Just plain - crazy!
Anthony Weiner, the New Jersey ex-congressman convicted of sexting a 15-year old,
should be spared prison, as his alleged victim wanted her actions to sway 2016 elections result, among other things, Weiner’s lawyers say.
Weiner’s Lawyer: Profit and Politics Drove Teen Sexting Victim’s Agenda
https://sputniknews.com/us/201709151057439272-weiner-sexting-victim-profit-politics/
Anthony Weiner's lawyers requested no prison time for their client, calling his offense "far less egregious than any sexting case that has been prosecuted in this district," the US media reported Thursday.
While the attorneys do not deny Weiner's wrongdoings, they point out that according to the investigation, the alleged victim acted on her own agenda. According to a report by New York Times,
the girl, whose name remains undisclosed, sought multiple personal profits from the situation.
The story was first revealed in a publication in the Daily Mail, for which the girl received a monetary reward of $30,000, having disclosed to the tabloid a number of screenshots of her texting with Weiner.
The lawyers also cite the defense memo in which the girl confessed to the investigators that she needed "material for a book — one she has now written and is shopping to publishers."
But that's not all: the girl allegedly told the investigators that she wanted her actions to sway the result of 2016 presidential election.
The memo says that the girl told the investigators that she "hoped somehow to influence the U.S. presidential election, in addition to securing personal profit," according to the New York Times.
Interestingly, New York Times point out that earlier in May that The New Yorker already reported that Sydney Leathers, Weiner's other affair, has been contacted by a 15-year old girl who had described her texting experience with Weiner.
"She's talking about potentially messing with Hillary's campaign," Ms. Leathers reportedly told Mr. Weiner.
According to the New Yorker, it was Leathers who suggested the teen turn to Daily Mail for the disclosure.
Anthony Weiner is a former husband of Huma Abedin, the allegedly closest aide to Hillary Clinton during her time in the State Department and 2016 presidential campaign. After the FBI started investigating Weiner's less-than-moral behavior, they found a large stash of emails that belonged to Abedin, the infamous "life insurance" package, that has had a substantial impact on Clinton's campaign and most likely contributed to her loss to Donald Trump.
Huma Abedin announced their divorce with Weiner in 2016 following the sexting allegations; she eventually filed for a divorce on May 19 2017.
According to the Holy See's press service, the Vatican has recalled a member of its diplomatic corps from the United States over suspicions of violating laws relating to child pornography images.
Vatican Recalls Priest From US Over Suspected Violation of Child Pornography Law
https://sputniknews.com/us/201709151057435864-vatican-priest-us-violation-child-pornography/
The Vatican recalled Friday a priest who was a member of its diplomatic corps from the United States over suspicions that he had violated child pornography laws, the Holy See's press service said in a daily bulletin.
"On August 21 last, the Department of State of the United States of America notified the Secretariat of State, through diplomatic channels,
of a possible violation of laws relating to child pornography images by a member of the diplomatic corps of the Holy See accredited to Washington.
The Holy See, following the practice of sovereign states, recalled the priest in question, who is currently in Vatican City," the bulletin said.
The name of the recalled priest remains unknown in accordance with the existing inquiry procedures.
A snap parliamentary election was declared in Iceland after the government coalition collapsed against the background of the scandal over recommendation letters for pedophilia convicts.
Iceland's PM Declares Snap General Election Amid Pedophilia Scandal
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201709161057442362-iceland-snap-election-pedophilia/
Icelandic Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson announced on Friday that the country will hold a snap parliamentary election in the wake of the withdrawal of one of the parties from the coalition government.
"But in this situation there is nothing else to do except to have an election and I will do my utmost so that elections will take place as soon as possible," Benediktsson said, as quoted by the Iceland Monitor media outlet.
The prime minister added that he was seeking to hold snap election this November. On Thursday, the Icelandic Bright Future party announced its decision to leave the government's coalition over "a serious breach of trust within the government."
The scandal erupted over the fact that Benediktsson's father signed a recommendation letter for a person, convicted for pedophilia. Such letters are used in Iceland for "restoration of a honor" — a civil procedure, which allows people convicted of major crimes to regain employment opportunities. Starting July, three cases of such recommendation letters granted to pedophiles have been disclosed, which have immediately triggered condemnation among the Icelandic society and calls for abolition of such practice.
On Thursday, the media reported that not only Benediktsson's father had signed such letter, but that Benediktsson was aware of this fact, but did not tell other coalition members.
In October 2016, the Icelandic Independence Party won in the parliamentary elections, but since it did not have an absolute majority it was necessary to form a coalition with Reform Party and Bright Future party. The government was headed by Benediktsson, the Independence Party' leader.
Swedish national broadcaster SVT has landed in hot water after a sexual scandal involving one of its managers. The man used a so-called "sugar dating" website and was caught making indecent proposals to what he believed was a teenage girl, yet was exposed in a journalist investigation.
Swedish Media Giant Fires Hapless Sugar Daddy for Indecent Proposals to 'Child'
https://sputniknews.com/art_living/201709151057417022-sweden-sex-scandal-sugar-dating/
Proposals to buy the virginity of what he believed was a 14-year-old girl (but proved to be an investigative journalist) have summoned dark clouds over Swedish national broadcaster SVT and cost the man his job. This case was also reported to the police.
