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30 June, 2017

Northern Irish Protestants vilified

Their main political party (DUP) supports the Conservatives in the British parliament.  They are in fact the most conservative party in British politics

Ask “Who are the DUP?” and you’ll get an assortment of ill-founded insults: dinosaurs, thugs, homophobes, creationists, racists, Orange bigots, anti-women’s rights, climate-change deniers, and — as we say in Ireland — whatever you’re having yourself. Vicious criticism that would never be made of Muslims, who share many of these views, can safely be levelled at people who are white and Christian.

SOURCE



Must not disrespect female sportspeople

John McEnroe's off-court match with Serena Williams continued on Tuesday morning during his appearance on CBS This Morning.

The ball was back in McEnroe's court this time after Williams issued a curt and cutting response to his claim that she would be ranked 700 in the world if she played on the ATP Tour, and the popular commentator managed to blunder his return.

McEnroe was asked if he would like to apologize for his comment, and he said that he did not feel the need to make amends.

'I respect Serena, very much so, okay, and I was simply calling her on an NPR which supposedly you -- you know, this is where you can say it like it is and you're going to get honest feedback,' began McEnroe.

'She's the greatest female player that ever lived, then the lady said to me, I don't remember which one, but she said, "why did you say woman, why don't you just say the greatest, you know, tennis player that ever lived" and so then I felt the need, however unfortunately probably, to defend myself. I don't know, just say what I really felt, which is about what I think she would be.'

McEnroe then said that he wished men and women would just compete together so he would not have to keep answering the question. He then added: 'I didn't know it would create controversy.'

He did later say on the show that he believed Serena was the fifth best tennis player of all time behind Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Rod Laver and Pete Sampras.

SOURCE




29 June, 2017

Anthropology professor slammed for saying North Korea prisoner Otto Warmbier was a 'privileged, rich, clueless white male' who ‘got exactly what he deserved’

I would pay "clueless" but nobody deserves to die for a typical student prank


She likes dogs but people not so much.  Anthropologists are typically far-Left

People across the country are calling for a part-time professor to be fired after she wrote on Facebook that she thinks Otto Warmbier 'got exactly what he deserved.'

Katherine Dettwyler, who teaches anthropology at the University of Delaware, wrote on her personal Facebook Tuesday, one day after Warmbier's death, that he had the 'typical mindset of a lot of young, rich, clueless males who come into my classes.'

The post, which was deleted just after being captured by the News Journal, accused the deceased University of Virginia student of 'growing up thinking he could get away with anything'.

Otto Warmbier died on Monday, less than a week after he was returned from North Korea in a coma. He was imprisoned there for 17 months while on a school trip in January 2016, accused of stealing a propaganda poster and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. 

While Warmbier's family was dealing with the grief of never speaking to their son again, the professor eviscerated his memory online.

'These are the same kids who cry about their grades because they didn't think they'd really have to read and study the material to get a good grade. His parents ultimately are to blame for his growing up thinking he could get away with whatever he wanted,' the post read.

'Maybe in the US, where young, white, rich, clueless white males routinely get away with raping women. Not so much in North Korea. And of course, it's Otto's parents who will pay the price for the rest of their lives,' she continued.

The post quickly sparked anger on social media, with many people sharing it with the school and calling for the University to fire her.

On Friday, the University of Delaware released a statement in response to the adjunct-professor's remarks, which reads: 'We condemn any and all messages that endorse hate and convey insensitivity toward a tragic event such as the one that Otto Warmbier and his family suffered.

'The University of Delaware values respect and civility and we are committed to global education and study abroad; therefore we find these comments particularly distressing and inconsistent with our values. Our sympathies are with the Warmbier family.'

The University has not yet said if any action will be taken against Dettwyler.  

SOURCE




Black college professor is fired in wake of heated Fox News interview where she made racially insensitive comments

A New Jersey community college has fired an adjunct professor after officials say she made racially insensitive comments on Fox News.

Lisa Durden was axed from Essex County College as the adjunct communications professor on Friday - roughly two weeks after she appeared on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight'.

Essex County College's president Anthony Munroe announced the decision Friday and said officials at the school had received complaints about her heated interview with Carlson. 

Durden, who is black, discussed a Memorial Day event held exclusively for black people hosted by a Black Lives Matter group in New York.

When Carlson asked her her thoughts, Durden interrupted the host, saying: 'Boo hoo hoo. You white people are angry because you couldn't use your white privilege card' to attend the event.'

She added, 'You've been having 'White Day' forever' as she defended the group for wanting to have 'one day for black folks to focus on ourselves.'

Carlson called her comments during the roughly six-minute interview 'hostile, separatist and crazy.' 

The school suspended Durden two days after the show aired.

Durden said the school 'publicly lynched' her. The school on Friday said 'racism cannot be fought with more racism.'

In a statement, Munroe said that families who contacted the school over her comments expressed frustration.

'When the administration receives an outpouring of concern regarding our student body, it is our responsibility to investigate those concerns,' he said.

'The character of this institution mandates that we embrace diversity, inclusion, and unity. Racism cannot be fought with more racism.'

He made it clear that the college is committed to a welcoming environment to all students of a variety of backgrounds, races and cultures, and defended firing Durden.

She is reportedly going to take legal action over her firing, NJ.com reported.

SOURCE




28 June, 2017

Facebook: Don't Mention Niger!

Steve Sailer

I don’t do much with Facebook, but I guess I have it set up to automatically post my Tweets. Yesterday, after I tweeted a graph comparing the UN’s population forecasts for four African and four European countries, somebody asked me if the country that is expected to reach 192 million by the end of century is famously overpopulated Nigeria. I replied that Nigeria didn’t fit on my graph, so I showed instead little-known Niger.

Today, Facebook told me:



In the above graph, I’m comparing Niger to Iran. You can see a steep increase in Iranian population after the mullahs took over in the late 1970s and pushed the pedal to the metal on fertility. But you can then see the Iranian theocrats’ change of heart in the early 1990s when they realized that Iran was overpopulated enough already and so they started encouraging more sustainable family sizes in their country.

In other words, Iran shows that it is possible for prudent leadership to moderate population growth to a responsible level

But you can also see that it will likely take about 60 years from this point of wising up on fertility for Iran’s population to stop growing due to the phenomenon of demographic momentum.

In contrast, once empty Niger in the impoverished southern Sahara is starting to fill up with what bodes to be an enormous number of people, some of whom are headed for Europe already, with virtually nobody trying to pump the brakes. Practically nobody in the West is even asking Niger to show some responsibility.

But don’t discuss UN forecasts of Niger’s population growth on Facebook. That violates community standards.

Facebook may not believe that anybody could possibly be interested in Niger, but, as Trotsky would say, the upcoming 192,000,000 Nigeriens are, like war, interested in you.

SOURCE






Katy Perry’s cornrow apology: the absurdity of identity politics

It’s official: white people who have the audacity to cornrow, plait or braid their hair are committing a heinous cultural crime – according to the PC police, at least. For these cultural purists, hairstyles have become a battleground on which to play out their divisive war on ‘cultural appropriation’. Just witness Katy Perry’s pitiful apology to the world, for the cultural crime of dressing as a geisha girl, and worse still, donning cornrows, in a music video for her 2014 single ‘This Is How We Do’.

I’m not sure what’s worse, the hairstyle obsessives who ‘call out’ white people for their supposed cultural theft, or the accused who publicly prostrate themselves before the altar of the politically correct. Perry’s apology was made during an interview with Black Lives Matter (BLM) activist DeRay Mckesson. She told him one of her ‘empowered angels’ – a politically ‘woke’ friend – explained to her there was ‘power in black women’s hair’, and that it was wrong of her to ‘appropriate’ it.

The idea that black women’s hairstyles have some intrinsic political power is, of course, utter nonsense. As is the idea that donning said hairstyles is a form of racism. Not only does this incident bring to light the absurdity of the cultural-appropriation crusade, it also highlights the absurd priorities of modern anti-racist campaigners. Why should a BLM activist – whose main concern is nominally police brutality – take time out to discuss celebrity hairstyles?

While Perry’s apology was certainly unnecessary, it was also ultimately futile, as it was rejected by many of those who had claimed to be offended in the first place. Indeed, April Reign, activist and editor-at-large for Nu Tribe Magazine, wasted no time in criticising Perry’s apology. ‘Hire women of colour… ensure you’re not appropriating’, she tweeted, suggesting her words of contrition didn’t go far enough.

In the world of competitive victimhood, even scraping apologies are rejected. This is because the aim of identity politics is not to unite people, but to separate them. Perry’s critics are not fighting racism, they’re establishing a new miserable racial and cultural divide. And that’s bad news for everyone.

SOURCE




27 June, 2017

Must not link illegals and criminality

Some clever-dick stuff from Leftists below.  They want statistics on illegals. But how do you get statistics on illegals?  They do their best NOT to be in any database

BY DEFAMING whole segments of the state population, Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson is pushing the political rhetoric in Massachusetts into dangerous, Trumpian territory. Immigration is a touchy subject, and pending legislation that would limit local police cooperation with federal immigration authorities deserves a full and frank debate. But voters need to insist that elected officials step back from divisive, even incendiary, posturing that tears at the fabric of the Commonwealth.

Hodgson, a longtime critic of illegal immigration, crossed the line of decency during a recent Beacon Hill hearing on the legislation, which he opposes. At the hearing, Hodgson blithely asserted that Massachusetts communities are exposed to “more crime by illegals being here,” an unsupported and untrue attack. State Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz pushed back: “I’m wondering if you have any evidence to substantiate that claim? . . . What I’m looking for is statistical information and evidence rather than anecdotal.”

The sheriff was momentarily stumped — as if someone had challenged Joseph McCarthy to produce his list of communists. But he said he would get the data for the committee.

The sheriff’s office never followed up with the promised statistics. That is, until the Globe started asking questions about it last week. On Thursday, the sheriff’s public information officer e-mailed Chang-Diaz’s office with some cherry-picked numbers from the Center for Immigration Studies, a nonprofit research center that favors low immigration. None of the data Hodgson’s office provided supported his claim that crime is higher in Massachusetts communities where undocumented immigrants live.

