British Leftists getting into the act over NFL Redskins

Two British lawmakers have written to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to complain about the nickname of the Washington Redskins ahead of the team's visit to London next season.

Ruth Smeeth and Ian Austin, who are members of the Labour Party, wrote in a letter dated Feb. 2 that the NFL 'should consider changing the name of the Washington franchise or, at a minimum, send a different team to our country to represent the sport, one that does not promote a racial slur.'

'A team's name is a club decision,' NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said. 'We recognize there are strong views on both sides of this.'

The NFL has been playing regular-season games in London since 2007.  Washington is scheduled to play the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 30 at Wembley Stadium.

The letter from the lawmakers said that there is 'deliberate insensitivity and apparent hostility to a prominent minority group' by using the Redskins name.

The team has maintained that it is meant to honor Native Americans, and Redskins owner Dan Snyder has said he will never change the nickname.

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Another false racism claim from students

Three black female college students who claimed to be victims of an assault by a group of white men and women have been charged themselves.

The University at Albany announced Thursday that two of the women, Ariel Agudio and Asha Burwell, have been charged with misdemeanor assault and falsely reporting an incident. The third woman, Alexis Briggs, has been charged with misdemeanor assault.

The women, all 20 years old, claimed they were attacked early on the morning of Jan. 30 while riding a bus. They claimed that they were called racial slurs and were physically attacked while bystanders looked on.

Investigators say a review of multiple videos of the incident showed no evidence the women were victims of a crime or subjected to racial slurs. In fact, police said the women were the aggressors, assaulting a 19-year-old white woman.

Police said surveillance and cellphone video, as well as eyewitness testimony, contradicted the women's account. The white men Agudio, Burwell and Briggs claimed assaulted them were actually trying to break up the fight.

"I especially want to point out that what happened on the bus was not a 'hate crime,'" University Police Chief Frank Wiley said in a statement, according to the Albany Times-Union.

The incident roiled tensions on campus and garnered extensive media attention, including a sympathetic tweet from Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton.

The false report charge against Aguido and Burwell stem from 911 calls the women made reporting the incident. In one of the calls, Agudio tells the dispatcher, "It was a racial crime. They were calling us [N-word] and all this stuff ... And if someone doesn't come and take this down or something, I'm going to call the news."

The women are scheduled to appear in court Monday. A conviction on the assault charges is punishable by up to one year in jail.

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The University of Missouri has fired Melissa Click



Last week, the Board of Curators received the investigative report detailing the relevant facts surrounding recent conduct by MU assistant professor, Dr. Melissa Click. On January 27, the board authorized an investigation so it could determine whether additional discipline for Dr. Click was appropriate.

Her response was received on February 19, after which the board received the report from investigators, including Dr. Click’s response. After reviewing the report and Dr. Click’s response, and, after extensive discussion, the board voted last night in executive session to terminate the employment of Dr. Click. She has the right to appeal her termination.

The board went to significant lengths to ensure fairness and due process for Dr. Click. Click, as readers no doubt recall, achieved notoriety during the hysterical Missouri race protests when she allegedly assaulted a student reporter, demanding “muscle” to help her remove the reporter from an open area on campus.

Incredibly, 115 of her colleagues signed a letter supporting her and actually called on the university to defend “her First Amendment rights of protest.”

News flash — neither the First Amendment nor the most expansive interpretation of academic freedom grants professors the right to assault students. Her actions were antithetical to free expression.

While the university was deciding her case, yet another video surfaced showing her cursing at police at a different protest. To be sure, Click was entitled to due process, and one can’t judge from the university’s statement whether it followed the required procedure (given her defiance and level of faculty of support, the university would have to be idiotic to violate her due process rights — but universities frequently do stupid things.)

At the same time, however, it’s difficult to imagine an equivalent number of professors writing a letter in support of a conservative who assaulted a student to protect, say, a Young America’s Foundation event.

The university is losing student applicants, and it’s losing millions in donations. This termination is the first evidence that Missouri is finally (and painfully) beginning to grow a spine.

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Advertisements must not include attractive women



AUSTRALIAN TV personality and former Test cricketer Mike Whitney has made for some awkward advertising in a new commercial for the Gold Coast Sixes cricket.

The ad features Whitney between two bikini clad women on the sand of a Gold Coast beach, advertising a long weekend cricket tournament set for the June long weekend later this year.

The online ad was shot on a Gold Coast Beach, with many calling the clip "cheap and tacky" or ‘degrading.’

The ad, which has sparked ‘sexism’ backlash, talks about the tournament which will cost $449 per person and include $900 worth of parties, drinks, meals and cricket gear. There will be free beer for the skipper and a chance to win $100,000.

"This is not just a cricket tournament — it’s a three day, four night carnival held up here on the Gold Coast," Mr Whitney says to the camera while standing between two bikini clad women.

"I’ll be here, the girls will be here and were looking forward to welcoming you," he says as the models wave to the camera.

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Must not mention that some women are more attractive than others

A NIGHTCLUB promoter has sparked outrage after advertising a job that’s only available for attractive women.

Jonny Ransome appealed for candidates on Facebook, claiming the “perfect job” suited someone who loved “free alcohol, money and dancing”.  However, his job advert had one catch — only good looking females who are “8/10 or above” should bother applying, The Sun reports.

Jonny, a promoter for Flirt Fridays at Birdcage in Manchester, UK, wrote: “If you’re female, 8/10 and above, love free alcohol, money and dancing, then message me now. I’ve got the perfect job for you.”  In the comments of the status, he added: “And be realistic about your rating please, no time wasters.”

Applicants deemed attractive enough will be offered a job as a hostess at Birdcage, Jonny said.

He said perks would include free entry to all of their events, VIP access, invitations to monthly staff parties and free alcohol.

The “banter” advert has landed Jonny in hot water after outraged students at Manchester University branded him “shallow”.  One Manchester student Annabel said: “When promoters are really shallow, which it seems they always are, it puts me off going to a club night. I don’t want to be judged while I’m there.”

Another said: “The fact he said ‘it’s only for the banter’ says it all. Discriminating against girls based on their looks is not banter.”

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Australian property manager slammed over email critical of homosexuality

Under attack for voicing views that were normal up until a few decades ago.  Sodomy was illegal in Queensland up until 1990

A QUEENSLAND real estate agent has come under fire after an email about the ‘Safe Schools’ program drew widespread condemnation.

Sunstate Property Group Principal Denis Mulheron penned the email voicing his concerns about the program, which is designed to promote safety, inclusion and respect for gay, intersex and gender-diverse students.

“Do you not inderstand this is how poofters and dykes kept bringing vunarable young children into there unnatural way of life (sic),” Mulheron started his email.

“They should seek a cure for their mental illness poofterism should still be illegal a man sticks his **** in another mans ass (sic),” he added.

Since being uploaded on Twitter, the email has drawn widespread condemnation on social media with dozens taking to the Sunstate Property Group’s Facebook page.

“What a repulsive individual. I have retweeted his poison so that other more thinking people can similarly boycott.  “Bad look Sunstate. Really bad,” another added.

When contacted by News Corp Australia, Mulheron said he stands by his words.  “I don’t believe this should be taught in schools, we are just going mad.”

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Actor Adam Baldwin Quits Twitter Over Platform's Alleged Silencing of Conservatives

Adam Baldwin has had enough of Twitter. After the social media platform’s continued censorship of conservatives, the actor decided he’s leaving and never coming back.

“Twitter is dead to me,” Baldwin told the Independent Journal Review. “I’m going to find greener pastures elsewhere and I’m not coming back.”

On Monday, Balwdin, who currently plays XO Mike Slattery in TNT’s “The Last Ship,” deleted his entire Twitter history, except for one:

@Jack is the CEO of Twitter and the Trust and Safety Council was created earlier this month as a “foundational part of our strategy to ensure that people feel safe expressing themselves on Twitter.”

“This group-think, Orwellian, so-called Safety Council is really killing the wild west of ideas that Twitter was,” Baldwin told IJR.

The recent banning of conservative Robert Stacy McCain that prompted Baldwin to call it quits.

