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The Asian Wall Street Journal reported in April that a Muslim organization in Jakarta has decided to establish a formal recruiting and registration office for suicide bombers. “We got 600 applicants in two days,” said the office director. And in March authorities investigating suspected kidnapper and sex offender David Parker Ray in Elephant Butte, New Mexico, said Ray had prepared an orientation videotape that showed his victims what they could expect to happen to them.
Recent inventions (unmentionables): A spokesman for the Canadian defense department told reporters in March that his office could soon develop the world’s first “combat bra,” which would be strong, durable, and comfortable enough to be worn for several days at a time. Also in March a company called Wisdom Marketing in Bangkok announced it would soon start selling rape-preventive chastity-belt underwear for women, complete with a small combination lock, for about $40.
In February a group of scientists and lawyers in New Zealand proposed legislation to grant “near-human” rights to gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans because they are genetically so close to humans. Opponents fear that such rights might eventually be extended to other animals, which could significantly curtail medical research.
Send your weird news to Chuck Shepherd, Chicago Reader, 11 E. Illinois, Chicago 60611.