One data point, the officer said, “shows that a disproportionate number of noncitizens are committing certain types of crimes, including drug trafficking, murder, fraud, kidnapping, etc.” But saying “noncitizens” is vastly different than “undocumented immigrants.” He then added: “Somewhere I have a similar table that shows how many of them are illegal, but I will have to search my nonfunctioning computer for that one at another time.”

Hodgson won reelection unopposed last year, and he has the right to his personal views. But Massachusetts deserves better than elected officials who use their office to distort and inflame.

SOURCE




Free speech under fire after attack on London mosque crowd

So, after the arrest of Darren Osborne, the man who drove a van into a group of Muslims outside Finsbury Park Mosque on Sunday night, the police have now made a second arrest.

For what, you may ask? After all, the police said they believed Osborne acted alone. Have they now found he had an accomplice, someone who helped organise the attack, or played a role in radicalising/lobotomising Osborne? Not exactly. Thirty-seven-year-old Richard Evans, the second man to be arrested in relation to the attack, did have a familial connection to events on Sunday – he is the son of the owner of Pontyclun Van Hire, which leased the van to Osborne on Saturday. But Evans was not arrested for any practical involvement, unwitting or otherwise, in Sunday’s attack. He was arrested for saying something on Facebook. Or better still, he was arrested for mouthing off on Facebook.

‘Glad I’m not running the van hire’, he burbled. ‘The police wouldn’t like what my answer would be. It’s my dad’s company I don’t get involved it’s a shame they don’t hire out steam rollers or tanks could have done a tidy job then.’ And for that stream of deeply unpleasant nonsense, he was arrested ‘on suspicion of displaying threatening, abusive, insulting written material with intent that is likely to stir up racial hatred’.

It’s a nasty comment, all right. And unfathomably stupid, too, which, given that Evans’ Facebook name, ‘Richard Gear Evans’, is a misspelled allusion to movie star Richard Gere, is hardly a surprise. But a criminal offence? Only if idiocy is against the law.

But then, under current hate-speech legislation, idiotic statements can be against the law. Daft, unpleasant thoughts can get you arrested. Saying that you wished Osborne was driving a steamroller or a tank into the group of Muslims on Sunday night can land you in jail.
Related categories

Which is idiotic in itself. Sure, it was an ugly thing to say, but what exactly is the point of arresting someone for saying it? As spiked has argued countless times, the only way to tackle such an ugly statement is to argue against it. Just prohibiting it, and criminalising the speaker, allows the sentiment to fester, even to gain a dangerous allure.

And as for the idea that it is ‘likely to stir up racial hatred’ – how empty-vessel-like are people assumed to be if a poorly written splodge of Facebook bile can supposedly turn them into frothing Islamophobes? Alternatively, if there are people reading it with an animus towards Muslims, arresting someone for articulating it is not going to soften that animus. If anything, it’s more likely to harden it.

Criminalising speech in this way is not just an affront to freedom of expression – it’s also spectacularly ineffective.

SOURCE



26 June, 2017

An attempt at friendship that went wrong

I was just at a doctor appointment for a regular check up when the nurse asked “So, where are you from?”

“Here...” I said, forcing a smile. I didn't realize what she meant at first.

“Oh, that's great. But I meant your parents, honey.”

“Oh, right. My mom’s from Laos and my dad is from Fiji.”

“How interesting…” There was a long pause until she adds, “My sister in-law actually knows a few Laotion people!”

Seriously? What does that have to do with me or anything at all?

The phrase “I know some ____ people” has been said to me so many times in my life, but I was disappointed to hear it from an adult who I assumed would've known what's wrong with saying that to someone.

SOURCE




DC goes 'Gender Neutral'

The District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles will allow residents later this month to use a “gender neutral identifier” on their driver’s license or ID card, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs announced on Tuesday.

The “gender non-binary” will be known as “X” on both forms of ID. That's in addition to the “M” designation for male and “F” for female.

The change will also apply for all DC DMV-related documents, for example, 45-day paper temporary credential, learner’s permit, and driver record.

DC already recognizes same-sex marriage.

Its estate tax forms include a clarification saying that "Any gender specific terms in DC law relating to the sex and/or marital or filing status of the decedent and/or surviving spouse shall be considered gender neutral."

SOURCE




25 June, 2017

Two thought crimes  -- in Britain and the USA

Tim Fallon quit as leader of the UK’s Liberal Democrats, citing the incompatibility of the position with his faith: “To be a political leader — especially of a progressive, liberal party in 2017 — and to live as a committed Christian, to hold faithfully to the Bible’s teaching, has felt impossible for me.” Fallon had been subject to continual questioning and criticism for his alleged personal beliefs about what was or wasn’t ‘sin’.

And US Senator Bernie Sanders voted against Russ Vought — a nominee for Deputy Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget — on the grounds Vought’s theological view that “those who have rejected Jesus Christ don’t know God and stand condemned” made him, in Sanders words, “really not someone who is what his country is supposed to be about.”

In neither case was it the policy or behaviour or the person that was in question. Fallon supports his party’s policies on same sex marriage and gay rights. Vought assured the Senator that he believed that “all individuals are made in the image of God and are worthy of dignity and respect, regardless of their religious beliefs.”

What was at stake was the kind of (unacceptable) person each was deemed to be, simply on the basis of their thinking — a “bigot”, “intolerant”, “Islamaphobic” even. They were simply deemed not to be right-thinking individuals. They were guilty of ‘thought crime.’

In both cases, there has been alarmed outcry about the illiberalism involved. An atheist has shown that Sanders was focussing on entirely the wrong question. And a liberal Muslim has come out strongly defending liberalism, at its core — meaning that you should have the choice to believe in as much or as little as you want. The battle for freedom of thought is hotting up.

SOURCE






Johnny Depp APOLOGIZES for Trump assassination joke

He seems to be a troubled soul

Johnny Depp has apologized for comments he made on Thursday at a British music festival which seemed to call for the assassination of President Trump.

'I apologize for the bad joke I attempted last night in poor taste about President Trump,' Depp told People. 'It did not come out as intended, and I intended no malice. I was only trying to amuse, not to harm anyone.'

His apology came a few hours after the White House lashed out at the actor's comments.

'President Trump has condemned violence in all forms and it's sad that others like Johnny Depp have not followed his lead,' a White House official said on Friday.

'I hope that some of Mr. Depp's colleagues will speak out against this type of rhetoric as strongly as they would if his comments were directed to a Democrat elected official.' 

Sean Spicer also spoke about Depp's comment at the White House press briefing on Friday, along with the Public Theater's recently closed version of 'Julius Caesar' which included the assassination of President Trump.

SOURCE





23 June, 2017

UN Targets 'Cultural Appropriation'

“Cultural appropriation” is a popular term used by social justice warriors (SJWs) to vilify those who adopt ideas, styles, dress, expressions, cuisine or social practices from cultures not their own. That used to be known here as the American melting pot, but SJWs claim this is a form of racial oppression. Well, the United Nations has decided that “cultural appropriation” has become a big issue — so much so that delegates from 189 countries are gathering for a specialized international committee meeting in Geneva in order to declare the practice illegal and work toward creating international laws to prevent it.

The goal of the UN, says James Anaya, dean of law at the University of Colorado, should be to “obligate states to create effective criminal and civil enforcement procedures to recognize and prevent the non-consensual taking and illegitimate possession, sale and export of traditional cultural expressions.” You heard that right — the UN should require governments of the world to create laws which prevent citizens from engaging in the traditions of other cultures. This is ironic given that the constant mantra from the UN and the Left has been calls for greater diversity and globalism. This is a call to tribalism.

In reality, this UN special committee is working to prevent the cultural and economic development of some nations, and the U.S. in particular. Our entire history is one of engaging in the adoption and blending of a multitude of various cultural traditions and practices into one — e pluribus unum. The UN evidently views the concept of a melting pot as racist and oppressive. Just another issue for those disgruntled nations within the UN to use to demonize the U.S.

And that really seems to be the point. Much of the world rejects those foundational values espoused in the U.S. Constitution. Whether it is the right to bear arms or the right to freedom of speech, those are values that many of the world’s intellectual elites find repugnant, because those rights prevent them from controlling people. Liberty prevents them from being able to rule the world according to their own ideals. It allows for the common man to express his own opinions and values. To put it bluntly, this is an attempt to squelch that Liberty.

SOURCE




School board tells Christian academy to censor Bible verses

The Cornerstone Christian Academy in Alberta is exactly what it says it is — a Christian school. Just like Alberta has Jewish schools and Muslim schools too.

But the head of the government school board that oversees Cornerstone, a woman named Lauri Skori, has literally ordered the school to stop teaching passages in the Bible that she personally disagrees with.

I know this sounds crazy. But it’s true. Skori, basically went through the Bible with a black pen and emailed the school telling them what words were now banned.

In particular, Skori has decided that she doesn’t like 1st Corinthians, which states:

"Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."

Now, you can agree with or disagree with that. You can agree with or disagree with the ten commandments. But freedom of religion and freedom of expression are an essential freedom in Canada.

In fact, the concept of the separation of church and state — it actually doesn’t exist in Canada.

Our Constitution has religion hard-wired into it — the word Catholic is in our Constitution four times, specifically to protect religious education. That’s part of the grand bargain of Canada, uniting French Canada and English Canada.

It’s shocking, but it’s not surprising. Christianity has been driven out of the public square everywhere in Canada. But surely this is a new low — Christianity is actually being banned in a Christian school.

Government bureaucrats would never dream of telling Muslim schools they couldn’t teach passages from the Koran — even ones that call for the murder of infidels and apostates. But banning the Bible is now official school board policy.

And, not surprisingly, the media and the political class are silent. Even supposedly Christian or conservative politicians are keeping their heads down — they don’t want to be attacked by the leftist mob at the CBC.

The school board is digging in. They’re closing ranks around Laurie Skori the chair. They’re bullying the school. David Eggen, the NDP education minister, he hates Christian schools, wants to shut them down, has taken steps to shut others down. He’s an anti-Christian bigot who doesn’t seem upset about this censorship in the slightest.

So who will stand up for the Christians? Don’t expect any politicians to do so. They’re cowards, as we’ve learned again and again. The Wildrose and the Progressive Conservatives both don’t want to be called “homophobes” or “Christian extremists” by the CBC, so they’re keeping their heads down low.

