This document is part of an archive of postings on Tongue Tied, a blog hosted by Blogspot who are in turn owned by Google. The index to the archive is available here or here. Indexes to my other blogs can be located here or here. Archives do accompany my original postings but, given the animus towards conservative writing on Google and other internet institutions, their permanence is uncertain. These alternative archives help ensure a more permanent record of what I have written.
This is a backup copy of the original blog
"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" -- 1st amendment
31 December, 2021
British council U-turns over plans to rename a poorly-lit Dorset road called 'Darkie Lane' after a backlash from residents who say claims it is 'racially insensitive'
Officials have been forced to U-turn on renaming a road deemed racially insensitive after uproar from locals that it was 'political correctness gone mad'.
Darkie Lane in Swanage, Dorset got its name more than 70 years ago because it was lined by elm trees and hedgerows that made it dark and shady.
The local council agreed to change the name after getting a letter of complaint from a family who holidayed in the coastal town this summer.
They said the Darkie Lane - which like many rural lanes does not boast a physical street sign - had racist connotations and could 'very easily cause offence to others given our national history'.
Swanage Town Council voted to change the name to Dark Lane but after two months of deliberation, Dorset Council has announced it will not be renamed.
A Dorset Council spokesman said there are eight residences on Darkie Lane - five responded to the council's request for views on the naming of the road.
Four stated their preference was for no change of the road name, and one responded saying they wanted it changed to something else, not the proposed Dark Lane, and no responses were received in favour of changing it to Dark Lane.
Residents have hailed the U-turn as common sense prevailing.
One said on social media: 'Hallelujah! For once a bit of common sense has prevailed over the madness of political correctness.'
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Mercedes swept up in China internet furore over model’s exaggerated ‘slanted eyes’
Mercedes-Benz removed a video advertisement from a Chinese social media website, state media said, after the clip got swept up in a charged national debate over depictions of Asian-looking features by foreign companies.
The video was posted on Mercedes-Benz’s official Weibo account on Saturday and later removed due to public backlash, the Communist Party’s Global Times newspaper said.
“The makeup of the female model looked like slanted eyes and once again aroused a heated discussion from netizens with many blaming that the makeup reflects Western stereotypes about Asian people,” the paper said on Tuesday.
Chinese internet users have recently been debating the way that models’ eyes are shown in advertising. The Chinese company Three Squirrels recently apologised for ads featuring model Cai Niang Niang wearing makeup that accentuated the slant of her eyes, the South China Morning Post reported.
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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30 December, 2021
Law Prof Punished for Perceived Racial Insensitivity Considers Lawsuit Against School
A law professor in Chicago has been ordered to undergo mandatory reeducation as punishment for using an abbreviated version of a racial slur in a legal hypothetical about race-based employment discrimination on an exam.
The question posed on the civil procedure exam by Jason Kilborn, a professor at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, included the following sentence, which was deemed hurtful to students:
“Employer’s lawyer traveled to meet the manager, who stated that she quit her job at Employer after she attended a meeting in which other managers expressed their anger at Plaintiff, calling her a ‘n____’ and ‘b____’ (profane expressions for African Americans and women) and vowed to get rid of her.”
A Change.org petition signed by more than 400 people stated that the “dark and vile verbiage” appeared in a question used for years on the Civil Procedure II exam administered by Kilborn and that the “fact pattern involved an employment discrimination case” where the issue “was whether or not the information found was work product.”
“The question was culturally insensitive and tone-deaf. It lacked basic civility and respect for the student body, especially considering our social justice efforts this year. … We cannot ignore the history and violence the N-word represents and the psychological impact, and mental trauma students were subjected to.”
Citing reports from anonymous students, the university accused Kilborn of calling minorities “cockroaches,” and of “diminishing” an unnamed student’s accent—allegations that Kilborn denies. The school’s Black Law Students Association has demanded that Kilborn be fired.
In a Dec. 16 letter to Kilborn’s attorney Wayne Giampietro, the university’s legal counsel, John B. Alsterda wrote that Kilborn will have to receive “individualized training and coaching … to facilitate his return to the classroom.”
Kilborn won’t be allowed to teach while he is taking the course but that prohibition on teaching is “not punitive,” Alsterda wrote. “We note that faculty, administrators, and executives routinely engage in these programs as a means of continuing their education and broadening their skillset.”
“The common goal is to return Professor Kilborn to the classroom,” Alsterda wrote. “The Law School is committed to ensuring that the entire Law School community benefits from a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment.”
The letter warns Kilborn not to sue and promises to “vigorously defend against” any legal claims he may make.
William A. Jacobson, himself a law professor, reported on Legal Insurrection, “This is nothing short of an attempt to humiliate Prof. Kilborn through a reeducation and supervisory program that would make Maoist Red Guards blush.”
Jacobson accuses the school of “psychologically torturing a professor just because it thinks it can.”
While Jacobson’s statement is “hyperbole, the abusive nature of the behavior of UIC officials is undeniable,” Kilborn told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.
“They have spread not only demonstrable but demonstrated lies about my conduct, ignoring a devastating revelation of the truth by Andy Koppelman in the Chronicle of Higher Education. As Andy concluded in that article, these administrators regard the truth as an inconvenient roadblock on the way to their preconceived conclusions about my guilt and need for ‘re-education.’”
“The whole episode is a despicable commentary on the sorry and irresponsible state of higher education administration today. I hope the truth attracts as much attention when it is fully revealed in a federal lawsuit that is all but inevitable at this point,” Kilborn told The Epoch Times.
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Lesbian entrepreneur gets 'daily death and rape threats' after JK Rowling plugged her feminist T-shirts
A lesbian businesswoman has blasted transgender rights activists for trying to 'intimidate' her by sending her 'death and rape threats on a daily basis'.
Angela Wild, 44, who lives in Wales, started her own business in September 2017 designing slogan-printed t-shirts and badges, which campaign for women’s sex-based rights.
She began selling her products on Etsy but many of them were banned for 'hateful conduct' after she was targeted by 'cruel' trans rights activists who sent her threatening messages and reported her items.
'My products are based on my own views. I do not accept the idea that anyone can have a cervix. It's simple biology that only women do. It's ridiculous that we can't even say that - how is biology now viewed as hate speech?
'Transgender activists are trying to stifle free speech by tearing down anyone who wants to express gender critical views - It's unacceptable!'
'You cannot simply shut us up. We are entitled to our opinion and I will make sure mine is heard every day.'
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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29 December, 2021
Border Patrol official’s tweet about ‘potential terrorist’ arrest deleted
A tweet posted last week by a Border Patrol official that included a photo of a man described as a “potential terrorist” ?was taken down because Customs and Border Protection said it contained “law enforcement sensitive information,” according to a report Tuesday.
Border Patrol Yuma Sector Chief Chris Clem? tweeted on Dec. 20 about an unidentified 21-year-old man who had been nabbed near Yuma, Ariz., the week before.
“#USBP #YumaSector agents apprehended a potential terrorist who illegally entered the U.S. from Mexico Thursday night,” Clem wrote. “The 21-year-old migrant from Saudi Arabia is linked to several Yemeni subjects of interest. #BorderSecurity is #NationalSecurity.”
CBP spokesman Luis Miranda said in a statement to Fox News that the posting was removed because “it contained law enforcement sensitive information, violating agency protocols.”
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Asian activist group demands boycott of ‘Licorice Pizza’ movie over ‘racist’ scenes
Not everyone has praise for this hit movie.
Activist group Media Action Network for Asian Americans is urging the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to boycott Paul Thomas Anderson’s acclaimed film “Licorice Pizza” over scenes that it believes promulgate anti-Japanese sentiment.
The org’s statement was first shared to LA-based paper the Rafu Shimpo on Dec. 17, but is currently gaining steam on social media.
The message reads: “Due to the casual racism found in the movie ‘Licorice Pizza,’ [MANAA] believes that Paul Thomas Anderson’s film is not deserving of nominations in the categories of Best Picture, Best Director or Best Original Screenplay.”
MANAA also implored other “film critic associations to pass over it this awards season.”
The group is referring to several moments in the 1970s-set dramedy, one of which involves white restaurant owner Jerry Frick (John Michael Higgins) adopting a stereotypical Japanese accent while asking his wife, Mioko (Yumi Mizui), to review an ad for their Japanese restaurant.
In another controversial scene, Jerry employs the same mocking voice to inquire what his new wife, Kimiko (Megumi Anjo), thinks of a waterbed. She responds in Japanese, prompting the main character, Alana (Alana Haim), to ask Jerry to translate, to which he responds, “I don’t speak Japanese.”
https://nypost.com/2021/12/28/activists-boycott-licorice-pizza-over-racist-depictions/
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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28 December, 2021
Censorship by an Israeli mayor
It was the museum that was in a position to do this censorship
Ramat Gan Mayor Carmel Shama-Hacohen has appointed himself censor. Over the weekend, he requested that a work by artist David Reeb be removed from an exhibition at the Ramat Gan Museum, which reopened last Thursday. The painting shows a picture of an ultra-Orthodox Jew praying at the Western Wall, with two captions – “Jerusalem of Gold” and “Jerusalem of Shit.”
