Man Gets Naked on Airplane

Keith Wright, 50, from the Bronx, is in federal custody after an incident on a US Airways flight to Los Angeles. Mr. Wright is not a terrorist, nor were his actions a threat to anyone on board the aircraft. He simply removed all his clothes and refused several requests by the flight attendant to put them back on. He did however become combative when the attendant attempted to cover him with a blanket.

Wright, who suffers from a bipolar disorder, and 148 other passengers boarded US Airways flight 705 in Charlotte, NC, bound for Los Angeles on Tuesday evening (6/30/09). He later admitted to authorities that he had not taken his prescription medication that morning before leaving New York. He was seen dancing in a crowded boarding area before the flight, but when approached by Flight Service Supervisor Claudia Kearney, he told her he had drunk one beer. Kearney said she did not smell alcohol on him and determined he was well enough to travel.

Wright boarded the plane with the other passengers and took his seat in the back of the aircraft. It was some time during the flight that Wright decided to take off all his clothes.

"I fell asleep and the ladies fell asleep and I woke up and I turned and she was gone and I was like oh my gosh, this guy is naked!" passenger Lynette Naude said.

Passengers said it was a sight to see. Cell phone pictures taken from inside the plane showed a passenger, identified as Keith Wright from the Bronx, sitting naked in his seat near the rear of the plane.

"One of the flight attendants tried to get the guy to respond, but she got nothing. But then when they tried to cover the guy up, get his clothes back on he started getting physically aggressive," one passenger said.

Wright was unresponsive when a flight attendant asked him to put his clothes back on, said Dan Jiron, a spokesman for the Albuquerque airport. "She asked him on more than one occasion to put on his clothes. She covered him with a blanket and he took that off," Jiron said. That was when Wright punched and kicked the flight attendant, who then asked two off-duty law officers for help.

"We actually had to physically hold him down on the floor and um, handcuff his ankles, his wrists," said Matt McGinnis, who, along with a Los Angeles Police officer and an L.A. sheriff's deputy, helped restrain the man.

The flight attendants also were dealing with an unrelated onboard medical emergency at the same time, which exacerbated the situation, the FBI said. The aircraft was diverted, to Albuquerque, NM, because of the medical emergency, and Wright's actions were a secondary reason for the unplanned landing, the complaint said.

Passenger Ginny Keegan of Detroit was sitting in the front of the plane, when there was commotion coming from the back.

"All of a sudden there was a bunch of activity and a lot of loud things going on and all of a sudden people started getting out of their seats in the back of the plane," she said.

The people on the flight were notified of a violent passenger as the plane began to approach Albuquerque, but Keegan said no one was fearful.

"No one was really panicking. The flight attendants seemed to handle it very well," she said. Keegan said the man was "completely naked" as he was taken in handcuffs off the plane.

Roger Finzel, an assistant federal public defender representing Wright, said he has not yet met with his client and had no information about the case other than what was in the complaint. Wright is in federal custody on a federal charge of interfering with flight crew members and attendants. He is expected to appear in federal court in Albuquerque on Thursday.

The flight was delayed about an hour. Wright told the FBI he recalled nothing about the flight or his behavior.

As the plane took off again, Keegan said the usual announcement to please fasten your seat belts came over the loudspeakers with a twist. The message included "a reminder to everybody to please keep your clothing on. It got a couple chuckles," Keegan said.

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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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