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Rustin will star Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin with Audra McDonald, Chris Rock, and Glynn Turman among others in other key roles. George C. Wolfe of ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ set to direct. Published by BANG Showbiz English Colman Domingo, Chris Rock, Glynn Turman and Audra McDonald are to star in ‘Rustin’. The movie is a biopic of the gay civil rights activist Bayard Rustin and is the first feature to be produced by Higher Ground, the production company set up by former US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama. George C. Wolfe, who previously helmed ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’, is to direct the movie from a screenplay he has co-written with Dustin Lance Black. The film will be released on Netflix as part of their deal with Higher Ground. The project will look at the various obstacles that Rustin had to overcome to organise the march on Washington in 1963, where Martin Luther King delivered his famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. Colman will play Rustin in the movie with Chris starring as NAACP leader Roy Wilkins. Glynn will portray activist A. Philip Randolph and Audra will star as civil rights icon Ella Baker. Oscar-winner Bruce Cohen and Tonia Davis will produce the film. Chris recently starred in and executive produced ‘Spiral’, which marked his debut in the ‘Saw’ franchise, and hopes that it can reinvigorate the series in a similar way to how the ‘Creed’ movies provided a new lease of life to the ‘Rocky’ franchise. Asked if he wanted to appear in more ‘Saw’ movies, Chris – who dreamt up the story for the motion picture – said: “Yeah, I mean, I hope this movie is like ‘Creed’. In the sense that ‘Creed’ is technically like ‘Rocky 7’. “So, hopefully there’s more ‘Spirals’ and hopefully I’m in more ‘Spirals’.” Rustin on Towleroad The Osmonds to be focus of new musical More ‘Queen Of Mean’ Leona Helmsley’s Billion-Dollar Estate Battle To Be Explored In Jaw-Dropping REELZ Documentary More California makes it illegal to remove condom without consent More William Shatner is ‘terrified’ of going into space More TikTok Radicalizes Users With Algorithm. In Just 2 Hours A Basic Transphobe Can Be Served Nazi, Right-Wing Extremist Videos: SCARY STUDY More Sam Smith Sang One Song At A Vegas Wedding. Sam Smith’s Price Was $250,000. Wow. Guess Which Song? More Sarah Silverman blasts Hollywood for casting non-Jewish actors in Jewish roles More Spanish Hospital Draws Gay Health Advocates’ Ire After Listing ‘Homosexuality’ As An Illness On Gay Patient’s Medical Report More Attitude Awards 2021: Tom Daley, Elaine Paige and Steps win big More Dolly Parton reveals her celebrity Dolly crush More 100 Year Old Nazi On Trial. Ex-SS camp guard, on trial for 3,518 deaths More Load More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English The Osmonds will be the subject of a new musical. The ‘Crazy Horses’ hitmakers – brothers Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, and Donny – will have the darker side of their success, including their ruthless former army sergeant George’s merciless training of the group and the way their financial advisers conned them out of millions, explored in a new stage production, which is based on Jay Osmond’s memoir, ‘Stages’. Referring to George’s treatment of his sons, choreographer Bill Deamer, who is working on ‘The Osmonds: A New Musical’, said: “If that happened now, people would hold their hands up in horror. That was cruelty. “It’s not a jukebox musical. It’s the story of their lives.” The production – which will be directed by Shaun Kerrison – will open at the Curve in Leicester on 3 February before embarking on a UK tour and producers Hamish Greer and Tom De Keyser hope it will transfer to London’s West End if the regional dates prove successful. Jamie Chatterton, Danny Nattrass, Ryan Anderson, Alex Lodge and Joseph Peacock will play Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay and Donny respectively after undergoing several rounds of auditions. Donny recently revealed he felt “so lonely” as a teenage superstar because despite being surrounded by screaming fans at the group’s shows, he was always alone afterwards. He said: “I was just so lonely. “You go back to the early 1970s, and you’ve got literally thousands of screaming girls at those concerts yelling your name but then you go back to a very quiet hotel or the bus. “I learned what loneliness is in life.” However, that all changed for him when he married his wife Debra in 1978, and he hailed his partner as his “saving grace”, while reflecting on the “romantic” moments they still share. He added: “She’s been my saving grace. My confidante and friend. “Last night, we were out in the garden talking as were pulling weeds and watering plants. In its own little way, it was a very romantic evening.” View the full article

Published by Radar Online Iconic billionaire real estate developer Leona Helmsley was the flamboyant, tyrannical and unapologetic hotel queen of the 1980s whose volatile reputation actually made her inordinately wealthy. At the time, the “Queen of Mean” was regarded as a symbol of arrogance and greed. While her legacy lives on, she’s also seen as an innovator. “Leona Helmsley had a reputation for being the ‘Queen of Mean.’ That’s true,” says veteran publicist Michael Pagnotta in Radar‘s sneak peak of the upcoming REELZ documentary, Leona Helmsley: Life Death & Money. “But she also had a reputation for excellence.” Experts believe that her self-styled advertising was the key to her hotel’s upward trajectory. “She would be wearing a tiara and she would hold up skimpy towels and say, ‘I won’t settle for skimpy towels. Why should you?'” says estate lawyer and television host Danielle Mayoras. And with that creativity, Leona broke barriers. “This marketing campaign of having Leona being the face of the hotels – it actually completely worked!” notes attorney Jill Stanley. mega Making the Queen of Mean synonymous with the Helmsley Hotel brand was regarded as a new chapter in United States hotel marketing by the advertising industry. It earner Leona untold millions. “In fact, because of her branding, occupancy increased from 25 to 87 percent,” notes Mayoras. “Hotels prior to this really didn’t have personalities. But the Helmsley Hotel did.” It introduced the idea that the brand owner could become the brand itself – a concept that became highly influential in the hospitality space and beyond, and is how most businesspeople operate today. But while guests of the chain were treated like royalty, Helmsley employees were subjected to less-than-desirable working conditions. Many agreed that the hotel was built on the backs staffers – the “little people – she degraded and underpaid. In 1989, Leona was convicted of federal income tax evasion and other crimes. She initially received a sentence of 16 years but ended up serving only 19 months behind bars and two months under house arrest. During her trial, a former housekeeper testified that she had once heard Leona say, “We don’t pay taxes; only the little people pay taxes.” reelz She died in 2007 of congestive heart failure, igniting an all-out estate war among her surviving family members. Well, not all of them. In true Leona fashion, she left behind a will that cut out her two grandchildren, Craig and Meegan Panzirer, and left as much as $12 million dollars to her dog, a Maltese named Trouble. Leona Helmsley: Life Death & Money premieres Tuesday, October 12 at 10 PM ET/PT on REELZ. Watch REELZ on DIRECTV 238, Dish Network 299, Verizon FiOS 692, AT&T U-verse 1799 and in HD on cable systems and streaming services nationwide. Find REELZ on your local cable or satellite provider at www.reelz.com. mega View the full article

Published by AFP The California law is the first in the country to specifically ban Los Angeles (AFP) – California has made it illegal to remove a condom during sex without verbal consent, a practice popularly known as “stealthing.” Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Thursday that classifies the removal of a condom without consent as “sexual battery.” “By passing this bill, we are underlining the importance of consent,” the governor’s office said in a tweet. Cristina Garcia, a member of the California assembly who introduced the bill, said it ensures that “stealthing isn’t only immoral but illegal.” The California law is the first in the country to specifically ban “stealthing,” which can expose a partner to unwanted pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases. Under the bill, a person commits sexual battery who “causes contact between a sexual organ, from which a condom has been removed, and the intimate part of another who did not verbally consent to the condom being removed.” An offender is liable for punitive damages that would be awarded by a court. The practice of “stealthing” attracted attention in the United States after a paper was published by a doctoral student, Alexandra Brodsky, in 2017 in the Columbia Journal of Gender and Law. Brodsky’s paper noted that there were online forums that provided information on how to successfully commit “stealthing,” some of which were subsequently shut down. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English William Shatner is terrified of going up into space. The 90-year-old ‘Star Trek’ actor will become the oldest person to venture up into the stratosphere, but he’s not taken much comfort from being told everything would be “fine.” Speaking at New York Comic-Con on Thursday (08.10.2021), he said: “I’m thinking, ‘I’m going up in a rocket and our best guess is it should be fine?” I’m terrified. I’m Captain Kirk, and I’m terrified. “I’m not really terrified — yes I am. It comes and goes like a summer cold. I’m planning on putting my nose against the window [once I’m in space], and my only hope is I won’t see someone else looking back.” The star is set to be blasted up into space on Jeff Bezos’s New Shepard NS-18 rocket along with Audrey Powers, Blue Origin’s Vice President of Mission and Flight Operation, and crew members Chris Boshuizen and Glen de Vries. William quipped: “I don’t want to be the oldest guy to go into space.” Shatner also went on to tell all about a phone call he had with a friend over a year ago, who suggested Captain Kirk should go up into space for real. He added: “My friend Jason Erhlick came to me about a year and a half ago and he said he was seeing these rockets with people going into space. And, [he said] ‘Wouldn’t it be something if Captain Kirk went up there?’ “And I said, ‘Jason, for God’s sake, man. Nobody cares if Captain Kirk goes to space. It was 55 years ago, man. But I’m doing well, maybe I should go up to space?’ ” Over a year passed before the plans were put in motion, but as it stands the actor is set to be sent up into space courtesy of the Amazon founder on an as yet unannounced date. View the full article