“Jerusalem is a symbol that’s in the heart of every Jew and sacred to all religions,” Shama-Hacohen wrote on his Facebook page. “Even at the opening event, there were people who couldn’t bear this insult and cut their visit to the museum short because of this work.” The mayor then added, “Ramat Gan didn’t build a museum for a huge sum of money and will not subsidize it every year to expose its children and others to gutter language.”
There are many other examples of censorship, with most objectors acting without authority and in defiance of court rulings and legal opinions stating that politicians and directors of art institutions are not authorized to censor.
https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/editorial/.premium-a-mayor-not-a-censor-1.10495451
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Oxford Union is accused of gagging free speech for advance vetting of controversial speakers
The Oxford Union has been accused of undermining free speech after agreeing to allow the vetting of controversial speakers.
The debating society, which dates back to 1823, will assess the 'impact' of guests before allowing them to visit.
Particular deliberation is likely to apply to critics of the transgender lobby, pro-Life groups and those who advocate for Israel.
Historically even the most controversial speakers were allowed to visit, including OJ Simpson in 1996 and Nick Griffin of the British National Party in 2007.
However the society plans to 'restructure' its invitations process to take into account any adverse effect on minority groups.
Documents show this could mean consulting 'specialist student societies'. The proposal is the result of an independent review by lawyers.
Chris McGovern of the Campaign for Real Education claimed freedom of speech would be curtailed.
But a spokesman for the Oxford Union welcomed the review, adding: 'We will defend any person's right to freedom of speech within the law.'
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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27 December, 2021
Postmen are now postal operatives, judges told, under gender-neutral language makeover
Judges have been told to refer to postmen as “postal operatives” in a push for the court system to use gender-neutral language.
The Equal Treatment Bench Book, most recently revised this month by the Judicial College, provides guidance to judges to ensure defendants, victims and witnesses are handled fairly.
It includes advice on what it describes as “acceptable terminology” in an apparent effort to stop the judiciary inadvertently offending members of the public during a hearing.
Job titles where a gender is implied should be avoided, the guide says, including terms such as postman, air hostess, businessman and chairman.
Instead, judges are urged to refer to “postal operatives” when referring to a postman, or to a “flight attendant” if they are discussing a woman who works on a plane.
“Use gender-neutral language where possible,” the book says.
The guidance similarly warns that referring to a woman as a “lady” or a “girl” can be considered patronising, while care should be taken when talking about disabilities.
Blind or visually impaired people should not be called “the blind”, nor should individuals confined to a wheelchair be described as “wheelchair bound”, judges are told.
The 566-page document has also been forced to revise sections of its chapter on trans people after facing criticism earlier this year for taking its tone from hardline activists.
Policy Exchange called for an “urgent revision” of the guidance in July, expressing concern that it included ideological claims on gender “without warning judges they are hotly contested”.
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Canceling Christmas
In its recently published “Union of Equality” document (pdf), the European Commission demanded that the Commission employees use “gender neutral” pronouns, avoid addressing audiences as “ladies and gentlemen,” and refrain from wishing each other Merry Christmas.
These guidelines, part of a 30-page booklet designed to foster “inclusive communication,” elicited widespread criticism and received an unusually strong reaction from the Vatican’s highest political office. The top eurocrat behind the paper, EU Commissioner for Equality Helena Dalli, issued a statement defending the already printed document as a mere work in progress.
A few days after the document’s publication, European Parliament’s LGBT* Ambassador Riccardo Simonetti added insult to injury when he proudly appeared on the cover of a German magazine dressed as the Virgin Mary. Brussels’ progressives seem to believe the New European Person should celebrate not Christmas but the December holiday season. As the Vatican can’t react to every single act of blasphemy, average European citizens outraged by Simonetti’s irreverence blew up his Facebook page.
This is neither the first nor the last attempt of European leftists to push the boundaries of what’s acceptable and expand their ideological dominance of the public square and regional organizations as aggressively as their American woke counterparts do. But much to the chagrin of those attempting to import the cultural and religious iconoclasm that has ravaged the American public life so successfully, there are Old World nations that still remember Marxism and its assault on tradition and faith.
East-Central Europeans, whose families actually experienced communist dictatorship, know all about ideologues trying to cancel Christmas and foist a totalitarian worldview on them. They have recognized earlier than most the threat of what was happening across the Atlantic when statues were being torn down, books banned or rewritten, and the unity of the nation challenged by racial identity politics and a new class war. They have seen it before.
Communists deliberately erased St. Nicholas, or Santa Claus, from the public forum and introduced “Father Frost” in his place, a secular figure who brought presents for children both on St. Nicholas’ Day and on Christmas. The holiday itself was renamed “Pinetree Festival,” and “Happy Holidays” was to supplant the politically incorrect “Merry Christmas.” Stalin’s birthday on Dec. 18, and not the birth of Christ, was the official “reason for the season.” It was dangerous to talk about the real meaning of Christmas—families observing the holiday in private risked potentially life-changing consequences of a young child inadvertently betraying his parents at school the following day. A reprimand or an outright punishment awaited the parents for contaminating their children with “undemocratic, retrograde, and reactionary” Christmas thoughts.
The attempts by modern apparatchiks, such as Dalli, to cancel Christmas, or of bureaucrat-provocateur Simonelli to pose for a blasphemous picture violate one of the most basic principles of the Maastricht Treaty (pdf). While the EU was to “deepen the solidarity between their peoples while respecting their history, their culture and their traditions,” Hungarians, Poles, and other nations of the post-Soviet bloc that trigger Brussels with their history, culture, and traditions can’t help but notice how hollow these phrases ring.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/mkt_morningbrief/cancelling-christmas_4175568.html
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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26 December, 2021
Fauci Demands Fox News Host Be ‘Fired on the Spot’ for Using a Metaphor
Dr. Anthony Fauci has been the subject of a lot of criticism since the pandemic began. Most recently at Turning Point USA, Fox News host Jesse Watters openly criticized Fauci. In response, Fauci went on CNN and said that Watters should be “fired on the spot.”
Turning Point USA is a conservative nonprofit organization that promotes conservative values in high schools and universities. TPUSA has connections with most of the major conservative political figures such as Sens. Rick Scott and Ted Cruz, Gov. Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump Jr., Candace Owens and others.
Currently, TPUSA is hosting “AmericaFest” and Watters was one of the featured speakers. In his speech he criticized Fauci for the many issues surrounding the pandemic.
Watters then described how Fauci should be called out and questioned and how an ordinary person could create a viral moment by confronting Fauci in public and getting it on video. In his description, he used the metaphor of “ambushing” Fauci in the style of an aggressive journalist.
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“Now you go in for the kill shot. The kill shot with an ambush — deadly, because he doesn’t see it coming … Boom, he is dead! He is dead!” Watters said.
Many reacted to Watters’ rhetoric, claiming that this language and encouragement to harass Fauci was dangerous and incendiary.
https://flagandcross.com/fauci-demands-fox-news-host-be-fired-on-the-spot-for-using-a-metaphor/
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Australian Federal government’s Christmas Eve veto of research projects labelled ‘McCarthyism’
The Morrison government has been accused of using the cover of Christmas to politicise research funding, after a federal minister vetoed grants for six recommended projects.
Proposed research relating to climate activism and China were among the projects recommended through Australian Research Council processes but blocked by the acting education minister, Stuart Robert.
Robert has argued the projects he rejected “do not demonstrate value for taxpayers’ money nor contribute to the national interest” – but the decision, announced on Christmas Eve, has drawn criticism from education figures and the federal opposition.
The vice-chancellor of the Australian National University, Prof Brian Schmidt, said that in a liberal democracy it was “completely inappropriate for grants to be removed by politicians, unless the grant rules were not followed”.
The Victorian Labor senator Kim Carr said the government was using Christmas Eve to “sweep under the carpet” its “further politicisation of the ARC and research” in Australia.
Carr, a former minister for research under the Rudd and Gillard governments, tweeted: “Their McCarthyism subverts research which was recommended by the ARC.”
The winning Discovery Projects for next year were finally revealed on Friday, with a report published on the ARC website saying it had received 3,096 applications for funding commencing in 2022.
The report said 587 of those projects had been approved for funding, totalling $259m over five years.
“Of the unsuccessful applications in 2022, 51 were found not to meet eligibility requirements and six were recommended to, but not funded by the minister,” the report said.
A spokesperson for Robert said the minister had approved “98.98%” of the 593 Discovery Projects the ARC recommended, but had not accepted the following six:
Robert’s spokesperson said the minister “believes those rejected do not demonstrate value for taxpayers’ money nor contribute to the national interest”.
“After going through a peer review process, it is clear to the minister the application of the national interest test is not working in every case,” the spokesperson said.
