Anderson Cooper, the Jonas Brothers, Snooki and other famous Twitter users share memories and prayers. By Terri Schwartz Nicki Minaj Photo: Bryan Bedder/ Getty Images A decade has passed since the attacks of September 11, 2001, but the memory of that day and those who were affected by it still lives on in America. Celebrities from Anderson Cooper to Lil Wayne took to Twitter on Sunday morning to share thoughts on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 . New York native Lea Michele was in high school when NYC’s Twin Towers were destroyed, and the “Glee” star looked back on how the city has grown in the past 10 years. “NYC is one of the most strong & beautiful places in the world. I feel so blessed & proud today to have been born and raised in this city,” she tweeted . “To all the families and people of New York affected by the tragedies of September 11th my thoughts and prayers go out to you.” Travie McCoy, who was born in Geneva, New York, also took to Twitter to offer his condolences to those affected during the September 11 attacks. “Something about flying on this particular day that is mildly eerie. My heart goes out to the families of the victims of 9/11. Very sad day,” the Gym Class Heroes frontman said. CNN host and fellow New Yorker Anderson Cooper tweeted from the memorial event at Ground Zero on Sunday. He called the gathering of the families of those killed during the attack a “beautiful memorial,” and offered reminders of all the major events that occurred that day. Look back at how the aftermath of 9/11 affected young Muslim Americans. Proud New Jersey native Kevin Smith took to Twitter to recall how he found out that the Twin Towers were hit. “10 years ago, I was fast asleep in Toluca Lake when my Mom called, yelling ‘We’re under attack’,” the director tweeted . “My heart goes out to all the families and friends of the people in both the planes and the buildings who were murdered 10 years ago today.” “Jersey Shore” castmembers shared their best wishes via Twitter for those who were affected by the tragedy. “Remembering 9.11 my prayers go out to all the families that lost their loved ones and all who serve our country! #Neverforget #fdny #nypd,” Snooki
Young Muslims and Arab-Americans tell MTV News about their lives as Americans in the decade since the September 11, 2001, attacks. By James Montgomery, with reporting by Tami Katzoff Photo: Robert Nickelsberg/ Getty Images Life changed for every American on September 11, 2001, but perhaps no group felt that change so profoundly as Muslims and Arab-Americans, who, after spending decades living largely under the radar, suddenly found themselves the target of scorn, harassment, discrimination and, in some cases, violence — and all because of the color of their skin. In the months following the attacks, as reports of anti-Muslim hostility circulated and protests outside of mosques became a regular occurrence, MTV News’ Sway Calloway worked on a story that attempted to document the lives of young Muslims in post-9/11 America, in part because he saw parallels between their ordeal and the ongoing civil-rights struggles faced by African-Americans. “The country was in fear, people were scrambling, no one trusted anyone, no one knew what was coming next,” Calloway said earlier this week. “At the time, there were a lot of racially motivated crimes that were starting to take place against Muslim-Americans … so, it was important to go into the Muslim community and talk to our audience. “It was something that I truly wanted to do, because I could, in some way, relate to it. There were kids who were school-age, kids who were college-age, parents and grandparents, who all had horrible stories to tell. It definitely divided us as a people.” But, 10 years later, has that division grown or has time helped heal the wounds? Sadly, given recent events like the fervent debate over the planned Park51 Muslim community center , the answer appears to be the former. MTV News recently sat down with a group of young Muslims and Arab-Americans, who have spent the past decade growing up in a society that has fundamentally changed, to hear their experiences in this very new America. Adil Ibrahim, 26, student “I remember: It was physics class and … we were watching [the aftermath of the attacks] on TV, and immediately, I felt people around me giving me a look. Twenty minutes later, the teacher asked me, ‘Hey, you’re from Pakistan, right?’ And my global knowledge grew eons in, like, a week. I became an educator for my religion. “I think, in some aspects, things have gotten worse since, and in some aspects, they’ve gotten better. People are more aware of the religion of Islam, and some people are more aware of what the Middle East is, and the differences between the regions and the people there. … People have become more knowledgeable. But, at the same time, people have become more angry, people’s relatives and sons and daughters have died in the war, so there’s a hatred there, and I understand that. We need to educate people even more.” Nadine Sfeir, 24, law student “[On September 11, 2001,] I was 14 years old, in high school, in drama class, and I remember my mom pulling me out, crying, because she thought it was going to be just like when America detained all the Japanese [after the attack on Pearl Harbor]. And I remember, distinctly, on the drive home, hearing on our local radio station: ‘It’s the Palestinians.’ And I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ Because if our local radio station was saying it was the Palestinians, we were in deep trouble. … It was very scary. “I think people are starting to get more numb to the whole issue of Muslims in America. … The ignorance is still there, of course, in many ways, but I feel most people aren’t as scared anymore.” Ramy Youssef, 20, artistic director, New York Arab-American Comedy Festival “I was in fifth grade [on September 11, 2001], and I remember, pre-9/11, I was just a kid, and then after 9/11, I was a kid on the defensive. … It became a positively defining thing for me in a lot of ways, because it became the cause I was fighting against, as opposed to fighting against, like, my parents. “I feel like I grew up in a very fear-based society, and I feel like we’re at a breaking point. I don’t know if things have gotten better. For a while, like in 2007-2008, I thought they had, then a taxicab driver gets stabbed for being Muslim, then a mosque can’t be built in New York City. … I don’t think things have gotten better, I think people’s perceptions have just settled.” Cyrus McGoldrick, 23, civil rights manager for the New York chapter of Council on American Islamic Relations, rapper/singer performing as “The Raskol Khan” “I was 13 [in 2001]. 9/11 was in my first week of high school, so it was a pretty dramatic coming of age. I was in a small town near Pennsylvania, and, at first, it was just fear. As soon as the news started zeroing in on ‘These were Muslims, and they did it because of Islam,’ we were getting calls from my aunts and uncles who were getting yelled at on the street, were getting flipped off by cars, were getting chased in the city … and I think Muslims were terrified. “A lot of things have changed. … Back then, the hate was just directed at individuals, but now, I see it more formalized in police. Now we see this anti-Muslim bigotry being formalized in law-enforcement policy and so-called ‘counter-terrorism policy.’ It’s almost a harder battle to fight now. We have a lot of work to do, as Muslims and Americans.” Share your comments on the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks in the comments below. Related Videos Commemorating The Tenth Anniversary Of The September 11 Attacks
Kim Kardashian was among the many stars who celebrated Fashion’s Night Out. The party was at DASH New York. Kim wrote on her blog: Las night we had Paul D come out to Dash to DJ and he did such an amazing job! he’s such a great DJ! The city of Soho was insane. We literally got shut down by the city because of all the peopel that came out! I love you NYC!!!
Was this dice-shakin’ dance machine doing his best ‘Boardwalk Empire’ impression??? Damon Dash—fallen hip-hop mogul, co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records—had a club not so long ago in Tribeca called DD172. SOTC alum Zach Baron referred to it as “gallery-cum-illegal-performance-space-cum-goofy-artless-takeoff-on-Warhol’s-Factory,” and the Observer called Dash a “Wannabe Warhol”: “Sometimes the four-story warehouse is a sprawling art gallery; at other times, it’s a photo studio, or an indie band’s rehearsal space.” To Tribecans, it was “a front” for a suspected unlicensed club, a nuisance, a disturbance. DD172 hasn’t been operational since June, when the Tribeca Citizen observed stuff being moved out of the space at 172 Duane Street. Yesterday, the quiet block where the club was located—located in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in New York—rippled with interest as the city brought legal action against the building’s owners. At around 4:30 p.m. yesterday, cops served the property with a court summons and order to show cause. The defendants, 172 Duane Street Realty and “Jane and John Doe” (the tenants, i.e. Dash and associates) are accused of six counts of storing and selling alcoholic beverages without a license, as detailed in court documents obtained by the Voice. DD172 was caught violating the liquor code for the first time in November 2010 and as recently as May, according to the affidavits of police who investigated the club. One document states that the violations “were conducted in an open and notorious manner and