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Face Of Denmark Winners for 2016

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Face of Denmark 2016 pageant was held in Copenhagen on May 14 and crowned four winners. From left to right: Miss Earth Denmark 2016 Alexandria Eissinger, 26 (Miss Roskilde); Miss Universe Denmark 2016 Christina Mikkelsen, 23 (Miss Copenhagen); Miss Supranational Denmark 2016 Sofie Nielsen, 22 (Miss Christianshavn); and Miss International Denmark 2016 Sara Danielsen, 22 (Miss Odense). Mikkelsen was crowned by her predecessor, Cecilie Wellemberg, who also co-hosted the event along with pageant co-directors Anders Hamilton de Voss and John Hamilton de Voss. The winners will now compete in their respective international pageants. The panel of judges included the first Miss Earth winner from Denmark, Catharina Brink, Miss Denmark 1986 Pia Rosenberg (who placed second in Miss International 1986), and Miss Denmark 1963 Aino Korva (who placed second in Miss Universe 1963).


Anders Hamilton de Voss, co-director of Face of Denmark, with Miss Denmark 1986 Pia Rosenberg (left) and Miss Denmark 1963 Aino Korva (right). / Facebook


CHRISTINA MIKKELSEN - MISS UNIVERSE DENMARK 2016


ALEXANDRA EISSINGER - MISS EARTH DENMARK 2016 


 SARA SKALS DANIELSEN - MISS INTERNATIONAL DENMARK 2016


SOFIE KLEJNSTRUP NIELSEN - MISS SUPRANATIONAL DENMARK 2016 

UPDATE: MAY 15, 2016: Less than 24 hours after she was crowned Miss Supranational Denmark 2016, Sofie Nielsen resigned citing schedule conflict, according to a recent post by Malene Sørensen who was first runner-up. Malene is now Miss Supranational Denmark 2016:





Meet Miss 52 Alexandra Miller - Chosen By Fans To Compete in Miss USA 2016!

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ALEXANDRA MILLER / COURTESY MISS USA

Alexandra Miller is no stranger to the pageant world, but because she is in her last year of age eligibility, she never thought she'd make it onto the Miss USA stage. 

"I was [current Miss USA] Olivia Jordan's first runner-up when she won the title of Miss Oklahoma USA, and she actually won Miss USA on my 26th birthday, which meant I had to decide if I wanted to compete my last year or take over her title," Miller tells PEOPLE. 

Miller decided to step in as Miss Oklahoma USA, meaning she would no longer be able to compete for the Miss USA crown.

However, thanks to a fan vote for a 52nd contestant, the pageant pro will be able to compete. Miller was chosen from 10 ladies vying for the final spot, after competing in a nationwide search for Miss 52, a woman who best embodies Miss USA based on originality, personality and a web interview. 

"This is a chance for me to resurface a dream that I thought was long gone," says Miller, who has been competing in pageants for the past eight years – and who has been first runner-up twice for the Miss Oklahoma USA crown. 

Miller first became interested in the pageant world when she saw her older sister competing in their hometown pageant, and decided to try it herself when she was a senior in high school. 

"I didn't even place but I enjoyed it so much," she says. "I come from a competitive background – I was an athlete for the majority of my life – so this was just another avenue for me to push myself and my limits." 

Miller has always wanted to be a part of the Miss USA competition in particular because she feels its mission is in line with her personal goals. 

"The Miss Universe organization wants to promote confidence and believing in yourself and perseverance. I think that's who I am as a person, and that's why I was always interested in it," she says. "You have a unique opportunity as a title holder within the organization to inspire other people – whether it be young females or males across the world. That's why I want to be a part of the organization, and I'm so honored to have this incredible opportunity."

Source: PEOPLE Magazine, 5/18/2016

Former Miss USA And Ex-Muslim-Turned-Christian Rima Fakih Ties The Knot With Lebanese Music Producer Wassim Salibi

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COURTESY: RIMA FAKIH'S FACEBOOK

Former Miss USA Rima Fakih married Lebanese-American music producer Wassim Salibi in Lebanon on Sunday.
The wedding included attendance of Canadian singer The Weeknd, Moroccan-American rapper French Montana and Lebanese singers Haifa Wehbe and Wael Kfoury.
The beauty queen’s husband, Salibi, 35, was recently recognized by Billboard magazine for being one of the most influential music producers under the age of 40.
After the wedding, Lebanese-born Fakih, 30, tweeted “I'm married !!!!! Thank you Lord for always giving me wings and helping me find my true soul mate.”

View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter

I'm married !!!!! Thank you Lord for always giving me wings and helping me find my true soul mate

Fakih, born a Muslim, had recently been the topic of media speculation after she reportedly converted to Christianity earlier this year.
Rima came to fame after winning the national Miss USA pageant in 2010, when she became the first Muslim and Arab woman to be crowned Miss USA after competing in the pageant – which at the time had been owned by current US presidential hopeful Donald Trump.

Source: Al-Arabiya English, 5/17/2016


Miss Morocco 2016

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Casablanca – Sara Belkziz was crowned Miss Morocco 2016 on Saturday evening in a ceremony held in Casablanca.
Sixteen candidates took part in the final of the third edition of Miss Morocco, which was held at the Morocco Mall in the presence of large audience and significant media coverage.
The lucky winner received the highest number of votes of Moroccans, who were called to choose their favorite candidates on social media.
The title of first runner up went to Saloua Bergayou (Casablanca), while the second and third runners up were won respectively by Yassmine Bennani from Fez and Racha Racha Zair from Casablanca.