“It’s really a shame that so-called ‘liberal thinkers’ and the so called ‘tolerant crowd’ is intolerant of varying viewpoints,” he said, reports IJR. “They’re so afraid to hear people disagree with them. Instead of ignoring it or providing their own arguments in return, they say “shut up!””

Sound familiar?

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Conservative Writer Ben Shapiro Banned from CSULA

Early Tuesday morning, conservative writer Ben Shapiro revealed on Twitter that his planned speech on February 25 at California State University-Los Angeles had been canceled by the university's president.

Shapiro was due to speak on the topic of “When Diversity Becomes a Problem,” which CSULA President William Covino decided should be canceled in favor of an event that was more inclusive to all viewpoints. His appearance at CSULA is part of the Young America's Foundation's Fred R. Allen lecture series.

    In an email to the Young America’s Foundation chapter at CSULA, university president William Covino wrote, “After careful consideration, I have decided that it will be best for our campus community if we reschedule Ben Shapiro’s appearance for a later date, so that we can arrange for him to appear as part of a group of speakers with differing viewpoints on diversity. Such an event will better represent our university’s dedication to the free exchange of ideas and the value of considering multiple viewpoints.”

A press release from YAF pointed out the hypocrisy of CSULA's cancelation of Shapiro, given their past tolerance for hosting liberal speakers without requiring that a full spectrum of ideas be represented:

    Contrary to Covino’s newfound love for the “free exchange of ideas” and the consideration of “multiple viewpoints,” his university has hosted a wide variety of radical liberal speakers without ever bothering to ensure the conservative worldview was represented.

    For convenience, we’ve sampled a few choice examples from recent years below:

    * Dr. Cornel West addressed “Post Racialism”
    * Alia al-Saji spoke on "Cultural Racism: Muslim Veiling, Embodiment, and the Nature of Culture”
    * Kimberlé Crenshaw addressed "Racing to Post Racialism: Critical Race Theory, Constitutional Law, and Sustaining Communities"
    * Serene Khader lectured on the topic, "Do Muslim Women Really Need Freedom?"
    * Angela Davis and Tim Wise will address in a video lecture “Exploring Whiteness” this Wednesday

    Did Covino go out of his way to ensure students attending any one of these events had the opportunity to “consider multiple viewpoints?” Has he ever canceled other events for failing to meet his standard of “inclusivity?”

The event, and CSULA's YAF chapter, had earlier been threatened by professors on the campus.

Despite the cancelation by the university, YAF employees insist that the event is going to happen as planned:

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The death of free speech at Williams College in  Massachusetts

John Derbyshire is British and unafraid to mention American racial realities -- black crime etc.

Last week, Williams College President Adam Falk declared that the Uncomfortable Learning group could not host a speech by John Derbyshire because of past, racist statements he had made. In a message to students, Falk wrote:

"Today I am taking the extraordinary step of canceling a speech by John Derbyshire, who was to have presented his views here on Monday night. The college didn’t invite Derbyshire, but I have made it clear to the students who did that the college will not provide a platform for him.

Free speech is a value I hold in extremely high regard. The college has a very long history of encouraging the expression of a range of viewpoints and giving voice to widely differing opinions. We have said we wouldn’t cancel speakers or prevent the expression of views except in the most extreme circumstances. In other words: There’s a line somewhere, but in our history of hosting events and speeches of all kinds, we hadn’t yet found it.

We’ve found the line. Derbyshire, in my opinion, is on the other side of it. Many of his expressions clearly constitute hate speech, and we will not promote such speech on this campus or in our community.

We respect—and expect—our students’ exploration of ideas, including ones that are very challenging, and we encourage individual choice and decision-making by students. But at times it’s our role as educators and administrators to step in and make decisions that are in the best interest of students and our community. This is one of those times"

The statement is positively Orwellian. While purporting to reaffirm the principles of free speech, which he claims to hold in “high regard,” Falk abandons them entirely.

I am no fan of John Derbyshire’s. He has written some contemptible things, and I supported National Review’s decision to cut him loose over his intemperate writings. I would not have invited him to give a speech and (frankly) I question the judgment of the students who did.  Nonetheless, Falk’s decision to cancel the event — to, in effect, prohibit someone with Derbyshire’s views from speaking on campus — was awful, and represents a betrayal of the ideals of a liberal arts education.

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A naive Latina seems not to realize how naive she is

She was posting glowing stories about American blacks and one post was about Angela Davis.  That Davis is a Marxist, a former leader of the Communist Party USA, and had close relations with the Black Panther Party appeared not to faze her.  That others might be very critical of someone with those characteristics she just could not contemplate and did not want to hear.  That Communists have been responsible for millions of deaths was apparently an unimportant detail to her. But people who have lost relatives to Communism can get very angry about it.  Any recitation of it is to her "hate speech".  I suspect that she praises blacks in order to get praise for herself

 I decided that for the duration of Black History Month 2015, I would research and share a daily post about what I discovered about African American contributions to American history. I would post on Facebook, Twitter and start up an Instagram. Perhaps there were others like me who would be interested in learning something new and even be surprised by the treasure trove of beneficial and amazing contributions made by African American people I was discovering.

A few days into my "project," I was stunned by comments in response to a historical post I wrote about Angela Davis. I had to unfriend an acquaintance who had posted the most hateful vitriol and racist remarks about her, even suggesting she be murdered. His comments were actually far worse than this. I was shocked. After all, I had worked alongside this man helping to raise funds for a children's hospital. I wondered WHAAAT was happening that such resentful, hateful words could spew forth from this man nonstop?

I could not let it slide. So, without blinking, I unfriended him. Bear in mind that neither of us had ever met Ms. Davis; this was just a historical Facebook post about her.

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Must not mention black alcohol problems

Drunken Aborigines lounging around public places is a common sight in some parts of Australia and most people dislike it -- but you are not supposed to mention it

Matchbox 20 front man Rob Thomas has been slammed by fans after making a racist joke about Aboriginal Australians during a solo gig in Melbourne on Saturday night.

Mid-way through the performance, which took place at the Rod Laver Arena, the 44-year-old offered a racially insensitive quip about the way in which he deals with long-haul flights, saying: 'I drink til I think I'm Australian. And then I keep drinking til I think I'm a black Australian.'

In footage obtained by TMZ depicting the incident, the audience can be heard groaning and booing in response to Rob's remarks. 
'I drink til I think I'm Australian. And then I keep drinking

Several hours after the live show, Rob took to Facebook to with a heartfelt apology, writing: 'After the show in Melbourne tonight while backstage with some of my Australian friends, it was brought to my attention that I said something that is racist and insensitive'.

'Please understand that although it is no excuse, I was completely unaware that in Australia there is a polarizing social issue happening right now involving indigenous people and alcohol'.

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Another blackface controversy


The blackface was apparently just part of some dressing up fun

BASKETBALL star Liz Cambage has slammed fellow Opal Alice Kunek for featuring in a photograph with her face painted brown.

Kunek, 25, posted a picture of herself on Instagram on Sunday, dressed up in ripped white clothes, a beanie and painted face alongside her Melbourne Boomers teammate Tess Madgen, who was also in fancy dress.

Cambage, whose father is Nigerian, put national squad unity aside to blast Kunek’s behaviour in a series of tweets.

For her part, Kunek delivered an apology within an hour of Cambage’s missive.

“I am so unbelievably sorry to all my followers who were offended by my previous post. It was never my intention to offend anyone at all. It was an honest mistake,” Kunek posted on Instagram.

Kunek also deleted her initial post, replacing it with a similar picture without the face paint.

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Is Twitter Censoring Conservatives?

Robert Stacy McCain is a conservative blogger and activist who manages the website "The Other McCain." McCain has worked for and been featured in numerous conservative publications, including the American Spectator and the Washington Times. Stacy Mccain is an unapologetic conservative, and as a result, his Twitter was recently suspended. Why? Because he disagreed with the social justice warrior narrative. As Reason's  Robby Soave notes:

     But there’s a difference between using strong language to disagree with people, and abusing them. If McCain has crossed that line, I’m not aware of it.

