Trump Thanks Putin for Expelling U.S. Diplomats: ‘We’re Trying to Cut Down on Our Payroll’

This is the U.S. president speaking when asked if he had a response to Putin expelling more than 750 U.S. mission staff members in retaliation for the veto-proof sanctions bill Trump was forced to sign:

“I want to thank him because we’re trying to cut down our payroll and as far as I’m concerned I’m very thankful that he let go of a large number of people because now we have a smaller payroll. There’s no real reason for them to go back. I greatly appreciate the fact that we’ve been able to cut our payroll of the United States. We’re going to save a lot of money.”

Watch:

The post Trump Thanks Putin for Expelling U.S. Diplomats: ‘We’re Trying to Cut Down on Our Payroll’ appeared first on Towleroad.

Trump Thanks Putin for Expelling U.S. Diplomats: ‘We’re Trying to Cut Down on Our Payroll’

Stop what you’re doing and check out this psychedelic children’s cartoon with Cher
Get on board.

www.queerty.com/stop-youre-check-psychedelic-childrens-cartoon-cher-20170810?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Haiti May Ban Public Support for LGBTQ Rights, Set Prison Term for Gay Marriage

The Haitian Senate passed a bill last week that would prohibit public support for LGBTQ rights as well as further criminalize same-sex marriage, which is already illegal.

It must still be approved by the Chamber of Deputies, and LGBTQ rights organizations have already signaled a campaign against that outcome:

A bill passed by the Haitian Senate last week provides for up to three years in prison and a fine of about $8,000 for either party to a marriage not between a man and a woman. The bill also would prohibit any public support or advocacy for LGBTQ rights.

Haitian law already specifically defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

Charlot Jeudy of the gay rights organization Kouraj said the legislation would violate Haiti’s constitution and his group will try to persuade members of the Chamber of Deputies to reject it.

“We have the right to protest and we have the right to be who we are and we have the right to be free,” Jeudy said in an interview.

The bill, entitled “Law on Strengthening the Provisions of the Civil Code Relating to Marriage and the Protection of the Family,” includes same-sex marriage “accomplices” as being subject to penalty along with participants, and restricts “any public demonstration of support for homosexuality and proselytizing in favor of such acts.”

Jeudy outlined steps his organization would take in opposition to the bill’s final passage, according to the Haiti Sentinel:

To face what he presents “as a measure aimed at reinforcing discrimination against LGBT people”, Charlot Jeudy indicates that his organization is in full consultation with many national and international human rights actors. They intend to advocate in the Chamber of Deputies and with the Administration for the outright rejection of the bill, “which tends to justify acts of violence against people on the basis of their sexual orientation.”

In the event of failure of these procedures, the Kouraj does not rule out the possibility of bringing the question before the Haitian judicial bodies to question the “constitutionality” of these laws. A complaint, to be filed with international human rights organizations is also in the works “in order to force the Haitian state to assume its responsibilities towards all its citizens.”

The Caribbean island already poses a difficult environment for LGBTQ individuals and has seen violent opposition to marriage equality. An LGBTQ-themed film festival had to be called off late last year when it came under threats of death and arson.

The post Haiti May Ban Public Support for LGBTQ Rights, Set Prison Term for Gay Marriage appeared first on Towleroad.

Haiti May Ban Public Support for LGBTQ Rights, Set Prison Term for Gay Marriage

Fox News’ Eric Bolling Sues Reporter for $50M After Breaking Sex Scandal

The suspended newscaster is personally suing Huffington Post contributing writer Yashar Ali for defamation.

www.advocate.com/media/2017/8/10/fox-news-eric-bolling-sues-reporter-50m-after-breaking-sex-scandal

Olympic gymnast’s brilliant idea to increase viewership: Compete shirtless
This is some sound reasoning.

www.queerty.com/olympic-gymnasts-brilliant-idea-increase-viewership-compete-shirtless-20170810?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

CNN Fires Trumpbot Jeffrey Lord for Tweeting ‘Sieg Heil’ at Media Matters President

CNN has fired Trump spokesbot Jeffrey Lord after he tweeted “Sieg Heil” at Angelo Carusone, the president of liberal media watchdog Media Matters, the network said:

“Nazi salutes are indefensible,” a CNN spokesperson said in a statement. “Jeffrey Lord is no longer with the network.”

Lord was not immediately reachable for comment. Earlier in the day, he defended his tweet by saying he was “mocking a fascist.”

Lord, a former Reagan administration staffer, had been one of CNN’s best-known commentators. He was the first explicitly pro-Donald Trump commentator to join the network, back in August 2015, two months after Trump entered the GOP primary race. At the time Lord was a counterweight to CNN’s other conservative commentators, who were all dismissive of Trump’s candidacy.

Other pro-Trump voices joined the network later. CNN now has about a dozen commentators who tend to support the president’s views.

