VBVW for October 5, 2007: I, Me, Mine

• The Very Best •

South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean nutjob Kim Jong-Il signed a declaration calling for a peace treaty formally ending the Korean War. It’s technically been over for 50 years, but at least now it might not need an asterisk.

After nearly two days, all the 3,200 miners trapped during a South African mine accident made it to safety. These days, any time a miner lives to tell the tale of surviving horrific working conditions it’s a good day all around.

General Augusto Pinochet, Chile’s very own Satan, was sly enough to kick off last year before he could be tried for crimes against humanity, but at least his extended family and friends are now being tagged for $27 million in embezzlement.

• The Very Worst •

South African white guy Mark Scott-Crossley, who was convicted of killing South African black guy Nelson Chisale by severely beating him and then throwing him into a lion’s den at a breeding center, has had his conviction overturned. The court stated that since all that was left of Chisale once the lions got through was bones and shredded clothing, that there was no proof that Chisale was dead when Scott-Crossley tossed him into the pit.

Shannon Whisnant of North Carolina, who found John Wood’s amputated leg stored in a smoker, refused to give the leg back to its rightful owner. Whisnant has been charging children and adults to see the leg, and wants to hold onto it until Halloween, when he can raise the prices for viewing. We swear to God, we did not add a single line of commentary to this story.

Inspiring the new category here at VBVW — Very Worst Grifts – a Boston couple had a long-running scam in which they’d eat glass and then claim it came from food in restaurants and grocery stores. Then they’d get treated for shredding their insides and not pay the hospital bills. Mary Evano is still on the run, but husband Ronald is on his way to prison. If there’s one guy in the jailhouse shower with built-in protection, it’s Ronnie.