“This test should ensure taxpayer-funded Australian government research funding is directed to areas of national importance and delivers public value. It’s why in his letter of expectation the minister asked the ARC to strengthen the test.”
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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25 December, 2021
Journalist Alex Berenson SUES Twitter for 'violation of the First Amendment' over his permanent ban for questioning COVID vaccines
The independent journalist Alex Berenson has filed a federal lawsuit against Twitter challenging his ban from the service over a tweet questioning the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.
The lawsuit filed on Monday in US District Court for Northern California seeks Berenson's reinstatement to Twitter and unspecified monetary damages over his permanent ban in August.
A spokesperson for San Francisco-based Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com.
Berenson, a former New York Times reporter and prominent skeptic of many pandemic policies, was banned from Twitter over a tweet in which he stated that COVID vaccines do not prevent infection or transmission of the virus.
'Mr. Berenson’s claim that the COVID-19 vaccines do not “stop infection” or “transmission” of COVID-19 was true at the time and is true now,' his attorneys said in the complaint.
'It is undisputed that vaccinated persons can contract and spread COVID-19,' the lawsuit adds, noting that Dr. Anthony Fauci himself has stated in published interviews that vaccinated people can be infected.
However, the crux of the lawsuit does not rest on whether Berenson's criticism of vaccines was objectively true or not.
The detailed 70-page complaint alleges that Twitter is legally a 'common carrier,' similar to a railroad or a telegram, which is required under California and federal law to provide service to all comers.
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Taking a Cue From China, Facebook Censors Chinese Whistleblower on COVID’s Origins
Dr. Li-Meng Yan, a Chinese virologist, escaped to America after facing threats for speaking out on the origins of COVID-19.
China couldn’t stop Yan from telling her story, so Facebook is stepping in to help the communist regime censor the whistleblower.
Last week, The Daily Signal published an exclusive interview with Yan about her research that COVID-19 was created in a Wuhan, China, research lab. Yan believes it was done with the approval of the People’s Liberation Army, the armed wing of Chinese Communist Party.
But when Facebook users attempt to share The Daily Signal’s story, it’s flagged with an obtrusive “partly false information” warning.
In at least one case, Facebook removed the post entirely and left this message in its place: “Independent fact-checkers reviewed the information and said it was partly false. The post is no longer available.”
The fact-check, conducted by Science Feedback, concluded, “The virus causing COVID-19 most likely evolved in natural wildlife populations before spreading to humans.”
Yan told The Daily Signal’s Fred Lucas a different story: “The virus actually does not come from nature. It came from the lab, the lab controlled by the Chinese Communist Party government and its military. … The Chinese government has developed a novel bioweapon.”
The doctor, who holds a medical degree and a doctorate in ophthalmology from Chinese universities, cites Chinese military documents to back up her claims.
Yan was warned not to go public.
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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24 December, 2021
Purple Heart Recipient Locked out of Facebook for Statement on Courage Has Been Reinstated
Teddy Daniels, who is seeking to represent President Joe Biden’s hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, in Congress, found himself punished for posting an inspirational, patriotic comment last month on his Facebook page.
As related by Just the News, on Nov. 9, Daniels posted, “The power of evil men lives on the cowardice of the good.”
Last week, after taking more than a month to plumb the uncertain depths of whatever twists and turns Facebook could find in that sentence, the hammer came down.
Daniels did not take long to post his thoughts on the matter to his Twitter. “This is the Big Lie @RepLizCheney. Instead of persecuting Patriots, you … should have looked into the 2020 election Fraud,” part of the tweet read.
A Facebook administrator for Daniels last Wednesday posted the Facebook warning the page received.
Facebook said the comment was hate speech and not respectful.
Facebook’s intervention led to Daniels being barred from posting on the page, and also delayed a gun raffle that had been scheduled for Wednesday
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New Emails Reveal Evidence of Government Efforts to Suppress Free Speech
A previously unseen Oct. 2020 email from Dr. Francis Collins, the outgoing head of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to his colleague Dr. Anthony Fauci is raising concerns about government-sponsored suppression of free speech—a direct violation of the 1st Amendment.
The email, which appears in a footnote of a Dec. 17 year-end staff report from House Democrats, shows the behind-the-scenes efforts from Collins and Fauci, who were pushing a fresh round of lockdowns, to discredit the Great Barrington Declaration and disparage its authors.
The Great Barrington Declaration was an Oct. 2020 letter that ran counter to the efforts of Fauci and Collins by declaring a unified opposition to broad-based lockdowns, and choosing instead to focus on the protection of vulnerable groups.
In the email, Collins told Fauci that “this proposal from the three fringe epidemiologists … seems to be getting a lot of attention,” adding that “there needs to be a quick and devastating published takedown of its premises. I don’t see anything like that online yet – is it underway?”
Collins’s directive to silence American scientists serves as a chilling reminder of the extent and intensity with which First Amendment rights have been undermined in the pandemic era.
Fauci appears to have been in full agreement with Collins’s proposal to take down the authors and their declaration, sending a one-line reply, “I am pasting in below a piece from the Wired that debunks this theory.” The article was essentially an op-ed castigating the declaration but lacking in any fundamental scientific rebuttal.
Fauci’s chief of staff Greg Folkers gave Fauci additional political op-eds from various sources that relayed the same anti-Great Barrington Declaration talking points, but again lacked any scientific basis or fact.
Within a day of Collins’s email, Google started to censor search results for “Great Barrington Declaration.”
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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23 December, 2021
MI school district suggests joining BLM protests, warns calling US 'land of opportunity' is 'microaggression'
A public school system in Michigan spent 21 days teaching adults in the district how to be good "equity" allies, capped with a direct call for them to join a Black Lives Matter political protest.
Farmington Public Schools in Michigan released a "21 Day Equity Challenge" for interested parties in the district, aiming to help individuals "learn how to more effectively understand and celebrate our differences"
"Our Mission Statement is ‘Farmington Public Schools, together with our community, will engage every student in a quality experience, empowering each student to become a thoughtful, contributing citizen in a changing world,’" the school district wrote. "With this in mind, we, together with you, hope to deepen our understanding about the members of our community and to use this knowledge to confront bigotry, hatred, and discrimination against any individual or group."
Day 18 of the "equity challenge" includes a link to a list of "microaggressions" to avoid, such as calling America "the land of opportunity."
https://www.foxnews.com/us/michigan-school-district-blm-protests-land-opportunity-microaggression
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Lecturer becomes symbol of France's battle against wokeism as he is suspended by university because he said it had surrendered to 'Islamo-leftist' students and academics
A lecturer has become a symbol of France's battle against wokeism after he was suspended by his university because he said it had surrendered to 'Islamo-leftist' students academics.
Klaus Kinzler was suspended for four months by Sciences Po Grenoble after the institute ruled his remarks were defamatory.
The German professor accused the university of 'explicitly encouraging students to insult, abuse and defame teachers who have the audacity not to share their extremist opinions'.
The row erupted in March after Kinzler blocked a one-day conference on 'Racism, antisemitism and Islamophobia' claiming it was a politically charged subject rather than academic.
In response a left-wing students' union accused him and a fellow professor of 'fascism' and Islamophobia in a targeted campaign on social media and signs around the Grenoble campus.
In the wake of the case, President Macron's government condemned 'Islamo-leftism' - known as Islamo-gauchisme in French - which points to the alleged political alliance between leftists and Islamists, the Times reported.
But academics have pushed back, with 40 writing an open letter to the Minister of Higher Education Frédérique Vidal warning 'the freedom of expression of academics, as well as their academic freedom within the framework of their teaching and their research, freedoms of which you are the first guarantor, are in danger in our country.'
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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22 December, 2021
Australia: Journalist is slammed for 'disgusting' comments which sparked vile Twitter pile-on
Veteran journalist Peter FitzSimons has come under fire after suggesting Scott Morrison and his wife Jenny's visit to the Tasmanian jumping castle tragedy site was a political move.
The former Wallaby [footballer] fired up his Twitter account to weigh in on photos of the prime minister and his wife laying flowers outside Hillcrest Primary School, in Devonport, on Saturday.
Mr Morrison was pictured comforting Mrs Morrison as she broke down while paying tribute to five children killed when a freak gust of wind blew a jumping castle 10 metres into the air.
'To me this seems to be more a matter for the Governor-General to arrive expressing the nation's grief and shock, rather than the PM?' FitzSimons tweeted.
FitzSimons was one of several commentators who questioned the prime minister's motives, with some left-wing advocates accusing Mr Morrison of turning the event into a 'media circus'.
But FitzSimons' comment quickly backfired - with Australians jumping on the journalist and insisting he was the one politicising the memorial visit.
'Peter FitzSimons you really are a grubby left piece of garbage to politicize this tragedy. Just STFU [shut the f*** up] you clown and have some respect,' one person tweeted.
