How is it that this isn’t all over the blogs, the media, and broadcast?
A Serbian native living in the U.S. in a rented house amassed the largest and most dangerous cache of home-made explosives, ever—so much so that authorities decided the only safe way to get rid of them was to burn down the entire house—and I only heard about the house burning down on WTOP on the way up to NJ yesterday, and had to dig around Google News to find the full story.
The various pops and bangs that rang out during the blaze were apparently the sounds of detonating ammunition and hand grenades that were among the illegal stockpile of weapons and bomb-making materials discovered in and around the home three weeks ago, sheriff’s spokeswoman Jan Caldwell said.
George Djura Jakubec, 54, who lived in the house with his wife for about four years, pleaded not guilty Monday to eight federal criminal counts and was ordered held without bail.
The Serbian native is accused of manufacturing and possessing destructive devices, as well as robbing three banks and trying to rob a fourth over the past two years. Authorities have disclosed no motive for the defendant’s alleged bomb-making activities.
If you read the full story, the house was simply wall-to-wall explosives. The only reason the police found out is because a landscaper stepped on some explosives and hurt himself badly. How is it that his neighbors never felt the need to report loud bangs and booms coming from next door over the many months this must have occurred? (They found windows blown out and ceilings blown upward. This guy was not a quiet neighbor.
You would think that in these times, with the underwear bomber and al Qaeda rampant, a native of Serbia with an entire house filled with bombs might merit a little more notice than this guy is getting.
What’s going on? Where’s the rest of the story? Is he just a nutcase, or was he working with someone?
… uh … do you think it is not news because the gentleman in question was not a … gasp … “Zionist”?
Media editors probably weren’t sure the ethnic/religious roots of the Serbian name George Djura Jakubec and decided to err on the side of caution. Don’t want to upset anyone now do we?
I was a bit surprised that the perp wasn’t a Muslim convert, to tell the truth. What would a bank robber need with fragmentation grenades? It sounds like the stash someone making bombs for jihadists would have. Let’s hope the Ordinary Decent Criminals (to use the old British euphemism contrasting them with IRA terrorists) aren’t taking up terrorism themselves, like the Mexican drug gangs.
The owners of the house apparently never popped in to inspect the premesses. The government seized the house without compensation to them, from what I read. I rather suspect their fire insurance might not cover destruction due to burning explosives. Unsafe conditions, dontcherknow, and lack of due diligence, which voids the policy. Always check out what your renters are up to.
It was on Fox and it was also on MSNBC. i don’t watch the network news, can’t say whether they covered this. But – nobody was hurt, and the only thing to see was the fire burning and burning and burning. And it is being given as a one-bad-man-thank-goodness-we-got-him-before-he-could-do-any-harm story. Which means, it came and went all on the same day.
caught the headline out of the corner of my eye (“houseful of explosives burned down”), but didn’t follow through. i guess i was distracted by the protests against Prince Charles and Camilla Paker-DonImus-in-drag. in any case, earlier today i read *this* by a Slovenian national:
“.. Hidden beneath this perception is a whole nest of classic Leftist prejudices and dogmas: the secret belief in the viability of Yugoslav self-management socialism, the notion that small nations like Slovenia (or Croatia) cannot in fact function like modern democracies, but, left to their own devices, necessarily regress to a proto-Fascist ‘closed’ community (in clear contrast to Serbia, whose potential to become a modern democratic state is never put in doubt).”
but, really, my primary exposure to that region of Balkanese culture comes by way of the local Bosniak community. they are easily identifiable as they look like they’re just down from Lewisburg (WV, yo! / and i mean that in a *nice* way) and speak something that sounds vaguely Russian. heavy tobacco users and, oddly, big Steeler fans (Pittsburgh itself has a sizable Croat community).
Pablo, are you my fellow Richmonder? I know someone who comments regularly lives near. Trying to remember who it is.
sorry .. other side of the state / tho’ i have spent time in your fine city !