The typically baseless claims of these candidates range from demonizing propaganda about certain minority groups to the promotion of fantastic conspiracy theories about the federal government’s allegedly evil machinations. What follows are snapshots of a dozen such candidates, including Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, independents and others who are running for political office this fall or who ran earlier in the year.
Category Archives: Fail!
A Men’s Rights Group Crowdfunded $25,000 for Extra Security Because of ‘Bullies’ – The Wire
A Voice For Men’s homepage currently links to a change.org petition demanding that society “class feminism as a terrorist group.”
A Voice for Men has said that it welcomes “peaceful” protests of their conference, which makes sense. As a philosophy, Men’s Rights depends on the conviction that men and men’s rights activists are the most persecuted people on the planet. Protesters — not to mention fundraising for a security detail — helps to sell that idea.
via A Men’s Rights Group Crowdfunded $25,000 for Extra Security Because of ‘Bullies’ – The Wire.
Trading missiles for captives of Iran – The Iran-Contra Affair . Reagan . WGBH American Experience | PBS
In 1985, while Iran and Iraq were at war, Iran made a secret request to buy weapons from the United States. McFarlane sought Reagan’s approval, in spite of the embargo against selling arms to Iran. McFarlane explained that the sale of arms would not only improve U.S. relations with Iran, but might in turn lead to improved relations with Lebanon, increasing U.S. influence in the troubled Middle East. Reagan was driven by a different obsession. He had become frustrated at his inability to secure the release of the seven American hostages being held by Iranian terrorists in Lebanon. As president, Reagan felt that “he had the duty to bring those Americans home,” and he convinced himself that he was not negotiating with terrorists. While shipping arms to Iran violated the embargo, dealing with terrorists violated Reagan’s campaign promise never to do so. Reagan had always been admired for his honesty.
Corbis
Reagan during the Iran-Contra Affair
The arms-for-hostages proposal divided the administration. Longtime policy adversaries Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and Secretary of State George Shultz opposed the deal, but Reagan, McFarlane and CIA director William Casey supported it. With the backing of the president, the plan progressed. By the time the sales were discovered, more than 1,500 missiles had been shipped to Iran. Three hostages had been released, only to be replaced with three more, in what Secretary of State George Shultz called “a hostage bazaar.”
When the Lebanese newspaper “Al-Shiraa” printed an exposé on the clandestine activities in November 1986, Reagan went on television and vehemently denied that any such operation had occurred. He retracted the statement a week later, insisting that the sale of weapons had not been an arms-for-hostages deal.
via The Iran-Contra Affair . Reagan . WGBH American Experience | PBS.
More police attacks on media 12 months after unpunished Gezi violence – Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders condemns police violence against many journalists during demonstrations throughout Turkey on 31 May to mark the first anniversary of the start of the “Occupy Gezi” protest movement.
After Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned in advance he would permit no demonstration in Istanbul’s Taksim Square, the epicentre of the protests a year ago, the media were denied access to the square from the start of the afternoon. At least 25,000 policemen and 50 water cannon trucks were deployed in Istanbul alone.
In the course of using teargas and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters, the police also targeted journalists. At least ten journalists were attacked and the members of a CNN International crew were detained.
“A year after Gezi, the security forces are still using unjustifiable violence against journalists covering demonstrations,” said Johann Bihr, the head of the Reporters Without Borders Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk.
via More police attacks on media 12 months after unpunished Gezi violence – Reporters Without Borders.
Quality Egg Agrees to Pay $6.8M Fine for Selling Tainted Eggs
If you were a young and dumb kid who steals an egg truck – it’s see ya in 5 years! Endanger thousands of people and make many ill? Pay a fine! Buy local or forget eggs.
An Iowa company has agreed to pay $6.8 million in fines for crimes that include selling the tainted eggs that caused a nationwide salmonella outbreak in 2010.
A plea agreement filed Monday by federal prosecutors calls for Quality Egg to plead guilty Tuesday to charges of bribery, selling misbranded eggs and introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce.
The company is admitting that, between 2006 and 2010, it intentionally sold eggs to customers in Arizona, California and elsewhere with false labels that disguised how old they were.
The company says its employees twice bribed a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector in 2010 to approve eggs that didn’t meet federal quality standards.
Company owners Austin and Peter DeCoster are expected to plead guilty Tuesday to introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce.
via Quality Egg Agrees to Pay $6.8M Fine for Selling Tainted Eggs.
