Lede of the Day…

… comes, as usual, courtesy of my friend, Lisa, in Ft. Lauderdale:

Friday, Sept. 15 (AP) — A Nigerian murder suspect accused of killing
his brother with an axe told police investigators he actually
attacked a goat, which was only later magically transformed into his
sibling’s corpse, officials said Thursday.

The man, whose name wasn’t released, offered police his explanation
after his arrest on Tuesday in the death of his brother the previous
day at Isseluku village in southern Nigeria.

“He said that the goats were on his farm and he tried to chase them
away. When one wouldn’t move, he attacked it with an axe. He said it
then turned into his brother,” Police Commissioner Udom Ekpoudom told
the Associated Press.

Murder suspects in Nigeria, where many people believe in black magic,
sometimes claim spirits tricked them into killing. In 2001, eight
people were burned to death after one person in their group was
accused of making a bystander’s penis magically disappear.

Today’s Pictures

I’m more interested in a photography that is ‘unfinished’ — a photography that is suggestive and can trigger a conversation or dialogue. There are pictures that are closed, finished, to which there is no way in.

Paolo Pelegrin

These are beautiful and heartbreaking.

Lede of the Day

Lede-master Lisa offers up a Darwin Award candidate:

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Reuters) – A Brazilian man died Tuesday when he tried to open what police believe was a rocket-propelled grenade with a sledgehammer in a mechanical workshop on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro.

Another man who was in the workshop at the time of the explosion was rushed to a hospital with severe burns, a police officer told Reuters. The workshop was destroyed and several cars parked outside caught fire.

Lede of the Day

I hope my friend Lisa doesn’t mind me sharing Lede of the Day, which she has been collecting and emailing to a select list of friends, reporters and others for years now.

Here’s today’s winner:

BEIJING (AFP) – A new bar in eastern China is offering customers an unusual outlet for anger — by allowing them to use the staff as punching bags, state media said Monday.

In addition to getting a drink, customers at the “Rising Sun Anger Release Bar” in Nanjing city are able to pay money to beat up staff, smash glasses, shout and scream, the China Daily said.

If these anger management techniques do not work, the customers can also receive psychological counselling, the paper said.

The bar employs 20 well-built men in their 20s and 30s who have agreed to be hit. Customers can specify how they want the men to appear — they can even be dressed up as women, the China Daily said.

The bar charges 50 to 300 yuan (6.35 to 37.50 US dollars) for customers to release their anger, depending on their demands.

The bar was set up in April by Wu Gong, a 29-year-old man who got his inspiration from similar bars in Japan, according to the paper.

Wu insisted the models were fully equipped with protective gear, and the bar gave them regular physical training so they were prepared for the attacks.

Also, most customers are women, particularly those working in the service and entertainment companies, such as karaoke bars or massage parlors.

The bar has stirred controversy, with some critics interviewed by the China Daily saying that while the idea of beating someone dressed as one’s boss might be attractive to some people, violence will not solve problems.

Wu may also run into problems with the authorities as he had registered his business as a dancing venue, not a place for anger release, the China Daily said.