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31 July, 2011
South Carolina Governor Rejects NAACP Push to Remove Confederate Flag
Gov. Haley is of Indian Sikh ancestry
We read:"South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley isn't retreating from her decision to keep the Confederate flag atop the north end of the Statehouse in Columbia despite complaints from the NAACP, whose president this week said the ethnic minority governor is a "contradiction" for allowing the flag to fly.
Speaking to a crowd at an NAACP national conference in Los Angeles on Monday, NAACP President Benjamin Jealous attempted to shame Haley into removing the flag by comparing African American slavery to oppression Haley's ancestors in India faced under British rule.
The flag has been at the north end of the Statehouse since 2000. It was moved there after legislation passed in response to protests and an NAACP boycott of the state over the flag's position atop the dome of the Statehouse, where it was placed in 1962 by an all-white South Carolina Legislature.
Haley was born in South Carolina, and her spokesman said the decision lies with the people of the Palmetto State.
The NAACP boycott remains in place as a protest to the decision to keep the flag beside a monument honoring fallen Confederate soldiers. Opponents say the flag should be removed completely from Statehouse grounds because it represents slavery and white supremacy.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association has also refused to hold any tournaments in the state since 2001, as long as the Confederate flag continues to fly there.
But others say the flag is a reminder of an important part of South Carolina's history, not to mention that it doesn't violate any laws.
Source
Criticizing lawyers is hate speech?
We read:"When you criticize lawyers or the legal system, thin-skinned lawyers get indignant. The head of the State Bar of California, Harvey Saferstein, called for a crackdown on jokes at lawyers’ expense: “Comparing jokes against attorneys to hate speech against African-Americans and women, Saferstein said he favors classifying such comments as hate crimes.”
Saferstein, a leading liberal lawyer, said that “Crimes against attorneys should rate special penalties — similar to crimes against police, judges and political officeholders — because lawyers are representatives of the court and their work is essential to the country’s justice system.”
Source
30 July, 2011
Officials Order Home Owner to Take Down Yard Cross, Spawning Potential 1st Amendment Fight
We read:"A First Amendment battle is brewing in Livingston, New Jersey, after officials told a local resident to take down a cross he had placed on a tree in his front yard.
These events unfolded after neighbors complained and officials upheld a littering ordinance that prohibits citizens from posting anything on structures, including trees. The regulation is breached if posted items are “calculated to attract the attention of the public.” Patrick Racaniello’s cross apparently violated this stipulation.
Racaniello decided to take matters into more seasoned hands. NJ.com reports:
"He…contacted the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund, a coalition of Christian lawyers that, according to its website, advocates on behalf of “the spread of the Gospel.” The alliance told the township it may take the matter to court if officials don’t allow Racaniello to put the cross wherever he wants on his property.
“We believe this is private property, and therefore he has a right to engage in this expression,” Jonathan Scruggs, a lawyer for the alliance, said in an interview. “We believe that either cross is protected by the First Amendment.
Source
Judge Tosses Suit Seeking to Stop Gov. Perry's Sponsorship of Texas Prayer Rally
We read:"A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit that sought to stop Gov. Rick Perry from sponsoring a national day of Christian prayer and fasting, ruling Thursday that the group of atheists and agnostics did not have legal standing to sue.
U.S. District Judge Gray H. Miller said the Freedom From Religion Foundation argued against Perry's involvement based merely on feelings of exclusion, but did not show sufficient harm to merit the injunction they sought.
"The governor has done nothing more than invite others who are willing to do so to pray," Miller said.
A day earlier, Perry defended the event, comparing it to President Obama's participation in the National Day of Prayer. "My prayer is that the courts will find that the first amendment is still applicable to the governor no matter what they might be doing and that what we've done in the state of Texas or what we've done in the governor's office is appropriate," he said. "It's no different than what George Washington or Abraham Linlcoln or President Truman or President Obama have done."
Source
29 July, 2011
Teacher reinstated after blog comments calling students 'disengaged, lazy whiners'
A small win for free speech. But I can't see the teacher getting much of a welcome back into the schoolA suburban Philadelphia high school teacher suspended over a blog in which she called students "disengaged, lazy whiners" has been reinstated.
A lawyer for Natalie Munroe says she will be allowed to return to her Central Bucks East High School classroom this autumn. Lawyer Steve Rovner says the district reinstated Ms Munroe to the same school, teaching the same classes. He says her talents would best be utilised at a different school in the district, but that's not an option.
Ms Munroe was suspended in February after the district became aware of her blog, in which she described some students as "frightfully dim," "whiny" and "tactless". [All probably true]
Source
ACLU Warns Florida City About Christmas Display
The mythical constitutional requirement to separate church and State againA South Florida city is facing a Christmas controversy in July. The American Civil Liberties Union has threatened to sue the city of Plantation if puts up its annual Christmas display. The Sun-Sentinel newspaper reported that the city displays Christian and Jewish symbols in a city park every Christmas.
However, the Broward chapter of the ACLU called the holiday display planned for Liberty Tree Park "Inappropriate."
The ACLU says the display violates the separation of church and state because it promotes two religions and ignores all others. "We feel it's a violation of the First Amendment and an endorsement of religion," the ACLU's Barry Butin told the newspaper.
In its previous displays of both Christian and Jewish symbols, the city relied on a 1984 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said cities can exhibit religious elements if they don't endorse one faith over another.
Source
28 July, 2011
Atheists Sue to Stop Display of Cross at World Trade Center Memorial
We read:"A group of atheists is up in arms over the display of a cross at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. The World Trade Center memorial, which is intended to serve as a reminder of the tragic terror attack that occurred nearly 10 years ago, is scheduled to open on the event's 10th anniversary.
When the Twin Towers collapsed on September 11, 2001, two beams perfectly formed the cross, which many view as both symbolic and iconic. It is this object - a steel cross - that is perfect fodder for atheists and non-believers who do not wish to see any religious items included in the memorial.
According to American Atheists (the same organization that coordinated July 4 plane banners in cities across the nation), the cross' inclusion constitutes an "impermissible mingling of church and state." Despite some opposition, over the weekend, the controversial object was blessed and moved to its new location within the memorial.
With the memorial opening in a month and a half, the cross will surely be on display. The legal battle surrounding it, though, is far from over. American Atheists seem bent on pushing forward until the group's goal of a commemorative museum without the cross is recognized.
Source
New Zealand Professor who refuses to teach global warming criticized -- but his boss defends him on free speech grounds
Good that there is some respect for free speech there. Many American universities don't do as wellClimate scientists have predicted such scenarios for decades - that as global temperatures rose more extreme weather would be a side effect. Yet none of this is discussed in the climate section of the introductory Geography 101 course at University of Auckland. Odd because, while what's behind such climate model forecasts is immensely complex, the underlying science is pretty simple.
Associate professor Chris de Freitas, who teaches the stage one course, wouldn't dispute the basic science. "I do not dispute that the carbon dioxide rise in the atmosphere is largely from the use of fossil fuels," he tells the Herald. "No doubt rising carbon dioxide could 'change the climate'. The basic physics is there to support this view. But where is the evidence that the putative change would be large or damaging?"
But according to some students of de Freitas's 101 course on the basics of climate you won't hear about how climate scientists are now seeing such patterns Or about the building evidence that human-induced climate change is changing precipitation and the hydrological cycle, especially the extremes.
The Geography 101 lecture workbook confirms the lack of such information. There seems little, if any, reference to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and its landmark 2007 reports were not listed in the course reading material. Climate scientists shown the workbook were surprised at how out of date much of the material was.
The Herald asked Professor Glenn McGregor, director of the School of Environment at Auckland University where Geography 101 is taught, whether he agreed with De Freitas's view.
