"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press"
The primary site for this blog mirror is HERE. Dissecting Leftism is HERE (and mirrored here). The Blogroll. My Home Page. Email me (John Ray) here. (Click "Refresh" on your browser if background colour is missing) See here or here for the archive index of this site
****************************************************************************************
31 March, 2016
University tells students Britain 'invaded' Australia
What's wrong with saying "settled"? "Settled" does not deny
that there were other people there as well. It is just typical
Leftist hatred for the society they live in that lies behind this
nonsense
A top Australian university has rejected claims it is trying to rewrite
the nation's colonial history. Students are being encouraged to use the
term "invaded" rather than "settled" or "discovered", and avoid the word
"Aborigines".
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) Indigenous Terminology guide
states that Australia was "invaded, occupied and colonised".
But UNSW says it does not mandate what language can and cannot be
used. "It uses a more appropriate, less appropriate format," a
UNSW spokesperson said in a statement to the BBC.
"The guide suggests referring to Captain [James] Cook as the first
Englishman to map the continent's East Coast is 'more appropriate' than
referring to his 'discovery' of Australia."
Students are instructed to use the terms "Indigenous Australian people"
or "Aboriginal peoples" in place of "Aborigines" or "the Aboriginal
people", to avoid implying that all Indigenous Australians are the same.
The guide also lists words such as "primitive", "simple", "native" and
"prehistoric" as less appropriate than "complex and diverse societies".
Use of a term such as "nomadic" is discouraged on the grounds that it
implies Indigenous Australians were not permanently settled, supporting
the doctrine of terra nullius that English settlers used to justify
occupying land in Australia. Rubbish. terra nullius was a much later doctrine
The guidelines have sparked outrage in Australia's tabloid Daily Telegraph newspaper and on talkback radio.
Conservative radio host Alan Jones said: "Don't try and restrict the
thinking of university students by some so-called diversity toolkit on
Indigenous terminology rubbish which dictates game, set and match that
Cook's arrival in New South Wales must be referred to as an invasion."
"One student might well argue in favour of invasion and another in
favour of settlement. The argument should be judged on its quality. But
prejudice and political correctness are anathema to genuine scholarship
and learning."
SOURCE
How disappointing for them!
The peaceniks were just working themselves up into an orgasm of righteousness when it all collapsed
Another day, another horrific hate crime in Seattle. Staff at the
Africatown Center for Education and Innovation in Rainier Vista came
upon evidence of a burglary and racist vandalism today. The center,
which operates out of the UMOJA Peace Center, runs educational and arts
programs for African-American students as well as women’s and immigrants
groups. It is temporarily suspending all activity.
Some equipment was stolen, but more alarming were the messages left
scrawled on whiteboards, including swastikas, “N****r babies/Vote
Trump,” and “Kell [sic] Wyking”—a death threat directed to Wyking
Garrett, a respected community activist who runs the center. The center
shared photos of the graffiti and the damage on Facebook.
“Seattle will not tolerate this kind of hate,” Mayor Ed Murray said on
Twitter. “We are ready to support Africatown Center as they work to
recover, and know they’ll be back stronger than ever.”
Reached by phone, Africatown Development Coordinator Yalonda Allen said
she’s not sure when the attack took place and it’s unclear how the
vandals got inside. She and other staff are still assessing the damage.
“For me personally,” she said, “it makes me feel even more vigilant in the fight for racial justice.” …
Allen said the vandals may have been “emboldened by a culture that’s allowing hate speech in mainstream media.” …
UPDATE 6:09 p.m.: The SPD says on its website it suspects an East
African male of committing the crime. The police have arrested him.
From the Seattle PD’s Blotter:
The initial incident was on Sunday, March 20th, and involved a known
East African male who volunteers at the center writing an insufficient
funds check to the center, and also the theft of some computers and
electronics. The center personnel suspected this volunteer for the theft
but couldn’t prove it. He arrived there while the officers were on
scene and was interviewed and his father offered to pay for the bad
check, and also to pay for the stolen items if he in fact had stolen
anything, and the center personnel agreed to this. Officers did not make
an arrest due to lack of probable cause for burglary/theft and
restitution agreement on the check.
Later in the week the center was burglarized again, but this time there
was graffiti targeted at African Americans. The center personnel again
suspected the same East African male who was not present. He was located
about four hours later, and after being interviewed was arrested for
burglary. The racist graffiti was documented in the report and
photographed.
The suspect was arrested for the burglary and is a suspect in the bias crime.
SOURCE
30 March, 2016
Atheist Drops Lawsuit Against Corpus Christi Officials For Attending Groundbreaking of ‘Tacky’ Giant Cross
An atheist who sued the mayor of Corpus Christi and two city council
members for allegedly violating the Texas Constitution by attending a
groundbreaking ceremony for “the tallest cross in the Western
Hemisphere” has withdrawn his lawsuit.
The lawsuit Patrick Greene filed earlier this month in Nueces County
District Court accused Mayor Nelda Martinez and City Council members
Lucy Rubio and Carolyn Vaughn of violating the state constitution’s
prohibition on giving a preference to any particular religion by
attending the Sunday groundbreaking ceremony in January.
Greene told Fox News that the 210-foot-tall cross, which is being
erected on property belonging to the Abundant Life Fellowship and
financed by private donations, was “tacky as hell” and a “safety
hazard.”
"When I saw the mayor in her official position and the council in their
official positions attending a groundbreaking ceremony for a Christian
symbol – that smacked right in the face of the Constitution of the state
of Texas," Greene said.
An unrepentant Martinez told the Corpus Christi Caller Times that
building a cross overlooking Corpus Christi Bay was a dream of her late
father’s.
“The name of our city is ‘Body of Christ’ and I will tell you, I will
never forget that conversation I had with my father about his dream and
his hope," she said, adding that “I will never regret being there for
this wonderful moment.”
On January 28, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an “official recognition”
of the groundbreaking. “Throughout our great state, communities of faith
work every day to share God’s message of love and put it into action.
This 210-foot cross will do just that on a truly grand scale, and it’s
only fitting that it tower over the city called ‘the Body of Christ’.
“It’s always appropriate for a church to invite members of their
community to attend their services, and city officials are free to
attend church services as they so desire,” said Jeremy Dys, senior
counsel for the First Liberty Institute, which represented the
church. “That’s what religious liberty means.”
SOURCE
Australia: Golliwog fury rumbles on
A market stall has come under fire from shoppers for selling and
displaying a rack of racist tea towels featuring controversial dolls.
Melbourne University pro-vice chancellor Ian Anderson was at the
Flinders Market over the Easter weekend in Mornington Peninsula,
south-east of Melbourne, when he stumbled across the stall.
The stall included a rack of colourful striped tea towels branded 'Good
Golly', believed to be Gollywog dolls and 'Picanninny' - an offensive
term for a child with dark skin.
Professor Anderson, who was with a young group of Aborigines, said they
felt sick to their stomach when they saw the items being sold.
'They have a kind of superficial charm about them, they're sort of
innocent. They're the sort of thing that is part of kids' stories. But
they are deeply out of place in Australian society,' Prof Anderson told
The Age.
'What's at the core of them is a really disturbing stereotype of
indigenous Australia, of black people. It's naive and out of place.'
The controversial 'Golliedolls' - with their frizzy hair, dark skin and
clown lips - have sparked public outrage since they rose to popularity
in the 1970s.
SOURCE
29 March, 2016
Leftist hate speech against Trump
Here's an example. One of many. It just oozes hate of the Donald
As the idea of Donald Trump winning a major party nomination goes from
ugly nightmare to increasingly real possibility, pundits are wondering
why they didn’t see it coming. One reason is that many pundits,
particularly on the right, have spent decades pretending that the ugly
racial sentiments Trump panders to either don’t exist or are a minor
aberrance on the radical fringe. Others have tried to blame economic
conditions, an important factor that can’t fully explain the Trump
phenomenon (there aren’t many poor Blacks rushing to vote Trump).
Research suggests that racial animus is a much more powerful predictor
of Trump support than “economic anxiety.” We argue that the core of the
Trump phenomenon is decades of dog-whistle race-baiting made real: Trump
is animating white racial fears in order to race toward the Republican
nomination.
SOURCE
How about saying much the same about Hillary? Would that be
racist? Would it be hate speech? Undoubtedly.
See the translation below:
The idea of a Hillary presidency is an ugly nightmare. The Left have
spent decades pretending that the ugly anti-white racial sentiments she
panders to either don’t exist or are a minor aberrance. Research
suggests that racial animus in the black community is a much more
powerful predictor of her support than “economic anxiety.” We argue that
the core of the Hillary phenomenon is decades of race-baiting
made real"
Calling Trump campaign slogans ‘hate speech’ is a threat to our democracy
A controversy about presidential politics, free speech, and creating an
inclusive campus environment erupted at Emory University this week, with
a group of students protesting after messages supporting Donald Trump
appeared on campus.
Student protesters told the president of the private university in
Atlanta that they felt threatened and intimidated by the pro-Trump
messages, first reported in the Tab Emory. A national debate ensued.
Many students, expressing hurt, frustration, and outrage over the
chalkings, marched to the president’s office with demands and
grievances.
Though initially President Wagner refused to send a
campus-wide response, he later felt compelled to address students in an
email conceding to implement “immediate refinements to certain policy
and procedural deficiencies, regular and structured opportunities for
difficult dialogues, a formal process to institutionalize
identification, review and [the] addressing of social justice
opportunities and issues and a commitment to an annual retreat to renew
our efforts.”
Wagner added that the school would review security
surveillance footage near where chalk markings were placed so that
perpetrators may go through the conduct violation process, according to
the Emory Wheel.
