Saudi national Abdul Rahman Ali al-Harbi, who was briefly held as a “person of interest” in the Boston bombings and then downgraded in less than 24 hours to a witness, visited the White House on numerous occasions since 2009. … Read More
Elmo voice actor Kevin Clash hit with fifth allegation of sexual abuse
Another man has sued Kevin Clash over allegations of child sexual abuse, making it the fifth allegation and fourth lawsuit against the disgraced Elmo voice actor. The case is being handled by lawyer Jeff Herman, who represents the other cases against Clash, and says the details of the accusation “follow the same pattern” as the others. More on the lawsuit, from the New York Daily News:”In papers filed in Manhattan federal court, Kevin Kiadii said he met Clash, who’s 27 years Kiadii’s senior, in 2004. Kiadii, who was just 16 at the time, says he ‘went on a gay telephone chat line to meet friends who were also gay,’ and wound up meeting Clash, his suit says. ‘Clash invited Kiadii to come to his apartment in Manhattan,’ and sent a luxury car service to pick the teen up in Brooklyn, the filing says. When he got to Clash’s pad, the puppeteer plied him with ‘alcohol and groomed him with attention and affection,’ the suit says. They then ‘engaged in sexual contact,’ the suit says. Clash’s lawyer responded in a statement, calling the lawsuit “meritless” and “barred by the statute of limitations.” Continue Reading… … Read More
William Shakespeare: Legendary playwright and exploitative businessman
If there is such a thing as a big scandal in the literary community, this may be it: New academic research has found that William Shakespeare was a cut-throat businessman who often engaged in illegal activities at the expense of the very community he represented in his plays. From the Daily Mail:William Shakespeare was threatened with prison for dodging tax and illegally hoarded food to sell on at inflated prices, new research has revealed. An academic study looking into Shakespeare’s ‘other life’ as one of Warwickshire’s biggest landowners has uncovered a less than savoury side to Britain’s greatest playwright. The allegation he exploited famine has also lead to suggestions that his ‘Coriolanus,’ for years regarded as a plea for the starving poor, was in fact his way of trying to expunge a guilty conscience. The paper, written by Jayne Archer, a researcher in Renaissance literature at Aberystwyth University, Richard Marggraf Turley, a professor in the department and Howard Thomas, a professor of plant science found that by “combining both illegal and legal activities, Shakespeare was able to retire in 1613 as the largest property owner in his home town.” “His profits — minus a few fines for illegal hoarding and tax evasion — meant he had a working life of just 24 years.”Continue Reading… … Read More
Venezuela to probe Chavez cancer death conspiracy
Acting President Nicolas Maduro vowed to set up an inquiry intothe allegation, which was first leveled by Chavez after beingdiagnosed with cancer in 2011. Foreign scientists will also beinvited to join a government commission to investigate the claim. “We will seek the truth,” Reuters cites Maduro as tellingregional TV network Telesur late on Monday. “We have theintuition that our commander, Chavez, was poisoned by dark forcesthat wanted him out of the way.”Maduro said it was too early to determine the exact root of thecancer which was discovered in Chavez’s pelvic region in June 2011,but charged that the United States had laboratories which wereexperienced in manufacturing diseases.”He had a cancer that broke all norms,” the agency citesMaduro as saying. “Everything seems to indicate that theyaffected his health using the most advanced techniques … He hadthat intuition from the beginning.”Chavez reportedly underwent four surgeries in Cuba, before dying ofrespiratory failure after the cancer metastasized in in hislungs.Maduro compared the conspiracy surrounding Chavez’s death toallegations that Israeli agents poisoned Palestinian leader YasserArafat to death in 2004.In December 2011, Chavez speculated that the United States could beinfecting the regions leaders with cancer after Argentine PresidentCristina Fernandez de Kirchner was diagnosed with thyroidcancer.”I don’t want to make any reckless accusations,” Chavez saidbefore asking: “Would it be strange if [the United States] haddeveloped a technology to induce cancer, and for no one to knowit?”Maduro repeated the accusation last week on the eve of Chavez’sdeath.”Behind all of [the plots] are the enemies of thefatherland,” he said on state television before announcing theexpulsion of two US Air Force officials for spying on the militaryand plotting to destabilize the country.Venezuela’s opposition has lambasted the claim as anotherChavez-style conspiracy theory intended to distract people fromreal issues gripping the country in the run up to the snappresidential election called for April 14.As Tuesday marked the last day of official mourning for Chavez,ceremonies are likely to continue, fueling claims by the oppositionthat the government is exploiting Chavez’s death to hold ontopower.While launching his candidacy on Monday, Maduro began his speechwith a recording of Chavez singing the national anthem, sendingmany of his supporters into tears.The pro-business state governor Henrique Capriles, who is runningfor the opposition’s Democratic Unity coalition, was quick toremind both his supporters and detractors that the charismaticsocialist reformer Chavez was not his opponent.“[Maduro] is not Chávez and you all know it,” The ChristianScience Monitor quotes him as saying while announcing his candidacyon Sunday. “President Chávez is no longer here.”Maduro, a former bus driver and Chavez’s handpicked successor, hasattempted to deflect criticism that he lacks the former president’srhetorical flair by painting himself as a working class hero.“I’m a man of the street. … I’m not Chávez,” he said Sunday.“I’m interim president, commander of the armed forces andpresidential candidate because this is what Chávez decided and I’mfollowing his orders.” Polls taken before Chavez’s death gave Maduro a 10 point lead overCapriles, who lost to Chavez in last October’s presidentialpoll. … Read More
China detains general’s son on suspicion of gang rape
China has detained the 17-year-old son of a general on suspicion of involvement in a gang rape, reports said Friday, the latest allegation against the privileged children of officials to spark public outrage. Li Tianyi, the son of general Li Shuangjiang — a popular singer and household name…
China holds general’s son for gang rape
China has detained the 17-year-old son of a general on suspicion of involvement in a gang rape, reports said Friday, the latest allegation against the privileged children of officials to spark public outrage. Li Tianyi, the son of general Li Shuangjiang — a popular singer and household name…
Michael Crabtree, 49ers WR, Questioned In Sexual Assault Case
SAN FRANCISCO — Police are investigating a sexual assault allegation involving 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree, authorities said Friday.The alleged assault occurred in a San Francisco hotel room early Sunday, after the 49ers’ playoff victory over the Green Bay Packers, police said in a written statement.Read More…
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