"If Chris has not mentioned the IPCC, that is regrettable because the IPCC process is very important," says McGregor. He says de Freitas plays "a kind of critic and conscience role" which he sees as important to the essential nature of universities.
"I think Chris has every right to criticise climate science. Within universities we adhere to the right to academic freedom which the university encourages. So you can freely express opinions when delivering material to students."
Victoria University's Manning disagrees: "I think Auckland University does have a bit of a problem with a course looking like it is taking one side of the story and a minority view of that." Yes, he believes in freedom expression and that it should be deeply ingrained in the structure of the university. "The right to have individual views is something that's preserved because it is important - but there does become a point when you have to ask should you be teaching that?"
Source
27 July, 2011
If speech is suppressed, bullets may replace it
I think that is one lesson that should be learned from the Norway massacre. Public opinion polls in Norway reveal a great deal of dissatisfaction with the country's aggressive Muslim minority. But, outside the anonymity of a poll, you had better not say so.
Norway's penal code (Straffeloven, section 135 a) prohibits "hate speech" and defines it as publicly making statements that threaten or ridicule someone or that incite hatred, persecution or contempt for someone due to their skin colour, ethnic origin, homosexual life style or orientation or, religion or philosophy of life. So criticism of Muslims is illegal in Norway.
America's founding fathers gave Americans the First Amendment, which would have invalidated such a law in the USA, but there is no First Amendment in Norway and Norway's socialists have not been as wise as America's founding fathers.
So Anders Behring Breivik shot over 80 of the children of the Norwegian Leftist elite who passed the restrictive law concerned. See here.
It's a tragic day when bullets replace words but those who muzzle the words have to take some share of the blame. Trying to hold down discontent by suppressing expression of it is plain dumb -- but very Leftist.
Marine’s Parents Sued Over Displaying a Sign Supporting Their Son
We read:"Shortly after L Cpl Burr was deployed to Afghanistan last winter, his parents posted the above sign in their front yard of their home in The Gardens subdivision of South Bossier, LA.Sounds like the usual military-hating Leftists at work.
Almost immediately the neighborhood association delivered a letter telling the Burr’s that they were in violation of a local rule stating “no signs of any kind shall be displayed to the public view.”
Instead of removing the banner, Timothy and Jodi requested an exception be made to the rule. They wanted to keep the sign on display until their son comes home. (Corey is slated to return in March of 2012)
In February, the Burr’s started sending formal requests to the head of the association, but those letters went unanswered until the media got involved. Jodi and her husband even sent requests for a meeting with the homeowners association via certified mail, but those letters went “unclaimed.”
In an interview with The Blaze, Jodi Burr wondered if this is a case of “selective enforcement” of the rules. As she states, “There are all kinds of signs in other yards; School booster signs, signs for pro teams, fence company signs and security company signs.”
Source
26 July, 2011
Censorship at the Voice ofObamaAmerica
Instead of being a voice of freedom, they co-operate with repressive regimes. They are run by Obama nominees these daysLeaders of the Ethiopian American community joined by free media advocates are planning a protest rally on Monday, July 25, in front of the Voice of America (VOA) building in Washington, DC amid charges of censorship of VOA news programs to Ethiopia by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG).
According to Voice of America broadcasters who spoke on the condition that their names not be revealed because they fear reprisals, the BBG has tried to silence VOA journalist David Arnold who encouraged reporting that upset BBG members as well as officials of the Ethiopian regime.
In a situation reminiscent of Soviet and East European communist media controls, a high-level manager reportedly forbade VOA Africa Division journalists to take written notes during a staff meeting in which complaints about censorship were raised.
The BBG is a presidentially-appointed bipartisan group which runs VOA and other government-funded U.S. international broadcasters and is supposed to promote freedom of expression and anti-censorship efforts around the world, but has been accused of negotiating with repressive regimes, terminating VOA radio and TV programs to countries that restrict media freedom, including Russia and China, and firing VOA journalists who specialize in human rights reporting.
Source
Must not read Glenn Beck
We read:"Cincinnati Bengals football player and one-time “Dancing with the Stars” contestant Chad Ochocinco caused quite the Twitter stir Saturday when he tweeted about reading a Glenn Beck book:
The wide receiver’s fans quickly took to the social networking site, many to express outrage over his reading choice.
Twitter user DrDeeps was among the first, writing: “Just lost a lot of respect for you for being a f**king beck fan. Idiot.”
Ochicinco responded: “Damn Glenn Beck pissed you off kind sir.”
To user Steve_Morman’s question, “you are a conservative", Ochocinco replied: “No i’m not a conservative, just wanted 2 see what all the fuss is about so i’m reading it.”
Source
25 July, 2011
Villainy at Twitter?
We read:"As social media sites like Twitter increasingly dominate public discourse, there are occasional reminders that these digital platforms are private companies, not public utilities. Twitter can pick and choose who uses its services, fair or not. “Empower Texas” may be getting a sour taste of this reality.
Redstate.com is reporting that Twitter has booted the influential state level conservative group “Empower Texans” from all of its services. And as the group states on its website here, Twitter did not just suspend the main group feed — it took offline the tweeting capability of every individual member in the group as well.
Empower Texans claims it is unaware of any violation of Twitter’s terms of service, and received no advance warning about the service suspension. The group also raises the possibility that the suspension is the result of some kind of prank — or perhaps a concerted campaign by other users to mark its tweets as “spam.”
So, until Twitter publicly comments on the suspension, or Empower Texans is back online tweeting away, it remains to be seen why a group that is an important conservative voice in Texas has had one of its communication outlets hobbled.
Source
A difficult dilemma in Israel
We read:"Last month, Dov Lior, the chief rabbi of the West Bank Settlement of Hebron, was placed under detention by the attorney general and questioned for a commendatory preface he had written to a book of ‘Jewish Law’ in which the author advocates the killing of Arab civilians in time of war, even the ‘righteous’ among them. More alarmingly, the book claims that when Arab children are being raised with the aim of harming Jews, it is ‘for their own good’ to kill them to prevent them from growing up to be ‘evil adults.’What the writer above seems not to know is that one of the oldest blood libels against Jews is that they slaughter non-Jewish children as part of Jewish religious rituals. So the restraint on the bloodthirsty rabbi is a matter of national security for Israel. Giving any countenance to his utterances would increase the dangers to Jews everywhere.
Though many in Lior’s community disavow both the commendation of the book and its teachings, others, including the Samaria and Binyamin Settler Committee, called the action of the attorney general a ‘State of War against the Jewish faith.’
No matter how repugnant his views, Lior’s right to express them should be defended – not because representative of the Jewish tradition (to the contrary, they are a perversion), but because of free-speech. True, Lior’s role as a ‘religious leader’ – his release from detention was followed by the ecstatic celebration of his supporters – make him and his followers prime candidates for police scrutiny. But the book should not be banned, and the failure of a spirited defense of Lior’s hate speech shows the weakness of Israeli democracy.
Source
24 July, 2011
Free speech versus compelled praise for diversity
We read:"Can the government force those it licenses to parrot its praise for 'diversity'?
The Colorado Department of Human Services Child Care Division thinks so, issuing proposed rules requiring day care centers — including those for infants and toddlers — to feature displays promoting diversity, and to provide dolls representing at least three different races.
As I noted in today’s Washington Times, this diversity-display requirement runs afoul of the First Amendment."
Source
Council worker fired for telling the plain truth
Australia:A young council roads worker has been sacked after commenting on Facebook that the council had too many office staff and not enough workers.Truth hurts
Alec Armstrong, 21, posted the remarks on a Hepburn Shire residents' page last month and had his employment terminated five weeks later for what the council called "intimidating or offensive" behaviour.
In postings made after hours on June 2, Mr Armstrong said council had 140 staff, but only 30 who worked outdoors. "Shows you how top heavy they are," he posted.