    Twitter is a private company, of course, and if it wants to outlaw strong language, it can. In fact, it’s well within its rights to have one set of rules for Robert Stacy McCain, and another set of rules for everyone else. It’s allowed to ban McCain for no reason other than its bosses don’t like him. If Twitter wants to take a side in the online culture war, it can. It can confiscate Milo Yiannopoulos’s blue checkmark. This is not about the First Amendment.

    But if that’s what Twitter is doing, it’s certainly not being honest about it—and its many, many customers who value the ethos of free speech would certainly object. In constructing its Trust and Safety Council, the social media platform explicitly claimed it was trying to strike a balance between allowing free speech and prohibiting harassment and abuse. But its selections for this committee were entirely one-sided—there’s not a single uncompromising anti-censorship figure or group on the list. It looks like Twitter gave control of its harassment policy to a bunch of ideologues, and now their enemies are being excluded from the platform.

    Banning McCain wasn’t even Twitter’s only questionable activity last night. It seems that Twitter also suppressed the pro-McCain hashtag subsequently created by his supporters, #FreeStacy. After it started trending, Twitter made it so that the hashtag wouldn’t autocomplete when people typed it. “The #FreeStacy tag would be in the US top 10 now, but Twitter has scrubbed it,” wrote Popehat’s Patrick on Twitter.

This sort of nutty, eggshell psyche call to censorship has become increasingly common on the left. Instead of engaging with ideas that make them uncomfortable, liberals have opted to group together and create societal pressure to censor those ideas. There's only one way to fight back. Take to twitter, and use the hashtag #FreeStacy to show that you find their policy unacceptable. It's our way of showing them that we as conservatives and consumers, won 't stand for ideological censorship.

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"Coming out" is a risky expression

AFTER 40 years introducing South Australian children to the arts, the biennial Come Out Festival, will change its name from next year’s event — because of the modern connotations around the phrase.

The festival’s creative producer, Susannah Sweeney, said the original name was devised by adults more than 40 years ago — in 1974 — and referenced the “boys and girls come out to play” line in the enduring nursery rhyme.

But one consideration that prompted the move to rebadge the festival was the link that the phrase “come out” now has with the gay, lesbian and transgender community.

“Over 40 years, that term has taken on a much stronger resonance elsewhere and that is a consideration,” Ms Sweeney said.

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Must not quote what the Bible says about homosexuality

Filipino sportsman in trouble
   
Manny Pacquiao has found himself at the center of fresh controversy after posting a Bible verse saying homosexual men should be killed.

The post on the boxer's Instagram page appeared on Thursday, just hours after he issued a groveling apology for saying gay people were 'worse than animals' - which led to him being dropped by sponsor Nike.

Written alongside a since-deleted picture showing Pacquiao with wife Jinkee, he quotes Leviticus, saying: 'Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.

'If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.'

The post attracted more than 18,000 likes before being deleted around 3am (EST) on Thursday, according to ABS CBN News.

In the post 37-year-old Pacquiao also quoted a passage from Luke which seemed to be aimed at critics who blasted his initial comments.

He wrote: 'Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and reject you and insult your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.  'Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.'

Pacquiao has been in the media spotlight since Tuesday when he was being interviewed on a TV show in his home country of the Philippines, where he is running for a Senate seat.

In the TV interview, Pacquiao said: ' Do you see animals mating with the same sex? If men mate with men and women mate with women they are worse than animals'

The sportsman, known as Pacman, faced a huge public backlash for the comments.

The born-again Christian has been campaigning on the back of conservative views in his homeland, where gay marriage is outlawed due to strong opposition from the Catholic Church.

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Must not mention the facts behind Trump comments

The writer below says that it is wrong to say  that  Hispanics  have a higher rate of crimes, including rapes.  But they do.  The statistics place them in-between blacks and whites for crime incidence.

And Trump's  comments about a halt to Muslim immigration were not unconstitutional.  The constitution refers to Americans only.  Not people who want to come to America.

And no evidence that Obama has Muslim sympathies?  How about the following utterances from him?

#1 “The future must not belong to those who slander the Prophet of Islam”

#2 “The sweetest sound I know is the Muslim call to prayer”

#3 “We will convey our deep appreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so much over the centuries to shape the world — including in my own country.”

#4 “As a student of history, I also know civilization’s debt to Islam.”

#5 “Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance.”

#6 “Islam has always been part of America”

#7 “we will encourage more Americans to study in Muslim communities”

So the writer below has closed his mind.  He wants to accuse Americans of racism and intolerance so he just ignores the real reasons behind Trump's statements.  That the things he singles out may simply reflect realism rather than racism he is just unable to think about.  He is Jewish and Jews are understandably sensitive about racism but seeing racism where it is not does  him no credit

Trump isn’t causing racism and intolerance in this country. He’s revealing racism and intolerance in this country.

When Trump called Latino immigrants criminals and rapists, that should have disqualified him from serious consideration by fair-minded Americans.

When he singled out blacks and Latinos for major crimes, that should have disqualified him.

But it didn’t.

When he called for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States,” he was advocating a religious test that goes against the Constitution and everything the United States stands for, and that should have disqualified him.

But it didn’t.  Want to know why?

Because, for at least the third of the Republican electorate that is supporting him — and perhaps a sizable number of Democrats who secretly feel the same way — Trump is an avenue to revolt against having to watch what they say all the time.

One poll in September revealed that 66 percent of Trump supporters believe President Barack Obama is a Muslim, despite no evidence that he’s not a Christian.

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Must not refer to Muslim rapists



A Polish magazine has sparked anger after publishing a front cover image depicting a white woman being molested by a group of dark-skinned men.

The far-right weekly wSieci (Network) mocked up the picture to illustrate an issue dedicated to discussing the rape and sexual assault of women by migrants across Europe.

It shows a half-naked blonde woman, who is wrapped in the flag of Europe, screaming as she is groped by six hands next to the headline: 'Islamic Rape of Europe'.

The image has sparked outrage after it was shared online.

Media expert Henk van Ess said: 'Sick cover from a big Polish magazine – is deliberately arousing public fear.'

Bartosz wrote: 'This s*** embarrasses me as a Pole. 'It doesn’t matter that wSieci is a far right tabloid... this s*** is unacceptable.' 

However, other users welcomed the magazine's stance, saying it would open up the debate on the migrant crisis.

Account named IsHillaryInJailYet said: 'Polish magazine wSieci writes about the refugee rape culture in Germany. Finally people are talking about this.'

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Must not mention hunting

That humans got a large part of their diet from hunting since time immemorial seems not to count



A sponsored ad from a safari company appearing on Instagram feeds has angered users, with many calling on the photo-sharing app to have the “distressing” image taken down.

The post by Australian safari company High Country Safaris, depicts a man holding a rifle while kneeling beside a dead dear.

The caption reads, “Justin our latest client with his free range Javen Rusa. Shot in the last few hours of a 5 day hunt. The new world record, shot with a muzzle loader. there are many more of these trophies out there. Congratulations Justin!”

The deer, a Javan rusa, is native to the islands of Java, Bali and Timor in Indonesia.

Instagram users have expressed their disgust over the hunting photo in the comments section.

“I’m very disappointed that this ad has appeared on my feed. In no way is this ‘relevant’ to anything I have liked previously,” one user wrote.

“How come there is no ‘report’ option on sponsored ads? This ad is horrible and upsetting.”

Another commented: “Do NOT post this on my feed I have no interest at all. Get it off ...”

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An attempt to use the law to shut up a  windmill critic fails

As a reward for her efforts to assist New Englanders threatened by industrial wind energy, citizen advocate Annette Smith was sued for practicing law. Fortunately this sham was resolved shortly, in favor of common sense

The Vermont Attorney General’s Office has closed its investigation into a complaint about Annette Smith’s actions in various proceedings before the Public Service Board (PSB). The Office has closed the investigation without further action. "This Office considers the matter closed," The AG's office said in a statement Monday.

Annette Smith has vigorously fought the complaint. In December 2015 the Office received a complaint regarding Smith alleging that her conduct in various matters before the PSB constituted the unauthorized practice of law. Specifically, Smith was accused of regularly providing legal advice to parties in proceedings before the Public Service Board, as well as helping to draft pleadings for those parties. The complaint also represented that the minutes of an October 26, 2015, Town of Morgan Selectboard meeting characterized a proposed payment to Annette Smith as attorney compensation.