On Friday, Miss Morocco’s organizing committee posted the pictures of the 16 finalists on its official page and called on Moroccans to vote for their favorite candidates by sending text messages to the number 9050.
Unlike beauty pageants organized in Western countries where contestants are required to wear swimsuits, Miss Morocco’s candidates wear the emblematic Moroccan caftan.
The selection of the 16 candidates who took part in the final required several weeks of work from the organizing committee. During the first stage, several castings were organized in Casablanca, Fez, Agadir, Tangier, Marrakech, and Rabat to select the candidates.
At the end of the first stage, 16 young women were chosen to spend a 10-day training under the supervision of coaches and professionals in the fields of choreography, communication, and personal development.

Source: Morocco World News, May 21, 2016

Former Miss Dominican Republic Universe Wins Nuestra Belleza Latina 2016

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Dominicans back to back! Congratulations are in order for Clarissa Molina for becoming the new beauty queen from “Nuestra Belleza Latina” in its VIP edition, which brought past seasons contestants for another shot at the coveted crown. Fellow Dominican and last year’s winner Francisca Lachapel crowned Molina in a grand finale Sunday night (May 22) that left everyone celebrating.

Julión Álvarez y su Norteño Banda opened the show with an exciting performance that featured the four finalists: Colombian Setareh Khatibi, Puerto Rican Catherine Castro, Dominican Clarissa Molina and Colombian Bárbara Turbay dancing along to a choreographed routine in shiny red dresses.
Colombian Bárbara Turbay was named the third finalist of “Nuestra Belleza Latina VIP” and Puerto Rican Catherine Castro took the second finalist spot yet again just as she did last season when she first competed for the show. Julión Álvarez performed one last time, while Setareh and Clarissa walked one last time as contestants before one of them became the new Latina beauty queen.
The big moment finally came, and Francisca Lachapel took one last walk down the runway as Nuestra Belleza Latina and crowned her fellow Dominican Clarissa Molina, who won the audience’s votes and was able to finally win the coveted crown. Setareh Khatibi was named first finalist and she won the CEA Scholarship.
Source: LatinTimes.com, May 22, 2016
Clarissa Molina competed in 2015 Miss Universe pageant where she placed in the Top 15.

Former Miss Belgium Anke Van dermeersch: Islam Threatens Women's Rights And Muslim Immigration Must Be Stopped

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PHOTO CREDIT: ALCHETRON


     Anke Van dermeersch was Miss Belgium 1991 and represented Belgium at Miss Universe 1992 pageant in Bangkok, Thailand where she placed in the top six. Today, the 6'1" blond stunner is married, a trained lawyer, and a senator of the anti-immigration party Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) which is also vehemently anti-Islam. It is rare for a beauty queen, even if she has pursued a political career, to speak out against Islam that seeks to destroy Western society from within and replace it with Sharia law, but Anke is an exception. She knows that Belgian culture is under Islamic threat, especially now that her country has become the largest producer of Islamic jihadists in the world.


WHILE COMPETING IN MISS UNIVERSE 1992, ANKE'S AVERAGE SCORE OF 8.983 WAS ENOUGH TO SAVE HER A TOP 10 SPOT. 


     Anke is not new to controversy. On September 19, 2013, she started a campaign called "Freedom or Islam?" ("Vrijheid of islam?") in which she lent her legs for an image suggesting the consequences and reactions that women could face regarding the length of their skirts, alluding to the growing Islamic threat to Belgian culture.  Consequently, French shoe designer Christian Louboutin sought an injunction against the party's campaign, which he claimed had associated his iconic brand (the red soles) with a poster entitled "Women Against Islamization." Anke had words etched along her naked leg marking potential skirt lengths - ranging from "Sharia compatible" at the ankle, to "stoning" high up her thigh. Louboutin argued that the poster tarnished the image of his luxury footwear brand.  A month later, the Belgian court ordered Anke to stop using Louboutin's shoe wear in her campaign materials.  Immediately after the verdict, Anke slightly modified the posters showing seemingly identical shoes but with yellow soles. When asked whether it is the same brand, she replied: "I got rid of the Louboutin shoes. These ones are my Flemish nationalist shoes." 



PHOTO COURTESY OF AFF.SKYNETBLOGS.BE

     In the video below, Anke said that she was perplexed as to why Louboutin was attacking her, especially since she was standing up for women's rights which the designer should be appreciating. She also claimed that the inspiration for her campaign was singer Nancy Sinatra's biggest hit song, "These Boots Were Made For Walking." 




     However, a Canadian artist by the name of Rosea Lake had claimed that the Vlaams Belang's poster was based on her copyrighted work "Judgments" - which was first exhibited in January 2013 - and she accused the far-right party of hijacking her work. Compare Lake's work on the left with the party's poster on the right: 



     One could very well consider Anke as the modern-day Belgian Cassandra; in Greek mythology, Cassandra foresaw the destruction of Troy. Referring to her book "Hoer Noch Slavin" ("Neither Whore Nor Slave"), Anke stated: "We want women awaken and warn against the Islamization of Europe, because if it continues, women will be the first victims. The emancipation which our mothers and grandmothers fought, cannot simply be reduced by a misogynistic Islam."

PHOTO CREDIT: ALCHETRON
ANKE WITH SOME MEMBERS OF THE GROUP "WOMEN AGAINST ISLAMISATION"PHOTO CREDIT: ALCHETRON

    Last November, Anke and several members of Vlaams Belang Party visited the southern stretch of the Hungarian border and met with Hungarian representatives who were concerned about the large number of Muslim migrants invading Europe. Here's a video clip from the meeting featuring Anke and her Hungarian interpreter. She speaks in English:



     On May 14, 2016,  Anke and her party made the news again during an anti-Islam rally in Belgium when a young Muslim woman named Zakia Belkhiri, 22, took selfies next to Vlaams Belang protesters while gesturing a peace sign as her way to fight Islamophobia. A Belgian soldier named Tim Geelen and a leading Dutch website later revealed that Belkhiri had posted anti-Jew comments four years earlier on her social media (Twitter, Facebook). 

