For Mel Brooks' 95th birthday, 4 ways he changed the world

From one Brooks, how many rivers flow?

There’s a bit of trivia about the filmmaker, who turns 95 on Monday, that I often turn over in my head.

On an episode of Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show,” Carl Reiner said that the two funniest people he knew were Brooks and a 16-year-old kid named Albert Einstein. Einstein, whose parents, of course, were comedians, later changed his last name to Brooks and became an accomplished director and writer in his own right. Whether or not it was a tribute, Albert Brooks and all comedic filmmakers — including a quite different Brooks, James L. — are toiling in the erstwhile Melvin Kaminsky’s shadow.

It’s hard to overstate Mel Brooks’ sphere of influence, felt in every genre spoof, contemporary ribbing of National Socialism and out-of-left-field musical extravaganza. It’s just as difficult to ignore how poorly some of the material has aged, particularly during Pride Month. But that’s the rub for a career of such long duration. As we approach a century of Brooks — still a far cry from 2,000 years — here are just some of the surprising ways his work keeps on giving.

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Turkish police fire tear gas to disperse Pride march in Istanbul

ISTANBUL, June 26 (Reuters) - Turkish police fired tear gas to disperse a crowd that gathered for a Pride parade in central Istanbul on Saturday, detaining some of those seeking to take part in an event banned by local authorities.

Reuters TV video showed police in riot gear pushing and dragging people, some waving rainbow flags as they assembled for the event in a side street off the city's central Istiklal Avenue.

Some 20 people, including a photo journalist, were detained, according to media reports.

Turkish authorities have repeatedly banned Pride events in recent years. Before then, thousands of people used to take part in the parade on the Istanbul street.

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(Jewish Group) Antisemitism: How to respond if you're the victim or a witness

While a tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Gaza seems to be holding despite tit-for-tat violence last Wednesday, American Jews are still reeling from a reported surge in antisemitism following the conflict in the Middle East. Incidents include a window at a kosher pizzeria in Manhattan shattered with a brick, a synagogue door in Utah vandalized with a swastika and bottles thrown at Jewish diners in Los Angeles.

An Anti-Defamation League survey released this month found that about 40% of American Jews are “more concerned about their personal safety” in the wake of fighting between Israelis and Palestinians and highly visible and sometimes dramatic antisemitic attacks.

“The antisemitic attacks we’ve witnessed in the streets and on social media in the past few weeks are weighing heavily on the American Jewish community,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, the head of the ADL, in a statement when the report was released.

Experts agree that reporting incidents to the police is important for holding perpetrators accountable and tracking patterns in behavior. But while it can be difficult to know how to respond in the moment, there are best practices for de-escalating a situation, supporting a victim and dealing with the emotional costs of antisemitism. The Forward asked experts to advise readers on some productive and healthy ways to respond.

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Democrats introduce resolution apologizing to LGBT community for government discrimination

Democratic senators introduced a resolution Friday that would acknowledge and apologize for the mistreatment and discrimination against LGBT individuals in the U.S. military, armed forces and government posts.

The resolution, lead by Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), who is an openly gay member of the Senate, and Tim Kaine (D-Va.), "acknowledges and apologizes for the mistreatment of and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LBGT) individuals who have served our nation as civil servants or members of the Armed Forces and Foreign Service."

The resolution also reestablishes a commitment by the U.S. government to "military service members, veterans, foreign service employees, federal civil service employees, and contractors with equal respect and fairness, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity."

The lawmakers' resolution comes in the middle of June, a month set aside to celebrate LGBT pride and activism.

The senators' resolution notes that dating back to the 1940s, discrimination against the LGBT community was part of military policy.

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What the Supreme Court keeps refusing to answer in its LGBTQ cases, according to experts

he court ruled unanimously in favor of Catholic Social Services, a religious adoption agency that wanted an exemption from Philadelphia's nondiscrimination law, which would have required the agency to allow LGBTQ couples to adopt.


Experts say the ruling was much narrower in scope than it could have been. The court could have ruled that religious social services providers contracted by governments are broadly exempt from nondiscrimination laws, which would have allowed them to refuse to serve LGBTQ people, among other groups.

Rather, the court ruled that Philadelphia violated the Free Exercise Clause and discriminated against the agency in applying its licensing process, which allows contractors to request exemptions to parts of the contract.

Though advocates are split on the decision's impact, they agree on one thing: Thursday’s ruling demonstrates a pattern of the high court taking the side of faith-based organizations and businesses without answering the larger question of whether they have a right to discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people.