TikTok Study finds right wing radicalization in as few as 2 hoursTikTok radicalizes with it’s FYP (For You Page) … leading users down far-right rabbit holes. Transphobia seen as gateway to radicalization. “TikTok’s “For You” page (FYP) recommendation algorithm appears to be leading users down far-right rabbit holes. By analyzing and coding over 400 recommended videos after interacting solely with transphobic content, Media Matters traced how TikTok’s recommendation algorithm quickly began populating our research account’s FYP with hateful and far-right content,” The Little Richards Team throw it down in a post explaining all on Media Matters. It’s not Hal or science fiction. It’s one of the most insidious things i’ve ever heard of. This type of AI is everywhere already and with not great results in a number of cases, but the tech companies don’t want to hear it. Watch embeded video below for excellent, plain language, entertaining overview of the study. Watch @abbieasr present the top line of the study linked immediately below. It’s entertaining while being a scary proof of the very dark side of social media and its impact on all of us. Read the Article on Media Matters TikTok Radicalizes on Towleroad Sam Smith Sang One Song At A Vegas Wedding. Sam Smith’s Price Was $250,000. Wow. Guess Which Song? More Sarah Silverman blasts Hollywood for casting non-Jewish actors in Jewish roles More Spanish Hospital Draws Gay Health Advocates’ Ire After Listing ‘Homosexuality’ As An Illness On Gay Patient’s Medical Report More Attitude Awards 2021: Tom Daley, Elaine Paige and Steps win big More Dolly Parton reveals her celebrity Dolly crush More 100 Year Old Nazi On Trial. Ex-SS camp guard, on trial for 3,518 deaths More Texas abortion law put on hold, appears headed to Supreme Court More Van Gogh Museum shows controversial masterpiece ‘The Potato Eaters’ More Exclusive: Compassion not barbed wire should greet migrants, Nobel winner Gurnah says More Jake Gyllenhaal Shares Jennifer Aniston’s Pillow Solution For Unprofessional Co-Stars Who Blame Her Beauty (and Their Virility) Over Being Responsible More ‘Be You. Don’t Be A Puppet’; Patton Oswalt Gives Lends Voice to Video Used To Reveal The Disaster of Conversion Therapy. WATCH More Load More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Sam Smith was paid £250,000 to perform at a wedding – and sang just one song. The 29-year-old star – who identifies as non-binary – was given the staggering sum to sing ‘Stay With Me’ when casino heiress Victoria Fertitta married businessman Daniel Crowe at the Red Rock Resort Casino and Spa in Las Vegas, and they also had their travel and accommodation costs for the trip covered. A source told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column: “Sam’s performance at the wedding was top secret and guests were asked not to share any footage. “Sam sang ‘Stay With Me’ and it was a beautiful moment. Some people were in tears during the performance. “Sam was paid a quarter of a million to do the one song but as far as the bride and groom were concerned, it was worth every penny.” The lavish wedding was believed to have cost a total of £25 million, and Post Malone was also booked to sing for the guests. The insider added: “No expense was spared at the bash, as Post Malone was also booked to perform – and he sang at the reception. “It has got to be one of the most expensive weddings of all time.” Victoria’s father Frank – who is believed to be worth £2 billion – footed the bill for the wedding, three years after he funded his other daughter Kelley’s nuptials, which featured performances from Bruno Mars and Seal. The ‘How Do You Sleep?’ hitmaker previously revealed they have “always been non-binary”. They said: “I always had a little bit of a war going within my body and my mind … I’m not male or female, I think I flow somewhere in between. It’s all on the spectrum … “Yes, I have always been non-binary, I have always felt the way I’ve felt, and just hearing other non-binary stories made me suddenly feel seen. This is a way that I can live, where if I tell people this is how I feel and this is how I like to be treated, life is easier.” And Sam is glad they have changed their pronouns as it has allowed them to feel “completely like themselves” and “enjoy” their life. They added: “I’ve always felt the way I’ve felt. It wasn’t a new feeling, it was just the discovery of a language and a community of people that felt the same way. It’s been lovely. It’s been a process of feeling heard and seen — that there is a space that I can live in and enjoy my life in and feel completely like myself, and be treated as such. I think that’s the difference with the pronouns.” Sam Smith on Towleroad Sarah Silverman blasts Hollywood for casting non-Jewish actors in Jewish roles More Spanish Hospital Draws Gay Health Advocates’ Ire After Listing ‘Homosexuality’ As An Illness On Gay Patient’s Medical Report More Attitude Awards 2021: Tom Daley, Elaine Paige and Steps win big More Dolly Parton reveals her celebrity Dolly crush More Ex-SS camp guard, aged 100, on trial for 3,518 deaths More Texas abortion law put on hold, appears headed to Supreme Court More Van Gogh Museum shows controversial masterpiece ‘The Potato Eaters’ More Exclusive: Compassion not barbed wire should greet migrants, Nobel winner Gurnah says More Jake Gyllenhaal Shares Jennifer Aniston’s Pillow Solution For Unprofessional Co-Stars Who Blame Her Beauty (and Their Virility) Over Being Responsible More ‘Be You. Don’t Be A Puppet’; Patton Oswalt Gives Lends Voice to Video Used To Reveal The Disaster of Conversion Therapy. WATCH More How ATT Built OAN; ATT Guilty For Help Building Far-Right, Facts-Don’t-Matter Trump-Backing One America News– SPECIAL REPORT More Load More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Sarah Silverman has hit out at Hollywood for casting non-Jewish people in Jewish roles. The 50-year-old actress – who is Jewish herself – has criticised the lack of representation in major roles, particularly when the character’s “Jewishness” is “front and centre”. Speaking on ‘The Sarah Silverman Podcast’, she said: “There’s this long tradition of non-Jews playing Jews. And not just playing people who happen to be Jewish, but people whose Jewishness is their whole being. “One could argue, for instance, that a Gentile playing Joan Rivers correctly would be doing what is actually called ‘Jewface’. “‘Jewface’ – doesn’t feel good to say – is defined as when a non-Jew portrays a Jew with the Jewishness front and centre, often with makeup or changing of features, big fake nose, all the New York-y or Yiddish-y inflection. “And in a time when the importance of representation is seen as so essential and so front and centre, why does ours constantly get breached even today in the thick of it?” Sarah noted if there is a female Jewish character who is “courageous or deserves love, she is never played by a Jew”. Her comments come as Kathryn Hahn – who is Catholic – has been linked to play Joan Rivers in an upcoming biopic, while ‘On the Basis of Sex’ star Felicity Jones and ‘The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel’ actress Rachael Brosnahan played Jewish characters in the respective films. While Sarah noted the actresses themselves are not “doing anything wrong”, she said the overall situation is “f***** up”. She added: “Right now, representation f****** matters. It has to also finally matter for Jews as well. Especially Jewish women.” In the past, casting director Jen Rudin has defended casting decisions and argued her job is to find the best talent for a specific role, rather than type casting. She said: “Acting is a profession and our goal and job as casting directors is to hire the most qualified actor for the role. “Kathryn Hahn is wonderful as Rabbi Raquel in Amazon’s ‘Transparent’ and my close friend Grant Shaud is hilarious as Miles Silverberg on ‘Murphy Brown’. “Neither are Jewish but both gave fantastic performances of characters who are Jewish.” View the full article

“Current Illness” A gynecologist in Spain has drawn the ire of local LGBTQ advocates this week after he listed homosexuality as an illness on a gay health care patient’s medical report. The 19-year-old patient went to the Reina Sofia hospital in the Spanish city of Murcia on Monday for treatment of a menstrual condition. After being examined by a hospital gynecologist, she found that her medical report listed “homosexual” under “current illness.” “At first, I thought it was funny, but it isn’t,” the patient told Spanish-language news outlet elDiario.es. “These attitudes must be eradicated.” The patient’s mother, Santi, who is also a health care worker, said that the gynecologist asked her daughter for permission to include her LGBTQ identity in his report – a request that surprised the patient. She ultimately consented believing that it may be relevant. But that request struck her mother as odd. Conversations Santi had with co-workers following the incident revealed that what happened to her daughter was the latest in a series of complaints focused on the same gynecologist that treated her daughter. The circumstances led Santi and her daughter to Galactyco, a local LGBTQ advocacy collective. A formal complaint against the regional government, health ministry and health service soon followed. “Manifest Ignorance” The complaint claims that the doctor’s actions violated Spanish laws which guarantee the respectful treatment of LGBTQ patients when seeking medical treatment. “The World Health Organization removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses in 1990, and yet, 31 years later, some professionals in the Murcia Health System continue to assume sexual orientation is a disease,” Galactyco said in a statement. “Given that this error involved stigmatizing, discriminatory, violent and denigrating treatment towards LGBTQ people for centuries, we publicly denounce the manifest ignorance of relating sexual orientation with disease,” the organization added.” Galactyco and the patient’s family are seeking an apology and further information as to why this continues to happen. “Our association has received numerous cases of humiliating treatment due to sexual or gender orientation,” The statement continued. “We find it alarming, unacceptable