And now . . . this (Jan. 26, 2005)

Since the world seems to have taken a turn for the stupid of late, I've started dating these entries lest Blogger choke on the scores of identically titled posts.

They blowed him up real good!

You just can't trust anyone these days:

The young Saudi man told investigators this month that he wants revenge against the Iraqi terrorist network that sent him on the deadly mission that he survived.

Ahmed Abdullah al-Shaya, 18, told Iraqi investigators during an interrogation early this month that he was recruited to drive a car rigged with explosives to Baghdad and blow it up. . . .

"They asked me to take the truck near a concrete block barrier before turning to the right and leaving it there. There, somebody will pick up the truck from you," they told him. "But they blew me up in the truck," he says.

[Full Story]

I'm trying to work up some sympathy for this guy. Really. But it ain't working . . .

Reason #86,205 to nuke the Dutch

A Dutch court has allowed a bank robber to claim the £1,400 cost of the pistol used in the hold-up as a legitimate business expense.

The 46-year-old bank robber was permitted to set the cost of the gun against his gross proceeds of £4,700, gained during his raid on a bank in the town of Chaam.

The judge at Breda criminal court duly reduced his fine by the same amount, in addition to sentencing him to four years in jail. A Dutch prosecutors’ service spokesman said the judge followed sound legal precedents on the confiscation of criminal assets.

[Full Story]

You know what they say. If you can't do the time, claim the expenses for the crime.