Well, we’ve found one honest man — John Carpay, from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms. He’s agreed to take the case of Cornerstone Christian Academy. He’s written a scorching 8-page legal letter to the school board pointing out how what they’re doing is illegal — it’s unconstitutional.

SOURCE 




22 June, 2017

What This Supreme Court Ruling Means for the Washington Redskins, Other Brands Deemed ‘Offensive’

Should “offensive” brand names be allowed to get a federal patent?

The Supreme Court answered “yes” on Monday, handing a decisive win to Simon Tam and his band, The Slants.

Tam had tried to register a trademark for his band’s name, but the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied his application, citing a provision of the federal law known as the Lanham Act.

That provision of the law prohibits registering trademarks that “may disparage … persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols, or bring them into contempt, or disrepute.”

Justice Samuel Alito wrote the unanimous opinion for eight members of the Court, finding the Lanham Act’s disparagement provision unconstitutional under the First Amendment’s free speech clause.

Justice Neil Gorsuch did not participate in this decision because the case was briefed and argued before he joined the court.

The disparagement provision, Alito wrote, “offends a bedrock First Amendment principle: Speech may not be banned on the ground that it expresses ideas that offend.”

He further explained, “The proudest boast of our free speech jurisprudence is that we protect the freedom to express ‘the thought that we hate.’”

This decision continues the trend of cases extending First Amendment protection for offensive speech, such as burning crosses, animal “crush” videos, violent video games, lying about military honors, and the Westboro Baptist Church protesting military funerals.

The Patent Office had argued that trademarks are a form of government speech, not private speech. When the government itself is speaking, the government can choose to favor or disfavor a particular viewpoint.

But the court rejected this argument, pointing out that slapping the government’s “seal of approval” on speech could lead to “silenc[ing] or muffl[ing] the expression of disfavored viewpoints.”

Alito asked, if trademarks are government speech, what message is it trying to convey to Americans by endorsing “Just do it, “Have it your way,” and “Think different” (trademarks held by Nike, Burger King, and Apple, respectively)?

Unlike other areas the court has recognized as government speech, trademarks are not “closely identified in the public mind” with the government.

Examples of government speech include advertisements promoting the sale of beef that were authorized by Congress and paid for by the Department of Agriculture, monuments donated to public parks, and license plates issued by states.

Alito explained that even if the Court used a relaxed standard of review for restrictions on commercial speech, the disparagement provision still violated the First Amendment.

Under Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation v. Public Services Commission of New York (1980), a restriction on commercial speech must be “narrowly drawn” to advance a “substantial interest.”

Alito maintained that the disparagement provision is too broad:

“[It] reaches any trademark that disparages any person, group, or institution. It applies to trademarks like the following: “Down with racists,” “Down with sexists,” “Down with homophobes.” It is not an anti-discrimination clause; it is a happy-talk clause … [I]t goes much further than is necessary to serve the interest asserted.”

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote separately on this point (joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan), explaining that they would apply heightened scrutiny and that there should not be a “blanket exemption from the First Amendment’s requirement of viewpoint discrimination” for commercial speech.

Today’s decision will have implications for another case pending in U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit involving the Washington Redskins, which lost six trademarks for allegedly being offensive to Native Americans in 2014.

This cancellation meant that the team would be unable to invoke federal remedies in preventing others from selling merchandise or services that use the term “Washington Redskins,” thereby depriving the business of a valuable property right.

In Pro-Football, Inc. v. Blackhorse, the lower courts were looking at whether “Redskins” was viewed as disparaging by a “substantial composite” of Native Americans at the time the six Redskins trademarks were issued starting in 1967—not whether the term “Redskins” is viewed as disparaging by Native Americans today.

In fact, a Washington Post poll last year found that nine in 10 Native Americans say they are not offended by the name. The Fourth Circuit put the case on hold last fall while the Supreme Court was considering The Slants’ case.

Now, the Redskins’ case should move forward. It would be hard to square a ruling against the Redskins in light of the Supreme Court’s full-throated defense of free speech.

SOURCE




Canadians Could Be Jailed or Fined for Using Incorrect Gender Pronouns

Canada passed a law Thursday making it illegal to use the wrong gender pronouns. Critics say that Canadians who do not subscribe to progressive gender theory could be accused of hate crimes, jailed, fined, and made to take anti-bias training.

Canada’s Senate passed Bill C-16, which puts “gender identity” and “gender expression” into both the country’s Human Rights Code, as well as the hate crime category of its Criminal Code by a vote of 67-11, according to LifeSiteNews. The bill now only needs royal assent from the governor general.

“Great news,” announced Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister. “Bill C-16 has passed the Senate – making it illegal to discriminate based on gender identity or expression. #LoveisLove.”

“Proud that Bill C-16 has passed in the Senate,” said Jody Wilson-Raybould, the country’s attorney general and minister of justice. “All Canadians should feel #FreeToBeMe.”

“[There’s an argument] that transgender identity is too subjective a concept to be enshrined in law because it is defined as an individual’s deeply felt internal experience of gender,” said Grant Mitchell, a conservative senator, in November 2016. “Yet we, of course, accept outright that no one can discriminate on the basis of religion, and that too is clearly a very deeply subjective and personal feeling.”

Jordan Peterson, a professor at the University of Toronto, and one of the bill’s fiercest critics, spoke to the Senate before the vote, insisting that it infringed upon citizens’ freedom of speech and institutes what he views as dubious gender ideology into law.

“Compelled speech has come to Canada,” stated Peterson. “We will seriously regret this.”

“[Ideologues are] using unsuspecting and sometimes complicit members of the so-called transgender community to push their ideological vanguard forward,” said the professor to the Senate in May. “The very idea that calling someone a term that they didn’t choose causes them such irreparable harm that legal remedies should be sought [is] an indication of just how deeply the culture of victimization has sunk into our society.”

Peterson has previously pledged not to use irregular gender pronouns and students have protested him for his opposition to political correctness.

“This tyrannical bill is nothing but social engineering to the nth degree, all in the name of political correctness,” Jeff Gunnarson, vice president of Campaign Life Toronto, a pro-life political group in Canada, told LifeSiteNews.

The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to the director of communications for the House of Commons, but received no comment in time for publication.

SOURCE







21 June, 2017

Former EDL leader Tommy Robinson condemned over Finsbury Park mosque comments

They seem moderate, factual and reasonable to me.  But I guess that associating a mosque with terrorism is unmentionable

Former English Defence League (EDL) leader Tommy Robinson has been criticised on social media after accusing the Finsbury Park mosque of “creating terrorists” following the terror attack.

One man has died and 10 others were injured when a van was rammed into worshippers near the north London mosque, before the driver is said to have screamed: "I'm going to kill all Muslims".

The 34-year-old Robinson tweeted an hour after the attack, claiming that the mosque has a “long history” of “promoting hate and segregation”.

“The mosque where the attack happened tonight has a long history of creating terrorists & radical jihadists & promoting hate & segregation,” he posted.

“I’m not justifying it, I've said many times if government or police don't sort these centres of hate they will create monsters as seen tonight.

“I genuinely hope the innocent people targeted tonight outside the mosque are ok.”

Mr Robinson was accused by many Twitter users of “inciting hatred” with his comments and attempting to “justify” the attack.

Andy Hearn tweeted: "If you spread hatred you are directly responsible for hatred spreading. So yes Tommy Robinson and his supporters are part of the problem."

SOURCE




Australia: Parents' outrage over Aboriginal 'sorry' mural children were forced to paint at their school

It's a perfectly reasonable point to say that Aborigines deserve no apology.  Up until the Leftist Rudd government of 2007, all Australian Federal governments had taken that view.  It is true that Aborigines were dispossessed of most of their land but they obtained substantial compensatory benefits in the form of extensive welfare and modern services.  As a result it appears that their population has never been higher than it now is. 

It is also a reasonable and once universal view that conquest takes away the rights of the incumbent.  Most countries today have at once stage been subjected to conquest and a loss of rights by the incumbent so why should Australia be different?

Not everybody agrees with either of those views but it is sheer arrogance and authoritarianism to coerce the utterance of a contrary view


A primary school has been slammed over an artwork saying 'sorry' to the Aboriginal Stolen Generations, with parents claiming it's making their children feel 'guilty'.

Coburg North Primary School, in Melbourne's northern suburbs, recently put the art showing an arrangement of hands spelling out the word 'sorry' up in its schoolyard.

But while the mural containing cut-outs of their hands was intended to continue the message then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd started in 2008, it has caused a stir among parents, 3AW reports.

On each of the hundreds of red, yellow and black hands arranged in the art, students had written the word 'sorry'.

Radio host Tom Elliott said it was inappropriate for schools to make children feel at fault for Australia's sins - comparing it to German kids apologising for the Holocaust.

'I don't like it. I don't mind kids learning history and that can mean some of the darker parts of Australia's history,' Elliott said.

'But at the same time, the idea that a five, or a six, or a seven-year-old now feels that he or she has to go and say sorry - I think it's wrong. 'It's like saying every young German should be taught if they ever see a Jewish person to go up and say sorry to them.'

A local parent said that despite not having children at the school, the artwork hadn't sat well with him. 'I don't think it's a primary school's responsibility to make young children feel guilty,' the man, who gave his name only as Joel, said.

The school also regularly holds 'welcome to country' and smoking ceremony rituals, Coburg North Primary School's principal told 3AW.

In 2008, Mr Rudd apologised to the Aboriginal Stolen Generations on behalf of the Australian public, giving a speech to parliament which was broadcast nationwide.

SOURCE





20 June, 2017

Democrat’s racist Facebook jokes have party leaders trying to push him out of primary

Dangerous jokes again

Democratic state lawmakers in Virginia are trying to push a first-time candidate out of a primary contest for a House of Delegates seat after learning he made sexist and racist online comments.

House Democratic leaders took the rare step last week of asking Tom Brock of Virginia Beach to step aside, saying they need to hold their own accountable, especially after months of bashing President Trump for insensitivity toward women and minorities.

