Hope nobody's eaten yet...
CLEVELAND -- It was probably not a defense the court had heard before.
A suburban Cleveland man accused of sexually assaulting nine disabled boys told a judge Wednesday that his apartment was a religious sanctuary where smoking marijuana and having sex with children are sacred rituals protected by civil rights laws. I have rights, dammit!!
The admitted pedophile offered a surprising defense Wednesday to 74 charges of rape, drugs and pandering obscenity to minors.
Appearing in an Ohio court for a pretrial hearing, Phillip Distasio, 34, of Rocky River, Ohio, said he was a pedophile.
He told the judge, "I'm a pedophile. I've been a pedophile for 20 years. The only reason I'm charged with rape is that no one believes a child can consent to sex. The role of my ministry is to get these cases out of the courtrooms." So let's get it out of the courts and send it to the prisons. We'll see what those guys think about Friar Distasio's theory. Let him test it on them for about 50 or 100 years...
Distasio, a self-professed pagan friar, is representing himself on 74 charges. He said he's the leader of a church called Arcadian Fields Ministries, and that some of his congregants are among the victims in his case. Oh, good. He's representing himself. Buh bye, pagan friar...
Distasio was arrested on charges he molested two disabled boys he was tutoring at his home. He's also accused of raping seven other autistic children at a Cleveland school for special-needs students, The Plain Dealer reported. All but one of the boys was under 13, which carries a mandatory life-in-prison sentence if he is convicted, the paper reported.
Police said they found journals at Distasio's apartment in which he described his illegal activities, along with child pornography and videotapes of him engaged in sex with boys, The Plain Dealer reported
"Not all pedophilia is bad, and sex [with boys] can be healthy," Distasio told the court. I hear violent gangbang prison sex with self appointed fruitcake friars who like to hurt kids can be healthy too. Get back to us on that one in a couple of years. If you're still alive...
According to the journals, two of Distasio's victims were so helpless they could never tell anyone what happened.
"The defendant describes acts in which he had autistic children and he did what I would call sadistic sexual acts with these children," said Mason.
The school he ran from his apartment was called Class Cutters. According to Distasio's Web site, students and parents chose the curriculum in the school for unique children.
But prosecutors said it was little more than a trap that snared one victim and then another.
"Like all predators, he used this one child to bring other children to him and that's what was happening, and that's how he got his second victim," said Mason.
And prosecutors believe there may be more victims.
Distasio has a history of working with children dating back 10 years.
Prosecutors said he could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted. Feel free to chop this guy into very small pieces.
#5
He would fit in nicely with muzzies. But in America we need to send him into general lock up of any facility. He wont last the day. I hope his death is a painful one.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
08/03/2006 16:30 Comments ||
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#6
Luckily, "life" sentences for pedophiles tend to be rather short, compared to, say, murderers or ordinary rapists. Prisoners don't like pedophiles.
Admitted Pedophile Says Children Can Consent
CLEVELAND -- It was probably not a defense the court had heard before. A suburban Cleveland man accused of sexually assaulting nine disabled boys told a judge Wednesday that his apartment was a religious sanctuary where smoking marijuana and having sex with children are sacred rituals protected by civil rights laws.
The admitted pedophile offered a surprising defense Wednesday to 74 charges of rape, drugs and pandering obscenity to minors. Appearing in an Ohio court for a pretrial hearing, Phillip Distasio, 34, of Rocky River, Ohio, said he was a pedophile. He told the judge, "I'm a pedophile. I've been a pedophile for 20 years. The only reason I'm charged with rape is that no one believes a child can consent to sex. The role of my ministry is to get these cases out of the courtrooms."
#6
Uh, Distasio, there is already a 1400 year old religion for boinking little children. Ever consider reverting?
Posted by: ed ||
08/03/2006 15:55 Comments ||
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#7
Nah, Mike, they all suffer from a lead deficiency, best cured with one shot to the 'nads followed by one to the skull, both of them point blank. A time interval of at least one hour, possibly more, between the first shot and the second is acceptable, in fact, it's recommended.
