April 27, 2014

It gets sleazier: Sterling's wife describes alleged mistress as gold digger in lawsuit

Donald Sterling’s wife of more than 50 years describes his alleged mistress as a gold digger who seduces older, wealthy men and persuades them to shower her with gifts, according to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on March 7.

The Clippers team owner and a woman identified as V. Stiviano allegedly began an affair after meeting at the 2010 Super Bowl game and were still in the relationship as of the filing date, according to the lawsuit filed by Rochelle H. Sterling, who is described in the suit as "a married woman seeking to protect and recover community property in her individual capacity."

Rochelle Sterling alleges that her husband used community property to buy Stiviano a 2012 Ferrari, two Bentleys and a 2013 Range Rover, worth a total of more than $500,0000.

Sterling also allegedly gave Stiviano $1.8 million to buy a duplex on West 4th Street near the Beverly Center last December, according to the suit, which claims that Sterling additionally provided her with $240,000 for upkeep and living expenses.

The property was supposed to be held in the Sterlings’ name, Rochelle Sterling contends, but Stiviano has title and has refused to relinquish it. Arguing that the gifts were all allegedly made without Rochelle Sterling’s knowledge or consent, the complaint seeks their return along with compensatory damages.


http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-sterlings-wife-describes-girlfriend-as-gold-digger-in-lawsuit-20140426,0,4883913.story#ixzz307seSN6Z

April 27, 2014

Strike spreads at Chinese supplier to Adidas and Nike

A strike at a Chinese factory that manufactures shoes for Adidas and Nike has spread to a sister factory in a neighbouring province, as thousands of workers gathered to protest against what they said were unfair pay and benefits.

About 2,000 workers clocked in on Monday, but did not work, at the Yue Yuen factory complex in Jiangxi province, southern China, joining at least 10,000 employees at another Yue Yuen factory complex in Dongguan, Guangdong province, who have been on strike since 14 April.

Up to 30,000 employees have stopped working in the strike – China's largest in recent memory, according to the New York-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) China Labour Watch.

"The issue that [the workers] are concerned about is very widespread," said Geoff Crothall of the Hong Kong-based China Labour Bulletin, another NGO. "In this case, at least the company was paying something, it just wasn't the full amount. In other cases we've seen, workers are getting nothing at all.


http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/22/strike-spreads-chinese-supplier-adidas-nike-yeu-yuen-factory-jiangxi-guangdong

April 27, 2014

Report: Gay marriage would bring $15M to Utah

SALT LAKE CITY -- Legalizing gay marriage in Utah would generate an estimated $15.5 million for the state's economy in the first three years, a new report from a California-based think tank shows.

The projection is based on the guess that about 2,000 gay and lesbian couples would marry, about half of all same-sex couples in the state according to Census figures.

The money spent to put on those wedding celebrations and by friends and family traveling to Utah to attend them would bring a windfall to the state economy, according to researchers at the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.

A federal judge overturned Utah's ban on gay marriage in December, leading more than 1,000 couples to get married before the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay pending the appeals court ruling.


http://www.sacbee.com/2014/04/27/6357641/report-gay-marriage-would-bring.html#storylink=cpy

April 27, 2014

Sarah Palin: 'Waterboarding Is How We'd Baptize Terrorists' If I Were In Charge

Sarah Palin wants terrorists to know how the United States would deal with them if she were president.

Speaking Saturday at the National Rifle Association's "Stand And Fight" rally at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, the former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate accused the Obama administration of instating counterterrorism policies that "coddle adversaries."

"Come on. Enemies, who would utterly annihilate America, they who'd obviously have information on plots, to carry out Jihad. Oh, but you can't offend them, can't make them feel uncomfortable, not even a smidgen," she said. "Well, if I were in charge, they would know that waterboarding is how we'd baptize terrorists."

Saturday's rally was part of the NRA's annual meeting, which drew thousands to Indianapolis.

During her speech, Palin focused on Second Amendment rights, which she said liberals are "attacking" in addition to the United States' "foundational values and tradition." According to Palin, creating gun-free zones in schools and other public buildings is "stupid on steroids."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/27/sarah-palin-waterboarding_n_5222665.html

April 27, 2014

After 40 deaths, Rick Scott fights to WEAKEN child safety bill "to save money"!

The Department of Children and Families has had a rough couple of years. The guy Scott appointed to run it resigned in disgrace. (One of 17 record resignations under Scott, BTW). The agency was woefully mismanaged and is severely underfunded. In just the past few years hundreds of children have died preventable deaths due to failed background checks, no oversight, and poor social worker training.

Rick Scott responded by laying off HUNDREDS in of critical positions in the DCF. His budget also completely eviscerated children's welfare, even beyond what the teapublican FL Senate wanted.

Scott told critics that he believed in the "power of prayer and hope". So they don't need money.

