Partier defies his own mortality with a hole in his head. In Brazil, 21 year-old Mateus Facio, a university student who had partied for four straight days, thought he was hit by a rock, but when he started losing control of his arms and fingers after waking up on the fifth day, he sought medical attention, and was told that he had a bullet lodged just under his skull. It was not serious enough to cause paralysis. The bullet has since been surgically removed and Mateus is expected to make a full recovery. (22 Jan)
The Fight For Less Government. Micheal Mohn, a federal employee working in Pennsylvania was beheaded with a machete at his home, with the murderer posting the aftermath including his decapitated head on YouTube, where the murderer had vowed to murder all government employees, and tried to appeal to right-wing extremists. The murderer happened to be his son, Justin Mohn, age 32, who has been in arrears with his student loans, but has been trying to sell a self-published book and some self-released music of his. Justin was charged with murder, the abuse of a corpse, and possession of an instrument of crime, and is being held without bail. The YouTube video was posted for 5 hours and received over 5000 views before it was taken down. (2 Feb)
News from Death Row. The state of Alabama executed Kenneth Smith on January 25 using nitrogen gas. While it was said by officials that death would come in a few seconds, it actually took several minutes for him to die, while he suffered in the meantime. The American Veterinary Association does not recommend nitrogen hypoxia for euthanising mammals except under anaethesia, but Smith was given no such anaesthetic. The Alabama government tried and failed last year to execute Smith by lethal injection. Smith was given life imprisonment by a jury for a murder committed in 1988, but a judge overruled the jury to place him on death row, where he had been for nearly 40 years. (1 Feb)
Killer Airbags. over 61,000 Toyota and GM cars are being recalled because the inflatable airbags will tend to hurl pieces of metal “shrapnel” into the driver and passengers. These are generally for cars made in the early 2000s. In the case of the Corolla and Matrix, the airbags can suddenly inflate without an accident. So far, over 30 people had died due to the faulty airbags worldwide. (29 Jan)
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