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30 January, 2015
Turkish MP to be prosecuted for calling death of 1.5million Armenians 'a lie'
Muslims are big on denial
Amal Clooney is to appear in a high-profile case against a Turkish
politician who denies the killing of 1.5million Armenians in 1915
amounted to genocide.
Mrs Clooney will advise the Eurasian country as they challenge the
appeal of Do?u Perinçek, who was found guilty by a Swiss court in 2008.
His appeal is now being challenged by Armenia, which argues that denying
the 1915 genocide is a crime on par with Holocaust denial.
Do?u Perinçek the leader of the Turkish Workers Party was fined by a
Swiss court in 2008 after calling the 1915 genocide an ‘international
lie’, during a visit to Switzerland.
Mr Perinçek later appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, which
ruled that Switzerland had violated his right to free expression in
December 2013.
Armenia also says that the European Court of Human Rights’s ruling on Mr
Perinçek’s 2013 appeal contains legal and factual errors.
This April marks the 100th anniversary of the massacre of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks.
Turkey rejects the term ‘genocide,’ says the death figure is inflated
and that people died on both sides as the Ottoman Empire collapsed amid
World War I.
SOURCE
Google Translate under fire for offering offensive and homophobic
words including 'poof' and 'queen' when people use service for word
'gay'
It must use an impartial dictionary. There is no room for impartiality these days
Google is under pressure to change its translation tool after it emerged
it automatically replaces the word 'gay' with homophobic slurs like
'f****t', 'poof', 'queen' and 'fairy'.
More than 50,000 people have have signed a petition demanding the U.S.
web giant re-programmes its translate system, which is used by
500million people every month.
When translating 'gay' from English into Spanish, French or Portuguese
Google Translate comes back with 'f****t,' 'poof,' 'fairy' and 'dyke' as
synonyms.
Google has apologised and said it is working to fix the problem, but
MailOnline can reveal the translate system is still bringing up hateful
words.
Campaigners from equality group All Out made the shocking discovery that
Google was using hateful insults instead of neutral language for 'gay'.
When the Russian word for 'gay' is translated into English, some of the
results thrown up include 'pansy boy', 'fairy' and 'sodomite.'
Gay rights group Stonewall have said the translation tool has revealed how much of a problem homophobic language is.
A spokesman said: ‘This demonstrates how commonly offensive slur words
are used online to describe lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people.
SOURCE
The translations from Russian are probably accurate. Russians
don't mince words when talking about homosexuality. It is greatly
despised in Russia
29 January, 2015
CUNY: Don’t Call Students ‘Mr., Mrs. or Ms.’ Because That’s Maybe Disrespectful
The Graduate Center of the City University of New York issued a memo
advising staff not to address any students as “Mr., Mrs. or Ms.”
beginning this spring because some could find it disrespectful.
The policy is intended to “ensure a respectful, welcoming and
gender-inclusive learning environment . . . and to accommodate properly
the diverse population of current and prospective students,” according
to the memo, signed by interim provost Louise Lennihan.
School spokeswoman (wait – can I call her that?) Tanya Domi said the
initiative was also part of the school’s “working within a regulatory
framework to comply with Title IX legal principles,” which forbid
discrimination based on sex at any institution receiving federal
funding.
(Yes, the viewpoint that calling someone “Mr.” could ever be considered a violation of federal policy is terrifying.)
But attorney and Title IX consultant Saundra Schuster insisted to the
Wall Street Journal that CUNY’s new policy isn’t necessary for complying
with the law. ”They are not mandated to do this,” she said.
SOURCE
Williams-Yulee v. The Florida Bar: Free Speech is Worth Full Protection
While we may not agree with all speech we come across, it is important
for liberty-minded individuals to defend all constitutionally protected
speech. If we do not protect speech that we may not agree with, or that
is of limited importance to us, there will be fewer people willing to
defend speech that we care deeply about. Also, once the Supreme Court
rules some speech can be restricted and still withstand constitutional
scrutiny, it becomes easier for the Court to rule other speech can be
restricted as well.
On January 20 the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of
Williams-Yulee v. The Florida Bar. This case is important because the
petitioner (Williams-Yulee) is appealing to the Supreme Court to protect
her free speech right to personally ask for campaign funds when running
for judicial office. This case is especially important because around
half of the states currently ban personal solicitations by judicial
candidates and there is a split within the state and circuit courts over
whether the First Amendment allows such bans.
The origin of this case was Hillsborough County (Tampa) Florida in 2009,
when Lanell Williams-Yulee decided to run for a judicial position in
the county. As part of her campaign, she approved and signed a mass
mailing that asked for funds to help her run her campaign. The Florida
Bar deemed that by doing so she violated a rule against “personally
soliciting campaign contributions.” The Referee handling the case
decided that she should be publicly reprimanded and pay around $1,800 to
cover the costs of bringing the case against her.
The case was then appealed to the Florida Supreme Court where Ms.
Williams-Yulee argued the ban on personally soliciting campaign funds
improperly limited her right to free speech. The Florida Supreme Court
agreed that the ban clearly did restrict free speech but ruled against
Ms. Williams-Yulee because the ban passed their strict scrutiny test.
SOURCE
28 January, 2015
The vast incorrectness of "colored"
Someone should tell the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)
British actor Benedict Cumberbatch has apologized after describing black
people as 'colored' on US television, saying he is 'an idiot' and is
'devastated to have caused offense'.
The 38-year-old Sherlock star was widely condemned after using the
racial term during a debate on the lack of diversity on British screens
on the PBS talk show Tavis Smiley last Wednesday.
But on Monday night, he issued an apology for his 'incorrect' and
'offensive' use of the phrase, saying: 'I'm devastated to have caused
offense by using this outmoded terminology.
'I offer my sincere apologies. I make no excuse for my being an idiot and know the damage is done.'
SOURCE
A term that was routine up until a few years ago is now the deepest depths of wickedness, apparently. Where will it end?
Charlie Hebdo killers should NOT be called 'terrorists', claims BBC executive Tarik Kafala
Tarik is no doubt a Muslim
The Parisian extremists who murdered 17 people in a series of attacks
including the Charlie Hebdo massacre should not be called 'terrorists', a
senior BBC executive has said.
Tarik Kafala, who runs BBC Arabic, said the term 'terrorist' was too
'loaded' and 'value-laden' to describe Said and Cherif Kouachi and their
accomplice Amedy Coulibaly.
The Kouachi brothers shot dead 12 at the offices of satirical magazine
Charlie Hebdo in Paris and Coulibaly killed four at a Kosher deli after
shooting dead a policewoman.
All three were eventually shot dead by French special forces after the Islamists all burst out of their hideouts two weeks ago.
Mr Kafalam runs the BBC's largest non-English language TV, radio and
online news services, which have a weekly audience of 36million people.
He told The Independent: 'We try to avoid describing anyone as a
terrorist or an act as being terrorist. What we try to do is to say that
'two men killed 12 people in an attack on the office of a satirical
magazine'. That's enough.
SOURCE
Another attempt to cover up what poison Islam is
27 January, 2015
Named after SS Nazi war criminal: World's largest ship sparks outrage as it arrives in Europe
The arrival of the world's largest ship in Europe has provoked outrage
after it was revealed it was named after a SS Nazi war criminal.
The Pieter Schelte, which is so big it can lift oil rigs out of the
water, is docked in Rotterdam after being constructed at the Daewoo
Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering shipyard in South Korea.
But as Holocaust Memorial Day nears, anger has erupted after it was
revealed Pieter Schelte Heerema was a Dutch officer in the Waffen SS.
The vice president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Jonathan
Arkush told the Observer: 'Naming such a ship after an SS officer who
was convicted of war crimes is an insult to the millions who suffered
and died at the hands of the Nazis. 'We urge the ship's owners to
reconsider and rename the ship after someone more appropriate.'
Schelte was the father of Dutchman Edward Heerema, the owner of company Allseas, who commissioned the building of the ship.
He was an officer in the Waffen SS during the Second World War, when he acted as a director for the Dutch East Company.
It is thought he was responsible for recruiting Dutch men to be put into
forced labour in Nazi-occupied territories in Eastern Europe.
However, he is reported to have left the SS in 1944 as he lost sympathy
with the Nazis and joined a resistance party, fleeing to Switzerland.
He was tried and sentenced to three years in prison for war crimes after
the war but was released early and went to Venezuela where he set
up a engineering company.
SOURCE
It seems to me that the man is entitled to honor a father who
joined the resistance to the Nazis. It seems that his father was
in any case an office worker rather than an armed combatant
Criticizing Islam, Questioning Immigration Policy is Hate Speech according to Toronto Star & Canadian Press
The recent terror attacks in Paris have led to a barrage of anti-Muslim
and anti-immigrant comments on the Facebook pages of federal politicians
and their parties in Canada — much of it plainly visible to the public.
Managing racist, sexist, homophobic and harassing material is just one
of the new challenges facing parties who want to have an active social
media presence, grounded in the concept of free speech and open
dialogue.
A Jan. 7 post on Stephen Harper’s Facebook account, in which the prime
minister said he was “horrified by the barbaric attacks in France,”
received approximately 575 comments. Some six dozen — expressing support
for blocking immigration from Islamic countries, closing Canada’s
borders or just criticizing Islam — were still on the page more than two
weeks later.
How shocking! Islam was criticized in light of the of the Charlie Hebdo
Massacre! Because naturally it had nothing to do with Islam.
Oh the horror! People actually questioned the wisdom of allowing
immigration from Islamic nations! Forgive my hatefulness but I wonder if
that has anything to do with the daily litany of horror that Islam
visits upon the world?
But the most awful horrid hateful thing was that some people actually
discussed closing our borders! Next those citizens will want rights like
free-speech!