Brock has repeatedly apologized for Facebook posts between 2010 and 2016 but refuses to end his campaign. He said his posts are being blown out of proportion. “I absolutely reject the claims of racism that are being thrown around,” Brock wrote on his Facebook page Tuesday.

House Minority Leader David J. Toscano (D-Charlottesville) called Brock to ask him to drop out in March, shortly after Brock emailed party officials to apologize for insensitive posts about women that surfaced. In those posts, he made lewd remarks about 2012 GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney and described Jenna Bush Hager as a “slut” in response to an article in which she mentioned she may have kissed her now-husband on the White House roof.

Then, a 2011 Facebook exchange surfaced in which Brock posted racist jokes.

“Q: Why do kids prefer white teachers over black teachers? A: It is easier to bring an apple than a watermelon,” Brock posted in a 2011 Facebook exchange with his son, according to an image provided to the House Democratic Caucus.

When his son set up a joke asking why blind musician Stevie Wonder can’t read, Brock responded “cause he’s BL......ACK!!!!”

“In this era with Donald Trump being the president and everything that’s happened, it’s more important than ever that candidates for higher office set a higher standard,” said Jennifer B. Boysko (D-Fairfax), the finance chair of Democratic House leadership. “We are not willing to be contributing to the normalization of mocking women and minorities, even if it’s in our own party.”

SOURCE





Australia: Clumsy comments about race from an ABC radio personality

He appeared to become flustered when challenged

Red Symons has apologised for insensitive comments he made in a controversial interview during which he asked fellow ABC journalist Beverly Wang: "what's the deal with Asians?"

The broadcaster, host of the breakfast show on ABC Radio Melbourne, offered his "sincerest apologies" on Monday morning. His interview on the ABC podcast 'It's Not A Race', was quickly condemned online and subsequently removed by the broadcaster.

"I came across as racist and I was wrong in the way I conducted the interview," Symons said. "I offer my sincerest apologies. We need to talk about these issues, but be careful how we consider them."

The interview with Wang, host of 'It's Not A Race', quickly took a turn when Symons expressed disappointment as he, too, wanted to host a show on a similar topic.

He said he would instead name it "what's the deal with Asians?"

"OK, let's tackle that. What is the deal with Asians, Red?" Wang replied.

"No, I ask the questions," Symons said. "First question is, are they all the same?"

He followed by asking if Wang thinks she is "yellow" and asking whether she would wear 'yellow' or 'white face'.

The ABC issued a statement apologising for the contents of the interview.

"ABC Radio has removed the latest episode of RN's It's Not A Race podcast and an earlier ABC Radio Melbourne segment," the statement read.

SOURCE



19 June, 2017

Young British "Asian" dancer is unsympathetic to women

Judging by his first name he is probably a Muslim Pakistani by ancestry so his unsympathetic attitude to women was to be expected.  He was also let off as expected

He came third in Tuesday's semi final, along with dance partner and girlfriend Grace Durkin.

But Britain's Got Talent contestant Ali Rasul has reportedly come under fire from ITV bosses, after 'racist and sexist tweets' were uncovered on a Twitter account with his name.

Sources say the 16-year-old dancer was given a warning by producers, but let off due to his age.

One tweet on the teen's account reads: 'Hate it how girls have periods, all they do is moan and take there mood out on you.'(sic)

In another instance a picture of a black woman was posted, with the caption: 'Black Friday', with the tweet receiving a like from girlfriend Grace's account.

And another post reads: 'Hate it how lasses stick there arses out on photos just to get more likes #slags. Like if they had a nice a** they wouldn't stick it out.'(sic)

He also shared a picture of a signpost titled 'slag lane', joking 'had a few ex's (sic) from there.'

SOURCE




Youtube restricts conservative political advertising

This would seem to be a watershed moment

In the Georgia special election, an advertisement from Defenders of Freedom is putting Democrat Jon Ossoff and his supporters on the defensive. After receiving many complaints and comments it seems YouTube put the ad on restriction.



Georgia Democrat Jon Ossoff is on the defensive, with articles from CNN, Washington Post and other leftist blogs trying to back up his national security credentials while the Defenders ad shows the truth about his lack of judgement and experience.

Because of this supporters of Ossoff made so many complaints to youtube that the video is now restricted.  Facebook is still playing the video but complaints are piling up and Facebook has warned that the advertising may be cancelled, but offered no legitimate reason. 

This is outrageous! The left along with their friends at Youtube and Facebook are trying to silence conservatives just days before the special election.

Karen Handel is the conservative candidate. Handel is facing her own attacks from crazed leftists. It was revealed that she was mentioned by the Bernie Sanders supporting gunman who targeted Republican Congressmen.

The dead suspect had tweeted about Handel: "that Republican "B..@% wants people to work for slave wages."

Via email




18 June, 2017

Why Steve Harvey's joke about Flint's water crisis might be racist

Most of us get pretty upset when a white comedian makes a racial joke. Bill Maher ended up apologizing recently after he referred to himself as a "house n-----" on his HBO comedy show.

But should black comedians get a pass for making racially insensitive jokes about African-Americans?

Steve Harvey, one of the most popular comedians on TV and radio, has gotten into trouble in the past for joking about Asian men, and lately he's tested the limits with his mostly black listening audience.

Last week, the comedian was disagreeing with a man who called in to his radio show, "The Steve Harvey Morning Show," about the Golden State Warriors' victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA finals. The man was from Flint, Mich., where problems with lead-contaminated water have had a devastating effect on African-Americans, particularly children.

"You from Flint?" Harvey asked the caller. "That why y'all ain't even got clean water. When was the last time you touched water and it didn't have lead in it?"

Before hanging up, Harvey added, "Enjoy your nice brown glass of water."

For many people, particularly African-Americans, the water crisis in Flint, Mich., is no laughing matter. Twitter attacks on Harvey have been fierce.

Flint Mayor Karen Weaver sent a letter to the comedian asking for an apology. "To make a joke out of a tragedy such as this was in very poor taste, especially coming from someone of your stature," she wrote.

Apologies demanded from Steve Harvey after Flint comment
Weaver acknowledged that Harvey probably wasn't trying to intentionally insult the residents of Flint. And he has defended his joke as "simply trash talking about sports."

But the joke raises important questions. Was it also racist? Is it even possible for African-Americans to be racist?

Recently, I explored that question with a young author named Ibram X. Kendi, an assistant professor of African-American history at the University of Florida, who asserts that everyone, including African-Americans, can be racist.

SOURCE



More dangers of comedy

Providence Catholic High School and the Diocese of Joliet have settled a lawsuit brought by the father of a white freshman student who was expelled from the New Lenox school in March following an alleged racist incident with a black classmate, the school's president said.

Terms of the agreement are confidential, but both sides expressed satisfaction with the outcome.

The suit claimed the boy's expulsion stemmed from an incident in the high school's cafeteria on March 13 between him, a black classmate identified in the suit as "TC," and two other students.

The four students were socializing after school when the plaintiff played a parody rap song that contained racially insensitive language, the suit states.

After the song played, the black student asked the plaintiff to play it again, and then took a video of the students listening to the song, the complaint states.

He later told his academic adviser that the song made him uncomfortable and his mother posted on Facebook an edited version of the video of the students listening to the song, according to the lawsuit.

The five-second clip, taken from the song "White is Right" by Pink Guy, contains the lyrics, "White is right, and white is good/Keep those (racial slur) back in the hood."

"I attempted to give my child what I thought would be a better education by sending him to private school, but instead he learned that racism still exists," the black student's mother, who did not return a request for comment, posted on Facebook along with the short video.

After a local television station ran a segment in which the black student's mother leveled accusations of racism against the school and said she had removed her son because of it, Providence held a disciplinary hearing and expelled the white student, according to the lawsuit.

The white student's father characterized the entire incident as a misunderstanding.

The four boys had been using a video chat app that pairs random users from around the world for brief, often profane, video conversations, when one of the random connections told the black student, "I don't dig on black people," and abruptly hung up on him, the father said.

"(My son) felt mortified that (the black student) was subjected to what he felt was racism," the father said.

In an effort to make light of the situation and buoy his friend's spirits, the white student played the Pink Guy song, which contains racially insensitive language in a satirical manner intended to criticize racist behavior not endorse it, he said.

"He played him this song because it's humorous and they all got a laugh out of it because it makes fun of rednecks, racism and the stupidity involved with having those types of feelings," the father said.

The song's artist, in an interview earlier this year with the indie music blog "Pigeons and Planes," stated that the song was intended as comedy.

SOURCE





16 June, 2017

Must not say women talk a lot

David Bonderman, an Uber board member and partner at private equity firm TPG, resigned from the board of the ride-hailing company after he made a disparaging remark about women at an Uber meeting on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day at an Uber staff meeting to discuss the company’s culture, Arianna Huffington, another board member, talked about how one woman on a board often leads to more women joining a board.

“Actually, what it shows is that it’s much more likely to be more talking,” Mr. Bonderman responded.

Attendees were aghast at the exchange, especially at a time when Uber has been trying to overcome a series of scandals over corporate misbehavior, including sexual harassment claims.

SOURCE





Australia: No free speech about the judiciary?

Members of Malcolm Turnbull's cabinet have rushed to the defence of their ministerial colleagues over remarks about the judiciary that have landed them in court and facing possible contempt charges.

Comments from three politicians criticising Victoria's judicial system could see them face contempt of court charges.

Environment Minister Greg Hunt, Human Services Minister Alan Tudge and Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar have been ordered to front the Victorian Supreme Court on Friday to explain "why they should not be referred for prosecution for contempt".

It is understood the ministers will not attend the Victorian Supreme Court on Friday, but will be represented by Commonwealth Solicitor-General Stephen Donaghue, for whom taxpayers will foot the bill.

The matter relates to criticism of the Victorian judiciary made by the three men in The Australian newspaper, which were seen by the court as relating to a live Commonwealth appeal challenging the 10-year sentence of convicted terror plotter Sevdet Ramadan Besim.

Education Minister Simon Birmingham came to his colleagues' aid, insisting they had not just a right but a duty to represent their constituents' views on issues of importance to the community.

"I think when Australian people vote for their elected representatives, they expect their elected representatives to speak their mind, and they expect their elected representatives to stand up on issues that the community are concerned about, that the community might think are unfair or bad outcomes," Senator Birmingham said.

