WTF Sh*t's F*cked Up and Bullsh*t - a "Who Cares" thread for news

[detrius]

We don't know what the evidence against the two men is, but the bar to conviction for conspiracy in Texas seems to be pretty low

https://www.triticolaw.com/blog/2023/06/the-elements-of-the-crime-of-conspiracy

If that's correct, the prosecution needs to prove three elements beyond reasonable doubt

• Agreement (mutual agreement to commit a crime)
• Intent (intent to commit the crime)
• Overt act towards committing the crime (can be something as simple as purchasing supplies)

Your example clearly doesn't meet those criteria, but I can just about see how, depending on the evidence, a jury might be persuaded the pair are guilty, even though their plan was clearly pretty fanciful.

I've often wondered, as a general point, how practicable a plan has to be in order for it to become a criminal act.

For example, if someone tries to kill their victim by adding what they believe is arsenic to the victim's coffee, then that's attempted murder even though the substance they add is, in fact, harmless (they bought what they thought was arsenic from an undercover police officer who supplied them with sugar, maybe).

Where, though, does this leave someone who sincerely believes in traditional African religions or vodoun who makes what they believe is a serious attempt to kill someone by paying a sorcerer to place a curse on them?

Most of us wouldn't believe that the curse could have any effect (and if the victim did, in fact, die, we'd dismiss the curse as purely coincidental) but would not the defendant and the sorcerer nevertheless be guilty of attempted murder, if they both intended the curse to kill the victim and believed it would?

The plan doesn't have to be practicable in its entirety to become a criminal act.

In this case, although it's unlikely that they would have succeeded in taking over the island, it's entirely reasonable to assume they would have ended up killing people before being stopped.

It's the same with all these killers who dreamt of starting a "race war", like Manson or Breivik. The fact that their race war didn't materialize doesn't make the murders they committed less of a criminal act.

This isn't the first time some American white supremacists were planning to take over an island in the Caribbean.

For example, there was "Operation Red Dog" in the 1980s, when a bunch of American and Canadian Nazis and KKK members tried to overthrow the government of Dominica.

The Confederate States of America also had imperialist plans for taking over Latin America, which probably are the point of origin for these delusions.

The oppression of Cuba in the early 20th century is also a precedent for (state sanctioned) military adventurism. America has a pretty bad habit of letting people with money take over islands and do whatever they want.

 

[Free]

Indiana sickos are a special breed of sickos.

Shelbyville man charged with molesting, hospitalizing 2-year-old

A Shelbyville man has been arrested on felony molestation charges after allegedly raping a 2-year-old girl and causing injuries that sent her to the hospital.

Johnny Knuckles, 27, was arrested last week on two counts of child molesting, a Level 1 felony. If convicted on both counts, Knuckles could face up to 100 years in prison.

Shelbyville police were called on Nov. 24 to MHP Hospital on report of child sexual abuse. Upon arrival, they discovered a 2-year-old girl suffering from bleeding, bruising and lacerations to her privates.

The girl would eventually have to undergo surgery.

After interviewing the child’s family, Knuckles was identified as the suspect. He was reportedly seen naked in the girl’s room minutes before the injury was discovered, standing by the changing table.

Online reports make out Knuckles (...) as an extreme, right wing MAGA type. Quite believable, I'd say.

 

[Free]

Well, at least he wasn't a mass murderer or something like that...

100+ skeletons found in home of suspected Pennsylvania grave robber, DA says: "A horror movie come to life"

Pennsylvania authorities believe they have caught a grave robber responsible for stealing more than 100 sets of human remains. Jonathan Gerlach of Ephrata, Pennsylvania, is facing numerous charges after he was allegedly caught in the act.

[Delaware County District Attorney Tanner] Rouse said police caught Gerlach on Tuesday after police executed a search warrant at Gerlach's home in Ephrata, Lancaster County. That's where they found 100 full or partial sets of human remains, including skulls and bones, in the basement. There were also eight separate remains found in a storage locker belonging to Gerlach.

 

[Essence Lumin]

Well, at least he wasn't a mass murderer or something like that...

100+ skeletons found in home of suspected Pennsylvania grave robber, DA says: "A horror movie come to life"

My stepsister lives in Ephrata.

