Man Cuts Off Organ and more

[Around The World]
John Kerry says New York City will flood just like New Orleans, riots break out in the streets of Paris, and more. David Scherrey writes.
March 21, 2006 - Want to sound like the smartest person around the water cooler today? Then you've come to the right place. Around the World takes a look at what's happening - from Toronto to Tokyo. From business, to politics, to culture, and beyond, we like to keep an eye on the world around us.

Man Cuts Off Organ 

This is probably one of the wierdest news stories you’re ever going to hear. When confronted by police during a Northwest Chicago Side rampage, 33-year-old Jakub Fik cut off his own private part, and hurled his severed organ and several knives at the officers. The stunned police officers then stunned Fik with a Taser and took him into custody according to All Headline News.

Fik, who lives in the 5400 block of W. Berenice, is charged with two counts of aggravated assault and one count of criminal damage to property, said Officer Laura Kubiak. He told paramedics he was distraught over problems with his girlfriend in Poland.

Dr. Greg Bales, associate professor of urology at the University of Chicago, said severed organs of this nature are uncommon but surgery usually works.

“As long as the penis is placed on ice and reattached within a few hours, the success is usually pretty good,” Bales said.

Essentially, Fik claims that a fight with his girlfriend led him to do it. That still sounds a little far-fetched. I mean, I’ve heard of cutting your nose to spite your face – but never like this.

Rioting in the Streets of Paris

Tens of thousands of people poured into the streets of Paris and other cities on Saturday, in the latest nation-wide protest against an unpopular new job law. Police turned water canons on hundreds of protesters who had moved across town to the Sorbonne, torching the entrance of a nearby GAP clothing store and dismantling a section of a barricade erected to keep protesters at bay.

Four cars were set ablaze in the protest frenzy, police said. A McDonald's restaurant was attacked along with store fronts at the close of the march in eastern Paris.

French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin argues the law will help reduce unemployment in a country where nearly one-in-four French under 26 is jobless. Still, French youths have little good to say about the legislation.

It kind of makes you wonder though – if a civil war ever broke out in France, who would they surrender to?
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