the operators of this establishment appear to have evinced a ‘business as usual’ attitude in the subject premises.” DD172′s repeated violations are used as evidence that the club’s actions constitute a public nuisance. The plaintiffs are asking for a preliminary injunction from the judge, plus a restraining order. Said one salty tenant about Dash as a neighbor: “Damon Dash was a terrible neighbor. It was always super loud, super noisy, tons of garbage in the street. All these 18-year-old kids smoking and drinking—real thugs. They were disrespectful to the neighborhood.” This neighbor said the local rumor is that “the owner rented to Damon Dash to f**k with the neighbors,” and that the landlord knew full well that Dash wasn’t the kind of tenant the neighborhood wanted. He described Dash as a “hustler” and DD172′s purported “media collective” status as a “front” for an illegal club, a claim that the city apparently corroborates. Damn, Dame just can’t get right…SMH Source
MTV parent company Viacom recruits Gaga, DJ Pauly D, Nas and others to answer ‘What will you do to remember?’ By Jocelyn Vena, with additional reporting by Christina Garibaldi Lady Gaga Photo: MTV News As many Americans reflect on the events of September 11, with the upcoming the 10th anniversary of the terror attacks, MTV parent company Viacom has teamed with artists including Lady Gaga , Nas , DJ Pauly D, Julianne Hough and Drake Bell to launch a national day of service campaign that asks, “What will you do to remember?” Gaga, a native New Yorker, recently remembered where she was and what she was doing when it all happened. “On September 11, I was at school with my girlfriends,” she recalled of the day that forever changed her home city. “I just remember that the history teachers had us all piled into one room and had a television on and none of us believed it was happening,” she continued. “So we didn’t believe it, so we ran up to the roof and I just remember we got up to the roof, and one tower had already fallen and we all watched the second tower fall all together.” While Gaga was not anywhere near the actual site of the attack in downtown Manhattan, her mother was near it. “I don’t know; you really can’t describe something like that,” she said. “It’s too horrific. We were in disbelief. I still think sometimes I’m in disbelief. “My dad picked us up, we couldn’t reach my mom for a long time because she worked right across the street,” she continued. “We were really nervous and I just remember all we saw were these young men, really young. You could tell they worked on the floor at the stock and they were in their jackets and they were just covered in ashes and all you could see was the lines from the tears on their face. [My school] was miles and miles away, but the sky that hovered above us was jet black.” Through Sunday, Viacom’s networks will air specially produced “I Will” public service announcements featuring artists and actors, including Gaga, Fran Drescher, Pauly D, Nas, Hough and Bell, along with Viacom employees. The multiplatform public service campaign is designed to inspire Americans to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the attacks by committing to good deeds, charity or volunteer service. Working with MyGoodDeed and HandsOn Network, organizers of this year’s September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance, the “I Will” campaign asks participants, “Ten years later, what will you do to remember?” “Every year on September 11 with my family, we take a moment together and acknowledge a tremendous loss in our city and in the world,” Gaga said. “I remember so many friends that lost family and so many people that lives were changed forever. “It’s a moment to honor New York,” she continued. “It’s a moment to come together and realize that New York really is forever changed and will always now be a family.” What will you do to remember 9/11? Share your thoughts below, and visit 911day.org to upload your video response. Related Artists Lady Gaga Nas
Peas benefit concert raised more than $1 million for North Dakota flood recovery efforts. By Gil Kaufman The Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am (file) Photo: Carlos Alvarez/ Getty Images It’s been a summer of devastating flooding in the Midwest and northeast and two bands are doing their part to help victims of the storms clean up. Officials said on Wednesday (September 7) that the Black Eyed Peas raised at least $1.3 million to help flood recovery efforts in the North Dakota town of Minot with a concert Saturday at the North Dakota State Fair Grandstand. According to the Associated Press , the group drew nearly 16,000 fans to the show, which featured an appearance from actor and Minot native Josh Duhamel, who is married to BEP singer Fergie. Nearly one-fourth of the city’s residents were