Okay, it's bad when even the KKK is part of a sting to keep you from building a death ray

This bit of news is brought to you by YKWIA, my source for the off-beat sorts of things he just finds bizarrely online:

Feds thwart KKK member's plot to create mobile death ray to kill "undesirables" (with links to several articles, one of which is:)

KKK member, accomplice created lethal X-ray system, FBI says

Two New York state men have been charged in a bizarre plan to develop a mobile X-ray system that would be used from afar to silently kill people that they deemed "undesirable," federal officials said.

Glendon Scott Crawford, 49, and Eric J. Feight, 54, were arrested Tuesday after an undercover operation by the Albany FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force. They were charged with conspiracy to provide material support for use of a weapon of mass destruction, according to the criminal complaint.

Crawford and Feight were developing a device "intended to be mobile ... designed to turn on remotely from some distance away" that would emit "some dangerous levels of X-ray radiation," according to John Duncan, executive assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York.

They contacted two Jewish groups to try to get interest in buying their weapon, and someone contacted the authorities, starting the investigation. Later, Crawford met with a high-ranking KKK official and two other people who were working with the FBI, where he discussed the scheme and asked for money to get it off the ground. Sounds to me like they were petitioning to get into the Evil League of Evil.

It's sad when an institution of learning censors someone for reading a book

IUPUI says sorry to janitor scolded over KKK book

A book, mind you, that was a historical account of a clash between another university's students and the Ku Klux Klan (in which the students came out ahead)--a book in the college's own library. A janitor/student who was reading the book on break was threatened with disciplinary action for bringing materials that would be offensive to Blacks, and it was likened to bringing pornography to work.

Fortunately civil liberties groups and the blogosphere got saner heads at the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis to issue an apology and make sure that none of this affects his personnel file.

My favourite quote, by the attorney for the ACLU:

'I am sure you see the absurdity of a university threatening an employee with discipline for reading a scholarly work that deals with the efforts of Notre Dame students in the 1920s to fight the KKK.'

Indeed. Universities of all places should be places of learning and enlightenment. I could almost see people being upset about someone reading KKK tracts at work--but even so, he or she should have a right to. But this was a different matter altogether. Anyway, I'm glad it worked out despite the fact that his immediate supervisor really mishandled the situation, in my opinion.

Thanks to YKWIA for telling me about this, as well as the magazine cover flap.

These are great, via YKWIA

This Australian comedian's video is for all those of you who have been woken up on a Saturday morning by Mormons...

Door to Door Atheists Bother Mormons



but even better, John Safran interviews an official from the KKK in a compound, asking if he could join--and he's Jewish. I must say, the man has balls. I must also say the Grand Dragon took things fairly well.



He also takes on Scientology (YKWIA this is a different one than we watched)



Actually he seems pretty equal-opportunity in the various religious skits, so no one should feel left out.

Today's Radioplay: 'The Man with a Twisted Lip'