SOURCE
26 January, 2015
Former Miss Turkey, 26, facing trial after being arrested for posting satirical poem that criticised the country's president
A former Miss Turkey is facing trial for posting a satirical poem on social media that criticised her country's president.
The arrest of Merve Buyuksarac, 26, follows a crackdown in the country
on critical media in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris.
Although officially Turkey is secular, 99.8 per cent of the population
are registered as Muslim and there has been heated debate over freedom
of expression in the wake of the Paris massacres.
Now it appears the Turkish crackdown is extending not just to monitoring the media, but also to its readers.
Officials confirmed that the model had been taken before prosecutors and
questioned over the social media posting that they said had insulted
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Merve, an educated young professional who works as an industrial
designer and writer, ended up in court in the Caglayan neighbourhood of
the western city of Istanbul.
Looking nervous and flanked by armed police, she told prosecutors that
she 'may have quoted a poem' from the weekly humour magazine Uykusuz.
The judge, however, ruled to release Buyuksarac unconditionally, pending
a date for the trial set to take place later in the year.
SOURCE
UK: Argos accused of racism after selling black and Asian dolls for £10 less than white toy despite them being exactly the same
High street chain Argos has been accused of racism after selling black
and Asian dolls for £10 less than the white version of the children's
toy.
The store has been branded 'unacceptable' for pricing a white doll,
called 'Maria', at £34.99 - £10 more than black doll 'Naima' and Asian
doll 'Yang'.
Mother-of-three Lisa O'Reilly, from South Killingholme, Lincolnshire,
complained to the retailer after noticing the pricing difference while
shopping for her two-year-old daughter Darcy.
The 12-inch dolls, designed for children aged 18 months and above, are made my French firm Corolle Calin.
They are described on the maker's site as having 'cuddly soft beanbag
bodies, sleeping eyes and supple vinyl skin that is delicately scented
with vanilla'.
Mrs O'Reilly, 32, condemned the pricing difference by Argos and said
there's 'enough prejudice in the world already without battling against
racist toys'.
She told The Sun's Emer Martin, Rob Pattinson and Sam Christie: 'It's
unacceptable for children to think white is better or more desirable.
In a statement, he said: 'As a responsible retailer, Argos strongly
refutes any suggestion of discrimination with the pricing of the Corolle
Calin dolls.
'A genuine online pricing error led to one of the dolls being advertised at an incorrect price.
SOURCE
25 January, 2015
Must not aim merchandise at boys only
A range of dinosaur t-shirts aimed only at boys has landed both Marks
and Spencer and the Natural History Museum at the centre of a sexism
row.
The store has been accused of 'gender stereotyping' and sending a
'perplexing message' to girls with the clothing line, produced in
partnership with the London Museum.
'It is a real shame that children are being told implicitly what
is for them and what is not,' said Ruth Lopardo, co-founder of Let
Clothes Be Clothes.
'All kids like dinosaurs. I am sure we can all remember the excitement
of going to the Natural History Museum and seeing those great big
skeletons and I don't think that is gender dependent.
'It is perplexing message to send to girls at a time when the government
are worried about the lack of women going into science and technology
professions.'
The campaign group has called for the range, which includes pyjamas,
t-shirts and underwear, to be extended to include items for girls.
The Evening Standard reported that the National History Museum said that
they would do their 'best to ensure the range is accessible to all
children.'
SOURCE
Finding short fat girls unattractive is 'prejudice'
I'm prejudiced
A flight passenger who complained an airline was only hiring 'short fat
girls' as stewardesses has been shamed by social media users after the
company hit back at his 'prejudice' online.
In the post sent directly to Argentina Airlines' Facebook page, the man
noted the 'low quality' of airline stewardesses and bemoaned the fact
that the company appeared to only be hiring 'short fat girls'.
He originally wrote: 'What gets my attention is the low quality of
flight attendants that the company has. Before they were tall, nice. Now
they only take short fat girls.'
The airline's social media promptly responded, listing the requirements
for the role and noting 'prejudice doesn't fly, we leave it on the
ground'.
Its requirements include that they're older than 18 and are between 5'4"
and 5'7" tall. They must also be an Argentinian citizen who has
graduated high school, knows how to swim, can speak English and has the
necessary training qualification.
The response soon went viral on Facebook and Twitter and was retweeted
hundreds of times as people celebrated the airline's riposte.
One user wrote alongside a picture of the exchange: 'Excellent!
#AerolineasArgentinas' amazing response to passenger (who) complained
about physical appearance of the flight attendants.'
SOURCE
It seems that the airline did not deny that its hostesses tend to be short and fat
23 January, 2015
Must not require tidy appearance in employees
A hotel in Queensland has had their Gumtree job advertisement removed
because it asked for full length photographs of applicants.
Ravenswood Imperial Hotel in northern Queensland posted an advert on the
classifieds website three weeks ago, prompting moderators to remove the
ad.
Pub owner John Schluter stands by the employing process, saying that the
need for well-presented employees is the same in every industry.
‘We need to know they’re compatible for the pub. If the girls are 4’2
and they can’t see over the bar that obviously isn’t going to work’ he
said.
The ad sparked outcry on social media, where some have claimed it encourages discrimination
‘It’s offbeat to the customers who have just worked 12 hour shifts if
the employees are daggy or poorly dressed. We get people here from all
over the world.’
While The Fair Work Act does not deny employees the right to ask for a
photo, it is considered unlawful to discriminate against employees over
their race, colour, sex, age, physical or mental disability or marital
status.
But Mr Schluter said this has been the hotels employment policy for some
time. ‘We’ve been doing this for eight years, and I’m not sure
why it’s an issue. We run a careful establishment here and I can’t have
anyone looking unkempt,’ he said.
SOURCE
Canada’s law on hate speech is the embodiment of compromise
Freedom of expression in Canada is normally a dry legal concept,
sporadically explored by law professors in dense papers, and taken for
granted by everyone else. Until now, if freedom of expression got any
attention at all, it was fleeting and superficial, like a bumper sticker
on a passing car. The terrorist attacks in France and their aftermath
changed all that, giving freedom of expression an extended tenure in the
limelight and popular consciousness.
But the discussion in Canada so far fails to address the unique Canadian
approach to freedom of expression, and thus fails to ask a crucial
Canadian question. Does freedom of expression as legally defined in
Canada provide the right tools for expression challenges in a fragmented
and largely angry 21st century social media world?
Canadian freedom of expression law, like so many things Canadian,
embodies compromise. In the United States, even the most hateful, virile
and destructive speech is constitutionally protected. In many other
countries, expression is suppressed if politically problematic. We walk
between those extremes.
Here you can be put in jail for hate speech. But before you condemn the
prospect of jail for speaking your mind, consider the built-in limits to
the hate speech law. There are seven of them, and together they pour a
big pail of cold water on any over-zealous prosecutor intent on
duct-taping your mouth. For a prosecution to go ahead, all of these
conditions must be met:
1. The hate speech must be the most severe of the genre;
2. The hate speech must be targeted to an identifiable group;
3. It must be public;
4. It must be deliberate, not careless;
5. Excluded from hate speech are good faith interpretations of religious
doctrine, discussion of issues of public interest, and literary devices
like sarcasm and irony;
6. The statements must be hateful when considered in their social and historical context;
7. No prosecution can proceed without approval of the attorney-general,
which introduces political accountability because the attorney-general
is a cabinet minister.
Even with these limits, the Canadian hate law still clearly curtails free expression.
SOURCE
22 January, 2015
A thought
The federal government, which has " Tomahawk" cruise missiles and
"Apache," "Blackhawk," "Kiowa" and "Lakota" helicopters - and used the
code name "Geronimo" in the attack that killed Osama bin Laden,
officially objects to the name of the "Washington Redskins."
Really?
UNB defends prof's academic freedom in wake of racism complaint
A University of New Brunswick vice-president is defending a professor's
academic freedom in the wake of a recent complaint of racism.
Kerry Jang, a Vancouver city councillor, had asked the university to
investigate the allegedly racist views of Prof. Ricardo Duchesne, who
argues that the influx of Asian immigrants is threatening Canada's
European character. Jang contends the sociology professor’s comments
constitute hate speech.
But in an emailed statement to CBC News on Wednesday, MacKinnon said
Jang's concerns were "carefully reviewed and addressed last summer."
"Academic freedom is a foundational principle of university life," he
said. "The university statement of mission and values very clearly
supports the freedom of thought and expression while maintaining the
highest ethical standards and a respectful environment."
?Duchesne, a professor in the department of social science at UNB Saint
John, said he challenges students to rethink the values of
multiculturalism. "Why are people so afraid that they don't want
people like me to talk?" he said.
Duchesne's published academic work exalts Western culture, which, he says, is threatened by overwhelming numbers of immigrants.
He said immigrants don't respect white liberals, who don't take pride in their own nation and hand over everything.
"Sweden had practically no rape. Suddenly, they open their borders, they
have one of the highest rape statistics in the world," he said.
"In Norway, it's happening, the same thing."
SOURCE
21 January, 2015
Art Spiegelman Criticizes US Press Over Charlie Hebdo Political Correctness
Pulitzer Prize-winning comic artist Art Spiegelman has recently spoken
out against the decision of many US media outlets to not republish the
cartoons that were featured in Charlie Hebdo, the French satirical
publication that was attacked on January 7 (see 12 Killed at Magazine
Previously Attacked for Satirical Cartoons).
"I think it's so hypocritical to drape yourself in freedom of speech and
then self-censor yourself to the point where you are not making your
readers understand the issues," Spiegelman told the AFP. "That cartoon
was not making fun of the prophet, it was excoriating the believers who
would kill."
Media outlets such as the New York Times, the Associated Press, CNN, and
NBC News have refused to show images of the cover from the latest issue
of Charlie Hebdo. (see "Are Cartoons More Powerful Than Art?") News
outlets have resorted to blurring and cropping photographs of the now
famous image of Muhammad holding a sign that reads "Je Suis Charlie" to
hide potentially offensive material, leading Spiegelman to argue that
journalists are choosing political correctness over freedom of
speech.
