1. More than 80 dead after Bangladesh building collapses
BBC has reported that 87 people are dead and more than 600 are injured after the collapse of a garment factory in Savar, Bangladesh. Approximately 2,000 people worked in the building, which was showing warning signs earlier in the week as cracks began to develop in the building’s structure. Though employees were hesitant to return to work this morning, they were told by managers that the building was safe—an hour later the building fell. [BBC, Atlantic]
2. Suspect in VIA terror plot says Criminal Code doesn’t apply
Chiheb Esseghaier, one of two men suspected of plotting to derail a VIA passenger train, says that because the Criminal Code wasn’t written by ‘God’, it doesn’t apply to him.
“First of all, my comment is the following because all of those conclusions was taken out based on criminal code and all of us, we know that this criminal code is not holy book, it’s just written by set of creations,” said Esseghaier in court this morning.
The strangest thing about this statement is that even if Esseghaier was being tried somewhere like Saudi Arabia, where the majority of law is based on the Quran, I’m pretty sure his ‘holy book’ doesn’t encourage the random killing of innocent civilians. [CBC, National Post]
3. Xbox Live unveils pizza delivery app
Are you sick and tired of having to talk to someone on the phone every time you want a pizza in the middle of a serious gaming session? Well, you’re in luck, because Xbox Live has partnered with Pizza Hut on a new app that lets you design and order pies through your Xbox Live account. No word yet on when Xbox is planning to release the pizza cannon upgrade, a console attachment that fires the slices directly into your face with the click of a button. [Daily Dot]
4. Snoop Lion releases reggae album, no one really cares
Yesterday, Snoop Lion (the man formerly known as Snoop Dogg) released Reincarnated, his new reggae album inspired by a trip to Jamaica, and the critical response has been almost universally indifferent. The album is currently sitting at a rating of 57 on Metacritic, which aggregates reviews from all over the web. Though Rolling Stone commended Snoop for capturing a “winning sincerity to his sunny jams extolling peace, love and, gun control”, most critics are suspicious of his motives, like the Boston Globe’s Ken Capobianco, who pointed out that Snoop Lion’s “intentions may have been good, but the result smacks of carpetbagging.” [Metacritic, Rolling Stone, Boston Globe]
5. Bizzare new meme inspired by Harry Potter series
If ‘planking’ and ‘milking’ just aren’t cutting it anymore, it might be time to take up “Quidditching”, the hip new photo meme. To take a legitimate ‘Quidditching’ photo, the subject must jump into the air with a broomstick between their legs, holding their knees up in flight and, preferably, reaching one of their hands out for the Golden Snitch. But, you ask, when will I find time to take ‘Quidditching’ photos if I’m always busy eating Xbox pizza? I don’t know, Generation Z, I just don’t know. [Daily Dot]
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Mark Schram grew up on a ranch in southwestern Manitoba and now writes out of Winnipeg. If you would like to offer him a job or ask him about how to pull a calf, you can contact him at markcschram@gmail.com.