Woman journalist found with throat cut in southern Libya – Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders is shocked to learn that Naseeb Miloud Karfana, a TV journalist based in the southern city of Sabha, was murdered on Thursday 29 May. Her body was found together with her fiancé’s in the city’s northern Al-Hay Al-Jadida district. Her throat had been cut and she appeared to have been tortured.
Naseeb had worked for the state-owned TV station Libya Al-Wataniya as its programme coordinators in Sabha for the past eight months, the station’s director, Ali Shaniber, said.
Karfana left the TV station at about 7 p.m. with her fiancé, who came to collect her in his car, so that they could attend a friend’s wedding together. When she failed to arrive, her mother contacted the TV station, where an employee confirmed that Karfana had left.
The authorities have not as yet released any autopsy reports identifying the exact cause of death of the two victims.
Relatives said Karfana and her fiancé had recently received repeated threats from an unidentified person. Reporters Without Borders urges the competent authorities to carry out an impartial investigation without delay to identify the motive for this double murder, giving full consideration to the possibility of a link to Karfana’s work.
“It is imperative that those responsible for this shocking murder are quickly found and brought to account, in order to end impunity in Libya,” Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Christophe Deloire said.
via Woman journalist found with throat cut in southern Libya – Reporters Without Borders.
Israel bans Muslim call to prayer in Hebron 53 times in May | Maan News Agency
Israeli forces have forbidden mosque leaders from playing the call for prayer through loudspeakers at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron 53 times in May under the pretext that it bothers nearby Jewish settlers, the Palestinian ministry of endowment said.
Hundreds of extremist Jewish settlers have taken over homes in Hebron’s Old City, and Israeli authorities use their presence in the southern West Bank city as an excuse to limit the ability of the mosque to play the call five times a day, according to Islamic custom.
The ministry of endowment’s Hebron office said in a statement that banning call for prayer “is a clear violation of freedom of worship which all international conventions maintain.”
In April, Israeli authorities prevented the mosque from playing the call to prayer 60 times.
More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in contravention of international law.
via Israel bans Muslim call to prayer in Hebron 53 times in May | Maan News Agency.
An open letter to all my male friends | Estelle Tang | Comment is free | theguardian.com
To all my male friends,
I want to tell you about something that happened to me today.
I was walking to the gym when a guy on a bike rode past and said, “baby, can I smack that ass?” I am used to this kind of behaviour in my New York City neighbourhood, so I usually ignore it. Trust me – if I had it out with every man who said things like this to me, I’d have a much shorter, much more annoying day. So I just kept walking. He said it again, but before I could even decide what to do (or if I should do anything) about it, I felt his hand on my butt.
via An open letter to all my male friends | Estelle Tang | Comment is free | theguardian.com.
Lebanon, a land of fat boys: study | News , Lebanon News | THE DAILY STAR
After ranking highly on a string of top 10 lists, Lebanon can now add being one of the fattest countries for young boys to its list of achievements.
The percentage of boys under twenty who are obese in Lebanon range between 13 to 19.1 percent, placing the Mediterranean nation at fifth in the world, tied with the Caribbean nation The Bahamas. The findings are according to a recently released global analysis on country-by-country obesity funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
“This is largely due to low physical activity,” said Stephanie Nehme, a dietitian at the So7i W Sari3 clinic in Ashrafieh.
Nehme said that the changing of lifestyle and exchanging homemade food for fastfood was among several factors that led to an increase to obesity in youngsters.
via Lebanon, a land of fat boys: study | News , Lebanon News | THE DAILY STAR.
Only Chinese-born parliamentarian in UK to quit politics over racist abuse | UK news | theguardian.com
The Hong-Kong-born immigrant, who has lived in Northern Ireland for four decades, said she was also considering leaving the province for good because of enduring sectarianism and now rising racism.
Lo, who represents South Belfast in the regional parliament, blamed continual racist behaviour towards her, as well as first minister Peter Robinson’s support for a born-again Christian preacher’s depiction of Islam as “the spawn of the devil”, as her reasons for wanting out of Ulster politics.
In an interview with the Guardian on Thursday, Lo said she was shaken up by a recent incident during the European election campaign when a loyalist mob followed her out of an east Belfast shopping centre.
“They started hurling abuse at me and I decided to get out of Connswater shopping centre as quickly as possible. About three or four individuals then followed me to the car park but I kept ahead of them walking as quickly as I could. Even when I got inside my car there was a young girl who climbed out of the wound-down window of a parked car and started shouting vile things at me. If I hadn’t decided to act quickly and get out of there I don’t know what would have happened to me,” Lo said.





You must be logged in to post a comment.