The allegations regarding Smith fell in three broad categories – (1) she sought to represent individuals in proceedings before the PSB, (2) she sought or obtained attorney compensation from the Town of Morgan, and (3) she consulted with and prepared and filed pleadings for persons in PSB proceedings.

Regarding the first allegation, the record reveals that Smith sought to intervene in a matter pending at the PSB on behalf of her organization – Vermonters for a Clean Environment. The Vermont Supreme Court has recognized that in certain circumstances non-attorneys may represent organizations in judicial proceedings. Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v. Upper Valley Regional Landfill, 159 Vt. 454, 458 (1992). The record reveals that the PSB offered Smith and her organization the opportunity to file a friend of the court pleading in the matter. Thus, the PSB clearly did not oppose Smith’s participation as a non-party.

The complainant also alleges that Smith had sought or obtained attorney compensation from the Town of Morgan. Information obtained from the Town as part of this investigation establishes that at no time did Smith represent herself to be an attorney or seek compensation of any kind from the Town as an attorney or otherwise. Additionally, it does not appear that the Town has, in fact, paid her for services rendered to the Town. This Office concludes that there is no merit to this allegation.

Finally, with respect to the third category of allegations, the Vermont Supreme Court’s definition of the practice of law is not limited to actual appearances before judicial or quasi-judicial tribunals, but has been interpreted to extend to outside activities. This 54-year old definition does not, however, reflect the modern reality of advocacy before the growing number of judicial and quasi-judicial boards and commissions that have been created since its adoption. By way of example, a rule of the Natural Resources Board Act allows a person to be represented by a non-attorney while the PSB allows an organization, but not an individual, to be so represented. Clarification of the scope of the practice of law is needed. Any definition of the practice of law must recognize the diversity of advocacy before different forums at the state and local levels, should not abridge First Amendment rights, and should insure that Vermonters have access to justice.

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'Not about to start censoring' floats, Spanish Town parade board member says in response to outcry

Baton Rouge’s signature Spanish Town Mardi Gras Parade provoked controversy for the second year in a row, with critics saying its risqué style of humor went too far this past weekend.

This year’s most offending culprits were jokes about race, as at least two floats parodied the “Black Lives Matter” movement with “Pink Lives Matter” slogans, which reference the parade’s pink flamingo mascot.

One float featured a drawing of a flamingo being beaten with a police baton. The flamingo had an “I can’t breathe” sign strung around its neck, mimicking the words of Eric Garner, whose 2014 New York City death at the hands of police officers sparked protests about police brutality and helped kick off the nationwide “Black Lives Matter” demonstrations.

“It’s very easy for people who may not be enduring the weight of these types of incidents to make light of it,” said Donney Rose, one of many black writers who said this year’s parade crossed too many boundaries. “But when you belong to a group or demographic to where that could be your reality at any point in time, you don’t find the humor in it, you don’t find the satire.”

The Spanish Town parade has become known for its crude humor and not-exactly-family-friendly atmosphere during its 36 years. Floats often poke fun at politicians and hot-button issues, often with sexual humor thrown in the mix.

“We’re aware of what’s going on, we’re sorry if anybody’s offended, but we have no official position at this time,” said Doug Cossman, a board member of the group that oversees the Spanish Town parade and ball, the Society for the Preservation of Lagniappe in Louisiana. “And we’re not about to start censoring anybody’s free speech rights.”

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Leftist students at Rutgers try to shut down speech they disagree with

While journalist Milo Yiannopoulos spoke about "the myth" of the wage gap and the pitfalls of feminism, student protestors in the audience at Scott Hall stood up and smeared fake blood on their faces in opposition.

About 50 students sat in the audience to protest Yiannopoulos's University visit, which kicked off his “Dangerous Faggot” tour. Yiannopoulos, senior editor at conservative news site breitbart.com, is known for his controversial statements about feminism, race and political correctness.

After screaming, “This man represents hatred,” an anonymous female student smeared what appeared to be blood over her face and arms. About 10 others soon followed, and then left the room together. Roughly 40 protestors stayed for the remainder of the event.

"We must, unlike the Left, engage in the other side of the argument," Yiannopoulos said. "I noticed that when they were asked questions, they left the room."

A number of shouting matches and profane exchanges between audience members occurred throughout the event. Some audience members responded to the protestors by chanting, "Trump."

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Australia: Override hate speech laws to allow marriage equality debate, urges Christian lobby

Australian Christian Lobby says ‘low threshold’ of state laws is creating a ‘chilling effect on free speech’ in lead-up to national plebiscite on whether to allow homosexual marriage

The Australian Christian Lobby has called on the federal government to permanently override anti-discrimination laws to ensure those pushing for a no vote can speak their mind on same-sex marriage.

The ACL’s managing director, Lyle Shelton, said he was concerned state anti-discrimination laws in particular had a low threshold which would prevent a rigorous no campaign in the lead-up to a plebiscite.

“We need to have the ability for a free debate in this plebiscite and at the moment, state-based anti-discrimination laws have a very low threshold for what constitutes discrimination,” Shelton told Guardian Australia. “It is creating a chilling effect on free speech.”

Shelton said he wanted the anti-discrimination legislation relaxed permanently rather than just in the lead-up to the vote on same-sex marriage.

He said the case of Archbishop Julian Porteous, who last year was the subject of a complaint to Tasmania’s anti-discrimination commissioner after an anti-marriage equality booklet published by the Catholic church was distributed to 12,000 schools, was an example of why the law had a “low threshold”.

“The booklet they produced about marriage was gentle and respectful,” Shelton said. “A lot of people are very concerned that if it can happen to Archbishop Porteous it can happen to anyone.

“Already if you speak out you’re called a bigot or a homophobe. Just look at my Twitter feed. I’m constantly demonised.”

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Australia: Must not suggest that blacks eat fried chicken

A restaurant has come under fire after a diner spotted what he believed to be an offensive artwork amid vintage wallpapers perpetuating racial stereotypes about African-Americans.

Comedian Aamer Rahman posted photographs of the controversial interior displayed inside Melbourne eatery Fried and Tasty (F.A.T) on his Facebook page, including a mural of US slain rapper Biggie Smalls (B.I.G) holding a fried chicken drumstick in his hand.

The Brunswick East cafe - known for its old school southern style fried chicken, buttermilk waffles, burgers and beers  - also features a white family armed with guns and a vintage - American pancake syrup brand - Aunt Jemima advertisement.

'Today in gentrification: Melbourne hipsters pay tribute to a dead black artist by opening a Biggie Smalls themed fried chicken restaurant, "The Notorious F.A.T",' Rahman wrote in the post.

'...Complete with photoshopped mural of Biggie holding a fried chicken drumstick, Aunt Jemima wallpaper, and pictures of white families with guns. You cannot make this stuff up.'

However, Fried and Tasty co-owner Jonathon Ionnou has defended the posters against critics, saying the artworks have 'nothing to do with racial stereotypes' in an apology on Facebook.

'When my cousin Terrence and I took the plunge and decided to open our own restaurant last year our idea was to cook comfort food, and mix it with a bright, bold and fun experience for everyone who dined with us,' Mr Ionnou said on the cafe's Facebook page.

'We brought Mum and Dad's secret fried chicken recipe with us, chose the music we grew up with, and mixed it with retro decor and a Southern American theme.

'At no stage did we set out to upset anyone with our decor, and for those we have offended we apologise as it was never our intention for FAT to be anything but a great place to eat.'

Mr Ionnou told The Age that the restaurant will replace some of the offensive artwork after receiving widespread criticism - but added they were a big fan of Biggie Smalls.

'We used to listen to Biggie Smalls and we liked his music so we wanted him to be part of our restaurant... and we want him to stay,' he said. 'As for the other images we will be replacing them.'

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Must not resemble Adolf



[Australian] Supermarket giant Coles has stunned shoppers with an advertisement for their credit card that features a male model who bears a striking resemblance to Adolf Hitler.

A customer was checking out at a Coles store in Northland, Melbourne, when they snapped an image of the promotion.

It features a male model pointing to a sign describing the 9.9 percent interest rate for the Coles credit card.