He said outdoor employees never had enough money to do the job properly. "I work on the roads for the shire. There would be four office staff to one of us. Their (sic) slack, and we need less office staff who aren't slack and do the job a bit more. We never have enough money to do a job the way it should be done. That's why rates are going up. Keep blaming it on the useless staff above us."
When confronted by office managers about the postings, Mr Armstrong said he immediately removed them and apologised. In a letter to council chief executive officer Kaylene Conrick July 7, Mr Armstrong expressed his "deep regrets" over the incident. He admitted it was "inappropriate, disrespectful and lacked the professionalism" required by Hepburn Shire Council employees.
Hepburn Shire Acting CEO Evan King said the decision to sack Mr Armstrong was made following due process. In a written statement he said: "The employee breached the code of conduct, and based on an assessment of the seriousness of the breach, it was deemed the employment of the employee should be terminated."
SOURCE
23 July, 2011
Missouri Supreme Court: Government May Criminalize Truthful, Harmless Information
A court in the pocket of realtors?"On July 19 the Missouri Supreme Court issued its opinion in Kansas City Premier Apartments v. Missouri Real Estate Commission, in which it upheld a state law that criminalizes the communication of truthful, harmless information. Although at trial the government’s own expert witness had testified that KCPA’s speech was both truthful and unlikely to cause any harm to the public, five of the high court’s seven judges ruled that Missouri citizens may not tell others about real estate unless the government has given them special permission to do so.
“The U.S. Supreme Court has held that the First Amendment protects nude dancing, burning the American flag, and images of animals being crushed to death,” said Dave Roland, director of litigation for the Freedom Center of Missouri, the public interest law firm challenging the speech restrictions. “But today the Missouri Supreme Court has ruled that you can be thrown in jail for helping a friend find an apartment.”
The court’s ruling runs contrary to the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent emphasis on protecting free expression. As Judge Michael A. Wolff pointed out in his dissenting opinion, less than one month ago the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Vermont law that prohibited the sale of certain commercial information, powerfully reaffirming the constitutional principles that should have applied to the speech restrictions at issue in this case.
The Freedom Center of Missouri plans to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Source
Has your bank used your money to buy worthless European bonds?
You must not be told say European regulators. Apparently you have to wait for it to go bust before you find out"A House of Lords Committee has lambasted European plans to ban credit ratings of sovereign debt as a "wholly impractical" idea that "smacks of censorship".
The Lords European Union Economic Affairs Committee said politicians were wrong to extend the criticism of credit rating agencies before 2008 to the European debt problems.
The ratings downgrades, some of which have caused turmoil in the markets, have been accurate warnings, not mistakes, said the Lords. The Committee, which conducted a four-month investigation into the role of the agencies in Europe, found that they did "not challenge rigorously enough the assumptions on which they based their assessments of Member States' sovereign debt".
But, in its report published on Wednesday, the Committee said: "Commissioner [Michel] Barnier's proposal that sovereign debt ratings be suspended for countries in international financial assistance programmes is wholly impractical and smacks of censorship."
Lord Harrison, chairman of the Committee, added that the agencies' "recent downgrades merely reflect the seriousness of the problems facing countries such as Ireland, Portugal and Greece".
Source
22 July, 2011
"Sexist" milk advert?
We read:"A Cheeky advertising campaign touting milk as a tonic for PMS has come under fire from critics who say the claim is scientifically dubious and sexist.Some people can't take a joke, I guess. But if we are to take it seriously, I think it is sexist by being anti-men. It portrays men as wimps utterly terrified by their wife's moods.
The US milk processor behind the famous "Got milk?" ad campaign has launched the Everything I Do Is Wrong, website as "Your Home for PMS Management". It includes a picture of a worried man holding several milk cartons with the headline "I apologise for letting you misinterpret what I was saying."
A flurry of fury has followed, labelling the strategy sexist.
"Reducing us to hormonal female psychopaths is no way to get us to drink milk. In fact, that makes me want to rip the milk out of your hands and shove it up your hole,” wrote one [obviously hormonal] critic.
"It seems beneath us to even point out how dumb and sexist it is. But yes. It is both," another wrote.
And the use of a 2005 study that shows calcium may improve PMS symptoms as a selling point for milk has come into question. "Taking calcium probably does help overall ... but it may not help everyone, and for some people it does help it may not help much," a Time magazine report noted.
Source
Iranian junior footballer called a n*gger
Australia:"Two junior football clubs are headed to a tribunal hearing tonight after an 11-year-old boy was allegedly racially abused during a match near Geelong.It's just kid talk, of course. Iranians are not even dark-skinned. I was called some bad names when I was a schoolkid but I had enough backbone to ignore it. But the precious little Muslim kid above obviously did not.
Ronen Jafari's stepmother, Lucy, said he was crying and red-faced when she went to pick him up after a game between the Portarlington Demons and Drysdale Gold at Portarlington on July 2. The Portarlington under 12s player had allegedly been called a n----- by another junior player.
Ronen's Iranian father Ben said he had wanted and expected an apology from the player who abused his son but after failed mediation attempts the matter was now going to the tribunal.
Mr Jafari said he had not wanted to take the matter to the tribunal but he believed the player and the boys' teammates should know what was said was wrong. "He's a child, he doesn't understand maybe ... but at least he should be told that what he's done is not right," Mr Jafari said.
Source
If the case does go to a tribunal, the Iranian father might discover a difficulty: The High Court of Australia ruled just a few years ago the the n-word is not offensive in Australia.
21 July, 2011
A small Arkansas Soviet
An effort to silence criticism, apparently"Gould, Arkansas is made up of about 850 people. 850 people the Mayor believes will soon have cause for 850 lawsuits.
Monday night, the city council wrote an ordinance disbanding a citizen's group and forbidding any future groups from forming without city council approval.
The ordinance states, "No new organizations shall be allowed to exist within the city of Gould without approval from majority of the city council."
Another ordinance bans the mayor from meeting with anyone without council approval. "To tell me that I can't travel and I can't go to meetings and I can't get the money that we need - that's ludicrous!" said the Mayor.
"In everything, you have somebody in control over it. In everything," said Council Member Sonja Farley. Farley says no matter the group, if you discuss the city at all, the meeting must be approved by the city council.
The Gould Citizens Advisory Commission is banned from meeting in the ordinance. They argue this new potential law would violate their constitutional rights.
Source
Women enraged over content of 'degrading' billboard advertisement
Australia:"A billboard advertising power tools demeans women say its critics. The billboard at the intersection of Beaudesert and Riawena roads, Coopers Plains, is an advertisement for The Tool Shop and depicts three women holding power tools alongside the wording "Imagine all 3 at once? We can ..."These appear to be Leftist women complaining. Struthers is a minister in a Leftist government. Are these the same people who think marriage of one woman with one man is obsolete? If so what is their objection to threesomes? Just the usual Leftist hypocrisy, I guess.
Minister for Women Karen Struthers said the wording was an explicit sexual reference that degrades women.
The Tool Shop's business development manager Esala Roqica defended the ad. "We didn't think the women in our billboard were dressed provocatively at all," he said. "With the words in the ad that's what we were going for, that we don't just have one range of tools, we have tools for everyone."
So far less than five complaints have been lodged with the Advertising Standards Bureau. A spokeswoman said the board would make a decision on the advertisement this week.
SOURCE
20 July, 2011
Nevada Man Sues DMV For Rejecting ‘GOPALIN’ License Plate as ‘Vulgar’?
We read:"A Nevada man is suing the DMV after his request for a vanity plate reading “GOPALIN” was allegedly denied. The DMV reportedly denies personalized license plate requests expressing what it considers to be “contempt, ridicule or superiority of … political affiliation“ and deemed GOPALIN as either ”vulgar“ or ”inappropriate.”