SOURCE
Must not even HINT that fat is bad
Only the government can do that
A super-fit mum has come under fire for 'fat-shaming' women - after she posted a picture of her six-pack on Instagram.
Fitness fanatic, Abby Pell, 33, from East Grinstead, East Sussex,
thought she was helping encourage others to lose post-pregnancy weight
when she shared the picture of her posing with her daughter. She
included the message 'I have a kid, a six pack and no excuse.'
But instead of support, the mum-of-one was branded 'shameless' by scores of people and met with abuse from her followers.
Dedicated mum Abby manages to juggle motherhood and running her own
nutrition business while still hitting the gym up to six days a week.
Abby turned to intense weight training taking just a year to sculpt her
impressive abs, after she ballooned to 13 stone when she was pregnant
with daughter Bella, now six, and struggled to lose shed the extra
50lb.
'I decided to have just one last push, so I started lifting weights, and
I was astonished at the results that came so quickly. 'My bum was
firmer, arms more defined and my abs were showing. 'Now going to the
gym is where I have my 'me-time,' which all mums know they need.'
Abby, who now weighs 9st and is a size eight, says she feels better now than before she was pregnant.
SOURCE
20 January, 2015
Homosexuality must be celebrated, not rejected
A controversial new show on TLC is sparking wave after wave of protests
— as thousands of people ask for the cancellation of the TV
special featuring a group of Mormon men who say they're attracted to
other men but chose to marry women because of their faith.
John Sanders — who launched a Change.org petition asking for 'My
Husband's Not Gay' to be axed — says 'the false and dangerous idea that
gay people can and should choose to be straight in order to be part of
their faith communities.'
'I started this petition because these men deserve compassion and
acceptance,' says Sanders, who has himself been a devout Christian
who went through 'ex-gay' therapy and was told to 'pray the gay away'
in the past.
In the show, a group of happily married Mormon men have admitted that
they are attracted to their own sex - yet they refuse to identify as gay
because of their devout faith.
These unconventional marriages are the focus of a new TLC special called
My Husband's Not Gay, set in Salt Lake City, which follows three such
couples and their single friend, Tom, who is seeking a wife despite his
own sexual attraction to men.
SOURCE
AGAIN: Indian head-dress must not be worn
Hysteria about "genocide". Indians were certainly oppressed but
they are still around: So no genocide. I would have thought that
adopting Indian garb expressed solidarity with them
Pixie Lott has been slammed after she wore a feathered headdress to
celebrate her 24th birthday with a cowboys and Indians themed party in
London, on Saturday night.
She chose a Tiger Lily costume, inspired by the Native American princess
from Peter Pan but it soon landed her in hot water after she posted a
picture and wrote: 'Tigerlily is out to play tonight for final BDAY
celebrations #cowboys #indians'.
Previous stars who have donned Indian headdresses - including Pharrell
Williams, Khloe Kardashian and Ellie Goulding - have found themselves
being blasted for being 'insensitive' and Pixie was no different.
Within minutes of sharing a snap on Instagram, people were quick to lash
out, with one horrified person fuming: 'I don't see how the genocide of
many many many people is a "party theme".'
Another sarcastically added: 'Wowww cuz dressing up as people who have
been wipped out is soooo cool. Why dont you dress up as the slaves next!
Let's have a slave themed party!'
And one person blasted: 'Pixie Lott, cultural Appropriation isn't cute. Not even on your birthday. Terrible party "theme".'
SOURCE
19 January, 2015
Canadian media mention the race of an assailant -- I wonder why?
Two Canadian police officers have been shot near Edmonton, Alberta and
the suspect is still at large, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said on
Saturday.
The two officers were being treated in hospital. One of the
officers was in "very grave condition" and the other was in serious but
stable condition, Assistant Commissioner Marlin Degrand said during a
news conference. He said the manhunt was a "dynamic and unfolding
event."
The shooting happened around 3am local time in St Albert, Alberta, a community northwest of the provincial capital of Edmonton.
Degrand said the officers were shot inside the Apex Casino in St.
Albert, which was open at the time of the incident, while investigating a
stolen car parked at the location.
The hunt for the unidentified gunman was continuing. He was considered
"armed and dangerous." The shooter was described as a white male
between the ages of 25 and 35, wearing a two-toned blue striped jacket
and jeans.
SOURCE. Update here.
Weight loss expert under fire for launching Tell A Friend They're Fat Day
A weight loss expert has been slammed by plus-size campaigners for his new project: Warn A Friend They're Fat Day.
TV star Steve Miller, presenter of the TV show Fat Families, had
designated today as the day for Britons to tell close friends or family
members that they are overweight.
But the move has been widely criticised, with members of the plus-size
community saying the scheme amounts to fat-shaming and bullying.
Steve floated the idea of Warn A Friend They're Fat Day late last year
and even wrote a letter to the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt about the
issue. The idea is for people to bring up the issue of
obesity with a close friend or family member who is overweight.
The person would then offer to become an exercise buddy if their friend
does decide to try and shift some pounds as a result of the
conversation.
Steve claims that the initiative could save thousands of lives. He
told FEMAIL: 'This day is about saving lives, it is absolutely not
about humiliating people.
'I know that the word fat sounds harsh but when you use that word,
people take notice - if you wrap the issue up in cotton wool, it doesn't
work.'
SOURCE
18 January, 2015
The Ched Evans witch-hunt goes on
No good may be spoken of him
The head of the Professional Footballers' Association is facing calls to
resign after comparing the plight of convicted rapist Ched Evans to the
Hillsborough disaster.
Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the PFA, sparked outrage after making
the 'insensitive parallel' in a Radio 5 Live interview following the
announcement that Evans' move to Oldham had collapsed.
The disgraced striker, 26, apologised to the woman he raped for the
first time today, but maintained he is 'innocent' of attacking her in a
Rhyl hotel room in 2011 and said he will appeal the conviction.
Mr Taylor, 70, told BBC Radio 5 Live: 'He would not be the first person
or persons to have been found guilty and maintained their innocence and
then been proved right.
'If we are talking about things in football we know what happened, what
was alleged to have happened at Hillsborough and it's now unravelling
and we are finding it was very different to how it was portrayed at the
time. Indeed by the police at the time.'
SOURCE
UK: Must not mention that someone is 'Foreign'
A goalkeeper was given an eight-match ban and told to attend an
anti-racism course by the FA after allegedly calling a Polish referee
foreign.
Rob Dennis was sent off while playing for Sandiacre Town in Derby for a tackle which left his opponent with a broken leg.
When his team urged the referee, a Polish national, to reconsider, the
27-year-old said he was overheard commenting that it was unlikely the
referee would change his mind and that he was foreign.
His comments were reported to the FA and deemed an aggravated breach of rules.
As a result Mr Dennis, a father-of-two, was given a three-month ban and told to attend an anti-racism course.
SOURCE
16 January, 2015
Can a cartoon be politically correct?
Former Ukip candidate and ex-Marine faces jail for emailing racist slurs and picture of pig's head to mosque
A PICTURE of a pig is offensive? Muslims must hate Peppa pig
A former UK Independence Party candidate faced jail today for emailing
racist slurs to a mosque and posting a photograph of a pig’s head on
Facebook.
Ex-Marine Ian Couch, 54, sent the offensive messages in a drunken rage
after becoming angry at TV reports of the beheading of journalist James
Foley by ISIS militants.
Couch, a former counter terrorism operative, also posted racial slurs on
Facebook alongside a picture of a pig’s head he kept in his
fridge. Police seized the head when they raided his home in Great
Shelford, Cambridgeshire, and Couch claimed he had bought it for his
dogs.
The court heard Couch made anti-Muslim comments such as ‘your religion
is a disgrace’, ‘how many heads do you have as a trophy’ and ‘the sooner
we destroy Islam the better’.
And among his posts on Facebook was one that said: ‘Isn't it funny that
they can cut off women and children’s heads but can't touch a pig's?’
Couch denied two counts of sending offensive messages and claimed he had a right to freedom of expression.
But magistrates rejected this in Cambridge last Thursday and told Couch
he faced jail. Presiding magistrate Marisa Johnson said his actions were
‘indefensible’.
SOURCE
15 January, 2015
Must not mention hygeine differences
GLEE star Naya Rivera has caused outrage among multiple races after saying that showering daily is “such a white people thing”.
Rivera shocked hosts and viewers of panel talk show The View yesterday
when she said that “ethnics” do not feel the need to clean themselves as
regularly as “white people”.
“I think that white people shower a lot more than ethnics,” the
28-year-old said, adding, “I feel like showering more than once a day or
every day is such a white people thing.”
After her comments, co-host Rosie O’Donnell proceeded to call upon a
stunned African-American woman in the audience, who insisted she is a
“frequent showerer” before Rivera defended her remarks.
“My mom is half black, half Puerto Rican. She showers every day so I can say this,” the Glee actress said.
“But I’m now married to a white man. And he showers a lot, like two, three times a day,” she said of husband Ryan Dorsey.
SOURCE
Australia: Must not criticize cyclists
FAMILY Feud has enraged cyclists by asking competitors this question.
"On the popular game show, host Grant Denyer asked competitors to name
“something annoying that a cyclist might do?”.
This of course has enraged the cycling community who took to Twitter to
voice their thoughts including comedian and cycling enthusiast Charlie
Pickering.
The aim of the game is to select the most common response to each question, as voted on by an audience of 100.
Among the winning answers on the board was ‘Taking driving lane’, ‘cut you off’, ‘everything’ and ‘wear lycra’.
Australian Cycle Alliance president Edward Hore says he is shocked by the question.