The man has brown hair slicked to one side and a prominent moustache that resembles the signature facial hair of the German dictator.

The image has been seen more than 30,000 times on social media and Reddit users agreed that the man reminded them strongly of Hitler.

Numerous people were horrified by the similarities and also jested that hipsters are ‘one step away from being Hitler.'

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Must not tell the truth about Obama's immigration policies

Anchorage-based telecom company GCI tweeted an apology on Friday after an executive wrote what the company has called an insensitive comment on a story on KTVA's website.

Duncan Whitney, a vice president at GCI -- which owns the Anchorage TV station -- commented Thursday night on a story about a traveler who drove all the way from Chile to Alaska in a Volkswagen bus. The traveler then flew to London to apply for a tourist visa to stay longer in the U.S., but was denied, KTVA reported.

“Got a hint for him,” Whitney commented. “Go to Mexico, cross the border illegally and Obama will not only let him in, but will offer to fund the rest of his trip with taxpayer dollars and provide him free health care to boot!”

When Whitney posted the comment, his Facebook profile information identifying him as a vice president of GCI showed up alongside the comment. The GCI reference was later removed from his profile.

People reacted on both Facebook and Twitter, calling Whitney an “unashamed bigot,” ignorant and a racist, among other things.

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Facebook prudery does not wash in France

A father-of-three has won the right to sue Facebook in France - after it shut his account for using a 19th century oil painting as his profile picture.

Frederic Durand-Baissas, a 57-year-old Parisian teacher and art lover, had his Facebook account suspended five years ago without prior notice after choosing to post Gustave Courbet's 1866 'The Origin of the World', which depicts female genitalia.

The father-of-three now wants his account reactiviated, and is asking for the social media giant to pay him 20,000 euros (£15,545) - and has finally won the right to have the case heard in France.

'This is a case of free speech and censorship on a social network,' Durand-Baissas said. 'If (Facebook) can't see the difference between an artistic masterpiece and a pornographic image, we in France (can).'

Facebook, which has not given an explanation for the suspended account, could not immediately be reached for comment after the ruling.

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Meryl Streep faces backlash over ‘we’re all Africans’ comment

As well she might.  An absurd assertion.  I can assure one and all that I am not an African

MERYL Streep is facing a backlash over a controversial remark she made while discussing diversity in the film industry, saying “we’re all Africans really”.

Streep, who heads a festival film jury at the Berlin International Film Festival, was asked by an Egyptian reporter whether she understood films from the Arab world and North Africa, to which she responded: “I’ve played a lot of different people from a lot of different cultures.

“There is a core of humanity that travels right through every culture, and after all we’re all from Africa originally,” she added. “You know, we’re all ... Berliners, we’re all Africans really.”

The remark sparked outrage on social media, with “Meryl Streep” becoming a worldwide trending topic on Twitter.

While some said her remarks were taken out of context, others were upset by the comment.

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Campus Police Officer Say Offending Students ‘Is Against the Law’

Free speech under siege at the University of Texas at Austin

A University of Texas at Austin cop issued a disorderly conduct citation to a preacher because his words were offensive to some students.

“You’re offending students on the campus,” said the officer. “The job here is write you up for disorderly conduct for offending someone.”

The preacher, according to The Daily Caller, had been inveighing against anal sex from his perch just outside the boundaries of UT’s campus. Students who heard him complained to the cops.

When the preacher asked about his freedom of speech rights, the cop responded: “It doesn’t matter, freedom of speech. Someone was offended. That’s against the law.”

The preacher could scarcely believe what he was hearing. “It’s against the law to offend someone?” he asked.

“Yes,” the cop repeated.

The officer, it goes without saying, was wrong. Thankfully, his department eventually corrected him and voided the citation. It also issued an apology to the preacher. Still, it’s troubling that an officer of the law could be so mixed up about it.

It’s also troubling that students thought the best way to deal with an offensive speaker was to sic the cops on him.

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Facebook removes famous painting of a woman licking an ice cream cone  because it was too 'suggestive'

They must be real horndogs at Facebook



An image of a famous painting has been removed from Facebook after the social media site deemed it to be 'suggestive content'.

The image was posted online by Philadelphia Museum of Art as a part of their International Pop exhibit, which looks at the wide history of pop culture through global artists.

The photo that so offended the Facebook moderators was of Evelyne Axell’s 1964 painting Ice Cream - a painting of a woman with her eyes closed, licking an ice cream cone. The museum were lucky enough to get it on loan from the Collection of Serge Goisse in Belgium.

'We chose this work by Evelyne Axell as one of our keystone marketing images because it speaks to so many themes found throughout pop - consumption, pleasure and seduction,' curator Erica Battle told Metro.us about the exhibition, due to run from February 24 through May 15. 

But after posting the picture, the museum employees managing their social media were shocked to receive a notification from Facebook explaining that Ice Cream was in violation of company guidelines because it contained 'excessive amounts of skin or suggestive content'.

Indeed, the inclusion of the arguably phallic ice cream cone could be called suggestive, but the 'skin' shown in the image consisted only of a face and a hand. 

It was a surprise for the museum, given that they have plenty of works photographed on their page that would fall into that category, but had never before been flagged.

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How US Universities Encourage Hate Speech Against Jews and Israel

Leora Eisenberg

Just a few days ago, I was the target of a hate video from a young woman who seems to be affiliated with a university that I will not name here.

Although I could not take that person’s preposterous ramblings seriously, I was dismayed at the language in the video. In it, support for terrorism ran rampant (“These people are upset… These people are not terrorists…”). Likewise, this video preached vile antisemitism (“We saved the Jews from the Nazis. Hitler tried to kill the Jew. Look what happened, it backfired. They’re like one thousand times more powerful now”). Facebook did not remove the video under the bizarre claim that it did not violate the social network’s “community standards,” and the university has remained silent.

Antisemitism, often but not always, taking the form of anti-Israel activity, is tolerated on this campus and met with little other than half-baked words of criticism.

The woman in the video was not afraid to expose her opinions — them being that I am a whole host of expletives, all to the great joy of an ecstatic public that supported her with the usual cries of “Free Palestine,” as well as some choice phrases that I don’t care to repeat in print.

The fact that a university student attacked a high school student 2,000 miles away in a video of this kind shows what the anti-Israel movement has become.

And the university’s failure to do anything in response speaks volumes for its supposed ideals of tolerance, free speech, and respect of all individuals. That woman in the video represents a university’s tolerance for intolerance, and its blind eye towards antisemitism.

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Black racism

Comedian Anthony Anderson hosted the NAACP Image Awards on February 5, and in his opening monologue he criticized conservative black actress Stacey Dash.

Dash has been in the news recently for arguing that black entertainers who have criticized the Academy Awards for lack of diversity shouldn't have segregated awards.

“We have to make up our minds,” Dash said on “Fox & Friends” January 20. “Either we want to have segregation or integration. If we don't want segregation, then we need to get rid of channels like BET [Black Entertainment Television] and the BET Awards, and the [NAACP] Image Awards, where you're only awarded if you're black."

"Let me introduce our first presenter," Anderson said at the Image Awards. "Everybody give a round of applause for Stacey Dash!”

It turned out to be a joke - Dash wasn't at the ceremony. “What the hell is she doing?" Anderson said. "Doesn’t she know that the Fox network is using her? She’s just an Ann Coulter dipped in butterscotch. That’s all she is. Baby, don’t let them use you! Come back to the black people and get back to work on some of those C movies you used to do."

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NASA Bans the Word 'Jesus'

The name of Jesus is not welcome in the Johnson Space Center newsletter, according to a complaint filed on behalf of a group of Christians who work for NASA.

The JSC Praise & Worship Club was directed by NASA attorneys to refrain from using the name “Jesus” in club announcements that appeared in a Space Center newsletter.

“It was shocking to all of us and very frustrating,” NASA engineer Sophia Smith told me. “NASA has a long history of respecting religious speech. Why wouldn’t they allow us to put the name Jesus in the announcement about our club?”

Liberty Institute, one of the nation’s largest religious liberty law firms, threatened to file a federal lawsuit unless NASA apologizes and stops censoring the name “Jesus.”

