#matts reaction has been added due to popular demand

[sea-buns]

[Aabria retching]

[yumitsukiyoru]

Rudy Giuliani: A Career of Controversy and Infamy

From "America's Mayor" to Trump's Personal Attorney, Rudy Giuliani's journey has been anything but ordinary

Rudy Giuliani, once hailed as "America's Mayor" for his leadership during the aftermath of 9/11, has seen his political career take a dramatic turn in recent years. From his role as Donald Trump's personal attorney to his involvement in spreading voter fraud lies after the 2020 election, Giuliani has become a controversial figure in the public eye. In addition to his political endeavors, he has faced a series of legal troubles and found himself embroiled in various scandals.

This article takes a closer look at some of Giuliani's most outlandish moments throughout his long and eventful career.

Hair dye mishap

One of the most memorable moments from Giuliani's post-election crusade to overturn the 2020 election results was a hair dye mishap during a press conference. As he passionately contested the election results, perspiration mixed with hair dye, resulting in black streaks running down his face. The image of Giuliani with streaks of hair dye became an iconic symbol of the chaotic and often absurd nature of the post-election period.

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

In the satirical comedy sequel, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Giuliani was unknowingly pranked into a meeting with a fake journalist, played by Maria Bakalova. In a hotel room interview, Giuliani was caught on hidden cameras with his hands down his pants as he lay on a bed. While Giuliani claimed he was merely adjusting his trousers, the scene created significant discomfort for viewers and added to his already controversial reputation.

Four Seasons Total Landscaping press conference

Perhaps one of the most bizarre moments in Giuliani's career was the press conference held at Four Seasons Total Landscaping, an unassuming Philadelphia garden center. The press conference, intended to discuss alleged voter fraud in the 2020 election, took place in the store's car park, creating a surreal backdrop for Giuliani's claims. Despite the obvious mix-up in location, Giuliani carried on with the press conference, further adding to its farcical nature.

The Masked Singer appearance

In an unexpected turn of events, Giuliani made a surprise appearance on the popular singing competition show, The Masked Singer. Disguised as a Jack-in-the-Box character, Giuliani performed on the show, causing a stir among the judges and audience due to the controversies surrounding him at the time. The appearance added another layer of strangeness to Giuliani's already tumultuous career.

Allegations of sexual assault and harassment

In a bombshell lawsuit filed by his former employee Noelle Dunphy, Giuliani was accused of sexual assault and harassment. The lawsuit detailed disturbing allegations, including claims that Giuliani demanded oral sex while on speakerphone with high-profile friends and clients, stating that it made him "feel like Bill Clinton." Giuliani vehemently denied the allegations, but the lawsuit further tarnished his reputation.

Insults directed at Matt Damon

In a transcript submitted as part of the lawsuit, Giuliani made derogatory remarks about actor Matt Damon. Confusing Damon with Bradley Cooper, Giuliani referred to Damon as a derogatory term and insulted his height. The inexplicable vendetta against Damon added to the growing list of controversies surrounding Giuliani.

The airport shave

In a bizarre incident at New York's JFK Airport, Giuliani was caught on video shaving his face in the Delta One lounge. While waiting for his flight, Giuliani decided to shave in public, disregarding social norms and privacy. This incident, along with the hair dye mishap, further highlighted Giuliani's unconventional behavior.

The moment Biden won the election

During a news conference, Giuliani received the news that Joe Biden had won the 2020 election. His reaction, filled with disbelief and frustration, showcased his refusal to accept the election results. Giuliani's outburst, claiming that networks don't get to decide elections and that judges should be the ones to determine the outcome, demonstrated his unwavering loyalty to Donald Trump and his unwillingness to accept defeat.

Rudy Giuliani's political career has been marked by controversy, scandal, and a series of bizarre moments. From his role as "America's Mayor" to his time as Donald Trump's personal attorney, Giuliani's trajectory has been anything but ordinary. His involvement in spreading voter fraud lies, his legal troubles, and his outlandish public appearances have cemented his place as a polarizing figure in American politics.