and intolerable that the professionals we depend on for adequate medical treatment are ignorant to the realities of LGBTQI people.” A spokesperson for the Murcian Health Service said the organization is aware of the incident, initially chalking up the classification as an error made when registering the patient. The organization plans to fully investigate the matter and that “all necessary measures would be taken to properly establish the facts.” The spokesperson also stated that the hospital would be extending an apology to the patient. Gay Health: previously on Towleroad Spanish Hospital Draws Gay Health Advocates’ Ire After Listing ‘Homosexuality’ As An Illness On Gay Patient’s Medical Report Brian Bell October 7, 2021 Read More Virginia Transgender Man Sues Department of Corrections for Denial of Health Care; Top Surgery Denial Causing ‘Substantial Risk of Serious Harm’ Brian Bell August 27, 2021 Read More Veteran Atlanta Activist Becomes First Black Trans Woman Ever Named to Presidential HIV/AIDS Council Brian Bell August 24, 2021 Read More Covid-19 Spike Close to Overwhelming Hospitals; Tokyo Doctors ‘strongly request’ Officials Cancel Delayed Japan Olympics Towleroad May 18, 2021 Read More Biden: 1 million Americans sign up for healthcare in special enrollment period Towleroad May 11, 2021 Read More Biden’s HHS Reverses Trump (Again); Protects Against LGBTQ Health Bias; Returns To Obama Era Standard: FULL TEXT Towleroad May 10, 2021 Read More Photo courtesy of Ariel Gutraich/Creative Commons View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Tom Daley, Elaine Paige and Steps were honoured at the 2021 Attitude Awards. The publication’s annual ceremony – which took place at the Roundhouse in Camden, London on Wednesday night (06.10.21) – aims to celebrate people who have made an impact within the LGBTQ+ community, as well as allies. ‘Tragedy’ hitmakers Steps were presented with the Icon Award and delivered an exciting headline set, while the Honorary Gay prize was given to fellow performer Elaine Paige. Olympic gold medallist Tom Daley received the Sport Award, while actor and musician Billy Porter was honoured with the Man of the Year trophy. Elsewhere, Netflix comedy drama ‘Sex Education’ landed the Gamechanger Award, Ben Aldridge captured the Television prize, and Stephen Fry presented ‘It’s A Sin’ with the Inspiration Award. Other presents on the night included Rylan Clark-Neal, Dominic Skinner, Richard Wilson, Ella Henderson and Joel Corey, Pearl Mackie, Michelle Visage and Scissor Sisters star Jake Shears. Darren Styles – publisher of Attitude magazine – said: “A year away on account of COVID meant the world’s biggest LGBTQ media brand switched to an online offering in 2020, garnering more than two million viewers on multiple channels along the way. “But there is nothing like 650 people in a room, dressed to the nines, celebrating the LGBTQ community to get the blood pumping. “Especially if you headline with Steps. 2021 is the comeback year, the year to say you were there!” And Juha Jarvinen – Chief Commercial Officer at sponsors Virgin Atlantic – added: “We couldn’t be happier to be back celebrating with the Attitude team as lead sponsor of the Attitude Awards at the Roundhouse this year. “The Virgin family has been a part of this incredible event since the very beginning ten years ago, to push for real change for the LGBTQ+ community and empower everyone to take on the world. It’s a privilege to be here.” Attitude Awards 2021 winners list: Icon Award Steps Gamechanger Award ‘Sex Education’ Style Award Bimini Honorary Gay Elaine Paige Broadcast Award Adele Roberts Television Award Ben Aldridge Inspiration Award ‘It’s A Sin’ Breakthrough Award Max Harwood for ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ Hero Award Chella Man Sport Award Tom Daley Man of the Year Billy Porter View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Dolly Parton has a crush on Jimmy Fallon. The 75-year-old country music legend – who has been married to husband Carl Dean for 55 years – thinks the 47-year-old talk show host is “precious” and they’ve always got along well. She admitted in an interview with W magazine: “Well, I have a crush on Jimmy Fallon, but I’m big now, I can’t excuse myself on that! “I think he is precious. He’s so funny. We get along so good.” And Dolly admitted Jimmy isn’t the only talk show host she’s felt a connection with as she had a “nice relationship” with David Letterman and the late Johnny Carson. She added: “Sometimes you never know who you’re gonna connect with. I’ve always had good luck with late-night guys, you know? I always had a nice relationship with David Letterman and with Johnny Carson. “I guess there’s something about that late-night people that kinda hits my fancy and I hit theirs somehow. I guess it’s ’cause you feel like you can be more free late at night. You don’t have to worry about what you say.” Dolly has always “loved boys” and she admitted she had a “big crush” on the late Johnny Cash in the early days of her career because he was “so, so sexy” – although she later discovered he was coming through drug addiction at the time. She recalled: “I had a lot of boys in my life. I love boys. I still do. In the early days, I had a big crush on Johnny Cash. He was young and skinny, and he just had that magnetism. The way he moved around—you know, so sexy. “I found out later he was just having withdrawals from drugs, but it still touched me. He was so, so sexy.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Annegret Hilse NEURUPPIN, Germany (Reuters) – A former SS guard, now 100 years old, hobbled into a German courtroom on a walking frame on Thursday to face charges of helping to send more than 3,000 people to their deaths in a Nazi concentration camp during World War Two. Prosecutors say Josef S., a member of the Nazi party’s paramilitary SS, contributed to the deaths of 3,518 people at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp by regularly standing guard in the watchtower between 1942 and 1945. Doctors have said that the man, whose full name was not disclosed due to German trial reporting rules, is only partially fit to stand trial: sessions will be limited to just two and a half hours each day. As the trial began, his lawyer held up a blue folder to conceal his client’s face as he was brought into the court in Neuruppin, near Berlin. Some people interned in Sachsenhausen were murdered with Zyklon-B, the poison gas also used in other extermination camps where millions of Jews were killed in the Holocaust. Sachsenhausen housed predominantly political prisoners from all over Europe, along with Soviet prisoners of war and some Jews. “It’s a lot of emotion… I can’t really speak,” said Antoine Grumbach, 79, before turning abruptly away as he was overcome by tears. His father, a French resistance fighter, died in the camp. Leon Schwarzbaum, who is 100 years old, sat quietly waiting for the trial to start in the courtroom, showing reporters a photo of him with his parents and uncle, who all died in Auschwitz. Prosecutors accuse Josef S. of “contributing to cruel and insidious murders” by aiding in “creating and maintaining life-threatening conditions in the camp.” There has been a spate of charges brought against former concentration camp guards in recent years for World War Two crimes against humanity. Last week, a 96-year-old former camp secretary went on the run https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/german-96-year-old-nazi-war-crimes-suspect-flees-ahead-trial-2021-09-30 the day her trial was to begin, but was caught by police a few hours later. A 2011 court ruling paved the way for these final prosecutions, stating that even those who contributed indirectly to wartime murders, without pulling a trigger or giving an order, could bear criminal responsibility. Sachsenhausen, opened in 1936 as one of the earliest Nazi concentration camps, acted as a training camp for SS guards who then went to serve elsewhere, including in Auschwitz and Treblinka. Others killed at Sachsenhausen included Dutch resistance fighters and the Nazis’ domestic political opponents. (Writing by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Susan Fenton) View the full article

Published by AFP Women's rights activists marching to the US Capitol to protest the restrictive new abortion law in Texas Washington (AFP) – Texas is appealing a federal judge’s order temporarily blocking the southern US state’s ban on most abortions as the divisive issue appears headed to the Supreme Court. In a blistering opinion, US District Judge Robert Pitman issued a preliminary injunction late Wednesday halting enforcement of the Texas law known as Senate Bill 8 (SB), which bans abortion after six weeks, before many women even know they are pregnant. The Texas law, which went into force on September 1, is “flagrantly unconstitutional” and violates the landmark 1973 Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade, which enshrined a woman’s legal right to an abortion, Pitman said. “From the moment SB8 went into effect, women have been unlawfully prevented from exercising control over their lives in ways that are protected by the Constitution,” said the judge, an appointee of former Democratic president Barack Obama. “That other courts may find a way to avoid this conclusion is theirs to decide; this court will not sanction one more day of this offensive deprivation of such an important right,” Pitman said. The judge’s order was in response to a lawsuit filed by the Justice Department seeking to prevent Texas, the second-most populous US state, from enforcing the abortion law, which makes no exceptions for rape or incest. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, said Thursday that he would appeal the judge’s ruling to the New Orleans-based Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, one of the most conservative courts in the country. “We disagree with the Court’s decision and have already taken steps to immediately appeal it,” Paxton said. “The sanctity of human life is, and will always be, a top priority for me.” Laws restricting abortion have been passed in other Republican-led states but were struck down by the courts because they violated Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed a woman’s right to an abortion until the fetus is viable outside the womb, which is typically around 22 to 24 weeks. ‘Fight has only just begun’ The “Texas Heartbeat Act” allows members of the public to sue doctors who perform abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected or anyone who helps facilitate the procedure. They can be rewarded with $10,000 for initiating cases that lead to prosecution, prompting charges that the law encourages people to act as vigilantes. Whatever the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decides, the Texas law is expected to eventually end up in the Supreme Court, where conservatives hold a 6-3 majority. The Supreme Court cited procedural issues when it decided by a 5-4 vote last month against intervening to block the Texas law. It did not rule on the merits of the case brought by abortion providers. After the court declined to block the Texas law, the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden entered the fray, citing its interest in upholding Americans’ constitutional rights. Welcoming Judge Pitman’s ruling, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said: “The fight has only just begun, both in Texas and in many states across this country where women’s rights are currently under attack.” The Supreme Court is to hear a challenge on December 1 to a Mississippi law that bans nearly all abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy. It will be the first abortion case argued before the court since the nomination of three conservative justices by former president Donald Trump. Tens of thousands of women took to the streets across the United States last weekend in protests aimed at countering the conservative drive to restrict abortion access. Advocates of a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy have called on Congress to enshrine the right to abortion in federal law to protect it from any possible reversal by the Supreme Court. A bill to that effect was adopted two weeks ago in the Democratic majority House of Representatives, but has no chance of passing the Senate where Republicans have enough votes to block it. If the high court were to overturn Roe v. Wade, every state would be free to ban or allow abortions. That would mean 36 million women in 26 states — nearly half of American women of reproductive age — would likely lose the legal right to an abortion, according to a Planned Parenthood report. View the full article

Published by DPA “The Potato Eaters” by Vincent van Gogh, April 1885: The painting is getting a dedicated exhibition in the Van Gogh Museum. For the first time, the Amsterdam museum will exclusively focus on the history of the Dutch painter’s early masterpiece. Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam/dpa Five people are sitting in a cramped kitchen having dinner, their faces tired and distorted – bulbous noses, bony gnarled hands. The scene is dark and gloomy. “The Potato Eaters” is one of the first masterpieces by Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) and without a doubt the artist’s biggest “failure,” at least according to its critics at the time. Even today, the Dutch painter is more famous for his cheerful paintings – his bright “Sunflowers” and light-flooded southern French landscapes. But now for the first time, Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum is devoting an exhibition exclusively to this early depiction of peasant life, full of darkness but also admiration. About 50 paintings, sketches, drawings and letters will be on display from Friday (October 8), telling the story of the painting – a “story of ambition and perseverance,” as museum director Emily Gordenker said. “The painting was never sold and never exhibited during van Gogh’s lifetime.” Today, however, it is world-famous and considered a key work in the painter’s development, she said. Vincent van Gogh painted “De aardappeleters” in 1885 during a turbulent period he spent with his parents in Nuenen, in the south-east of the Netherlands. He made numerous studies and sketches for it. It’s one of van Gogh’s “most thought-out paintings”, said Bregje Gerritse, curator of the museum. The painter himself described it as a “master’s test” and, according to the curator, wanted to make his breakthrough with it. But the painting failed. Van Gogh received harsh criticism for this work, especially because of its use of gloomy colours and the distorted depiction of people’s faces. The works shows five people from a poor family having dinner in the light of an oil lamp. In front of them on the rough wooden table is a bowl of steaming potatoes. A woman is pouring coffee. To bring the painting to life, the museum has now recreated the scene with a life-size, walk-in model for its spotlight exhibition “The Potato Eaters. Mistake or Masterpiece?“. Van Gogh wanted to depict the harsh reality of peasant life, a life he himself admired. He deliberately showed the characters with coarse faces and bony hands worn from labour, Gerritse said. “Van Gogh wanted to show the peasants in all their roughness “ The colours were earthy, dark like the earth, he said. The colour of the faces was that of “a dirty potato, unpeeled of course.” But the painting did not lead to the breakthrough on the Paris art market for which the artist had hoped. Even his brother, the art dealer Theo, did not like it, and his friend and fellow painter Anthon van Rappard slammed it as ugly and coarse. But van Gogh stuck with it and throughout his life considered it one of his best works – and certainly one of the most significant. The message was more important than correct anatomy and technical perfection, he once explained. Art did not have to be beautiful, he said, but honest. “I want to paint what I feel and feel what I paint.” At the end of his life, he even considered painting a new version of “Potato Eaters”. A lifesize recreation of “The Potato Eaters” by Vincent van Gogh is part of an exhibition in the Van Gogh Museum exclusively focusing on the history of the Dutch painter’s early masterpiece. Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam/dpa Lithograph of “The Potato Eaters” by Vincent van Gogh, April 1885: The painting “The Potato Eaters” is getting a dedicated exhibition in the Van Gogh Museum. For the first time, the Amsterdam museum will exclusively focus on the history of the Dutch painter’s early masterpiece. Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam/dpa View the full article

Published by Reuters By Guy Faulconbridge and Natalie Thomas CANTERBURY, England (Reuters) – Europe should greet migrants with compassion rather than barbed wire and the British government is “rather nasty” about those who seek asylum, said Tanzanian writer Abdulrazak Gurnah, who won the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature. Gurnah, who explored the legacies of imperialism on uprooted individuals in his books, said he was so shocked when he was phoned by the Swedish Academy to tell him of the prize that he thought it was a cold caller. He spoke poetically about the experience of migration – of leaving behind family and part of one’s life for a life in a new society where one would always feel partly foreign. He said he felt the British government seemed nasty about those seeking asylum. “Currently, it seems the government is rather nasty about people seeking asylum or people seeking admittance into this country,” Gurnah, 73, told Reuters in his garden beside an Acer tree in Canterbury, southern England. “It seems such a surprise to them that people coming from difficult places would want to come to a country that is prosperous. Why would they be surprised? Who wouldn’t want to come to a country that is more prosperous? There is a kind of meanness in this response.” Gurnah, who was born in Zanzibar, now Tanzania, said migrants were not coming with nothing – that they wanted to work. He expressed amazement at the resolution and courage of those who travelled so far to escape their own countries for a new life. “This somehow is constructed as if it immoral – you know they use this phrase ‘economic migrant’ – as if to be an economic migrant is some kind of crime. Why not?” “Millions of Europeans over centuries left their homes for precisely that reason and invaded the world for precisely for that reason,” he said. The other side of the equation, he said, was why people felt they had to embark on such perilous voyages for a new life. “But you have to ask the question: what is so horrible about where they are that they will do such things, that they will take such risks?” he said. Europe, he said, should rethink its approach to migration. “With greater compassion rather than with barbed wire – rather than a kind of discourse that Europe is going to be destroyed,” he said. Gurnah said he was not advocating free-for-all “open season” migration but that there should not be an antagonistic and abusive representation of migrants. Brexit, he said, had revealed a “certain meanness” about Britain – and that lurking behind the vote was another narrative about migrants from far beyond Europe’s borders. (Writing by Guy Faulconbridge, editing by Andy Bruce) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Jake Gyllenhaal fancied Jennifer Aniston so much it was “torture” doing love scenes with the actress. The pair starred together in 2002 film ‘The Good Girl’ and the 40-year-old star says it wasn’t easy because of his real life crush on the 52-year-old ‘Friends’ actress. Speaking during an interview with ‘The Howard Stern Show’, Jake was asked by the host if it was “torture” to film love scenes with somebody he fancied in real life. Jake said: “Oh yeah, it was torture, yes it was. “But it was also not torture. “I mean, come on, it was like a mix of both.” But he said that such is the “mechanical nature” of love scenes he thankfully managed to keep his true feelings towards Jennifer well-hidden. He added: “Weirdly, love scenes are awkward, because there are maybe 30, 50 people watching it? “That doesn’t turn me on. “It’s oddly mechanical. “And also it’s a dance, you’re choreographing for a camera. “You can get in it but it’s like a fight scene, you have to choreograph those scenes.” And he added that a well-placed pillow, which was actually Jennifer’s suggestion, helped. He said: “The pillow technique was used. “That was just preemptive and used generally always when actually in a horizontal place in that movie. “I think that was actually a Jennifer suggestion, she was very kind to suggest it before we began. “She was like, “I’m putting a pillow here.”” Meanwhile, Ben Stiller recently revealed how Jake nearly played Hansel in ‘Zoolander’. The 53-year-old actor – who played fictional male model Derek Zoolander in the 2001 cult classic comedy – admitted Owen Wilson almost missed out on his own supermodel role over doubts he’d be available to film. Although Wilson was first choice, Stiller told Esquire: “The only one that I remember clearly was a young Jake Gyllenhaal doing this wide-eyed version of Hansel that was really funny.” Pillow on Towleroad ‘Be You. Don’t Be A Puppet’; Patton Oswalt Gives Lends Voice to Video Used To Reveal The Disaster of Conversion Therapy. WATCH More How ATT Built OAN; ATT Guilty For Help Building Far-Right, Facts-Don’t-Matter Trump-Backing One America News– SPECIAL REPORT More Jamie Spears & Britney’s Management Team Said To Have Tried Conversion-Therapy-Like Religion To Cure The Star Following Breakdown More Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart Friendship Proves ‘Love is Love’ Says Snoop; ‘It’s Always Beautiful, We Always Enjoy Each Other’s Company’ More Matt Gaetz’s Friend Joel Greenberg Asks Judge To Postpone His Sentencing For Extra Time To Turn Over Evidence To Feds More David Furnish gives Elton John health update after hip injury More Pope says French abuse report is ‘moment of shame’ More Anderson Cooper: Instagram depresses me More Repeated Misgendering Of Employees On Purpose is a Human Rights Violation in Canada. ‘Like a Name, Pronouns are… part of a Person’s Identity’ More Supreme Court Gay Issues — As Well As Many ‘Of Interest’ — In This New Term. Rights At Risk. Religion Dominates Concerns More Harry Styles confirms explicit meaning behind Watermelon Sugar More Load More View the full article

