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Sly Baboon hilariously takes the wheel on safari — oh, wait, it’s dead

 
Trophy hunters are so tragically misunderstood. No matter how much they explain to people that they are dedicated conservationists, supreme lovers of animals, and not people suffering crippling inadequacy issues, there’s another side to these champions of the natural world that rarely gets the credit it deserves: Their sense of humor.

Continue reading Sly Baboon hilariously takes the wheel on safari — oh, wait, it’s dead

Can you be impartial about allegations of sex slavery? Take the Nxivm juror questionnaire!

[Keith Raniere and the Dalai Lama in Nxivm’s happier days]

Jury selection starts Monday in the Nxivm trial, and the court file now includes a 37-page juror questionnaire that we thought you’d like to see.

Continue reading Can you be impartial about allegations of sex slavery? Take the Nxivm juror questionnaire!

NXIVM: Lauren Salzman’s guilty plea included admitting to imprisoning a woman for 2 years

[Lauren Salzman and Keith Raniere]

Frank Parlato and the NY Post are reporting that when Nxivm defendant Lauren Salzman entered a guilty plea on March 25, she recited a chilling list of crimes, including keeping a Mexican woman as a slave for two years.

Continue reading NXIVM: Lauren Salzman’s guilty plea included admitting to imprisoning a woman for 2 years

Woman who went viral as giraffe hunter reveals mindblowing taxidermy

 
Last year, a photo of Kentucky woman Tess Thompson Talley pointing skyward as she posed with a large, black-coated giraffe she had shot in South Africa went viral and brought her a worldwide wave of media attention.

Continue reading Woman who went viral as giraffe hunter reveals mindblowing taxidermy

Jehovah’s Witnesses leader encountered buying a haul of Scotch on a Sunday morning


Lloyd Evans revealed a surprising bit of video that came in from a tipster who had filmed a Jehovah’s Witnesses governing body member, Tony Morris, shopping for Macallan Scotch at a liquor store at 11 am on a Sunday morning in Ramsey, New Jersey.

Lloyd explains just how rare it is to run into a governing member in the wild at all, but to see him talking about various brands of whiskey and walking away with hundreds of dollars of booze was really something.

Continue reading Jehovah’s Witnesses leader encountered buying a haul of Scotch on a Sunday morning

Guy Gorney reveals trophy hunting’s eternal appeal: The stopping of a beating heart

[Like catching a ride on Aslan]

We want to thank retired Illinois power plant executive Guy Gorney for conserving so much exotic wildlife over his long career as a trophy hunter. By his own count, the dedicated conservationist and animal lover has conserved something like 70 different big game, including elephant, lion, leopard, rhino, and buffalo.

Continue reading Guy Gorney reveals trophy hunting’s eternal appeal: The stopping of a beating heart

Jehovah’s Witnesses in Scientology’s ‘Mecca’: Is this the Armageddon we were promised?

 
We want to thank regular reader Jeb Burton for taking the photo you see here during his adventures yesterday in downtown Clearwater. He snapped this outside the infamous “Scientology Starbucks” at the corner of Fort Harrison Boulevard and Cleveland Street, the crossroads at the very center of Scientology’s “spiritual Mecca,” the Flag Land Base in Clearwater, Florida.

Continue reading Jehovah’s Witnesses in Scientology’s ‘Mecca’: Is this the Armageddon we were promised?

Remembering a mighty hunter who became one with the animal kingdom to honor us all

 
This is Scott van Zyl, a South African hunter who really knew how to show off a customer’s attributes, like Mr. Lion here and his magnificent gums.

Continue reading Remembering a mighty hunter who became one with the animal kingdom to honor us all

NXIVM: Government drops Keith Raniere’s child sex charges for Albany prosecutor to handle

[Keith Raniere]

Surprising news in a document filed yesterday by prosecutors in the Nxivm case: They have agreed with Nxivm leader Keith Raniere that the new child sex charges in a superseding indictment don’t belong in the Brooklyn trial which is scheduled to start on April 29. Instead, those charges will be considered for prosecution by the US Attorney in the Northern District of New York, which is centered in Albany.

Continue reading NXIVM: Government drops Keith Raniere’s child sex charges for Albany prosecutor to handle

As Allison Mack nears guilty plea, remembering her frightening portrayal as a flight risk

[Allison Mack]

After the roller coaster week we’ve had in the Nxivm criminal prosecution, we’ve been leafing through older documents in the court file to help us understand how we got here.

Continue reading As Allison Mack nears guilty plea, remembering her frightening portrayal as a flight risk