Shortly after the incident, several student groups
sent out a petition demanding Trump support be recognized as hate
speech.
Many see President Wagner’s email as a harmless
appeasement of the protesters’ demands. However, one should not
underestimate the kind of precedent his response sets.
While the chalkers may have violated some parts of
the vague chalking policy, the remedy for these violations is stated to
be a clean-up fee, not a conduct hearing.
Additionally, the president’s statements seem to
implicitly contradict support of free speech on campus. Conceding to
campus loud-mouths is not a way to have respectful dialogue. Appeasing
this kind of intimidation threatens to grant speech control to whoever
speaks the loudest or throws the biggest tantrum.
SOURCE
28 March, 2016
Massachusetts colleges targeted by anti-Semitic fliers
No big mystery, I think. Just a Leftist student provocation, as these things usually are.
At least three Massachusetts colleges were targeted by hackers Thursday
who sent anti-Semitic fliers through campus printers, in what appeared
to be part of a coordinated attack on universities around the country,
according to a civil rights group.
Among the schools hit by the hackers were the University of
Massachusetts Amherst, Smith College, and Northeastern University in the
Commonwealth, and Princeton University, Brown University, DePaul
University, and the University of Southern California, according to the
Anti-Defamation League.
Hackers infiltrated the computer systems to send fliers that included
swastikas and anti-Semitic text above a link to a website classified as a
hate group.
Robert O. Trestan, the league’s New England regional director, said in a
phone interview that hacking is a new tactic by anti-Semitic agitators,
who have historically taped up fliers around campuses or placed them on
cars in school parking lots.
“This is a bigger concern than traditional fliering, because there’s a
breach of security, and it’s apparently a nationally coordinated attack
to spread anti-Semitism,” Trestan said. “It’s always a concern when
people are exposed to hate material and lies about other groups.”
Trestan said the Anti-Defamation League has spoken with law enforcement
about the hacking and that there is no indication of any public safety
threats to Massachusetts students. He said it is not clear who sent the
fliers.
SOURCE
Backlash halts removal of Confederate symbols in New Orleans
Probably about time someone hit back at Leftist oppression
Backlash against a plan to remove prominent Confederate monuments in New
Orleans has been tinged by death threats, intimidation, and even what
may have been the torching of a contractor’s Lamborghini.
For now, at least, things have gotten so nasty the city hasn’t found a
contractor willing to bear the risk of tearing down the monuments.
The city doesn’t have its own equipment to move them and is now in talks
to find a company, even discussing doing the work at night to avoid
further tumult. Further complicating the issue was a court ruling Friday
that effectively put the removal on hold.
Initially, it appeared the monuments would be removed quickly after the
majority black City Council on Dec. 17 voted, 6-1, to approve the
mayor’s plan to take them down. The monuments, including towering
statues of generals Robert E. Lee and P.G.T. Beauregard, have long been
viewed by many here as symbols of racism and white supremacy.
New Orleans is a majority African-American city although the number of
black residents has fallen since 2005’s Hurricane Katrina drove away
many people. Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who proposed the monuments’ removal,
rode to victory twice with overwhelming support from the city’s black
residents.
In New Orleans, things have turned particularly ugly.
In early January, as it beat back legal challenges seeking to stop the
removal, the city hired a contractor to remove the monuments.
But H&O Investments LLC of Baton Rouge soon pulled out of the job,
citing death threats, ‘‘unkindly name-calling,’’ outrage on social
media, and the threat of other businesses canceling contracts.
One day, several protesters came while H&O workers took
measurements. Some of the protesters wore materials ‘‘with affiliation
to white supremacy groups,’’ said Roy Maughan Jr., a lawyer for the
contractor.
That same day, Maughan said, ‘‘a specific articulated threat’’ was
phoned into city authorities warning workers at the monuments to leave
for their safety. On Jan. 12, H&O sent the city a letter saying it
was dropping out. Then, on Jan. 19, a Lamborghini belonging to the owner
of H&O Investments was set on fire. The sports car was parked
outside his office near Baton Rouge, Maughan said.
The FBI and local fire investigators declined to comment. No arrests have been made.
SOURCE
27 March, 2016
Pregnant Japanese/Australian jailed for 10 months over online comments
A pregnant Australian woman has been jailed in Singapore for inciting “vitriol and hatred” against foreigners in Singapore.
23-year-old Ai Takagi is the woman behind the popular blog The Real Singapore, which was shut down last year.
Under Singapore’s sedition laws it is an offence to promote hostility
between different races or classes in the multiracial society, which is
mainly ethnic Chinese with large Malay and Indian minorities.
But critics say sedition laws, which date back to the British colonial era, can be used to clamp down on free speech
Prosecutors said that Takagi made up stories to garner hundreds of thousands of dollars in online advertising.
District Judge Salina Ishak said a strong sentence was needed because
Takagi was inciting “vitriol and hatred” against all foreigners in
Singapore.
Takagi, who is eight weeks pregnant with her first child, read an apology in court before the sentence was handed down.
“Before this case started, I was not fully aware of the level of
sensitivity needed when dealing with topics related to racial and
religious issues in Singapore,” she said in court.
SOURCE
Aldi forced to change paint named 'rape yellow' (after the plant) after complaints from a sex assault victim
Canola is a type of rape plant. It produces very oily seeds
Supermarket giant Aldi is set to change the name of its 'rape yellow'
paint tins following an angry outburst from a sex assault victim.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, branded the product
name 'offensive' after she spotted the tins while she was shopping with
her son.
The furious customer said she started 'choking' when she came across the
product at the Radford Road store in Coventry, Warwickshire.
Although the online tubs are listed as 'rapeseed yellow' - in reference
to the brightly-coloured plant that begins to flower during spring - the
in-store tins are plastered with the label 'rape yellow'.
Now Aldi have agreed to scrap the name - but only after explaining it was in reference to the bright-yellow seed.
A statement said: 'This paint is a colour widely referred to in the
industry as 'RAL 1021 Rape Yellow', which refers to rapeseed.
SOURCE
25 March, 2016
In Academe, Should Anti-Semitism Be a Fireable Offense?
There is certainly a double standard here. But it is probably
because Karega is black. The college needs her to get their racial
quotas up. But otherwise she should certainly be fired -- not on
speech grounds but for incompetence as a scholar
Lately it seems like all anyone’s Jewish grandparents talk about these
days is the pervasive anti-Israel sentiment found on college campuses in
the U.S. In actuality, however, I’ve found that the silent majority
actually doesn’t care that much either way. So while BDS campaigns and
solidarity activism between pro-Palestinian and other leftist groups
aren’t “fun” for students who choose to cultivate political views more
nuanced than those of an eggplant, they also aren’t threatening to us,
whether we agree with them or not. And I go to Columbia.
Occasionally, though, the discourse can descends from legitimate to
dangerous. I’m talking about flat-out, no-holds-barred, in-your-face
anti-Semitism. And when that monster rears its head, I’m left scratching
my own.
Recently, Joy Karega, a rhetoric and composition professor at Oberlin
College, was revealed to have posted wildly anti-Semitic and anti-Israel
content, often in the form of conspiracy theories, on her personal
Facebook page. According to Karega, the Mossad, Israel’s national
intelligence agency, was the true mastermind of last year’s Charlie
Hebdo massacre; ISIS is the product of a CIA-Mossad collaboration; the
IDF shot down that Malaysian airliner over Ukraine; and Jews were behind
the attacks on 9/11.
Karega’s views are vile and racist. And yet she is still employed, still teaching.
In response to calls for her dismissal, Oberlin president Marvin
Krislov—a self-described “practicing Jew” and “grandson of an Orthodox
rabbi” whose family members “were murdered in the Holocaust”—defended
Karega. In an email to Oberlin’s student body, Krislov wrote that even
though he understands Karega’s views “cause[d] pain for many
people—members of our community and beyond,” she would be keeping her
position because of her right to express “personal views.”
When I read Krislov’s comments, I thought maybe I wasn’t seeing clearly.
The fact that her anti-Semitism isn’t seen as grounds for firing
her—when other professors at other universities who’ve engaged in
similar, if much less deliberate, prejudices or offenses against other
minority groups are dismissed immediately—speaks volumes to the double
standard to which Jewish students are held.
SOURCE
British man arrested for connecting Brussels bombing to Islam
IT is completely outrageous that a UK PR agent, Matthew Doyle, has been
arrested on the suspicion of inciting racial hatred for asking a Muslim
woman to “explain Brussels”.
It’s a ridiculous question. However, Doyle did not hit her, threaten her
or abuse her. He didn’t incite violence against her. He simply asked a
question many people are asking around the world today: Why did so many
innocent people die in yet another violent extremist terrorist attack?
Doyle’s encounter came to the attention of authorities because he
tweeted about it: “I confronted a Muslim women (sic) yesterday in
Croydon. I asked her to explain Brussels. She said ‘Nothing to do with
me’. A mealy mouthed reply,” he wrote.
People should not have the right to incite or encourage violence or
abuse against others on the basis of race, but they should be able to
express a fair opinion without being arrested.
SOURCE
24 March, 2016
Zara has pulled a T-shirt with a gluten-free slogan from its shelves after sparking a backlash amongst its customers
Some problems may not be mentioned, apparently. Going gluten
free has become something of a fad among perfectly healthy people and
the T-shirt was most probably intended as a comment on that. I remember
one period when I had a very on-off relstionship with a nice lady.