'You and your followers are disgusting! F*** you all! Five children are dead in my state! We are grieving and all you can bloody do is tweet about politics,' another said.
'Your a dead set low life piece of s***. How could you even dare to make a political play as you have on something so heartbreaking for all down here in Tasmania if not all decent Australians. Your comment is the reflection of your sadistic self entitlement. POS 100%,' someone else posted.
Others claimed FitzSimons' reaction would have been the complete opposite had the prime minister hailed from the opposition, with some citing his previous praise of NZ Labour Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's response to tragedies.
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Pentagon bans troops from liking or advocating ‘extremist’ social content
Too bad about the First Amendment
The Pentagon unveiled new guidelines on “extremism” on Monday, including rules that clarify what kind of behaviors constitute “extremism.” The rules have been updated to reflect the social media era and now prohibit service members from “liking” or “sharing” social media posts from “extremist” groups.
On Monday, the Pentagon published an updated version of its Department of Defense Instruction 1325.06. The instruction defines “extremism” as:
In addition to existing guidelines like not distributing literature linked to “extremist” groups or words, flags or symbols of those groups, the updates to the instruction now describe what types of social media activity would be considered prohibited.
The updated instruction states, “Engaging in electronic and cyber activities regarding extremist activities, or groups that support extremist activities – including posting, liking, sharing, re-tweeting, or otherwise distributing content – when such action is taken with the intent to promote or otherwise endorse extremist activities. Military personnel are responsible for the content they publish on all personal and public Internet domains, including social media sites, blogs, websites, and applications.”
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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21 December, 2021
Real-World Quidditch to Change Name in Part Because of JK Rowling’s ‘Anti-Trans’ Stance
Transgender controversies sparked a major change in amateur sporting this week — but not at the University of Pennsylvania, where a male is shattering records in women’s college swimming.
No, I speak instead of quidditch, the fake sport invented by author J.K. Rowling as part of the Harry Potter universe.
As it turns out, a bunch of Muggles created a real-world version of the fictional sport that doesn’t involve flying broomsticks or a hummingbird-like magic “snitch.” Pretty soon, it also might not involve the word “quidditch,” since two of the biggest quidditch organizations are looking to ditch the name, in part over controversial remarks made by Rowling regarding transgender issues.
If you can’t believe that kind of inanity, you have no idea the kind of censorship individuals and publications face when they talk honestly about transgender issues. Big Tech often bans people who openly oppose the left-wing party line on transgenderism, and companies like Google will starve outlets of ad revenue if they dare to say a man is a man and a woman is a woman, or that men don’t belong in women’s sports.
According to a Wednesday news release, both U.S. Quidditch and Major League Quidditch are looking to change the sport’s name — partially due to trademark issues, but also because Rowling has made some un-woke comments on gender.
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Facebook tagged photos of beheadings and violent hate speech from ISIS and the Taliban as 'insightful' and 'engaging' - despite claims to crack down on extremists
Extremists have turned to the social media platform as a weapon 'to promote their hate-filled agenda and rally supporters' on hundreds of groups, according to the review of activity between April and December this year.
These groups have sprouted up across the platform over the last 18 months and vary in size from a few hundred to tens of thousands of members, the review found.
One pro-Taliban group created in spring this year and had grown to 107,000 members before it was deleted, the review, published by Politico, claims.
Overall, extremist content is 'routinely getting through the net', despite claims from Meta – the company that owns Facebook – that it's cracking down on extremists.
The groups were discovered by Moustafa Ayad, an executive director at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a think tank that tracks online extremism.
'It's just too easy for me to find this stuff online,' said Ayad, who shared his findings with Politico. 'What happens in real life happens in the Facebook world.'
There were reportedly 'scores of groups' allowed to operate on Facebook that were supportive of either Islamic State or the Taliban.
Some offensive posts were marked 'insightful' and 'engaging' by new Facebook tools released in November that were intended to promote community interactions.
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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20 December, 2021
Lib TV News Ignores Sen. Blumenthal Attending Communist Party Event
The issue here is not whether he should have gone to the meeting. It is the fact that the media covered it up
On Friday, senator stolen valor a.k.a. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal (CT) apologized and pleaded ignorance when it was exposed that he attended an event affiliated with the Communist Party USA the previous weekend. The entire story came and went last week without so much as a second of airtime from ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, or MSNBC.
“My understanding was that this ceremony was strictly a labor event. If I had known the details, I wouldn’t have gone,” the Senator said in a statement on Friday. “Let me just say very emphatically, I’m a Democrat and a strong believer in American capitalism. I have been consistently a Democrat and a strong supporter and believer in American capitalism.’'
Adding: “I go to a lot of events, places, meetings, rallies, and ceremonies in Connecticut. I’m delighted to be invited anywhere, and in this instance, I was invited by local labor unions to honor these three individuals, and that’s why I was there.”
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Utah State football coach Blake Anderson has apologized for telling his players it 'has never been more glamorized to be the victim' of sexual assault
Anderson, 52, issued the apology on Friday after making the comments during a conversation with the team during fall camp in August. The meeting occurred a month after football team members participated in a required Title IX sexual misconduct prevention training.
'In the course of that conversation, I used a phrase regarding victims of wrongdoing to magnify that message to our team, but after reading my comments in the transcript that was released, I realize my choice of words was hurtful,' Anderson said in a statement.
'I regret the words I used, and I apologize to anyone who has bravely come forward with allegations of wrongdoing.'
A recording of Anderson's discussion with the team surfaced shortly before Utah State was set to face Oregon State in the inaugural Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl on Saturday.
Utah State University has said it was investigating the comments.
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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19 December, 2021
Why is the Government Going Nuts Banning A NASAL SPRAY?
I put up an article about this product on Nov. 9th but Google deleted it. There have now however been a lot of posts on various conservative sites about it so they may by now have given up their attempts to suppress the news concerned
The article I originally put up was more extensive and originally appeared in https://www.theepochtimes.com -- which is a site run by anti-Communist Chinese
Now that we are facing pandemic, our government is supposed to help and encourage the companies who are making an effort to develop a treatment to prevent COVID-19. Luckily, we may have one already but the U.S. federal government seems so determined to destroy the product.
Recently, the Federal Trade Commission sued Xlear, Inc., a Utah-based company, for violating the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act, asserting that the company falsely pitched its saline nasal sprays as an effective way to prevent and treat COVID-19. The lawsuit even asks a federal court to permanently ban the company from promoting the nasal spray as a treatment for COVID-19 and also asks that monetary penalties be levied against it.
Xlear is a natural saline spray that helps relieve clogging and congestion. Also, the spray cleanses to prevent bacteria and other pollutants from sticking to nasal tissues. They added xylitol to the formula to cleanse and moisturize the inside of the nose and nasal passages to stop dryness.
The nasal spray’s fundamental ingredients are saline, grapefruit seed extract, and xylitol, a plant-derived sweetener commonly used in oral care products.
The Utah-based company states its nasal spray is an effective treatment and preventative of COVID-19. They even have multiple studies to back up their claims but still, the federal government has filed a lawsuit to stop the company from promoting their product.
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Emory University tells fraternity it can’t hang Christmas wreath on door
According to Campus Reform, members of the school’s Alpha Tau Omega fraternity were told on December 3 that their Christmas wreath hanging in front of their residence was a violation of school policy that would require an incident report.
“Since this is the second violation of the policy, an incident report will be submitted to the Office of Student Conduct,” Josh Gamse, assistant director of sorority and fraternity life, reportedly wrote to the students in an email.
Emory’s policy states that “exterior holiday decorations must not be installed or removed by students” and that “violators of this policy will face disciplinary actions.”
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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17 December, 2021
Team DeSantis Wages War on Liberal Media in the Wake of Trump
Christina Pushaw is not afraid to get down in the dirt with reporters who go after her boss.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ press secretary has repeatedly called out the press for “bad-faith coverage” and “skewed” or biased reporting, such as when the Associated Press implied in August that DeSantis was promoting monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19 cases out of his own financial interests.
“They’re afraid of the governor,” Pushaw said in an interview with The Daily Signal, pointing to national media focusing their attention on Florida news. “The left-wing elites, the establishment, and the corporate media are very much afraid of him. And it shows that he’s a good leader, and that he’s doing a good job.”
Pushaw’s vigor in defending the governor from the Associated Press ignited a social media firestorm, drawing national attention. Twitter temporarily suspended the press secretary after she told her followers to call out the author of the Associated Press article. (She later deleted her tweet, saying that she did not want it to be misinterpreted.)
Journalists criticized her actions, and the AP itself accused her of bullying.
Both the White House and federal health officials have since expressed strong support for monoclonal antibody treatment, prompting many on the right to accuse the Associated Press of orchestrating a hit job on the Florida governor.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2021/12/16/desantis-christina-pushaw-florida-trump-liberal-media/
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Twitter Suspends Conservative Commentator Melissa Tate
Twitter censorship has been picking back up again, escalating ever since Jack Dorsey stepped down and the new, anti-free speech CEO, Parah Agrawal, was installed a few short days ago.
