MetaFilter posts tagged with scandal

CSI affiliated cemetery accused of desecrating in excess of 500 graves.

es_de_bah — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:35:38 -0800

This has not been a good year for SCI, the worlds largest funeral services corporation. Now allegations have surfaced that groundskeepers for Eden Memorial Park were secretly instructed to desecrate graves (possibly in excess of 500 individual bodies) in order to make room. A class-action lawsuit alleges that Eden Memorial Park and its management Service Corporation International (SCI), instructed groundskeepers to secretly break concrete blocks with a backhoe and then remove, dump and/or discard the remains to make room for new internments. "The upper management of SCI through acts of intimidation and threatening employees with their jobs and their livelihoods, made significant efforts to keep the public in the dark," said Michael Avenatti, attorney who is handling the class-action lawsuit. This may just be par for the course.

Fading Away

reenum — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:13:01 -0800

Mark McGwire was one of the most feared sluggers in the game during his career. In 1998, the home run chase between McGwire and Sammy Sosa helped baseball recover from the 1994 strike. But, when a reporter found a bottle containing andro in McGwire's locker, some chinks in his armor began to emerge. The andro story wasn't enough to overshadow McGwire and Sosa's record breaking seasons. McGwire received many accolades, from having a highway named after him to having cameos on TV shows. After it became well known that baseball players had engaged in widespread steroid abuse from 1990 on, a public outcry began to overshadow the sport. McGwire was not immune to these allegations. The saga culminated with Senate hearings in 2005, where McGwire refused to discuss his alleged steroid use. After his Senate testimony, McGwire retreated to his home in California and refused to speak to the media. Once thought to be a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame, McGwire received only 23 percent of the vote in his first year of eligibility in 2008. With his recent hire as the Cardinals' hitting coach, McGwire will attempt to repair some of his tarnished legacy.

Sequoia Voting Systems

idiopath — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:46:26 -0800

Sequoia Voting Systems seem to have inadvertently released SQL code from their voting machines. And people are saying that the code is incriminating. People who have analyzed the code claim that it contained code designed to control or influence the outcome of an election. The code and the technical details are here for those inclined to look at it. Torrent for the code in question. The story is being discussed on the usual suspects for political stories related to programming.

The Dark Arts of Journalism

Acey — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 02:20:20 -0800

An investigation by the Guardian newspaper has uncovered a trail of hacking and other illegal "Dark Arts" at the News of the World. Rupert Murdoch, the paper's owner, is reported to have shelled out over £1m in out of court settlements The phones of celebrities and politicians are said to have been bugged, and the trail even leads as far as David Cameron's chief press adviser and former-editor of the NotW, Andy Coulson. Another ex-Murdoch editor, Andrew Neil, has said the scandal represented one of the "most significant media stories of modern times". It is not the first time such practices have been revealed, however. In 2005, private investigator Stephen Whittamore was arrested for buying private information from the police national computer, leading to an investigation by the information commissioner. Guardian journalist Nick Davies provides a bit of background.

Only if you're doing it right.

Sys Rq — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:14:16 -0800

1) American Apparel uses stills from Annie Hall in an ad campaign. 2) Woody Allen sues American Apparel for $10M+. 3) American Apparel stays classy.

An Early Hollywood Murder Mystery

amyms — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 01:58:45 -0800

The bumping off of a famous person is the sort of oyster that any detective delights to open, so you can just bet the family jewels that I was pretty much elated when my Chief, the late Thomas Lee Woolwine, District Attorney of Los Angeles County, called me into his private office on the morning of February 3rd, 1922, and assigned me to represent his office in the investigation of this greatest of all murder mysteries. -- Excerpted from an article archived at Taylorology, a site exploring the life and death of William Desmond Taylor, a silent movie actor and director whose unsolved murder was among the earliest Hollywood true crime scandals. Researcher Bruce Long first published his accumulated information about the case as a small fanzine which evolved into a monthly electronic newsletter and is now a vast archive of articles and interviews, official documents, photos, and more. Although the Taylor case is the main focus, there's also a wealth of supplemental information about the silent film industry and its stars. The Taylorology electronic newsletter is also archived at Silent-Movies.Com

Racism in Austria on the hot seat

Slash_fan — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 09:35:18 -0800

Racism in Austria is a problem that has been well documented for quite some time. With the recent rise of the far right political parties, however, things seem to be getting worse. The recent case involving an African American teacher who was mistaken for a drug dealer and beaten by the police however has the potential to bring some changes to the country.

Soy Milk: I'm Sam Adams, and I'm here to seduce you.

strangeleftydoublethink — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 14:27:23 -0800

Sam Adams, the recently elected openly gay mayor of Portland, Oregon, has come under fire for lying about a relationship he had with a teenage legislative intern in 2005 named Beau Breedlove. When first asked about the relationship in 2007 during the election campaign, Sam (then 42) claimed he was being a mentor to the young man. Sam recently cut short a trip to DC to return to Portland to publicly apologize and control damage over a new article in which he admits to having a sexual relationship with Beau. It's got the town divided over whether he should resign of if the whole thing is being blown out of proportion.