"That applies as much in relation to sentencing decisions of courts as to any other issue."

He conceded MPs needed to be "mindful of all of our different responsibilities", referring to the duty to not prejudice cases before a court.

"But our first responsibility as members of parliament is to the people who send us here, to the voters who send us here, and to stand up for their interests, for their expectations," he said. "And I'm quite confident that that is all my colleagues were doing."

Industry Minister Arthur Sinodinos said he was "surprised" to see his colleagues hauled before a judge to explain themselves, because "this is a country which prizes free speech".

"Politicians from time to time will say some pretty colourful things and I believe that politicians should have the right to do so," he told ABC Radio National on Wednesday night.

"If they say something that's obviously defamatory or libellous or whatever, that's a separate matter, but politicians have got to have a right to make commentary on matters of public interest and public policy."

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce declined to comment other than to say: "the whole issue about contempt of court is you don't talk about court proceedings".

The ministers are believed to have the strong support of their colleagues from throughout the Coalition.

"We're all on the same page, this is outrageous," one MP said. "The judiciary is not above criticism. If they're suggesting they're above criticism that's a big problem in our democracy. I think they know this isn't contempt but I think they want to send a message."

The trio also won the backing of crossbench senator and free speech crusader David Leyonhjelm, who lambasted "unelected" judges as "dear little daffodils" who couldn't handle criticism.

"Frankly, I think contempt of the court is when you do a brown eyes," he said, referring to the practice of removing one's trousers and pointing one's posterior in someone's direction.

In a letter obtained by Fairfax Media, Judicial Registrar Ian Irving said comments by the three ministers published in The Australian, accusing the judiciary of going soft on terrorists, would appear to bring the court into disrepute.

Mr Hunt reportedly said: "The state courts should not be places for ideological experiments in the face of global and local threats from Islamic extremism that has led to such tragic losses."

Mr Sukkar was quoted as saying: "Labor's continued appointment of hard-left activist judges has come back to bite Victorians". He also said the soft attitude of judges "has eroded any trust that remained in our legal system".

Minter Ellison partner Peter Bartlett said judges were rightly subjected to public criticism from politicians and the community for their decisions.

But he said some of the ministers' comments had gone too far by suggesting the judges were ideologically motivated. "That's crossing the line. That's suggesting bias with judges," he said.

However, Mr Bartlett said it was disappointing the ministers had been required to explain their actions in the court. He believed it was unlikely they would be charged.

SOURCE





15 June, 2017

‘Donald Trump’ is now a war cry

In schools across the country, the president’s name has become shorthand for racist and anti-Semitic invective targeting students in hallways, classrooms, and playgrounds. Using reports compiled by the Document Hate project, a hate-crimes database established by ProPublica, BuzzFeed News conducted the first nationwide analysis of 149 bullying incidents that evoked Trump’s name or comments between October 2016 and May 2017. Its reporters then followed up on 54 cases through news reports, interviews, and public statements from school officials.

As hate crimes, including several murders, have swelled since last year’s election, so too have instances of students echoing rhetoric straight from the president’s mouth and tweets. At an Albuquerque elementary school playground, third-graders circled a boy and repeatedly yelled “Trump!” On a San Antonio, Texas, school bus, a Filipino student was told, “You are going to be deported.” In Louisville, Ky., a third grader chased a Latina girl around a classroom shouting, “Build that wall!” After a high school football game in Jacksonville, Fla., white students chanted “Donald Trump!” at black students from an opposing school.

SOURCE

The writer above deplores what she describes but I see it as a cathartic release from years of Leftist speech suppression



UK: Now saying genius or brilliant 'can alienate female students'

Cambridge academics are discouraged from using phrases with 'assumptions of gender inequality'

Cambridge academics are being discouraged from using terms such as genius, brilliant or flair in feedback for fear of alienating female students.

It is one of a series of moves lecturers say will help women – including changing exams and even removing portraits of men from the library.

Dr Lucy Delap, lecturer in modern British history, said ‘vague talk of genius, brilliance [and] flair carries assumptions of gender inequality’. She said some women ‘don’t find it very easy to project themselves into those categories’.

Some female students suffered ‘imposter syndrome’ – where they feel they don’t belong – in a ‘male-dominated’ environment, said the academic. Dr Delap revealed exams were being overhauled in a bid to tackle a ‘gender differential’ which sees women outshone.

The academic said they also tried to avoid words such as ‘flair’ in feedback as ‘students don’t understand what flair means’.

But Professor Alan Smithers, of Buckingham University, said: ‘It seems to me wrong to look at this from the point of gender – imagine the outrage if we were adjusting things for the sake of men. ‘It’s patronising and wrong to think they have difficulty with terms such as genius.’

SOURCE





14 June, 2017

Must not tell the whole truth about FAT

MIA Freedman, founder of women’s news website Mamamia, has been criticised by a best selling American author for “humiliating” her about her weight.

Freedman interviewed the New York Times best-selling author Roxane Gay to promote her new book Hunger, a memoir discussing her lifelong battle with her body.



Gay was gang raped at age 12 and says she turned to food for comfort. At her heaviest, she weighed 261kgs and is medically classified as super morbidly obese.

When Gay’s publishers were arranging her visit to the Mamamia office in Sydney to conduct an interview with Freedman for her No Filter podcast, Freedman says they had a long list of requirements.

“I estimate that there were a dozen exchanges back and forth between my producer and her people and the details of them both broke my heart and opened my eyes,” Freedman said on the podcast.

“Now, I would normally never breach the confidence of what goes on behind the scenes of organising an interview, but in this case, I’ve thought a lot about it and the fundamental part of her story and what her book is about. She writes about it in the book, I’m sure she won’t mind me telling you any of this,” Freedman said.

“Her size is incredibly imposing [Gay is six foot three]. This is a logistical nightmare for her, there’s no other way to put it. The requirements that we had to go back and forth with her publishers ... were extremely detailed.”

Freedman listed some of the questions Gay’s publisher asked Mamamia’s podcast producer in a series of calls and emails.

“How many steps were there from the kerb to the end of the building? Were there any stairs? How many? How big was the lift and was here a goods lift? How many steps from the lift to the podcast studio?

“There was also a lot of talk about chairs - making sure we had one sturdy enough that would both hold her weight and make sure she was comfortable for the duration of the interview.”

Freedman goes on to say that Gay and her publishers requested that no photos or video footage be recorded of her. “Originally, this interview was going to be filmed in front of the office - we sometimes do this with No Filter guests who are loved and admired by the Mamamia team,” she said.

“But Roxane said no, no way. We couldn’t film her under any circumstances and she wouldn’t even have photos taken with anyone for private use. She was very polite...but it was non-negotiable.

That’s why there is no photo of Roxane and I that accompanies this podcast or even that I keep on in my phone and this is the first time that’s ever happened. We always take photos of everyone that comes into Mamamia. It’s kind of what happens. We use them on Facebook to illustrate the podcast and the post [online].”

Just hours after the interview and accompanying online story went live on Monday, Gay tweeted to her 211,000 Twitter followers that she found Mamamia’s discussion of these issues to be “cruel and humiliating”.

“I am appalled by Mamamia. It was a s*** show. I can walk a f***ing mile,” Gay tweeted. “‘Can she fit into the lift?’ Shame on you Mamamia,” she added. “It is cruel and humiliating.”

Mamamia has since removed the story from its website and edited the podcast description to remove details of her publisher’s requests.

Later in the podcast, Gay talks about how her size can make it difficult for her to negotiate public spaces. “It’s very stressful because you just never know is there a space that is going to accommodate me,” Gay said. “Are there going to be sturdy chairs? Are the chairs going to have arms? How wide are the arms? How low is the chair?

“It’s just a constant series of questions that you are asking yourself every single day before you go into any space and it’s exhausting because people don’t think, they just assume that everyone fits in the world that they do.”

Gay, a college professor, is the author of Bad Feminist and has travelled to Australia several times before. She has appeared on Q&A and given talks at the popular All About Women and Sydney Writers’ Festival events.

SOURCE





Australia: ‘The Southern Cross is becoming the new Swastika’: New documentary examines ‘hijacking’ of national icon

The Southern Cross is a star constellation visible only in the Southern hemisphere.  It is featured on the Australian flag.  In the form of the Eureka flag, the Southern cross has mostly in the past been a political symbol used by the far Left -- so maybe we should not get very bothered by who uses it

WARWICK Thornton was basking in the success of his award-winning feature film Samson and Delilah in 2010, when one simple remark prompted widespread national outrage. “I’m concerned the Southern Cross is becoming the new Swastika,” he said.

Like many Australians, the Alice Springs-raised Mr Thornton could see parallels between the hijacking of the two symbols for the extreme nationalist cause.

The Swastika, a Sanskrit symbol for good fortune, is now synonymous with death in the west, after being adopted as the symbol of Germany’s murderous Nazi Party in the 1930s.

Similarly, the Southern Cross has been adopted in Australia by the extreme right-wing as a symbol of bigotry, hatred and nationalist pride, though obviously not to the same, murderous extreme.

The Southern Cross, along with the Australian flag, is the favoured symbol of groups such the anti-Muslim Reclaim Australia and United Patriots Front movements. Simply put, Mr Thornton said, the Southern Cross has been “hijacked by dickheads”.

Seven years on, the 2010 Australian of the Year nominee has made the symbolism of the Southern Cross the subject of a new documentary, We Don’t Need a Map, screening as part of the Sydney Film Festival.

Mr Thornton told ABC Radio National’s Awaye program the vehement reaction to his 2010 comparison of the Southern Cross and the Swastika took him by surprise. “People got very upset, and that scared the hell out of me,” he told the program. “I went and hid in the cupboard for a little while, and then over a couple of years, I got angry.”

The result was We Don’t Need a Map, a kind of Australian road trip that examines the spiritual importance of the five constellations to the country’s indigenous people and how, among nationalist groups, the Southern Cross morphed into a symbol bearing such potent power.

“This is the story of the hijacking of an Australian icon,” goes the promotional slogan.

Mr Thornton is hoping to prompt a national discussion about the symbol, though perhaps one a little more measured than the one that followed his comments seven years ago.