During one of our "off" periods, she discovered she was allergic to
gluten. When we got back together, however, her allergy
vanished! She was just unhappy. I still think well of her
The graphic print white top, which read 'Are you gluten-free?', enraged
shoppers who accused the Spanish fashion brand of trivialising coeliac
disease.
Marta Casadesus, from Terrassa, Spain, started a petition to have the
T-shirt removed, which amassed 53,000 signatures, and Zara apologised
for any offence caused.
She posted: 'Coeliac disease is not a fad, nor is it a disease to take
it in jest, because of the strictness of the diet that must be followed,
gluten-free, and the problems it can cause if it is not done properly.
'The message of this shirt trivialises an important health problem,
which affects more people and should be considered whenever the
intolerant person - gluten, in this case - is eating out, for example.
However Mollie Sheppard, who suffers with coeliac disease, said she
wanted to get hold of the T-shirt to wear as a badge of honour.
Zara's parent company Inditex posted a response on the Change petition.
It said the shirt has been removed online and is being removed in
stores.
A spokesperson said: 'We sincerely regret that this case can be
interpreted as a trivialization of coeliac problem completely opposite
intention of Inditex.
SOURCE
'We can shoot your wife and frame your mother-in-law'
It's just a jokey advertisement from a picture-framing business but a sense of humour seems to be a rare thing these days
It was intended to be a light-hearted joke about marriage and
mothers-in-law. But an Australian picture frame service's slogan
stating 'We can shoot your wife and frame your mother-in-law. If you
want we can hang them too' has been banned.
The Advertising Standards Bureau ruled that Fantastic Framing's advert
was 'not funny' and breached standards because of the way it portrayed
violence.
A number of complaints were made about the Sydney-based service by people who found the advert 'sexist and violent'.
But Fantastic Framing said they were 'surprised' about the backlash
because so many of their customers had said it was 'funny' and 'smart'.
'We are very surprised to get this email but more than happy to help and
explain it,' the service said, according to documents.
'The reaction we get from our customers that it is very funny and it is
relating to marriage and picture frames. Lots of people came to us and
said 'Funny we like it ... very smart.
'There is no bad intention for this advertising it is purely a joke which relate to marriage and picture frames.'
The advertising bureau noted that the slogan was 'clearly intended to be a humorous play on words'.
But it found that the 'intended humour has worn off' because of the high
level of community concern about violence towards women.
'The majority of the Board acknowledged that the advertiser's intent was
to inject humour in to their advertising but considered that making a
joke about using a gun or hanging a person would not be found funny by
most members of the community,' the ruling stated.
Comedian Austen Tayshus told the Daily Telegraph that it was political correctness gone mad.
'Whenever you use irony, satire, anything like that, you always depend
on whether people have the capacity to understand that. Unfortunately
people are stupid,' he said.
SOURCE
23 March, 2016
More Facebook censorship
Last month, Facebook censored a woman for criticizing gender-neutral
locker rooms on her page, “Keep Locker Rooms Safe.” Now, the social
media site has decided to shut her page down completely.
Autumn Bennett, the administrator of the page advocating for safety and
privacy in locker rooms through sex-assigned bathrooms, told The Daily
Wire the threats she has been receiving since the incident have gotten
increasingly more aggressive.
Trans activists have formed their own fake “Keep Locker Rooms Safe”
Facebook pages in opposition to her group, mocking the group’s cause and
harassing administrators.
One activist even posted a call to action for activists to investigate Bennett’s personal information, such as where she works.
Bennett and her colleagues decided to publicize the insults and threats
from opposing activists by creating an album on their page filled with
screenshots of the language that was used against her group, including
phrases such as “Go f*** yourself” and “I hope your teeth fall out.”
Although Bennett and her colleagues reported the aggressive language
used against her group, Facebook responded by shutting their page down
for having publicized what was being said to them.
Bennett said all of the other moderators of her page were banned from
Facebook for 24 hours, while she and Kaeley Triller Haver, another page
manager, were banned for 72 hours because of the image posted above.
Several trans activists bragged for having been the reason for Facebook’s censorship of Bennett and her colleagues.
The group’s victory was short lived, since Bennett and her colleagues
immediately created a new page for their organization called “Keep
Locker Rooms Safe and Sex Specific.”
SOURCE
See-through dresses are VERBOTEN, VIETATO, INTERDIT, Forbidden
German, Italian, French and English should cover it
A New York City billboard for Calvin Klein features a close-up of rapper
Fetty Wap's face with the tagline: 'I make money in #mycalvins'
Next to it is a provocatively-posed image of model Klara Kristin in a
see-through dress with the tagline: 'I seduce in #mycalvins'
Lingerie company ThirdLove's CEO Heidi Zak argued that the ads perpetuate sexist 1950s stereotypes about men and women
She wrote a letter to Calvin Klein's CEO, created the hashtag #MoreThanMyUnderwear, and launched a Change.org petition
The billboard has since been removed, though the company said it was
part of a 'planned rotation' of the Spring 2016 campaign's images
SOURCE
22 March, 2016
Fabricated hate speech
Political rhetoric should never be blamed for violent actions. But if we
are going to deflect blame from violent protesters to the rhetoric
which supposedly caused their protest, let's take a look at which side
actually incites violence with their provocative rhetoric.
Right-wing "hate speech" is so non-existent that it is apparently only
delivered through alleged "dog whistles." The innuendo so subtle that
only liberal politicians and pundits with the keenest senses and
superior intelligence can understand it. It is then the civic duty of
these code-breakers to decipher and interpret the "real" message and
relay it to us common folks. We know you heard the Republican candidate
say he wants to lower the capital gains tax to create incentive for
investment. But what he really meant was that he hates black people,
right?.
Hate speech from the right is only that which is twisted, spun or
completely fabricated by the left. And it is that rhetoric which has
created a hostile environment around American politics today. False
accusations of hate speech can be one the worst forms of hate speech
itself. And Democratic politicians don't use dog whistles to articulate
their hateful message. They use screeching megaphones turned up to
eleven.
Radical leftist protesters do not view themselves as the violent,
ignorant, hate-filled mob that they are. They see themselves as social
justice warriors participating in a truly noble cause. And their actions
are insufficiently condemned - if not celebrated - by Dem
politicians. In a shameful display, even some GOP candidates recently
placed the blame for the protest that took place in Chicago on the
rhetoric of Donald Trump rather than the unruly mob itself.
Who knew it would take Donald Trump to bring violence to Chicago? How
many people were murdered on Chicago's south side while Trump's plane
awaited takeoff? But that's not a major concern of Democratic
politicians. Both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders accused Donald
Trump of inciting the anger that was on display in Chicago last week.
But what about their own antagonistic rhetoric?
Bernie Sanders, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, constantly
calls for a "political revolution." While Bernie should not be blamed
for the violence committed by his followers, radical left-wing lunatics
and political revolutions are not a good combination. Historically, how
many political revolutions have been peaceful in nature? Could Bernie's
constant call for a revolution not potentially incite violence? When
Hillary Clinton talks about the "constant stories of young men who have
been killed by police officers" and "systemic racism in our criminal
justice system," is she not giving credence and legitimacy to radical
groups like "Black Lives Matter"?
Politically-motivated violence and hate speech are almost exclusively
reserved for the left. There are virtually no instances of violence or
destruction at conservative events unless left-wing protesters are in
attendance. Contrast that with the complete chaos and destructive nature
of nearly every major left-wing protest that has taken place in recent
history. As the last attendees of a Tea Party rally walk the grounds to
make sure every last gum wrapper has been discarded, "Occupy", "Black
Lives Matter" and nearly all radical left-wing activists leave a
destructive path of shattered glass, bloodied bodies, overturned cars
and burning buildings.
Even the most hate filled rhetoric should not incite normal people to
commit acts of violence. But radical left-wing activists are not normal
people. And there is no doubt that the rhetoric by those on the left
have stoked the anger that is already present in these mindless, violent
agitators.
But rather than condemn the rhetoric, we must start to condemn the
actions and only the actions. After all, even hate speech is free
speech.
SOURCE
Must not associate dancing girls with computers
MICROSOFT’S management has been left red-faced and forced to apologise
after the company hired scantily clad dancing school girls for a recent
gaming event.
The raunchy entertainers were positioned on podiums around the venue and
stood dancing for the crowd in nothing more than a bra and skirt. Far
from having the desired effect, a number of attendees and others on
social media voiced their anger at the inappropriateness of the
entertainment.
The party was held late last week following a conference for video game
developers put on by Microsoft’s Xbox division, but following a tsunami
of criticism the company said it was “unequivocally wrong” to have hired
the dancers.
The gaming industry has been plagued by a longstanding image that it is
hostile towards women and this latest incident has done nothing to help
that unflattering perception.
SOURCE
21 March, 2016
Another attempt to censor Trump
It's clear who the Fascists are. The Left clearly don't believe in democracy
Arizonians demonstrating against Republican candidate Donald Trump's
scheduled appearance in a Phoenix suburb used cars to block the road
into the event Saturday, as thousands of New Yorkers protested against
the Republican candidate in his hometown.
'Protesters have used vehicles to block off Shea Boulevard. We're going
to evaluate the situation,' Maricopa County sheriff's deputy Joaquin
Enriquez told Daily Mail Online.
Police said protesters parked vehicles sideways across the road, which
is the main thoroughfare into the affluent suburb Fountain Hill where
Trump was scheduled to speak.
'They're going a little far when they block off roads like that. They're blocking emergency vehicles as well,' Enriquez said.
Three people were arrested and will be charged with obstructing a public
thoroughfare, a class three misdemeanor, Enriquez said.
The three unidentified individuals were taken to the Fourth Avenue jail in Phoenix.