This fish was spotted by me on the 1st Day of Muharram 1427 AH (31 January 2006) in a pet shop in Rawtenstall, Rossendale, Lancashire, UK. Rossendale is near Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds. It is also near Nelson, Blackburn and Burnley.
I heard about the fish from the BBC news, and I was so excited, I took my family to see the tropical Albino Oscar fish from Allah.
Top Buddhist monk Pitiduwe Siridamma debunked the miracle rays theory floated in media reports and said the religion did not encourage such misconceptions.
"If you really want to see Buddha rays, learn the Dhamma (the teachings of the Buddha) and attain enlightenment," the monk said.
"That is the only way. Now they are only causing traffic jams."
I rest my case.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
08/03/2006 17:42 Comments ||
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#4
And my dog eats grass and shits money out of her butt.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/03/2006 22:20 Comments ||
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#5
good doggy!
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/03/2006 22:28 Comments ||
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#6
DB, when you've puppies, reserve one for me. I'll be happy with mere quarters. ;-)
Via FARK.
OSSIAN, Ind. (AP) - A teenage driver crashed into a hollow tree and stirred up tens of thousands of angry honey bees, creating a swarm that sent her and nine others to the hospital.
"Those bees were mad," said Volunteer Fire Chief Kent Gilbert, who was stung at least 50 times while trying to pull the 16-year-old driver from the wreckage. "I've never seen bees, especially honeybees, attack like that."
Jacqueline Cossairt's SUV slammed into the tree Tuesday after she lost control on a gravel road about 10 miles south of Fort Wayne. So much for those offroad capabilities of the SUV...
By the time rescuers arrived, a black cloud of buzzing insects had engulfed the car, forcing firefighters to wear full safety gear - complete with oxygen tanks and face masks - with temperatures in the 90s.
Safety workers doused the bees with water and foam while they tried to free Cossairt, who was taken to a nearby hospital with broken legs and multiple bee stings. She was remained at Lutheran Hospital on Thursday.
A neighbor, along with a paramedic and seven firefighters, were also hospitalized for bee stings and heat-related symptoms.
"You can't really train for that. You don't really know. You look for downed power lines. You don't look for a million bees," said Master Trooper Bob Brophy, commander of the Indiana State Police's Fort Wayne post.
Bee expert Stan Grove, a biology professor at Goshen College, said the insects are most active in warm weather when they furiously fan their wings to cool the temperature of the hive.
"They don't like to be jostled," Grove said. No kidding?
Post reporter experiences tense United flight
For more than three hours late Monday afternoon, before boarding up more than 200 passengers on Chicago-to-Denver flight 909, United Airlines officials had tried to cool down an extremely hot widebody jet at O'Hare International Airport. The auxiliary power unit, or APU, on the Boeing 777, which generates electricity for planes when engines are shut down at the gate, was broken. Chicago's 100-degree heat and blazing sun had baked the plane's dark blue and gray skin, sending temperatures in the empty cabin soaring to at least 115 degrees.
Flight 909 had been scheduled for a 2:45 p.m. departure. To cool the cabin down, United first tried pumping air in at the gate. That didn't work. Then they started one engine at the gate, pushed the plane back and took it to a holding pad to get air flowing. All other flights to Denver were booked full throughout the day. United tried to find a replacement plane for the 777, but none was available. If the company cancelled flight 909, it might be putting hundreds of travelers up in hotels.
"Pass the grass, please!"
"I don't believe you left that on the carpet! Bad buffalo! Bad buffalo!"
Residents of Fort Providence in Canada's Northwest Territories are having a cow about their latest pest-control problem. Several wild buffalo have invaded the small northern town, rubbing siding off houses, head-butting trucks, and even scaring kids off the playground. The nuisance bovines have been roaming Fort Providence since May, according to a report from the AFP news service. Officials believe the buffalo, which are part of a wild herd of about 2,400, were drawn to the town's manicured lawns and lack of predators.
