Category Archives: Fail!

Wow, Can You Believe This Report That Trump Was A Sexist Pig On ‘The Apprentice’?: Gothamist

The AP spoke with more than 20 people associated with the show, including crew members and former contestants, about Trump’s lewd and lascivious behavior, and painted a portrait of an overgrown horny frat boy who had created the perfect atmosphere to indulge his own petty desires.Eight crew members all recalled that Trump “repeatedly made lewd comments about a camerawoman he said had a nice rear, comparing her beauty to that of his daughter, Ivanka.” Multiple cast members said Trump had female contestants twirl for him so he could ogle them; contestant Gene Folkes said Trump demanded female contestants wear shorter dresses that also showed more cleavage.Former producer Katherine Walker said Trump was obsessed with discussing women’s bodies during her five seasons there, and would speculate about which contestants would be a “tiger in the bed.”Another crew member who signed a non-disclosure agreement recalled that Trump asked male contestants whether they would sleep with a particular female contestant, then jumped in with his own responses: “We were in the boardroom one time figuring out who to blame for the task, and he just stopped in the middle and pointed to someone and said, ‘You’d f… her, wouldn’t you? I’d f… her. C’mon, wouldn’t you?,'” the crew member said. “Everyone is trying to make him stop talking, and the woman is shrinking in her seat.”Randal Pinkett, who won the program in December 2005, said Trump frequently discussed which female contestants he wanted to sleep with: “He was like ‘Isn’t she hot, check her out,’ kind of gawking, something to the effect of ‘I’d like to hit that.'”Accusations of sexism have followed Trump throughout his presidential campaign. Hope Hicks, the Trump campaign spokeswoman, issued a blanket denial to the AP’s report without getting into detail: “These outlandish, unsubstantiated, and totally false claims fabricated by publicity hungry, opportunistic, disgruntled former employees, have no merit whatsoever,” she said. “The Apprentice was one of the most successful prime-time television shows of all time and employed hundreds of people over many years, many of whom support Mr. Trump’s candidacy.”It seems like the overwhelming evidence of Trump’s casual misogyny may finally be catching up to him. After last week’s debate—in which Hillary Clinton brought up Alicia Machado, the former Miss Universe winner whom Trump called “Miss Piggy” (because she didn’t fit his beauty standards) and “Miss Housekeeping” (because she is Latina)—Trump has seen a dip in his poll numbers. Politico writes that Trump’s inability to let Machado go, continually mocking her as the week went on, got through to voters:The episode broke through — 74 percent heard of Trump’s comments about Machado — and it appears to have hurt Trump’s standing with women. Fifty-five percent of women said it gives them a less favorable view of Trump, and 43 percent of voters said the incident makes them less likely to support Trump.Of course, there’s still the terrifying thought that 45 percent of female voters in their poll are okay with Trump’s disparaging of that woman.

Source: Wow, Can You Believe This Report That Trump Was A Sexist Pig On ‘The Apprentice’?: Gothamist

Black Lives Matter Co-Founder Arrested At LAPD Press Conference: LAist

“It was a closed-door press conference where the public was not allowed to have access,” Melina Abdullah told LAist, adding that many of her group were still able to listen to the press conference on the radio while gathered outside.Abdullah said she became “aware of how they were engaging in this process of double assassination—first killing the body of Carnell Snell, and then assassinating his character. And so it was really, really important that we uplifted the stories of the community, pushed back against the posthumous character assassination of Carnell Snell, and gave our own narrative. We know that LAPD continues to kill our people and then justifies the killings with whatever they think makes those murders justifiable. That’s why we were there.””They demanded that we leave, but it’s a public building and we have the right to make our voices heard. As they issued the dispersal order, they kept shifting where they wanted us to disperse from and where they wanted us to disperse to,” Abdullah said, adding that at one point they were directed to move next to an arbitrary tree. “We’re not going to just submit to the will of the police that continue to kill us.”

