Christians must be seen and not heard at CUNY campus -- but Muslims can do as they like

We read:

"When Nicholas Francis filled out all the necessary paperwork—in advance—for the Christian Club’s annual Christmas event he thought it would be much like all the preceding events. Except days before, Student Activities stopped the paperwork and requested that they submit an itemized agenda for the event that would be modified according to an alleged new CUNY policy regarding religious events held on campus.

“They really didn’t specify where it was written or point out ‘it says it right here.’ They just said you can’t do this,” said Francis, president of the Christian club. They were prohibited to open and read from the Bible and were not allowed to have a speaker. The event was limited to singing, dancing, and reciting poetry.

This was the first instance where the concept of separation of church and state was enacted, an ordinance alien to York College.

Andrews shed light on the situation by claiming that the separation of church and state arose after a complaint was made by individuals who felt that the MSA was “espousing religious rhetoric,” or basically preaching. “Everybody is forced to hear it, unfortunately, whether you want to hear it or not,” said Andrews, referring to the Muslim call to prayer that echoes loudly within the Academic Core Building. “You are forced because it’s being broadcasted in the atrium.”

“This was the only event for the last year in the atrium, of all our events,” Francis said. “We’re usually behind closed doors and I believe that is what they prefer.”

But for the MSA there are no closed doors. They hold prayers in cordoned area of the south side of the fourth floor and the azan, or call for prayer, is heard from all over the school. An exclusive washroom, or place for ablution, has been designated for their use.

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The hate never dies among British Leftists

We read:

"John McDonnell, a Labour leadership candidate, was applauded loudly yesterday for telling a trade union audience that he wished to go back to the 1980s and assassinate Margaret Thatcher.

The MP later said his remarks were intended as a joke but the standing ovation he received underlined how large sections of the party remain tilted to the Left.

Describing himself as a victim of the former Tory Prime Minister’s policies because he worked for the Greater London Council and National Union of Mineworkers, Mr McDonnell said he would be glad to “go back to the 1980s and assassinate Thatcher”.

He appeared the most popular of the five contenders at the leadership hustings at the GMB union’s conference in Southport.

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Hate-filled old hag lets slip what most of her fellow journalists probably think



She has obviously become less cautious with age. She puts the mask back on in her evasive "apology" but it is her spontaneous comments that are most convincing about what she really thinks.

"Veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas has retired after coming under fire for controversial remarks about Israel. The decision by 89-year-old Thomas, the longest-serving reporter in the White House press corps, was announced by Hearst Corp, where she worked as a newspaper columnist.

Thomas, who served for decades as the White House correspondent for United Press International (UPI), apologised last week for the remarks she made about Israel during a May 27 "Jewish Heritage Celebration" at the White House.

Asked at the event by the website RabbiLive.com whether she had any "comments on Israel", Thomas replied: "Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine. "Remember these people are occupied and it's their land, not German and not Poland. "They can go home, Poland, Germany, and America and everywhere else."

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs overnight described the remarks as "offensive and reprehensible" and Thomas issued an apology on her website, HelenThomas.org.

"I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians," she said. "They do not reflect my heart-felt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognise the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon."

Source

Yid with lid has the video plus more background. Someone should offer her a free ticket to Gaza, as long as she stays there.

Comment from a correspondent:

"The thing that really upsets me about Helen is that for more than 30 years the entire media has known full well of her hatred, of her anti-semitism - and they did nothing. It was no secret - they all knew; every one of them heard her, everyone was fully aware of it. And yet not once did the MSM broadcast this - we were forced to do it ourselves.

It wasn't a CNN, CBS, NBC or ABC cameraman that taped this truth about Helen; instead, it was an independent cameraman trotting alongside her on the sidewalk that taped in 30 seconds what the media has refused to tape for 30 years - the truth about Helen's hatred, her anti-semitism.

They all knew, each and every one of them knew about her hatred for decades - and yet they did nothing"

Mustn't say that Arabs are a problem?

Maybe the 9/11 attacks were carried out by the Old Order Amish

"A French court has fined Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux for making racist comments about a young party activist of Algerian origin. The court fined Mr Hortefeux 750 euros (£622) and ordered that he pay 2,000 euros to an anti-racism group.

Mr Hortefeux was joking with a small group of activists from the ruling UMP party in south-west France. Immediately before Mr Hortefeux's controversial remark, one activist is heard saying: "Amin is a Catholic. He eats pork and drinks alcohol."

Mr Hortefeux then says: "Ah, well that won't do at all. He doesn't match the prototype." A woman is then heard to say: "He is one of us... he is our little Arab."

The interior minister then says: "We always need one. It's when there are lots of them that there are problems."

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Must not mention private schooling

You no doubt saw some of the press coverage of the young Indian girl who won the national spelling bee. But did you notice something odd? None of the reports mentioned what school she went to! Since learning to spell is very much an educational activity, you would think that her school had some relevance. Links to the BBC, ABCNews and AP coverage here, here, and here.

As far as I can see, it is only by viewing the Bee's website that you could learn learn that Speller No. 201, Anamika Veeramani, attended Incarnate Word Academy in Ohio, a private Catholic school.

Maybe there were some news reports that mentioned that but it sure stands out that so many did not.

The problem may have been the name of the school. "Incarnate Word" is a reference to John 1:1 and is a very religious name for Jesus Christ. We can't have people exposed to Biblical references can we? Has it come down to separation between church and spelling bees?