“Seriously, the hatred against cyclists has to stop. We are all
someone’s mother, father, brother, sister, son, daughter,” reported
veooz.
SOURCE
Cyclists can be very annoying -- and while they are, they will be
disliked. If they stuck to cycle paths, there would be less hostility
14 January, 2015
UK: Disturbing video shows children as young as five singing racist
song to the tune of 'if you're happy and you know it clap your hands'
It is HUGELY incorrect in Britain to abbreviate "Pakistani"
A disturbing racist video has emerged of three girls aged between five
and seven singing 'if you all hate p**** clap your hands' to the tune of
a popular children's song.
The three blonde children are shown sitting in a circle clapping their
hands while singing the hate chant for the amusement of an adult filming
them.
During the racist song a toddler boy wanders around the room while the
little girls sing the offensive phrase to the tune of 'If you're happy
and you know it clap your hands'.
The video, believed to have been produced in the Greater Manchester area
since the New Year, has sparked outrage online and among anti-racism
charities.
It has been slammed by anti-racism educational charity Show Racism the
Red Card, who use football to stamp out intolerance in the wider
society.
A spokesman for the charity said: 'The fact these young people are using
such an offensive term so freely openly shows a lack of understanding
about the nature of the term from their guardians.
'The fact young people are using this word doesn't come as a surprise
given a study from Show Racism the Red Card Wales found a quarter of
people believe calling a Pakistani person a paki was acceptable.'
SOURCE
Man booted off BRitish TV show after repeatedly using the
word n**** and making a string of 'disgusting' remarks about women
American Leftist hysteria about the n-word seems to have migrated
across the pond. And if men cease to like how women look, the
human race will die out
Former Coronation Street star Ken Morley has been kicked out of the
Celebrity Big Brother house after repeatedly using the word n**** and
making a string of 'disgusting' remarks about women.
The 71-year-old, who played Reg Holdsworth in Coronation Street for a
decade, had already received a final warning after he branded US singer
Alexander O'Neal a 'nice big fat n****'.
He was called to the diary house immediately and told to leave after
describing a row he had with Frank Bruno, where he used a racist term.
In a discussion with Keith Chegwin, he recalled the conversation he had
with Frank, where he told the boxing legend: 'Hello, Lord Fauntleroy
here - turn down your n***** rhythms.'
The actor also sparked outrage in the house after saying 'what's wrong
with looking at some of the best arses in world' when questioned about
his behaviour by co-star Nadia Sawalha.
He said: 'They've got the best looking bodies. they've got the best looking a**s - what is wrong with a man looking?'
Nadia responded by saying: 'I think the police need to be called.'
SOURCE
13 January, 2015
Atlanta fire chief terminated following book controversy
Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran — the subject of recent controversy over
remarks made in a self-published religious book — has been terminated
from the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department, Mayor Kasim Reed announced
today.
Cochran returned to work today following a month-long suspension for
comments in his 2013 book “Who Told You That You Are Naked?” Many
criticized the book as promoting discriminatory and anti-gay views,
while Cochran’s suspension — and now termination — has since become the
focus of a fight over “religious liberty.”
Reed stressed that his decision is not because of Cochran’s faith: “His
religious (beliefs) are not the basis of the problem. His judgment is
the basis of the problem.”
The mayor said though Cochran consulted the city’s ethics officer before
publishing the book, Nina Hickson did not grant approval.
Cochran has a differing account. He said he received verbal clearance
from Hickson to publish the book, and therefore didn’t believe he needed
permission from Reed as city law allowed it.
What’s more, Cochran said he gave a copy of the book to Reed’s executive
assistant in January 2014, and that the mayor later confirmed receiving
it. Cochran also said he was told not to speak to the media,
specifically, about his suspension. Cochran has spoken publicly about
the matter to religious groups.
Cochran said it was not his intent to be “hurtful to anyone” when
expressing his religious views in his book, which he acknowledged
passing out to some members of the fire department.
“LGBT citizens deserve the right to express their beliefs regarding
sexual orientation, and deserve to be respected for their positions
without hate and discrimination,” he said. “But Christians also have the
right to express their beliefs regarding sexual orientation and be
respected for their position without hate and without discrimination. In
the United States, no one should be vilified hated or discriminated
against for expressing their beliefs.”
Among what city leaders said were troubling remarks in the fire chief’s
book was a description of homosexuality as a “perversion” akin to
bestiality and pederasty.
SOURCE
Australia: Sunday Style magazine forced to apologise over sexist ad for interns
This does seem a bit gross. Porno interns. Is it a brothel?
Interns: always having to fetch coffees and brownies for their bosses
without getting paid, and while uncomfortably dressed in skimpy lingerie
too. Uh, according to Murdoch's News Corp anyway.
Sunday Style, the company's weekly fashion and beauty insert, was forced
to apologise on Friday after posting a bizarre job ad for intern
positions.
"We are on the hunt for fashion interns," went the magazine's advert,
accompanied by a picture of a woman in lingerie posing on a bed. (Nope,
not even a photocopier in sight).
The image was quickly deleted after criticism from Twitter and Instagram users, who called the ad "sexist" and "offensive".
The magazine - a liftout in The Sunday Telegraph and Herald Sun with a
circulation of almost 900,000 - later replaced the post with an apology
for their "error in judgement".
SOURCE
12 January, 2015
British Censors Don't Like a Thigh Gap
"The UK Just Took a Bold Stand Against Unfair Beauty Standards the US
Never Would," reports millennial news site Mic. As you might imagine,
Mic author Maureen Shaw and I disagree on whether the latter is a good
or bad thing. The "bold stand" taken by British officials was ordering
retailer Urban Outfitters to remove a photo from its website because of
too much space between the model's thighs.
Colloquially, this is known as "thigh gap", something (or its absence,
really) that has been the envy of Tumblr anorexics, scourge of
body-image crusaders, and subject of ample beauty-blogger think pieces
over the past few years. The British Advertising Standards Authority
(ASA) apparently felt this Urban Outfitter model's thigh gap was too
large.
In a December 31 ruling, the agency decreed that "the ad must not appear
again in its current form" and Urban Outfitters must "ensure that the
images in their ads were responsibly prepared." The agency was
responding to a complainant "who believed that the model in the picture
was unhealthily thin" and the ad "irresponsible and harmful." In
upholding this complaint,
The ASA considered that the model was very thin, and noted, in
particular, that there was a significant gap between the model's thighs,
and that her thighs and knees were a similar width. We considered that
the model looked underweight in the picture.
In a response, Urban Outfitters suggested that the model was "naturally
tall and slim", not unhealthy, noting that she had appeared in many
other ads and had a 23.5-inch waist. Mic's Shaw—who applauds the ASA's
decision and writes that "the U.S. needs to follow the U.K.'s
lead"—scoffs that "Urban Outfitters may consider a 23.5-inch waist
normal," but "the U.K.'s National Health Service cites a healthy
waistline as one up to 31.5 inches."
While that may be true, it's also perfectly possible to be healthy with a
23-inch waist; and while weight and waistline are obviously related,
waist size is also partially a product of body shape and bone structure.
The same is true for thigh gap. Some girls and women are built in such a
way that even when very thin, they won't have much thigh gap; others
would have to put on an unhealthy amount of weight not to have one.
And for people whose goal is ostensibly making women feel okay about
being individuals with all sorts of body types, it seems rather
counterintuitive and insulting to say that women naturally prone to
thigh gap are freaks who must be banned from our view, no? Like the
"real women have curves" campaign, what purports to be a pro-woman
message only continues to emphasize which body attributes are more
socially acceptable than others.
SOURCE
Australia: New controversy brews over 'offensive' ginger beer brand using Hindu imagery
Ganesha is the Lord of success and destroyer of evils and obstacles.
He is also worshipped as the god of education, knowledge, wisdom and
wealth. So I don't see what is wrong with promoting that. I
have a large statue of Ganesha in my entrance hall, as a a matter of
fact. Various Indians have seen it but all have been merely amused
A brewery on Sydney's northern beaches is facing renewed criticism from
some Hindus that the company reneged on an agreement to remove an
insensitive label from its ginger beer.
Brookvale Union, which shares staff with the 4 Pines Brewing Company in
Manly, faced calls in late 2013 to redesign the ginger beer packaging
and remove an Indian-themed design that appeared to show a figure with
the head of Hindu god Ganesh and the body of the goddess Lakshmi.
At the time, the brewery apologised and announced the label would be
redesigned. Alterations were made to the design, which still has an
Indian style and depicts an elephant's head on the body of a woman.
Yadu Singh, a Sydney-based cardiologist and the president of the Indian
Australian Association of NSW, believes the changes didn't go far enough
and he is calling on businesses to remove the product from their
shelves.
4 Pines Brewing Company co-founder Jaron Mitchell said the labels were
redesigned on the advice of Dr Singh and other Australian Hindus who
identified aspects of the design that needed to be changed.
Mr Mitchell said the elephant head depicted on the label was redesigned
to remove any resemblance to the god Ganesh. "It's just like an
animal, it's not a godlike kind of a face," Mr Mitchell told Fairfax
Media.
The revised figure has only two arms, and the image of a cow, which is a
sacred animal in the Hindu faith, was replaced with a bowl of fruit.
"We're certainly not in the business of offending people," Mr Mitchell
said. "It's certainly not a unified Hindu opinion [that the image
is offensive]. I know that because I've had Hindus say, 'look, don't
listen to these guys'."
SOURCE
11 January, 2015
UK: Minister rebukes civil service aide for claiming convicted rapist Ched Evans was 'probably not guilty'
Britain imprisons several women every year for false rape
claims so doubts about a convicted rapist's guilt in Britain are
entirely reasonable. There is no doubt that the sex in this case
was consensual but the court held that the woman was too drunk to give
consent, a very flimsy verdict
Business Secretary Vince Cable has been forced to rebuke one of his top
Whitehall aides for claiming Ched Evans was 'probably not guilty' of
rape - despite the footballer being tried and convicted for the crime.