Trump ended up taking the stage about an hour late, and made no mention of the protests against him.
The county's controversial sheriff Joe Arpaio, a Trump supporter who was
also tasked with overseeing security, introduced the GOP candidate at
the Phoenix rally.
About an hour earlier, as the pre-rally protests were going on, Arpaio commented on demonstrators in a phone interview.
'Those opposed to Donald Trump, it's them that's inciting the riots.
They don't like our fight against illegal immigration,' Arpaio told
MSNBC.
The sheriff is known for his tough stance against illegal immigration, an issue where he sees eye-to-eye with Trump.
His jurisdiction includes Phoenix and nearly two-thirds of the population of Arizona, which is 31 percent Latino.
SOURCE
Another fake hate crime
A gay Central Michigan University professor has pleaded guilty for
falsely claiming that a random guy at a Toby Keith concert called her a
“cross-dressing fag,” punched her in the face and spat on her.
The professor, Mari Poindexter, had alleged that the man approached her
at the Aug. 19 concert at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mount
Pleasant, Mich., reports The Morning Sun, a local newspaper.
The man began hurling a rich tapestry of obscene slurs at Poindexter, she told police.
Later that night, the professor said, the same man ambushed her in the
parking lot of The Cabin — a local bar. The man thumped Poindexter in
the eye, she said, and spat on her.
Poindexter, who announced her lesbianism three years ago and has since
been passionate about it, later posted a Facebook photo of herself with
an impressive black eye and a corresponding story of indignant outrage.
That post went viral and was reported by several news outlets.
Much pity ensued. “We’re proud of you, Mari, for taking a stand,”
taxpayer-funded Central Michigan University officials wrote on the
school’s Facebook page. “CMU stands with you.”
Turns out, Poindexter got the shiner because she “punched herself in the eye,” according to local police.
Poindexter’s story began to unravel when police probed the incident.
Investigators sat down with her to review security footage from the bar
to identify the man, court documents say. Then, when the investigators
informed Poindexter that there was also surveillance footage of the
parking lot, she became anxious. She said she was no longer interested
in viewing any video which might incriminate her assailant.
Poindexter made up the story and cold-cocked herself in her own right
eye “because she wanted to raise awareness about the social hardships of
people in the LGBTQ+ community,” according to court documents.
Poindexter, who taught business information systems courses at Central Michigan, is currently on leave from the school.
Officials at Central Michigan continue to support her.
The tall tale Poindexter told is the latest in a long series of hate crime hoaxes perpetrated by gay people.
SOURCE
20 March, 2016
Stop comparing Trump with Hitler
AUSTRALIAN Jewish leaders have condemned "deeply offensive" comparisons
between Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Adolf Hitler.
In recent months, a string of media outlets, celebrities and
politicians, including talk-show host Glenn Beck and Mexican president
Enrique Peña Nieto, have lined up to call Trump the next Hitler.
The billionaire real estate mogul’s unapologetic threats to deport
illegal immigrants and put a halt on Muslims entering the US have caused
outrage.
Trump this week scored primary victories in three more states, including
Florida, forcing rival candidate Marco Rubio to drop out and further
increasing his chances of taking the nomination.
It came as Dilbert creator Scott Adams warned that constant comparisons
of Trump to Hitler in the media were helping incite violence against the
candidate and his supporters and "priming the public to try to kill
Trump".
Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation
Commission (ADC), said "once again we see celebrities using appalling
comparisons to Hitler to attack others".
"There is simply no place for this kind of sickening distortion in our public discourse," he said.
While people were entitled to "strong opinions" on Donald Trump, "Hitler
and his genocidal actions should never form part of the discussion
about the American presidential elections and no candidate should ever
be compared to Hitler", Dr Abramovich said.
Resources Minister Josh Frydenberg also criticised the
comparisons. "Donald Trump has his detractors, and many for good
reason, but to compare him with the evil Adolf Hitler responsible as he
was for the deaths of millions of innocents is ridiculous in the
extreme," he told news.com.au. "It diminishes the Holocaust and a
shameful chapter in the history of the world."
Dr Abramovich said the six million Jews and millions of others who
perished at the hands of the Third Reich "deserve better and should not
be used for political point sloganeering".
SOURCE
Senator opposes free speech about global warming
Schelly. All he needs is the mustache
It was enlightening to see Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse,
D-R.I., again reveal his inner fascist the other day, imploring the U.S.
attorney general to prosecute anyone with a contrary opinion on global
warming (forgive me, "climate change"). He thus shows himself to be no
different than the snowflakes on our campuses who cannot abide free
speech, or the Occupy Wall Street types who want to prevent the
execrable Donald Trump from mouthing his imbecilities.
One wonders what Mr. Whitehouse doesn't get about the
First Amendment. What he proposes would make Pravda proud.
He should be careful what he wishes for. A Justice
Department prosecution might require an exploration of both sides of the
global warming debate, and could expose it for the fraud that it is.
Then, Whitehouse would no longer be able to waste billions of our money
on the Solyndras of the world, or have the rest of us help pay for
Teslas for the wealthy.
SOURCE
If the Left can call Trump a Nazi, conservatives can call Shelly a Nazi
18 March, 2016
Mass.: Catholic Memorial students chant anti-Jewish taunt at game
It seems that the Catholic students felt they were accused of being
homosexual. Many males find the whole idea of homosexuality
repellent, though they are not allowed to say so these days. That
abhorrence is why homosexuality was banned for many years. So the
Catholic students were understandably upset and struck back with the
most hurtful reply they could think of. So I don't think the
Jewish students can complain too much. They started the descent
into offensiveness
The chanting started with a rude taunt: Newton North High School
students cheering for their basketball team Friday night shouted, “Where
are your girls?” to the fans of Catholic Memorial School, an all-boys
school.
But the response from the Catholic Memorial fans to their opponents,
many of whom are Jewish, left the Newton North crowd horrified and
upset: “You killed Jesus!” shouted about 50 to 75 Catholic Memorial
students. “You killed Jesus!”
The Newton North students fell silent, their faces registering surprise and anger.
“I found it chilling,” said Newton Superintendent David Fleishman, who
arrived at the game, which was held at Newton South High School, about
20 minutes later. Fleishman said he was immediately approached by a
visibly upset parent who told him she was shaken. “In my mind, this is
incredibly upsetting and troubling, and they have a lot of work to do at
Catholic Memorial,” Fleishman said.
The president of Catholic Memorial issued a statement Saturday
condemning the “abhorrent behavior” of the students and promising to
work to end it.
As soon as the Catholic Memorial students began their chant, said
Fleishman, the interim principal spoke with Catholic Memorial
administrators, who put an immediate stop to it. Both Fleishman and
Folan said the students were reprimanded
SOURCE
Whites must not go black
A Swedish fake tan firm has sparked outrage with their extremely dark colour which users have branded 'blackface.'
Emmaatan, founded by Emma Patissier Alm, is facing a backlash for its
£50 a bottle range, which includes shades like Dark Chocolate and Onyx.
Emma posted a defence on Instagram where he claimed the 'colour isn't
going for black' but commenters found the colours and their names in bad
taste and argued you 'can't "wear" a race.'
Emma defended the dark shades on the company's Instagram which has
19,000 followers and explained it was a small business which she set up
two years ago.
She wrote: 'I'm in shock for the response I've gotten and may have
responded and commented the wrong way because I expect people to know
how spray tan works.
'I've got a lot of feedback and mostly been called "blackface" and racist.
'People looks at my pic I've posted and without a blink assume we desire
to look black, I understand why it might seem that way and I apologise
for the misunderstanding my pic may have approached.
'Tanning is very popular these days because of the cancer factor,
everybody is talking about how dangerous the sun bed is and therefore
looking for a healthier option.
Emma wrote: 'My color isn't going for black, it's going for a natural
golden tan when you wash it off. I never want my customers to look
unnatural or too dark since we usually have a lighter skin tone.
SOURCE
17 March, 2016
A 'sexist' sofa?
You couldn't make this stuff up
Viewers hit out at the BBC accusing bosses of favouritism based on where presenters sit on its Breakfast show.
Dan Walker, 38, joined the 'more experienced' Louise Minchin on the sofa
at the end of last month and has been sitting in 'camera left'
position.
It is the same spot as his predecessor Bill Turnbull, who left after 15
years, and is often seen in the industry as a position of seniority.
And disgruntled viewers spoke of their anger at what they believe is a snub to Minchin.
Adele Clarke, from Cheshire, wrote to the Radio Times saying: 'I
was annoyed to see 'new boy' Dan Walker seated on the left, in Bill
Turnbull's own place, while far more experienced news presenter Louise
Minchin remained in the 'number two' position on the right.
'How long will it take the BBC (and most other news stations) to catch
up with the rest of us in the 21st century? Be brave – try seating a
woman on the left and see how the world will keep turning.'
SOURCE
No Swastikas for You!
A high school a few miles up river from New York City stripped all
instances of the swastika in its production of “The Producers,” a
musical that follows the exploits of two dishonest Broadway producers
who try to put on the world’s worst play, “Springtime for Hitler.” In
doing so, the work mocks Nazism.
It’s difficult to get that point across if the swastika is scrubbed from
the stage. But Bob Pritchard, superintendent for South Orangetown, told
the local news the symbol under any circumstance was inappropriate.
A performer in the school’s play, who identified himself as a Jew,
didn’t see a problem with the symbolism. “It’s satire, not supposed to
be taken seriously,” he said.