ANKE AND HER PARTY THOUGHT THIS WAS CUTE, BUT LITTLE DID THEY KNOW ABOUT THIS
MUSLIM WOMAN'S DEEP HATRED TOWARDS JEWS / FACEBOOK




       *** AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW OF ANKE VAN DERMEERSCH BY ESTER GALLEGO WAS PUBLISHED ON MAY 5, 2016 BY GLOBAL INDEPENDENT ANALYTICS. CRITICAL BEAUTY HAS TAKEN THE LIBERTY TO REPUBLISH IT IN ITS ENTIRETY:   





Anke Van dermeersch is a  lawyer, a deputy in the Flemish Parliament (Vlaams Belang), a Federal Senator (Belgium) and a local council member in Antwerp. She is also the founder and the president of the European Association “Women Against Islamization”. She was Miss Belgium in 1991.
After decades of multiculturalism and related educational policies paid for with public money, what do you think is the real degree to which Muslim immigrants have been integrated into European society? Should we be speaking about "acculturation" or "Islamization"?
Multiculturalism is bad for our own European culture because we allow and even pamper foreign cultures on European territory. Our culture is the breeding ground of our pluralistic society and, therefore, it shouldn’t be replaced with blind multiculturalism that undermines pluralism.
Tolerance has its limits. To a certain extent, Western society is a result of mass immigration and a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic society. But such a “multicultural” society does not work, has never worked and never will work.
In practice, multiculturalism is equivalent to blindly accepting and embracing Islam, which automatically leads to the Islamization of Europe. 
Islamization is not a mere local problem. This is a phenomenon that is taking place in almost all Western European countries and cities. Within a few decades, many Western European cities are likely to be confronted with Islamic majorities due to the fast demographic increase in the Muslim population living in the West.
You are the President of the European Association “Association of Women against Islamization”. Do you think women are the first victims of this Islamization?
The first and foremost victims of Islamization are indeed women. Not only in the Muslim world, but also in the Islamic communities of Europe, females are systematically discriminated against, oppressed and molested. 
According to Islam, women are subordinate to men and they owe their fathers and husbands their unquestioning obedience. In the Islamic tradition, the men invariably take all important decisions over their wives and daughters. For example, Islam dictates that a man can chasten his wife if necessary in order to keep her in line. 
With respect to the treatment of women, Islam is synonymous with humiliation and discrimination. Muslim women can only inherit half as much as a man can and according to Islamic jurisprudence, the testimony of a woman is only half as trustworthy as that of a man’s. Furthermore, Islam forces females into wearing head scarves, veils and even burqas since women are deemed responsible for men’s sexual restraint. Islam also considerably curbs women’s liberty of action. Without the permission of her husband, a Muslim woman cannot even leave the house.
Savage practices such as honor killings, forced marriage, polygamy and circumcision are making inroads into our society through Islam.
The Belgian judiciary, which is so lenient towards others, has condemned your Association for some of your propaganda posters. What is behind these convictions?
I made a “leg-poster” campaign for WomenAgainstIslamization.org where I measured the degree of Islamization with the length of my skirt covering my legs. This poster is famous for many different reasons, but notably because it is still being shared across the world on the internet to this day. A famous French shoemaker sued the organization and myself because he didn’t want me wearing his shoes on the poster because I’m a right-wing, conservative politician. After a dubious, media-spun court process, I was sentenced to never wear the shoes again and to stop spreading the poster. As soon as any campaign by WomenAgainstIslamization.org is successful, we are harshly attacked and/or subpoenaed.
Belgium is a European country in which a proportionally greater number of “young women" have joined ISIS.  Is this the greatest failure of Belgian assimilation policy?
The Belgian state security services estimate the number of Muslim extremists in our country to be at 2% of the population while worldwide it is in fact 8 to 10% of the Muslim population that turns to Salafism and considers violence a legitimate means to spread Islam. Belgium also produces the largest number of jihadists in the world. Almost 500 fighters went to Syria to fight, including women. Between 10 and 30% of those jihadists have left the war zone and most of them have returned and now pose a major threat to Western countries.
Your book on the situation of women in Islam is entitled “Neither Whore nor Slave".  Does the Koran really condemn women to a position of submission and sexual exploitation?
People are usually silent about the position of women when debating Islam. In most debates, Muslims’ violation of Western equality between men and women is mentioned, but it is rarely debated in detail.  
But the position of women in Islam is indeed questionable. The Korean elevates the man as superior and according to the Koran men have authority over women because Allah has taught the one to be superior to the other. Men and women have different roles in the Koran and therefore, women do not enjoy the same rights as men. In the Muslim world, men are seen as superior to women, which obviously has negative effects on family life, where the oldest man of the family is the boss. Disobedience or disagreement on the part of the woman leads to “discussions” and sometimes even to violence. Men traditionally have their way with women and this happens without any consultation with their wives. Muslim women are indeed condemned to submission.
How is it possible that feminists do not denounce Islamists? While they are more than ready and able to attack “European patriarchy”, they don’t even say one word about Islamist discrimination against women. Is this because of fear or is it an effect of “political correctness”?
Since multiculturalism in practice is equivalent to blindly accepting and embracing Islam, it is necessarily bad for women and contradicts the objectives and ideals of feminism. Feminism thrives only thanks to Western values such as equality between men and women, autonomy, freedom, and individuality. Non-Western cultures, such as Islamic culture, do not know these values and thus naturally collide with feminism. 
The feminist movement has a turbulent history. However, what is currently taking place is an existential conflict. On the one hand, the emancipation of women with different ethnic and religious backgrounds is encouraged. On the other hand, the so-called ‘freedom of choice' to wear head scarves is defended. As I understand it, political correctness has led to absolute schizophrenia.
Are European and Islamic concepts of family and marriage and an Islamic Europe comparable?
In our country, Islam often comes into conflict with our legal provisions on family law. This is because the Koran imposes its own rules related to marriage and divorce, child custody, and rights of inheritance. In the context of migration, it is important to act strictly against marriages of convenience and arranged or forced ones. Legislation on family reunification should be strict and efficient in the field of immigration policy. In addition, society must have the courage to deny access to our territory to partners with a criminal record. Clearly, what’s needed is a tough approach in various legal and policing areas. Reluctance to integrate is facilitated by allowing the partner of a forced or arranged marriage in the home country to come and “reunite” with the other partner. This is undermining our society. 
Some Muslims and multicultural propaganda say that Muslim women wear the burqa or niqab thanks to "free choice." Do you think this is true?
There are young girls who wear the headscarf and claim that they have taken this choice in full freedom. Of course, everything depends on the interpretation of “freedom” and “choice.” Wearing a headscarf is warm, annoying, and uncomfortable; therefore most Muslim women are constantly fiddling with it. At the same time, they must also constantly make sure that their hair does not come peeping out. After all, the purpose of the headscarf is to completely cover the hair. No woman on earth freely keeps such an uncomfortable scarf at hand at all times. Instead, the point is that there are consequences for not wearing it. In Schaerbeek in our country, a 32-year-old Muslim woman of Pakistani origin experienced just how bad these consequences are when she was killed by her three brothers because she refused to wear a head scarf.
Sexual attacks occurred in Cologne and other European cities on last New Year's Eve. Can they be explained by Muslim hatred for European women?
We know that mass immigration to Europe has also brought the grooming practices of Islamic gangs (especially among Pakistanis and Somalis). Non-Muslim, underage girls are sexually abused and prostituted by these groups when under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Muslim group-rapes of non-Muslims have everything to do with the hate for women that is part of the culture of Islam. What happened in Cologne is an example of the Arab ‘taharrush’, or sexual jihad, which is described in the Koran.
Do you believe that sexual assault could become an epidemic throughout Europe if the government does not act quickly?
Women are discriminated in many ways and considered inferior in Islam. This is expressed, for example, in the inhumane and unjust treatment of women seen in such rapes. The completely twisted sexual morality of Islam says that men carry no responsibility for their sexual behavior. It is a fact that men go unpunished for such acts in the Islamic community. Letting this happen is based on the mistaken assumption that the values and standards of the surrounding society will be automatically absorbed by immigrants over time. This also ignores the fact that these  cultural and religious groups within Western society have their own ideological agendas and empower themselves based on reactionary forms of identity. I fear, as the figures already confirm, that there will be more and more such serious crimes against women in Europe.
In your opinion, what can be done to stop the Islamization of Europe?
Enough is enough. We must put a stop to the immigration of such foreigners and put a definitive stop to Muslim immigration!