Puppet policies still linger in the destructive hope some hold on to of changing an LGBTQ person. The only real choice is between supporting who they are or forcing them to pretend to be someone else. [This post contains video, click to play] THANK YOU ⁦@TheBornPerfect⁩ for letting me be a part of this. However insane, medieval and twisted you think conversion therapy is, believe me, it’s WAY worse. Patton Oswalt‘I Don’t think that’s therapy, Bobby. I think that’s abuse.’ From the filmmakers: See what conversion therapy looks like through Bobby’s eyes. Born Perfect is the national campaign to end conversion therapy through litigation, legislation, public education, and media. We created this video as a public education tool to raise public awareness about the absurdity of conversion therapy. If you or someone you know is experiencing conversion therapy and are seeking legal support, please contact Born Perfect’s legal support line: 1-800-528-6257 Follow us on Instagram https://instagram.com/bornperfect Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/thebornperfect CAST “Bobby” – RB Butcher “Renee” – Jasika Nicole “Mother” – D’Arcy Carden “Conversion Therapist” – Patton Oswalt Puppeteers – Kate Katz, Rachel Herrick, Alissa Hunnicut CREW Writer / Director – Carly Usdin Executive Producers – Mathew Shurka, Shannon Minter, Michael Dabbs, Brad Jenkins Producer – Rudy Jansen First Assistant Director – Selina Ruthe Director of Photography – Keitumetse Mokhonwana First Assistant Camera – Briana Monet Second Assistant Camera – Gee Moon Gaffer – Chris Bond Key Grip – Annie Williams Production Manager – Noah Kinsey Production Coordinator – Hope LaVelle Production Designer – Fon Davis Art Director – Kat Roberts Puppet Fabricators – Tim Osteen, Jared Carlson Costume Designer – Lauren St. Laurent Costumers – Claire Max, Kelsey Sissions, Lauren Ramsdell Set Construction – Todd Eric Valcourt Puppet Wranglers – Jeremy Deibo, Alexis Randolph Location Manager – Jimmy Ambrose Stage Manager – Joe Cedillo Production Assistants – Jacob Skoda, Candace Nelson, Juan Pazmino Editor – Carly Usdin Graphic Designer/Animator – Dani Okon Composer – Joanna Katcher Voiceover Recording – Todd Eric Valcourt / The TV Studio Sound Mix by Doug Clarke for Vaudeville Sound Head of Post for Vaudeville Sound: Jon Plane Executive Producer for Vaudeville Sound: Annabelle Dunbar-Whittaker Color by Luis Amaya for Apache Head of Production for Apache: Stefanie Schaldenbrand Producer for Apache: Kirsten Harris Producer for Enfranchisement – Elle Kurata Camera Rental – BeCine Filmed at FONCO STUDIOS in Los Angeles, CA Published by The Kansas City Star Comedian Patton Oswalt is a puppet in his latest role, made of fabric with an oversized head and a shock of wild hair. He plays a therapist trying to turn a “broken” little boy named Bobby straight by throwing a football at him and blaming Bobby’s “problem” on his mother, whose “motherly influence has sucked the masculinity right out of him.” All the characters are puppets in “Bobby’s Big Problem,” a short film released Tuesday by the LGBTQ rights group Born Perfect, to warn people about the dangers of conversion therapy. Conversion therapy tries to change a person’s sexual orientation or gend… Read More Puppet on Towleroad How ATT Built OAN; ATT Guilty For Help Building Far-Right, Facts-Don’t-Matter Trump-Backing One America News– SPECIAL REPORT More Jamie Spears & Britney’s Management Team Said To Have Tried Conversion-Therapy-Like Religion To Cure The Star Following Breakdown More Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart Friendship Proves ‘Love is Love’ Says Snoop; ‘It’s Always Beautiful, We Always Enjoy Each Other’s Company’ More Matt Gaetz’s Friend Joel Greenberg Asks Judge To Postpone His Sentencing For Extra Time To Turn Over Evidence To Feds More David Furnish gives Elton John health update after hip injury More Pope says French abuse report is ‘moment of shame’ More Anderson Cooper: Instagram depresses me More Repeated Misgendering Of Employees On Purpose is a Human Rights Violation in Canada. ‘Like a Name, Pronouns are… part of a Person’s Identity’ More Supreme Court Gay Issues — As Well As Many ‘Of Interest’ — In This New Term. Rights At Risk. Religion Dominates Concerns More Harry Styles confirms explicit meaning behind Watermelon Sugar More US jury orders Tesla to pay ex-employee $137 million over racism More Load More View the full article

ATT Guilty of playing far-right politics as reported in this special report. Channel bases a not insignificant amount of coverage on ridiculing and taking down LGBTQ people — If it’s not Demi Lovato’s quest for identity, the modern use of pronouns, it’s the societal ills of Drag Queen story hour, discussions of militarized homosexuals, or the “trans trends” coming for your kids. ATT built OAN it is now made clear. Hearkens back to possibly the lowest moment in GLAAD’s history when an ATT board member led the organization to opposed net-neutrality on the absurd notion that net neutrality would be bad for our people. It isn’t. Published by Reuters By John Shiffman SAN DIEGO (Reuters) – One America News, the far-right network whose fortunes and viewership rose amid the triumph and tumult of the Trump administration, has flourished with support from a surprising source: AT&T Inc, the world’s largest communications company. A Reuters review of court records shows the role AT&T played in creating and funding OAN, a network that continues to spread conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and the COVID-19 pandemic. OAN founder and chief executive Robert Herring Sr has testified that the inspiration to launch OAN in 2013 came from AT&T executives. “They told us they wanted a conservative network,” Herring said during a 2019 deposition seen by Reuters. “They only had one, which was Fox News, and they had seven others on the other [leftwing] side. When they said that, I jumped to it and built one.” Since then, AT&T has been a crucial source of funds flowing into OAN, providing tens of millions of dollars in revenue, court records show. Ninety percent of OAN’s revenue came from a contract with AT&T-owned television platforms, including satellite broadcaster DirecTV, according to 2020 sworn testimony by an OAN accountant. Herring has testified he was offered $250 million for OAN in 2019. Without the DirecTV deal, the accountant said under oath, the network’s value “would be zero.” Dallas-based AT&T, a mobile-phone and Internet provider, also owns entertainment giant Warner Media, which includes CNN and HBO. AT&T acquired DirecTV in 2015 and in August spun off the satellite service, retaining a 70% share in the new, independently managed company. AT&T’s total U.S. television subscriber base, including satellite and streaming services, fell from 26 million in 2015 to 15.4 million as of August. AT&T spokesman Jim Greer declined to comment on the testimony about OAN’s revenue streams, citing confidentiality agreements. He said that DirecTV broadcasts “many news channels that offer viewpoints across the political spectrum.” “We have always sought to provide a wide variety of content and programming that would be of interest to customers, and do not dictate or control programming on channels we carry,” Greer said. “Any suggestion otherwise is wrong.” Although the contracts are confidential, in court filings Herring cited monthly fees included in one five-year deal with AT&T. According to an AT&T filing citing Herring’s numbers, those fees would total about $57 million. Greer said that figure is inaccurate, but declined to say how much AT&T has paid to air OAN, citing a non-disclosure agreement. Herring and his adult sons own and operate OAN, a subsidiary of their closely held San Diego-based Herring Networks. Their AT&T deal includes Herring’s other network, a little-watched lifestyle channel, AWE. The Herrings declined interview requests. Herring, who just turned 80, is a self-made businessman who amassed a fortune in the circuit board industry, then turned to television and boxing promotion. OAN’s influence rose in late 2015, when it began covering Trump rallies live, at a time when some of the media still saw the New York celebrity businessman as a longshot presidential contender. The network continues to shower Trump with attention and often provides a friendly platform for his Republican allies. As president, Trump frequently urged supporters to watch OAN. In his final two years in office, Trump touted the network, known as @OANN online, to his 88 million Twitter followers at least 120 times. “Hope everybody is watching @OANN right now,” Trump tweeted on December 1, citing a dubious report about a truck carrying more than 100,000 fake ballots. “Other media afraid to show.” The state and federal court documents reviewed by Reuters detail a lucrative relationship for OAN with AT&T, even as the two occasionally tangled in court. The records include a reported offer by AT&T to acquire a 5% equity stake in OAN and AWE, though the two sides ultimately signed a different deal. The court filings also cite a promise by OAN to “cast a positive light” on AT&T during newscasts. The confidential OAN financial records are drawn in part from testimony, including by Herring and the accountant, generated during a labor lawsuit brought against OAN by a former employee and unrelated to AT&T. When that case went to trial last year, the network’s lawyer told the jury that AT&T was keeping OAN afloat. “If Herring Networks, for instance, was to lose or not be renewed on DirecTV, the company would go out of business tomorrow,” OAN lawyer Patrick Nellies told the court, a transcript shows. Researchers who tracked the rise of conservative media pillars Rush Limbaugh and Fox News see similarities between those pioneers to One America News and other new rightwing networks, particularly during their formative years. Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, said the births of Fox News and OAN share common threads: money and opportunity. She noted that the late Republican operative Roger Ailes had the foresight in the 1990s to recommend that Fox create a conservative news network. “If somebody recognizes there’s a market for something and there’s a lot of money attached to that market, you get a news outlet,” Jamieson said. “So this is AT&T playing the Roger Ailes role.” Greer, the AT&T spokesman, called that comparison “a ridiculous claim,” noting that other distributors also carry OAN. A BOOST FROM THE INSURRECTION America’s post-election turmoil, punctuated by the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, continues to roil the country. Dozens of election administrators in battleground states Trump lost have received a barrage of death threats, Reuters has reported. A Reuters poll in May showed that a quarter of Americans – and 53% of Republicans – wrongly believe Trump won the 2020 election. OAN caters to this audience. Trump’s loss was OAN’s gain, social media data show. The network’s online audience soared in November, after conservative mainstay and OAN competitor Fox News affirmed Joe Biden’s victory. Trump and his camp blasted Fox. A record 767,000 people installed the OAN app that month, nine times as many as in October, according to data firm Sensor Tower. In January, Trump supporters, including at least one carrying an OAN flag, stormed the U.S. Capitol. That month, app installs spiked again to 517,000. The OAN website averages 8 million visits a month from desktop and mobile users, having peaked at 15 million from November through January, data firm Similarweb found in an analysis for Reuters. Two in three people on desktop computers return to the website after an initial visit, about the same loyalty rate as Fox News and Newsmax, another rival conservative news channel. One America’s television ratings are harder to measure, partly because it is available in only about a quarter of the estimated 121 million TV households in the United States. Ratings services Nielsen and Comscore, which both show that Fox News continues to be the leading cable network, do not release OAN figures. In an internal email, an OAN news director told staff that the week of the Capitol assault produced the network’s “best ever” ratings, but gave no statistics. OAN says it is the fourth-rated news network, behind Fox, CNN and MSNBC, and ahead of CNBC, the BBC and Newsmax, but has not provided figures to back this up. (Each of these networks, including One America News, pays Reuters fees to publish the news service’s stories, videos and/or pictures.) Even so, the number of viewers OAN reaches may be less important than the kind of observers it attracts and galvanizes, said John Watson, an American University journalism professor specializing in ethics and media law. “If you have 12 Americans being fed a diet of untruth, that’s 12 too many – and here, it’s literally millions,” Watson said of the OAN audience. “When you have that sort of poisonous influence on mass media, it’s a problem; because elections in the United States tend to be so close, a few percentage points here or there can really make a difference.” At least one self-described regular OAN viewer recently sent a threatening note to an election official. In August, Sheila Garcia of Riverside County, California, sent Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold a scathing message. Biden beat Trump in Colorado, and Garcia accused Griswold, the state’s top election official, of treason – warning her that punishments for that crime are hanging and legal injection. “Within several months you will have to decide between the two,” Garcia wrote. In an interview, Griswold said she considered threats like Garcia’s message a credible threat on her life. That threat and dozens of others caused her to seek extra security measures, she said. Garcia, 55, told Reuters she’s convinced Biden stole the election and said she gets most of her news from OAN. She compared U.S. mainstream media to state propaganda outlets in China and Cuba. Her message to Griswold, she said, was legal. “If you’re afraid of a little old lady in a trailer park in California, I feel sorry for you,” she said in an interview. Neil W. McCabe, OAN’s former Washington bureau chief and now national political correspondent for The Tennessee Star, rejects the idea that the network is a toxic influence. He said OAN serves an important public role and has earned loyalty from viewers who share a similar world view. “When you give a voice to the voiceless, you’re going to bond with them,” McCabe told Reuters. “Who else is doing these stories?” In several instances, records show, the network broadcast statements and theories that were proven false. YouTube suspended OAN from making money off its YouTube channel last year for, among other things, repeatedly violating its COVID-19 policy, which prohibits content claiming there’s a guaranteed cure. OAN touts hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug promoted by Trump, without scientific evidence, as a cure for COVID. During last summer’s Black Lives Matter protests, OAN aired an unconfirmed report that an elderly demonstrator in Buffalo, New York, who was knocked down and seriously injured by police was trying to jam the cops’ radios. Trump, citing the OAN story, tweeted that the man “could be an ANTIFA provocateur.” The false accusation went viral. In the two days after the OAN broadcast, one-third of all online references cited the network, an analysis compiled by Zignal Labs for Reuters found. On January 6, after Trump supporters broke into the U.S. Capitol, an OAN news director cautioned staff via email, “Please DO NOT say ‘Trump Supporters Storm Capitol …’ Simply call them demonstrators or protestors … DO NOT CALL IT A RIOT!!!” A day later, Herring suggested the riot might be a false-flag operation by the leftwing Antifa movement. “We want to report all the things Antifa did yesterday. I don’t think it was Trump people but lets investigate,” he emailed OAN producers. The Federal Bureau of Investigation says there is no evidence of Antifa involvement in the riot. All but a handful of the some 600 suspects charged so far have been rightwing Trump backers. The next day, Herring tweeted: “If anyone thinks we will throw the best President America has had, in my 79 years, under the bus, you are wrong. We will continue to give him honest coverage.” His network went on to support Trump in an unusual way: OAN allowed two reporters to raise $605,000 to help fund a “private” audit of the presidential vote in Arizona, despite Republican officials’ assurances that Biden won the state. According to an OAN executive, they did so with the network’s blessing but in a private capacity. One of the OAN reporters, Christina Bobb, also worked part-time for the Trump recount legal team, according to a recent deposition by Trump’s then-lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani. An OAN executive confirmed the arrangement. Bobb, a lawyer and former Trump administration official, did not reply to a request for comment. Five former OAN producers said in interviews that they found the practice of reporters raising funds for events they cover unethical, but said OAN’s move did not surprise them. “If there was any story involving Trump, we had to only focus on either the positive information or basically create positive information,” said Marissa Gonzales, an OAN producer from 2019 until she resigned in 2020. “It was never, never the full truth.” Since March, OAN has sold hours of infomercial time to MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a leading purveyor of false claims the election was stolen. Lindell has used that time on OAN to repeatedly broadcast his election conspiracy “docu-movies.” A primary Lindell target is Dominion Voting Systems Inc, whose machines count votes in 28 states and use paper ballots and records for auditing. In August, Dominion sued OAN for defamation. “OAN saw a business opportunity” and fueled bogus conspiracies about alleged vote tampering, Dominion contended. “OAN helped create and cultivate an alternate reality where up is down, pigs have wings,” the lawsuit said. The network’s lawyers have said in letters to Dominion that the election coverage is protected free speech and that the Lindell programs include a disclaimer that they are “opinions only and are not intended to be taken or interpreted by the viewer as established facts.” Other Trump supporters, including Lindell and lawyers Giuliani and Sidney Powell, offered a similar free speech defense in related lawsuits brought by Dominion. In August, a federal judge said the Lindell, Giuliani and Powell cases should proceed toward trial, noting that the Constitution does not necessarily offer “blanket immunity for statements that are political in nature.” Generally, the network runs few commercials compared to its competitors, and former bureau chief McCabe said the paucity of advertising is a kind of superpower. The network’s reliance on fees from cable, satellite and streaming providers, instead of commercials, inoculates it from advertiser boycotts faced by counterparts such as Fox News and rightwing online news site Breitbart, in McCabe’s view. “Because they basically live off the cable and satellite fees, nobody can organize a protest against One America News,” McCabe said. AT&T & OAN: ORIGIN STORY From the early 1970s to the late 1990s, Robert Herring Sr, with sons Charles and Robert Jr, created highly successful and profitable circuit board companies. They sold one such business in 1988 for about $52 million and another two in 2000 for $122 million. In 2004, they created a television network called WealthTV, a channel dedicated to affluent lifestyles – yachts, mega-mansions and private jets. It proved to be a tough sell. Most cable and satellite providers declined to carry it, even when the Herrings offered WealthTV at a discount, or even for free, just to get it on air. “We went to