In the "no surprise" category, Iraq's "Chemical Ali" was sentenced to death by hanging in the wake of his conviction for genocide and assorted other crimes against humanity. You kind of knew that was coming down, didn't you? Of more interest has been the reaction, as Iraqi Kurds dance in the streets and shout for joy. We see all too many instances of active celebration of death; this is but another in an apparently unending trail. One wonders if these folks will ever graduate from the second century.
A lot of folks apparently never do, and in the surprise category, this group includes Buddhist monks. Not the sort of folks that come immediately to mind when you consider smuggling rings that trade in human body parts, but there's evidently a streak of blackness running through the purest of hearts.
"During interrogation [the gang] confessed that the hollow human thigh bones were in great demand in monasteries and were used as blow-horns, and the skulls as vessels to drink from at religious ceremonies," investigating officer Ravinder Nalwa told the Reuters news service Tuesday.
