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A 10-year-old boy has told investigators that he shot his neo-Nazi father because he was tired of the man beating him and his stepmother. The boy, charged with murdering National Socialist Movement regional leader Jeff Hall , told police that “he thought his dad was cheating on his mom and thought…

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Prostitute-filled sex party was reward for German insurance salesmen

Munich Re insurance giant admits ‘incentive trip’ to Budapest’s Gellert Baths was a sex junket A German insurance firm has admitted rewarding its 100 best salesmen with a prostitute-filled “sex party” in Budapest’s most famous thermal baths. Hamburg-Mannheimer International (HMI), now part of the huge Munich Re insurance conglomerate, rented out the historic Gellert Baths in the Hungarian capital and turned it into an “open-air brothel”, where it let staff run riot. At least 20 prostitutes were hired by HMI top brass for the so-called “incentive trip”. According to those present, the women were colour-coded to indicate which men were allowed to have sex with them. Those wearing white ribbons were reserved for “the very best salespeople and executives”, said one HMI employee. After an investigation printed in the German newspaper Handelsblatt, Munich Re has admitted that the party – described in one German magazine as “Bunga-Bunga in Budapest” – did occur. “It is true that in June 2007 an incentive trip took place in Budapest. Our research has discovered that during an evening event during this trip, around 20 prostitutes were present,” said a spokesman for Ergo, a life insurance arm of Munich Re that took over HMI some time after the party took place. The Handelsblatt newspaper has gathered sworn statements from a number of HMI employees who attended the party. “At the entrance, I and other participants were searched, like at security controls at an airport,” said one witness. The HMI boss told everyone it was “strictly forbidden” to take photos or video the event, he added. According to a signed affidavit from another employee: “The ladies came up to us and showed us what they had. It was clear to everyone there that they were hookers.” “The women wore red and yellow ribbons,” one guest told Handelsblatt. “Some were there just as hostesses; the others made clear with the colour of their ribbon that they weren’t just there to chat.” Then there were women wearing white ribbons. They, allegedly, were reserved for the “best of the best” in the company. Another guest said that beds had been set up around the baths where the salesmen could “do what they wanted”. The women, he claimed, were then given an ink stamp on their forearms to show how popular they had been: some of the women ended up with more than a dozen stamps, it is alleged. Astonishingly, the debauched trip was written up in the company newsletter, Profil, back in 2007. “There were things you couldn’t believe,” said the Profil report, according to Handelsblatt. “Or there were things that were so freaky, so unbelievable and indescribable that they shouldn’t be allowed.” The incident was a “clear violation” of company policy, said Alexander Becker, a spokesman for the Ergo Versicherungsgruppe subsidiary. Those responsible for organising the event are no longer employed at Ergo, he said. Munich Re, the world’s biggest reinsurer, fully owns Düsseldorf-based Ergo, Germany’s second-biggest primary insurer after Allianz SE. The Budapest party was hosted by an Ergo unit, then known as Hamburg-Mannheimer Versicherungs-AG. Germany Hungary Insurance industry Europe Helen Pidd guardian.co.uk

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Jon Stewart felt pretty much the same way I did when watching so-called Christian conservative Mike Huckabee bring on Ted Nugent prior to his announcement on Fox News that he was not running for president. Between the draft dodger and his praise for the military as though he’d ever had the courage to serve himself, his previous violent rhetoric about President Obama and Hillary Clinton and then getting down with good old Huck to Cat Scratch Fever, it’s hard to pick what was the most disgusting thing about Huckabee deciding to bring him on his show. Good for Jon for calling him out for it, because the rest of our corporate media sure as hell isn’t going to do it. It’s bad enough that most of the potential Republican presidential candidates are nothing but shysters who are looking to enrich themselves like Huckabee rather than actually run for the office. What’s really pitiful is that they’re all being allowed to get away with it and to pretend like any of them are serious candidates while lining their pockets.

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Liberal Filmmaker Decries David Koch’s $100 Million Donation to NY Theater as Attempt to ‘Destroy Democracy’