Most recently, Twitter banned Melissa Tate, a conservative commentator and influencer known for her brilliant attacks on the leftist regime.
Here’s what she had to say about her suspension when she announced it on Facebook:
"Twitter just suspended my account with almost half a million followers with no warning for sharing a clip from the Joe Rogan podcast where he is interviewing Doctor McCullough. Twitter said this was “harmful information”
This video is a video that was trending on Twitter so I’m not the only one who shared it. This was selective enforcement & targeting by Twitter because they have been trying to silence me for over 5 years now, having locked down & deleted a previous account I had before this one.
As an immigrant who came from Marxism to America for freedom, I never thought I would see America fall to totalitarianism"
https://trendingpolitics.com/breaking-twitter-suspends-conservative-commentator-melissa-tate/
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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16 December, 2021
Glasgow team urge Exeter fans not to wear Indian headdresses at Champions Cup soccer match
An American neurosis comes to Britain
Glasgow Warriors have asked Exeter Chiefs fans not to wear Native American-style headdresses, or sing their trademark “Tomahawk Chop” chant, during Saturday’s Heineken Champions Cup match at Scotstoun.
Exeter are expected to ditch their Native American branding after a majority of their supporters backed changes. Exeter are also thought to be reviewing the use of their nickname, having announced a decision on future plans “within the next few weeks” at the end of November.
The National Congress of American Indians has previously urged the Premiership side to drop their “Chiefs” moniker, while Wasps have asked travelling fans not to wear headdresses to matches between the teams at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
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Russia’s Internet Censorship Machine Is Going After Tor
Tor is used by people worldwide to mask their activity on the internet, sometimes for illicit activity but more often than not to evade censorship in authoritarian or autocratic countries. A 2020 study found 93 percent of Tor users accessed the network for the latter reason, rather than for illegal reasons. And in Russia, whose population are the second-biggest users of Tor after the United States, people use the service to subvert government restrictions.
On December 1, OONI noticed 16 percent of connections to Tor in Russia recorded some kind of anomaly. A day later, it was one in three. On December 8, it was back to 16 percent. The anomalies seem to vary depending on which ISP and which user is trying to access Tor. Some people are being sent to a blocked page instead of the Tor Project website. Others appear to be subject to a man-in-the-middle attack over their TLS connection, which secures data sent over the internet end-to-end, when trying to connect. More still are finding their connection reset repeatedly when the TLS handshake is initiated, attempting to frustrate their access. That latter method would indicate Roskomnadzor utilized deep packet inspection (DPI) to filter packets headed for Tor, suggesting they’ve been sniffing traffic as it passes through ISPs, say OONI. (Roskomnadzor has been contacted for comment on this story.)
The situation was messy, but it all added up to one conclusion: Something was up. “We realized on December 2 or 3 that Tor was being blocked,” says Gus. The Tor Project began contacting reliable contacts in Russia and those outside the country to understand more. Slowly, the project began putting together the pieces of the puzzle, identifying what was going on. The final piece slotted into place on December 6, when the project received an email purporting to be from Roskomnadzor, saying that the Tor Project domain would be blocked. “At first, some of us thought it was a spam email,” admits Gus. “We didn’t think it was a real communication from the government.”
But it was. Torproject.org had been added to Roskomnadzor’s blocked list. “Tor has been a symbolic target because it’s not just a commercial technology used to bypass or circumvent blocking or filtering,” says Andrei Soldatov, an investigative journalist and author of books on Russia’s internet, “but because this project was developed as a political—or noncommercial—project.”
https://www.wired.com/story/russia-block-tor-censorship/
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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15 December, 2021
Australian comedian is SLAMMED for 'unacceptable' joke about Maori people on live radio
The unmentionable fact is that there is a high rate of crime among the Maori
Vince Sorrenti was a guest on Saturday Night with Rob Duckworth on 2GB. He was introduced with the Dean Martin hit That's Amore playing in background
He launched a string of puns based on the song.
But after a couple of innocent gags about Moray eels and tuna mornay, the humour took a twist with the Sydney stand-up funnyman's final joke.
To the tune of the 1953 Dean Martin hit, Mr Sorrenti sang: 'When you're hit by a thug, in a tough Kiwi pub, that's a Maori.'
The studio can be heard bursting into laughter in the background as Rob Duckworth - standing in for regular host Bill Woods - tries to move quickly on.
'There you go, Vince Sorrenti, he's on fire already,' he said, before asking the comic actor - who was one of the stars of Fat Pizza and Housos - about his latest gigs.
Now fuming Maori have told the Sydney stand-up comedian to bring his act into the 21st century after the gag was branded outdated and unacceptable.
'In today's day and age, that's definitely not acceptable,' said a member of Sydney's Maori Wardens community. 'He needs to reconsider his material in the future.
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Salvation Army Demands White Donors 'Sincerely Apologize' For 'Systemic' Racism
They have long ago abandoned Bible teachings on things like homoexuality
Salvation Army was founded as both a Christian church and international charitable organization back in 1865, in London, England. There is one about ten minutes away from my house and I like to stop in to not only find good deals but also because I know that my money is going to help others.
However, it is now 2021 and even the most innocent of companies are joining the woke movement.
Salvation Army is now embracing racist ideology, and supporting the marxist organization of Black Lives Matter.
Trending Politics reports:
The Salvation Army’s leadership team just created an “International Social Justice Commission” which has developed and released a “resource” to educate its white donors, volunteers and employees called Let’s Talk about Racism. It asserts Christianity is institutionally racist, calling for white Christians to repent and offer “a sincere apology” to blacks for being “antagonistic.. to black people or the culture, values, and interests of the black community.”
“Many have come to believe that we live in a post-racial society, but racism is very real for our brothers and sisters who are refused jobs and housing, denied basic rights and brutalized and oppressed simply because of the color of their skin,” one of the lessons outlines. “There is an urgent need for Christians to evaluate racist attitudes and practices in light of our faith, and to live faithfully in today’s world.”
In an accompanying Study Guide on Racism, Salvation Army authors explain that all whites are racist, even if they don’t realize it.
“The subtle nature of racism is such that people who are not consciously racist easily function with the privileges, empowerment and benefits of the dominant ethnicity, thus unintentionally perpetuating injustice,” it reads. “We must stop denying the existence of individual and systemic/ institutional racism. They exist, and are still at work to keep White Americans in power."
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14 December, 2021
Perdue Professor Refers to COVID as the 'Wuhan Virus,' Prompting Student Complaints
A Perdue University professor referred to the coronavirus as the "Wuhan virus" in his syllabus, highlighting the location in which the virus originated, Wuhan, China, leading to a number of complaints from students.
The professor, Randy Rapp, included the term in his class syllabus for a course on construction management and defended his decision to use the language in an email to his students following complaints.
"Ample facts showed us that the pestilence began in the Wuhan region," Rapp said. "Pundits on multiple networks with a wide range of political views commonly referred to the pandemic’s cause as the Wuhan coronavirus, and reportedly thousands of people there suffered badly and died from it before it was identified elsewhere. Wuhan virus is a simplification, not in the least illegal, immoral, unethical, inaccurate or dangerous. Of course, there is nothing political about that phrase."
He also pointed out to the paper that referencing "the most likely location of origin of a pestilence harms nothing and no one, and it is a simple convention applied to many diseases on the CDC website," and cited examples of other diseases that include the location in which they originated, including the Hong Kong flu, Spanish flu, Lyme disease and West Nile virus.
However, the professor also noted in his email that he has decided to change the syllabus' wording following complaints, saying that, if students are "overwrought and reportedly unable to study, and since naming the Wuhan virus neither harms nor was meant to harm anyone, I will change the syllabus words soon."
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J.K. Rowling causes controversy with tweet about rape suspects
J.K. Rowling is causing controversy again, after wading into the debate again about transgender people by criticising Scottish police for allowing rape suspects to self-identify as female.
The “Harry Potter” author, who has previously been accused of making transphobic comments, took to Twitter on Sunday by sharing an article from The Times of London titled: “‘Absurdity’ of police logging rapists as women.”
“War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength. The Penised Individual Who Raped You Is a Woman,” Ms Rowling wrote, referencing Newspeak in George Orwell’s 1984, the New York Post reports.
She then linked to the news article, which stated, “Police Scotland said that they would log rapes as being carried out by a woman if the accused person insists, even if they have not legally changed gender.”
Thousands of fans immediately hit out at Rowling, with many accusing her of having an unhealthy fixation on trans issues. “You literally have a castle and you spend your time doing this,” podcaster Rob Rousseau wrote.
However, in her latest dust-up, Ms Rowling also received praise for her comments, with many prominent Twitter users thanking her for having the “courage” to speak out.
“Thank you for calling out the insanity,” Canadian political commentator Lauren Chen wrote.
“Your tweet is brave,” journalist Andy Ngo said.