The now dismissed SVT manager reportedly used a site for "sugar dating" and was looking for a virgin girl. In his quest, he tracked down a certain Linnea, who claimed to be 14 and met his requirement, and offered her 9,000 SEK (around $1,120) in return for her services.
For many people across the globe, being a student is equal to always being pressed for money. A Norwegian website has come up with a simple, yet dubious solution, one that's sparked a blistering debate in the country. Norwegian students have been spurred into so-called "sugar dating" to experience the benefit of luxury and free travel.
Spicy Ad Encouraging Girls to Date Sugar Daddies Inflames Norwegians
https://sputniknews.com/art_living/201709061057128465-norway-sugar-dating/
The website richmeetbeautiful.no has landed in hot water for its controversial, to say the least, advertisement campaign encouraging female students to date rich men for "mutual benefits." The provocative ad has enraged the Norwegian public and drawn a lot of complaints, the Norwegian tabloid daily Verdens Gang reported.
"Hi, students! How about 0 NOK in student loans? Date a sugar daddy!" the message seen on posters across the Norwegian capital Oslo said, encouraging female students to become "sugar babies" and date "experienced" men. The picture on the billboard featured a scantily-clad lady in sexy lingerie.
At first glance, it seems like a win-win situation between two consenting adults.
"You make an effort to look good and you deserve to be treated accordingly. Men at RmB know this and want you to look good. They also realize that good-looking women ought to be taken shopping and on exotic travels," the richmeetbeatuful.no website claimed.
The same website described sugar daddies as "wealthy men of position" whose busy life and years of marriage "took the spark and the magic out of their private life."
At the same time, an apt disclaimer was placed for potential sugar babies.
"Sugar babies should understand that their sugar daddy is not looking to replace his wife and children, but only looking for a beautiful woman he can spoil, take care and share free time with," the website continued.
Ted Cruz, US senator and candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2016 election, said that it was not him who liked a hard porn clip published on Twitter.
'It Was Not Me': Ted Cruz Comments on 'His' Like on Twitter Porn Video
https://sputniknews.com/art_living/201709141057402636-ted-cruz-twitter-porn-video/
US politician Ted Cruz told CNN that one his staff members made a mistake and accidently hit the like button.
"Look, we had a staffer who accidentally hit the wrong button and it was a screw-up," Cruz stated. "I will say, Twitter went crazy with it, it became trending. As soon as we found out about it, we pulled it down." "It was not me," the politician added. "And it's not going to happen again."
Cruz's official Twitter account liked a nasty pornographic video on Twitter on Tuesday, a move that caused a storm on the social media platform.
Within minutes after his unfortunate like, Ted Cruz was trending on Twitter, and gleeful network users were having fun with the whole situation.
The two-minute porn video was seen among the senator's "liked" posts for some 40 minutes before it was removed, but screenshots had been retweeted by internet users long after that.
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray announced his resignation Tuesday, hours after new sexual abuse allegations surfaced against the embattled politician.
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray resigns after latest child sex-abuse allegation
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/12/us/seattle-mayor-ed-murray-resigns/index.html
Murray, a Democrat and the city's first openly gay mayor, said he was resigning effective 5 p.m. Wednesday so the scandal would no longer overshadow his office.
The mayor's announcement comes after his cousin gave an interview with the Seattle Times alleging abuse, the latest in a series of similar accusations.
The cousin is the fifth person to publicly accuse Murray of child sexual abuse since a lawsuit was filed against him in April. Murray denied the allegations, as he has in the past. Previously, he called them part of a political effort to stymy his progressive agenda and support for LGBTQ and immigrant rights.
A Connecticut councilman is resigning after his profile on a website catering to “furries” appeared on social media — but the outgoing first-term Democrat insists his animal costume fetish has “nothing to do with sex.”
Councilman resigning after secret ‘furry’ life revealed
https://nypost.com/2017/09/08/councilman-resigning-after-secret-furry-life-revealed/
New Milford Councilman Scott Chamberlain, who was up for re-election, is stepping down after a town resident posted several screenshots on Facebook of the lawmaker’s profile on a private website for “furries,” a subculture of people who don animal costumes, sometimes for sexual gratification.
“In response to information about ‘likes’ on a personal page by Councilman Chamberlain, I have called for his immediate resignation from the Town Council and any other appointed Boards and Commissions,” Mayor David Gronbach said in an email to The Post. “As public servants, we are held to a higher standard and Mr. Chamberlain’s apparent posts do not meet that standard.”
The profile on sofurry.com — according to the Danbury News Times, which first reported on it Thursday — includes a list of Chamberlain’s preferences, ranging from “loves” to “likes” to “tolerates” to “hates” in order to customize content sent to users. Chamberlain, whose avatar resembles a fox named “Gray Muzzle,” insisted to the newspaper that his interest in the subculture stems from an appreciation for animal characters like Tony the Tiger and Mickey Mouse.
“It’s nothing to do with sex; it’s an interest in cartoon animals,” Chamberlain told the newspaper Thursday.
But the profile also indicated that Chamberlain “tolerates” rape, prompting at least one commenter on the Facebook post to question the lawmaker’s ability to lead.
Gronbach said he also had no idea about Chamberlain’s interest in “furries.” The outgoing lawmaker — whose written resignation was expected Friday, according to Gronbach — claimed someone must’ve set him up, creating an account on the website just to obtain private information on him.
But Chamberlain also acknowledged writing what he characterized as a “soap opera” on another website for adults only.