Compiled by Rafa Delfin, May 24, 2016

Miss North Carolina USA Allie Dunn Withdraws From Miss USA 2016 Competition; Her First Runner-Up Devin Gant Takes Over

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ALLIE DUNN / PHOTO CREDIT: FADIL BERISHA

     RPM Productions, the franchise owner of Miss North Carolina USA, has released a statement today announcing that Miss North Carolina USA 2016, Allie Dunn, will be unable to compete in Miss USA 2016 pageant in Las Vegas on June 5 due to illness. Dunn has resigned from her position and has been replaced by her first runner-up, Devin Gant. We wish Allie a full recovery and we wish Devin the best of luck in Miss USA 2016. 


DEVIN GANT IS NOW MISS NORTH CAROLINA USA 2016 FOLLOWING ALLIE DUNN'S RESIGNATION
/ PHOTO CREDIT: DEVIN GANT'S FACEBOOK PAGE

Christian Arab Israeli Wins First Miss Trans Israel Pageant

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Ta’alin Abu Hanna, shortly after winning the Miss Trans Israel pageant on May 27, 2016. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)



An  Israeli from a Catholic Arab family was crowned the winner of the country’s first transgender pageant.
Ta’alin Abu Hanna, 21, from the northern city of Nazareth, wore a white bridal dress as she was declared the first “Miss Trans Israel” on Friday at HaBima, Israel’s national theater, in Tel Aviv.
She described her victory as “historic” and said it promotes equality.
She will represent Israel at the Miss Trans Star International pageant in Spain in August — the first time an Israeli will participate.
She also will receive $15,000 worth of plastic surgery treatments from a hospital in Thailand, plus airfare and a hotel stay during the treatments and recovery.
Israel is generally tolerant of gay people, and Tel Aviv has emerged as one of the world’s most gay-friendly destinations.
The Israeli city stands in sharp contrast to many parts of the Middle East, where gay people are often persecuted.
A Christian Arab-Israeli ballet dancer, Abu Hanna told reporters she is “proud to be an Israeli Arab,” noting, “If I had not been in Israel and had been elsewhere — in Palestine or in any other Arab country — I might have been oppressed or I might have been in prison or murdered.”
Ta'alin Abu Hanna beat out 11 other finalists, a diverse group spanning Israel’s geographic, ethnic and religious diversity, including a Russian, Muslims and residents of Beersheba, Haifa, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. At least one finalist grew up in the haredi Orthodox community.
Several finalists told reporters they had struggled with the disapproval of family members — with some eventually finding acceptance and others not. Caroline Khouri, of the Arab town of Tamra, told NBC News her male relatives tried to murder her after learning of her plans to transition from man to woman.
“My cousins, my father, my brother-in-law all came and beat me and took me by force and cut my hair, tied me to the bed and left me there for three days with no food,” she said. Rescued by the police, the 24-year-old said she remains estranged from her family.
A formerly haredi Orthodox contestant, Aylin Ben-Zaken, said she “looked like a rabbi” before her transition, and ran away from home at age 15. But many in her family accept her now, she said.
“Three years ago I didn’t talk to my mom. Now she loves me, and I go to Shabbat dinner,” the 27-year-old told NBC News.
Ta’alin Abu Hanna celebrates winning the Miss Trans Israel pageant on May 27, 2016. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)