Andy Ormerod-Cloke, Private Secretary to the Business Secretary, made
the controversial remark on his personal Twitter account while watching
BBC One's Question Time last night.
The Oxford University graduate, said he would 'query how many have
looked at the details rather than symbolism of rapist-footballer'.
He added: 'If guilty then never a footballer again – role model
argument – but on the facts of the case, probably not guilty.'
As a civil servant Mr Ormerod-Cloke is not supposed to post messages online about controversial topics.
SOURCE
Spain seems to be outdoing Britain for political correctnmess
Exraordinarily harsh treatment for a single sarcastic comment
A man was thrown into jail in Spain for nine months after leaving a
sarcastic comment under his ex-girlfriend's Facebook profile picture.
In October 2012 the man, who has not been named, was banned from
contacting his former partner by any means after a specialized Domestic
Violence court in Palma, Majorca passed a protection order.
But just five days later the hopeless individual posted a mocking
comment under her profile picture which read: 'Showing them what you've
got I see, babe.'
After reading the comment, 'a la vete a enseñarlo guapa’ in Spanish, the
woman alerted the authorities and the ex-boyfriend was once again
brought before a court in Palma.
He was charged with breaching the restraining order and sentenced to nine months behind bars.
He appealed his conviction, citing that the court could not prove who
sent the Facebook message or that he had actually breached the order.
But the court in Palma said the man was 'completely conscious' of the
fact his Facebook message 'was an infringement of the restraining
order'.
SOURCE
9 January, 2015
Must not say fat women don't look sexy
A private taxi firm's advert featuring a middle aged overweight woman
with the caption 'if I start to look sexy, book a taxi' has been slammed
as sexist.
West Quay Cars in Southampton said they had put up the controversial
poster as part of their festive campaign to stop people drinking and
driving and to take a cab instead.
But feminist campaigners said the advert, which features the voluptuous
lady in a suggestive pose next to the warning 'don't make bad decisions
because you have had one too many' was sexist and are urging a boycott
of the company.
One campaigner, who wished to remain unnamed, said: 'I was horrified to
see the recent posters by West Quay cars which featured a middle-aged
larger woman with a slogan on it. 'It is disgusting that in 2015 sexism
is still alive, people shouldn't be making a profit over negative
self-body image.'
But bosses at West Quay Cars - who designed the posters themselves -
said they were disappointed with the negative feedback and denied the
company is sexist.
SOURCE
Must not disrespect cyclists
A stockbroker has been sacked and forced to apologise after tweeting:
'Think I just hit a cyclist. But Im late for work so had to drive off
lol.'
The apparent boast by Rayhan Qadar - which police are investigating -
was made on his Twitter account under the name of 'Ray Pew' at 8.30am
yesterday.
It prompted a storm from other Twitter users, who reported the
21-year-old Cardiff University graduate to police and called for him to
apologise.
Despite saying it was a 'bad joke' and insisting he had not hit a
cyclist, he was promptly sacked from his job at Bristol-based Hargreaves
Lansdown, which sells shares and investment funds.
A spokesman said: 'One of our employees has failed to conduct themselves
to the standards we expect of our staff. 'We find these online comments
totally unacceptable. 'Upon becoming aware of this issue we have
terminated this person's employment with immediate effect.'
SOURCE
8 January, 2015
Jamaican-born trafic warden sacked for calling black colleague 'King
Kong' during row over parking meter asks 'how can I be racist?'
A Jamaican-born lollipop man who was sacked for calling a black
colleague 'King Kong' during a row over a parking meter has questioned
how he can be a racist at an employment tribunal.
The Central London Employment Tribunal heard the incident in July 2013
erupted after Mr Seymour was speaking loudly on his phone in the town
hall's reception area ahead of a meeting.
He claimed he had been trying to arrange a refund because a parking
meter had swallowed £4 of his change when council worker Johnson
Akinmoyede 'interrupted his conversation'.
The court heard that when Mr Akinmoyede asked him to keep his voice
down, Mr Seymour replied: 'Who are you, King Kong? I will break you,
move away from me,' reports the Evening Standard.
Mr Seymour, from Kentish Town in north London, was escorted from the
building by two security officers for the alleged 'racially abusive and
threatening behaviour'.
However, he claims the term 'King Kong' was not racist and in a
statement by Christopher Nicola, manager of the council's Smarter Travel
Team, it was a 'Caribbean thing'.
'He [Mr Seymour] asked how could it be racially abusive if you say
something to someone of the same complexion, and that the way they were
speaking was a Caribbean thing and they talk like that to each other all
the time
Speaking at the time, Mr Seymour said: 'It was not racial. He was
getting all angry so it was like he was acting like he was a big strong
gorilla, so that's why I called him King Kong.
SOURCE
Must not call a fat broad fat
Apprentice boss Lord Sugar has been accused of bullying behaviour after calling a plus-size model 'fatty' on Twitter.
The multi-million pound business tycoon, 67, became embroiled in a
Twitter row after sending the 'cruel' message to beauty queen Elena
Raouna, 23.
The row unfolded after she sent him a cheeky message on Sunday night, which said: 'Evening sugar ;-) can I call you that? Lol.'
He replied: 'yes no problem as long as I can call you fatty,' which
sparked outrage from some her 2,800 followers who branded him 'a bully',
'arrogant' and a 'miserable old goat'.
Miss Raouna, who won Miss British Beauty Curve in 2013, is now demanding
an apology from the no-nonsense TV personality, who made his name
founding British electronics company Amstrad.
SOURCE
7 January, 2015
Must not quote Hitler
I have received from W. Lindsay Wheeler an account of his experiences
with a site called Wikinfo which is run by Fred Bauder, who is Jewish.
Lindsay is (or was) an assistant editor with the site.
As you can see here, Lindsay puts up a direct quote from Hitler which claims that democracy leads to authoritarianism.
That is probably one of the few things that Hitler got right. The
tremendous reach of government into all our lives today is pretty much
on a par with what Hitler and Mussolini achieved. Even the
hostility to Jews is steadily growing in the Western world. And as
for failed wars, we have some of those too. And when the
President of the United States ignores the U.S. constitution, as Obama
does over immigration etc., where does it stop?
But such thoughts must not be thought. Lindsay thinks them and
claims that "mixed government" (i.e. a mixture of monarchy, aristocracy
and democracy) rather than democracy is the best. But quoting
Hitler to support his beliefs was beyond the pale to Fuehrer Bauder. He sent the following to Wheeler:
"Adolf Hitler as a young man watching the Social Democracy marches in
Vienna. (Mein Kampf, pg 78. Manheim translation, Mariner paperback)
is not acceptable on Wikinfo. Wikinfo is not value free. Democracy can
only be suppressed in the modern world by mass murder. You are banned
permanently. All articles you have published here will be removed, as
resources permit." Fred Bauder
Any guesses that Bauder is a Leftist? Censorship is a knee-jerk
reaction to them. Perhaps Wikinfo should be renamed Wikipropaganda
For those who are unaware of it Fuehrer is the German word for "leader"
Head of a racist organization still attacking immigration critic
"La Raza" mean "The race" -- the supposed Mexican race.
Her treatment of the ADL as an authority on hate speech is a bit like
Goebbels quoting Hitler as an authority on the Jews. The Leftward
lean of the ADL is well-known
Janet Murguia, president of the liberal National Council for La Raza,
took credit for Lou Dobbs's departure from CNN during a Monday interview
on C-SPAN's Q&A program, and repeated a six-year-old charge that
the host directed "hate speech" against Hispanics and immigrants.
Murguia claimed that Dobbs forwarded a "negative mindset – but more than
anything else, a pejorative mindset" about Latinos using "terms that
the ADL had said were hate speech terms."
"We had worked with the Anti-Defamation League at the time, who had done
series of research to show that certain words that Lou Dobbs was using
had been used previously to create a different mindset around people –
when they're referred to in terms related to animals – and he had been
using the word 'hordes' and other types of – of labels around the Latino
community. It creates a negative mindset – but more than anything else,
a pejorative mindset – and one that, I think, actually tries to change
the views that people have – when, really, we should be talking about
the issues. And for us, it's one thing to about the issues, but he was
doing it in a way where it really clearly was changing the perceptions
that people had of Hispanics – with terms that the ADL had said were
hate speech terms."
SOURCE
6 January, 2015
Must not criticize Britain's socialized medicine system
This week, the respected Spectator magazine revealed that one of our top
cancer surgeons, Professor Joseph Meirion Thomas, had been gagged from
writing about the NHS.
The move came after a bid by senior figures within the medical
establishment to remove him from his job. His ‘sin’ had been to write
four comment pieces for the Daily Mail. The first two, about health
tourism, argued calmly that the sheer weight of foreigners using the NHS
was making it economically unviable.
The third explained how the preponderance of female doctors in the NHS
was becoming a long-term problem because, after an expensive training,
many were leaving to have families, often returning only in a part-time
capacity.
But it was Mr Thomas’s fourth opinion piece, which questioned whether
Britain’s modern GP system — with doctors increasingly unavailable to
patients — was fit for purpose, that triggered the most vitriol.
The arrogance, viciousness and biliousness of the attack on Mr Thomas —
not to mention his critics’ contempt for free speech — will astonish
many readers . . .
The backlash began late on the night of November 18, just a few minutes
after the first edition of the Daily Mail rolled off the presses
carrying a comment article criticising Britain’s GP system by
internationally renowned cancer surgeon Professor Joseph Meirion Thomas.
It was on Twitter, inevitably, where outrage started. A Left-wing
medical blogger called Frozen Warning circulated a link to the piece,
declaring: ‘GPs, prepare for battle. Prof J. Meirion Thomas, [the] most
arrogant surgeon in the UK, is at it again.’
