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Bizarre News - May 23, 2015
Greetings fellow Bizarros:
It's the 21st century. We have an international space station, self-driving cars and virtual reality sex. It is incredible that there are still places in the world where people are murdered for being a witch!
But that is exactly what happened recently in Papua New Guinea where a woman was axed to death - AXED - for practicing sorcery.
The woman known as "Misila" was one of four women who were accused in January after a measles epidemic killed several people in a remote village. These remote highlanders have very old, ancestral beliefs that sickness and death are the result of spiritual beings that live inside of some people, mostly women and their children.
After the measles outbreak the villagers hired a "witch-finder" to identify the believed source of the measles outbreak. Some missionaries went to the village to prevent an angry mob from hurting the women after the witch-finder identified them. But apparently after the mob dispersed a smaller group of men found Misila and attacked her with axes while she was with her family.
Personally, I think it would have been more merciful to build a bridge out of her.
Amazingly, as recently as 2 years ago Papua New Guinea allowed the "sorcery defense" which allowed people accused of murder or serious assault to rely on a victim's practice of sorcery as a defense.
Obviously there are still some areas where the people don't care about the repeal of this law. Belief in black magic is widespread in the Commonwealth nation, where unexplained deaths can often lead to accusations of sorcery, typically against women.
Bizarrely,
Lewis
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*-- Colorado man brings stuffed owl to court as defense counsel --*
ASPEN, Colo. (UPI) - A Colorado man accused of violating a protection order brought a stuffed owl with "law degrees from Yale, Harvard and Stanford" to court as his public defender. Charles Abbott of Aspen, who was accused of violating a protection order taken out by his former roommate, Michael Stranahan, placed the stuffed owl on the table in front of him during his Tuesday appearance in Pitkin County Court Judge Erin Fernandez-Ely's courtroom. "He's a very sensitive guy, has law degrees from Yale, Harvard and Stanford," Abbott said. "I think he'll be able to represent me before a public defender comes online." Abbott allegedly violated the protection order by going to Stranahan's home to retrieve his belongings. Stranahan, who said he was out of town when Abbott went to the home, accused Abbott of taking some of his property. Fernandez-Ely ignored the owl, which Abbott dubbed "Solomon," and asked Stranahan if he would be willing to amend the protection order to allow for mediation. "I want it to remain in place because I don't feel safe about being in close proximity to Charles Abbott," Stranahan said.
*-- Man gets naked to protest overbooked flight in Charlotte --*
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (UPI) - Travelers at North Carolina's Charlotte Douglas International Airport said a man stripped naked in the concourse because he was mad about an overbooked flight. Witnesses said the man became angry when he was told his US Airways flight to Jamaica was overbooked Wednesday, leading him to strip nude and stand in the concourse without a stitch on his body for about 40 minutes. One traveler, Sherry Ketchie, shared photos of the naked man standing among the passengers, which included children. "I seen some people running and I was wondering what they was running from and people were standing there snickering, so I walked over and [an airport employee] told me the man was angry over the Jamaican flight," Ketchie told WBTV. "He had his clothes on, at that point, and then he started standing there with his arms crossed and hollering at the lady at the desk," she said. "He stood there for a moment and then started talking off his clothes. I ain't never seen nothing [like that] in my life." Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said the man was taken to a hospital for evaluation.
*-- READER COMMENTS --*
LOL Lewis, I'm known as the queng (queen-and-king in one) of farts in my family--AND I also play violin and am learning mandolin--yet even *I* would choose another method for 2 show a brother I loved that I love him. Hugs, LilyKat
[
Not something I would go around advertising too much, Lily.]
Lewis, I don't have a lot of experience with swords, ninja or otherwise, but I do know a good bit about bicycles, and it seems like it would be very dangerous to ride one while carrying a sword! I would love to know how they pulled that off.
[
Samurai rode horses while carrying swords. Of course, they had special gear for that. I doubt a bunch of Ohio teenagers have 17th century Japanese battle kimonos.]
About the Icelandic public TV network that aired 24 hours of live sheep birthing, am I the only one wondering what kind of programming didn't make the cut for broadcast? -Larry
[
24 hours of live sheep conception. Icelanders have to pay for that programming.]
*-- END OF READER COMMENTS --*
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