Friday’s pageant consisted of a swimsuit competition, two formal-wear competitions and a question-and-answer portion.
Asked about “pinkwashing,” the accusation that Israel exploits its LGBT rights record as a PR coup to hide its alleged abuses of Palestinians, pageant organizer Yisraela Stephani Lev said, according to The Jerusalem Post: “Listen, there isn’t propaganda here. We live in Tel Aviv, in Israel, the only sane country in the region where people can live as gays or transgender and no one is going to throw them off the rooftop or slaughter them. This is just the reality here. It’s not some sort of brainwashing or pinkwashing or whatever.”
Lev said hundreds of trans women contacted her “from Dan to Eilat, Muslims, Jews, Christians, Bedouin,” and that they held three auditions beginning in March to select the finalists. Criteria included not just physical beauty but a “sort of coexistence and diversity,” Lev said, adding, “We are looking for coexistence, because this is the beginning of peace.”

Source: Times Of Israel, 5/27/2016

Former Miss Turkey Merve Buyuksarac convicted of 'insulting Recep Tayyip Erdogan' on Instagram

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Merve Büyüksaraç modelling in 2013 Getty Images

A former Miss Turkey has been convicted of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a social media post.

Merve Buyuksarac was handed a 14-month suspended sentence meaning she will be sent to jail if she does anything in the period deemed to qualify as “reoffending”.

The 27-year-old model, who won the Miss Turkey contest in 2006, was briefly detained for sharing a satirical poem on her Instagram account in 2014.

A previously little-used law is being used to prosecute people for insulting
President Erdogan (Getty Images)

Called 'The Master’s Poem’, it reportedly criticised Mr Erdogan and adapts the country’s national anthem in its verses.

“I shared it because I found it funny. I had no intention to insult President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,” Ms Buyuksarac was quoted as saying at the time.

Prosecutors deemed it to be insulting to Mr Erdogan, who has filed close to 2,000 defamation cases since becoming president in 2014, using a previously little-used law that bars insulting him. 

Foreign leaders and international observers have raised concern over deteriorating freedoms in the country, where critical voices in the media and politics have been targeted by a wave of new laws and arrests cracking down on dissent.


Source: Independent, UK, 6/1/2016

Miss Universe Albania and Miss World Albania 2016

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Lindita Idrizi, a 19-year-old, 5'11" tall professional model from Elbasani, was crowned Miss Universe Albania 2016  on June 2nd in Tirana.  She will now competed in Miss Universe 2016 pageant whose date and venue have not yet been confirmed. Crown at the same event was the new Miss World Albania 2016 Endra Kovaci, 21, from Tirana. Kovaci will compete in Miss World 2016 whose date and venue have not yet been confirmed either.
Idrizi is also the current Miss Europe Continental 2015.


LINDITA IDRIZI

ENDRA KOVACI








What to Know About this Year’s Miss USA — And Why It Will Be Different From Any Other Year

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On June 5, 52 women will take the stage to compete in the Miss USA beauty pageant — but only one will walk away with the competition's top crown.
The stakes are high: Whoever wins in Las Vegas on Sunday will advance to the international Miss Universe pageant, where they will represent the United States.
Here's everything you need to know about the 64-year-old pageant, which airs Sunday night at 7 p.m. EST on Fox.
What to Know About this Year's Miss USA — And Why It Will Be Different From Any Other Year
Source: Josh Brasted/Getty Images

You can help decide the winner.

You can cast your vote for your favorite contestant in three different ways between the hours of noon and 9 p.m. EST on Tuesday, May 31.
1. Miss U App
Download the pageant's official app via iTunes or Google Play and vote up to 10 times a day for your pick.
2. Website
Head over to Miss USA's official website to cast another 10 votes per day via desktop.
3. Twitter
If your Twitter account is public, you can also vote by tweeting or retweeting with the official #MissUSA hashtag, paired with the hashtag specific to the contestant of your choosing.

What does it actually mean to take home the crown?

After an exhausting night spent competing and strutting around in evening gowns, what is the real prize the pageant's contestants are vying to walk away with?
In addition to representing the United States in the Miss Universe pageant later this year, the winning woman will presumably enjoy a considerable slice of the limelight during her tenure as Miss USA. 
Last year's reigning queen, Olivia Jordan, went on to become a vocal mouthpiece for Children of the Night, an organization devoted to removing children from prostitution in the United States. She also lobbied on Capitol Hill for funding for Alzheimer's disease research and had a cameo appearance in Hot Tub Time Machine 2.

This year is the first in its history that the Miss USA pageant will feature a 52nd contestant.

