[NBC] Federal agents on Wednesday placed in durance vile Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! a suspect in the mailing of letters to President Barack Obama Ready to Rule from Day One... and a U.S. senator that initially tested positive for the poison ricin.
The suspect was identified as Paul Kevin Curtis of Tupelo, Miss., federal officials told NBC News. They said he may appear in court as early as Wednesday night. Curtis was arrested at his home in Corinth, Miss., at about 5:15 CT, after an investigation by federal, state and local agencies.
Both letters carried an identical closing statement, according to an FBI bulletin obtained by NBC News on Wednesday.
According to the FBI bulletin, both letters, postmarked April 8, 2013 out of Memphis, Tenn., included an identical phrase, "to see a wrong and not expose it, is to become a silent partner to its continuance."
In addition, both letters are signed: "I am KC and I approve this message."
The FBI last night busted a troubled Mississippi Elvis impersonator as the poison-wielding man who mailed ricin-laced letters to President B.O. and two other officials.
I think we can now move this story from War on Terror to P.3: Lurid Crime Tales.
Curtis, 44, dresses up as the King and other stars such as Jon Bon Jovi and Prince to entertain at parties and benefits.
The musician can be seen performing via YouTube and Facebook, advertising his services dressed as country stars such as Johnny Cash, Hank Williams and Elvis.
He has been tossed in the clink Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! numerous times for misdemeanors such as harassment and stalking near Tupelo, Miss., the Clarion-Ledger newspaper reported.
Despite his rock n roll hobby, Curtis shows his angry side on Facebook, where he lashes out in a conspiracy-filled rant.
Im on the hidden front lines of a secret war, he wrote. They burned down my home, killed my dogs, my cat, my rabbit, blew up my 1966 Plymouth Valiant . . . and guess what? I am still a thorn in their corrupt anals! I will remain here until Jesus Christ decides its time for me to go.
So it wasn't the Aryan Brotherhood after all. Wonder if Chris Matthews walks anything back on the air...
KAUFMAN, Texas -- In a surprising twist,
Why exactly is it surprising?
the wife of a jailed former justice of the peace was charged Wednesday with capital murder after authorities say she confessed to helping her husband kill two North Texas prosecutors who aggressively secured a theft conviction against him.
The overnight arrest and charge against Kim Lene Williams is the latest turn in an investigation that had recently focused on Eric Williams after authorities searched his home and a nearby storage facility stocked with guns. An arrest affidavit alleges she told investigators Tuesday that her husband shot and killed Kaufman County assistant prosecutor Mark Hasse in January and District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife last month.
The affidavit does not specify what role she played in the killings. Investigators said they would not release further details until briefing the victims' families.
Eric Williams, 46, who has not yet been charged in the slayings, remained jailed on a $3 million bond Wednesday on a charge of making a terroristic threat. Kim Williams, 46, was being held on a $10 million bond.
McLelland and Hasse prosecuted Eric Williams last year for theft of three computer monitors from a county building. Williams was convicted, sentenced to probation and lost his law license and his elected position as justice of the peace - a judge who handles mostly administrative duties.
McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, were found dead March 30 in their home, two months after Hasse was gunned down near the county courthouse. Wood said the DA told him after Hasse was killed that he believed Eric Williams was behind the attack but acknowledged he had little evidence to support his suspicion.
The officer who signed the affidavit, sheriff's Sgt. Matt Woodall, said he had learned from other officers and county employees that Hasse and McLelland both believed Williams blamed them for the loss of his job. The prosecutors carried handguns after the trial because they thought he was "a threat to their personal safety," Woodall wrote.
Eric Williams was arrested Saturday on allegations he sent an email to authorities - one day after the McLellands' bodies were discovered - implying there would be another attack if authorities didn't respond to various demands.
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04/18/2013 00:00 ||
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Ironically, the word gift means poison in German. The word for present is das Geschenk.
[BBC] Twenty-five people are in hospital in Germany after eating bread rolls laced with rat poison, which were left at their firm as "a gift", police say.
The workers at a plastics company in Lower Saxony helped themselves to the food, left in a box with a note.
Tests carried out on the bread overnight at a Berlin laboratory confirmed the presence of rat poison.
Police said the 25 were under observation but so far no-one had shown symptoms of poisoning.
The identity of the perpetrator and the motive remain unclear.
#1
If the rat poison was warfin based (blood thinner) the folks poisoned could have had serious problems if they had a bleeding problems such as ulcers before hand.
TRAVERSE CITY, MI -- Bringing teens from Afghanistan to live here for a year is tricky.
So much so that the U.S. State Department banned Afghan students from an international exchange program in 2011 because too many defected to Canada, including two who attended school in Leland.
Many teens feared violent retribution for living in the U.S., while others wanted more opportunity.
The two Afghan teens were part of a robust foreign exchange program at tiny Leland High School.
"It was great for them and great for our kids," said Principal Charlie Gann. "They got to hear what these two boys had to say. That we are not at war with Afghanistan and we're not at war (with them). They were firsthand sources and they got to ask them questions."