SOURCE




13 June, 2017

Trump slogans are photoshopped out of New Jersey high school yearbook THREE times as the school investigates 'possible violation of First Amendment rights'

A New Jersey high school has censored out mentions of Donald Trump in their yearbook and now the school is investigating the 'possible violation of First Amendment rights'.

One student at Wall Township High School in New Jersey had submitted a Donald Trump quote that wasn't included with her picture.

Two others had Trump logos on their clothes either cropped or edited out of their pictures.

Now those students' parents are calling for the yearbooks to be re-issued and the school superintendent Cheryl Dyer has said she is looking into 'an allegation of censorship and the possible violation of First Amendment rights', according to NJ.com.

When he got his yearbook Wednesday, his picture had been cropped in so that the logo wasn't visible

Montana Dobrovich-Fago, the freshman class president, had submitted a Donald Trump quote to go beneath her picture.

But when she got her yearbook on Wednesday, the quote wasn't there, even though the other class presidents were included, even the senior class president's quote by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

She told WABC her submitted quote was: 'I like thinking big, if you're going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big. By Donald Trump.'

Montana says she submitted the quote on time, but it still didn't show up.

Her brother Wyatt, a junior, wore a sweater vest with a Trump logo to picture day, but when he got his yearbook, the small logo had been cropped out.

At first he thought it wasn't anything to worry about, but when he found out his sister's quote hadn't been included, he told WABC he thought: 'That's kind of crazy, two things against Trump in a way.'

Another junior, Grant Berardo wore a navy blue Make America Great Again t-shirt with a much larger logo to picture day.

When he got his yearbook, the logo had been completely blacked out, even though plenty of other students' logos were not.

Grant's father, Joseph Berardo, said they made sure there were no dress code restrictions before the junior wore his shirt.

'It was the first election he took an interest in, and it was an interesting way to memorialize it,' Berardo told the New York Post.

'I thought it was pretty cool that this guy was running for president,' Grant told NJ.com, speaking about Trump.

Now Berardo is calling for an apology and for the yearbooks to be reissued. 

'The fact that the committee found it OK to censor the president's name or anything that wasn't offensive is just wrong,' Berardo told the Post.

Janet Dobrovich-Fago, Wyatt and Montana's mother told NJ.com: 'We're very angry. When we saw that Montana's quote dropped out, we thought it was a mistake because all the other class presidents' quotes were still there.

'But when we saw that Wyatt's shirt was photoshopped and we heard about Grant, I knew this was not a coincidence. This was purposeful and it's wrong.'

After the parents reported the incidents to the school, Wall Township High School superintendent Cheryl Dyer said she is investigating the allegations.

'There is nothing in our student dress code that would prevent a student from expressing his or her political views and support for a candidate for political office via appropriate clothing,' she said in a letter.

'Rather, I applaud students for becoming involved in politics and for participation in our democratic society.

'The high school administration was not aware of and does not condone any censorship of political views on the part of our students ... The actions of the staff involved will be addressed as soon as the investigation is concluded.'

SOURCE





Must not say that Muslims get kid glove treatment

In an exchange on Australia's Left-leaning ABC TV, conservative commentator Gerard Henderson mentioned several instances of Violent Muslims being given parole and then going on to kill. He suggested that they would not normally have ben given parole but were given it out of political correctness. 

This was objectionable to other participants in the show and his suggestion was regarded as refuted when ONE example (Bayley/Meagher) of a non-Muslim killing while on parole was brought up.  Since Henderson was not arguing that ONLY Muslims were wrongly released, that was not in fact a conclusive reply. 

It may also be worth noting that the case of Adrian Ernest Bayley and Jill Meagher was in 2012, after which bail laws were tightened.  I have deleted a few rather frantic value judgments below


"Insiders" host Barrie Cassidy was discussing Australian parole restrictions with the show’s panel, following the revelation that Yacqub Khayre was on parole.

Khayre killed a man and took a woman hostage in the up-market Melbourne suburb of Brighton last week and Islamic State claimed he was one of the group’s soldiers.

Political commentator and author Gerard Henderson then launched into a tirade about why he was on parole and implied it was because of the killer’s religion.

“(Man) Monis, the terrorist in Sydney, why did he get bail? I think he got bail because he dressed as an Imam and pretended he was a persecuted Muslim and he got bail despite the fact he was on very serious charges,” Mr Henderson said.

“On charge of 40 sexual assaults. If his name had been Gerard Henderson he wouldn’t have got bail. This guy in Victoria (Khayre) much the same.

“The idea of parole as I understand from my legal studies is it encourages prisoners to behave. “(Khayre) as I understand it, committed crimes in prison, engaged in one or two arson attempts within prison. If his name had been Gerard Henderson he wouldn’t have got out on parole, he would’ve served a full term.

“Why did he get out? Because he presented as a Muslim, as an African, because he presented as a persecuted person.”

Fellow panellist and political journalist, Karen Middleton, said to Mr Henderson: “I think that’s going a bit far isn’t it?” and Cassidy asked Mr Henderson if he believed this was the attitude of parole boards across the country.

“I’m not generalising about parole boards across the country, I don’t know anything about parole boards across the country,” Mr Henderson said.

Mr Cassidy was perplexed and said “but you’re saying there’s a pro-Muslim bias in favour”.

Mr Henderson then referred back to Man Monis, who took customers and staff hostage inside Sydney’s Lindt Cafe.

“How do you explain Monis?” Mr Henderson said. “Everyone virtually in Australia concedes he shouldn’t have got bail. Everyone can see this guy in Melbourne (Khayre) shouldn’t have got parole, now why did they get them?”

Mr Cassidy then suggested it wasn’t just a case of Muslims getting parole in Australia who then went on to commit murder.

“The same happened with white Christians in this country, they were given bail when they shouldn’t have been given bail and they went out and committed murders so I don’t see how it’s ...” Mr Cassidy said.

He was interrupted by Mr Henderson who said “just a minute. If that were the case I’d condemn it but who were the white Christians in Australia who were given bail and went out and committed murders?”.

Referring to Melbourne ABC worker Ms Meagher, who was murdered by Bayley while he was on parole, Mr Cassidy said “there’s one very close to the ABC”.

“Who committed a murder?” Mr Henderson said.

Mr Cassidy replied, “no an ABC employee” before Ms Middleton interrupted “he’s talking about the Jill Meagher case”.

Viewers reacted to the awkward exchange on Twitter with one saying Mr Henderson had a “bigoted viewpoint”.

SOURCE







12 June, 2017

CNN Muslim Host Gets Punished for foul Comments Towards Trump

Obscene language is not normally understood to be within free speech protections

CNN has parted ways with “Believer” host Reza Aslan less than a week after the religious scholar came under fire for a series of heated tweets he made about President Trump.

“CNN has decided to not move forward with production on the acquired series ‘Believer with Reza Aslan’ (season two),” a CNN rep told Fox News. “We wish Reza and his production team all the best.”

A rep for Aslan did not immediately return Fox News’ request for comment.

Aslan responded to Trump’s June 3 remarks regarding the terrorist attacks in London calling Trump an “embarrassment to America and a stain on the presidency” and a “piece of s–t.”

SOURCE





Muslims enraged by billboard telling truth about Muhammad



Rep. Andre Carson "said he believes the billboard is untrue and that the billboard's author takes Islamic text and history out of context ‘just like al-Qaeda, ISIS and the Klan do to religious texts to justify their bigotry.'"

"Untrue" is not the same thing as "out of context," and of course the latter is the tried-and-true dodge of Islamic supremacists when presented with uncomfortable passages of the Qur'an and Sunnah.

Notice also Carson's invocation of "al-Qaeda, ISIS and the Klan." Two are international jihad terror organizations that have mounted murderous jihad attacks all over the world and continue to be global threats.

The other is a tiny organization of nuts that would get no notice at all were it not for its usefulness to the Leftist establishment.

Carson is trying to give the impression that, as we hear so often, every religion has its "extremists," and so Islamic jihad terrorism really isn't all that unusual.

SOURCE




11 June, 2017

Were ancient Egyptians black?

As I have noted here previously, it has become common for blacks (sub-Saharan Africans) to claim ancient Egypt as their own.  Some busts and pictures of ancient Egyptians that have been found in the excavated tombs do show rather African features.  Against that I have pointed out the light skin of the famous bust of Nefertiti

The matter would now seem pretty well resolved.  With great effort, geneticists have extracted DNA from ancient Egyptian remains.  Analysis of the DNA shows that the ancient Egyptians had little black ancestry.  They were a lightly pigmented people like other Mediterraneans.  Research report here

Colors can of course change over time but it is notable in the tomb paintings that most of the people are portrayed as light brown  -- but also with a few of the characters being quite black.  The contrast is strong and presumably realistic. 


This painting by an ancient Egyptian artist shows Nubians bringing gold to the Pharaoh. Obviously differences in skin color registered in the minds of ancient Egyptians



It is possible that Egyptians were normally suntanned.  They were sun worshippers so tanning was probably as prestigious then as it is among many people in our society.  That would account for the people in the tomb paintings being somewhat browner than most modern Mediterraneans




If you're a conservative, have you ever felt silenced by liberal popular opinion or colleagues?

The above question was on quora.com.  Below is a typical reply

I have. I work in a university which used to be mainstream leaning to slightly conservative. In the past couple of years, it has become more and more progressive. I have been put down because I have made the following statements:

All lives matter. All lives are important

You are either male or female.

How you feel doesn’t change biology.

I voted for Donald Trump

When Barack Obama was elected president of the United States, I was all ready to give him a chance. No, I didn’t vote for him but I didn’t wish him ill and the very idea of wearing a pussy hat and marching while chanting “Not My President” never even crossed my mind. When he was re-elected, I felt a sinking feeling which got worse when the full reality of Obamacare hit me. My medical costs went way up. But still I would never have dreamed of masking up and intimidating some of my fellow employees who thought he was the greatest President ever.

Then when Trump was elected, I came to work in an atmosphere of gloom. Almost everyone in the building walked around with long faces and heaved deep sighs. When I let it slip that I had voted for him, the long knives came out. I used to be thought of as intelligent, now I was the dumbest person in the world. And whenever anything remotely upsetting happens, it’s all the fault of Trump. Recently, our post office changed their mail pickup to another location. One of my co-workers said it was all Trump and the Republican’s fault for not funding the Post Office. Really?!