The JSC Today newsletter is distributed electronically and includes a number of Space Center events — from salsa dancing lessons to soccer camp.

NASA issued a statement late Monday that did not refute Liberty Institute’s charge.

Since 2001, employees had gathered during their lunch hour to pray and sing and read the Bible. There had been no censorship issues until last year.

Liberty Institute attorney Jeremy Dys told me the club had placed an announcement in the Space Center’s newsletter, announcing the theme of their meeting, “Jesus is our life.”

“Soon after that, the legal department called the organizers and told them they could not use the name Jesus in their announcements,” Dys told me. “They said, no Jesus.”

The club’s leadership was told that “NASA would be censoring all future club announcements that featured the name, ‘Jesus,’” Liberty Institute alleged in its complaint letter.

NASA’s legal department explained that including the name “Jesus” within the club’s announcement made that announcement “sectarian” or “denominational.”

They also alleged such announcements would cause NASA to violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Dys said the club organizers offered to provide a disclaimer, notifying readers that the announcement was private speech and was not endorsed by NASA or any other government agency. However, that offer was rejected as “insufficient.”

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Muslim hate speech written on Sacramento State campus

Experience suggests that the perp was a Leftist stirring up a burst of self-righteousness

Sacramento State officials are investigating hate speech writing discovered Tuesday on campus.

University President Robert Nelsen said the hate speech was written toward the Muslim community on campus.

"I was heartbroken and angered to learn that this happened on our campus," Nelsen wrote in a message to students, staff and faculty. "We are a Hornet family, and we will not stand for this kind of treatment of our family members."

The incident happened in the quad area of campus where student organizations gather to recruit and educate other students.

The Muslim Student Association was working at its table and took a break to go to class. When the students returned they found the hateful message.

"When I saw it I was just angry," said Rima Hakim, President of the Muslim Student Association. "It (the message) was a combination of Islamophobia and racist, and the person was pretty inaccurate in their vocabulary, so it was a little amusing, but it was really offensive."

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Free Speech Defended, Support of Israel Labeled Hate Speech on CBS's `The Good Wife'

In the episode "Judged," CBS's The Good Wife  turned again to highlighting how the Left curtails freedom of speech.

Liberal lawyer Diane (Christine Baranski) came to the defense of a big client's daughter over a college newspaper op-ed. The student defended Israel against the leftist student council's vote to divest from Israel and boycott Israeli goods from settlements - more university BDS ("Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions") nonsense. 

Stop me if you've heard this before. The op-ed is labeled as hate speech - "It's hate speech, and this campus is supposed to be a safe space!" one student protests to administrators. In true fascist liberal form, the school's student handbook is twisted to allow the censoring of a writer supporting Israel because one special snowflake claimed he felt under attack and disrespected.

Instead of encouraging an honest debate of ideas - you know, like the college experience is supposed to do - the dean of Illinois Park College, a private university, approves shutting down the campus newspaper to "enforce progressive notions of fairness." To counter this, Diane makes the argument that the college is really a state actor - a self-contained mini-city and functioning as such - and thus must obey the First Amendment.

The dean claims the student handbook is legally binding, and includes a mandate to encourage the development of personal responsibility in students. Therefore, since the aggrieved student filed a petition with the student council and the vote was passed to disband the newspaper, he says it was up to the school to enforce the vote.

However, Diane points out that the administration is in charge over the student council, not vice versal - it disciplined a student for going as Caitlyn Jenner for Halloween because it was offensive to transgenders! - and the mediator rules in favor of the young writer and the decision to close the newspaper is reversed.

Freedom of speech is not just for the leftists on college campuses. Labeling a differing opinion as hate speech is standard practice on the left. The lesson learned by the young man who felt hurt by an op-ed? He is no more special than the others on campus. He got schooled the best possible way.

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Prosecute hate speech, urges Germany's Tillich

What a confused man.  He wants to suppress criticism of immigrants by force of law but also says:  "In democracy one resolves conflict with arguments"

German Saxony state premier Stanislav Tillich says far-right Pegida movement leaders who call for violence against foreigners should be prosecuted. Europe is bracing for far-right rallies and counter-demonstrations.

Tillich preempted anti-foreigner rallies due on Saturday in European cites including Dresden, the capital of Germany's conservative-run regional state of Saxony, by calling on prosecutors to intervene against hate speech used by far-right leaders.

During speeches, Pegida organizers were increasingly resorting to open hostility toward foreigners and politicians, Tillich told Germany's Funke Media Group.

"State attorneys are increasingly required to act. Pegida can no longer smooth over its rhetoric," he said.

Saxony's premier said differentiations needed to be made between Pegida's leaders and its followers, who he said were expressing multifaceted societal frustration.

"Our challenge is to draw the followers back into dialog. In democracy one resolves conflict with arguments," said Tillich, whose Saxony region has been the scene of numerous anti-foreigner incidents.

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Frustrated vs Desperate

Ban Ki Moon crtitcised Israel last week in the UN Security Council:   "... Palestinian frustration and grievances are growing under the weight of nearly a half-century of occupation. Ignoring this won’t make it disappear..."

In 2002-2005 Palestinians were "desperate". The wave of suicide bombings was because they were "desperate". Today it seems the Palestinians are no longer desperate, they are "frustrated". The propaganda unit has obviously been working on finessing the language.

So what are the propaganda benefits of using the word  "frustrated" over the word "desperate"?

    Everyone experiences frustration. Not everyone experiences desperation.

    Frustration is less extreme, milder than desperation.

    Frustration is more of an internal state of mind. We often do nothing about frustration except to simply "be frustrated". On the other hand when people are desperate they act.

"Frustrated" is  a superior propaganda word to evoke sympathy for Palestinians than "desperate". It creates a stronger bond of empathy.

But anyone looking at Israel's position in the Middle East conflict will see that the word "frustration" applies better to it. Let's twist Ban Ki Moon's statement and see if it rings more true:  "... Israeli frustration is growing under the weight of nearly a half-century of Palestinian rejectionism. Knife attacks and violence is never going to make it disappear..."

Doesn't that sit better? Frustration is something that you keep bottled up inside. That's Israel! Ban Ki Moon you've got it all wrong.

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Must not describe druggies accurately

Windia Rodriguez remembers the sting of the words hurled at her during a hospital stay a few years ago. “Crackhead.’’ “Addict.’’ Especially, she recalls the scorn in the voices that pronounced her “just an addict.”  “They treated me like I was beyond hope,” Rodriguez said.

But she found hope, and these days, free of drugs for four years, Rodriguez makes a point of adding two words to the standard salutation in her 12-step group. “I’m an addict,” she says, “in recovery.”

In so doing, Rodriguez, a Boston resident and regional coordinator for the Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery, quietly adds her voice to those of researchers and advocates who want to rewrite the lexicon of addiction.

These advocates seek to excise language that blames or disparages the patient and replace it with medical terms free of judgment. They assert that commonly used words — “junkie,” “abuser,” even “substance abuse” and “addict” — can discourage people from seeking help, induce health professionals to treat patients harshly, and exacerbate the stigma that bedevils people suffering from drug addiction.

“The biggest thing we trade in is hope,” said Dr. Barbara Herbert, Massachusetts chapter president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, a confederation of doctors and other medical workers. “Our biggest enemy is hopelessness. That’s why I think language matters a lot.”

SOURCE 

Must not mention the destructive effects of the welfare state

A Tory politician has come under fire after posting an image of a leaflet on social media which claims migrants should come to 'England, the Welfare Country' where 'only suckers work'.

Matthew Sephton, a Conservative councillor for Altrincham, Greater Manchester, posted an image of a flyer seemingly aimed at foreigners, urging them to come to England to get 'free' benefits.

The leaflet reads: 'Tired of your job? Sick of working 40 hour or more each week just to feed your family? Would you like to relax all day and still have all the benefits of a full time job?  'If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you should consider moving to England, The Welfare Country.'

The leaflet goes on to say that those who 'qualify' can expect to enjoy free housing, utilities, food, medical and transport services, and legal aid, in the UK.  It says people can 'collect for life', adding that those who want to 'receive all of this without working for a living' should 'contact the benefits agency'.