The pageant conducted an unprecedented nationwide search for a 52nd contestant online, and Alexandra Miller was selected as the winner. Miller hails from Oklahoma — the home state of last year's winner, Olivia Jordan — so she'll have big shoes to fill during Sunday night's contest.
Source: Yahoo.com, June 4, 2016

District of Columbia's Deshauna Barber Is Crowned Miss USA 2016

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Miss District of Columbia USA 2016 Deshauna Barber reacts as she is crowned Miss USA 2016 by Miss USA 2015 Olivia Jordan. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

For the first time in 14 years (and only third time in history), Miss District of Columbia took home the crown at the Miss USA pageant on Sunday night.
Deshauna Barber, a 26-year-old Army officer and IT analyst for the U.S. Department of Commerce, won first place over Miss Georgia Emanii Davis and Miss Hawaii Chelsea Hardin, who was the runner-up.
Barber, who graduated from Virginia State University in 2011, joined the military at age 17. Her parents and siblings also serve; her father was deployed overseas to Iraq after the Sept. 11 attacks.
“I consider it to be a family tradition,” she said in a pre-show interview of military service. “It’s something that runs through our veins — patriotism and service for this country.”
According to her Miss USA bio, Barber is currently a logistics commander for the 988th Quartermaster Detachment Unit in Fort Meade, Md.
Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach (right) assists in the coronation of the new Miss USA
During the pageant, announcers called her “the most disciplined contestant this year.” Her background added context to her much-applauded answer during the Q&A portion of the evening, as her question covered women in combat.
“The Pentagon recently made the decision to open up all combat jobs to women,” judge and stylist Joe Zee said. “Now, some have questioned whether this has put political correctness over our military’s ability to perform at the highest level. What are your thoughts?”
Barber didn’t hesitate. “As a woman in the United States Army, I think it was an amazing job by our government to allow women to integrate to every branch of the military. We are just as tough as men,” she said to lots of cheers from the crowd. “As a commander of my unit, I am powerful. I am dedicated. And it is important that we recognize that gender does not limit us in the United States Army.”
On social media, some viewers pointed to her answer as the moment Barber locked up the crown. Before the pageant, she spoke about breaking the mold for not only Miss USA contestants, but military soldiers.
“I’m being able to say that no one pageant girl does the same thing or has the same background, and I’m also saying that no one soldier has the same background and does the same thing,” Barber said. “We can be feminine, we can be in beauty contests, we can be models. So there’s stereotypes on both sides that I feel like I’m breaking by even being here and being able to compete for Miss USA.”
Miss Georgia USA 2016 Emanii Davis, Miss Hawaii USA 2016 Chelsea Hardin and Miss District of Columbia USA 2016 Deshauna Barber compete in the top 3. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The pageant aired on Fox after NBC dropped the annual event last year, when the network cut all ties with former pageant owner Donald Trump. The producers couldn’t pass up the opportunity to slip Trump into a question during the Q&A portion; judge and Harper’s Bazaar executive editor Laura Brown asked Miss Hawaii Chelsea Hardin if she would vote for Trump or Hillary Clinton for president.
The crowd immediately started booing — Hardin looked a bit shocked then quickly composed herself and dodged a direct answer. “What we need in the United States is someone who represents those of us who feel we don’t have a voice…we need a president to push to what is right and push for what America really needs,” she said.
Naturally, some people started tweeting angrily at Brown — given, you know, voting is private. After a couple commercial breaks, co-hosts Julianne Hough and Terrence Jenkins tried to calm the online crowd, and reiterated that the Miss USA organization creates the questions.
“If you’re on Twitter, the judges did not come up with those questions, alright? Just so that you know. They were randomly picked,” Jenkins said as the audience started booing again. “I know what you are booing, and she answered the question marvelously.”

By Emily Yahr for The Washington Post, 6/5/2016

Miss Continents, Miss Teen Continents, and Mrs. Continents 2016

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On June 10th, five new queens were crowned during the joint Miss Continents/Miss Teen Continents/Mrs. Continents 2016 pageant held at the South Point Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. From left to right: Jasahna D'Aniello (Miss U.S. Continents 2016), Ida Ovmar of Sweden (Miss Continents 2016),  Anjali Sinha of the United Kingdom (Miss Teen Continents 2016), Katie Wadman (Miss Teen U.S. Continents), and Kim Schiltz of Nebraska (Mrs. Continents 2016).

The pageant is run by Gaspar Cruz, owner and operator of Gaspar Cruz Cosmetics and designer and owner of Crown Couture by Gaspar Cruz.



Ida Ovmar of Sweden (left), Miss Continents 2016, and Anjali Sinha of the United Kingdom, Miss Teen Continents 2016.


Photo credits: Gaspar Cruz Facebook



Miss Philippines Earth 2016

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PHOTO CREDIT: GMA NEWS ONLINE


A German-Filipino student based in Puerto Princesa City bagged the 2016 Miss Philippines Earth crown in ceremonies held at the UP Theater in Quezon City Saturday night. 

Imelda Bautista Schweighart (center), 21, bested 45 other aspirants from all over the country and from overseas Filipino communities to inherit the national crown. She will try to secure a “three-peat” for the Philippines in the global Miss Earth pageant later this year.

Kiara Giel Gregorio (second from right) from the Filipino community in London placed second and was proclaimed Miss Philippines-Air. She was also named Miss Hana Shampoo and Miss Oasis Dental.

Loren Artejos (second from left) from Laoag was crowned Miss Philippines-Water while Shannon Rebecca Bridgman (farthest right) from Rosales, Pangasinan, was hailed as Miss Philippines-Fire.

Melanie Mader (farthest left) from the Filipino community in Vienna was proclaimed Miss Philippines-Ecotourism.

Schweighart is a veteran of beauty contests. She joined the Binibinibing Pilipinas in 2013, the same year 2015 Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach joined the said national tilt. She is the reigning Miss Puerto Princesa and placed second in the Miss Palawan pageant.


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Imelda Schweighart

Source: Inquirer.net, June 11, 2016

Miss Universe Canada 2016

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Siera Bearchell, 22, from Saskatchewan was crowned Miss Universe Canada 2016 on June 11th at St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. In her bio, Siera describes herself as a law student, entrepreneur, runner, golfer, and an avid photographer. She will now represent Canada in the next edition of Miss Universe whose date and venue have not been confirmed.

Siera's court includes 1st runner-up Amber Bernachi, 2nd runner-up Kesiah Papasin, 3rd runner-up Camila Gonzalez, and 4th runner-up Zoe Bennett.