“Thank you. You have no idea how important your voice is, or how much it means to women and girls,” columnist Susan Dalgety responded.
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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13 December, 2021
New Zealand academic is CANCELLED for opposing plans to teach Maori creation myth in science classes: Now faces expulsion from country's Royal Society
Fury has erupted after academics in New Zealand were threatened with expulsion from the Royal Society for criticising plans that would see Maori knowledge added to the school curriculum.
Current and former professors at the University of Auckland wrote a letter to the editor of the New Zealand Listener criticising a government working group's plans to give the same weight to Maori mythology as they do to science in the classroom.
The letter was signed by seven professors, including Garth Cooper, a professor of biochemistry and clinical biochemistry at the University of Auckland.
Five members of the Royal Society of New Zealand complained about the letter, saying it caused 'untold harm and hurt', prompting the society to launch a formal investigation.
Critics claimed the ongoing investigation was an attack on free speech and that scientists were being punished for defending science.
In the letter, titled 'In Defence of Science, the professors accepted indigenous knowledge should be taught in schools as it is 'critical for the preservation and perpetuation of culture and local practices, and plays key roles in management and policy'.
But they argued it could not be treated on a par with biology, chemistry and physics, adding: ‘In the discovery of empirical, universal truths, it falls far short of what we can define as science itself.’
After the letter was published in July, the Royal Society of New Zealand received complaints from five members demanding disciplinary action against three society fellows: Professor Cooper, philosopher Robert Nola, and psychologist Michael Corballis. Mr Corballis died suddenly last month.
Maori beliefs argue that all living things originated from Tane Mahuta sending his father Ranginui up to the sky and his mother Papatuanuku down to the earth.
Columnist Rod Liddle, writing in today's Sunday Times, called the reaction to the professor's letter 'madness and stupidity'.
He wrote: '(Professor Cooper) signed an open letter suggesting that, while it was important everybody knew about the interesting Maori take on creation, “In the discovery of empirical, universal truths, it falls far short of what we can define as science itself.”
'Yet for once freedom of speech is not the crucial issue for me here. It is instead the burgeoning madness and stupidity, condescension and racism that are propelling us towards the De-Enlightenment.
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YouTube amps up its censorship
On December 9, YouTube announced that it would begin removing new content posted to its platform that "misleads people by alleging that widespread fraud or errors changed the outcome of the 2020 U.S. Presidential election."
YouTube said that while users were allowed to post whatever they wanted about an undecided election, content claiming fraud or errors intended to influence public opinion regarding a past election would not be allowed. It was a reversal of the companies' earlier stance not to remove election-related videos.
A quarter of U.S. adults get their news from YouTube, according to the Pew Research Center.
The dominant video-posting site's action now went far beyond the two other social media giants—Facebook and Twitter—which had started labeling posts that it judged to be misinformation or disinformation but in general were not removing those kinds of posts. YouTube said its policy would apply only to new videos uploaded after December 9.
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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12 December, 2021
When a fact check is not a fact check
In court filings, Facebook argued that its “fact checks” are not factual, they are “protected opinion.”
John Stossel, a libertarian journalist and author, filed a lawsuit against Facebook, claiming the platform defamed him through a “fact check” label. Facebook added a “misleading” label on a video he posted.
Stossel was censored on Facebook and his work was undermined by the “fact check” that he alleged was defaming his character by falsely accusing him of lying.
In recent court filings, Facebook’s attorneys argued that the “fact check” on the video was an “opinion” and not an actual fact.
Libel law protects opinions from defamatory liability.
“The labels themselves are neither false nor defamatory; to the contrary, they constitute protected opinion,” Facebook’s lawyers wrote in the court filings.
Facebook wants the ability to allow fact checkers to accuse their users of lying and censor and ban users based on those “fact checks,” but not to have any liability for accusing those users of lying
https://reclaimthenet.org/facebook-says-fact-checks-are-opinion/
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Australia: The Greens have dehumanised women to align with their political agenda, writes Vikki Campion
In the final sitting week of the year, the Greens sought to cancel the word “woman” from new laws, to appease 0.06 per cent of the birthing population who identify as men.
Seeking to “omit the word woman” and insert “pregnant person” 23 times, Greens MP Abigail Boyd also sought to “resist the creep towards foetal personhood”.
Revealing their legislative skillset ends at the copy-paste shortcut on a keyboard, the Greens even sought to cancel women from a bill that by its very nature requires the XX chromosome to be relevant - Zoe’s law - which means offenders whose criminal acts cause the loss of an unborn child face longer sentences.
After at least four attempts at similar reforms in the past, the law creates two offences, each adding up to three years to sentences for crimes that result in the loss of a foetus, recognising the loss of an unborn child as a unique injury to a pregnant woman.
So how do the Greens pretend to care about women when they want to wipe womanhood from legislation?
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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10 December, 2021
Lefty academic slams children's book Harry the Dog and classics by Dr Seuss and Disney for 'sexist stereotypes' - even taking issue with the use of the word 'HE'
Classic children's stories like Harry the Dog, Dr Seuss and Disney tales have been slammed by an Australian academic for being 'outdated, sexist and racist'.
Dr Helen Adam from Western Australia's Edith Cowan University says many family favourites should be pulled off the shelves and replaced by more inclusive books.
'The world represented in children's books reflects predominantly middle class, heterosexual male heroes and characters,' Dr Adam says in a new study.
'Sadly, evidence from the last 30 years suggests a longstanding problem with gender representation in children's books.
'Representation of children and families outside of the traditional heteronormative understandings are most often absent in children's books.'
Harry The Dog came under fire for using the 'gendered pronoun 'he' for the main character' and showing 'active' boys brushing the dog, while 'nurturing' girls patted him.
Male characters outnumbered female by 3:1 in Gene Zion's 1956 classic, she noted, and depicted a nuclear family with a homemaker mother and businessman father.
Some Dr Seuss books like the Cat In The Hat, published in 1957, were attacked for promoting white supremacy and racism through its characters and storyline.
'Dr Seuss books portray minority cultures in stereotypical or exotic ways and often in subservient roles to white characters,' wrote Dr Adam in an earlier study.
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Biden CHANGES words of the Declaration of Independence to include 'women'
A historical fraud. The declaration is an historical document, not a creed
In opening his two-day Democracy Summit on Thursday, President Joe Biden amended the U.S. Declaration of Independence when quoting it to make sure it included 'women and men'.
'American democracy is an ongoing struggle to live up to our highest ideals and to heal our divisions, to recommit ourselves to the founding idea of our nation captured in our Declaration of Independence, not unlike many of your documents,' Biden said in opening remarks.
'We say, 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all women and men are created equal endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,'' he said in quoting the document but changing it to be inclusive of women.
The Declaration of Independence was drafted by a committee made up of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston.
In the past, Biden has flubbed the words or paraphrased the document.
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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9 December, 2021
The Pope compares the EU to a 'Nazi dictatorship' for its attempts to impose woke language rules and ban Christmas
Pope Francis has compared the EU to a 'Nazi dictatorship' for trying to impose woke rules on language and ban using the word Christmas.
The pope, 84, warned the bloc not to 'take the path of ideological colonisation' as he returned from Greece after a four-day trip.
Last week, the EU was accused of trying to 'cancel Christmas' after telling staff to avoid the word in favour of 'holiday period' because it could be offensive to non-Christians.
Eurocrats published the rule months ago as part of a guide on 'inclusive communication', details of which leaked leading to a furious backlash.
Other suggestions in the book included replacing Christian names such as Mary and John with 'international' names such as Malika and Julio when using them in generic examples, and swapping the word 'man-made' for 'human-induced'.
The pontiff said the language diktats, which the European Commissioner for Equality admitted 'clearly needed more work', 'a fad, watered-down secularism'.
He said while on board the papal plane on return to the Vatican: 'It is something that throughout history has not worked.
'In history, many dictatorships have tried to do these things. I'm thinking of Napoleon, the Nazi dictatorship, the Communist one.'
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Scottish Nationalist who unveiled 'England get out of Scotland' banner at Edinburgh airport to discourage tourists celebrates as charges against him are dropped
A Scottish Nationalist who was arrested for 'racial remarks' after unfurling an 'England get out of Scotland' banner at Edinburgh Airport has had all charges against him dropped.
Sean Clerkin, 60, staged the protest alongside fellow members of the Action for Scotland group last August as part of a campaign to close the nation's borders to stop the spread of coronavirus.
The group wanted to discourage tourists entering Scotland at a time when infection rates were much higher in England.
The protestor also posed with the banner at the border, and at Glasgow Central Station, before he was arrested at his home in Barrhead, East Renfrewshire, in September 2020 on suspicion of aggravated breach of the peace.
But Mr Clerkin said he has now been 'vindicated' after the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service ruled there was effectively no case against him.
Mr Clerkin had argued that the arrest breached his right to protest.
'It did not stipulate any hate towards the race.'