After a hearing before an administrative law judge, the lawsuit claims the judge reversed the DMV’s denial of Linlor’s requests for plates with “PALIN,” “PALIN12” and “PALIN16.” The judge determined the DMV wasn’t authorized to deny requests simply because they were “political,” according to the complaint.
But even after the judge’s decision, Linlor alleges the DMV denied his request for GOPALIN yet again and said he learned the DMV had actually issued other political license plates, including “GOGREEN,” “DMOCRAT,” “AL GORE,” “KERRY,” “EDWARDS,” “DEAN,” “HILLARY” and “RONPAUL.” Conversely, Linlor said requests for “REPBLCN” and “BUSH,” were rejected by the DMV.
Bruce Breslow, director of the Nevada DMV, said Monday he’s not sure why Linlor brought a lawsuit this month because the “GOPALIN” plate was issued Dec. 30, 2010.
The DMV, however, is reviewing its policy about personalized license plates and likely will have the director or a deputy director make decisions about whether to approve such requests in the future, he said.
Source
Must not abbreviate
In Australia, "Abo" is a common abbreviation of "aborigine", the Latin word for an Australian native black. Australians are very prone to abbreviations but it's not allowed where blackfellas (which is what Aborigines call themselves) are concerned, apparentlyFormer Carlton Football Club President John Elliott caused offence on Channel Ten's Can of Worms last night by referring to indigenous Australians as 'abos'.
Elliott was part of a panel answering the question ‘Should we acknowledge traditional owners at official events?’ on the show which is produced by Andrew Denton's production company Zapruder’s Other Films.
Elliott said that acknowledging indigenous owners was “sheer bloody nonsense”. “I was in St Paul’s Cathedral the other day and there’s the Dean of the Church and all he did for the first five minutes was talk about the abos,” Elliott said.
Elliott back-pedalled when he realised his remarks had stunned the studio audience. “Indigenous people, sorry. Not allowed to say that word,” Elliott said.
Source
19 July, 2011
Complete free speech for blacks only
Incitement to violence? No problem if you are black. Just imagine ANY white saying this stuff below. He would never be heard of again.For controversial rap group Odd Future, Sunday afternoon at the 2011 Pitchfork Music Festival began with a little damage control.
Less than an hour before taking the stage in Chicago’s Union Park, members of the group delivered boxes of cupcakes to the anti-violence organizations on site — the same organizations manning booths and handing out paper fans containing domestic violence resource information specifically to counter what they saw as dangerous expressions of hate, violence and homophobia in Odd Future’s music.
It was nice while it lasted. Odd Future’s set, at the height of Sunday’s swelter, was rife with the usual foul language and appalling exhortations to violence and misogyny — lots of “smack you, bitch,” “f--- the police,” “f---in’ ‘ho,” happy tales of “punches to the stomach” and advice to “shoot that f---in’ nigga, aim for the head,” and I lost count of the number of times someone shouted “f---in’ bitch!” — even while they gave lip service to opposing voices. Group leader and breakout solo star Tyler the Creator, his left leg in a cast for a broken foot, said, “A big shoutout to the domestic violence groups out here.” This came as the echo of the latest “f---in’ bitch!” died away and right before the next song, “I Got a Gun (You Better Run).”
Source
Black footballer and the F*ggot word
The double standard again:After covering his eyes and firing round after round of verbal bullets at teammates and Roger Goodell, as well as posing with very real guns, Harrison issued a long apology, tweeted by Josina Anderson of Showtime's Inside the NFL.And the reaction to the slur? It "raised some eyebrows" only.
After calling Roger Goodell a word used for hate speech against homosexuals and saying, "If that man was on fire and I had to piss to put him out, I wouldn't do it. I hate him and will never respect him," in a recent article in Men's Journal, Harrison said this about his choice of words:I also need to make clear that the comment about Roger Goodell was not intended to be derogatory against gay people in any way. It was careless use of a slang word and I apologize to all who were offended by the remark. I am not a homophobic bigot, and I would never advocate intolerance of gay people.
Source
18 July, 2011
Dangerous to joke about wildlife in Britain
We read:"A Tory politician has sparked outrage after saying he supported a cull of badgers because it would 'bring down the exorbitant price of shaving brushes'.
Roger Helmer, an MEP for the East Midlands, enraged animal rights activists after posting his views about the luxury shaving brushes, which are made from badger hair, on Twitter.
Tomorrow, the Government may announce the first badger cull since they became a protected species in 1973. Animal rights groups were already angry that farmers might be given licences to shoot badgers to prevent them passing TB to cattle.
The comments have been fiercely criticised by David Williams, chairman of the Badger Trust, which has a £100,000 war chest to mount a legal challenge to any culling. He said: 'This is just contemptible and outrageous. He doesn't even realise that firms in Britain import the hair from China.'
The mustachioed MEP, 67, said: 'I was bleary-eyed and shaving in Brussels. With badger brush in hand I thought I'd tell people why a badger cull would be a good idea. 'It was meant to be amusing. But, of course, the manic bunny-huggers have gone all po-faced.'
Source
Must not criticize MLK
It's no mystery that Martin Luther King had his weaknesses. He was a womanizer, plagiarist etc. But mentioning any of those facts is "hate speech"District Six [Colorado] Board of Education Director Brett Reese and others were branded for supposed hate speech by a George Soros funded group that identifies itself as being dedicated to "keeping an eye on the radical right."
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) listed Reese at number three on a list of individuals, for its summer edition of "Hate in the Mainstream" a compilation of quotes from conservative politicians and activists. Reese was the only individual on the list that was not quoted directly.
The SPLC referenced a letter from a listener that Reese read on the radio, as he had done for the past three years prior to the Martin Luther King holiday. Not one critic of Reese has ever denied the allegations leveled at King in the letter.
The SPLC "Hate in the Mainstream" report did not include any quotes from Muslim leaders, even though many of their quotes are far more extreme and hateful than those in the letter read by Reese.
Source
17 July, 2011
GOP wants to rein in spending because Obama is black!
We read:"During the entire debt ceiling debate thus far, has the thought of “race” popped into your head at all? Could the two be related in some way, shape, or form? For Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, who conservatives believe often plays the race-card to deflect attention from the issues at hand, of course they are!
On Friday The Hill reported that Jackson Lee thinks members of Congress are purposely making it difficult for President Obama to raise the debt ceiling because he is black. Jackson Lee, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, reportedly said she doesn’t understand the “maligning and maliciousness” she sees being directed toward Obama. She also believes the President is “disrespected” because “he is different.”
“Why is he different? And in my community, that is the question that we raise. In the minority community that is question that is being raised. Why is this president being treated so disrespectfully? Why has the debt limit been raised 60 times? Why did the leader of the Senate continually talk about his job is to bring the president down to make sure he is unelected?”
“I am particularly sensitive to the fact that only this president — only this one, only this one — has received the kind of attacks and disagreement and inability to work, only this one,” said Jackson Lee from the House floor.
Jackson Lee went on to say it is necessary to raise the debt ceiling in order to “pay our bills,“ inferring the GOP would disregard doing even what is ”necessary,” simply to disparage the President over his race.
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Sometimes there IS free speech in Britain
Free-ish, anywayA maths teacher who branded Barack Obama a n****** in front of a class of children as young as 15 has astonishingly been allowed to go back into the classroom.The difficulty they have in finding people willing to teach in Britain's chaotic classrooms is probably why they kept him on. And antisemitism is common among the British elite so his views there would not be seen as much of a problem
Michael Webb, who also made anti-Jewish comments, escaped a classroom ban despite being found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct by a teaching body.