His call to arms was soon joined and over the ensuing days several
hundred highly critical tweets, many of them peppered with gratuitous
personal insults against the 68-year-old surgeon, were publicly shared
by NHS staff.
Typical was the comment of Catherine Beanland, a GP from Ludlow, who
branded Thomas’s article ‘unprofessional, ignorant, biased’. Damien
Roland, a consultant at the University of Leicester NHS Trust, accused
it of ‘demonstrating tribalism and arrogance’.
Rachel Imrie, a trainee GP from Edinburgh, called him a ‘gigantic, out
of touch, idiot!’. Dave Jones, a Welsh doctor, meanwhile, said that
Thomas ‘comes out with some c**p’.
Soon, these ad hominem attacks took a more sinister turn.
SOURCE
When Hate Speech Leads to Hate Crimes
America and the West are subjected nonstop to a barrage of hate speech
from the intelligentsia. Hate speech leads to hate crimes, here as
everywhere. Few people have faced up to the extent of the hate crimes
and hate speech against the West. The murder of the two New York City
policemen Saturday is only the tip of the iceberg.
Literally thousands of inciters have propagated a dishonest storyline of
widespread police violence against blacks. And what we’ve seen in
recent months is only the current instance in a long history of
incitement against the West.
A view of the West as enemy is cultivated in universities across the
country as the cutting edge of moral thinking, with full rein given to a
very un-academic manner of speech, replete with the colorful language
of vilification. From these heights, the same attitudes inevitably seep
into other venues, including textbooks for much younger students.
And so, on issue after issue, year after year, the media speak in a
language of blaming the West and identifying with anger against the
West.
The unseen iceberg of hate crimes against the West is similarly massive,
on a scale that few can imagine. 9/11 was one incident among many
around the world. Domestically, unacknowledged hate crimes in the street
— violent crimes motivated in part by the hate that is cultivated
against mainstream society — number more than half a million a year.
The primary ground and origin of hate lies in the very subculture that
criticizes “hate” most often, because it is uses “hate” as a label for
smearing those it doesn’t like.
Viewed in full, hate crimes against the West — against Americans,
against Westerners, and against groups and religions identified as
pro-Western — run into the millions.
If the white victims of interracial violence were shown on nationwide TV
every day — with posters that proclaimed White Lives Matter! — the
current form of incitement would collapse of its own weight.
The conclusion is inescapable: The incitement depends on the media’s
massive deception of the public, deception about the plain facts about
who is usually killing whom. This deception also includes, in nearly
every specific instance recently highlighted nationwide, deception about
the weight of the evidence about who is guilty.
SOURCE
5 January, 2015
Must not expect that anti-Hindu terrorists in India will be Muslims
They could be Presbyterians, I guess. And that attack on the Taj Mahal hotel in Bombay did not happen, of course. I've stayed at the Taj so the attack was shocking news to me
Outrage has been sparked in India after men playing the roles of terrorists in security drills were dressed as Muslims.
A video of a drill, which was broadcast on Indian media websites, shows
five policemen capturing and then pinning down three men in white
knitted skullcaps before bundling them into jeeps in the Surat district
of Gujarat.
The drills are being carried out across Gujarat following intelligence
reports that two high-profile events - Pravasi Bharatiya Divas and the
Vibrant Gujarat Investors Summit - could be a the target of terror
attacks.
Speakers at the summit in January will include U.S. Secretary of State
John Kerry as well as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
'Mock drills were carried out in 10 to 15 locations,' Deputy
Superintendent of Police, Pradeep Sejul told television network NDTV.
'This should not have happened; it was an avoidable mistake. 'We assure
you that if someone deliberately made the mistake, we will take action
against them.'
Kamal Faruqui of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board called the mock drill 'atrocious and highly condemnable'.
'It is profiling the Muslim community which is very bad. They should
apologise, otherwise they should be taken to the court,' Faruqui told
NDTV.
SOURCE
Charleston newspaper fires columnist Surber over ‘inexcusable’ commentary
Surber has always been an acerbic conservative. They were
probably looking for an excuse to fire him for a long time.
Calling a disgusting person an animal is not uncommon
The Charleston Daily Mail fired longtime editorial writer Don Surber
after his personal blog described Michael Brown as an “animal” that
police in Ferguson, Mo., had to put down.
Daily Mail publisher Brad McElhinny announced Surber’s dismissal
Thursday on the newspaper’s website, criticizing Surber’s commentary as
“unfortunate, inflammatory and, in our view, inexcusable.”
In a Saturday blog that immediately attracted criticism for its racist tonality, Surber wrote:
“This summer I had an epiphany as I watched packs of racists riot in
Ferguson, Missouri, in support of a gigantic thug who was higher than a
kite when he attacked Ferguson Police Department Officer Darren Wilson,
who unfortunately had to put this animal down.”
Within 24 hours, Surber appended the post: “I made a factual error.
Michael Brown was not an animal but a man. Big. Brutal. High. His death
was a justifiable homicide and not a putting down.”
McElhinny contends the newspaper needed to disassociate itself from
Surber even though the controversial commentary appeared on the
columnist’s personal website:
SOURCE
4 January, 2015
Free Speech Review: 22 Significant, Silly, or Otherwise Noteworthy First Amendment Cases From 2014
What do rap lyrics, ultrasounds, giant rats, condoms, campaign
donations, and Game of Thrones merchandise have in common? In 2014, all
have been the subject of First Amendment controversy. I think it's safe
to say that this has been an interesting year for free speech.
That this is the sort of banal statement one could make almost every
year doesn't make it any less true for 2014, and perhaps it's been even
more true than usual this year. "I have to say, when I go through the
years, every year presents incredibly unique aspects of how we chose to
communicate, gather and worship,” Gene Policinski, chief operating
officer of the Newseum Institute and its First Amendment Center, told
Watchdog.org recently. But Policinski also admitted that free speech
questions raised this year have been a particularly interesting bunch.
Let's look back on a handful of them, shall we? From the significant to
the novel to the merely strange, here are 22 First Amendment cases from
2014—some settled, some ongoing—that are worth revisiting:
Money Talks: In McCutcheon v. FEC—one of if not the biggest speech case
of the year—the U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal limits on the
total amounts an individual can contribute to political committees and
candidates in one election cycle. "The Government may no more restrict
how many candidates or causes a donor may support than it may tell a
newspaper how many candidates it may endorse," wrote Chief Justice John
Roberts in the court's opinion.
Skim Milk by Any Other Name: Florida resident Mary Lou Wesselhoeft is
fighting a state rule barring her business, Ocheesee Creamery, from
labeling the skim milk it produces as skim milk. Florida law requires
skim milk to be artificially enhanced with vitamin A; because
Wesselhoeft doesn't do so, the state says she must label it "Non-Grade
'A' Milk Product, Natural Milk Vitamins Removed". With the help of the
Institute for Justice, Ocheesee Creamery is challenging the requirement,
which it claims violates the businesses' right to "engage in truthful
speech about its lawful skim milk."
No Glove, No Love: Concluding a years-long battle this December, the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that a Los Angeles
County statute requiring condom use in porn does not violate filmmakers'
freedom of expression. "The condom mandate survived intermediate
scrutiny because it was only a de minimis effect on expression, was
narrowly tailored to achieve the substantial governmental interest of
reducing the rate of sexually transmitted infections, and left open
adequate alternative means of expression," the three-judge panel ruled.
Scabby Strikes Back: In November, a New York district court ruled that
labor union protesters could display a giant, inflateable
rat—affectionately known as "Scabby"—without violating a "no strike"
clause in its collective bargaining agreement. "[T]he defendants’
peaceful use of a stationary, inflatable rat to publicize a labor
protest is protected by the First Amendment," the court stated.
So Authentic It's Criminal: Do violent rap lyrics constitute legit
threats? The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard arguments for and against
this idea in the case of aspiring rapper Anthony Elonis. "Elonis ran
afoul of federal law by posting graphic and violent revenge fantasies
that centered on him murdering his estranged wife, murdering his
employer and co-workers (those posts got him fired), and eventually
killing the F.B.I. agent sent to investigate him," Damon Root reported
in early December. As a result, Elonis was convicted on four counts of
transmitting "communications containing any threat to kidnap any person
or any threat to injure the person of another" and sentenced to 44
months in prison. The Supreme Court has yet to decide whether to uphold
the conviction.
Meanwhile, San Diego artist Tiny Doo (aka Brandon Duncan) is fighting
charges of promoting gang activity and violence with his rap album
"Street Life." Reason TV's Paul Detrick, who has been following these
issues closely, notes that "Duncan is just the latest rapper to have his
music used against him in a criminal proceeding, a troubling trend that
only seems to be increasing across the country."
But in a bit of good news on this front, the New Jersey Supreme Court in
August nullified the verdict of a man whose rap lyrics were used to
supply "motive and intent" in a murder case against him. The court
ordered a new trial on the grounds that "the violent, profane, and
disturbing rap lyrics authored by defendant constituted highly
prejudicial evidence against him that bore little or no probative value
as to any motive or intent behind the attempted murder offense with
which he was charged." Unless such material has "a direct connection to
the specifics of the offense," prosecutors shouldn't use it as evidence,
the court ruled.
See No Handguns: A group of California gun sellers are challenging a
state law that bans gun stores from displaying images of handguns if
they can be seen from outside the premises. Stores are allowed to post
signs featuring rifles, and they're allowed to use handgun imagery in
print advertising. Lawyers argue that the seemingly arbitrary
prohibition of on-premise signs featuring handguns is a violation of the
First Amendment.