evacuated earlier this summer when the Souris River flooded the town. Meanwhile, jam band godheads Phish plan to perform their first show in their home state of Vermont since 2004 in order to help victims of Tropical Storm Irene. The show will take place on September 14 at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction, with tickets going on sale on Saturday. The group, which formed in Vermont 28 years ago, said in a statement that the devastation in the region from the storm had a profound effect on them. “It’s been heartbreaking to see all the loss and destruction that came from the storm,” said Phish keyboardist Page McConnell. “Vermont is very much a part of who we are as a band. We’re really looking forward to playing this show and we hope the money raised will make a difference in the recovery and rebuilding effort.” Tickets will be $75, and proceeds from the show and merchandise sales will go to the band’s WaterWheel Foundation and the Vermont Community Foundation to aid in recovery from the flooding caused by the storm. Related Artists Black Eyed Peas Phish
‘The movie is in 3-D because the ‘Jersey Shore’ is in 3-D,’ Kal Penn jokes to MTV News in our Fall Movie Preview. By Eric Ditzian Kal Penn and John Cho in “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas” Photo: New Line Cinema Last summer, MTV News got a very special, very twisted look at ” A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas ,” the third installment of Kal Penn and John Cho’s herbaceous buddy-comedy franchise, when we popped by the Detroit set. We can’t yet show you much of what we saw that day, but as part of our Fall Movie Preview, we’re rolling out a tasty nugget of our interview with Penn and Cho. In between cracking jokes about ’80s comedies, MTV programming and potential celebrity cameos, the duo let us know what we can expect when the new film, which focuses on the two estranged friends reuniting during the holidays, hits theaters November 4. Click for exclusive photos from Fall’s biggest flicks. MTV : So why is this movie in 3-D? Kal Penn : The movie is in 3-D because the “Jersey Shore” is in 3-D. John Cho : “Avatar” was in 3-D. I’m not in competition with “Avatar.” I’m not in competition with James Cameron. He does his thing. We do our thing. He makes cartoons. I understand he had a good year. I’m just saying, the technology isn’t his. Penn : I’m just psyched because “Goonies” was in 3-D and that’s why this is in 3-D. You’ve never seen “Goonies.” Cho : I’ve never seen “Goonies.” Penn : That is so crazy to me! That’s so nuts to me, dude. It’s egregious that you haven’t watched “Goonies.” MTV : Can we expect 3-D nakedness? Penn : Listen, you’re going to see some 3-Deeez nuts. [ Sings to the tune of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg’s “Deez Nuuuts” ] Cho : There’s enhanced nudity. Penn : Very ma ture, the way you’re saying that. Enhanced nudity. This is not the NPR interview; this is MTV. They just got done watching Snooki get arrested. You do not have to say anything other than “3-D nuts.” MTV : Have you had time to enjoy Detroit? Cho : I’ve been buying cars. I’ve got a lot of cash, and I’m spending it on automobiles. Lots of ’97 Pontiac Firebirds. Lot of Ford Tauruses. Penn : I like shooting in Detroit. If you have not been to Detroit, you should come. People are super friendly. There are a lot of beautiful buildings, and sadly many of them are abandoned. Hopefully the city bounces back. Look at our first film: I loved shooting in Toronto, but it was still a bummer that we had to leave the United States to shoot a quintessential American road-trip comedy. Cho : Also, Toronto had so many foreigners. Penn : We were the foreigners. Toronto is in a different country. Cho : No, we’re Americans. MTV : Why have Harold and Kumar grown apart? Cho : They’re at different times in their lives. Kumar is looking for a way to stay in his younger existence, and Harold is artificially trying to be more mature and is choosing an excessively old mature friend. MTV : What can we expect in terms of romance? Penn : When the last film left off, Kumar and Vanessa were obviously very much together. Over the next six years, Vanessa moved into Kumar’s apartment. They continued their relationship. It was moving down the road toward marriage. And then Kumar lost his job. He couldn’t stop smoking weed. It wasn’t as much the weed as him completely latching on to still being frivolous and still being down for whatever and not taking Vanessa seriously and taking her for granted. So slowly after he lost Harold to Maria, he kind of grew resentful of the notion that if his best friend could go off and choose this woman over him, then maybe everyone was just out to get him. He drifted further apart from Vanessa. That’s where we pick up now. MTV : Besides Neil Patrick Harris, what celebrity cameos are in the works? Penn : Patton Oswalt, Tom Lennon, Paula Abdul, Snooki and Mayor Koch. From “Abduction” to “Muppets, “Moneyball” to “Breaking Dawn,” the MTV Movies team is delving into the hottest upcoming flicks in our 2011 Fall Movie Preview. Check back daily for exclusive clips, photos and interviews with the films’ biggest stars. Check out everything we’ve got on “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos Fall Movie Preview 2011 Related Photos Exclusive Photos From Fall’s Biggest Flicks