Racist Webb, who made the comments during a GCSE maths revision session in front of pupils as young as 15, said in the outburst: 'I call my coloured friends n***** and they call me white honkey.'
Webb also ranted about Barack Obama, telling shocked pupils: 'I ain't having no f****** n***** tell me what to do.'
A disciplinary hearing also heard Webb 'used words to the effect that he didn't like Jews'.
He was found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct by the General Teaching Council (GTC) on Thursday. Astonishingly, Webb escaped being struck off and received a reprimand which will stay on his record for two years.
The panel refused to strike Webb off the teaching register because of his 'unblemished record.' Mr Whyborn added: 'Mr Webb had previously had a long and unblemished record which is supported by the appraisal forms from the parents of students he has taught.
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16 July, 2011
N.C. student Sues College that Banned Him from Graduation for 'Negative' Facebook Post
A student prophesied that the college would be tough to deal with. They appear intent on proving him right."Today, Saint Augustine's College (SAC) graduate Roman Caple filed suit against SAC and SAC President Dianne Boardley Suber after he was forbidden from participating in spring 2011 graduation ceremonies due to a comment he posted on Facebook about how the college was handling its recovery from tornado damage.
Caple's complaint, filed in North Carolina state court, alleges that SAC violated its extensive promises of freedom of expression when it disciplined him for what it called a "negative social media exchange."
"Like any reasonable student, Roman Caple believed Saint Augustine's guarantees of freedom of expression were genuine. But the college betrayed Roman's trust in an incredibly petty, mean-spirited way," FIRE Senior Vice President Robert Shibley said.
"This filing sends a message not just to Saint Augustine's, but to private colleges across the country: If you promise your students freedom of expression, you can't break that promise without consequences."
On April 16, a tornado hit Raleigh and cut off electrical power to many SAC students. On April 18, SAC announced via Facebook that it would reopen, although some students remained without power. Following complaints, SAC announced a public meeting with Progress Energy and students on April 19. In response, Caple posted this message on SAC's Facebook page, encouraging fellow students to bring any necessary documentation to the meeting and to anticipate SAC's response: "Here it go!!!!! Students come correct, be prepared, and have supporting documents to back up your arguments bcuz SAC will come hard!!!! That is all."
In today's complaint, filed in North Carolina's Superior Court Division, Wake County, Caple names SAC and President Suber as defendants. The complaint alleges breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence. It also requests monetary damages to compensate him for expenses incurred in anticipation of his participation in SAC's graduation ceremonies.
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Must not promote natural gas drilling
We read:"The "friendly Fracosaurus" featured in a 24-page coloring book by Talisman Energy that explained the controversial process of extracting gas from rock formations will no longer be distributed by the company, a spokeswoman told FoxNews.com.
Natalie Cox, a spokeswoman for Talisman Energy USA Inc., said the coloring book, "Talisman Terry's Energy Adventure," was created in 2009 by staff at Talisman's headquarters in Calgary, Canada, as a giveaway for county fairs and other community events along the Pennsylvania-New York border. It's unclear exactly how many were produced and distributed, she said.
Despite no complaints from the public -- only from "the media," Cox said -- the company decided to stop using the publication within the past month.
Of fracking, the highly controversial processes that blasts chemicals, water and sand into rock to extract natural gas, Colbert said: "It's like giving the Earth an Alka-Seltzer if the Alka-Seltzer shattered your internal organs so oil companies could harvest your juices." [It's controversial only because the Green/Left distort and demonize it, as you see in Colbert's comments]
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15 July, 2011
No freedom to pray?
There's no way that praying "establishes" a church"A Wisconsin-based "religious freedom" group is suing Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a possible Republican presidential contender, in an effort to block his promotion of and participation in an all-day Christian prayer event to be held Aug. 6, arguing that it violates the constitutional separation of church and state.
The Freedom From Religious Foundation, which claims more than 16,000 members, including 700 in Texas, filed the federal lawsuit Wednesday in Houston, contending that Perry’s actions violate the Constitution's Establishment Clause by “giving the appearance that the government prefers evangelical Christian religious beliefs over other religious beliefs and non-beliefs.”
Perry’s office shrugged off news of the lawsuit. "Governor Perry has been looking forward to the Aug. 6 prayer event, which continues to move forward as planned,” Perry’s office said in a written statement. “He believes it will serve as an important opportunity for Americans to gather together and pray to God, seeking his wisdom and guidance as our nation navigates the challenges before it. The pending litigation will not affect plans for the prayer event at this time.”
The event has been described as a non-denominational, apolitical, Christian prayer meeting hosted by the American Family Association at Reliant Stadium in Houston. The website for the event is linked from the governor’s official website and includes a videotaped invitation from Perry.
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More Leftist hate speech
OK to put up artwork associating Republican governors with Nazism but just try putting up artwork that associates Obama with Nazism and see what happens!A new exhibit at a Michigan city art gallery features a provocative piece that depicts four Republican governors beneath the Nazi party symbol. Despite complaints, the work will remain on display.
Titled “The Faces of American Fascism,” the poster has pictures of Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Wis. Gov. Scott Walker, Mich. Gov. Rick Snyder and Fla. Gov. Rick Scott under the national insignia of Nazi Germany. The symbol of the Republican Party is encircled in the wreath under the eagle instead of a swastika.
Written in the middle of the poster are the words, “Anti union,” “anti worker,” “anti woman,” “anti elderly” and “anti poor.” At the bottom, it charges viewers to “Rise up! Demand a recall” next to an image of a closed fist. [Fitting. The closed fist is the Communist symbol]
Marquette Assistant City Manager Karl Zueger, who oversees the center, acknowledged the piece was “questionable” but said it did not violate the city’s standards for being obscene, sexually explicit, having elements of racism or inciting violence. “We didn’t see that it met any one of those tenets,” Zueger said in an interview with The Blaze. [Demands accompanied by a closed fist are not inciting violence??]
But Marquette County Republican Party Chair Dan Adamini said his organization is not calling for the piece’s removal, but instead wants to ensure a “mistake like this could never happen again.” I’m calling into question the judgment of the people [who approved the work],” Adamini said. “This is clearly not art, this is hate speech and a call to political action.”
Source
14 July, 2011
Canadian government now policing sermons
We read:"In Canada, a Christian television show was reinstated in December 2010 after being taken off the air in response to the host’s comments about homosexuality. Although Word TV is back on the air, the Canadian Broadcasting Standards Council is now prescreening and censoring its content.
“We spoke against a new proposed sex education curriculum that would teach gender identity, six genders, and sexual orientation to our children,” explained Dr. Charles McVety, president of Canada Christian College and host of the show.
McVety also spoke against a $400,000 Canadian government grant for a homosexual pride parade, which the government ultimately withdrew because of nudity and other illegal behavior.
The CBSC afforded McVety no hearing, ruling that he had breached the code of ethics. In reference to his comments criticizing the parade, the council ruled that the preacher used the term “sex parade” in a derogatory way during a sermon.
During a sermon? The Canadian government is now in the business of policing what is said in pulpits?
“The criminal code says the people in the parade should be prosecuted,” notes McVety. “But somehow, I am the one prosecuted for speaking against this.”
McVety was told if he commits further “offenses,” he will be permanently taken off the air in Canada. He must censor himself or else.
Source
British Grade School pupils must not criticize their schools's slack administration
We read:"Police visited an 11-year-old’s home after her school complained about a Facebook group she set up criticising her headmistress.
Her parents Andrew and Joy Bagguley said they feared one of their daughters had been involved in an accident when they saw the Police Community Support Officer on their doorstep.
But the officer was in fact there about the page set up by their daughter Leah, in protest at what she believed was head Georgina Frost’s failure to deal with a boy of five who the family say had threatened her younger sister, Libby, six.