"You're sure to run into one when you walk to the corner store for milk," the town's resource officer Darren Campbell told AFP. "One of them kicked a vehicle. Try and get an insurance claim done after your car was kicked by a buffalo. The adjustor will just laugh at you."
Meanwhile, most of Fort Providence's pesky critters have started moving back into the surrounding forests to search for mates. But two "trouble" buffalo were shot in mid-July for refusing to vacate. The town is now seeking buffalo-control officers to gently encourage the rest of the animals to leave.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/03/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
REVENGE OF NORTHERN EXPOSURE, or else ROCKY MOUNTAIN OYSTER TROUBLES. Did they have a BBQ???
Britain's biggest theme park has called off the country's first "National Muslim Fun Day" because of lack of interest, the park said on Wednesday.
Yeah. I don't think "Muslim" and "fun" really go together. Y'want to make some money, have a "Muslim seething" day or a "Death to the Great Satan Day." They'll sign up in droves. If you want a sellout, go with a "stone the adultress" day.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/03/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
"Muslim Fun Day"
Still a classic.....
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
08/03/2006 8:31 Comments ||
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#2
Muslim Rocketry Day. Launch Katushyas into London. Fun for the whole clan.
Posted by: ed ||
08/03/2006 9:32 Comments ||
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Swedish nuclear authorities held an emergency meeting Thursday after two reactors were shut down at a plant in the southeast of the country.
The plant in Oskarshamn, about 250 kilometers (150 miles) south of the capital, Stockholm, shut down two of its three reactors late Wednesday after the company running the plant reported that "safety there could not be guaranteed."
The decision followed an incident last week at another nuclear plant in Sweden, in Forsmark, where backup generators malfunctioned during a power outage, forcing a shutdown of one of its reactors, said Anders Bredfell, a spokesman for the Swedish nuclear authority, SKI.
Bredfell said the reactors would remain shut until authorities determine whether the plant's backup generators could malfunction in the same way as at Forsmark.
Meanwhile, Greenpeace in Sweden asked the government to consider shutting down all reactors in the country and probe whether there may be a generic fault in their backup battery systems, the group's representative Martina Krueger said.
The environmentalist Green Party called on the government to appoint an independent commission to investigate nuclear safety.
The Oskarshamn plant supplies about 10 percent of the electricity used in Sweden. The reactors there were commissioned in 1972 and were Sweden's first commercial nuclear power unit.
Anders Osteberg, spokesman for the OKG company running the Oskarshamn plant, said the shutdown was costing it 10 million kroner (euro1.09 million; US$1.39 million) a day, but that it had to take that setback because its "obligation is to have highest safety measures in place."
Krueger said the incident in Forsmark, 75 kilometers (46 miles) north of Stockholm, was "serious" because it showed that a "meltdown" could easily happen.
"When the generators could not kick in for emergency cooling, authorities realized there might be a problem in the battery system and that it might be generic to all reactors in the country," Krueger said.
Forsmark supplies one sixth of Sweden's electricity.
After the shutdowns at Oskarshamn and Forsmark, five of Sweden's existing 10 nuclear reactors remained open. Another reactor at Forsmark and one at the Ringhals plant had been closed earlier for annual maintenance.
Urban Bergstrom, an analyst for the Swedish Energy Agency, said the country is unlikely to run low on energy because it relies heavily on hydropower during the summer.
But if the shutdowns stretched into winter, that could "cause big problems," he said.
In 1992, nuclear authorities shut down five reactors for several months after serious flaws were discovered in their cooling systems. The next year, seven were shut for a while because of various failures.
Sweden decided in a 1980 referendum to phase out nuclear power by 2010.
#2
The whales hate greepeace because they don't taste very good. All that wood fiber, organic tofu, bean curd and hyponically grown sprouts in their diets, I guess.
#2
This is a win-win possibility. If Lieberman loses in the primary, he stops being a democrat. Then he still can run again as an independent. At that point, the republican candidate becomes superfluous, and republicans can probably overcome the double-digit deficit he has among democrats.