I am not a confrontational person, but I am getting so tired of this. I once read that conservatives think that liberals are wrong. Liberals think conservatives are evil. That’s been the truth in my experience.

SOURCE




9 June, 2017

Benetton is forced to apologise after using ‘girls not allowed’ to promote its children’s clothes

Benetton is well known for its eccentric advertising

Clothing brand United Colors of Benetton has been forced to apologise after its latest childrenswear campaign was labelled  as sexist.

The Italian label posted an image of three boys modelling pieces from the SS17 collection on Instagram, along with the caption: 'Sorry ladies. Girls not allowed!'

It prompted fierce criticism from parents and gender neutral campaigners who say it encourages gender stereotypes and excludes girls from wearing Benetton's clothes.

Following the online backlash, the brand was forced to apologise via a comment on its Instagram page, saying that they were 'very sorry' for 'unintentionally offending' their customers.

They insisted the post was meant to be 'playful' and apologised for 'striking the wrong chord' with their audience.

SOURCE





Marketing guru behind Protein World storm is accused of body shaming AGAIN as his new 'Think Small' posters are plastered on public transport

The man behind the controversial Protein World underground posters has sparked a fresh Twitter backlash with a new campaign urging women to 'think small'.

Two years ago, marketeer Richard Staveley found himself in the eye of a body shaming controversy after he launched Protein World’s, ‘Are You Beach Body Ready?’ tube campaign, which were eventually banned following a social media storm.

He has since left Protein World and is working with a new protein brand, V24 shots - and the posters are already causing a stir after just two days.

The ads for V24 protein shots feature an athletic-looking blonde woman and the words 'think small' - ostensibly a reference to the 60ml shots but some have claimed it 'insinuates that a body should be small'.

Within hours of the posters going up around London furious body commuters had taken to social media to complain.

Marketeers at V24 took the time to respond to many of the tweets over the weekend, insisting: 'Our product is small and creates big results.'

Former head of marketing at Protein World, Richard Staveley, partnered with creative director Warren Steyn and businessman Ciaran Greenwood to launch the V24 Shot campaign.

SOURCE





8 June, 2017

Must not link Jihadis to Islam

A BREITBART news editor who was fired for racist tweets she wrote in the aftermath of the London terror attack is crying poor and begging for a bailout to cover her medical costs.

Katie McHugh, who was fired on Monday, says that she was let go for “telling the truth about Islam,” according to her crowd-funding page.

Her former employers and a scathing CNN report see it differently.

While others were expressing their condolences on Twitter the night of the attacks that killed seven people and injured 48 others, McHugh tweeted, “There would be no deadly terror attacks in the UK if Muslims didn’t live there.”

Bones actor Pej Vahdat responded to her tweet, calling her a “moron.” To which McHugh responded, “You’re an Indian.” Vahdat is actually Iranian-American.

SOURCE






Harvard revokes admission to at least 10 students for offensive Facebook posts

Parents spend years warning their children about the consequences of posting offensive messages and photos on social media. The situation unfolding at Harvard right now might be the ultimate case study.

At least 10 high school seniors who were admitted to Harvard this spring had that acceptance yanked after administrators discovered deeply offensive messages and racist images they posted to a Facebook group chat.

Among the students who lost their seats at Harvard College is the daughter of major donors to the university, according to correspondence reviewed by the Globe.

Screenshots of some of the images and messages, posted on The Tab, a news website about universities, show the students mocking sexual assault, the Holocaust, minorities, suicide, and child abuse.

According to the Harvard Crimson, which first reported the story, the group was called, at least temporarily, “Harvard memes for horny bourgeois teens.”

After someone alerted the admissions office about the controversial posts, Harvard asked the students responsible for the materials to each submit a statement to explain their actions, according to a copy of an e-mail from an admissions officer to a student that was reviewed by the Globe.

Harvard College declined to comment on the admissions status of individual applicants. A spokeswoman said the school reserves the right to withdraw an admission offer for a variety of reasons, including if the student engages in behavior “that brings into question their honesty, maturity, or moral character.”

According to one student, events unfolded like this: Last winter, Harvard created a special Facebook group for undergraduate applicants who had been accepted under the college’s “early action” program.

Eventually, that student formed a group chat for students to talk and post memes, which are often humorous videos or images created on a computer and shared quickly over the Internet.

The student said he created the first group as a lighthearted forum for students to chat about Harvard.

The group grew, and some students began posting offensive memes, said the student, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Those students then created a separate group chat where they began to post the offensive messages, he said.

The leaders of the second group made a rule that, in order to join, a student had to first post an offensive meme in the first group, the student said. He said he was not a member of the second group, which grew to about 15 members, but did see images posted in the first group.

“Obviously I was surprised — I left the chat — that there were future classmates that would be willing to post these types of memes or content, but in retrospect I was not as surprised as I thought I would be,” said the student.

The student said that during the past year he has witnessed many types of hate speech proliferate. He thinks he and his fellow high school seniors have become desensitized. A lot of students who posted offensive messages did so out of peer pressure, he said, because they wanted to be accepted to the second group chat.

At the same time, the student said he thinks the administration took the right step.

“I am glad, though, that they did take some sort of strict action on it,” he said.

Other students echoed his opinion. Matthew Miller, an admitted student from Illinois, said he was sad that his potential classmates posted “such offensive and hurtful content.”

“I, as well as many future classmates I’ve talked to, feel that the university made the right choice,” said Miller, who said he did not see the images.

But not everyone praised the way administrators responded.

Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard law professor emeritus and civil liberties advocate, said the college’s actions establish a dangerous precedent.

“Punishing students academically for their political views or their personal values is a serious mistake,” Dershowitz said, adding that he did not see the memes and had no first-hand knowledge of the situation. “These actions are not consistent with the spirit of the First Amendment.”

He said it might have been better to admit the students then require them to discuss their posts with an adviser.

“Judging other people’s humor, even in the worst taste, just strikes me as somewhat dangerous,” said Dershowitz.

SOURCE






7 June, 2017

Iranian Muslim calls Donald Trump ‘a man baby, piece of ****’

If that's what he calls Trump, what does he call Iran's Ayatollahs?  He would be behaeded if he spoke like that about the Ayatollahs, even though his description of Trump would be pretty apt if applied to the Ayatollahs

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has been blasted in a controversial Twitter rant with a CNN host calling him a man baby, embarrassing and “a piece of ****”.

Reza Aslan, who hosts CNN’s Believer program, slammed Mr Trump following Sunday’s attack on London Bridge and Borough Market after he appeared to link the incident to his Muslim travel ban in a series of tweets.

But Mr Trump’s tweets didn’t go down well with the CNN host.

In a now deleted post Aslan tweeted: “This piece of s**t is not just an embarrassment to America and a stain on the presidency. He’s an embarrassment to humankind.”

He later apologised for his language and said he had lost his cool and responded in a derogatory fashion. “I should have used better language to express my shock and frustration at the President’s lack of decorum and sympathy for the victims of London,” he said.

The tweets caused a storm of controversy with many calling for the broadcaster to sack Aslan. They also pointed out it’s not the first time he has lost his cool over social media.

SOURCE




Trump shows impatience with weak-kneed British response to terrorist attack. Journalists freak out

Not long after his city was hit by a horrific terrorist attack, Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, announced that "Londoners will see an increased police presence today and over the course of the next few days. No reason to be alarmed — one of the things the police and all of us need to do is make sure we're as safe as we possibly can be."

Within hours, the President of the United States was trashing the mayor on Twitter: "Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his "no reason to be alarmed" statement. MSM is working hard to sell it!"

When his Tweet caused widespread outrage across Great Britain and beyond, Donald Trump had every opportunity to backtrack, thereby defusing a completely needless confrontation with America's closest ally. Instead, as might only be expected on the sad record of the last months, President Trump decided to double down. "Pathetic excuse" by the mayor, he tweeted today.

SOURCE




6 June, 2017

Ignorant CNN anchor

She didn't know that the most likely home language of an Indian is Hindi.  Sanskrit is an ancient language

Many people are giving CNN some heat this morning after two anchors asked a national spelling be champion to spell “covfefe” and then went too far with a racist joke aimed at the twelve year old of South Asian descent.

In an on air interview, CNN anchors, Alisyn Camerota and Chris Cuomo, asked Ananya Vinay, the recent Scripps National Spelling Bee champion to spell “covfefe”. For those who recall, earlier this week, our articulate President coined this word to discuss how he was being treated by the press.

That’s not the shocking part of this interview, however. What was shocking was co-anchor Alisyn Camerota’s blatant display of white privilege vis-a-vis a twelve year old AMERICAN girl of Asian descent.

After asking Vinay to spell “covfefe”, Camerota then goes on to give some origin of the word “covfefe” and says this to Vinay:

But it is a nonsense word but we’re not sure that it’s root is in Sanskrit which is probably what you’re used to using.

First of all, newsflash to the CNN anchor— nobody really speaks Sanskrit anymore. It’s like telling an Italian “it’s not like Latin, that you’re probably used to speaking.”

I’ve said it before and I will say it again— it’s not okay to make racist jokes, especially when you are targeting someone who is not of the same race.

It’s especially not acceptable to make racist jokes when you are the blonde-haired anchor of a national news network and you are interviewing a girl who could be the same age as your daughter.

SOURCE




Must not wear construction uniforms

Several multicultural student organizations have accused the Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) fraternity campus chapter of holding a “racially insensitive” party on Cinco de Mayo, which featured fraternity members wearing construction uniforms. FIJI responded to the allegations in an open letter on May 9. 

Several organizations released an open letter detailing their concerns on Monday, May 8. The letter was signed by the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlán (MEChA), the Organization of Latin American Students (OLAS), the Organization of Black Students (OBS), the African Caribbean Students Association (ACSA), the Muslim Students Association (MSA), and the PanAsia Solidarity Coalition (PanAsia).

The letter came four days after a May 4 statement released by MEChA, which served to “remind students not to perpetuate the racist stereotypes associated with [Cinco de Mayo].” It was informed in part by a similar incident at a Baylor University fraternity party which led to the fraternity’s suspension late last month.