Liberals endlessly harp on what they perceive as conservatives' greed. What really sticks in their craw is conservatives' generosity. An example of this occurred on Ed Schultz's radio show Monday with guest Robert Greenwald, a filmmaker specializing in left-wing agitprop at an outfit he modestly calls Brave New Films. Greenwald was describing a website he recently created, Koch Brothers Exposed, about energy magnates David and Charles Koch. The site includes a video of protesters outside a Lincoln Center theater named after David Koch when he pledged $100 million for badly-needed renovations three years ago. The demonstrators staged a “renaming ceremony” demanding the theater shed Koch from its name. Here's Greenwald elaborating on this to Schultz — GREENWALD: Well, we launched the Koch Brothers Exposed website, Facebook page and Twitter about two months ago when we first started with a video telling people the five worst things the Kochs had done. We got thousands of people responding to that. And then the other night in New York City we had a renaming ceremony. David Koch gave $100 million to call the New York State Theater in his name, David Koch Theater, and we had people out there with signs saying what it really should be called. We have people now on the Facebook and the website voting on what the real name of the theater should be, everything from I Killed The Middle Class, which was one of my favorites, to the Unclean Energy, to I'm Just Not That Into You Democracy. And if you go to the Koch Brothers Exposed website or Facebook page, you can kind of join. Now there's obviously satire there, Ed, but there's an important point behind it. And the important point is that these are, as you know and as a lot of your listeners know, they're giving hundreds of millions of dollars to destroy democracy, to buy their ideology, and to literally propagandize people. And it's very important that we use all the possible tools to educate people, to inform them, and to satirize what they're doing and how they're doing it. Obviously there's satire involved here, Ed, and just as obviously it could not be more churlish. I noticed in the “renaming ceremony” video at Koch Brothers Exposed that none of the protesters demanded the theater return the donation from Koch. Then again, why would they? Far better to reap the benefits of that donation while also maligning of a man whose politics they abhor. In other words, liberalism in a nutshell. Greenwald then quickly glossed over Koch's philanthrophic generosity over the years and suggested Koch is motivated by little more than playing political puppet-master on the right through his wealth — SCHULTZ: Pretty amazing what's going on. They must have someone who's organizing all of this in a team of people who are really watchdogs on issues and candidates in what we would call problem spots for them. How, I mean, I can't believe that the Koch brothers would be sitting down watching the cables every night and looking at all the websites, hey listen (in guise of Kochs' voices), we gotta throw two million over here! Well, we gotta throw another three, four, oh holy smokes, this guy polled well over in this state! Throw $5 million at this thing! How do they function? What do they do? GREENWALD: Well, they're actually very smart about their giving and very deep about their giving. First, they fund ideas through the think tanks. Then they fund people to take those ideas and go on television and cable to talk about it. Then they fund activist groups to take those ideas and work them. And then finally, they fund the elected officials. But they don't focus on the elected officials 'cause they're much smarter than that. They know that elected officials, in their words, read from a script. What they want to be able to do is write the script for the elected officials (to) read from. Greenwald gets to “and then finally” and leaves out what is most awkward for him on this — the Kochs have donated far more to cultural endeavors,

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Mophie Juice Pack Plus iPhone charging case now Verizon-friendly

Until now, Verizon iPhone owners looking for the Mophie battery boost had three options: lugging around a Powerstation plug-in, settling for the Juice Pack Air’s measly 1500mAh battery, or slipping into an ill-fitting Juice Pack Plus AT&T case — an awkward fit, thanks to a slight difference in the handsets’ button placement. That long national nightmare is finally over, however, now that the 2000mAh Juice Pack Plus is compatible with both carriers, giving users up to eight more hours of 3G talk time and a few extra millimeters of thickness for around $100. The rubberized charging case is available in black, cyan, magenta, yellow, and a limited edition purple, of which only 2,000 were made. Oooh, exclusivity. Continue reading Mophie Juice Pack Plus iPhone charging case now Verizon-friendly Mophie Juice Pack Plus iPhone charging case now Verizon-friendly originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 May 2011 08:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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Iraqi Police Targeted in Deadly Triple Blasts

Twin bombs that appeared timed to lure policemen out of their fortified headquarters in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk killed at least 27 people Thursday. A third blast targeting a police patrol brought the number of injured to 70. (May 19)

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Iraqi Police Targeted in Deadly Triple Blasts

Twin bombs that appeared timed to lure policemen out of their fortified headquarters in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk killed at least 27 people Thursday. A third blast targeting a police patrol brought the number of injured to 70. (May 19)

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Iraqi Police Targeted in Deadly Triple Blasts

Twin bombs that appeared timed to lure policemen out of their fortified headquarters in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk killed at least 27 people Thursday. A third blast targeting a police patrol brought the number of injured to 70. (May 19)

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October 1997 saw a bumper crop of Schwarzeneggers, according to birth records obtained by CNN . The records reveal that Arnold Schwarzenegger’s youngest son with Maria Shriver was born within days of the child he reportedly fathered with the family housekeeper, identified as Mildred Baena . The birth certificate for Baena’s son…

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Type: Video Games Title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 See all customer reviews Product Description: Modern Warfare is back. On November 8th, the best-selling first person action series of all-time returns with the epic sequel to the multiple Game of the Year award winner Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. See the details

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