every place you could think of, begging to get on,” Herring said last year on his network. In 2007 and 2008, Herring petitioned the Federal Communications Commission and courts for help, alleging that the large cable providers favored networks they owned or co-owned, discriminating against independent broadcasters like him. The providers countered that they had the right to broadcast channels they believed provided the best content. The FCC concluded that the providers had exercised appropriate business discretion and a federal court affirmed that decision. The Herring litigation irritated some providers, lawyers for two carriers told Reuters, making it even harder to get WealthTV on cable or satellite. Still, the Herrings say they developed a good relationship with AT&T, which began carrying WealthTV in 2006 through U-verse, an Internet set-top box service that can access live TV and video on demand. By 2012, WealthTV had evolved, carrying news updates and live boxing. The Herrings were keen to leverage their existing production facilities in San Diego to launch a second network, either a boxing channel or news outlet. In a pivotal moment for the company, the Herrings say in court filings, depositions and sworn statements, unidentified AT&T executives told them there was an audience for another conservative news network. Herring seized the opportunity. In his 2019 deposition in the labor suit unrelated to AT&T, the elder Herring said he created OAN for two reasons. “To make money, number one,” Robert Herring said. “But number two, is that AT&T told us … they wanted a conservative network.” The lawyer questioning Herring, Rodney Diggs, followed up. “So,” the lawyer said, “AT&T kind of dictated the kind of network that they wanted. Because there was an opportunity, you jumped at it?” “Yes, sir,” Herring replied. EQUITY, CELEBRATION, SURPRISE A few months after launching OAN in July 2013, AT&T proposed acquiring a 5% stake in Herring Networks. In a sworn statement, OAN president Charles Herring said he accepted the oral offer in October 2013. Emails show that the two sides executed a non-disclosure agreement that December and that AT&T due-diligence executives visited the Herrings in San Diego in January 2014. But the equity proposal did not materialize into a signed contract. Instead, in April 2014 the two sides signed a more conventional deal: AT&T agreed to pay the Herrings 18 cents per subscriber on U-verse each month for five years. AT&T had 5.7 million U-verse subscribers. Suddenly, after years of rejection, the Herrings were players. The joy lasted less than a month. In May 2014, AT&T announced that it planned to acquire the satellite service DirecTV, which had 20 million TV subscribers at the time. This alarmed the Herrings because their deal with AT&T was limited to U-verse. If AT&T moved all its U-verse customers to DirecTV, the Herrings feared they might receive nothing, court filings show. OAN would lose millions of potential viewers. To prevent that, Charles Herring hustled to Los Angeles to see a key AT&T executive. LOBBYING FOR AT&T That executive, according to Charles Herring’s sworn account in a lawsuit the Herrings would later file against AT&T, was Aaron Slator, then AT&T’s president of content and advertising. Slator told him AT&T needed help to allay FCC and other officials’ concern that the DirecTV deal – a consolidation of providers – might make it harder for independent networks to get on the air, Charles Herring said. So, he said in the affidavit, Slator proposed a new deal: If the Herrings lobbied on AT&T’s behalf, AT&T would air OAN and WealthTV on both U-verse and DirecTV. The Herrings would be paid one-third less per subscriber, but because DirecTV had so many more subscribers, the deal could be worth $100 million over five years. The Herrings got to work. Charles Herring hired a Washington lobbyist and met with FCC officials, FCC records show. He says he signed a filing of support “ghostwritten by AT&T” and sent it to the FCC. He says he attended a $50,000-per-person Republican fundraiser as part of the campaign. The Herrings even offered to air positive news about AT&T on OAN, the network said in its lawsuit against AT&T, which said it could not comment on the litigation. “Herring’s support of AT&T ran deep,” the Herrings’ lawyers wrote. “Herring invited AT&T to utilize OAN’s news programs to cast a positive light on the acquisition and advocated for other issues affecting AT&T’s business.” In court records, AT&T denied it made such a deal to carry OAN on DirecTV if the Herrings lobbied for the merger. “Support for the merger was never a condition of or part of any content agreement,” an AT&T spokesperson recently told Reuters. Slator, no longer with AT&T, could not be reached for comment. Another former senior AT&T executive told Reuters the company never made quid-pro-quo offers linking network deals to political support. “You just don’t mix the two,” he said. In any event, the former executive said, such lobbying by a conservative news channel would be implausible or ineffective because it would have come during the presidency of Barack Obama, a Democrat. “The Herrings were not going to have influence with Obama’s people,” said the former AT&T official. The FCC approved the AT&T-DirecTV deal in July 2015. The Herrings say AT&T still refused to put OAN and WealthTV on DirecTV, leaving them only on the shrinking U-verse platform. In March 2016, the Herrings sued AT&T, alleging it had broken an oral promise. AT&T denied any wrongdoing, issuing a statement at the time that said, “This lawsuit is simply a ploy by Herring to negotiate a slanted deal.” The Herrings won a key pretrial ruling from a federal judge, however, and in March 2017, the case was settled on undisclosed terms. A month later, OAN and WealthTV (since renamed AWE) began appearing on DirecTV. KEEPING HIS NETWORK On February 5, 2020, the U.S. Senate, sitting as a jury during Trump’s first impeachment trial in Washington, acquitted him of abusing his power for asking Ukraine’s president to launch an investigation into then-candidate Biden. On the same afternoon, in a San Diego courtroom, Robert Herring sat before a different jury, the one that heard evidence from the OAN accountant in the employment case. The jury had already found that OAN had wrongly fired the former producer for filing a racial complaint. Now, the jury was considering punitive damages. To help determine an appropriate penalty, the law allowed the jury to hear testimony about OAN’s financial condition. In addition to testifying that AT&T provided 90% of Herring Networks’ income, the accountant said the company’s book value – the net value of its assets – was a modest $16.6 million. When Herring took the witness stand, he said OAN’s market value was far higher. He confirmed a 2020 Wall Street Journal report that pro-Trump private equity investors sought to buy OAN for $250 million. Herring told the court he had given the group a few exclusive months to come up with the money but that it had only raised $35 million. “No way I would sell for $35 million,” Herring testified. For nearly four decades, Herring had worked closely with his sons to build several successful businesses, including OAN. The network, he said, carried sentimental value. “I am not sure I want to sell for anything,” he said. (Reporting by John Shiffman in San Diego. Additional reporting by Elizabeth Culliford, Linda So, Jason Szep and Brad Heath. Editing by Ronnie Greene) At&T on Towleroad Jamie Spears & Britney’s Management Team Said To Have Tried Conversion-Therapy-Like Religion To Cure The Star Following Breakdown More Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart Friendship Proves ‘Love is Love’ Says Snoop; ‘It’s Always Beautiful, We Always Enjoy Each Other’s Company’ More Matt Gaetz’s Friend Joel Greenberg Asks Judge To Postpone His Sentencing For Extra Time To Turn Over Evidence To Feds More David Furnish gives Elton John health update after hip injury More Pope says French abuse report is ‘moment of shame’ More Anderson Cooper: Instagram depresses me More Repeated Misgendering Of Employees On Purpose is a Human Rights Violation in Canada. ‘Like a Name, Pronouns are… part of a Person’s Identity’ More Supreme Court Gay Issues — As Well As Many ‘Of Interest’ — In This New Term. Rights At Risk. Religion Dominates Concerns More Harry Styles confirms explicit meaning behind Watermelon Sugar More US jury orders Tesla to pay ex-employee $137 million over racism More Clean environment could become U.N. human right. Not so fast, say U.S., Britain More Load More View the full article

Published by OK Magazine Jamie Spearstried using religion to heal his daughter’s mental struggles. After her public “breakdown” in 2008, Britney Spearswas reportedly diagnosed with a mental illness following an involuntary psychiatric evaluation — and apparently her father thought the Bible the solution. According toTMZ, sources with direct knowledge claimed that Jamie — along with the former singer’s management team, Tri Star Entertainment — tried using their religious beliefs as a cure-all for Britney’s struggles. MEGA Jamie and Lou Taylor, the founder of Tri Star, and Robin Greenhill, who also worked for the company alongside Britney’s management, were all born-again Christians. BRITNEY SPEARS REJECTED TYRA BANKS’ OFFER TO APPEAR ON ‘DWTS’ AS HOST SLAMMED FOR HER TRIBUTE TO THE PRINCESS OF POP The outlet reported that all three of them, who were all prominent figures in the pop star’s life, would walk around with Bibles and preach about God. The source also claimed that Britney was only allowed to read religious material at one point, and that anyone who wasn’t a “good Christian” wasn’t accepted into her inner circle. However, that all seemed to change after the Circus tour, when Jamie and the management team started to care more about the money that was going directly into their pockets rather than their spiritual roots. MEGA At the time, Tri Star received 5% of Britney’s gross profits — and when the singer stopped performing in 2019, Taylor asked Jamie for a guarantee of $500,000 a year, which he approved. The actions of Taylor, Greenhill, and Britney’s father are all under speculation as new details about the shady nature of the conservatorship came to light in the newly released documentaries about the conservatorship. Britney’s lawyer, Matthew Rosengart is reportedly going to stop at nothing to investigate the unethical nature of the conservatorship, which may have included illegally bugging Britney’s bedroom and recording her conversations. BRITNEY SPEARS SHOWS #FREEBRITNEY MOVEMENT