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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8 December, 2021
University professor who called students 'pathetic' over woke walkout from talk by Rod Liddle is barred from duty and faces investigation
A university head is under investigation and has been barred from duties after branding a walkout by woke students ‘pathetic’.
Professor Tim Luckhurst, principal of Durham’s South College, made the remark when youngsters staged a walkout during a speech by Right-wing journalist Rod Liddle.
Following an outcry, Professor Luckhurst emailed students to apologise – but the university has launched an investigation into his conduct.
It is understood he is not allowed to speak to anybody about the controversy, and was did not make a scheduled campus speech last night. He has also been barred from attending a university business trip in America.
Liddle, the associate editor of the Spectator, started his speech at a college formal last Friday night by joking that he was disappointed not to see any sex workers, referring to a recent controversy over safety training provided by the university to students working in the sex industry.
He also said the Left were ignoring science over transgender issues, that colonialism was not the main cause of Africa’s problems and the underachievement of pupils of Caribbean descent had nothing to do with institutional racism.
After the speech, students shouted ‘disgusting’ and ‘racist’ at Liddle as he walked out of the venue. That evening, a Stonewall poster was stuck on the door of Professor Luckhurst’s office reading, ‘Some people are trans. Get over it!’
Students wrote to Durham vice-chancellor Antony Long, claiming Liddle made ‘transphobic, sexist, racist and classist remarks’. The open letter, signed by more than 1,000 students, complained they felt ‘distressed’ and ‘emotional’ after his speech.
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40 percent of Hispanic voters are offended by term ‘Latinx,’ poll finds
The increased usage of the words “Latinx” by Democrats may actually hinder their party’s efforts to win over voters of Latin American origin, a new poll finds.
Just 2 percent of registered voters of Hispanic, Latina or Latino origin who were questioned in the nationwide poll identified as “Latinx” — while 40 percent of the same 800 interviewees said they were offended in some way by the gender-neutral word.
“The numbers suggest that using Latinx is a violation of the political Hippocratic Oath, which is to first do no electoral harm,” Fernand Amandi, principal with Democratic firm Bendixen & Amandi International, which conducted the poll, told Politico.
“Why are we using a word that is preferred by only 2 percent, but offends as many as 40 percent of those voters we want to win?” he asked.
The poll also found that 30 percent of voters were “less likely to support” a politician or political organization that uses “Latinx” to talk about the nation’s Latin American community.
Proponents of the term argue, in part, that Spanish words shouldn’t end with an “O” — the vowel typically used with masculine nouns — when describing a mixed-gender group.
Critics counter that “Latinx” is confusing to the Latin American community because Spanish words don’t end in the letter X.
Responding to the poll, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) noted, “Hispanic, Latin American are gender-neutral. “So we have already gender-neutral options to describe the Latino community. Adding an ‘X’ and creating a new word comes off as performative,” Gallego said.
https://nypost.com/2021/12/06/40-percent-of-hispanic-voters-are-offended-by-latinx-poll-finds/
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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7 December, 2021
Breastfeeding guide to axe the word 'womanly' from title in what critics fear is an attempt to appease transgender lobby groups
A best-selling book for mothers on how to nurse their babies could be updated to remove the words ‘womanly’ and ‘breastfeeding’ from its title.
The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding has become a trusted guide for many new mums since it was first published by campaigners La Leche League (LLL) in 1958.
But the breastfeeding charity is now considering changing the title in what critics fear is an attempt to appease transgender lobby groups.
It comes after the Royal College of Midwives last week apologised for referring to mothers as ‘post-natal people’ in guidance on how to help newborns sleep better. The reference was later removed from its website.
Ahead of publishing the ninth edition of the book, LLL has launched a survey among volunteer ‘leaders’ of its breastfeeding support groups.
It says translations for many overseas versions have already changed the title to ‘better reflect local culture’ – and it asks volunteers for their views on the removal of ‘womanly’ and ‘breastfeeding’.
The move comes amid growing unease that women are being ‘erased’ by organisations set up to support mothers amid pressure from transgender activists to use gender neutral language.
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UK Civil servants have axed the word ‘Christmas’ from a proposed government campaign
British civil servants have apparently embraced their inner Scrooge, vetoing the use of the word ‘Christmas’ from being used in a coronavirus testing drive aimed at students, arguing that the use of the term runs the risk of offending minorities within the country.
The campaign, which reportedly would have revolved around ministers using the slogan “Don’t take COVID home for Christmas,” is part of a larger government effort to limit the spread of the Chinese coronavirus after two cases of the Omicron variant were discovered on-shore.
‘We have been advised by Cabinet Office that we should not use the word Christmas – as the Government campaign needs to be inclusive and some religions don’t celebrate Christmas,” an email seen by The Mail on Sunday read. “The other option was ‘festive season’ which keeps the emotional motivation.”
“We have gone with ‘Don’t take COVID-19 home for the holidays’ – as it links to school and university Christmas holidays,” the email continued. “The alliteration with ‘home’ and ‘holidays’ scans well and is memorable.”
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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6 December, 2021
College Football Coach Allegedly Fired for Removing BLM Poster Sues Former Bosses
A former Illinois State University assistant football coach has filed a lawsuit against the team's head coach and the school's former athletic director over claims that his First Amendment rights were violated after he replaced a Black Lives Matter poster that had been placed on his door with another poster.
The suit, filed Tuesday, alleges that, in September 2020, Kurt Beathard, the former offensive coordinator for ISU, was dismissed by head coach Brock Spack and was later fired by then-athletic director Larry Lyons, according to the Chicago Tribune.
It also claims First Amendment retaliation and viewpoint discrimination against Beathard and asserts that he was terminated because he failed to "toe the party line regarding Black Lives Matter."
Beathard said that a Black Lives Matter poster was placed on his door while he was on leave following the death of his wife, who had succumb to breast cancer. Upon his return, Beathard replaced the poster with one that read, "All Lives Matter to Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ," the suit notes.
The new poster remained on the door for less than two weeks. According to the suit, Beathard took down the poster before he was fired but after Spack asked that he remove it.
Doug Churdar, Beathard’s attorney, said in a press release that Beathard should not have been disciplined for expressing his views in a public university.
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Say the Name That Frightens Iran’s Rulers
Last week, a former Iranian judiciary official charged with war crimes in Iran testified in a Swedish court. The first person to date to face trial for the horrific 1988 massacre, Hamid Noury’s testimony offered revelations that laid bare Tehran’s vulnerabilities and revealed important insights into the regime’s domestic affairs.
Noury, who is accused of participation in the massacre of more than 30,000 political prisoners in Iran in 1988, 90 percent of whom were members of a singular opposition movement – was arrested in Sweden in 2019.
In heated exchanges with confused prosecutors, the defendant doggedly refused to speak the name “People's Mojahedin” to refer to his victims – members of Iran’s principal democratic opposition, the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), known around the world as the Mujahedin-e Khalqor, MEK.
Noury’s unwillingness to identify the affiliation of those he reportedly tortured and killed in an international court may have puzzled casual regime observers, but the refusal was hardly lost on those that follow Iran closely.
As the defendant explained in sworn testimony, even speaking the MEK’s official name could result in an Iranian’s arrest and prosecution. And so, to the visible astonishment of the trial judge and puzzled onlookers, the defendant – charged with war crimes and murder – spent a considerable portion of his testimony unpacking exactly why he was so afraid to even utter the name ‘MEK’ in his own defense.
The historical context is important.
The 1988 massacre was rooted in both the MEK’s politics and its rejection of Islamic fundamentalism as a religious ideology. Since 1979, the organization has advocated a democratic and secular republic, putting it at odds with the totalitarian state’s clerical rulers. Compounding the trouble for the mullahs was the fact that the MEK’s democratic aspirations were built on the canons of Islam, the very religion the ayatollahs usurped to monopolize political power.
Acknowledging that MEK dissidents were genuine Muslims would have undermined the mullahs’ reactionary reading of Islam. As such, speaking the name “Mojahedin” became an unforgivable crime against the state. And doing so was deemed an act of legitimization.
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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5 December, 2021
Authoritarian new head of Twitter doesn't care about free speech
Twitter's incoming CEO Parag Agrawal is kicking off his new position with a heaping dose of racism.
Agrawal, who is replacing Jack Dorsey, repeated a quote in 2010 that strongly suggested there isn't a need to “distinguish between white people and racists.”
That quote, in itself, is racist. So his argument is not even valid.
In an interview with the MIT Technology Review last year, while he was CTO of the company, Agrawal said free speech was no longer a focus for the company.
“Our role is not to be bound by the First Amendment, but our role is to serve a healthy public conversation and our moves are reflective of things that we believe lead to a healthier public conversation,” said Agrawal.
“The kinds of things that we do about this is, focus less on thinking about free speech, but thinking about how the times have changed.”
https://dailypatriotreport.com/twitter-new-ceo-why-should-i-distinguish-between-whites-and-racists/
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Twitters Decides American Heart Association’s Vaccine Info is Unfit for Tweeting
Twitter is warning users that the website of the American Heart Association may be “unsafe,” after it published an abstract in one of its medical journals containing research linking mRNA COVID-19 jabs to heart inflammation.