Miss Great Britain 2015/2016 Zara Holland Stripped of Title After Having Sex on ITV2's Love Island

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The reigning Miss Great Britain, Zara Holland, has been stripped of her title after having sex on ITV2 reality show Love Island.
Beauty pageant organisers said they had “no problem with sex” but said they could not condone Holland’s relationship with 24-year-old scaffolder Alex Bowen.
Wednesday’s episode of the show, watched by around a million viewers, featured the two in bed together and what one insider described as a “look of delight” on Bowen’s face.
Although no explicit scenes were shown, it was readily apparent what had happened from comments that were featured in the following night’s programme.
Love Island presenter Caroline Flack criticised the decision, saying Holland was a “very sweet girl. What even is Miss GB? Are we living in the dark ages?”
n a statement, Miss Great Britain organisers said they had taken the decision with “deep regret”.
“We pride ourselves on promoting the positivity of pageants in modern society and this includes the promotion of a strong, positive female role model in our winners,” they said.
“The feedback we have received from pageant insiders and members of the general public is such that we cannot promote Zara as a positive role model moving forward.
“We wholly understand that everyone makes mistakes, but Zara, as an ambassador for Miss Great Britain, simply did not uphold the responsibility expected of the title.”
Alex Bowen and Zara Holland on 'Love Island' Courtesy ITV2

A spokesman for the programme said Holland had been informed about the decision and had chosen to stay on the show. 
The current series of Love Island, which first aired on ITV in 2005, has featured a penis moulding contest and a “girl on girl sock wrestling championship” in a paddling pool of jelly.

The now former Miss GB told fellow contestants on Thursday she regretted her decision to sleep with Bowen, the former boyfriend of Loose Women star Vicky Pattison, the winner of I’m a Celebrity in 2015.
She told the cameras: “You know when you’re in the moment and it just happens. That’s really not like me at all. Why couldn’t we have just gone to sleep?”
Around 70 cameras follow the contestants’ every move, with a reputed 1,000 condoms placed strategically around the villa.
Contestants face a “race against time” to couple up, with anyone who stays single in danger of being eliminated from the show and missing out on the £50,000 cash prize.
New features on the show this year include an outdoor gym and a redesigned hideaway for couples’ “one-on-one action”.
Presenter Flack said the sex on the show sometimes made her cringe. “I had to have my fingers in my ears for certain parts,” she said, before the current series’ transmission.
“I could watch it, no problem, but I preferred watching it to listening to it. I don’t like hearing those noises!”
Holland will be replaced by runner-up Deone Robertson, who had been crowned Miss North Lanarkshire.
The organisation said they would meet Holland on her return to the UK from the house in Majorca “to fully explain our decision and will wish her the very best going forward”.
● This article was amended on 17 June to remove a reference to the Miss World competition. Miss World is open to Miss England, Miss Wales, Miss Scotland and Miss Northern Ireland, but not Miss Great Britain, which is a separate event.

Source: The Guardian, UK, 6/17/2016

Former Miss Universe Alicia Machado Urges Immigrants To Join Her In Becoming Citizens To Vote Against Donald Trump

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ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA — Venezuelan model and actress Alicia Machado says it took her many years to get over get over the abuse she suffered at the hands of Donald Trump when she was crowned Ms. Universe in 1996.
“He made me feel small,” she told ThinkProgress in Spanish. “He threatened me, treated me rudely. He called me ‘Ms. Housekeeping’ in front of his friends.”
Trump, then the owner of the beauty pageant, publicly mocked Machado for gaining weight and forced her to exercise in front of TV cameras. She said she was depressed and suffered from an eating disorder for several years as a result.
“He hates girls,” she said. “He considers girls to be less. We have another status, to him.”
Machado has lived in the U.S. for nearly 20 years now, and has a seven-year-old daughter who is a U.S. citizen. But she didn’t consider becoming a citizen herself until a few months ago, when Trump became the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee.
“It was like a great monster reappearing in my life,” she said. “In the beginning, I thought there was no way this loco will ever win. But after the primaries I realized I need to vote. I can’t invite my community to step up if I won’t do it myself.”
Machado says she became more motivated still after Trump attacked the judge presiding over charges of fraud against Trump University, arguing that because the judge has Mexican parents, he must be biased against Trump.
“Is he saying that if my daughter wanted to be a judge when she grew up, she couldn’t do it fairly because her mom is Venezuelan and her dad is Mexican?” Machado asked. “Would he not see her as American, even though she was born here? It’s absurd.”
Machado, who has passed her citizenship test and is now waiting for her passport to arrive in the mail, is one of hundreds of thousands to do so since Trump’s candidacy began. While it’s impossible to know how many are, like Machado, motivated by a desire to stop Trump from winning, reporting by ThinkProgress and other outlets suggest it’s a strong contributing factor.
Though applications for citizenship always increase during a presidential election year, this year is uniquely high.
If the trend continues, as many as one million new citizens will be casting ballots this November, and they could tip the balance of power in close swing states like Virginia, Florida, Colorado, Nevada, and Ohio. These new citizens are registering to vote at a higher rate than most Americans. New polling suggests as well that Trump’s rhetoric about Latinos is motivating those who are already citizens to become more politically active.
In a press conference this week in Virginia’s Arlington County — which has a large and rapidly growing immigrant population — Machado urged her fellow green card holders to apply for citizenship “right now, this month.”
“We are a free country, and we can’t give that up for a crazy, ignorant, ambitious, misogynistic despot who just wants to slake his thirst for power,” she said of Trump.

Source: ThinkProgress, June 17, 2016

Former Miss World Susana Djuim Passes Away

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CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES
CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES

Susana Djuim from Venezuela, who was crowned Miss World 1955, passed away Saturday, June 18, 2016, as confirmed by the Miss Venezuela Organization. She was 79. The cause of death was stroke. 

