourists

According to Vesti (via N.G.), beginning this month Belorus will lower the price of the tourist visa for the citizens of U.S. from $100 to $50. Last year only 5,500 Americans visited Belorus. The reason for such a low number, according to Uri Sivakov, the head of Belarus' Ministry of Sport and Tourism, is the high cost of the tourist visa.

Hm. I highly doubt that the $50 difference was the deal breaker.