As Giuliani continues to face legal challenges and navigate the aftermath of his tumultuous career, his legacy remains one of infamy and controversy.

[udaas93]

Please stop with the abuse

Stop this harassment, intolerance, and insults please.

Stop this vile groupthink mentality and bullying/slander over something harmless that goes on in EVERY single fandom. This type of ‘banning’ and bullying over rps in the Shadowhunters fandom would NOT be accepted within other fandoms. RPS is popular and has their free space on tumblr in every single fandom where a person can comment on chemistry, etc with every other pairing. The SH fandom wouldn’t want people to tweet so much about Shumdario or etc but people are abused and attacked so much on tumblr with actual violence/threats with people continuing to make up drama. Shumdario shipping should have had a safe zone on tumblr so people will feel less inclined to express themselves about it on twitter or instagram so the cast won’t see it. Grow up.

Notice the double standard where most Domberto shippers can make their fan blogs, post fan fiction on the Domberto tag, and have their fun on tumblr to an extent where this is not allowed for Shumdario. Obviously, people feel a certain threat to Matthew/Harry and it is so upsetting to witness this hypocrisy from this fandom. Even had somebody tell me that Matt wonders why Domberto is such a thing in this fandom but Shumdario isn’t. Celebs know what comes with the territory and have certain expectations. None of this garbage/harassment against rps would be tolerated in most other fandoms. Most of other fandoms don’t have this kind of hyper-policing when it comes to ships of any kind. Tumblr is supposed to be the safe space for that. The anti’s are making it worse. Nobody can make a single post about Matthew/Harry’s dynamic without adding ugly insults towards Shumdario shipping or bizarre warnings/threats.  Matthew and Harry care about one another just like Dom/Alberto and many cast mates do. Dom and Alberto have both had amused reactions to the Domberto shipping. They are not homophobic or insecure about their sexuality/relationships. They would not let something basic like people shipping them ruin their friendship.  Stop imposing your closedmindedness onto them and then harassing Shumdarios over it. Why are you so scared? These anti’s are making a lot of exaggerations/projections over persecution of other shippers in other fandoms.

Shumdarios are low key and do not break the 4th wall. Stop projecting your phobia, insecurities, and ugly immaturity on to the cast and other fans please. Shumdario should have been a source of enjoyment for this fandom but instead we have this vile stigma and endless bullying over it. Let people enjoy and perceive their dynamic the way they want to. Having the safe space on tumblr would actually decrease the amount of twitter/instagram posts about it. This is playing out the opposite way that it is supposed to. If the concern is breaking the 4th wall, then let Shumdario make their posts in peace on the Shumdario tag on tumblr so it won’t extend to other social media so it can be low key/less visible to the cast. Shipping is an inherent feeling, you can’t stop people from shipping or loving something.

People generally don’t act like it is ‘wrong’ or ‘crazy’ or ‘disgusting’ to ship two celebrities together for practically everything else. Like I said, rps goes on in every fandom. It is male/male pairings that tend to get this vile reaction only and I see this mainly only applied to Shumdario. This immaturity, intolerance, and misguided hyper-policing in this fandom sickens me.

I can’t tell you how many people secretly tell me in private that they agree with me but are afraid to reblog my posts about it because they are scared of big blogs attacking them or the SH fandom shunning them. I can’t tell you how many people tell me in private, that they low-key ship Shumdario but are hiding it due to bullying/the stigma from this fandom. People are even afraid of simply making gif-sets of moments between Harry and Matthew because inevitably people add their hateful remarks about Shumdario. This is so terrible. Not to mention, you are giving the impression to Matthew/Harry that anything homoerotic ( whether it  be fantasy or reality) would not be tolerated for them. We used to get more interaction with them and Harry actually thinks people are against Shumdario or something. The anti’s are making it worse with this policing, abuse, and constant posts from big blogs where they LIE about drama that they ( the antis) actually started.