SMDH. Gunfire repeatedly rocked the West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn yesterday — even while Mayor Bloomberg marched nearby — as the city’s terrifying epidemic of shootings over the Labor Day weekend grew steadily worse. The orgy of violence — including eight fatalities among the 48 gunshot victims — seemed to follow the revelers everywhere, from the parade route to nearby fast-food joints and even to their own homes. In all, nine of the shooting victims were hit at or near the parade, the annual Caribbean-themed festival in Crown Heights, where a gunman had fired into the air only blocks from where Bloomberg had just begun marching. “[The gunman] shouted something, then ‘boom!’ Everyone ducked,” said a witness, Marlene Anthony, adding that the young thug was standing at Rockaway Parkway and Clarkson Avenue – just blocks from the parade staging area. “It was a bad mix of alcohol, ignorance and a fool with a gun who tries to ruin the fun of the parade.” The gunman, Devon Stevens, 25, jumped into a livery cab, but went only a couple blocks before hopping out on East 94th Street at Winthrop Street, where he ditched the gun as cops gave chase, authorities said. Hours after the parade ended, an elderly woman was killed in the crossfire of a melee between cops and a gunman. The parade had gotten off to a rocky start at 6 a.m., when a nearby McDonald’s — packed with 100 early risers prepping for the festivities — was the site of a senseless shooting. A customer Kenneth Beggs, 44, bumped into a man entering the Empire Boulevard eatery and apologized. But Anthony Carruthers, 28, allegedly refused to let the incident go and pumped bullets into Beggs’ legs. “The bullet shattered the door, so everyone ran out the other door,” said one McDonald’s cook. Tempers flared after parade ended, as well, with one reveler shot in front of a crowd on Eastern Parkway. A group of six or seven men had pummeled the victim on the ground and then an attacker pulled out a handgun and shot him in the leg. Before the gunman fled, he grabbed a pot of steaming rice from a food vendor and tossed it onto an onlooker. Cops tackled the gunman. His victim is expected to survive. The shocking 72-hour shooting tally came as police revealed that the number of people who took a bullet in the past week had skyrocketed. For the week ending Sunday, a whopping 98 people had been shot — nearly twice the 53 shot during the same week last year, the NYPD said. Those injured last week were involved in 72 incidents, compared to 40 shoot-ups in the same week in 2010, according to the Police Department. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said that although the number of shootings so far this year is fewer when compared to a decade ago, the spree of gunfire over the weekend is “obviously . . . cause for concern. “We’re doing everything we can do,” added Kelly, who cited the NYPD’s shifting of resources to target guns on the streets, including boosting overtime. Some of the shootings were clearly “associated with the parade,” Kelly said. “Quite frankly, this is something that does happen with this parade.” Bloomberg said, “It was a bad weekend, no question about that . . . There’s just too many guns on the streets of this city. It’s a national problem . . . because it’s so easy to buy guns in other states, and just drive them in and sell them in the back of your car.” In all, at least 16 people were hit by bullets yesterday — 15 of them in Brooklyn. Wow. NYC has got to chill. Seriously. Source
It is a long standing tradition here at drunkenstepfather.com – that we celebrate labor day with the first 5 birthing videos we find – because lets face it – vagina being shredded apart with baby close up videos are the best way to celebrate the long weekend…I mean other than getting drunk and fucking college co-eds who are new to your city and in need of a tour….of your dick….but don’t get too close…cuz some girls lie about being into abortions and you may end up being the asshole cloth holder in one of these videos…trapped for life…. So here’s to new life to celebrate the end of summer and not being alloed to wear white… Bi-Racial Home Birth…. A Painful Birth A Purple Faced Baby with Lots of Fluid Doggy Style Birth The Close Up… Vagina Never Looked so Scary….