“Contrary to what the district thinks, context does matter,” wrote
Reason’s Robby Soave. “If a swastika appears on a Jewish student’s
locker, it’s a hate crime. If it appears in a history textbook, it’s
not. The danger comes when authority figures try to shelter kids from
offensive ideas and symbols. It’s better to let them behold the
swastika, and laugh at it, then live in fear of it.”
SOURCE
16 March, 2016
Must not disrespect Muslims
Given the way Muslim immigrants have been behaving towards women in Germany lately, what Bachman said seems only too true
The founder of Germany's xenophobic and anti-Islam group PEGIDA has been
summoned to court on hate speech charges for describing refugees as
"cattle" and "scum", a court in Dresden said.
Lutz Bachmann, 43, was charged with inciting hatred in October for a
series of widely shared posts on the PEGIDA Facebook page, which stands
for "Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident".
A court date has been set for April, with two further hearings in May.
The court said Bachmann's comments "disrupted public order" and constituted an "attack on (the refugees') dignity".
SOURCE
Liberal Jews blast Trump for ‘hate speech’
Just liberals being liberals
The Reform movement harshly criticized Donald Trump’s “hate speech,” but
backed AIPAC’s invitation of the Republican frontrunner to speak at its
annual conference.
Reacting to Trump’s acceptance of the invitation on Friday, the Union
for Reform Judaism and the Central Conference of American Rabbis on
Monday called his campaign bigoted.
“His campaign has been replete with naked appeals to bigotry, especially
against Hispanics and Muslims. Previous comments he has made – and not
disavowed – have been offensive to women, people of color, and other
groups. In recent days, increasingly, he appears to have gone out of his
way to encourage violence at his campaign events. At every turn, Mr.
Trump has chosen to take the low road, sowing seeds of hatred and
division in our body politic,” the movement said in a statement.
The movement went on to compare Trump’s comments about American ethnic and religious groups to past treatment of Jews.
At the same time, the Union for Reform Judaism and the Central
Conference of American Rabbis expressed understanding and support for
the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s decision.
SOURCE
15 March, 2016
A comedian is on trial in Canada for telling a cruel joke
It is a truism that humour is wholly subjective. When it comes to comedy
criticism, the phrase ‘that’s not funny’ is about as productive as
‘that’s not erotic’. But this hasn’t stopped the Canadian Human Rights
Commission (CHRC) from extending its remit into the policing of jokes.
Set up by the Canadian parliament in 1977 to address allegations of
discrimination in employment and the provision of services, this body
now seeks to criminalise bad taste.
Two weeks ago, stand-up comedian Mike Ward testified at a CHRC tribunal
for telling a joke in 2012 about Jérémy Gabriel, a young man suffering
from a disfiguring condition known as Treacher Collins syndrome. The
joke concerned the attention Gabriel had received after being invited to
sing for Pope Benedict in 2006. ‘But now, five years later, and he’s
still not dead’, Ward said. ‘Me, I defended him, like an idiot, and he
won’t die.’
Mike Ward is a star of the comedy circuit in French-speaking Canada. He
is the headliner at The Nasty Show at this year’s Just For Laughs
festival in Montreal, and is known for his near-the-knuckle brand of
humour. The festival website bills him as ‘the Celine Dion of dick
jokes’. His audience, in other words, knows exactly what to expect.
Opposition to Ward’s joke seems to be based on the premise that comedy
must always be ‘punching up’ rather than ‘punching down’. Will Self
articulated this very point during an interview on Channel 4 News after
the Charlie Hebdo massacre. ‘You always have to ask with something that
purports to be satire, who’s it attacking?’, he said. ‘Are they people
who are in a position of power?’ Self failed to acknowledge that Charlie
Hebdo’s target has never been the Muslim minority. The target was God,
and you can’t punch much higher than that.
In any case, cruelty can sometimes be funny. This is something we all
know, but many of us are loath to admit. The novelist Simon Raven once
received a telegram from his wife which read: ‘Wife and baby starving
send money soonest.’ He replied: ‘Sorry no money suggest eat baby.’ When
I first read this, I laughed. Should I be troubled by this involuntary
reaction? Do I subconsciously approve of infanticide and cannibalism? If
so, I should probably make a disclosure the next time a friend asks me
to babysit.
More likely, it suggests that I don’t automatically take jokes at face
value, an ability clearly lacking in Ward’s critics. However ill-judged
you might find his subject matter, surely we can all agree that he
doesn’t actually wish for Jérémy Gabriel to die? In the absence of
contrary evidence, we should assume a basic level of humanity.
SOURCE
Must not remind people of Muslim terrorism
Illinois man Dennis Murdy created quite the controversy in his
neighborhood when he recently erected two silhouette cutouts on his lawn
that depicted a turban-wearing jihadi terrorist surrendering to an
armed hunter.
According to WKTV, when Muslims in Murdy’s community found out about his lawn display, they threw quite a fit.
“Free speech should not be mixed with hate speech,” argued Imam Kamil
Mufti from the Islamic Foundation of Peoria. “It’s extremely important
and we have to draw that line.”
Mufti added that most Muslims do not wear a Turban. It is in fact Sikhs
who typically wear this piece of garment. (Which kind of makes you
wonder what he’s upset about, then.)
In explaining why he put up the display in the first place, Murdy pointed to his concerns about Islam.
“The Muslims and Islam is one of the most violent cults there is,” he
opined. “It is not a religion. It’s a cult. Their Quran says nothing but
violence.”
Murdy did acknowledge the existence of peaceful Muslims, though he
pinned some of the blame for radical Islamic terrorism on them, arguing
that they should do more to stop it.
“That was intended to show my feelings on what’s happening to our country and other parts of the country,” he concluded.
SOURCE
14 March, 2016
Guinness made a glaring 'mistake' on this St Patrick’s Day poster
A Guinness advert for St. Patrick’s Day is being shared for all the wrong reasons after a glaring ‘error’ was spotted.
Some of the Irish community in Toronto have complained to Guinness
Canada for using a four leaf clover in the advert and not a shamrock as
intended.
It was picked up by eagle-eyed commuters at the green-themed St. Patrick Underground station who posted photos online.
Toronto resident Judith Gannon wrote: “I thought if anyone would be able
to get a shamrock right it would be Guinness Canada. I guess not.”
Another wrote: “Looks like Guinness Canada have put up ads around the city using a four leaf clover instead of a shamrock.”
An Instagram user wrote: “Hey Guinness Canada, the four leaf clover is
not the preferred foliage of Ireland. The shamrock however, is.
While a Twitter user wrote: “At St. Patrick station. Of all the places to mess up, it had to be there.”
SOURCE
Banning Words on Instagram Didn't Work
Banning words used by pro-eating disorder or pro-ED communities in
Instagram backfired. A new Georgia Tech study found that Instagram users
eventually invented new but similar words after the ban in 2012,
turning “thighgap” into “thygap” or “thightgap,” just to name a few.
Additionally, the censorship even increased the support for these pro-ED
Instagram groups. In spite of Instagram’s efforts to control the
expression of these unhealthy behaviours, the number of supporters of
anorexia, bulimia and other eating disorders still increased by up to 30
percent.
The Georgia Tech researchers investigated 2.5 million pro-ED posts from
2011 to 2014. Lead researcher Stevie Chancellor explains that pro-ED
Instagram users remain anonymous and use specific hashtags.
“Likes and comments on these new tags were 15 to 30 percent higher
compared to the originals,” notes Munmun De Choudury, an assistant
professor at Georgia Tech’s School of Interactive Computing. “Before the
ban, a person searching for hashtags would only find their intended
word. Now a search produces dozens of similar, non-censored pro-ED
terms. That means more content to view and engage with.”
Previously, some of the hashtags they used were “thighgap,”
“thinspiration” and “secretsociety.” These users stopped using these as
soon as the ban was enacted, and they tweaked the spelling of words like
“‘thinspiration’ with “thynspiration” or “thynspo,” “thighgap”
with “thightgap” or “thygap.”
The other 17 terms also turned into hundreds of new words, with 40
variables each term on the average. The term “thighgap” even turned into
107 new but similar words.
SOURCE
13 March, 2016
Leftist thugs succeed in censoring Trump
A campaign rally of US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump
scheduled for Friday night (local time) in Chicago has been postponed
for safety reasons due to widespread protests, a Trump campaign staffer
said.
Outside the rally at the University of Illinois at Chicago, protesters chanted "Hey, hey. Ho, ho. Donald Trump has got to go."
A few Trump backers lashed back at demonstrators, shouting, "Build the
wall!" a reference to Trump's pledge build a wall on the Mexican border —
and have Mexico pay for it.
While emotions ran high outside the UIC Pavilion where Trump was slated
to speak, a phalanx of Chicago police officers ensured that Trump fans
and foes were kept on opposite sides of the street to keep the war of
words from escalating into something worse.
The situation was so tense officials announced shortly after 4:30pm the rally was cancelled.
Thousands had turned out to see Trump, while an estimated 500 protesters were on hand.
The event was cancelled after protesters packed into the arena where it was to take place.
SOURCE
Some opinions are just not allowed in Britain
Christian magistrate is sacked after claiming adopted children were
better off with a man and a woman as parents than with a gay couple
Magistrate Richard Page, 68, was sacked after 15 years at Maidstone and
Sevenoaks courts, in Kent, after objecting to a gay couple adopting a
child live on air.
The Judiciary Conduct Investigations Office confirmed that the
father-of-three has been removed from the magistracy as a district
judge.
They said that the grounds for his dismissal result from comments made
on national television which a reasonable person would conclude he is
bias against single sex adopters.
He was recorded saying: 'My responsibility as a magistrate, as I saw it,
was to do what I considered best for the child, and my feeling was
therefore that it would be better if it was a man and woman who were the
adopted parents.'