Shumdario shipping ( even if it is casual to the most minor degree gets the most nastiest reaction whether it be on tumblr or even youtube fan videos). The people in their twenties and thirties who have had experiences in so many fandoms are confounded by this selective sick stupidity from the SH fandom. I wish people would stop their vendetta against Shumdario and Malec as well.

All of this ugliness is triggering and awful. If you only knew…..

Then it is starting to extend to Malec as well where fans are so paranoid/immature that they demand that fans not ask Matthew or Harry questions about Malec in those facebook, twitter chats, and livestreams. They ignore the fact that Harry and especially Matthew love talking about Malec. 

Good grief, stop referring to rps as “ fandom grossness” especially since Shumdario shipping barely exists due to this bullying/slanderous movement in the first place. People are respectful and it is very low key yet people are still paranoid, immature to make hate posts. Stop inserting your paranoia/bizarre insecurities regarding Shumdario onto Shumdario shippers or onto Harry or Matt. 

Harry and Matt can’t interact without people fabricating drama and imposing their intolerant views. When they interact, people harass others with their anti-Shumdario shipping stance by creating a negative hysteria. If they don’t interact, people harass and blame the Shumdario shippers by making up drama. Real friends would not let shipping of any kind bother them or affect their dynamic.  It is beyond insanity at this point. Apparently, Harry and Matt hanging out on New Years Eve is grounds for people to start up the abuse, ignorance, and threats regarding Shumdario shipping again.

I posted various disclaimers about Shumdario shipping. Most people do NOT break the 4th wall and stay in their lane but the anti’s are refusing to respect boundaries. This is literally the only fandom where I have witnessed this ignorant mentality dominate where people keep enabling this bullying. Instead of being happy about Shumdario bonding and hanging out, people are using this as a platform to start up the same ugliness again and again. ENOUGH!!!

Stop persecuting people and stop it with these kind of posts. Tumblr was supposed to be safe space for any kind of shipping especially RPS. Keeping it on tumblr and letting people have that safe space decreases the overlap of it into twitter or other sites so the cast won’t see it. Yet the bullying and restrictive attitude/hostility is so high on tumblr, we get the opposite happening. It is the anti’s who keep inciting negativity and ugliness. 

There is a double standard regarding Shumdario and rps in any other fandom. Double standard between Shumdario versus Domberto or Sherdario, the people who ship Kat with Dom, Alberto,and Emeraude, and etc. It is because people are so threatened regarding Harry and Matthew. 

I posted many posts on the Shumdario tag regarding this. Many people have been attacked, abused, and slandered unfairly over this. Stop making Shumdario a constant source of negativity for the cast and for other fans. Stop the bullying and vile generalizations. Stop this bizarre panic about Shumdario and shipping. 

For the record, Harry and Matthew did their promo separately at NYCC 2016 because they paired off the downworlders separately ( Harry, Isaiah, and Alberto), while the Shadowhunters ( Emeraude, Dom, Matt, and Kat) were off doing separate interviews. Matt and Harry will do separate interviews from time to time especially if they do want to keep intrigue and suspense regarding Malec by not wanting to give too much away. They are not obligated to flaunt their bromance constantly in order to appease the people who have this bizarre paranoia with them. Either way, Shumdario shippers get attacked regardless of how much they interact. Either way, I see the antis’ keep projecting claims of homophobia or discomfort onto Harry regardless of him not showing any. Celebs know that people ship them with other celebrities including their friends and co-workers. Heck, I have seen celebrities be shipped with people they have not met or colleagues they are clearly are not even close to at all. What people ship has no direct bearing on their real life behavior. A person secure in their sexuality and real life relationship would not be flipping out on fans over shipping for pete’s sake. Grow up. 