The first Afghan student arrived in the 2009-10 school year. He was from a tiny village and feared the Taliban would harm either him or family members if he returned. His host parents, who hold the teen in fond regard, did not want their names published for the same reason.
The teen escaped to Canada and now attends school. The teen's host family later learned that many Afghan exchange students choose to defect. In 2011, only 12 of 34 exchange students returned to Afghanistan. Prior to that year, only about half, on average, returned home,Toomey said.
"It was very stressful for this family," said Pam Woolcott, the exchange program's local coordinator. "And afterward, I began to learn more about it and saw there was a networking system to Canada. He apologized later for not telling me he was going. And I wrote him back ... 'I accept where you are, and I wish you all the best.'"
Vive La Casa, a nonprofit that shelters international refugees in Buffalo near the U.S.-Canadian border, helped the teen,Toomey said.
In the next school year, Fierberg's host son -- Sayed "Mahmood" Langari -- planned to return to Kabul because he wanted his younger brother to follow in his footsteps. But he opted for Canada when the State Department ended the exchange program for Afghanis, Fierberg said.
Langari's father adamantly agreed that Afghanistan held no future for his son and urged him to go to Canada. So the Fierbergs put Langari on the plane to Buffalo.
"It broke our contract, but I wanted to be true to my morals," Fierberg said. For those who don't know, Leelanau County is in a cultural/political bubble like those of Berkeley CA or Cambridge MA. People there, or at least the local chattering class, think they live in a different world from the rest of us. One of the reasons Leland High School is 'tiny' is that people who want to raise children usually can't afford to live in the school district. I wonder what will become of "Mahmood".
[Al Ahram] Egyptian Information Minister Salah Abdel-Maksoud was accused of harassment following a comment he made to a female journalist at a conference held earlier this week.
A complaint was lodged against Abdel-Maksoud on Wednesday for alleged "verbal harassment, undermining public morals and making sexual insinuations."
Abdel-Maksoud, who is also a member of Egypt's Moslem Brüderbund group, was speaking at a conference at Al-Azhar University's mass communications department when he was asked by a journalist from the Hoqouq news website about media freedoms in Egypt.
Abdel-Maksoud responded by using an expression in colloquial Egyptian Arabic that bore sexual connotations -- literally translated, "Come here and I'll tell you where to find your media freedoms."
The comment prompted a storm of criticism against the minister.
The complaint against Abdel-Maksoud also makes reference to another of the minister's recent comments, in which he allegedly told a Dubai television talk show host that he hoped her questions weren't as "hot" as she was.
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04/18/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] The Gambia ... The Gambia is actually surrounded by Senegal on all sides but its west coast. It has a population of about 1.7 million. The difference between the two is that in colonial days Senegal was ruled by La Belle France and The Gambia (so-called because there's only one of it, unlike Guinea, of which there are the Republic of Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, New Guinea, the English coin in circulation between 1663 and 1813, and Guyana, which sounds like it should be another one) was ruled by Britain... introduced a raft of new laws on Tuesday criminalizing male prostitution, cross-dressing and the singing of abusive songs in public.
The move reflects the "current socio-political realities" in the impoverished west African nation, Justice Minister Lamin Jobarteh told parliament, before politicians signed off on amendments to the criminal code act which also outlaw being irritating in public and "refusing to maintain" oneself.
Any man or boy who solicits, is "attired in the fashion of a woman" in a public place or who "practices sodomy as a means of livelihood or as a profession" now faces a hefty fine and jail term of up to five years.
A sliver of land nestled within Senegal ... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees... with a narrow strip of Atlantic coast, Gambia is ruled with an iron fist by President Yahya Jammeh, who is often accused of muzzling journalists, among other rights abuses.
Charities in the former British colony say that since Asian countries tightened up their regulations it has become a target for unscrupulous tourists looking for sex with children.
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04/18/2013 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] A man was killed and four received bullets as criminals opened fire at a Baishakhi fair in Bhedarganj upazila of Shariatpur last night.
The dead man is bus driver Mujibor Shikder, 35.
Bhedarganj police quoting witnesses said four criminals entered the fair at Mohishar Digher Par around 8:35pm when many shops were being closed.
The four went to a shop where Mujibor was talking to others. Suddenly they shot two bullets at Mujibor.
The attackers fired several more shots indiscriminately, injuring the four. They also blasted a homemade bomb and fled away.
The injured are Rafiq Bepari, 28, Hashu Sheikh, 40, Akhter Sheikh, 35, and Ayon Hossain, 60. Of them, Rafiq was rushed to Dhaka for better treatment while the rest were admitted to Shariatpur Sadar Hospital.
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BEIJING -- China on Thursday accused Japan of raising regional tensions with its increased use of fighter jets to monitor Chinese aircraft that approach a cluster of islands claimed by both countries.
The remarks from Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying came one day after Japan's Defense Ministry said it dispatched fighter jets in response to Chinese planes 306 times during the 12 months through March 2013, up from 156 the previous year.
Chinese aircraft have steadily increased patrols in the East China Sea, where the Japanese-controlled islands are located.
This is different, of course...
There has been only one report of a Chinese plane violating Japanese airspace over the uninhabited islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.