A spokesman for the JCIO said: 'The Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief
Justice found that Mr Page's comments on national television would have
caused a reasonable person to conclude he was biased and prejudiced
against single sex adopters; they considered this to be serious
misconduct which brought the magistracy into disrepute.
'They have therefore removed Mr Page from the magistracy.
It is believed Mr Page had less than a month to run as a Justice of the Peace.
SOURCE
11 March, 2016
Another attempt to erase history
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A preservation board has approved the removal of
racially insensitive artwork from a 111-year-old publicly owned carousel
in western New York.
The Rochester Preservation Board unanimously voted Wednesday to remove
the image from the Dentzel Carousel located at Ontario Beach Park. One
of the carousel's 18 painted panels depicts two black children in a
crude, exaggerated style common to the Jim Crow era.
Activists have been pushing city officials to remove the offensive image
from the carousel, which is owned by the city but managed and operated
by Monroe County.
Rochester officials had said any changes to the carousel would have to be approved by the city's preservation board.
Officials say the Rochester Museum and Science Center will remove the panel and ensure that it's properly preserved.
SOURCE
Backlash after Australian official's 'alleged' Nazi comment
A routine bit of legal caution has been blown up as meaning something
Australia's immigration minister Wednesday faced calls to apologise
after his department chief used "allegedly" to describe experiences in
Nazi Germany during a defence of the government's hardline asylum-seeker
policies.
Canberra's tough measures against boatpeople - which involves detaining
them in remote Pacific island camps indefinitely while their refugee
applications are processed -- have attracted strong domestic and
international criticism from rights groups.
Doctors and whistleblowers have also said the detention of
asylum-seekers, particularly children, has left some struggling with
mental health problems.
A statement by immigration department head Michael Pezzullo, meant to
counter a Sydney psychiatrist's criticism of the policies in the
Australasian Psychiatry journal, drew fire when he used the term
"allegedly" to describe experiences under Nazi rule in Germany.
"Recent comparisons of immigration detention centres to 'gulags';
suggestions that detention involves a 'public numbing and indifference'
similar to that allegedly experienced in Nazi Germany; and persistent
suggestions that detention facilities are places of 'torture' are highly
offensive, unwarranted and plainly wrong -- and yet they continue to be
made in some quarters," said the statement released Tuesday.
After a backlash on social media, the immigration department issued a
follow-up statement saying "any insinuation the department denies the
atrocities committed in Nazi Germany are both ridiculous and baseless".
It also accused critics of distorting the text to "create controversy".
SOURCE
10 March, 2016
Should political lies be prosecuted as libel?
The Israeli writer below is unthinking. He says "Hate Speech Is
Not Free Speech". But it is. If we allow that hate speech
can be banned, anything you disagree with can be banned. It is the
ultimate slippery slope.
A more sophisticated writer
might have argued that political lies should be prosecuted, as Donald
Trump argues. Lies are are an essential feature of libel and libel
has never been protected speech. And the words deplored below are
clearly libel. The Israeli government could well launch a lawsuit
claiming that Israel has been libelled by the lies concerned.
Israeli lawyer Nitsana Darshan-Leitner already does some of that in a private capacity.
It is not hate speech that should be prosecuted. It is lies
University professors enjoy the benefits of academic freedom and free
speech. These cherished concepts are essential ingredients in the
unhindered exchange and flow of ideas.
Joy Karega, a non-tenured assistant professor of rhetoric and
composition at Oberlin College, a liberal arts institution in the state
of Ohio, made an utter mockery of these hallowed principles by spewing
out a toxic torrent of antisemitic screeds on her Facebook page.
Let’s be absolutely clear.
These rants could have been written by a neo-Nazi foaming at the mouth.
They certainly have no place in civilized discourse. That they were
posted by a woman of color is surprising and disappointing. African
Americans, having been the victims of prejudice and violence, should be
aware that racism is a malignancy that undermines and demeans society at
large.
Has Karega fallen under the baneful influence of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan?
With her eyes wide open, she crossed a dangerous line and entered the
realm of antisemitic incitement. Not for a second can she claim that her
vile and ignorant comments are protected by the sanctity of the First
Amendment.
She should be severely reprimanded, if not punished.
In a series of posts in the past few years, which she has since taken
down, Karega issued a litany of baseless and absurd accusations.
She claimed that Israel was behind the terrorist attacks of September
11, 2001 in the United States and the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris in
2015. These are the kind of accusations that come from the filthy
mouths of antisemites and Islamic radicals, who have a lot in common.
SOURCE
They're still trying to prosecute Geert Wilders for hate speech
A couple of previous attempts were thrown out. Nederland is
permissive on sexual and some drug matters but it also has many
characteritics of a police state. Note also the prosecution of libertarian lawyer Toine Manders
The Public Prosecutor released the indictment in the hate speech trial
against PVV leader Geert Wilders on Tuesday. The PVV leader is
officially charged with four “variants” of two hate speech offenses, NOS
reports.
Wilders is facing charges of firstly deliberately insulting a group of
people because of their race. Secondly, inciting hatred or
discrimination against these people. The Prosecutor is accusing Wilders
with four variants of each of these offenses – complicity, commit,
incitement and “doing it complicity”.
By charging Wilders with each possible variant of the offenses, it seems
that the Public Prosecutor is trying to avoid the trial being
prematurely stranded by Wilders’ lawyer arguing that the offenses are
not properly named in the indictment, according to NOS. “The Public
Prosecutor has an opinion on this, but it may be that the court sees it
differently and therefore we included different variants in the
indictment”, a spokesperson said to the broadcaster.
The lawsuits revolves around statements Wilders made during campaign
visits to The Hague in March 2014. On March 12th of that year the PVV
leader paid a visit to Loosduinen and said that The Hague should be “a
city with fewer burdens and if possible fewer Moroccans”. And then on
the eve of the municipal elections, Wilders asked a cafe full of people
whether they wanted more or fewer Moroccans, to which they chanted
“fewer, fewer, fewer”.
Wilders’ lawyer Geert Jan Knoops is holding his comments on the indictment for the first hearing in the process next week.
The PVV leader responded on Twitter: “No one will silence me. Also not
about Moroccans. Not terrorist threats, not prosecutor with nonsense
indictments, not judge. Nobody.”
SOURCE
9 March, 2016
Hate speech under the guise of scholarship
Puar
Eight academic departments recently invited Jasbir Puar to Vassar College, and she told students lots of lies.
Puar’s talk in January was titled “Inhumanist Biopolitics: How Palestine
Matters.” Puar, associate professor of Women’s & Gender Studies at
Rutgers University, has been busy telling lies, presenting a version of
this lecture at venues ranging from Poughkeepsie, NY, to Santa Barbara,
Calif.
Her incendiary, unbalanced hate speech masquerades as scholarship. In
typical post-colonialist rhetoric, she ignores the facts and twists
reality to promote a spurious agenda. Let me give you a taste of her
slanderous distortions and demonizing lies about Israel.
With no documentation or specific evidence, Puar asserted that Israel’s
ultimate goals are ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, stealing of
Palestinian land, and entrenchment and expansion of suffocating Israeli
power. Israel’s “settler occupation” (her term), which she calls the
“second Nakba” (“catastrophe” in Arabic), is all about using
“asphyxiating,” “biopolitical” control over body and environment to
suppress the Palestinian people. To this end, she claims Israel uses
scientifically executed “maiming” and “stunting.”
“Maiming” means shooting to intentionally cripple, shattering knees, and
hitting vital organs (an obvious contradiction) to minimize death
statistics and ensure that Palestinian workers can be profitable without
threatening the occupier.
“Stunting” is used to permanently debilitate and disable the
Palestinians. This is achieved through population poisoning with
uranium, lead, and phosphorus, as well as “calorie starvation” in
children. Through Israel’s actions, Puar claimed, it is creating
physical, psychological, and cognitive injuries by controlling
infrastructure, water, electricity, and land; restricting mobility; and
limiting telecommunications. She alleges that 95 percent of Palestinians
are permanently disabled.
SOURCE
Must not expose anti-fracking fraud
An email from Phelim McAleer:
I wanted to let you know that our FrackNation Facebook page has been
attacked by activists leading to two posts being removed and the page
being locked for 24 hours.
As you know I've been covering the Dimock Water Trial that is finally
revealing the truth about this scam - where two families are claiming an
oil and gas company have polluted their water. Well - their case is
collapsing because they have no evidence and in fact the evidence is
emerging that the case is nothing but an anti-fracking multi-million
dollar bogus lawsuit.
I've been the only reporter to be in the courtroom all through the trial
and revealing, on the FrackNation Facebook page, the ludicrous lies at
the heart of this case. This has infuriated anti-fracking activists who
have started up a concerted campaign flagging up my posts as
"inappropriate".
This has led Facebook to delete two damning posts that shows the fraud
at the heart of the lawsuit but most damagingly of all it has led to
Facebook suspending the account for 24 hours over the weekend. This
meant I was prevented from posting onto the page so you could not learn
more about the case.
This is serious - there is so much that needs to be known about this case that has only emerged under oath in the courtroom.
I've reported on the parent who alleged the gas company poisoned his
children but never bothered to take them to the doctor (but did find
time to take them to the media and trial lawyers for a lucrative
lawsuit).
I've also revealed how Dr Tony Ingraffea - the favorite scientist of the
anti-fracking movement - was caught lying about not being an activist
and was forced to admit under oath that he had no proof that Dimock's
water was polluted by fracking. Watch him run and hide behind a woman as
I ask some tough questions.