Stop making this is about harassing Shumdario shippers. Fans ship Domberto, Sherdario, and etc with pleasure and I have seen rps scattered across social media for all of the castmembers yet it is only Shumdario that gets this extremist reaction from people projecting their paranoias. It is also an ignorant projection and narrative to claim that rps was responsible for two cast mates not interacting as much as you want outside of work. Harry and Matthew are doing a con in Barcelona this Spring, just the two of them. Harry and Matthew have had nothing but flattered or amused reactions when they hear about Shumdario. They are not immature like some people in this fandom and selectively trying to erase or be abusive towards rps is not acceptable.

Stop projecting this immaturity, intolerance, and insecurities onto the cast and harassing other fans over it. In the majority of other fandoms, people get to have their safe space. Tumblr is supposed to be the secure spot for it in order to prevent people from breaking the 4th wall on social media. 

[gibsongirlselections]

What if Trump Won’t Leave The White House?

I’ve got a list of bookmarks as long as a CVS receipt declaring threats to the republic and democracy and the arrival of dictatorship. When I turn on cable news, the end of America as we know it—the literal end, as in North Korean-style lives for everyone—is a regular feature alongside weather and sports (back when we had sports). I’ve tried to make a career out of debunking that fear mongering. But now I’m scared too.

Joe Biden has announced his own fears. Biden (who despite appearances is the Democratic candidate for president) said he is “absolutely convinced” the military may have to remove President Trump from the White House if he refuses to leave after losing November’s election. Joe warned, “This president is going to try to steal this election…. It’s my greatest concern.” Asked whether he’d thought about what would happen if he wins but Trump decides not to leave, Biden responded: “Yes I have.” After mentioning the high-ranking former military officers who spoke out about Trump’s response to Black Lives Matter protests, he went on: “I’m absolutely convinced they will escort him from the White House.”

Biden has been saying this for months.

It’s one thing when goofy Michael Moore, Donny Deutsch, or Bill Maher muses about this for clicks, or an op-ed worries Trump will unleash a diversionary war in some Strangelovian bid to stay in office. Nearly everyone on Autonomous Free Twitter knows the voting will be rigged. Some knucklehead wrote a book about it based on a fan fiction reading of the 12th Amendment. Democrats have also voiced “concerns” that Trump might use the coronavirus crisis to delay or delegitimize the election.

But this is Joe Biden saying Trump will attempt some sort of unconstitutional coup. Joe Biden, who was vice president twice. Joe Biden, Lion of the Senate, and for several centuries the gray representative of the credit card industry. Joe Biden, who is not stupid, naive, or dramatic. Joe Biden, who is, however, just a pawn in the game. They’re setting it up, aren’t they?

The New York Times, as is its role, has already fired several signal flares. They characterized Trump as a cornered despot, capable of anything to avoid losing. In another article, the Times announced, “Trump Sows Doubt on Voting. It Keeps Some People Up at Night,” which quotes a Georgetown University law professor saying that “reactions have gone from, ‘Don’t be silly, that won’t happen,’ to an increasing sense of, ‘You know, that could happen.’” 

The professor even convened a group to brainstorm how Trump might disrupt the election and think about ways to prevent it. They speculated that Trump could declare a state of emergency, maybe COVID-related, banning polling places in battleground states from opening. Or Attorney General Barr could Comey-like announce a criminal investigation into Biden.

The online comment responses to the Times articles are amazing. People are ready for this. They are convinced Trump is defunding the post office so no one can mail in absentee ballots (the left imagines they’ll all be for Biden), and that Trump is sending out coded signals to his militias to take to the streets if it looks like he is losing. More than a few claim that what happens in November “will depend on where the military’s loyalty lies.” Many think the Supreme Court is a tool in all this, with Kavanaugh a lickspittle linchpin to enable the November coup through some sort of judicial invalidation of the election.

That Americans think this way is scary enough. But here’s my nightmare. After a long October of rumors from sources about some surprise (war with Iran, martial law in Seattle) fails to produce a surge in Never Trump voters, the media pivots to the cheating narrative. Trump is doing something with mail-in ballots, black people can’t get to the polls in Georgia, the attorney general in Kentucky will undercount urban areas. The media will explode like a ripe zit, splattering fake news, exaggerations, and experts, all with a single point to make: the results on Election Day will not be valid if Trump wins. Academics will fan the flames, bleating on about the importance of the popular vote and rehashing old arguments from 2016 about the invalidity of the Electoral College.