Elected as an independent, Lieberman will probably become a republican, welcomed in with open arms, and this will really hurt the democrats. Not only do they lose a democrat seat, but it becomes a republican seat, and they have to face the ignomy of having a vice-presidential candidate jump parties.
#3
A: Elected as an independent, Lieberman will probably become a republican, welcomed in with open arms, and this will really hurt the democrats.
Lieberman is no Zell Miller, whose voting record put him at the rightmost end of the *Republican* party. Lieberman's voting record (ADA rating) is further left than any sitting Republican senator by about 20 points (on a scale of 100). That's pretty left-wing. If Lieberman runs and wins as an independent, expect him to vote like a left-wing Jim Jeffords, the Vermont Republican who became an independent, but a Democrat in all but name.
#4
On the other hand, I've got to believe that there are some liberal votes during which Lieberman voted party line just out of party solidarity and the fear of primary challenges (like the one Lamont has mounted). Once Lieberman starts running as an independent, he won't have to toe the line any more. And the Democrats will gnash their teeth every time he votes against their bills.
Senator Lieberman is expressing dismay at a caricature, distributed by a blogger, Jane Hamsher, closely allied with his opponent Ned Lamont, that depicts him in black face at the side of President Clinton. "I have taken a lot of abuse in this campaign from Ned and his supporters, been hit with a lot of lies and smears, but this has got to be a new low," Mr. Lieberman said. "This is one of the most disgusting and hurtful images that has been used in American history. It's deeply offensive to people of all colors, and it has absolutely no place in the political arena today."
Mr. Lieberman faces an August 8 Democratic primary in Connecticut that polls show is neck and neck. Mr. Lamont, who has been endorsed by the New York Times, has attacked Mr. Lieberman's support for the war in Iraq. Yesterday, Mr. Lamont campaigned with the Reverend Al Sharpton and the Reverend Jesse Jackson. The Lieberman campaign said the blogger who posted the image travels regularly with the Lamont campaign and raises money for Mr. Lamont.
"The Art of Dueling"
The Richmond Publishing Co.; Ltd 1971
Originally printed in 1836. 70pp. Author's name unknown. A practical guide to the art, etiquette and general institution of dueling "that will sufficiently educate the raw youth in the practice, to enable him to accept a challenge and take the field on equal terms with a skilled antagonist".
#2
Aw, hell, why am I not surprised in the slightest by this? Must be because that wing of the party has conveniently whitewashed Senator Byrd's (D-KKK) past, among other things.
I'm going to turn Republican one of these days, I swear.....
#4
I'm sure Jane thinks of herself as a good-hearted "Progressive" (progressing toward what? *shrug*) who LOVES "people of color" (at least in the abstract) and meant it only for the Greater Good.
#6
Mo-toons, home style, sounds like t'me.....
and here i was beginning to think J.L. might , just might have some potential to upset any other donk in 2008.
need to go nibble a teddy bear, or something...
KIRTLAND HILLS, Ohio -- President Bush, whose own popularity is just so-so, put the weight of his office behind the struggling candidacy of conservative Kenneth Blackwell, helping raise $1.5 million Wednesday for the Republican's campaign for governor. Bush won Ohio in 2004, but Republicans are facing a difficult political environment in this GOP-controlled state, which is trying to rebound from political scandal -- and recent flooding.
Last week, 10 inches of rain fell on northeastern Ohio, killing a man and forcing hundreds from their homes. On Tuesday, Bush declared Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula counties eligible for federal disaster relief. "The local response was really good," Bush said at Lake County Emergency Operation and Communication Center in Mentor where he stopped before going to the fundraiser. "The interoperability between various jurisdictions was superb. As a result, a lot of lives were saved."
Bush, who spoke with dispatchers, law enforcement officers, firefighters and other emergency management officials, said the federal disaster declaration means individuals will be helped with rental assistance, temporary housing, grants to rebuild their homes and small business assistance.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/03/2006 00:00 ||
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BUFFALO, N.Y. -- An Iraq war veteran who lost an arm and leg in a roadside bombing was mugged during a night out from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, according to an Associated Press report.
