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We haven't heard all that much about our good friend Silvio Berlusconi lately. But it turns out he's been busy doing some of the things he does best: talking shit, and giving money to people under shady circumstances. More »
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Christian TV network Daystar made the news last year when its co-founder revealed he'd had an affair with an employee. Now an ex-employee says the network tolerated such affairs by its male employees, but fired her for having a consensual relationship with a coworker. More »
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• According to a study of 71 women between the ages of 18 and 48, some 87% of ladies use excessive vocals to "manipulate their partners" into coming to an orgasm more quickly. But guess what? Men fake it, too. More »
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• Cameras and recording devices have been banned from all of Sarah Palin's book tour appearances, but a spokesman announced people can pose with her and buy a copy later online for $15 and up. • More »
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• Alaska Senator Ted Stevens was convicted today of all 7 counts he faced related to not reporting gifts on his Senate financial disclosure forms. He's up for re-election but most sources agree he's unlikely to do time. [CNN]
• The ATF foiled a half-assed plot by a bunch of psycho skinheads to kill a bunch of African-American high schoolers and assassinate Barack Obama. Because, you know, then everyone would be on their side or something. [Huffington Post]
• In other dumb ideas, a GOP group is running $2.5 million worth of Reverend Wright ads in swing states this week. As TNR's Michael Crowley points out, please note how the word "hate" turns into "God" in the middle. Subtle! [The New Republic]
• At a Palin rally in Iowa this weekend, one of her supporters gave up on using subtle terms like "terrorist" or "traitor" or "socialist" or "communist" and loudly expressed why she thinks people shouldn't vote for Obama: "n*****." Palin, naturally, stumbled in her speech but didn't say a word and neither did the crowd. [YouTube]

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About 4 years ago, Joe Francis was on the receiving end of a crime that involved his being videotaped in a sexually explicit manner without his consent (or signed release form). His house was broken into, and when Francis returned home, a masked man was waiting there for him. The man bound and gagged Francis, stole a bunch of valuables, then pulled Francis's pants down, strategically placed a dildo by his ass, and forced Francis to say, in various "corny and creepy" ways that Francis was gay. The masked man — who later turned out to be (sexy) Hollywood conman Darnell Riley — then tried to blackmail Francis for up to $500,000 for the tape. And he would've gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for Paris Hilton, who was also being blackmailed by Riley. (She was the idiot who befriended him and introduced him to her social circle to begin with.) With Paris's help, police were able to arrest Riley, who copped a plea and is currently serving 8 years in prison for robbery and extortion. The irony is that he'll probably be a free man in a few years while Francis will likely be serving his term on tax evasion charges. The clip explaining the case, from VH1's documentary Hollywood Blackmail, is above. More »
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Get a load of this guy. His name is Isaac Baichu, and he's an immigration official who told a 21-year-old Colombian woman last December that he would not get her a green card unless she gave him a blowjob. Oh, and some sex. She just had to do it with him "one or two times," he told her. "That's all. You get your green card. You won't have to see me anymore." Well the Colombian miss, whose name is not being released by authorities because she is the victim of a sex crime, was savvy: she recorded the Baichu's blackmailing her on her cell phone. The New York Times has the recording on their website, and you can hear Baichu's pleading voice for yourself; it gives one a nauseous, vaguely anxious feeling, not unlike sitting on a turbulent plane. In the original tape, there is a minute-long silence, and according to the Times, that's when the woman " yielded to his demand [for oral sex] out of fear that he would use his authority against her." More »
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