The group, called Hate Mrs Frost, attracted 16 members before it was taken down by her parents when the school then attended by both the girls – Park Hall Primary in Stoke-on-Trent – told them about it.
The couple, who also have a 13-year-old daughter, admit Leah was wrong to set up the page, but said it would never have been posted if the school had properly dealt with the boy who they claim threatened to stab Libby. The boy was admonished by a learning mentor, but they say the school informed his parents only when pushed to do so.
The Bagguleys have since removed Libby from Parkhall and she now attends Moorside Primary School nearby.
Source
13 July, 2011
Must not mention bra sizes
Even for the purpose of clothing fitting! How will we ever keep up with all the "must nots"?A police union is launching an investigation after personal information about 13 female police officers -- including their bra sizes -- was sent out in an email to department supervisors at the Indiana Metropolitan Police Department.
A member of the command staff reportedly sent an email to commanders and shift supervisors, alerting them that 91 police officers -- including the 13 female officers -- needed to pick up their new bullet-proof vests.
But the email memo also included a spreadsheet attachment with sensitive information about the officers' weight and chest sizes, Fox 59 reports.
"That information should be kept private, " Aaron Sullivan, spokesperson for the Fraternal Order of Police, told Fox 59.
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Israel passes law penalizing boycott advocates
One can understand government anger at the many Leftist traitors in Israel but this does seem to be going too farAdvocating a boycott of West Bank settlements could lead to financial penalties in Israel under a new law passed on Monday with the blessing of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Critics of the bill pushed through parliament by right-wing lawmakers called the measure anti-democratic and a blow to free speech. The vote -- carried by 47 to 38 in the 120-seat plenum -- went ahead amid an outcry from opposition legislators and civil liberties groups.
"What this law will enable is for anybody harmed by a deliberate boycott campaign to seek damages through the courts," said its sponsor, Zeev Elkin, a member of Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party.
Supporters of the bill said its reference to boycotts based on "geography" was aimed at countering calls in Israel and abroad for cultural and economic boycotts against settlements in the West Bank, occupied land Palestinians want for a state.
The Association of Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), an opponent of the bill, said that "regardless of one's position on the question of promoting or opposing a boycott, it is unquestionably a protected form of free speech."
Source
12 July, 2011
Court blocks US on antiprostitution pledge
We read:"The United States cannot force partners in its international fight against AIDS to denounce prostitution as a condition of getting funding, a federal appeals court said yesterday, citing the First Amendment.
The 2-to-1 ruling by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision in favor of four health organizations, including Pathfinder International of Watertown.
The groups had sued the government in 2005, saying their constitutional rights were violated by a provision of the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003.
“Compelling speech as a condition of receiving a government benefit cannot be squared with the First Amendment,’’ the majority wrote. “The right to communicate freely on such matters of public concern lies at the heart of the First Amendment.’’
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Is Canada about to prosecute hate speech from Muslims?
I thought Muslims could do no wrong there -- and I may be right yet. The queston is who trumps whom: Muslims or homosexuals? So difficult when you have TWO privileged groups to defend! Wouldn't is be simpler to have everyone equal before the law?Ontario's attorney general says he's looking into a complaint that a religious scholar told a Toronto gathering that homosexuals caught in the act should be executed under Islamic law.If a Christian had said the same there would be no problem, of course: Big fine straight away! Ask Stephen Boissoin. And Pastor Boissoin wasn't advocating the killing of homosexuals -- unlike the Muslim guy.
Attorney General Chris Bentley says there is no place for hate speech against any group in Ontario -- including the LGBTQ community.
Bentley says he has referred the issue to the province's chief prosecutor and Toronto police, and they will decide if any charges should be laid.
Source
Though Boissoin did get off eventually by appealing to his Province's highest court. No word on his legal costs but it would probably have been cheaper to pay the fine. So he still got penalized anyway.
A central reason why Boissoin eventually got off was because he did NOT "call for discriminatory practices". That would not apply to the Muslim guy.
11 July, 2011
Sexist woman criticises GOP candidate as sexist even though he does not mention sex
In California. Where else could such confusion reign?Schriock criticized a radio advertisement paid for by the political action committee The National Republican Trust as “one of the most blatantly sexist ads produced on [Huey’s] behalf.”Note that the ad as given above does not mention women. Yet Ms Schriock assumes it does. She assumes that abortion is an issue for women only. How's that for sexual stereotyping? And grossly wrong stereotyping at that. So who's the sexist now?
In a flier being distributed to voters in the district, Scott Wheeler, executive director of National Republican Trust, describes the message behind the advertisement:
"We have a 'girl next door voice' reading our ad attacking the pro-abortion Hahn even though this is a heavily weighted pro-abortion district. We want the pro-abortion voters that would certainly support the liberal Hahn to STAY HOME! By making the point that the ECONOMY and not abortion is the key issue, we can discourage Democrat voters and drive them away from the liberal Democrat candidate."
In response to Wheeler’s flier and to the advertisement itself, Schriock said, “Craig Huey’s allies are openly and specifically trying to suppress women’s votes because they know California women reject his extreme positions.
Source
Another controversial cat call in the Australian lower house
We read:"Yet another cat-call incident, this time from the Labor side, sent Parliament into uproar today and guaranteed the expected rowdy end of the session before the winter break.I am not at all clear what is offensive about a "meow". There must be a lot of offensive cats around. I guess it is a way of saying that a woman is catty.
The "meow" came from the Government backbenches as Liberal Deputy Leader Julie Bishop was seconding an Opposition bid to launch a censure motion aimed at the Government's carbon plan.
Speaker Harry Jenkins twice said he had not heard the feline reference during rowdy exchanges, but invited the unnamed culprit to withdraw it. No Labor MP stood to take the blame as the Opposition loudly said they knew who it was and pointed.
After the vote, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the noise had been made by Government Whip Joel Fitzgibbon and that she had instructed him to personally apologise to Ms Bishop. She said that "as a woman in Parliament" she considered the remark was inappropriate.
The incident followed a Senate committee hearing about a month ago in which Liberal David Bushby made a similar noise directed at Finance Minister Penny Wong. Senator Bushby later apologised in public and personally to Senator Wong.
That didn't stop women's affairs minister Tanya Plibersek raising the matter in Parliament. Today the Opposition accused Ms Plibersek of hypocrisy for not protesting the "meow" from her own side. She indicated she had not heard it.
Source
10 July, 2011
Florida D.A. Fired for Talking About Constitution Settles Case
We read:"A former Florida assistant state attorney who lost her job over teaching about the Founding Fathers and the Constitution settled her case for an undisclosed amount Thursday against the Florida state attorney who fired her.
KrisAnne Hall was fired last year after participating in a number of political speaking engagements, including at tea party rallies and on talk radio, in which she discussed her originalist views of the Constitution. Her boss, State Attorney Robert “Skip” Jarvis, said he received a complaint about her activities and gave what Hall described as an “ultimatum,” telling her to choose between her speaking engagements and her job.
“I told him I could not make that choice. I believe that my First Amendment right is my right and I would not stop speaking,” Hall said in an interview with The Blaze.
Hall subsequently filed a federal lawsuit after her dismissal, alleging her rights had been violated and Jarvis had no standing to order her to stop speaking on her own time. Both parties agreed to settle the case Thursday.
Hall would not discuss details of the settlement, except to say she was very satisfied and had her attorney fees paid. She will not be returning to the state attorney’s office.
Since her firing, Hall said she has “made it a ministry” during the past year to continue to lecture about the Founders’ original intent.