SOURCE





5 June, 2017

Only liberals are allowed to be obnoxious.  Conservatives must not hit back



COMEDIAN Kathy Griffin has held a rambling press conference following the controversy of a video in which she held what looked like a bloody, decapitated head of US President Donald Trump.

Griffin, who has apologised for the bad joke, says she is a victim of bullying at the hands of the Trump family. “If you don’t stand up, you get run over,” Griffin said. What’s happening to me has never happened in this great country. A sitting president of the US ... is personally trying to ruin my life forever.”

“I’m not afraid of Trump,” she said. “He’s a bully. I’ve dealt with older white guys trying to keep me down my whole career.”

“He wants to mess with me?” the comedian said. “He picked the wrong redhead!”

‘The president and his grown children and the first lady are personally trying to ruin my life forever,” she said. “I am going to make fun of him more now. I am not going to threaten him, I have no desire to harm him.”

“As a result of the first family bullying her, she has been vilified, getting death threats, fired from multiple jobs and had multiple events canceled,” Ms Bloom said.

Mr Trump’s son, Don Jr, daughter-in-law, Lara, and First Lady, Melania Trump, have all attacked Griffin in the wake of the controversy.

SOURCE

Like Hillary, she is another old lady who cannot accept that she is the author of her own misfortune.  Maybe the death threats came from Russia!



Australian football show is in strife over a "racist" joke from one of its hosts

Michael Romelo is an Aborigine.  Aborigines have notorious problems with alcohol and are very gregarious

The NRL Footy Show has been inundated with criticism with accusations host Paul “Fatty” Vautin racially profiled an Indigenous audience member.

In a game called Pass for Pesos, Vautin dressed in a Mexican outfit and handed a $6,600 cheque to audience member Michael Romelo.

In handing over the cheque, Vautin said, “all of your relations in Cairns just went ‘how good, I can’t wait until he gets back, we’re having a drink’.”

Instantaneously Twitter lit up with accusations of racism and racial profiling, with Indigenous former rugby league player Joe Williams calling for Vautin's sacking.

“Do you see how we see it we see it as racial profiling?” he said on Twitter.

“Point being, we are sick to death of being labelled as drunks — I haven’t had a beer nearly 12 yrs [sic], when’s his? Preach positive words.”

SOURCE






4 June, 2017

Sensitivities about WWII not allowed

Tricky to figure out which sensitivities are allowed and which are not.  People who lost relatives in the war with Japan are often still sensitive about positive mentions of Japan

A Denver sportswriter has apologized for a racially insensitive tweet about the first Japanese winner of the Indy 500.

Writing that it was “nothing specifically personal,” Terry Frei of the Denver Post tweeted Sunday that he was “very uncomfortable with a Japanese driver winning the Indianapolis 500 during Memorial Day weekend.”

He posted the comment about an hour after former Formula One driver Takuma Sato took home the checkered flag Sunday afternoon.

Frei faced a backlash on social media, with Twitter users assailing him for being insensitive.

SOURCE




Risky to mention border walls

Outside of Hennessey's Tavern in Dana Point, a city south of Los Angeles, locals were surprised to hear about a Cinco de Mayo promotion-turned-controversy.

On Friday, the bar put up an inflatable climbing wall, and those who scaled it received a "green card" for a free drink,  CBS Los Angeles reports.



On social media, the backlash was scathing. Comments blasted the promotion as insensitive, racist and catering to stereotypes.

Comments also demanded that patrons boycott the bar.

The tavern's owner, Paul Hennessey, responded on Facebook, saying it was a misunderstanding. "Our intentions were to create a dialogue and show how ridiculous that it is to spend tens of millions of dollars to build a wall and even infer that Mexico foot some or the entire bill and have their citizens build it," the post said.

SOURCE




2 June, 2017

The realities of slavery must not be depicted



An incredibly offensive line of home furnishing products and prints depicting British slave ships and black slaves has been produced by Bridgeman Images, Granger Art on Demand*, Daniel Hagerman, Johan Moritz Rugendas and Fineartamerica.com. These are currently on sale with fineartamerica.com and other woefully ignorant retailers.

Not only are these images in incredibly poor taste, they defecate on the incredibly painful history, genocide and holocaust of black people worldwide and via their line of soft furnishings (throw, pillows etc.) infer that this is a point in history worth being proud of.

SOURCE





Russians don't get American racial sensitivities



PEOPLE in blackface wearing African clothing and carrying bananas marched in a government-backed weekend parade in Sochi, a city that will host one of Cameroon’s matches at football tournament the Confederations Cup.

A photograph on the city government’s official website showed two people in blackface at Saturday’s parade. One was wearing an afro-style wig and bananas on a string, while the other was wearing a Cameroon jersey and a headdress while holding a drum. The photo was later removed.

The people in the photograph are accompanied by others waving Cameroonian flags.

Lolade Adewuyi, a Nigerian journalist studying in Russia who witnessed the parade, told The Associated Press the people in blackface appeared as part of a section devoted to the June 17-July 2 Confederations Cup, a key test event for next year’s World Cup. Cameroon plays Germany in Sochi on June 25.

Adewuyi said the parade, which was led by Sochi’s mayor, also contained people wearing sombreros and fake moustaches to symbolise Mexico, another country which will play next month in the southern Russian city.

The costumes were the result of local Russians not understanding wider attitudes to race, rather than malice, Adewuyi suggested.   “They don’t understand that it’s an issue to have blackface and then have bananas along with it, you know? They don’t see it,” he said.

SOURCE





1 June, 2017

Australia:  Christians must be penalized for criticizing homosexuality.  But Muslims can even jail homosexuals and that's OK

THE marriage equality lobby group says it does not think Etihad Stadium should be renamed or boycotted, despite harsh anti-homosexuality laws in the United Arab Emirates.

It comes amid growing calls for Margaret Court Arena to be renamed after the tennis great last week sparked outrage for saying she would no longer fly with Qantas over the airline’s stance on gay marriage.

Current and former tennis champions including Martina Navratilova, Richel Hogenkamp and Casey Dellacqua have hit out at the 74-year-old Christian pastor, while Tennis Australia and the operators of Melbourne and Olympic Parks have distanced themselves from her comments.

Some on social media have accused Ms Court’s critics of double standards for not calling for Etihad Stadium in Melbourne’s Docklands to be renamed. Etihad Airways is the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, where homosexuality is a crime punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment.

According to Amnesty International, the death penalty could technically apply under the Islamic country’s strict penal code, but as of 2016 the human rights group was unaware of any executions carried out for consensual same-sex conduct.

Etihad has been the naming rights sponsor of the Docklands Stadium since 2009, and the contract was extended in 2012 for a further five years to 2019. The Abu Dhabi-based, government-owned airline pays an estimated $5-9 million a year, according to 2009 reports.

SOURCE




Culture warriors can be very tedious

I was out on a date. We ordered drinks, and then it happened.

Me: “I'll take a Black Russian.”

My Date (incredibly offended): “I can't believe you.”

Me (confused): “What are you talking about?”

My Date (clarifying her angst): “There are all sorts of cultures you know. That's so racist!”

Me (feeling embarrassed for her): “Oh…. You mean my drink? It's called a Black Russian. It's Vodka and Kahlua. Like a White Russian, but without the cream.

The awkward silence continued even when we got our drinks (of cultural insensitivity).

SOURCE

Did she know that Russians are not actually black?  Maybe not





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This is Tongue-Tied 3

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Posts by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.)

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The war on "cultural appropriation" is straightforward racism

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

The truth can be offensive to some but it must be said

"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"


One for the militant atheists to consider: "...it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg" -- Thomas Jefferson


"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.


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"?


If any mention of racial differences is racist then all Leftists are racist too -- as "affirmative action" is an explicit reference to racial differences


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.


Foxy


Email me here (Hotmail address).




DETAILS OF REGULARLY UPDATED BLOGS BY JOHN RAY:

"Tongue Tied"
"Dissecting Leftism" (Backup here)
"Australian Politics"
"Education Watch International"
"Political Correctness Watch"
"Greenie Watch"
Western Heart


BLOGS OCCASIONALLY UPDATED:

"Marx & Engels in their own words"
"A scripture blog"
"Recipes"
"Some memoirs"
To be continued ....
Coral Reef Compendium
IQ Compendium
Queensland Police
Australian Police News
Paralipomena (3)
Of Interest
Dagmar Schellenberger
My alternative Wikipedia


BLOGS NO LONGER BEING UPDATED

"Food & Health Skeptic"
"Eye on Britain"
"Immigration Watch International".
"Leftists as Elitists"
Socialized Medicine
OF INTEREST (2)
QANTAS -- A dying octopus
BRIAN LEITER (Ladderman)
Obama Watch
Obama Watch (2)
Dissecting Leftism -- Large font site
Michael Darby
Paralipomena (2)
AGL -- A bumbling monster
Telstra/Bigpond follies
Optus bungling
Bank of Queensland blues


There are also two blogspot blogs which record what I think are my main recent articles here and here. Similar content can be more conveniently accessed via my subject-indexed list of short articles here or here (I rarely write long articles these days)




Mirror for this blog


Mirror for "Dissecting Leftism"
Alt archives
Longer Academic Papers
Johnray links
Academic home page
Academic Backup Page
General Backup
General Backup 2
My alternative Wikipedia


Selected reading

MONOGRAPH ON LEFTISM

CONSERVATISM AS HERESY

Rightism defined
Leftist Churches
Leftist Racism
Fascism is Leftist
Hitler a socialist
What are Leftists
Psychology of Left
Status Quo?
Leftism is authoritarian
James on Leftism
Irbe on Leftism
Beltt on Leftism

Critiques
Lakoff
Van Hiel
Sidanius
Kruglanski





Main academic menu
Menu of recent writings
basic home page
Pictorial Home Page
Selected pictures from blogs (Backup here)
Another picture page (Best with broadband. Rarely updated)



Note: If the link to one of my articles is not working, the article concerned can generally be viewed by prefixing to the filename the following:
http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/42197/20151027-0014/jonjayray.comuv.com/

OR: (After 2015)
https://web.archive.org/web/20160322114550/http://jonjayray.com/