Source: Black Lives Matter Co-Founder Arrested At LAPD Press Conference: LAist

Trump Criticizes Veterans Suffering From PTSD: IAVA Founder Responds | Hollywood Reporter

One of the most forceful critics of Trump’s comments was Paul Rieckhoff, CEO and founder of Iran and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), a group dedicated to supporting the interests of post-9/11 veterans. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Rieckhoff was emphatic that his objectives are not political. “It’s a teachable moment for Mr. Trump and for America,” says Rieckhoff. “When political leaders talk about things like PTSD and suicide, they need to be responsible and precise. And unfortunately Trump is not a precise person.”When asked to explain why Trump’s comments would harm his constituency, IAVA’s founder cited three primary issues. “When people in power use terms like ‘killing yourself’ and ‘mental problems’ it perpetuates the stigma, it compounds the impression that these veterans are broken, and it can discourage them from seeking help,” says Rieckhoff. “And also, he assumed that no one in the audience has PTSD, which is a really unlikely assumption in a room full of war veterans.”Rieckhoff says he doesn’t expect Trump to apologize (“I know better than that”), but hopes that the controversy will sharpen the candidate’s awareness of the issue. “Obama is extremely careful and nuanced with his language about veteran suicide and PTSD, but it didn’t happen overnight,” he says. “There’s a steep learning curve and maybe Trump will master it.”Curiously, the IAVA CEO feels that the entertainment industry can speed up the curve. “The last time there was a conversation like this in the public, it was started by American Sniper and before that, Hurt Locker,” says Rieckhoff. “Hollywood can communicate about these issues in a visceral way that politics can’t. The end product is the public has an elevated conversation about these problems.”What does he hope that Trump and others in need of education will learn? “Getting help for a mental health injury is not a sign of weakness,” says Rieckhoff. “It’s a demonstration of strength.”

Source: Trump Criticizes Veterans Suffering From PTSD: IAVA Founder Responds | Hollywood Reporter

IOF to temporarily close down Ibrahimi mosque for Muslims, open it for settlers – PNN

Israeli Occupation Authorities on Sunday decided to close down the Ibrahimi mosque for six days during the month of October, and open it only for Jewish Israeli settlers.Local sources in Hebron said that the mosque will be closed down for Muslims during the days (3, 4, 6, 12, 18, 19 October) while Israeli settlers will be given full privilige of entering it.In addition, IOF has been intensely preventing the Muslim call for prayers (Adan), and searching Palestinian worshippers upon entrance.

Source: IOF to temporarily close down Ibrahimi mosque for Muslims, open it for settlers – PNN

German Journalist Interview in Syria Under Fire – SPIEGEL ONLINE

Doubts about AuthenticityMomentous Syria Interview Under FireGerman journalist Jürgen Todenhöfer filmed an interview with an alleged rebel commander near Aleppo. The claims made by the commander — that the US was supporting al-Qaida — made headlines around the world. But was the interview authentic?

Source: German Journalist Interview in Syria Under Fire – SPIEGEL ONLINE

www.german-foreign-policy.com – Blindfolded group of nations “see” a snake, a horse, a tree in the room filled by Syrian insurgent elephant!

Berlin’s ostensible “peace offensive” comes at a time when, various reports are exposing – independently from one another – that Washington is considering supplying the insurgents with man portable air defense systems (“MANPADS”) – or has already begun to do so. As was made known from US government circles as well as from insurgent militia contact persons, the “MANPADS” are supposed to be delivered to the militias via Saudi Arabia and Turkey. The Saudi government is convinced that the Russian military can be forced to retreat, as the Soviet troops had done in the 1980s in Afghanistan, say US government representatives. At the time, the “stinger” missiles had permitted the mujahidin the capability of shooting down Red Army helicopters, inflicting massive losses, which ultimately led to a Soviet troop withdrawal from the country. The fate of Afghanistan thereafter is well known. It was reported that Washington has enticed the insurgents with prospects of “MANPADS,” merely for shooting down Syrian helicopters, but not those of the Russians.[10] No one should believe that the insurgents will abide by this. Experts also warn that it is not only to be expected that if “MANPADS” are provided to Syrian insurgents, Iran, for example, could deliver “MANPADS” to the Houthi insurgents, its allies in Yemen, fighting Saudi troops. Above all, the Syrian insurgents could also use those “MANPADS,” they are due to be furnished, near airports, to shoot down civilian airliners.[11] It becomes that much more volatile, since from all experience, it can be expected that a large amount of the “MANPADS” will wind up in the hands of al Qaeda’s Fatah al Sham. Experts estimate that about half of the weapons that have been delivered to insurgent militias in Syria, have ended in the hands of jihadis. The same threatens to happen again.