Susana was the first Latin American and first Venezuela to win the Miss World crown. She was born in Aragua de Barcelo in the state of Anzoategui on August 11, 1936. She remained active by conducting a radio program called "De todo a tono con Susana" in Isla de Margarita and she was preparing notes for her new topic, “La vuelta al mundo en 80 años” ("Return to World in 80 Years") in reference to her 80th birthday which would included in her radio show. 


CREDIT: MISS VENEZUELA ORGANIZATION

Miss New England Continental 2016: Glitz, Glamour And Grace

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 The Spectacular Six. From left to right: Angela la Marquess, Angel Cavalli, Alexandra Dior, Lolita Golightly, Ivy League-O'deria, and Serenity Lōckhart. 


     So last night at Club Café in Boston, I was fortunate to have judged the first ever Miss New England Continental female impersonation pageantry (a/k/a drag pageantry). I have judged and attended countless pageants, mostly traditional female ones, but none of them could have been more exciting, more entertaining, and more fabulous than this drag pageant. Produced and owned by J. Cardin Moore (a/k/a Jovan I. Cardona), a former Mr. Boston Pride 2015, the Miss New England Continental show was a phenomenal success. For its first year, Moore's production team put on a highly memorable, energetic and professional show. And it didn't matter if there were only six contestants, because each contestant projected two other personae, so essentially I felt like I was judging 12 contestants overall. One was already too much to handle!

     The show started around 6:30 PM. and was held in the theater section of the café. The stage was small, but it was adequate to allow the contestants to showcase their talents and runway skills. The show was hosted by Jai Wilson, a professional makeup artist who did a fabulous impersonation of Katy Perry, and by the outgoing Miss Continental 2015, the gorgeous Tiffany Hunter. Besides myself, the other judges included my favorite pageant brother, Rocky Graziano (Executive Director of Miss Boston Scholarship Organization), Tiffany Bishop (Department Manager of Cosmetics/Fragrances at Neiman-Marcus), Ana Barbara Fontanez (New York City Promoter), Bambi Starr (Entertainer), Noah Von Ark (Public Affairs Officer at Massachusetts General Hospital), and Amara Bear (Miss Rhode Island World 2015). 



      Three hours before the show, the contestants had to face a grueling interview with the judges - an experience that I will always cherish because it did not only shatter my preconceived notions about drag (for example, that one must be a biological male to do a female impersonation), but it also broadened my understanding of a culture that is generally characterized as comical or bizarre. Much to my surprise, I learned that biological females may also impersonate other females ('faux drag"); that there is, to quite an extent, a difference between a drag performer and a transvestite; that not all drag queens watch "RuPaul's Drag Race" or like it; and that drag is first and foremost a pure art form, a sophisticated artistic expression which requires maximum creativity and imagination. 

     During the actual show, the contestants were judged in four categories: swimsuit, talent, evening gown and final Q & A. The same question was asked to all six: "What is your definition of success?" Some answered more confidently than the others, but they all gave honest and personable responses. When it was time to announce the results, the stunning Angel Cavalli was crowned Miss New England Continental 2016 which gives her the right to compete in Miss Continental 2016 pageant to be held in Chicago this Labor Day weekend. The second place went to the elegant Lolita Golightly who was crowned Miss Boston Continental 2016. The First Alternate (First Runner-Up) went to Ivy League-O'deria who had also won the Interview and the Q & A portion, while Angela la Marquess was named the Second Alternate (Second Runner-Up).

     Although the two other contestants, Serenity Lōckhart and Alexandra Dior did not win anything, both of them displayed true sportsmanship by maintaining their grace and poise during the rest of the evening. Congratulations to all six contestants! They are all winners in my book!

     The pageant occurred exactly a week after the tragic shootings that killed 49 innocent individuals in a gay night club in Orlando, Florida. Frankly, I was feeling hesitant in attending the pageant because I was not sure if security would be reinforced. But a little voice in my head kept nagging me, "Rafa, if you don't go to the pageant, it would mean that you're relinquishing your freedom to those motherf---ing terrorists! Don't let them, dude!" And my friends who know me well that I would never submit to fear, so I went! And it turned out to be one of the most thrilling, memorable and educational experiences of my life! Thank you, little voice! Haha!

     Lastly, I wish to thank J. Cardin Moore for inviting me to his first Miss New England Continental pageant. I am confident that next year's pageant will be bigger, better, and brighter! 

I had the best seat in the house! :) Nothing beats a glass of piña colada while
being entertained by the fierce Serenity Lōckhart performing as Iron Woman during talent. #Amazeballs

Lolita Golightly, Miss Boston Continental 2016, also won the Talent competition. 
She blew me away with her ballet rendition of Cinderella!  #Perfection

With the top winner, Angel Cavalli, Miss New England Continental 2016. Angel also won 
the Evening Gown and Swimwear competition. Simply #Beautiful!


P.S. - If you've never been to a drag pageant or show, and you want to go someday, make sure to bring plenty of loose dollar bills to tip every performer that comes on stage. But don't tip the contestants! In this day and age where advanced technology allows us to pay or tip digitally using a Smartphone, there are still situations where paper money is more convenient and preferable! :)

by Rafa Delfin

Miss World Dominican Republic 2016

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22-year-old Yaritza Miguelina Reyes Ramírez was crowned Miss Mundo Dominicana 2016 at the La Fiesta Theater of the Renaissance Jaragua Hotel in Santo Domingo on June 18. She will represent the Dominican Republic in Miss World 2016 pageant to be held in Washington, D.C. on December 20. The first runner-up was Perla NúñezYaritza is a pageant veteran. She was Miss Universe Dominican Republic 2013 and competed in Miss Universe 2013 in Moscow where she placed in the top 10. 


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