MONDAY, JANUARY 24 This week of newsworthy creeps and history-altering Egyptian uprisings kicks off 1,800 miles to the north of Egypt in Moscow, where today a bomb blasted through the Domodedovo Airport, killing 35 people and wounding 180 more. The first prime suspects: Chechen rebels, such as the ones who’d claimed responsibility for previous attacks on the airport and subway. But by Thursday, suspicions will have shifted to the Nogai Brigade, an insurgent group from the volatile Caucasus region that reportedly “observes the strict Wahhabi form of Islam,” according to Moscow’s Kommersant newspaper. Prime Minister Putin will vow vengeance against the attackers, but facts of the blast will remain elusive. As the Associated Press reports, “No consistent account of what happened has emerged, with conflicting reports about whether it was a male or female suicide bomber, or a couple, or a bomb meant to be remotely detonated but which exploded prematurely.”
TUESDAY, JANUARY 25 In better news, today brings a significant milestone in the saga of Christopher Harris, the 31-year-old man who was hurled into a nightmare back in May 2009, when he was mistakenly identified as a suspect in a bloody Belltown bar fight and chased by a pair of King County Sheriff deputies, who pursued Harris for two blocks before slamming him headfirst into the concrete wall of the Cinerama. This shockingly violent wall slam was captured by surveillance video and uploaded to YouTube, where it horrified millions. Harris was left with catastrophic brain injury—paralyzed, unable to speak, with little hope of recovery. Christopher Harris’s wife, Sarah Harris, sued King County, accusing Deputy Matthew Paul of negligence and excessive force, and today the county cut short the ongoing civil trial by agreeing to pay Harris a $10 million settlement. “Sarah Harris said the settlement will allow her to care for her husband and the couple can move out of his father’s Olympia-area house,” reports the Seattle Times. “She also won’t face the potential of years of appeals had the jury ruled in her favor.”
••Meanwhile in Egypt, today brought the “Day of Anger,” aka the “Day of Revolt,” with protests erupting across the country and tens of thousands of Egyptians taking to the streets to protest a host of grievances (including political corruption, police brutality, restricted speech, high unemployment, and low wages) and to demand an end to the Hosni Mubarak regime and the formation of a new government. Stay tuned.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26 The week continues with not one but two newsworthy Northwest creeps. Alleged Creep #1: Duane Starkenburg, the 46-year-old Seattle man accused of attacking female joggers in West Seattle’s Lincoln Park, where all three alleged victims (the most recent of which was attacked yesterday) suffered through the same scenario: being approached on the park’s jogging trails by a friendly but weird Starkenburg, who’d soon find a way to allegedly grab each woman from behind and shove his face into her buttocks. “His nose went up in my butt,” said one victim to police. “I was very shocked.” Today, Starkenburg pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor assault, and on Friday, he’ll be hit with a host of new charges, including two counts of indecent liberties and one count of attempted indecent liberties, with his arraignment scheduled for February 10. Alleged Creep #2: a 24-year-old martial arts instructor in Bellingham, who faces charges of voyeurism after being caught spying on a female student, whom he’d reportedly instructed to weigh herself in a private room prior to a kickboxing competition. “According to Bellingham Police, [she] told the owner of Shayne Simpson’s Pacific Northwest Karate Center that she found a video cell phone in her dressing room,” reports KING 5’s Jake Whittenberg. “The instructor was fired after it was found that the cell phone was placed in position to capture video of the student undressing.” The unnamed instructor, who’s admitted to the stealth placement of the cell phone, is being held in Whatcom County Jail but may never be able to heal the harm he did to the art of karate. “It’s completely the opposite of the attitude and mission of what we do here,” said Shayne Simpson. “We empower the lives of people. To have an employee break that bond brings a lot of sadness.”
THURSDAY, JANUARY 27 Nothing happened today.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 28 The week continues in Egypt, where today brought the “Friday of Anger,” aka the “Day of Rage,” as hundreds of thousands of Egyptians filled the streets to protest the government, which repaid the favor by shutting down internet access and mobile phone service in a nationwide blackout. Throughout the day across the country, protesters will set fire to an array of government buildings while police try to control the rioting crowds with tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons. Tomorrow, CNN will report that at least 105 protesters have died, with an additional 2,250 people reported injured (750 policemen, 1,500 protesters). In response, protesters will call for more, bigger, perhaps-history-altering marches. Stay tuned.
••Speaking of outrage in Africa: Today also brought the funeral of David Kato, the 46-year-old Ugandan gay rights activist whose name and photo were featured in a 2010 tabloid report calling for the execution of the nation’s gays, and who was this week beaten to death with a hammer in his home.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 29 In much closer bad news, today brings the heartbreaking saga of Jayme Biendl, the Washington State corrections officer who complained repeatedly to supervisors about working alone and unarmed in the chapel at the Monroe Correctional Complex until tonight, when she was found fatally strangled there. The suspect, as identified by the Seattle Times: 52-year-old Byron Scherf, a “three-strikes” 200-pound repeat rapist serving life without the possibility of parole. “Biendl, of Granite Falls, had been with the department since 2002 and was named Officer of the Year in 2008 at the Monroe facility,” reports the Times. “Monroe police say Biendl showed no visible signs of sexual assault.”
SUNDAY, JANUARY 30 In lighter but still not joyful news, the week ends with the closure of the Neptune Theatre, the glorious old University District cinema where Last Days enjoyed some of the most memorable movie experiences of our life (including virgin viewings of Pulp Fiction and Breaking the Waves) and sat through some seriously tiresome shit (including our one and only viewing of Inland Empire). Silver lining: The Neptune has passed into the hands of Seattle Theatre Group, which promises to keep the venue alive as a music and entertainment venue. Good luck to all.
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This article has been updated since its original publication.
I think Jayme Biendl was a “she”, not a “he”.
That Cinerama camera footage is heartbreaking. Good luck to Sarah and Christopher Harris. I was wondering where I left my cell phone. Damn you Uganda…thanks alot American preachers. Jayme was found 60+ minutes after the attack. That guy needs to be put down, killed, no remorse, no regrets.
The martial arts instructor was not unnamed. His name was Randy J Fields.
Complained repeatedly to superiors…. Way to go guys.
I wish less news would happen so Last Days could go back to being things we wouldn’t normally hear about.