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Each year, approximately 20,000 youth age out of the foster care system. Queer couples are seven times more likely to adopt or foster children than different-sex couples, according to the Williams Institute at UCLA. They are also more likely to adopt older children, children with disabilities and minority children, research shows.

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I won't say what I am really thinking, I might upset a majority-rights' possessor and thereby make them the real victim.

House fails to pass bill to promote credit fairness for LGTBQ-owned businesses

Lawmakers considered the bill, authored by Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), under an expedited process typically used for noncontroversial bills that requires a two-thirds supermajority for passage.


But while a majority of the House backed the bill in the 248-177 vote, the fact that only 31 Republicans joined Democrats in support meant that it failed to clinch the necessary two-thirds supermajority.

Torres, the first gay Afro-Latino elected to Congress, said it was "shameful" for Republicans to block the bill from quick passage during LGBTQ Pride Month.

"Republicans, despite being 'pro-business,' voted against my legislation to make it easier for #LGBTQ small businesses to access credit. No surprise that they rejected efforts to help business owners simply because of who they are & whom they love. Shameful during #Pride," Torres wrote on Twitter.

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Where We Are on TV Report - 2020 (GLAAD)

Below are some of the most remarkable points GLAAD found in its research this year, download the full report now to read more.

• Of the 773 series regular characters scheduled to appear on broadcast scripted primetime television this season, 70 (9.1 percent) are LGBTQ. This is a decrease from the previous year’s record high percentage of 10.2 percent, and the first season to see a decrease since the 2013-14 report. This number was expected to drop due to the COVID-19 pandemic halting production on several shows and impacting the green-lighting of new series. There are an additional 31 LGBTQ recurring characters on broadcast, for a total of 101 LGBTQ characters.
  
  
• On scripted primetime cable series, the number of series regulars has decreased to 81 characters, with 37 recurring characters, bringing the total number of LGBTQ characters to 118.
  
  
• On the streaming services Amazon, Hulu and Netflix, there are 95 regular LGBTQ characters on original scripted series, a decrease from last year, as well as 46 LGBTQ recurring characters. This brings the total to 141 LGBTQ characters.
  
  
• In the 2020-21 season, bisexual+ characters make up 28 percent of all LGBTQ characters on all three platforms, a two-percentage increase from last year. These numbers still lean toward women, with 65 women and 33 men, and one character who is non-binary.

BBC writer who tweeted 'Hitler was right' is no longer with the broadcaster

A BBC writer who in 2014 tweeted “#HitlerWasRight” about Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza is no longer working for the broadcaster, a spokesperson said.

Tala Halawa “no longer works for the BBC,” the spokesperson told The Jewish Chronicle of London on Friday.

The spokesperson did not specify what led to the termination of Halawa’s employment by the BBC.

Last month, the BBC launched a probe following the surfacing of the tweet by Halawa, who was based in Ramallah. It read: “#Israel is more #Nazi than #Hitler! Oh, #HitlerWasRight #IDF go to hell. #prayForGaza.”



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The very first rainbow Pride flags were thought to be gone. Until now.

One of the “original” and most adopted rainbow Pride flags, created by Gilbert Baker, was first designed and put together by volunteers in 1978. They fabricated two large 3o-by-60 feet flags that flew over the United Nations Plaza in San Francisco for the Gay Freedom Day Parade.

After being taken down, one was misplaced and another was stolen, so both were considered lost despite being adopted as the first widespread Pride flag around the world. Now, the flag has been recovered and authenticated as one of those two original banners.

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Baker, who passed away in 2017 at the age of 65, had come to San Francisco for training as a member of the United States Army. Joining in the late 1960s/1970s counterculture and queer community there, Baker completed his service as a medic. “At the suggestion of friends and colleagues, including San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk,” Baker would create the symbol that would replace the pink triangle that LGBTQ people had adopted as signage for their cause.

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The flag initially had a total of eight stripes, each one symbolizing an aspect of the movement. These included hot pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, turquoise for magic and art, indigo for serenity, and violet for spirit.

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History is important, including the history of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender communities.

Antisemitism Spikes, And Many Jews Wonder: Where Are Our Allies?

For Alex Zeldin, it began as a normal Friday.

He was headed to Trader Joe's on New York City's Upper West Side to pick up some food for the Jewish Sabbath.

As usual, he was wearing his yarmulke, or skullcap. When he turned a corner, he realized that a couple of teenagers had started to follow him, spewing antisemitic insults.

"It took me about halfway down the block to realize that the thing that they were commenting on was they kept saying, 'Yarmulke': 'I want to take that yarmulke. I want to hit him in his head and take that yarmulke. That Jewish baby killer,' " Zeldin recalled.

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