Lord and Carusone have reportedly been feuding all week with Lord calling Carusone’s group the “Media Matters Fascists.

Lord said Carusone was playing a “fascist game” by targeting Hannity’s sponsors, and said Media Matters has been doing it for years against other conservatives.

“This is America, Angelo. Not Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany or Communist Russia,” he wrote.

Lord tweeted the column at Carusone, who responded, “Your headline has a mistake in it.” Carusone asked, “Why do you expect anyone to take you seriously when you don’t take yourself seriously.”

Lord’s response was “Sieg Heil!”

Sieg Heil!

— Jeff Lord (@realJeffreyLord) August 10, 2017

The post CNN Fires Trumpbot Jeffrey Lord for Tweeting ‘Sieg Heil’ at Media Matters President appeared first on Towleroad.

CNN Fires Trumpbot Jeffrey Lord for Tweeting ‘Sieg Heil’ at Media Matters President

“Yuri!!! On Ice” and the importance of positive LGBTQ representation

The first clip I remember seeing of the sports anime series Yuri!!! On Ice was of one of the main characters standing up stark naked in a hot spring, facing the other male protagonist and declaring that he was going to be his skating coach. This, coupled with my previous frustrations from never-to-be-realized queer subtext in other sports anime like Free! Iwatobi Swim Club, led me to believe that Yuri!!! would never allow its two male protagonists to be together romantically before I even started watching it. I have never been more thrilled to be proven wrong. 

Despite my resigned certainty that I was about to be drawn in by the potential of a queer relationship only to be disappointed for the umpteenth time, Yuri!!! On Ice managed to exceed all of my expectations. In the end, the show delivered a thoughtful portrayal of two men developing a deep and trusting romantic relationship that provides LGBTQ viewers with representation of queer individuals being happy together above all else, which is something that we desperately need.

The show follows twenty-three year old Japanese figure skater Yuuri Katsuki’s athletic career after a personally devastating loss at the previous season’s Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. However, his life and his career change forever when Yuuri’s idol, Russian figure skating legend Victor Nikiforov, moves in at Yuuri’s family’s hot spring and declares that he’s going to be Yuuri’s coach for the upcoming season. As they work together, their relationship progresses from fan and idol to skater and coach and finally to equals who fall in love.

After realizing that Yuuri and Victor were fully, romantically in love (and overcoming the euphoria that queer subtext had finally become text in a sports anime), I prepared myself for the worst, expecting one of the characters to be outed or for them to be tragically separated. However, as the series progressed I realized that Yuuri and Victor didn’t face the kind of discrimination that LGBTQ individuals are used to seeing both in real life and on the screen. Furthermore, this lack of discrimination was a deliberate choice: in a tweet, series creator Mitsurou Kubo stated, “No matter what real people think about this anime, within its world no one is ever going to be discriminated against because of what they like. And that is something I will always protect.” (Translation credit: toraonice)

 For me, it was the first piece of entertainment media I had seen that didn’t present queer individuals as “other,” but allowed them to simply freely love and exist. While watching, I didn’t have to worry about whether Yuuri or Victor would be outed in an unsafe environment or if Yuuri was going to be unfairly judged on the ice because of his sexuality like so many real life figure skaters have feared in the past. Rather, I fretted over when they were finally going to kiss (because really, it was a long time coming) and if I was ever going to get to see the wedding that was hinted at by their matching gold rings.

Watching Yuuri and Victor fall in love was so emotionally rewarding for me as a queer individual because it allowed me to experience a queer love story simply for what it was: a love story. Often, I have to turn to fan-produced content for this kind of idyllic, worry-free representation when I don’t want to deal with the emotional rollercoaster of fearing for the fates (and the lives) of my favorite queer characters. This isn’t to say that Yuuri and Victor’s relationship is without conflict, but rather that any conflict in their relationship derives from their struggles to better understand each other rather than discrimination that they face on the basis of their sexuality. 

Ultimately however, watching Yuri!!! On Ice made me feel safer and more secure in my own identity because it presents its queer characters as normal people falling in love. At a time when I was still struggling with feeling comfortable calling myself bisexual, watching queer characters simply exist in the world of Yuri!!! helped to reassure me that I could experience love in the same way as my heterosexual peers.

Although it is true that the discrimination-free world of Yuri!!! On Ice isn’t realistic (yet), it can help reassure queer individuals like me that they can experience love in the same way as anyone else. At the same time, it provides a glimpse of a future where being queer doesn’t mean being “other”. And that notion is something that I will always work towards and protect.

Yuri!!! On Ice is available for streaming on Crunchyroll in Japanese with English subtitles and Funimation in English and Japanese with English subtitles.

 

www.glaad.org/blog/yuri-ice-and-importance-positive-lgbtq-representation