LOVE, SAYS SHE CRIED BECAUSE ‘MY FANS ARE THE BEST’ MEGA Just last week, the judge on the conservatorship case suspended Jamie as the conservator of his daughter’s estate. However, Rosengart still insists that Britney’s father isn’t getting off that easily, and is maintaining that an investigation into his actions as conservator will be conducted. “Mr Spears and his representatives did something unfathomable, unfathomable – they eavesdropped on some of the most intimate communications of my client,” the lawyer said during the hearing. Religion on Towleroad How ATT Built OAN; ATT Guilty For Help Building Far-Right, Fact-Don’t-Matter Trump-Backing One America News– SPECIAL REPORT More Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart Friendship Proves ‘Love is Love’ Says Snoop; ‘It’s Always Beautiful, We Always Enjoy Each Other’s Company’ More Matt Gaetz’s Friend Joel Greenberg Asks Judge To Postpone His Sentencing For Extra Time To Turn Over Evidence To Feds More David Furnish gives Elton John health update after hip injury More Pope says French abuse report is ‘moment of shame’ More Anderson Cooper: Instagram depresses me More Repeated Misgendering Of Employees On Purpose is a Human Rights Violation in Canada. ‘Like a Name, Pronouns are… part of a Person’s Identity’ More Supreme Court Gay Issues — As Well As Many ‘Of Interest’ — In This New Term. Rights At Risk. Religion Dominates Concerns More Harry Styles confirms explicit meaning behind Watermelon Sugar More US jury orders Tesla to pay ex-employee $137 million over racism More Clean environment could become U.N. human right. Not so fast, say U.S., Britain More Load More View the full article

[This post contains video, click to play] Published by BANG Showbiz English Snoop Dogg thinks his friendship with Martha Stewart “shows the world that love is love”. The hip hop icon has opened up on the unlikely bond he shares with his former ‘Martha and Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party’ co-host, and how he thinks they can teach the whole world a valuable lesson to about unity and acceptance. He told ‘Extra’: “Me and her together, it’s always beautiful, we always enjoy each other’s company. It just shows the world that love is love! “If you get a chance to sit around somebody, talk to them, understand them, you can become friends with them no matter what colour they are, where they come from, how old they are, race, background, religion. “And that’s what we doing, we break all the stereotypes when we’re together. We make the world feel like it’s OK.” Although the pair’s friendship started with them seeing a “great business opportunity”, their relationship blossomed. He added: “It’s more personal now. I think in the beginning, it was business. I think we seen a great business opportunity, and shooting on set, we loved it each other. “And then it was opportunities that came up. I would do a commercial and I’m like, ‘Yeah, you wanna do one?’ ‘Yeah!’ ‘OK, let’s do this!’ “And she would bring me opportunities, I would bring her opportunities. And then it became, ‘I don’t wanna do it unless Martha in’, and then she would say, ‘I don’t wanna do it unless Snoop in!’ “ The pair are set to reunite for a new Peacock series ‘Snoop and Martha’s Very Tasty Halloween’, which will see them serve as judges for the programme. He explained: “We did a little thing we got where we got some people that’s baking. Me and Marth, we’re the judges – we taste the food, we judge it, we say what they do.” View the full article

Published by Radar Online MEGA Joel Greenberg, the close friend of Matt Gaetz who made headlines earlier this year for pleading guilty to sex trafficking charges, has asked a judge to move his sentencing date into next year so he can continue his cooperation with authorities. According to the Associated Press, Greenberg asked a federal judge on Tuesday to postpone his sentencing date from mid-November until March of 2022. Per the court filing, the extra four months will reportedly provide Greenberg more time to participate in interviews with the federal authorities investigating his sex trafficking case. “Indeed, Mr. Greenberg’s ongoing cooperation, which will not be completed prior to his current sentencing date, could have an impact on his final sentence,” the court filing said. The federal prosecutors reportedly do no oppose this request. Greenberg is facing up to 12 years in federal prison. His crimes include sex trafficking of a child, identity theft, stalking, and more. His plea agreement with prosecutors states he must continue cooperating with the investigation into Gaetz. MEGA Although Matt Gaetz was never mentioned in Greenberg’s plea deal, there is speculation his cooperation could act as a major role in the ongoing investigation regarding whether Gaetz paid an underage 17-year-old girl for sex. In the past, Gaetz has denied the accusations against him, and swears such allegations are nothing more than an extortion plot against him and his family. A criminal defense lawyer named David Hill, who like Gaetz and Greenberg hails from Florida, reportedly told the outlet that Greenberg’s request for more time is not unprecedented because oftentimes extra time is needed in federal probes – especially with someone like Greenberg and his cooperation. MEGA “If this is potentially going to take down a big fish, and the government thinks there is something to it, they want time to get as much information and verify it as well,” Hill told the outlet. The judge has yet to rule on the request to postpone sentencing. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Sir Elton John’s husband David Furnish has revealed the singer is “in pain” but “soldiering on” after his recent hip injury. The ‘Rocket Man’ legend was forced to postpone the European and UK leg of his ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ tour until 2023 following a fall, and his husband has provided an update on his health. Speaking to HELLO! magazine, David said: “He’s good. He’s in pain. His hip is quite sore. He’s been soldiering on for a long time, and he really was devastated to have to reschedule the next three months of shows. “But your health has to come first and I don’t think he would have been able to finish the tour if he wasn’t going to go in and have the hip surgery done so I’m actually really relieved and excited. “Then he’ll be able to go back on the road and be pain-free and then everybody will get a better show and he’ll be happier.” Elton, 74, revealed on September 16 he was having to delay his planned tour dates due to his nasty fall. In a statement issued to his social media pages, he said: “It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I am forced to reschedule the 2021 dates of my Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour in Europe and the UK to 2023. “At the end of my summer break I fell awkwardly on a hard surface and have been in considerable pain and discomfort in my hip ever since. Despite intensive physio and specialist treatment, the pain has continued to get worse and is leading to increasing difficulties moving. “I have been advised to have an operation as soon as possible to get me back to full fitness and make sure there are no long-term complications. I will be undertaking a programme of intensive physiotherapy that will ensure a full recovery and a return to full mobility without pain.” View the full article

Published by DPA Pope Francis speaks during his Wednesday General Audience at the Paul VI hall. Evandro Inetti/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa Pope Francis has said a damning report concerning sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in France is “a moment of shame.” A commission of enquiry had reported on Tuesday that an estimated 216,000 children and young people had been victims of sexual violence in the Catholic Church in France since the 1950s. Together with the institutions run by the Church, there may have been 330,000 victims. This is a “considerable” number, the pope said at a general audience at the Vatican on Wednesday. He expressed “my sorrow and my pain to the victims for the trauma they have suffered. But also my shame, the shame of all of us, my shame.” Francis urged bishops and church leaders in France to do everything possible to ensure that such incidents do not happen again and “so that the Church once again becomes a safe home for all.” The French Bishops’ Conference on Wednesday reaffirmed that there should be financial compensation for the victims. “You can’t repair the irreparable,” Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, president of the French Bishops’ Conference, told broadcaster France Info. The Church must recognize the victims and acknowledge its own wrongdoing, he said. The bishop did not say anything specific about the possible amount of compensation. Pope Francis interacts with the audience during his Wednesday General Audience at the Paul VI hall. Evandro Inetti/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Anderson Cooper says Instagram leaves him feeling depressed. The 54-year-old CNN presenter admits there are elements of the photo and video sharing social media platform which he enjoys but often he logs off feeling worse about his own life than when he logged in. He said: ““I’m on Instagram and I enjoy it. I follow friends and look at art sites and things like that. But I gotta say, it depresses me. I mean, I leave feeling worse than when I got on.” The presenter was speaking on his show ‘Anderson Cooper 360’, in conversation with Syracuse University’s Associate Professor of Communications Jennifer Grygiel about the effects of social media on teens. She told Anderson: “What we’re seeing on Instagram is an imminent threat to teenagers. I am seeing self-harm. I’m talking about starvation … teenagers cutting themselves.” Anderson went on to admit that he sympathises with the teenagers today, after the report claimed that “teens blame Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiety and depression” and that the findings were “unprompted and consistent across all groups.” He added: “I feel worse about my own life, I cannot imagine what a teenager feels. I mean, I’m supposedly an adult. What some kid feels looking at other people’s lives and how their lives seem much more exciting than their own.” The interview came about after finds of a report released by a whistle-blower at Facebook claimed that almost a third of girls asked had admitted to questioning their body image after using the Instagram platform. It read: ““32 per cent of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse.” View the full article