And even better I was able to report that the plaintiffs' own lawyer
admitted they had "no scientific evidence" that fracking fluids had ever
polluted Dimock's water.
This is why they have tried to shut down the FrackNation page and this
is why I need your help. I need you to go to the page and like and share
every post about the Dimock water trial and then I need you to forward
the links to all your friends so we build up a massive number of
supporters for the page. This should help balance the organized attack
by anti-fracking activists against the page.
If we don't fight back - they could succeed in having the page
permanently suspended and prevent me from letting the world know the
truth about fracking as the trial enters its final week.
So please go to the FrackNation page and like and share the posts about the trail. With your help the censorship stops here.
8 March, 2016
Must not mention black gang bangers
Black gangs are notorious but you must not associate blacks with gangs?
A group of roughly two dozen students walked out of Lowell High School
in San Francisco Tuesday morning in response to an offensive sign posted
on a window at the school’s library this month.
The sign, which was posted on Feb. 5, read “Happy Black History Month
#Gang” along with photos the school’s principal said “were insensitive
to the racial stereotyping of black people that is far too prevalent in
our society.” The photos showed several hip-hop artists and other
African American entertainers along with President Obama, according to
the school.
While the message was removed, black students remained “outraged by the
use of ‘#gang’ as it refers to black students and Black History Month
negatively. In response to this clear anti-blackness, past incidents of
racism and an uncomfortable climate for black students, the Black
Student Union” scheduled the walkout — according to the student youth
group Afrikan Black Coalition.
Just after 9 a.m., at least a couple dozen students emerged from the
school and stood in line at the main entrance holding signs that said,
“Black Minds Matter,” “Don’t Stereotype Us” and “We Are Young Black
Scholars.” They later held a rally at City Hall.
SOURCE
Must not mention slave attire
I suspect that it is "slaves" in kinky sex that are being referred to, not Africans
As a fashion house, Dolce & Gabbana is known for its love of animal
prints, its opposition to gay couples adopting children, and its staunch
stance against surrogacy and in vitro fertilization.
Now, thanks to its upcoming 2016 spring collection, the brand might be
able to add low-key racism to the list of things that influence its
signature style. Earlier today, listings went up for a $2,395 piece of
leather masquerading as a sandal adorned with tufts of cotton. Dolce
& Gabbana called it their “Slave Sandal.”
“The Spring-Summer 2016 collection is a declaration of love to Italy,
told through unique clothing and accessories on an imaginary journey
through the wonders of this country,” Dolce & Gabbana’s website says
of its new line. “Italia is Love.”
Italia may be love, but Italia (and Dolce & Gabbana by extension)
has a pretty well-documented history of being culturally insensitive
when it comes to brown people. Unsurprisingly, this isn’t the first time
that D&G have dipped their toe into the shallow end of the racism
pool. As The Cut points out, Dolce & Gabbana released a series of
earrings last year that were styled after the kinds offensive blackamoor
and mammy that are still all too commonly found in Italy.
Dolce & Gabbana’s updated site now calls the sandal a “Decorative
Flat Sandal In Napa Leather With Pompoms,” but upscale resale sites that
drew their descriptions directly from D&G still have the word
“slave” embedded within their URLs.
SOURCE
7 March, 2016
Atheist Group Abandons Fight Against ‘Big Mountain Jesus’ on Montana Ski Slopes
A statue of Jesus dubbed “Big Mountain Jesus,” which stands on a Montana
ski slope as a World War II Memorial, is now safe from removal attempts
by the atheist group, The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF),
which claims that the statue’s presence on federal land violates the
First Amendment.
The monument was erected by the Knights of Columbus in 1954 on Montana
land with a permit from the U.S. Forest Service. World War II veterans
who were also members of the Knights of Columbus commissioned the statue
in memory of their fallen comrades, and to remind themselves of
religious shrines they saw in Europe.
The statue has stood on Big Mountain near Whitefish Mountain Resort for 60 years.
The FFRF, a Wisconsin group, sued in 2012 on behalf of their members in
Montana, arguing that the statue’s presence was a government endorsement
of religion, which violates the First Amendment.
FFRF passed the deadline for appeal to the Supreme Court on Monday after
its Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals loss in August following a
five-year-battle against the statue.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judge ruled in August that “the
government’s continued authorization of the statue on federal land does
not violate the Establishment Clause.”
The decision noted that the government had secular rationales for its
continued authorization of the statue, including “the statue’s cultural
and historical significance for veterans, Montanans, and tourists; the
statue’s inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places; and the
government’s intent to preserve the site ‘as a historic part of the
resort.’”
The decision added that “there is nothing in the statue’s display or
setting to suggest government endorsement; the twelve-foot tall statue
is on a mountain, far from any government seat or building, near a
commercial ski resort, and accessible only to individuals who pay to use
the ski lift.”
FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor said in an August statement that
the Knights of Columbus statue on federal land “means federal taxpayers
are subsidizing religious speech, in this case Catholic.”
“FFRF should slink away with its tail between its legs,” Eric Baxter,
senior counsel at the Becket Fund and lead attorney in this case, said
Monday in a statement on FFRF passing its appeal deadline. “The First
Amendment prohibits religious coercion, not religious culture. Picking a
fight with a sixty-year-old war memorial makes FFRF look petty.”
“Of course militant atheists have rights, but not the right to dictate
history and culture for everyone else,” Baxter added.?“Religion is part
of the human condition. It’s no surprise—and certainly no violation of
the Constitution—that it sometimes manifests in public life.”
SOURCE
Must not say 'spic' instead of 'spick'
It is a wholesome campaign to clean up Britain for the Queen’s birthday –
but last night a race row erupted over an unfortunate gaffe.
Posters and T-shirts designed to advertise this weekend’s Clean For The Queen drive mistakenly included a racist slur.
They were meant to show the slogan ‘Spick And Span Ma’am’ but instead
used the spelling ‘spic’ – used in the US as an offensive term for
Hispanic people.
Twitter users noticed the error last week. One asked: ‘Are you aware
you’ve put a racist term on your asinine posters? You’re missing a k.’
Sam Taylor, editor of The Lady, said: ‘If they’re going to go around
cleaning up the country they should start by cleaning up their language.
It’s an unfortunate mistake and whether or not people are offended,
they’ve used the wrong word. ‘I wouldn’t suggest they put it on a
commemorative tea towel.’
Clean For The Queen was created by Country Life editor Mark Hedges and
Melissa Murdoch, a charity trustee, to mark Her Majesty’s 90th by
getting rid of the rubbish blighting our towns and villages.
Although it has no public funding, it has been backed by MPs including
David Cameron. Michael Gove and Boris Johnson posed wearing the
campaign’s T-shirts and holding litter-pickers, while Kirstie Allsopp
and Ben Fogle also lent their support, as did Keep Britain Tidy.
Last night organisers denied the wording was offensive. Campaign
director Adrian Evans said: ‘It is an ancient phrase, according to the
Oxford English Dictionary, which suggests two options on spelling. Spic
and span means neat and clean – which sums up our campaign perfectly.’
The OED states that ‘spic’ is only occasionally used, with ‘spick and span’ the most common spelling.
Spic is more often used as an ‘offensive name for a Spanish-speaking native of Central or South America or the Caribbean
SOURCE
6 March, 2016
Sexy shop dummy no good
Shoppers have complained after a 'pornographic' mannequin was put in the
window of a high-end watch store in Kent's Bluewater shopping centre.
The pneumatic figure, with blonde hair and a capacious bust that strains
against her top, sits astride a missile in the Breitling shop window
and has ruffled feathers at the 330-store centre in Greenhithe, Kent.
Shoppers felt highly-sexualised display - in which the mannequin's white
knickers are visible - was 'offensive' and unsuitable for a family
environment and have voted for removing it in an online petition.
Kirsty Russell, 42, who started the petition on Change.org, wrote:
'Breitling must have lost confidence in the quality of their watches to
sell themselves and have stooped to this.
'Their shop display has a woman sitting on either side of a missile with
exaggerated breasts, nipples highlighted by a spotlight and her gusset
on show. 'I'm offended and I don't think a shop window display
like this should be at a family shopping centre - it's vile.'
A spokesman for Breitling, founded in Switzerland in 1884, declined to comment.
A Bluewater spokesman said: 'We are aware of some customer comments
regarding Breitling's store display and the matter is now being dealt
with directly by the retailer.'
SOURCE
"Assassinate Donald Trump?" Fine by Facebook
Facebook has irked many conservatives for its hardcore, P.C. persecution
of conservative pages that tell the truth about radical Islam, Black
Lives Matter, and other far left and anti-American movements. While many
have pointed out that this amounts to censorship, it's true that
Facebook is a private page, and they have the right to block content
they don't like. We just wish that they'd be fair.
What do we mean? When it comes to Donald Trump, Facebook seems to have a
double standard. As conservative activist Lauren Southern noted:
SOURCE
4 March, 2016
A well-meaning warning on pregnancy assailed as demeaning
A federal agency earlier this month issued a warning for women of
child-bearing age: Avoid alcohol if you’re sexually active and not using
birth control, because you might be pregnant and alcohol can harm a
fetus.
The intention was to give women information about choices that affect health.
But the recommendation from the US Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention unleashed a barrage of ridicule and fury, as bloggers and
commentators denounced it as sexist, patronizing, and alarmist. Even
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” took a few moments to lampoon a
graphic that accompanied the advisory — a likely first for a CDC alert.
The backlash surprised a leader of the campaign, Dr. Anne Schuchat, the
health agency’s principal deputy director. In a recent interview,
Schuchat said she was worried the brouhaha had distracted from an
important message.