Brought Men to Their Knees

netbros — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 22:04:21 -0800

"Well behaved women rarely make history," said Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. Scandalous Women brings you the lives, loves, and sexual adventures of some of the most fascinating women who rocked the world. Like Olimpia Maidalchini who managed to achieve something that no woman ever has, for the 11 years of her brother-in-law Innocent X's reign as pope, Olimpia was the real power at the Vatican; or Elizabeth Armistead, wife of a cabinet minister, courtesan to many. Read the bios and follow the tales of nearly a hundred women of scandalous pursuit from Mata Hari to Typhoid Mary.

It's that time again.

availablelight — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 07:41:45 -0800

Coming February 3, 2009.... It's time for the next big wintertime memoir scandal.... ...and Oprah is not going to be amused. The New Republic--with the help of some prominent Holocaust historians--is raising serious questions about the veracity of (two-time Oprah's guest) Herman Rosenblat's forthcoming memoir, Angel at the Fence: The True Story of a Love That Survived. Rosenblat has been telling his story for ten years now, and it was published as a children's book earlier in 2008. A $25 million dollar movie adaptation is already on the table, and the producer is already threatening legal action...against The New Republic. Snopes gave the story an "undetermined" rating as of this October.

W. Mark Felt has died.

krautland — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 02:09:24 -0800

The man who provided Bob Woodward with the critical leads on the story that eventually saw the resignation of Tricky Dick Nixon has died: W. Mark Felt, aka. Deep Throat, was 95.The NYT has a little feature on why he was such a big deal. Only in 2005 did Felt finally admit to being Deep Throat in a Vanity Fair article. The Washington Post has an obit carrying Woodwards byline: As the second-highest official in the FBI under longtime director J. Edgar Hoover and interim director L. Patrick Gray, Felt detested the Nixon administration's attempt to subvert the bureau's investigation into the complex of crimes and coverups known as the Watergate scandal that ultimately led to the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon.... Felt, a dashing figure with a full head of silver hair, an authoritative bearing and a reputation as a tough taskmaster, adamantly denied over the years that he was Deep Throat, even though Nixon suspected him from the start. (...) Felt, who saw all the FBI investigative paperwork, was acquainted with Woodward from a chance meeting at the White House in 1969 when Woodward was still in the Navy.

Sunny von Bulow Dies

amyms — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 23:49:47 -0800

Martha "Sunny" von Bulow died this weekend at a nursing home in New York City, nearly 28 years after being found unconscious at her Rhode Island estate (and subsequently falling into an irreversible coma) in December 1980. Her husband Claus, who obviously became a controversial figure, was found guilty of her attempted murder (the alleged method being an overdose of insulin), but his conviction was overturned on appeal and he received a second trial in which he was acquitted. The sensational case, which featured testimony from many notables including Truman Capote, attracted worldwide publicity and rocked high society. It spawned numerous books, television shows and a 1990 movie.

Gamblers Anomalous

Potomac Avenue — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 21:06:09 -0800

A long-brewing online poker scandal reaches the mainstream: 60 Minutes Report (1, 2) (text version) and two consecutive front page Washington Post articles (by Pulitzer winning investigative journalist Gil Gaul) (plus lots of web exclusive content about the investigation)! Originally discovered by high-stakes online math whizzes on a poker forum, news of the insider cheating by some big names in the game is coming out nationally just as the Bush administration moves hurriedly to implement a last-minute back-door crackdown on banks who enable the flow of money to gambling sites, casting the industry even further beyond regulation that would help make such cheating impossible. But perhaps there is still hope for online poker to eventually be fair and as legal as other areas of US private life. Previously (and)

Frozen Scandal

homunculus — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 01:37:57 -0800

"Scandal is our growth industry. Revelation of wrongdoing leads not to definitive investigation, punishment, and expiation but to more scandal. Permanent scandal. Frozen scandal." [Via]

Jan Lewan, Polka King of Swindle

Rafaelloello — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:17:07 -0800

A Metatalk Post about someone's birthday included a sound file that made me think of the Stock Market Slide. Not this one, but rather, this one. Actually, it wasn't a stock scandal, but a promissory note scandal Death and tragedy also plays a part in the story. Here he is singing I thank you Jesus.