 

[Isabeau]

I’m Afraida of Ephrata.

 

[Casey Pelous]

I’m Afraida of Ephrata.

*Peter Lorre voice*: There's nothing to be ..... Ephrata ....heh heh heh .... *cough cough cough* .... come. Let me show you my ......... storage facility....

 

[Isabeau]

Fatberg the size of four buses likely birthed poo balls that closed Sydney beaches – and it can’t be cleared

Or in emoji 🧈

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Fatberg the size of four buses likely birthed poo balls that closed Sydney beaches – and it can’t be cleared

Or in emoji 🧈

Brand new sentence.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

This Christian children's summer camp leader who is not a drag queen is going to prison for drugging his campers with laced candy and abusing them. He also drugged his wife so that she wouldn't wake up and catch him assaulting the kids.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Forbes (@forbes.com)

Airline bookings to the U.S. in advance of the World Cup are soft, calling into question whether the high-profile tournament will deliver the boon U.S. tourism officials are expecting...

bsky.app

 

[Free]

Forbes (@forbes.com)

Airline bookings to the U.S. in advance of the World Cup are soft, calling into question whether the high-profile tournament will deliver the boon U.S. tourism officials are expecting...

bsky.app

Trump has actually turned down interest in the World Cup. I'd forgotten how he even fails at sports.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

The world heard JD Vance being booed at the Olympics. Except for viewers in the US

The risk is not just that viewers will see through it. It is that attempts to manage the narrative will make American broadcasters look less credible, not more. Because the audience now assumes there is always another angle. Every time a broadcaster makes that trade – credibility for insulation – it is a trade audiences eventually notice.

 

[Free]

The world heard JD Vance being booed at the Olympics. Except for viewers in the US

Many of us applauded it happening nonethless.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Seeing is believing, listening to it is joy!

 

[Free]

Clearwater company sues city after graves found buried beneath property

A Clearwater company has filed a lawsuit against the city after more than 300 graves were found buried beneath its office property.

www.fox13news.com

A Clearwater company has filed a lawsuit against the city after more than 300 graves were found buried beneath its office property.

The human resources firm alleges that when it bought the property in 2004, it was assured that any remains from the former St. Matthew’s Baptist Church Cemetery had been removed.

The remains are believed to be from the historic African American cemetery. According to the founder of The Cemetery Society, Aileen Henderson, that number could be much higher.

Hey wait, I've seen this movie.

 

[Free]

Calls for a boycott of Trump's World Cup seem to be gaining traction.

A Call Is Rising for Nations to Boycott the Trump World Cup

As marauding state agents fill US streets, a leading German soccer official says countries should consider what was once unthinkable: skipping the 2026 World Cup.

www.thenation.com

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

Clearwater company sues city after graves found buried beneath property

A Clearwater company has filed a lawsuit against the city after more than 300 graves were found buried beneath its office property.

www.fox13news.com

Hey wait, I've seen this movie.

Are you trying to get a poltergeist? Because that's how you get a poltergeist!

 

[Free]

Are you trying to get a poltergeist? Because that's how you get a poltergeist!

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Oh, CATO, you did this.

 

[Free]

Haiti: Drone Strikes Put Residents at Risk

Haitian security forces and private contractors working with them have conducted extensive and apparently unlawful lethal drone strikes.

www.hrw.org

Haitian security forces and private contractors working with them have conducted extensive and apparently unlawful lethal drone strikes, Human Rights Watch said today. The strikes, at least some of which appear to be deliberate extrajudicial killings, have been carried out with quadcopter drones armed with explosives in densely populated urban areas, in some cases killing and injuring dozens of people, including children and other residents who are not members of criminal groups.

According to data from multiple sources reviewed by Human Rights Watch, at least 1,243 people were killed by drone strikes in 141 operations between March 1, 2025, and January 21, 2026, including at least 43 adults who were reportedly not members of criminal groups, and 17 children. The data also shows that the drone strikes injured 738 people, at least 49 of whom were reportedly not members of criminal groups.

“Dozens of ordinary people, including many children, have been killed and injured in these lethal drone operations,” said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. “Haitian authorities should urgently rein in the security forces and private contractors working for them before more children die.”

It amazes me how so many governments love almost nothing more than to kill their own people.