The abstract was published in Circulation, a journal of the AHA on the 16th of November. In their research, a team led by former cardiac surgeon Steven Grundy applied a cardiac test to measure a patient’s 5-year risk of a new acute coronary syndrome.
Wilder still: The study itself carried a disclaimer.
The abstract claims a 14-point increase in the five-year risk of acute coronary syndrome in participants. However, the American Heart Association later attached an “expression of concern” to the study, warning readers that it contains “potential errors.”
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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3 December, 2021
UK film classification board tightens up on N-word and racism
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is adopting a stricter position on the use of racist language in programmes, saying “attitudes had shifted” towards the use of outdated and offensive behaviour or language.
The UK regulator said programmes featuring the N-word should not be classified lower than 12A/12 unless in exceptional circumstances, such as a documentary or biopic with a clear educational value and appeal to younger audiences.
The move follows new research commissioned by the BBFC into racism and discrimination in films and TV shows, which asked people – including those who have been directly affected – their views on the classification of such scenes.
Seventy participants were asked to answer questions about clips from different films and series including Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Race, Young Sheldon, Call the Midwife, Crocodile Dundee and Looney Tunes. They were then required to watch a feature film from a selection that included Hidden Figures (2016), Selma (2014), Blinded By the Light (2019) and I Am Not Your Negro (2016).
“Of all the language considered, the N-word was the most contentious, evoking the strongest response from the community,” the BBFC said in its report, adding that it was one of the few instances where “zero tolerance” attitudes emerged.
The BBFC said the Jesse Owens’ biopic Race, which was classified PG in 2016, would likely be classified as 12A/12 if it were to be resubmitted today. In the film, a white man uses the N-word in a derogatory manner in relation to Owens and other Black athletes.
Despite the film’s positive messages about overcoming adversity, respondents said because the use of racist language wasn’t explicitly and clearly condemned, they didn’t think it was acceptable at PG.
The BBFC said that while people understood “some older films and TV shows are a ‘product of their time’, it’s clear attitudes have shifted over the years.”
In particular, parents wanted content warnings so they could make informed decisions about whether to allow their children to watch a particular programme.
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USC fans’ ‘distasteful’ chant blows up in their face as university says sorry
Last Sunday (AEDT), USC took on Brigham Young University (BYU) at the LA Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles as the Trojans looked to keep their season alive.
However, it was BYU who emerged victorious once the clock ran out, with the Cougars taking the spoils 35-31 and putting USC out of any post-season bowl action.
But it was not the result that was the big talking point, rather it was what USC students yelled out from the stands at their opponents.
It was reported that the Trojan faithful chanted “f*** the Mormons” during the game.
The chant caused quite a stir because BYU is one of several American universities owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), and BYU’s student population is 98 per cent Mormon according to university records from 2019.
USC immediately apologised a day after the incident, tweeting: “The offensive chant from our student section directed towards BYU during the football game last night does not align with our Trojan values. It was distasteful and we apologise to the BYU program.”
But in a cruel twist of fate, and what almost every USC fan who chanted “f*** the Mormons” didn’t realise, is that the Trojans’ very own quarterback Jaxson Dart is a Mormon himself.
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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2 December, 2021
You Can’t Say That In Canada
The CBC this week released an article entitled, “Words and phrases you may want to think twice about using.” It’s as dumb as you’d expect anything with that title to be.
They consulted “anti-racist” activists and other manner of left-wing made up titles, people whose job it is to be offended on behalf of people who aren’t offended themselves, to draw up a list of words and phrases needing to be struck from the dictionary. Among them: ghetto, inner city, spooky, grandfathered in, spirit animal, first-world problem, dumb, lame, tone deaf, and lowest on the totem pole.
Unfortunately for anyone born in a ghetto, the inner city mentality leftists instill in people through the education system is downright spooky. But it’s been grandfathered in because control is kind of the spirit animal of the left. It’s a total first-world problem, but dumb people do lame things and are tone deaf to what works and what doesn’t. Making people’s lives worse should matter, but when you’re the lowest on the totem pole, liberals don’t care how much damage they do to you.
That paragraph wouldn’t get me arrested in Canada, at least not yet, but it will likely soon be a hate crime.
Each one of these words and phrases has a twisted justification as to why they need to go, each more pathetic than the last. And they have the requisite leftist providing some of the dumbest, “someone might be offended if they spent six months doing extensive research in a desperate scramble to find something to be offended by” justifications you’ll ever see.
For “first-world problems,” for example, they found a vacant activist to say, “When we're saying first world, we're putting them at the top ... What does it convey? Why do we have to use these prefixes, which kind of dehumanize some country or some human being or a group?”
Told you they were dumb, didn’t I?
Some countries are better than others, you can tell by the flow of people into this one relative to the armpits around the world people are fleeing. Some people are smarter than others, you can tell by how smart people are conservative and Democrats get the rest.
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Mag Ripped for Declaring Phrase ‘Invasive Species’ Problematic
Left-wing news website Vox published an article this week that claimed it was time to stop demonizing “invasive” species, arguing that the ongoing use of the term divided life on Earth, including people, between native and non-native.
In the Sunday piece, freelance journalist Marina Bolotnikova blamed climate change for the forced migration of certain species, criticized measures taken by some governments to terminate those species, likened their treatment to the experiences of immigrants and suggested the term “invasive” wasn’t appropriate to describe the migrating groups.
She later referred to conservationist efforts in North Carolina to prevent coyotes from mating with endangered red wolves as bearing “uncomfortable parallels to Western preoccupations with racial purity.”
“That’s why some scientists look askance at the influence of invasion biology and argue that the field has a baked-in, nativist bias on documenting negative consequences of introduced species and preserving nature as it is,” she wrote.
https://flagandcross.com/woke-joke-mag-ripped-for-declaring-phrase-invasive-species-problematic/
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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1 December, 2021
EU advice on inclusive language withdrawn after rightwing outcry
An internal European commission document advising officials to use inclusive language such as “holiday season” rather than Christmas and avoid terms such as “man-made” has been withdrawn after an outcry from rightwing politicians.
The EU executive’s volte-face over the guidelines, launched by the commissioner for equality, Helena Dalli, at the end of October, was prompted by an article in the Italian tabloid Il Giornale which claimed it amounted to an attempt to “cancel Christmas”.
A series of politicians on the right, including the former president of the European parliament Antonio Tajani, a member of Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, subsequently jumped on the issue to voice their opposition to the “absurd” advice.
“Inclusion does not mean denying the Christian roots of [the EU]”, Tajani tweeted.
In response, Dalli, who had tweeted a picture of herself with the guidelines on 26 October, along with comments speaking of her pride in launching the document, issued an apologetic statement.
She said: “My initiative to draft guidelines as an internal document for communication by commission staff in their duties was intended to achieve an important aim: to illustrate the diversity of European culture and showcase the inclusive nature of the European commission towards all walks of life and beliefs of European citizens.
“However, the version of the guidelines published does not adequately serve this purpose. It is not a mature document and does not meet all commission quality standards. The guidelines clearly need more work. I therefore withdraw the guidelines and will work further on this document.”
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‘How dictatorship works’: Hungarian academic quits in censorship row
A prominent academic has resigned from a Hungarian higher education body, alleging censorship and accusing the top European standards organisation of turning a blind eye to waning academic freedom in central Europe.
Andrea Pet?, a professor at the Central European University in Vienna, said she had resigned from the Hungarian Accreditation Committee’s humanities subcommittee last week after she was asked to change part of an article she wrote that was due to be published in an academic journal.
Academic freedom in Hungary has been under pressure since Viktor Orbán returned to power in 2010. Under the prime minister’s self-proclaimed “illiberal democracy”, the ruling Fidesz party has sought to take control of courts and public institutions, while shrinking the space for independent media and NGOs. The Central European University was forced to leave Budapest for Vienna in 2018, and observers have voiced concern about a tax on institutions helping refugee students and researchers.
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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For the notes appearing at the side of the original blog see here
Pictures put up on a blog sometimes do not last long. They stay up only as long as the original host keeps them up. I therefore keep archives of all the pictures that I use. The recent archives are online and are in two parts:
Archive of side pictures here
Most pictures that I use in the body of the blog should stay up throughout the year. But how long they stay up after that is uncertain. At the end of every year therefore I intend to put up a collection of all pictures used on the blog in that year. That should enable missing pictures to be replaced. The archive of last year's pictures on this blog is therefore now up. Note that the filename of the picture is clickable and reflects the date on which the picture was posted. See here
My Home Pages are here (Academic) or here (Personal); My Home page supplement; My Alternative Wikipedia; My Blogroll; Menu of my longer writings; My annual picture page is here; My Recipes;
Email me (John Ray) here.