No milk today

iviken — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 13:30:05 -0800

Why can't China guarantee safe milk for its babies? "From the outset, in what seemed like some bizarre parallel universe, rather than alert Chinese parents as soon as possible to potentially life-saving information about the melamine contamination, baby formula producer Sanlu and various levels of government tried to shut down information. (...) Chinese journalists say the government's Central Propaganda Department, however, issued orders that Chinese media not send their own reporters to further investigate the story." Sanlu is 43% owned by New Zealand dairy company Fonterra. September 16, their chief executive "Andrew Ferrier said he was happy with the way the NZ dairy giant had acted over the crisis, which has affected more than 1200 babies. "I can look myself in the mirror and say Fonterra acted absolutely responsibly in this one," he said." Bloomberg reported September 20 that "Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd. told New Zealand's embassy in Beijing on Aug. 14 that its Chinese partner Sanlu Group Corp. may be using milk contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine, according to the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. New Zealand authorities first notified China's central government that the goods may be tainted on Sept. 9, more than three weeks later, the ministry said in an e-mailed statement today. China announced a probe on Sept. 10, and the next day the Ministry of Health said milk powder made by Sanlu may cause kidney stones in infants. "There was insufficient information'' for the New Zealand embassy to notify the foreign affairs ministry in Wellington until Aug. 31, the statement said." Previously: Chinese Pet food and animal feed with melamine, cough syrup with antifreeze, toys with lead paint, poisoned toothpaste.

Olympics-Filter 08

allkindsoftime — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:44:38 -0800

Misc-Olympics-Filter. Google's 2008 Olympics page (gadget can be added to your Google homepage). Former Sudanese refugee chosen as US flag bearer for opening ceremonies. And a scandal after BeijingTickets.com (now shut-down) fails to deliver tickets that they sold: BeijingTicketScam.com

The fierce urgency of cashing out now.

markkraft — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 18:42:53 -0800

Payback is a b*tch. Former presidential scandal Gennifer Flowers is putting the tapes of her recorded conversations with Bill Clinton -- which she was previously offered $5 million for -- up on the auction block. Asked about the timing of her announcement, she said “I don’t need to hurt Hillary. She is doing a fine job of that herself, along with her idiot husband. Karma is an interesting thing. If these two don’t get elected, and they are a team, it will be karma coming back to visit them. It's about time."

Hong Kong fooey

klangklangston — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 15:12:44 -0800

Hong Kong sex scandal. Edison Chen's cache of private photos may be the biggest Asian sex scandal ever. Starting roughly on Feb. 5, developing, developing. Some pix NSFW but pixelated, and you'll have to google if you want the real images.

Back in the Saddle

timsteil — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 17:00:08 -0800

Bob Greene Returns

What does the "F" in CFO stand for?

psmealey — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:57:38 -0800

Pimping ain't easy. In a cluster of lawsuits gathered up by The Associated Press, the former chief financial officer of health insurance giant WellPoint Inc. is depicted as a corporate Casanova -- a world-class, love-'em-and-leave-'em sort of guy who romanced dozens of women around the country simultaneously, made them extravagant promises and then went back on his word with all the compassion of a health insurance company denying a claim. Must be something he learned in B-school. Last year, HBO's chief executive was forced out after being charged with throttling his girlfriend. Before that, a Boeing CEO lost his job after admitting to an affair with a female underling.

"Flynt is arguably the greatest student of the American underbelly since J. Edgar Hoover."

amberglow — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 18:28:48 -0800

Vanity Fair sits down with Larry Flynt --his history and hits and misses, how much he pays for scandals involving hypocritical public figures, and a new (and limp) Nixon anecdote -- and tons of other juicy tidbits, of course).

To be standing by the flag not feeling shameful, racist or partial.

goodnewsfortheinsane — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 16:21:08 -0800

Morrissey makes some controversial remarks to the NME. Defensive explanations by the interviewer, attempts at defusing the situation and threats of legal action ensue, as does satire.

"Then, on Election Day, 1975, I disappeared."

amyms — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 20:51:01 -0800

Mayor Ken Williams of Centerton, Arkansas, recently resigned over allegations of identity theft and other weirdness. He claims that a truth serum injection helped him to recognize that he was formerly The Rev. Don LaRose. He runs a website telling the "amazing story" (in 11 chapters) of his abduction by satan-worshippers three decades ago.

The store clerk, who had talked with Curtis, referred to him as “The Cross-Dresser” ...

amberglow — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 21:07:09 -0800

Closeted gay GOP elected official with an anti-gay voting record #756,394 --(Special Halloween Edition!) GOP Washington State Representative Richard Curtis says he’s not gay, but police reports and court records indicate the Republican lawmaker from southwestern Washington dressed up in women’s lingerie and met a Medical Lake man in a local erotic video store which led to consensual sex at a downtown hotel and a threat to expose Curtis’ activities publicly…. He resigned today.--Curtis is the third conservative lawmaker in just as many months to resign amid allegations of soliciting gay sex.
Bubbling up--and being sat on--by the DC Press Corps is a potentially devastating sexual scandal involving a leading Presidential candidate.