The image was accompanied by the tweet: 'I'm glad that @David-Cameron's @Conservatives government is restricting & limiting benefits but still more to do...'

However, the post was quickly criticised by his followers on Twitter, with some calling it 'vile'. Birmingham Erdington MP Jack Dromey even called on the Prime Minister to 'disown this racist rant by a Tory councillor'.  One Twitter user posted: 'Amazing level of vileness.'

Another said: 'You really have no knowledge of welfare or poverty whatsoever do you? Pathetic, uninformed and crass rubbish.'  One simply dubbed the post 'disgusting', and another said it was 'ignorant'.

SOURCE 

Fans told not to sing Welsh rugby anthem Delilah because it 'glorifies violence against women'

The last sentence below is a good comment

The strains of the Tom Jones hit Delilah have become almost an anthem for Welsh rugby fans.  But a senior Labour MP has joined calls for it to be banned from the Six Nations rugby tournament – for glorifying domestic violence. Chris Bryant says the song should be abandoned because the lyrics talk about murdering a woman.

Delilah, a 1968 hit, has been sung at Welsh rugby matches by male voice choirs and even Jones himself before every home game in Cardiff.

But there have been growing calls to ban the song as the lyrics describe how a jilted lover waits outside a woman’s door and stabs her to death.

The Welsh Rugby Union – and Tom Jones himself – have previously defended the song, claiming it is sung for its musicality rather than the dark subject matter.

A spokesman for the Welsh Rugby Union, which hosts Scotland for its first home fixture of the Six Nations in Cardiff next Saturday, said: ‘Within rugby, Delilah has gained prominence through its musicality rather than its lyrics.

‘There is, however, plenty of precedent in art and literature, prominently in Shakespearean tragedies for instance, for negative aspects of life to be portrayed.’

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Mental health group fights lawmaker's bid to create an 'offensive' license plate of Maniac the school mascot



A northern Idaho lawmaker is once again seeking to create a specialized license plate depicting a hotly disputed Idaho high school mascot.

The proposed plate would portray the Orofino 'Maniac,' a caricature mental health groups call offensive.

Orofino Councilwoman Jill Woolsey told the panel Thursday that the term maniac would not be on the plate and defended the mascot, calling it positive representation of the community.

'In 2016 our mascot, the maniac, continues to be a symbol of unbridled enthusiasm and a symbol of overcoming odds,' Woolsey said. 'It's about a positive image to win and keep fighting.'

She explained the funds raised from the sale of the specialty license plate are needed for advanced programs in the underfunded high school, including advanced science and math classes.

Opponents testified for over an hour against the measure, saying the mascot's portrayal only further ostracizes mentally ill people, particularly because Orofino is also the home of a state-run mental health hospital.

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More Leftist censorship

The Guardian has announced that its website will no longer allow readers to comment on articles on three topics - race, immigration and Islam.

RT: What do you think of The Guardian's decision?

Martin Summers: I think it a really rough decision in many ways. But you got to remember the Guardian has invested an awful lot in its online presence and encouraging their audience to participate through online commentary. But of course, it is not being very successful from an economic point of view - they are losing millions of pounds every year. And they don’t really have a public service remit… As they are essentially a private organization, they may decide that moderating this kind of forum is more expensive and more problematic than they thought. But of course, it is a kind of a sign of the times that these kinds of topics are becoming so hot that they are becoming hard to handle in media forums.    

RT: Where do you draw the line between shielding certain groups from hate speech and freedom of expression?

Martin Summers:  It is very difficult, isn’t it? I think everybody accepts that at the end of the day the complete freedom of speech, insulting of other people, provocative incitements to violence…The governments of the West are saying that they are going to try and stop recruitment to ISIS online…Is that freedom of speech? You could argue that it is or that it isn’t

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All Anti-Feminist Talk Would Be Criminal 'Hate Speech' If U.K. Activists Get Their Way

American writer and "pickup artist" Roosh V is causing a bit of hysteria abroad in countries where citizens are even more likely than they are here to say that offensive speech is "dangerous." The trouble started when Roosh V—real name Daryush Valizadeh—announced the organization of 165 simultaneous meetups on February 6 for followers of his "neomasculinity" movement, including gatherings across American and in countries such as Australia, Canada, Chile, England, Israel, and Scotland. Soon thereafter, activists in the U.K. and Canada began protesting the meetups, which they have labeled as "pro rape" events.

Granted, Valizadeh doesn't have the most progressive views on romantic relations. And in stories about his sexual exploits, he often crosses into consent grey areas. But being a brute or a cad isn't illegal, and neither is writing rapey tall-tales. Nor is meeting with like-minded people to express unpopular views.

Of course, this is exactly the problem for some, who are calling on their governments to ban Valizadeh from even entering the country, to ban his fans from meeting up, and to criminalize all anti-woman "hate speech"—an impossibly broad category that seems to include everything from common insults to political expression at odds with feminism.

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"Cotton On" pulls world globes which replaced Israel with Palestine following outcry

"Cotton On" is an Australian retail chain, known for its fast-fashion clothing for men, women, teenagers and children. It has almost 1200 stores in 12 countries



RETAIL giant Cotton On has come under fire for selling a globe of the Earth with Israel wiped off the map and ‘Palestine’ in its place.  The globes, sold in Cotton On’s Typo stationery outlets, have been described as “hurtful” and “bigoted” by members of Australia’s Jewish community.

Dr Dvir Abramovich, chair of the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation League, told news.com.au when a customer initially complained about the globes, he was told the map was “deemed to be accurate for commercial purposes”.

“They came up with the ridiculous argument that they didn’t have enough space to put the word ‘Israel’ but had enough space to put ‘Palestine’, which is a non-existent country,” he said.

Dr Abramovich said there was a “growing and disturbing trend of wiping Israel off world maps”. “These acts of hostility have become so frequent I don’t think it’s simply a mistake,” he said.
“There is a well organised international effort to delegitimise and demonise Israel, to imagine a world without Israel, to make it such a pariah state that it doesn’t even have a right to exist on a map.

Cotton On says the product has been removed from sale in all 170 Typo stores globally and online.

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Must not mention that Muslims hate Jews

Denmark:

TV2 reports that DF politician Mogens Camre was convicted of hate speech on Monday for comments he made on Twitter comparing Muslims to Hitler in 2014.

Camre, who is currently a member of the municipal council of Gladsaxe, told media outlets he was “baffled” by the conviction.

The former parliamentarian and MEP believes the conviction is completely unreasonable, and he has questioned why the truth is only palatable when it is stated in academic terms.

“They say the truth is forbidden if one doesn’t talk about it in a completely academic context, whereby nothing can be misunderstood,” he told Ritzau.

The ruling on Monday upheld a previous decision by a court in Glostrup last year, where Camre was sentenced to ten daily fines of 800 kroner each. [A Danish crown is worth about 15c]

In 2014, Camre tweeted negative comments about Muslims, saying they were carrying on Hitler’s legacy.

“About the situation of Jews in Europe: Muslims continue where Hitler ended. Only the treatment Hitler got will change the situation,” the tweet read.

The High Court, which upheld the ruling, considered the statements a clear example of hate speech and expressed concerns they would incite hate crimes against Muslims.

Camre, however, defended his tweets, saying they were not in reference to all Muslims.  “If I say Danes love beer, does that mean that you love beer? Of course not,” he said.

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Palestinian hate speech kills

Most of what the Left calls hate speech is trivial.  Not so Palestinian hate speech

Palestinian incitement and hate-speech, especially the condoning of the cold-blooded murder of Jews, has at the time of writing been linked to the murder of 30 Israelis over the last four months.

On January 17, one of these 30 victims, 39-year-old mother of six Daphna Meir, was stabbed to death in her home, in front of her children, by a Palestinian youth from a nearby village. While in custody, the youth admitted to having committed the murder after being influenced by official Palestinian television programming that vilified Israel and glorified acts of violence. 

Not limited only to suggestive themes and implicit condoning of terrorism, officially affiliated Palestinian media have repeatedly issued explicit calls to murder Jews. As a case in point, on January 4, two weeks before the murder of Daphna Meir, a Fatah-run television channel broadcast a music video calling on Palestinians to “drown them [the Jews] in a sea of blood” and to “kill them as you wish.” The chairman of Fatah’s Central Committee is none other than Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas.