All will be forgotten faster than Robert-What’s-His-Name-Mueller if Biden wins. But if by pre-2016 standards Trump is the winner, boom! The media will refuse to concede. The Dems will issue strident local court challenges, demands for recounts, and emergency hearings in the House. They will want not a conclusion, but a crisis.

Trump will fulfill his role as his own worst enemy and hold rallies to re-declare victory over and over again. But the story everywhere else will be that he isn’t the president-elect, that the election was not legitimate, and that orange bad man’s presence in the White House after January 20 will be a Konstitutional Krisis. Privately the Democratic power brokers will whisper to their wealthy funders that something remarkably undemocratic has to be done to save our democracy.

What happens next is beyond guessing. A best case scenario is that some old school party graybeards get through to an exhausted and befuddled Biden and talk him out of it. A bad scenario has Obama emerging under the guise of being a neutral party to negotiate a (Democratic Party) conclusion. A very bad scenario has the same third-party actors who whipped Black Lives Matter protesters into a looting mob repeat the performance. By that point, nearly everyone will demand that the military step in, albeit for different reasons. A very, very bad scenario will have a real-world event intervene, like an enemy abroad taking advantage of the chaos. The need to act expeditiously will slip a “temporary” military government into place faster than CNN can play the breaking news music.

Paperback thriller material, right? But consider whether you thought Trump was a Russian sleeper agent before you call me paranoid. Since 2016, learned scholars have tested legal theories saying the Electoral College was invalid and created a constitutional Frankenstein based on the national popular vote. The idea that the election was invalid due to foreign influence still sullies discussion today. One political writer even continues to place an asterisk next to “President Trump*” to denote his questionable claim to the title.

For nearly four years, the same forces that may declare 2020 invalid tried very hard to convince us 2016 already was. There are plenty of Hillary people (including Hillary) who have not accepted 2016. Has Stacey Abrams really accepted her defeat yet? Think back to everything that happened during the last election, the gaming by Comey and the FBI to influence results. Remember how the intelligence community manipulated Russiagate. Why wait for November 2020 to have a coup? We’ve been in what Matt Taibbi calls a permanent coup for years. They’ve been practicing.

Any of the those things would have been considered crazy talk only a few years ago. None would have ever passed into the mainstream. Compare Russiagate to the Great Obama Birth Certificate kerfuffle. The idea that Obama was ineligible for office festered on right-wing talk radio. It was dismissed as fact-less by just about everyone else. Fast forward to 2016+ and America’s paper of record is happy to front a story claiming the president is subject to a foreign enemy’s blackmail based on nothing but desperate hope that it might be true.

The critical tool for the ending of democracy is people’s conditioned readiness to believe almost anything. The media tells the world what’s important using a very narrow range of truth, or just makes things up if truth is not around to be manipulated.

We are exhausted, neck-deep in cynicism, decline, and distrust. And scared. There are no facts anymore, only what people can be made to believe. That power was not well understood in 2016 and was clumsily applied. Today it is ripe for exploitation, far beyond generating clicks and ad revenue. I don’t think Trump will try to stay in office if he loses. But there are people who will tell us that to manipulate our fears and steal this election. That’s why I am finally scared.

Peter Van Buren, a 24-year State Department veteran, is the author of We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People,Hooper’s War: A Novel of WWII Japan, and Ghosts of Tom Joad: A Story of the #99 Percent.

The post What if Trump Won’t Leave The White House? appeared first on The American Conservative.

[global-news-station]

Donald Trump said he would temporarily ban immigration to the United States because of the “Invisible Enemy” of the coronavirus, as angry Americans took to the streets to demand an end to crippling lockdowns.

In just four months, the virus has turned the world upside down, confining half the planet indoors and killing nearly 170,000 on its march through virtually every country.