Simultaneously, I will point out, this complete asshat asked to increase HIS office by $343 million and add 91 positions to HIS staff. Recently, he had no problems asking for 100 million in taxpayer money to be donated to the very powerful tourism industry. (Coincidentally, 100M is the same number Rick said he plans to spend on his re-election campaign.)


http://seminoledemocrats.blogspot.com/2014/04/after-40-deaths-rick-scott-fights-to.html

April 27, 2014

Man Legally Stalks Children's Baseball Game: 'I've Got A Gun & There's Nothing You Can Do About It'

Parents at a Forysth County park abruptly stopped a children's baseball game after growing suspicions of the behavior of a man carrying a gun in a waist holster Tuesday night.

"He's just walking around [saying] 'See my gun? Look, I got a gun and there's nothing you can do about it.' He knew he was frightening people. He knew exactly what he was doing," said parent Karen Rabb.

Rabb told Channel 2’s Tom Regan the parents grew so alarmed that they brought the game to a halt when the man declined a request that he leave a parking lot overlooking the baseball field.

“He scared people to the point where we stopped the game, took the kids out of the dugout and behind the dugout, and kind of hunkered down,” Rabb said.

Park users flooded 911 with 22 calls about the man. Forysth County deputies questioned the man, and found that he had a permit for the handgun. Authorities said since the man made no verbal threats or gestures, they could neither arrest him nor ask him to leave the park.


http://m.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/man-gun-causes-scare-during-childrens-baseball-gam/nfhJS/

April 26, 2014

Teen Arrested With Loaded Gun In Vagina

Cops say a Tennessee teen who got arrested for driving with a suspended license on Monday had a surprise in store for police.

When a female corrections officer at Kingsport jail performed a search on 19-year-old Dallas Archer, she allegedly discovered an "unknown object" lodged in the young woman's crotch. She alerted another female officer, who accompanied her during a further examination, according to documents obtained by the Smoking Gun.

The officers allegedly discovered a loaded, five-shot, four-inch .22 caliber mini-revolver concealed in Archer's vagina. It turns out that the gun was stolen last year when John Souther's car was "ransacked" in an auto burglary, cops said.

Souther, a 70-year-old retired car salesman, told TSG that he'd make sure to give his stolen "little fellow... a bath in bleach.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/23/dallas-archer-gun-in-vagina_n_5198486.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

April 23, 2014

SF: I finally saw my first Hell's Angel.

I know, "so what". But there he was, standing just outside the Warfield on Market Street during a Motorhead concert. He wasn't very big or tough looking. As a matter of fact, he flashed me a "How ya doing tonight" kind of smile. I'm just surprised it took 8 years before I saw this piece of San Francisco lore.

April 23, 2014

I don't mind calling this Democrat an idiot.

Democratic Maryland gubernatorial candidate Douglas Gansler on Monday disparaged his primary opponent’s service in Iraq, criticizing him as “somebody who has never managed anybody, never run anything.”

Gansler’s rival, Lt. Governor Anthony Brown, spent five years on active duty in the Army in the 1980s and has been a reservist since.

“You know, his (campaign) ads are about how he was a lawyer in Iraq, and that’s all fine and good, but this is a real job, and we need to have somebody who actually has leadership experience,” Gansler said at an event on Monday sponsored by the Tech Council of Maryland.

Gansler’s comment drew a rebuke from the veterans advocacy group VoteVets.org, which also demanded an apology.

“Doug Gansler needs to stop smearing those of us who served in Iraq as not having had a ‘real job,’” VoteVets chairman Jon Soltz said. “It’s a horrible insult to all those men and women who put their lives on the line, and especially those who died, in service to this country. Additionally, Mr. Gansler, if he chooses to attack an Iraq War Veteran, ought to at least admit that the person he is attacking has been serving as Maryland’s Lieutenant Governor. This kind of slime ball politics is what turns people off to our democratic process, so Mr. Gansler is doing no favors for Maryland or our democratic electoral system by playing in the gutter like this.”


http://thinkprogress.org/world/2014/04/22/3429313/gansler-brown-iraq/

April 22, 2014

Same sex marriage will soon be legal in Oregon.

NOTE: Based on what I am reading here, it looks like no one in Oregon will appeal a ruling that strikes down the ban.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The future of Oregon's ban on same-sex marriage goes before a federal judge this week, and while critics will argue that it unconstitutionally discriminates against gays and lesbians, there appears to be little support for it to be upheld.

Oregon's attorney general, Democrat Ellen Rosenblum, says the state's ban is legally indefensible. Her office filed a lengthy brief urging judge U.S. District Judge Michael McShane to throw it out. There have been no legal arguments submitted for upholding the ban.

Federal judges in five states have thrown out voter-approved bans on same-sex marriage on constitutional grounds since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a portion of the federal Defense of Marriage Act last year, and many other challenges are pending....

Teresa Harke, a spokeswoman for Oregon Family Council, which opposes same-sex marriage, said the organization did not seek to get involved in the Oregon case or file a legal analysis because it does not have legal standing.



http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Oregon-gay-marriage-ban-goes-to-court-this-week-5416188.php