Penis-Chopper Commits Suicide

A 43-year-old French policeman from the town of Strasbourg in eastern France has committed suicide in jail. He was arrested after he chopped off the penis of his wife's lover. The father of five, who had been placed on a suicide watch, killed himself using a bed sheet and left a farewell letter, a prison spokesman said.

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According to prosecutors, the policeman went over to his wife's lover's house in the nearby town of Reichshoffen, knocked his 54-year-old rival senseless, dragged him into his garage and castrated him using a box cutter. He then told neighbors to call an ambulance and surrendered himself to fellow officers.

Charged with "a barbarous act of torture and mutilation" the man had faced a maximum of 30 years in jail. An initial psychiatric report concluded that he acted in cold blood, and recommended that he be detained in a psychiatric facility. He reportedly told the psychiatrist that he wanted "to punish his rival."

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Justice or Brutality?

Four young Somali men screamed in pain and blood flowed freely, as first their right hand and then their left foot was severed from their bodies, amputated by masked men using long knives known as machetes. The men aged between 18 and 25 were accused of, and plead guilty to, stealing guns and mobile phones. The severed body parts were later hung from trees and electricity polls.

The amputations were ordered earlier by a Shariah court run by al-Shabab militants who are fighting to topple Somalia's government and install a strict form of Islam known as Wahhabi.

"The defendants admitted the charges brought against them and were sentenced accordingly. Each one of them will have his right hand and left leg amputated publicly," said Judge Sheikh Abdallah al-Haq.

The amputations were not immediately carried out because that particular day was very hot and the court decided that carrying out an amputation in such conditions could lead the accused to bleed to death.

Amnesty International pleaded with the court not to carry out the sentence, saying the four men had not been given a fair trial.

"We are appealing to al-Shabab not to carry out these cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments," said Tawanda Hondora, a spokesperson for the human rights group.

"These sentences were ordered by a sham al-Shabab court with no due process or guarantees of fairness."

Their appeal was ignored as were the appeals from the international community for leniency.

The amputations were carried out at an al-Shabab military camp in the north of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. Hundreds of people, including women and children, showed up to witness the bloody spectacle. The Somalia government appeared to have no authority to stop the punishments.

"All I can say for now is that it was a violation against human rights and a sentence carried out by criminals," Somali Information Minister Farhan Ali Mohamud said when asked to comment on the amputations.

The human rights group Amnesty International condemned the amputations, saying they amounted to torture.

"The horrific nature of such acts that were carried out in front of a crowd adds further injustice and dehumanizes these teenagers," said Tawanda Hondora, the deputy director of Amnesty International's Africa program.

The al-Shabab were unapologetic for their strict interpretation of Islamic law that calls for amputation for crimes of theft.

"We will punish like this everyone who carries out these acts," said al Shabaab official Sheikh Ali Mohamud Fidow.

Al Shabab has carried out executions, floggings and single-limb amputations before, mainly in the southern port of Kismayu. Movies and soccer games are banned in areas it controls, and men and women cannot travel together on public transport.

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Terror in Tehran

I don't normally do politics in this blog but what is happening in Iran needs to be aired --- as widely as possible.

Neda is Shot

President Obama Speaks Out

Reports start coming in on a brutal crackdown by the Iranian authorities

Eyewitness Report from Baharestan Square in Central Tehran

This frantic phone call from a Tehran woman will break your heart as you consider our standard response has been "that there are sets of international norms and principles about violence" and that "the international community is watching." Part of yesterday's response by President Obama in a press conference included "that there is a peaceful path that will lead to stability and legitimacy (of the Iranian regime) and prosperity for the Iranian people. We hope they take it." The Iranian theocratic regime clearly is not interested.

Unedited Video from Iran

What will happen next??......The world is watching!!

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Star-Struck Kimberley Lied

Kimberley Vlaminck, 18,  from Kortrijk, in Belgium, had placed three dots on her face with eyeliner, because she thought it looked pretty. She was walking in town with her family when they passed a new tattoo shop, the Tattoo Box, run by Rouslan Toumaniantz.

Her father suggested that they go in and asked her if she wanted to get her three dots tattooed. She said yes and he gave her his permission. Instead of getting her dots tattooed, Kimberley decided to get a few stars on her face around one eye.

While Rouslan Toumaniantz was working on her, she fell asleep. When she awoke she discovered that he had tattooed a total of 56 stars all over the side of her face. She was horrified and her father was very angry. Kimberley thinks that there was a communication problem. She says she asked for the three stars in French and limited English, and Toumaniantz didn't understand her.