Drastic measures never before seen in peacetime have shredded the global economy, resulting in the extraordinary spectacle of oil prices turning negative as demand evaporates.

World leaders are agonising over the right moment to loosen restrictions, terrified of a second wave but aware their citizens need to work and live amid growing signs of social tension.

US President Trump, who has encouraged anti-lockdown protests roiling parts of the country, said Monday he would halt immigration — a theme long popular with his supporters.

“In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!” he tweeted.

At least 22 million Americans have lost their jobs since sweeping lockdowns were implemented to slow the spread of the virus, and exasperation was growing in some parts of the country.

Hundreds took part in a “Patriots Rally” in Pennsylvania, one waving a banner proclaiming “Give me liberty or give me death.”

Rose Bayer, 50, said it was “crazy” to shut down the world over a disease she said has a recovery rate of about 98 percent.

“People will starve, they’ll commit suicide, they’ll lose everything over this. The cure — like Trump said — the cure cannot be worse than the disease,” she said.

While such demos have captured much attention, more than four in five Americans would approve of a national stay-at-home order, according to a recent Quinnipiac poll.

But isolated protests are also springing up elsewhere with hundreds defying social distancing rules in Vladikavkaz, in Russia’s Northern Caucasus, to demonstrate against the lockdown and economic hardship.

Sporadic clashes also broke out in a downtrodden northern Paris suburb with protesters launching fireworks at police they accuse of enforcing the restrictions too harshly.

– ‘Like a war situation’ –

In hard-hit Europe, several countries are cautiously creeping out from confinement measures, buoyed by mounting signs the worst of the virus may be behind them.

Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Germany was “still a long way from being out of the woods,” as she allowed smaller shops from florists to fashion stores to reopen.

There were also encouraging signs in other major European countries such as Italy, France and Britain, although authorities warned citizens against letting their guard down.

Ghana became the first African country to lift its coronavirus restrictions, sparking a mixed reaction on streets in Accra teeming with citizens after a three-week lockdown.

“It is a huge reprieve. We have a listening government,” hawker Jemima Adwoa Anim told AFP.

“It was like a war situation. We had no money and at the same time couldn’t step out to work to earn some cash,” she added.

But others were furious the restrictions had been lifted so early.

“This is totally ridiculous. How is it possible?” asked 20-year-old student Francis Collison.

“We just recorded over 1,000 positive cases of COVID-19 and suddenly the president decided to lift the partial lockdown.”

– ‘Nobody wants to buy’ –

The fallout from the coronavirus has sparked fears of a second Great Depression with millions around the world losing their jobs as economies grind to a halt.

A devastating supply glut resulted in oil producers effectively paying others to take crude oil off their hands, as a barrel of US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for May delivery closed at -$37.63.

Futures prices rebounded back above zero in Asian trade Tuesday, but the historic moves sent shockwaves through global markets, sending the Dow Jones Index sharply lower and Asian markets into the red at the opening bell.

“It’s a contract for something that nobody wants to buy,” said Matt Smith of ClipperData, as oil storage facilities are full and demand has plunged due to fast-shrinking economic activity.

The virus has sent the aviation sector into a tailspin with cash-strapped Virgin Australia announcing Tuesday it had entered voluntary administration — the largest airline so far to collapse.

British tycoon Richard Branson has warned his part-owned airline Virgin Atlantic will also go under without government financial aid.

But despite the virus, people around the world are finding imaginative ways to pierce the gloom.

Police in Madrid are blaring their car sirens to celebrate birthdays of people stuck in their apartments.

And in Paris, Carla Bianchi, an actress of Italian origin, sings for her neighbours every night from her window, dedicating her songs to caregivers.

“It’s true that often Italian songs that are like serenades to be sung below the window work well,” she said.

“As time goes by, a small audience is growing. Even on the other side, from afar, so I see my voice travels.”

The post Trump says to ban immigration as US protestors demand lockdown end appeared first on ARY NEWS.

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