"We all know Japan has continuously provoked and escalated tensions over the Diaoyus," Hua told reporters at a regularly scheduled news conference.
Hua said that China is firm in its resolve to defend its claim to the islands, but that it wants to solve the issue peacefully through dialogue and negotiation, a reference to Beijing's insistence that Tokyo at least formally concede that ownership of the islands is in dispute.
"What Japan needs to do is, not send more planes, but show sincerity and action and talk with China," Hua said.
On your knees, in other words...
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04/18/2013 08:19 ||
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#1
If I didn't know better, I'd think hubris was a Chinese word.
#4
Someone has to explain to me why the islands are uninhabited. Why not put the smallest of permanent installations on the the most suitable island? Might be considered a 'hardship' station but it solves the problem of what belongs to who.
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04/18/2013 15:41 Comments ||
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[FRANCE24] New Zealand became the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to allow same-sex marriage on Wednesday. The law will come into effect in August though the clergy can still decline to preside over gay marriages.
New Zealand does like being on the cutting edge... with no sense of whether it's a good idea or not. I s'pose it's harder to take things seriously when the vast majority of those harmed by bad decisions are sheep.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Where does the New Zealand government stand on the issues of soft emeralds, Saturn-density neutron stars, and falconiform penguins?
#6
I'm afraid the casualties are going to exceed that number; one site states perhaps 100 dead in only the nursing home. There seems to be about 20 minutes between the call-in and the explosion. Give it 10 minutes for response and appraisal, leaves very little time for decision and execution.
#7
*HA has a more optimistic latest update of 5-15 with 200+ injured. If that is the football field/triage center there next to the site, lucky the lights didn't get blown out.
[Dawn] Two sisters who went missing from their house six days back were recovered from I-10.
Police on Tuesday said the girls, aged 14 and 16, were made hostage and raped by four persons. On Monday night, the police raided the hideout of the group but they escaped.
Six previous raids at Saidpur, Faizabad, Aabpara, Rawalpindi and F-6 also remained unsuccessful.
On Monday night, some coppers stationed at a picket in I-10 spotted two girls in a vehicle and on suspicion intercepted them, which led to their recovery. The four persons, who were taking them to another location, were also tossed in the clink Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! on the spot.
On Tuesday, the accused and the girls were produced before a magistrate from where the rape victims were shifted to a shelter house. Earlier, their medical examinations were conducted which, sources said, confirmed they were gangraped.
The magistrate will record the girls' statements on Wednesday. The accused have been sent to jail.
When contacted, the girls' father, a resident of Saidpur village, refused to talk on the issue. He only said he had lodged a report about his daughters' kidnapping.
"I have been informed that my daughters have been recovered but they are still in police custody," he said, adding: "we have not met them yet."
The police said on April 9 the girls' father lodged the complaint stating that his daughters were kidnapped. The police registered the case on April 11 and traced a man on suspicion.
The police said the girls were not kidnapped but left their house on their own. But the accused took them away as one of them was their friend.
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04/18/2013 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] The party of Pakistain vote hopeful Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality problems... said on Wednesday "a horde of 100 myrmidons" attacked his home and beat his brother-in-law, as they accused the government of failing to provide security.
Islamabad police denied there had been any break-in at the hill-top villa of the cricket legend, a major contender in general elections next month, and blamed any disturbance on members of his own Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaaf (PTI) party.
But PTI official Shireen Mazari demanded the immediate resignation of the interior minister, responsible for security in a caretaker administration guiding Pakistain towards May 11 polls, accusing him of imperilling Khan's life.
"The resultant attack on his house by a horde of 100 myrmidons on Wednesday evening put his and his family's lives at risk while the police and local administration did not respond despite repeated calls," she said in a statement.
"Imran's brother-in-law was beaten and his female family members abused as his gate was broken and the hordes reached his house because no police protection was provided despite repeated demands," she added.
Islamabad police chief Bani Amin denied any break-in.
"No report has been registered. If anything has happened at Imran Khan's home, it may have been because of his workers who are demonstrating at his house for party tickets," he told AFP.
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04/18/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Thousands of people are homeless and desperate for aid in southwestern Pakistain following a deadly earthquake centered in neighboring Iran that toppled scores of mud brick homes and killed at least 36 people, officials said Wednesday.
The Mighty Pak Army has deployed several hundred soldiers to help the relief effort in Mashkel, the area of Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... province hit hardest by Tuesday's magnitude 7.8 earthquake. But many residents in Mashkel, where nearly all the homes were destroyed, said they were unhappy with the government's response.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
BEIJING -- China on Thursday accused Japan of raising regional tensions with its increased use of fighter jets to monitor Chinese aircraft that approach a cluster of islands claimed by both countries.
[FRANCE24] New Zealand became the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to allow same-sex marriage on Wednesday. The law will come into effect in August though the clergy can still decline to preside over gay marriages.
[Al Ahram] Thousands of people are homeless and desperate for aid in southwestern Pakistain following a deadly earthquake centered in neighboring Iran that toppled scores of mud brick homes and killed at least 36 people, officials said Wednesday.