Kimberley wants the tattoos removed and is suing Toumaniantz for the cost of doing it. She says she hardly goes out, people stare at her because "she looks like a freak" and she worries that she won't be able to find a job looking like that.



Tattooist Rouslan Toumaniantz tells a different story. He says Kimberley was aware of what he was doing. She was not asleep. He also claims to have a witness who saw everything. According to Toumaniantz, the problems started when Kimberley's furious father saw what had happened to his daughter's face.

"She was awake and looked into the mirror several times as the procedure was taking place" he said. "The trouble all started when she went home and her father and boyfriend threw a fit. They are saying things now like I doped her or hypnotised her. What rubbish. She asked for 56 stars and that's what she got."

Toumaniantz says that although he is not at fault he offered to pay for half the cost of having the tattoos removed.

"Kimberley is unhappy and it is not my wish to have an unsatisfied client," Toumaniantz said. "There is a way to remove the tattoos with the help of a laser. I accept to pay for half the cost."

Well the truth has finally come out: Kimberley Vlaminck Lied!! She admitted that she willingly asked for the striking design. Kimberley Vlaeminck said she "initially adored" the tattoos, but when her father reacted furiously she had decided to lie about it and blame the tattooist. She confessed to being awake and "fully aware" of what the tattooist - Rouslan Toumaniantz - was doing.

Mr Toumaniantz - who is covered in tattoos and piercings - had insisted Vlaeminck wanted 56 stars tattooed on her face. He had initially offered to pay for half the expense of the laser treatment to remove the tattoos. But after the teen's confession, he withdrew his offer. Mr Toumaniantz said he did not mind the international exposure.

"I don't regret it. To tell you the truth, this has given me some publicity."

However, he now intends to get written consent from clients before he begins tattooing.

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Gas Station Clerk Murdered

Stephen Michael Haines, 18, of Gary, Ind. was charged with murder. He is being held without bond and faces a maximum of 65 years in prison for the murder of 26-year-old Gurjeet Singh. He is scheduled to go before a Lake County Indiana Superior Court Magistrate for an initial hearing.

Haines was one of four men who ran into the Gran Gas Mini Food Mart and Gas Station located at 1500 Grant St., Gary, on June 14th. The men kicked in the door to the cash register area, where Singh was working. Singh pushed back the men after they tried to grab him and was shot in the neck. Singh was taken to Methodist Hospital Northlake, where he later died. Police are still looking for the other three men.

Police said the suspects including Haines tried unsuccessfully to open the cash register. They allegedly took a VCR and a carton of cigarettes.

"It was senseless. And really all homicides are senseless but what we gather from this, there was very little resistance," said Gary Police Department Commander Anthony Titus. "It didn't have to end the way it did."

Police say there were several customers walking around the store after the crime. But only one called 911 for help. They say a woman who was in the store after the crime posted what she knew on Facebook instead of calling 911 and talking with police.



When asked what he finds most disturbing about the surveillance footage, Titus said, "The fact that people went in and out of the store and didn't call police. There is a man laying there. Nobody thinks to dial 911 or check to see if he's OK or anything."

The victim's family is happy one suspect has been arrested, but they know more people have the clues police need. A translator said Sawaran Singh, the victim's father, can't find the words to describe the pain he feels right now. He traveled from Punjab, India to pray at a visitation with family and friends.

Gurjeet Singh's uncle, Randy Singh, said his nephew was liked by regular customers. He said this was the first holdup in the nine years he has owned the store. The uncle said that most days Gurjeet worked nearly 12 hours a day, seven days a week. On his time off, he would shop or rest up for his next work shift. Before working in his uncle's store, Gurjeet studied engineering at a Canadian university for four years.


For now, a grieving father prepares to take his son's remains back to India for a funeral. The future his family planned for him is only a memory. Sawaran Singh had to make the trip here alone, because he says the U.S. embassy in New Delhi wouldn't give his wife a visa. Gurjeet Singh's mother still waits to lay her son to rest.

Police say the robbers left the store in a car registered to Haines' mother; it was later found torched. Detective James Bond credits a tip from the public for leading him to Haines.



Detective Bond released still photos from surveillance footage of the incident to the media, after which the department received various leads on the suspects' identities. Police say they've identified who the other suspects are but they need more members of the public to stand up and tell what they know.

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