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More hate speech from the Left
We read:"Newsweek reporter and Daily Beast writer Eve Conant claims in a recent piece that there is a ‘stampede’ of racist, neo-Nazi loving GOP politicians running for office in the coming electoral cycle — and she ties it directly to the Tea Party. Paraphrasing will not suffice; here is Ms. Conant, in her own words:“Former (and current) Neo Nazis, Ku Klux Klan members, neo-Confederates, and other representatives of the many wings of the “white nationalist” movement are starting to file paperwork and print campaign literature for offices large and small, pointing to rising unemployment, four years with an African-American president, and rampant illegal immigration as part of a growing mound of evidence that white people need to take a stand.”With her thesis in place, Conant cites this example to make the reader believe a white power movement is ascendant:In May, the National Socialist Movement’s Jeff Hall hit national headlines in a bizarre tragedy: his murder, allegedly at the hands of his 10-year-old son. But before his death, he had campaigned for a low-level water board position in Riverside, California. The swastika-wearing plumber who patrolled the U.S. border paramilitary-style walked away with almost 30 percent of his community’s vote.Conant concedes that the position of water board member (not even the head or chairman of the board, mind you) in Riverside is ‘low-level.’ But more importantly, it seems worth asking the question: does anyone in Riverside know who runs in the water board election? Anything about those candidates at all? Is it just a list of random names nobody cares about– on the off chance they show up for the local election anyway?
As for other evidence that white power movements are surging towards elected office, The Wall Street Journal astutely asks in “The Running of the Bull” this question: “In a country of 300 million, what does the Daily Beast call nine state legislative candidates, eight of whom lose? A stampede!”
Source
9 July, 2011
Credit card payments to WikiLeaks on again
We read:"Seven months after Visa and MasterCard blocked credit card payments to WikiLeaks, donating to the whistleblower website using plastic became possible again overnight, its data hosting service provider said.See here for more, including how to donate.
"Today (Thursday local time) we have observed that an alternative payment processor that we have contracted with, has in fact opened the gateway for payments (to WikiLeaks) with Visa and MasterCard," DataCell, the Icelandic firm that handles WikiLeaks' donation collection, said.
It said payments by American Express, which it did not have access to even before the conflict with the credit card companies began in December, were also now possible.
In December, as WikiLeaks began publishing some 250,000 secret diplomatic cables, sparking an international controversy, Visa and MasterCard imposed a ban on all payments made to the whistleblowing website. WikiLeaks says that cost them 130,000 euros ($175,000) a day.
Source
Green/Left attempt at censorship in Australia
Fortunately, the threat of boycotts is a fairly empty one. The organization concerned claims a big membership but few of those they count are in any way active. In reality they are just a small group of Left activists with big mouthsA powerful consumer lobby group has threatened a mass boycott of major grocery companies if they oppose the carbon tax.Boycotts are rarely effective anyway and so many big firms are in the gun this time that you would almost have to stop living if you wanted to boycott them all.
Activist group Get Up has been accused of blackmail after sending a warning letter to 150 companies including Coca-Cola, Heinz, Kraft, McDonald's, Schweppes and Nestle. Get Up says it will urge its 570,000 members to "boycott goods and services that are linked to the scare campaign".
Get Up confirmed it was prepared to mount a national boycott of the products of any company that was "holding our climate to ransom" by supporting a multi-million-dollar anti-tax advertising campaign by business.
SOURCE
8 July, 2011
Jokey ad in trouble
Australia:It started out as a bit of fun to raise money for the Animal Welfare League on the Gold Coast but it's turned into a fur-raising cat fight.
The Australian Christian Lobby has condemned a risque flyer for wax treatments showing a woman in sexy lingerie with a cat sitting between her open legs, and the slogan "What's New Pussycat?".
The flyer, distributed to homes around Burleigh Heads, promises to donate $1 from every wax treatment to the Animal Welfare League. The league's marketing manager, Brooke Whitney, says it's all for a good cause and a bit of edgy, but harmless fun. "It's just thinking outside the box," she laughed. [Oh dear! A pun. "Box" is Australian slang for part of the female anatomy but I am not sure if it means the same elsewhere]
"We've been running an SOS campaign for the past six weeks and this little ad has got more publicity in 24 hours than we've had since the campaign started and it's certainly getting the message out."
Source
NZ CEO sacked after saying women take sick days once a month
We read:"A New Zealand CEO, who sparked fury by saying that women were paid less than men because they took sick leave once a month, has been fired.One would have thought that the truth or falsity of the statement was the main issue but it seems that just raising the issue was out of bounds. Some possibilities must not be mentioned, it seems.
In his June 23 remarks, which sparked a national furor, Mr Thompson said there were "issues" that were not covered in workplace pay statistics.
"Why do they take the most sick leave? Women do, in general. Why? Because once a month, they have sick problems - not all of them, but some do," he reportedly said.
"They have children that they have to take leave of therefore their productivity ... (it is) not their fault. It may be that they have not got it sorted with their partners where the partners take more responsibility for what happens outside work."
Mr Thompson later apologised for his comments after being heavily criticised.
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7 July, 2011
Update: Veterans Protest For ‘God’ At Houston V.A. Cemetery
We read:"Last week The Blaze reported on the alleged attack on free speech by Arleen Ocascio, the Houston-based director of the local Veteran’s Administration cemetery accused of censoring “God” and “Jesus.”You'd think the stupid b*tch would back down. She must be a real fanatic
Since that initial report, calls for Ms. Ocascio’s dismissal or resignation have increased in volume and number. Yesterday, hundreds gathered at that same Houston cemetery to honor America’s war dead, while protesting the actions of the cemetery’s director.
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‘Free Speech Zone’ and Doublespeak Online at Vanderbilt U
We read:"On Vanderbilt University’s Common Place, a blog maintained by the university for first-year students, a new feature named "Free Speech Zone" was recently added. This feature is essentially a forum in which students may post. However, there are three rules in this forum: "No hate speech," "No paid advertisements," and "No organized crime."
This new feature, while seemingly innocuous and a good idea as a place for students to post messages, poses a threat to students’ understanding of free speech. For starters, members of the public cannot, consistent with First Amendment rights, be punished by the government for "hate speech," because most speech that is hateful or derogatory toward a given individual or group is constitutionally protected. However, university administrators often use the ambiguous term "hate speech" to punish students for speech they deem insensitive about any person or group based on an immutable characteristic such as race, gender, ethnicity, and so forth.
It is doublespeak to claim that a "free speech zone" does not include "hate speech." Perhaps even worse, claiming that this particular forum is a "free speech zone" at Vanderbilt falsely suggests that there is no free speech on the rest of campus when, in fact, Vanderbilt has promised that its whole campus is essentially a forum for free speech.
The term "free speech zone" has become associated with the implementation of policies allowing students to exercise their free speech rights only on a tiny portion of a campus, allowing campus administrators to quarantine and thereby limit the expression of unpopular views. In the last decade, many universities have eliminated their free speech zone policies, including Tufts University, Appalachian State University, and West Virginia University. It is therefore disheartening that Vanderbilt has recently implemented one, albeit in electronic form.
Source
6 July, 2011
Offensive Bumper Sticker? Say Hello to a $50 Fine
We read:"We see bumper stickers everyday. Some make us laugh, some are tacky, some are obnoxious. But a new Tennessee law will now regulate and penalize drivers for bumper stickers the state deems to be obscene.I doubt that this would survive a 1st. Amendment challenge. SCOTUS has been pretty permissive in such matters. But who could afford to take it through court challenges? Because it is simpler to pay the $50, it becomes effective censorship.
“Starting Friday, Tennessee drivers caught with obscene or patently offensive bumper stickers, window signs or other markings on their vehicle visible to other drivers face an automatic $50 fine.
Source
A defeat for the ACLU
We read:"After months of litigation against the ACLU and the Santa Rosa County School District, and on the eve of Independence Day, Liberty Counsel has restored freedom to the Santa Rosa County, Florida, School District teachers, staff, students, and members of the community.