Source: www.german-foreign-policy.com

400-Pound Hacker? Trump Comments Fuel Dialogue on Fat-Shaming – The New York Times

Until the debate, Ms. Kinzel said she had not focused on much of what Mr. Trump has said. But during the debate, it became personal. She said she realized overweight people like her were now “just one in a line of people he wants to dismiss as losers.”

Source: 400-Pound Hacker? Trump Comments Fuel Dialogue on Fat-Shaming – The New York Times

Small town mayor beaten up for plan to house refugees – The Local “Brown Shirts” on cowardly march again

On the same day as the attack against Kebschull, he and the town hall had received two threatening letters, one which stated “He who does not want to hear will have to feel” and “Oersdorf for the Oersdorfers”.Due to the continued threats, six police officers have been stationed in front of the town hall, but the mayor had parked his car out of sight from the officers, which police said “the attacker took advantage of”.

Source: Small town mayor beaten up for plan to house refugees – The Local

By ‘saying nothing’ on his birther lie, Donald Trump re-embraces the deplorables: Brent Larkin | cleveland.com

And by saying nothing, Donald Trump said everything.By saying nothing, he confirmed what any thoughtful person has known for months — that his campaign for president is really about racism.Unfair trade deals, tax cuts, job creation, phony chants of change? They’re all accessories.The real message of Trump’s campaign — the one that appeals to all the extremists and haters who help fill his gigantic basket of deplorables — is raw racism.There’s nothing the least bit complicated about Trump’s message, an unmentioned promise so powerful it’s capable of moving his supporters to violence. It goes like this: I’ll keep the blacks in their place and kick the Mexicans and Muslims out. Together, we’ll make America white again.But he won’t.Because he can’t.Top elected officials in Ohio, from Sen. Rob Portman on down, should be ashamed of themselves for openly supporting such a repugnant human being.It is profoundly disappointing that Republican members of Congress and four holders of Ohio statewide offices silently condone Trump’s unique brand of hate and racism. History will treat only Gov. John Kasich kindly on this issue.

Source: By ‘saying nothing’ on his birther lie, Donald Trump re-embraces the deplorables: Brent Larkin | cleveland.com

Congress Finally Agrees To Budget $1.1 Billion To Fight Zika: Gothamist

Yesterday, members of Congress remembered they are obligated to, like, do stuff, when they narrowly avoided a government shutdown by agreeing to allocate $1.1 billion to fight Zika.Initially, the bill was held up thanks to language that would bar funds from Planned Parenthood, since any effort to boost women’s healthcare is akin to slaughtering schoolchildren on national television. (Note that the actual slaughter of schoolchildren fails to prompt any Congressional action.) But yesterday the Senate approved the bill by a vote of 72-26, and later in the day the House of Representatives approved it 342-85, narrowly averting a shutdown that would leave the government without money to operate Friday at midnight.President Obama, who requested $1.9 billion in Zika funding in February, is expected to sign the bill into law by tomorrow. Though an initial iteration of the legislation prohibited funds from going to Planned Parenthood, that language has since been removed. “Women’s health should never be treated like a political football,” Senator Patty Murray, D-Washington, told NPR. “I am glad that Republicans finally agreed to set aside the extreme provisions that would have specifically blocked Planned Parenthood health care providers from accessing critical funding.”

Source: Congress Finally Agrees To Budget $1.1 Billion To Fight Zika: Gothamist