The uproar illustrates the challenges of encouraging healthy behavior
without seeming judgmental, especially when the advice touches on
women’s freedom to make choices in pregnancy and childbirth.
Critics attacked the CDC for placing all the burden on women, with no
mention of men’s role. They accused the agency of treating women as
nothing more than potential vessels for fetuses. They questioned whether
drinking was a greater risk to fetuses than, say, getting in a car or a
hot tub. Some disputed the scientific validity of the advice, given
that it is not known how much alcohol it takes to damage a fetus.
“Women are constantly being told what to do,” Rupali J. Limaye, a
research director at Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs,
said in an interview. The CDC’s message made sense, she said, but it
came across as, “Hey women, here’s just another way we’re going to think
about restricting your freedom.”
SOURCE
Egypt’s latest Pharaoh says criticism threatens the state
Egypt’s president said Wednesday that excessive criticism of the
government is contributing to attempts to bring down the state, telling
Egyptians not to listen to anyone but him.
President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi did not go into specifics in an address
broadcast live, saying only that he would "remove from the face of the
Earth" anyone plotting to bring down the state.
Subscribe Now
In recent weeks, Egypt has seen startlingly public shows of anger over
police abuses and brutality. Rights groups have documented arbitrary
arrests, torture and disappearances. Even stalwartly pro-government TV
commentators have raised alarm over a series of perceived miscarriages
of justice, police brutality and economic problems — a shift from the
near blanket avoidance of criticism in the past two years.
El-Sissi appeared angry as he addressed an audience that included public
figures, youth groups and university students and some military
officers.
"Please, don’t listen to anyone but me. I am dead serious," he said
sharply. "Be careful. No one should abuse my patience and good manners
to bring down the state."
"I swear by God that anyone who comes near it, I will remove him from
the face of the Earth," he said, then added, seeming to address those
conspiring against the state, "What do you think you’re doing? Who are
you?"
It is "still very early for open democratic practices, like criticizing
and pushing (officials) out of office," he said, adding that democracy
is being practiced but "under difficult circumstances, so let us
safeguard Egypt."
SOURCE
3 March, 2016
Barmaids, paperboys and handymen are barred in Britain
Advertising for a Polish builder or a barmaid could land businesses in
hot water after new guidance was published barring employers from trying
to hire someone based on their sex, age of nationality.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has warned businesses
that they could be breaking the law should they ask for any particular
characteristics in a job advert that would stop certain groups from
applying.
An example of a breach, according to the public body, would be for bank
advertisement specifying that a permanent address is required, as it
might discriminate against Syrian asylum seekers who cannot open a bank
account.
The commission specified that there were 'very limited circumstances' in
which certain groups may be excluded, the Sunday Times reported, such
as a leisure centre advertising women-only swimming as Muslim woman may
not wish to swim with men.
The EHRC is a public body was set up following the establishment of the
Equality Act in 2006, and is responsible for the promotion and
enforcement of non-discrimination in England, Scotland and Wales.
SOURCE
Black hate speech: Chris Rock dubbed a hypocrite for mockery of Asians
Despite the Oscars focusing on the lack of diversity for this year's
acting nominees fans have expressed outrage over a different jab at
racial stereotypes.
Academy Awards host Chris Rock was accused of being a hypocrite after joking about lynching and poking fun at Asian stereotypes.
In the skit, Rock welcomed to the stage three children all of Asian
decent dressed in suits and gripping onto suitcases fitted to their
size.
"The result of tonight's Academy Awards has been tabulated by the accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers," Rock said.
"They sent us their most dedicated, accurate and hard-working representatives.
"Please welcome Ming Zhu, Bao Ling and David Moskowitz."
After receiving lukewarm applause from the crowd, Rock continued: "If
anybody's upset about that joke, just tweet about it on your phone that
was also made by these kids."
The outspoken host was slammed on social media for going too far and treating the issue of diversity irresponsibly.
"If the Oscars were all about diversity, why the crude Asian joke?" Tracy Chou said.
"Chris Rock was a hypocrite at #TheOscars. Don't use the diversity card
when you can't speak for all minorities," Alexander Siu said.
"That's good Chris Rock, complain about racism and then make a joke about Asian kids fixing your phone," another added.
SOURCE
2 March, 2016
Donald Trump Rhetoric Causes Racial Row At High School Basketball Game
Fans at a high school basketball game in Indiana sparked controversy on
Friday when they displayed a blown up photo of Donald Trump’s face while
chanting “Build a wall” to fans of the opposing team.
Fans from Andrean High School of Merrillville, Indiana were directing
their chants toward players and fans of opposing team Bishop Noll, whose
student body is primarily composed of Hispanics.
In addition to the image of Trump, the Andrean student fan section displayed a strong USA theme through their attire.
The Andrean administration put an end to the chants as soon as they were
aware of the situation and confiscated the rump signage.
Bishop Noll students responded to the chants by shouting back “You’re a
racist,” but some of the attendees didn’t seem to pick up a hostile
vibe. “It was jovial,” Andrean parent George Galanos told ABC7
Chicago. “It was a lot of fun. There was hugging going on between the
teams.”
“There was no animosity going on at the game,” Galanos continued. “You
had Andrean people mixing and intermingling with Bishop Noll.”
The Diocese of Gary released a statement Monday acknowledging the Friday
night incident, claiming school officials were “greatly distressed by
the inappropriate actions of a small group of their students,” the
Northwest Indiana Times reports.
SOURCE
Trump Wants to Silence Dissent?
This is ridiculous. Libel has always been actionable and that is all Trump is proposing
Just like a dictator of a third-world country, Donald Trump can’t stand
anyone criticizing him. That’s why on Friday, Trump told his cheering
acolytes that he wants to rewrite the nation’s libel laws so he can sue
newspapers and journalists he thinks are unfair. “One of the things I’m
gonna do if I win,” Trump said, “is I’m going to open up our libel laws
so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles we
can sue them and win lots of money. We’ll open up those libel laws so
that when The New York Times writes a hit piece which is a total
disgrace or when The Washington Post … writes a hit piece we can sue
them and win money instead of having no chance of winning because they
are totally protected.”
SOURCE
1 March, 2016
Black guy attacks neighbour who had a wifi network name that mentioned "Abos"
"Abo" is a common abbreviation for an Australian Aborigine which some
find offensive. Violence against women and children is common in
Aboriginal communities
An indigenous man has been found guilty for attacking the house of a
neighbour whom he believed had named his wifi network a racist slur.
Damien Boxer, of Palmerston, Northern Territory, took offence to a wifi
signal he could pick up, called 'A**s are bludgers who can't look after
their kids'.
Boxer admitted to violent conduct, trespass and property damage after he
and a companion repeatedly threw chairs at his neighbours house,
smashing a glass door before using a chair to break it off its frame,
the NT News reported.
In the Darwin Magistrates Court, magistrate Greg Smith said that Boxer
needed to find a way to respond that did not involve violence.
But he also criticised the neighbour whose house was attacked, saying:
'That someone chose to use this (slur) as their wi-fi signal is
disgusting'.
He said it was no doubt it caused Boxer 'monumental offence' and he 'lost the plot', under the influence of alcohol.
During the attack, in which an outdoor dining table was overturned and a
chair got stuck in a screen door, the neighbour had to tell his mother,
in her 70s, to 'go into the back room and call police', the NT News
reported.
The offenders were later found in a nearby drain by police.
SOURCE
UK: Must not promote fitness classes
A school has been branded 'insensitive and outdated' after it promoted
fitness classes for teenage girls - to get 'fit for prom'.
Richard Lander School in Truro, Cornwall organised the girls-only Zumba
classes for Year 11 students with a poster boasting it would 'help you
look amazing in that dress'.
The classes were due to start on Monday afternoon, but the advert has been pulled by the school after it was criticised.
One former pupil accused the school for 11 to 16-year-olds of implying girls have to be slim to go to prom.
She said: 'I think it's awful, and I know from experience that girls in
Year 11 feel bad enough about themselves and don't need a poster that
implies you're too fat to go to the prom or that you need to be
beautiful to even go to the prom at all.
'It shows a lack of sensitivity or regard for students' feelings and has been executed appallingly.'
Debbie Cain, head of PE at the school, said the poster was not intended
to cause offence and is part of a national campaign to encourage girls
to get more involved with sport.
In a message posted on Facebook on Saturday night, the school apologised.
SOURCE
BACKGROUND NOTES
This is Tongue-Tied 2
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press"
Posts by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.)
HOME (Index page)
Alternative (monthly) archives for this blog are here
Is the American national anthem politically incorrect? From the 4th verse:
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
Mohammad
"HATE SPEECH" is free speech: The U.S. Supreme Court stated the general
rule regarding protected speech in Texas v. Johnson (109 S.Ct. at
2544), when it held: "The government may not prohibit the verbal or
nonverbal expression of an idea merely because society finds the idea
offensive or disagreeable." Federal courts have consistently followed this. Said Virginia federal district judge Claude Hilton: "The
First Amendment does not recognize exceptions for bigotry, racism, and
religious intolerance or ideas or matters some may deem trivial, vulgar
or profane."
Even some advocacy of violence is protected by the 1st Amendment. In
Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), the U.S. Supreme Court held unanimously that
speech advocating violent illegal actions to bring about social change
is protected by the First Amendment "except where such advocacy is
directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely
to incite or produce such action."
The double standard: Atheists can put up signs and billboards saying
that Christianity is wrong and that is hunky dory. But if a Christian
says that homosexuality is wrong, that is attacked as "hate speech"
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/42197/20121106-1520/jonjayray.comuv.com/