Faced with an imminent trial and damning evidence of their constitutional violations, the ACLU and the Santa Rosa School District have agreed to settle Liberty Counsel’s federal lawsuit, challenging their Consent Decree on behalf of 24 students, teachers, parents and community members.
The Consent Decree that led to criminal indictments against school employees for prayer and banned “God Bless” in Santa Rosa County schools will now be gutted and revised.
The amended Consent Decree will restore dozens of constitutional religious freedoms that were previously denied. In addition, Liberty Counsel and Christian Educators Association International will be awarded $265,000 in attorney’s fees and costs from an insurance provider, not the taxpayers, to compensate them for the litigation caused by the ACLU and the District.
Source
5 July, 2011
Must not mention that an area is crime-prone
We read:"ST. PETERSBURG, Florida - A veteran officer with a clean record is being investigated by the St. Petersburg Police Department (SPPD) after he warned the father of a robbery victim about a dangerous part of town.The cop was let off after publicity
Officer Thad "Stu" Crisco, who was recently in headlines for honoring his fallen partner David Crawford, allegedly warned St. Petersburg father Bob Esposito about letting his 16-year-old daughter hang around the Northshore Pool at night. Esposito's daughter was one of five teens robbed by a group of armed men there about 10:30 p.m. on a recent weeknight.
"I wouldn't come down here at night," Esposito said of the Northshore Pool area and Downtown, where he admits he used to loiter as a teen. "And I was told by one of the police officers not to come down here either."
That comment, made by Crisco the night of the robbery, was inadvertently relayed to his superior when Esposito was following up with SPPD. The department then launched an investigation into "disparaging comments against the city."
Esposito said Crisco cited the city's violent crime stats - the worst in the state. He faces a possible suspension, even if his comments were true, although his exemplary record with SPPD could help him avoid serious discipline.
Mayor Bill Foster acknowledged the incident and said he holds SPPD to the highest standard. "I always want to know my officers are representing this city in a very positive light," Foster said.
Source
Must not imply that blacks are hard to see in the dark
Lenny Henry is a black British TV personality"Jeremy Clarkson’s comments on television have landed him in controversy more than once. Now he’s in trouble over a remark about his own TV set.I covered another such complaint from Britain on June 23rd
The controversial Top Gear presenter, who has driven environmentalists mad with his eco-sceptism, was commenting on the energy-saving mode on his new TV when he referred to ‘Lenny Henry in a cave’.
In a newspaper column, he wrote: ‘Like so many things in life these days, my new LG flatscreen television has an eco feature. You can choose how much energy you would like it to consume. Very little, a medium amount or tons. But one word of warning. ‘If you turn the feature on, the screen dims so much, every programme looks like it’s being presented by Lenny Henry in a cave.’
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3 July, 2011
Dangerous hate speech from Warmist anthropologist
Greg Laden (any relation to Bin?) exhibits a complete loss of reality contact. He might as well be Hitler talking about Jews:"When you look upon a global warming denialist, you are not seeing a person who is deluded, wrong, misinformed, or misguided. You are seeing a person who is intent on killing your grandchildren."Anthropologists are usually far to the Left, a place where delusions are common. Anthropological delusions can however be very influential -- as we saw in the work of Margaret Mead
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Must not call Obama a "dick"
But you can call George Bush or Sarah Palin anything you like, of courseThis morning on Morning Joe Mark Halperin, under the impression Morning Joe was on a 7 second delay, said he thought President Obama was a ‘d*ck’ in his press conference yesterday.
He quickly apologized once it became clear the remark had aired, [as] did the entire Morning Joe crew. Apparently that was not enough. MSNBC has since suspended Halperin.
Source
2 July, 2011
The FTC wants to control and limit the internet
We read:"Since the early days of the Bush regime, the FTC has been ratcheting up its attacks on the Internet and technology sectors. I spent years documenting the FTC’s litigation against Rambus — a case that, despite its superficial ties to intellectual property, was really about allowing the FTC to control industry standards — and while that case ended in a defeat, it only proved to be a temporary setback for the Commission.
More recently, the FTC scored a major victory when the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Commission’s decision to seize a privately owned real estate listings database. The FTC said it was “unfair” that database access was restricted to the brokers who paid for its development and maintenance. This set an important precedent: The FTC can declare any “popular” online service a public utility, and thus alter the rules by which the company — and ultimately the public — can access that service
Antitrust cases are first and foremost about enriching the antitrust community. But we shouldn’t ignore the ideological component of all this. Since taking over the FTC, Jon Leibowitz has made it clear that his biggest policy objective is ending the “free” Internet.
There are a variety of reasons for this: Free websites are supported by advertising, the FTC’s historical archenemy; online news and commentary has destroyed the market for traditional, government-centered media (including the Washington Post, which employs Leibowitz’s wife); the decentralized exchange of information makes it harder for government agencies to monitor and control the public’s behavior; and, of course, the general paranoia that somehow children are being harmed.
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Missouri man ticketed for flipping off another motorist?
I haven't had time to dig up a link but there was a case not too long ago in which someone gave a NY cop a similar gesture. It was ruled that the 1st Amendment entitled him to do that."Last April Ballwin resident Steven Pogue was waiting at an intersection for the light to turn green when another motorist suddenly stopped in the middle of the intersection, blocking his car in. Pougue’s light turned green and then back to red before the other car was able to move, frustrating the St. Louis-area native.
In a show of his frustration, Pogue waved his middle finger at the other driver out of his window. The two parties drove off, but Pouge was pulled over just a few blocks later by a Ballwin police officer.
The officer saw the entire situation go down and decided that Pouge’s gesture warranted a ticket. Adding insult to injury, the officer even admitted to Pouge that he was going to go after the other motorist until he saw him flip the bird.
The reason for the ticket? There is a little known law on the Ballwin books that says no driver can have “his hand outside the vehicle except the hand and arm for signaling.” The ticket is so rare that there isn’t even a set fine for the offense.
Pouge maintains that his gesture was simply an act of free speech and that he technically was signaling for the other driver. Pouge will have his day in court on August 23.
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1 July, 2011
Another U.S. Veteran Faces Legal Action for Flying the American Flag?
We read:"A retired U.S. Army chaplain is being threatened with legal action for flying the American flag in his front yard, the Daily Mail reports.
Fred Quigley, 77, of Macedonia, Ohio, a minister who served active duty during the Vietnam War, has been told by the homeowners’ association that his flag violates the property rules. The association has offered to fly the flag at the entrance of the building development, but Quigley refused the offer.
“If they can dictate to me that I cannot fly an American flag in America, then, to me, the country is lost,” Mr. Quigley told the paper.
Quigley's lawyer Gerald Patronite said the association has no right to stop his client.
Members of the local American Legion post joined Quigley last week in a flag-raising ceremony in protest at the association's policy.
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Houston VA Cemetery Censors God & Jesus From Funerals
This is a disgrace. Many of those buried at the cemetery would have been Christians of one sort or another so a blanket ban on Christian references disrespects them."Earlier today The Blaze covered a breaking story out of Houston, where three different veterans groups have filed suit against the Veterans Administration, alleging a First Amendment violation when the VA censored the memorial services at the Houston National Cemetery by prohibiting words like ‘God’ and ‘Jesus’ from being spoken during funerals.
Arleen Ocascio, the director of the VA cemetery in Houston who told groups that they cannot use specific religious language on the property, has been offered the opportunity to respond to this story and has not yet returned our calls. Ms. Ocascio has informed other media outlets that she cannot comment on any issue currently being litigated. In the meantime, calls for Ocascio’s resignation or termination are building.
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Posts from Brisbane, Australia by John Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).
"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 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.
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.
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
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
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
"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."