Buffer Zones Rebuffed: In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of
anti-abortion activist Eleanor McCullen, who argued that a
Massachusetts law creating a 35-foot anti-protest buffer zone around
abortion clinics was an unconstitutional infringement on freedom of
expression. Supreme Court justices unanimously agreed that such buffer
zones were not illegal per se but that this particular law wasn't
narrowly tailored enough to suffice. "For a problem shown to arise only
once a week in one city at one clinic, creating 35-foot buffer zones at
every clinic across the Commonwealth is hardly a narrowly tailored
solution," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote.
Game of Thrones Gaffe: In January, a New Jersey community college
professor posted a picture of his daughter on Google+. In the photo, the
young girl was wearing a Game of Thrones t-shirt featuring the words "I
will take what is mine with fire and blood." Bergen Community College
adminstrators took this as the professor making a threat, suspended him
without pay, and ordered him to see a psychiatrist. Months later, the
college acknowledged that it "may have lacked basis to sanction" him for
the shirt and "potentially violated (his) constitutional rights,
including under the First Amendment."
Truthiness Win: In September, the U.S. District Court for the Southern
District of Ohio ruled in favor of the anti-abortion group Susan B.
Anthony (SBA) List in its challenge to a state law banning "false"
political speech. In 2010, SBA List was charged with violating the law
via billboards opposing the reelection of Democratic state Rep. Steve
Driehaus. The district court declared the state law an unconstitutional
violation of free speech, noting that "Lies have no place in the
political arena and serve no purpose other than to undermine the
integrity of the democratic process," but "at times, there is no clear
way to determine whether a political statement is a lie or the
truth. What is certain, however, is that we do not want the
Government (i.e., the Ohio Elections Commission) deciding what is
political truth—for fear that the Government might persecute those who
criticize it. Instead, in a democracy, the voters should decide."
Camera-Shy Cops Lose: This summer, a federal judge allowed a civil suit
brought by Texas activist Antonio Buehler, who was arrested seveal times
for taking pictures of police officers in action, to go forward. The
decision noted "a robust consensus of circuit courts of appeals" that
"the First Amendment encompasses a right to record public officials as
they perform their official duties." In October, a trial court found
Buehler not guilty on criminal charges related to one of the arrests.
Unconstitutional Ultrasounds: In late December, the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the 4th Circuit struck down a North Carolina law requiring
physicians to perform an ultrasound, display a sonogram, and describe
the fetus to women seeking abortions. Because the intent of these
directives is ideological in nature they represent compelled speech, the
court ruled, and are thus in violation of the First Amendment.
No Accounting for Arousal: When a Texas appeals court struck down a
state ban on taking "upskirt" photos in September, the decision was met
by much outrage in the national news media. But the law, which
criminalized "improper photography or visual recording" in public places
"with intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desires of any person" was
unconstitutionally broad, with the potential to ban all sorts of
harmless public photography. "Banning otherwise protected expression on
the basis that it produces sexual arousal or gratification is the
regulation of protected thought," the court noted, "and such a
regulation is outside the government’s power."
Prostitution Pre-Crime: In 2013, Arizona resident Monica Jones was
arrested for "manifesting prostitution", a crime that doesn't require
one to actually have sex for money or even offer to have sex for money
but merely look, make gestures, or otherwise behave in a manner that
police deem sufficiently suspicious (this includes asking a cop if they
are a cop). This year Jones, with the help of the American Civil
Liberties Union of Arizona, is challenging the state statute, asking the
Arizona Supreme Court to strike down the "unconstitutionally vague"
rule as a violation of the First Amendment.
Fighting Free-Speech Zones: In January 2014, University of Hawaii at
Hilo student Merritt Burch attempted to hand out pocket Constitutions at
a student event but was barred from doing so by a campus administrator.
The school later told Burch she was only allowed to pass out
Constitutions in the university's "free speech zone," a tiny area on the
edge of campus. With the help of the Foundation for Individual Rights
in Education, Burch and another student challenged the university's
policy in Hawaii's U.S. District Court, alleging that it
"unconstitutionally restricts access to open areas on campus by
requiring students to seek permission to speak at least seven business
days in advance and by limiting the areas where students may engage in
spontaneous expressive activities to only 0.26 percent of UH Hilo's
115-acre campus." In early December, the University settled with the
students, agreeing to revise its speech policies system-wide to allow
for free expression and the distribution of literature in "all areas
generally available to students and the community."
Keep Parody Legal: This summer, the American Civil Liberties Union filed
a lawsuit on behalf of 29-year-old Jon Daniel, the creator of a Twitter
account that parodied the mayor in his hometown of Peoria, Illinois.
Upon learning about the account, the real Peoria Mayor ordered local law
enforcement to raid Daneil's home and tried to have Daniel charged with
falsely impersonating a public official.
License to Editorialize: In May, the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled
that the state's Department of Motor Vehicles erred in prohibiting a
resident from getting a vanity license plate that said "COPSLIE."
Frack Attack: In 2011, environmental activist Steve Lipsky was sued for
defamation by fracking company Range Resources after Lipsky posted
YouTube videos and made statements to local news criticizing fracking.
This December, the Texas Supreme Court heard arguments to decide whether
Lipsky's comments are protected by the First Amendment. "Range has a
right to protect its reputation, but the speech they’re complaining
about is protected speech," Lipsky’s lawyer Joe Sibley said. "If we’re
going to allow companies to sue people for defamation every time they
don’t like what’s being said, then that basically allows corporations to
silence public participation."
Boobies Bans: In March, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a case from a
Pennsylvania school district seeking to ban students from wearing "I ?
boobies" bracelets as part of a breast-cancer awareness campaign. The
denial let stand a 2013 appellate court finding in favor of the students
on First Amendment grounds.
In August, however, a federal judge in Indiana sided with a Fort Wayne
school district that banned the bracelets. The ACLU of Indiana had
challenged the school's decision, arguing that students had a free
speech right to wear the bracelets. U.S. District Judge Joseph
VanBokkelen disagreed, ruling that high school students were not mature
enough to handle the bracelets' message.
Over-protecting Privacy: In March, the Illinois Supreme Court overturned
a state law making it a felony to record public officials without their
permission, even as they're performing public duties. The ban
"criminalizes a wide range of innocent conduct," including "the
recording of conversations that cannot be deemed private: a loud
argument on the street, a political debate on a college quad, yelling
fans at an athletic event, or any conversation loud enough that the
speakers should expect to be heard by others," noted the justices in a
unanimous decision. The court concluded that the eavesdropping ban
"burdens substantially more speech than is necessary to serve a
legitimate state interest in protecting conversational privacy."
SOURCE
2 January, 2015
Sugar Puffs rapped by advertising watchdog for suggesting that its 'honey goodness' was healthy for children
The Honey Monster has been slapped down by advertising watchdogs for suggesting honey is good for children.
The cereal that the character promotes, Sugar Puffs, has been banned
from claiming it contains 'honey goodness' – as honey is just as bad for
the body as sugar.
The Advertising Standards Authority ruled that the boast amounts to a bogus health claim.
Sales of honey are soaring, apparently because of the belief that as a
natural product it is better for you. But health experts point out that
once honey is consumed it behaves the same way in the body as sugar.
The advert on the cereal's website carried the claims: 'Yummy Honey Goodness For A Monsterfied Breakfast... 20% More Honey'.
This idea that the cereal – which contains 8.6 grams of sugar per 30g
serving – was full of goodness was backed up by claims that it was low
in fat and salt and a good source of fibre, vitamins and iron.
The ruling came after a complaint by the Children's Food Campaign, which
said there was no specific authorised health claim to back up the honey
goodness line.
Halo Foods, which owns the Honey Monster brand, said it had increased
the amount of honey in the cereal while reducing the amount of sugar as
part of a re-launch.
It said the website and the cereal's packaging provided detailed
information about the ingredients and the company was 'transparent'
about the sugar content of the product.
Halo Foods said it did not intend to make any specific health claims in
association with honey and had therefore amended its website to remove
any reference to the word goodness.
SOURCE
As recently as two years ago, the official advice was that fat is bad
for you and carbohydrates (such as sugar) are good for you. The
advice now is the exact reverse of that. It must set heads
spinning for anybody who tries to do the right thing -- including
the firm above.
Must not refer to African Americans in woodpiles
Older people must learn that the normal expressions of their youth are now WRONG!
A deputy mayor is at the centre of a 'racism' storm after comparing
flood prevention action to a 'n***** in a woodpile' at a council
meeting.
Conservative councillor Michael Thierry used the term during a
discussion at Ringwood Town Council in Hampshire, about clearing ditches
to help alleviate problems with flooding.
But after making the remark, he caused fellow councillors to gasp and
mutter before adding: 'My apologies to everybody concerned. It was not
intentional.
Following the meeting, Ringwood mayor Councillor Barbara Woodifield said
she and her fellow councillors were 'appalled' by the comment and
admitted she had spoken to Councillor Thierry about the incident.
She said: 'It is extremely regrettable that Councillor Thierry made such
a comment and it in no way reflects any of the opinions and views of
Ringwood Town Council, its councillors or its staff.
'That said, Councillor Thierry is most contrite and has apologised
unreservedly for any upset caused to those present and those people who
will now read this article - it was an uncharacteristic ill-thought-out
comment rather than any malicious intent.'
The phrase is a dated figure of speech or metaphor used to describe a
hidden fact or problem. It originated in the American deep south
in the mid-19th century and was used to describe fugitive slaves who hid
in piles of firewood as they fled north to Canada.
SOURCE
1 January, 2015
Must not joke about Scottish independence
There was such an outpouring of hate for England in the run-up to the
recent referendum on Scottish independence that it is no wonder some
English people are inclined to give a bit of it back
Television personality Katie Hopkins has been branded 'vile' and a
racist after she posted a joke about Scotland sending a patient with
Ebola to an English hospital for treatment.
A female nurse who had been treating patients for the deadly disease in
Sierra Leone, was transferred from her home town of Glasgow to London
for treatment after she tested positive for the disease.