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Australia: Blackface Aboriginal costume dress up criticized

I can't see who is hurt by this. Are Japanese women who blond their hair offensive?  Are black women who straighten their hair offensive?  There's an old saying that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery so this could be seen as a tribute to blacks

TWO partygoers have been labelled "redneck scumbags" after a controversial photo shared on social media showed them dressed as Aborigines with painted black faces.

Victorian woman and indigenous education worker Sis Austin shared images taken from a party at the weekend after confronting the person who uploaded them to social media.

In one picture two men are dressed as Aborigines with their faces painted black.

Another picture taken from the same party shows a woman with a painted black face, dressed like 2000 Olympic gold medallist Cathy Freeman.

But Daylesford woman Ms Austin ended up on the receiving end and was called a bully and horrible person who should be ashamed of herself for sharing the images.

The two as yet unidentified men had attended an Aussie icon party near Learmonth Football Club in Victoria on Saturday.

The photos were taken by what she calls "people who were her high school friends" and "a few close ones at that".

That changed once she raised the point it was disrespectful to indigenous Australians.

Ms Austin’s post soon went viral and was picked up by high-profile indigenous rapper and Yorta Yorta man Adam Briggs who went on to share the post, and said anyone defending the men can go and "**** themselves".

Briggs described the pair as "redneck scumbags" on Facebook.

But while the hip hop artist ended up getting a lot of support, many jumped to the defence of the men and Briggs ended up on the receiving end himself before shutting them down.

Others also came to Briggs’ defence including hip hop chart toppers The Hilltop Hoods, and indigenous Australian singer/songwriter Thelma Plum who shared the controversial black face image on her social media feeds.

Plum, who called the partygoers "disgusting little boys" also shared their image on her Twitter and Instagram feed, encouraging people to name and shame them.

In an interview with Sky News, the host of the party said the backlash was "political correctness gone wrong" and the men in the photos were his best mates who are "decent Australian blokes".

"People wear Oktoberfest costumes to parties and no one cracks it that they are not German? So what I am saying is I do understand the people who have painted themselves have offended people, although none of them intended that"

SOURCE

  Drinks holder gift given at Australia Day citizenship ceremony sparks social media outcry

Attractive women are incorrect even in silhouette

 

  A drinks holder depicting a silhouetted naked woman standing against an Australian flag that was distributed at an Australia Day citizenship ceremony in the NSW Hunter region has sparked an outcry on social media. At the a citizenship ceremony at Nelson Bay, north of Newcastle, at least one gift bag containing the controversial stubby holder was given to an attendee.The gift has since sparked a range of views from the public on social media.Port Stephens Council, who was responsible for the citizenship ceremony, said the stubby holder was not part of the "official citizenship gift pack".

 In a statement on Facebook, the council said the gift set containing the stubby holder was packed by a "local business house" and was distributed by the ceremony's volunteer organising committee.It said it was not aware of the pack's contents."There has obviously been a failure of oversight and quality control in this instance," the council's social media statement said. "Council deeply regrets this and, by virtue of the fact the volunteer committee acts on behalf of Council, accepts full responsibility. We apologise unreservedly.

"In light of this matter, the volunteer committee has undertaken to review its processes to ensure there is no repeat in future."

The state member for Port Stephens, and Opposition spokeswoman for the prevention of domestic violence and sexual assault, Kate Washington, described the incident as a "shocker".

 "[It is] completely inappropriate in the context, particularly of an Australian citizenship ceremony," Ms Washington said."Yes, people have things [like the stubby holder] in their cupboards and people can make those choices for themselves." But in a setting, which is meant to be respectful, dignified, reflecting Australian qualities — democracy, equality and all of that — this is not appropriate."Ms Washington said local councils were governed by a strict code as to what gifts could be given at citizenship ceremonies."

The citizenship ceremony on an Australia Day event is really carved out as a responsibility for the council," she said. Ms Washington said the gift sent the wrong message about the treatment of women."It is a reflection perhaps of our Australian culture, but it's not a good reflection," she said."We really need to be addressing this objectifying culture that underlies the whole attitude towards women and the erosion of respect given to women, that then leads on to this ridiculously awful level of domestic violence."

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UK: Tesco removes sexist birthday card saying 'Inner beauty won't get you free drinks' from shelves after just ONE complaint

A bit of cynical realism was too much for one female -- presumably one who rarely gets free drinks

Supermarket giant Tesco is removing a sexist birthday card which boasts 'inner beauty won't get you free drinks' from its shelves after receiving just one complaint.

A shopper angrily condemned the retailer on social media this week after noticing the 'moronic' card while at a Tesco store in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester.

The woman claimed the supermarket was 'living in the dark ages' and said she was offended by the card's message, which jokes about women flaunting their looks.

The front cover of the offending birthday card carries the words: 'To a Fab Sister. Remember, inner beauty...won't get you free drinks!'

The woman, who asked not to be named, tweeted the company on Monday morning to say: 'Found this on a shelf in your store...nice to see how you view women!!!'

Tesco replied: 'I'm sorry to see this. I'd like to look into this for you, please can you advise the store you visited?'

The official Tesco Twitter account pledged to pass on her feedback to the store in question, and the supermarket has now agreed to 'phase out' the card from stores across the country.

A spokesman confirmed: 'We've listened to customer feedback and will be phasing this design out of our card range.'

SOURCE 

Blackface hysteria again

As far as one can tell, the women concerned were fans of the black player and the black face was intended as a tribute to her.  They were probably unaware of the hysteria that blackface attracts in America.  And note how one person in blackface makes some sour media people condemn the whole nation of Australia as racist.  Fabulous reasoning.  What do we deduce from the 23 million Australians who never wear blackface?

A spectator has been criticized after appearing in the crowd during a Serena Williams match at the Australian Open [tennis] wearing 'blackface'

The fan was seen during Williams' semi-final clash with Polish star Agnieszka Radwanska on Thursday

Other fans were quick to react to the controversial attire, with many saying it proved Australia is a 'racist' country.

'There's a Serena Williams fan in the crowd ... wearing blackface,' American journalist Russell Brown tweeted.

The fans were also holding a sign that read: 'keep calm and be Serena'

SOURCE 

Australia: Brisbane could rename historically "racist" Boundary streets

This is just a lot  of meddling nonsense.  As the mayor said, almost no-one in Brisbane would be aware of the history concerned.  It is just an attempt to revise history.  Orwell would understand

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk will consider changing the names of Brisbane's Boundary streets, but only if such a change is embraced by the city's indigenous community.

At least one prominent Aboriginal activist, Sam Watson, has rejected the push, saying Boundary Street in both West End and Spring Hill served as a constant reminder of the horrific treatment of the area's original inhabitants.

The inner-city Boundary streets, on either side of the Brisbane River, were so named due to a racist policy that separated European arrivals from the local Jagera and Turrbal [Aboriginal] populations.

Earlier this month, street signs at West End were changed to "Boundless Street" and, since then, an online petition has been set up to call for such a name change to be made official.

Petitioner Michael Colenso said the names were "outdated" and held Brisbane back from "meaningful progression as a city and peoples committed to truthful and respectful harmony".

Cr Quirk said he understood the sentiment, given the shocking treatment Murris [Aborigines] suffered at the hands of early European settlers, and would open a dialogue with local elders about a possible change.

One of those elders, Mr Watson, said he wanted Boundary Street to remain as a reminder of Brisbane's bloody past.  "I think it's important that all people walking through Brisbane and along Boundary Street should be aware of the history of it," he said.

"Mainstream Australia, unfortunately, has this tendency to just keep trying to move on from the more unsavoury aspects of their own history. "That might help everyone's peace of mind and make them sleep a little better at night, but it doesn't change the fact that there are very bloody and very ugly segments of our joint history together that should not be ignored. "It should be customarily acknowledged as part of our genuine, true history."

As for the inner-city streets, Cr Quirk said there was still a lot of ignorance about what they actually meant.  "I don't think, in truth, many people in Brisbane really understand what Boundary Street means and its significance in terms of its history," Cr Quirk said.

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