Lance Cpl. Mark Beyers, 27, and his wife were attacked and robbed as they left a restaurant in Bethesda, Md. on July 22.
The Marine from western New York was dining out while finishing up rehabilitation at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
As they left the restaurant, five men approached them and asked for a cigarette.
Denise Beyers told The Buffalo News they gave the men a cigarette -- but then the men grabbed her purse, kicked her and knocked the couple to the ground.
The thieves made off with $500 just wired to them by a relative.
Mark Beyers expects to be back home in the Buffalo area this weekend.
His family is planning a fundraiser for him on Aug. 12.
Watch Local 6 News for more on this story. This just saddens me...hope they find the bastards and give them a little "rehabilitation" Watch out for the fund notice and contribute...I will
#1
The area around Walter Reed is a bad neighborhood. I heard about one young pathologist who always carried a (gulp!) big autopsy scalpel with him whenever he would walk the area.
Sure enough, a mugger with a gun held him up. A mugger who he didn't kill, but "will never mug anyone again."
Are you a Republican, a Democrat or a Texan?
Here is a little test that will help you decide. The answer can be found by posing the following question:
You're walking down a deserted street with your wife and two small children.
Suddenly, a guy with a huge knife comes around the corner, locks eyes with you, screams obscenities, raises the knife, and charges at you. You are carrying a Glock (pistol) cal 40, and you are an expert shot. You have mere seconds before he reaches you and your family.
What do you do?
....................................................................
Democrat's Answer:
Well, that's not enough information to answer the question!
Does the man look poor! Or oppressed?
Have I ever done anything to him that would inspire him to attack?
Could we run away?
What does my wife think?
What about the kids?
Could I possibly swing the gun like a club and knock the knife out of his hand? What does the law say about this situation?
Does the Glock have appropriate safety built into it?
Why am I carrying a loaded gun anyway, and what kind of message does this send to society and to my children?
Is it possible he'd be happy with just killing me?
Does he definitely want to kill me, or would he be content just to wound me?
If I were to grab his knees and hold on, could my family get away while he was stabbing me?
Should I call 9-1-1?
Why is this street so deserted?
We need to raise taxes, have paint and weed day, and make this a happier, healthier street that would discourage such behavior.
This is all so confusing! I need to debate this with some friends for few days and try to come to a consensus.
...................................................................
Indonesian immigration authorities yesterday deported five Saudi men for engaging in short-term marriages, an immigration official said. Yeyet Oking, the head of Bogor district's immigration office, said the five were deported via Jakarta while another man was released for lack of evidence. Short-term marriages usually involve local Islamic clerics blessing unions between foreigners and local popsies women. The couples shack up live together briefly before the men leave to return home. The women are materially compensated when the unions end. The marriages are not recognised by the state.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/03/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
What a delightful practice. The Church of the SubGenius has been doing short term marriages for years...
#2
Yes, but the SubGenius ShortDurMar is even more flexible. It doesn't need a man and a woman, somebody can marry their car if they want to. And their marriages only last an hour, so marrieds are encouraged to consummate ASAP, lest halfway through their consummation it becomes sinful fornication as they are no longer married.
Australian archaeologists have uncovered the remains of ancient human settlements in Syria.
A team of researchers from the Australian National University have used declassified US spy satellite images from the 1960s to help them find the location of the ruins.
Archaeologist Mandy Mottram says the remains of pottery factories, tombs and even an ancient basilica were found.
"You can pinpoint the sites using the satellite images quite simply because you see anomalies in the landscape," she said.
"You can't go, 'Oh yes looking at the photograph, I know what this is going to be', you don't know that until you go there, but you can get a pretty fair idea that there's a site of some kind there."
Ms Mottram says the remains of an ancient basilica were among the finds.
"It quite possibly tumbled at some stage during an earthquake because there were a couple of large earthquakes that hit that region back in medieval times, but it's still got walls preserved and it quite possibly was part of a monastic community which existed on the top of this mountain," she said.
YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) A federal judge has granted class-action status to a lawsuit filed by Yakima Valley farm workers who contend a Los Angeles-based labor contractor illegally and intentionally displaced them with workers from Thailand.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Leavitt ruled that the three plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit may proceed on behalf of an estimated 600 farm workers allegedly denied work when Global Horizons Manpower imported workers from Thailand under the federal H-2A guest-worker program in 2004. Translation: The company is being sued because it replaced workers (some of whom were illegal) with legal workers.
The company should be able to hire and fire whoever it wants to unless it gives up that right (in case of union extortion)
Attorneys for Global Horizons had argued that the definition of the proposed class was vague and imprecise. They also argued that 264 members of the class should not be counted because they presented Social Security numbers that didn't match federal records.
In his ruling Friday, Leavitt rejected Global's argument, finding that the immigration status of the plaintiffs doesn't provide a basis for excluding them from the class.
Translation: Even though they did not have authority to work in the united states - they have the right to work.
#5
I'm not sure that's him. Michael Leavitt (the one in Manolo's picture) was the former Governor of Utah. He then was nominated and appointed to be the Administrator of EPA (where Manolo's picture comes from) by President Bush. Since early 2005, he's the Secretary of the Dept. of Health & Human Services (where I believe he still resides, at least according to the HHS website). I think it's a different Michael Leavitt that's the judge.
Posted by: BA ||
08/03/2006 8:19 Comments ||
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#6
Full disclosure: I work for EPA and (at the time) Admin. Leavitt seemed very common sensical. While Gov of Utah he often led fights against the gaia worshippers on grazing/cattle land rights, water rights, etc.
Posted by: BA ||
08/03/2006 8:21 Comments ||
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#7
In his ruling Friday, Leavitt rejected Global's argument, finding that the immigration status of the plaintiffs doesn't provide a basis for excluding them from the class.
Something profoundly illogical about that statement, but who am I to judge.
#8
The whole thing with the illegals being allowed to sue doesn't surprise me. They've been allowed to sue for damages in a variety of cases before this one, so I'd be more shocked if they weren't allowed to sue. (Remember the old joke about what you call the guy who graduated last in his law school class? "Your Honor")
The big question, however.....is Washington a right to work state? Big negatory on that. It's a union state. So if someone signed a contract stating they could work until a certain date, or a certain condition was reached, at least the legal ones (probably all five of 'em) would have a case if that was violated. But since we can't discriminate against people who were breaking the law, 'cause their feewings were hurt or something, they're included.
#10
After the next Civil War and the rewrite of the Constitution, I would like to see a fundamental clause that stipulates that 'no one can profit from any criminal act on their part'.
Unless we make the judiciary directly accountable to the people, we either give up the notion that we rule ourselves and have an oligarchy composed of those who sit for life and are above us all or we'll have a Constitution amended to the size of a major metropolitan area phone book.
#12
Tip of the Iceberg Alert! If the Senates Comprehensive Immigration bill passes committee with all its convoluted wording regarding guest worker status, this type of illogical litigation will become commonplace. But show some compassion. After all, Were a nation of immigrants.
#14
Maybe we should beat one of these jackass judges to within an inch of his life to show them that we are not amused by their anti-American crap anymore. When words fail, ya know ?
What would you do if a lawyer threatened, "Give me a million dollars or my client and I will publicly brand you as a rapist and destroy your life?" On July 27, the California Supreme Court expanded the range of choices possible to one man who was presented with that threat.
The dance phenomenon Michael Flatley of Riverdance fame can proceed not only with a lawsuit for defamation against his accuser but also with one for extortion against her lawyer... We should all root for Flatley, in that if he wins, frivolous litigants and threatening lawyers could be severely punished for their rackets.
#1
Robertson was also in the news last year for litigation surrounding the claim that Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher fathered her child and, so, should pay her support; DNA tests confirmed his paternity. According to private investigator Ernie Rizzo, who worked for both Flatley and Urlacher, Robertson has had other relationships with wealthy and famous men that ended in litigation.
Can you say, "gold-digger"? She already has a big monthly check for the next 18 years, and that isn't enough for her.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.