But after news of her condition spread, the former Apprentice contestant
took to Twitter to make jibes about Scottish independence because the
woman is being treated in London.
Hopkins wrote: 'Glaswegian ebola patient moved to London's Royal Free
Hospital. Not so independent when it matters most are we jocksville?'
She added: 'Little sweaty jocks, sending us Ebola bombs in the form of sweaty Glaswegians just isn't cricket.'
Her remarks caused outrage on Twitter, with one user asking 'just how
long can you stoop?' Others accused her of political point scoring.
Piers Morgan branded her a 'repulsive creature.'
SOURCE
Must not say fatties are unhealthy
The disgruntled fatty. Fat is clearly not her only problem
Katie Hopkins has been shopped to the police for hate crimes against
overweight people. The controversial TV star was reported by a woman
belonging to a 'fat activist' group during filming for her new programme
on TLC, in which she gains and loses three stone in six months.
Katie was accused of the crime when she met up with the group of five
women in London who all work independently as plus-size activists or
diet bloggers, so that she could hear opposing views on her claims that
'fat people are lazy'.
Ms Szrodecki began to get upset after Katie questioned how she could be healthy because of the weight she was carrying.
The former Apprentice contestant told her: 'I’m looking at you and I’m
making an assessment that it is not healthy to carry that much weight on
your knees.'
Katie then turns her attention to another member of the group and asks
her: 'Can I ask you something? And you, and you can answer it honestly,
or not answer it at all, is why are you big?'
The woman replies: 'Because I eat too much.'
Ms Szrodecki then interjects and says to Katie: 'Do you not realise
where you’re going with this? This is actually to do with a hate crime.'
Katie then laughs and replies: 'You’re a victim of hate crime?'
Ms Szrodecki says: 'Absolutely. And can we call the police?'
Katie then tells her: 'Do call the police, there’s a telephone right there, feel free.
'Would you like it brought to you? Because it’s probably going to be hard to walk there.'
SOURCE
This is Tongue-Tied 2
Posts by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.)
Alternative (monthly) archives for this blog are here
Is the American national anthem politically incorrect? From the 4th verse:
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
Mohammad
"HATE SPEECH" is free speech: The U.S. Supreme Court stated the general
rule regarding protected speech in Texas v. Johnson (109 S.Ct. at
2544), when it held: "The government may not prohibit the verbal or
nonverbal expression of an idea merely because society finds the idea
offensive or disagreeable." Federal courts have consistently followed this. Said Virginia federal district judge Claude Hilton: "The
First Amendment does not recognize exceptions for bigotry, racism, and
religious intolerance or ideas or matters some may deem trivial, vulgar
or profane."
Even some advocacy of violence is protected by the 1st Amendment. In
Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), the U.S. Supreme Court held unanimously that
speech advocating violent illegal actions to bring about social change
is protected by the First Amendment "except where such advocacy is
directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely
to incite or produce such action."
The double standard: Atheists can put up signs and billboards saying
that Christianity is wrong and that is hunky dory. But if a Christian
says that homosexuality is wrong, that is attacked as "hate speech"
"I think no subject should be off-limits, and I regard the laws in many
Continental countries criminalizing Holocaust denial as philosophically
repugnant and practically useless – in that they confirm to Jew-haters
that the Jews control everything (otherwise why aren’t we allowed to
talk about it?)" -- Mark Steyn
A prophetic comment on Norwegian hate speech laws: As Justice Brandeis
once noted, repressive censorship “breeds hate” and “that hate menaces
stable government,” rather than promoting safety; “the path of safety
lies in the opportunity to discuss freely supposed grievances and
proposed remedies.”
Voltaire's most famous saying was actually a summary of Voltaire's
thinking by one of his biographers rather than something Voltaire said
himself. Nonetheless it is a wholly admirable sentiment: "I disagree
with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
I am of a similar mind.
The traditional advice about derogatory speech: "Sticks and stones will
break your bones but names will never hurt you". Apparently people today
are not as emotionally robust as their ancestors were.
Thomas Jefferson on free speech: “It does me no injury for my
neighbors to say there are 20 gods, or no god. It neither picks my
pocket nor breaks my legs.”
The KKK were members of the DEMOCRATIC party. Google "Klanbake" if you doubt it
A phobia is an irrational fear, so the terms "Islamophobic" and
"homophobic" embody a claim that the people so described are mentally
ill. There is no evidence for either claim. Both terms are simply abuse
masquerading as diagnoses and suggest that the person using them is
engaged in propaganda rather than in any form of rational or objective
discourse.
Leftists often pretend that any mention of race is "racist" -- unless
they mention it, of course. But leaving such irrational propaganda
aside, which statements really are racist? Can statements of fact about
race be "racist"? Such statements are simply either true or false. The
most sweeping possible definition of racism is that a racist statement
is a statement that includes a negative value judgment of some race.
Absent that, a statement is not racist, for all that Leftists might howl
that it is. Facts cannot be racist so nor is the simple statement of
them racist. Here is a statement that cannot therefore be racist by
itself, though it could be false: "Blacks are on average much less
intelligent than whites". If it is false and someone utters it, he
could simply be mistaken or misinformed.
Categorization is a basic human survival skill so racism as the Left
define it (i.e. any awareness of race) is in fact neither right nor
wrong. It is simply human
Whatever your definition of racism, however, a statement that simply
mentions race is not thereby racist -- though one would think otherwise
from American Presidential election campaigns. Is a statement that
mentions dogs, "doggist" or a statement that mentions cats, "cattist"?
Was Abraham Lincoln a racist? "You and we are different races. We
have between us a broader difference than exists between almost any
other two races. Whether it is right or wrong I need not discuss, but
this physical difference is a great disadvantage to us both, as I think
your race suffer very greatly, many of them by living among us, while
ours suffer from your presence. In a word, we suffer on each side. If
this be admitted, it affords a reason at least why we should be
separated. It is better for both, therefore, to be separated." -- Spoken at the White House to a group of black community leaders, August 14th, 1862
Gimlet-eyed Leftist haters sometimes pounce on the word "white" as
racist. Will the time come when we have to refer to the White House as
the "Full spectrum of light" House?
The spirit of liberty is "the spirit which is not too sure that it is
right." and "Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies
there, no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it.
While it lies there it needs no constitution, no law, no court to save
it." -- Judge Learned Hand
Mostly, a gaffe is just truth slipping out
Two lines below of a famous hymn that would be incomprehensible to
Leftists today ("honor"? "right"? "freedom?" Freedom to agree with them
is the only freedom they believe in)
First to fight for right and freedom,
And to keep our honor clean
It is of course the hymn of the USMC -- still today the relentless warriors that they always were.
It seems a pity that the wisdom of the ancient Greek philosopher
Epictetus is now little known. Remember, wrote the Stoic thinker, "that
foul words or blows in themselves are no outrage, but your judgment
that they are so. So when any one makes you angry, know that it is your
own thought that has angered you. Wherefore make it your endeavour not
to let your impressions carry you away."
"Since therefore the knowledge and survey of vice is in this world so
necessary to the constituting of human virtue, and the scanning of error
to the confirmation of truth, how can we more safely, and with less
danger, scout into the regions of sin and falsity than by reading all
manner of tractates, and hearing all manner of reason?" -- English poet
John Milton (1608-1674) in Areopagitica
Hate speech is verbal communication that induces anger due to the listener's inability to offer an intelligent response
Leftists can try to get you fired from your job over something that you
said and that's not an attack on free speech. But if you just criticize
something that they say, then that IS an attack on free speech
"Negro" is a forbidden word -- unless a Democrat uses it
"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper
Why are Leftists always talking about hate? Because it fills their own hearts
Leftists don't have principles. How can they when "there is no such
thing as right and wrong"? All they have is postures, pretend-principles
that can be changed as easily as one changes one's shirt
When you have an argument with a Leftist, you are not really discussing
the facts. You are threatening his self esteem. Which is why the normal
Leftist response to challenge is mere abuse.
The
naive scholar who searches for a consistent Leftist program will not
find it. What there is consists only in the negation of the present.
The intellectual Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) could have
been speaking of much that goes on today when he said: "The object in
life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding
oneself in the ranks of the insane."
I despair of the ADL. Jews have
enough problems already and yet in the ADL one has a prominent Jewish
organization that does its best to make itself offensive to Christians.
Their Leftism is more important to them than the welfare of Jewry --
which is the exact opposite of what they ostensibly stand for! Jewish
cleverness seems to vanish when politics are involved. Fortunately,
Christians are true to their saviour and have loving hearts. Jewish
dissatisfaction with the myopia of the ADL is outlined here. Note that Foxy was too grand to reply to it.
Email me here (Hotmail address).
Index page for this site
DETAILS OF REGULARLY UPDATED BLOGS BY JOHN RAY:
"Tongue Tied"
"Dissecting Leftism" (Backup here)
"Australian Politics"
"Education Watch International"
"Political Correctness Watch"
"Greenie Watch"
GUN WATCH is now mainly put together by Dean Weingarten.
BLOGS OCCASIONALLY UPDATED:
Coral Reef Compendium
"Marx & Engels in their own words"
"A scripture blog"
"Recipes"
"Some memoirs"
Paralipomena 3
To be continued ....
Queensland Police -- A barrel with lots of bad apples
Australian Police News
Of Interest
BLOGS NO LONGER BEING UPDATED
"Immigration Watch International" blog
"Food & Health Skeptic"
"Eye on Britain"
"Paralipomena" 2
"Leftists as Elitists"
Socialized Medicine
Western Heart
OF INTEREST (2)
QANTAS -- A dying octopus
BRIAN LEITER (Ladderman)
Obama Watch
Obama Watch (2)
Dissecting Leftism -- Large font site
Michael Darby
AGL -- A bumbling monster
Telstra/Bigpond follies
Optus bungling
Vodafrauds (vodafone)
Bank of Queensland blues
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