As an aside, I thought it was a bit unfair to ask her to spell a German word -- even if it is sometimes used in rarefied medical circles. Stromuhr is actually a very easy word to spell if you know German. It is just German for "stream clock". "Uhr" is related to our word "hour"

The recent attempt run the Gaza blockade was revealing

We read:

"The instantaneous worldwide condemnation of Israel by such stalwart defenders of humanitarian rights as Russia, Syria, Turkey and the UN itself, illustrates that hate speech against Israel and Jews has become pro forma and acceptable without question.

There was a brief respite from knee jerk anti-semitism after the Second World War exposed its horrifying consequences but following the declaration of Israel’s statehood, the mantle of Jew-hatred was assumed by the Muslim world and eventually by the radical left internationally. Now, in the 21rst century, after all the wars initiated against Israel by Arab forces, after all the world-wide massacres wrought by radical Islam, we still face the curious phenomenon of Israel being singled out as the world’s leading obstacle to peace in our time.

In the west, one of the formative reasons for the demonization of Israel in polite discourse is the leeway afforded to its enemies to express the most outrageous claims in our universities. We have raised a generation of students who have been manipulated by anti-Israel faculties, by craven attempts to boycott Israel economically and intellectually and by such phenomena as Israel Apartheid Week whose very title is not only a patent lie but an insidious attempt to delegitimize a democratic state.

Ironically, Israel has successfully integrated people from all over the globe and has afforded more rights to Palestinians than all of their Arab pseudo-supporters combined. Israel has continued to extend humanitarian aid to its self-avowed enemies who deny its right to exist and refuse to meet with its leaders face to face. The non–Muslim students who support Israel Apartheid Week would never participate in a week-long hate fest dedicated to the condemnation of radical jihadi violence against Hindus, African animists, Christians, Jews, gays and women, yet they feel sanctimoniously comfortable scapegoating the only democracy in the middle east and the only bona fide ally of the United States in that region.

Universities which have severely limiting speech codes that protect against offending the sensitivities of numerous sacred cows have no problem allowing the often violence-inducing rallies and speeches that constitute Israel Apartheid Week at the most prestigious campuses in America.

Source

All the Leftist and libertarian sites I have seen recently are just bubbling over with hatred of Israel. Very reminiscent of Der Stürmer

CA: Can't say "black holes"

We read:

"A graduation card sold at local stores has been pulled from shelves after a civil rights group raised concerns about the content. The group claims the card's micro-speaker plays a greeting that's racist. It is a graduation greeting from Hallmark that says, "Hey world, we are officially putting you on notice."

Members of the Los Angeles NAACP did take notice. As characters known as "Hoops" and "Yoyo" banter on, African American leaders hear offensive language. "And you black holes, you are so ominous. Watch your back," the card vocalizes.

"That was very demeaning to African American women. When it made reference to African American women as whores and at the end, it says 'watch your back,'" said Leon Jenkins of the Los Angeles NAACP.

When Hallmark was reached by phone, they said the card is all a misunderstanding. The card's theme is the solar system and emphasizes the power of the grad to take over the universe, even energy-absorbing black holes.

Hallmark is now notifying all of its stores to pull the card. Walgreens and CVS are doing the same.

Source

Man fired for saying a large public mural does not represent his town

There has been a storm of abuse from Leftists over this (e.g. here) But what it boils down to is a local politician complaining that a huge mural of a black guy in the center of his town does not represent his town -- which is predominantly white.

He is undoubtedly correct but you are only allowed to take notice of race if you are discriminating in favor of a person of another race, of course -- so-called "affirmative action".

"An Arizona councilman was fired from a talk back radio show after asking a school principal to paint faces white on a local school mural. Steve Blair was fired from the talk radio show he hosted due to the controversy over the mural painted on a local public school

The artists said the mural they painted was supposed to show the diversity of the kids at Miller Valley School, but following comments by Blair, the school principal asked them to paint the kids' faces a lighter color

The mural was painted last month on the wall of the school, at the corner of the busiest intersection in Prescott.

The controversy was sparked by a comment Blair made on his radio show two weeks ago. "To depict the biggest picture on that building as a black person - I would have to ask the question ‘why?’" he said on The Steve Blair Show on KYCA.

Source

More detail on a Leftist site here.

TV presenter shocks some viewers with "sexist" comment

We read:

"American TV presenter Mark Haines shocked viewers with a sexist comment about how women don't understand sport.

His co-presenter Erin Burnett suggested that a bad call by a baseball referee did not matter because the situation was handled gracefully by both sides.

Haines replied: 'See, this is why women aren't in charge of sports'.

As production staff could be heard giggling, Burnett sat open mouthed and said: 'Oh my! You know...I think...this is a moment that should be passed over'.

The footage has found its way onto YouTube where most of the comments support what Haines said. GBTRU wrote: 'She makes it sound so trivial that a perfect game was thrown, because of a stupid call by the ump. 'She and women like her...have a fair play everybody wins mentality when it comes to sports. This was record breaking...she knows nothing.'

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Kagan’s troubling First Amendment record

We read:

"Early this month President Obama selected Solicitor General Elena Kagan as his replacement for retiring Justice John Paul Stevens on the United States Supreme Court.

In the last session alone no fewer than 10 cases involving First Amendment claims made it to the Court’s docket.... An examination of several of the law review articles she has written and the First Amendment cases in which she has involved herself as solicitor general reveals a consistent and inexplicable hostility toward free speech.

Here’s the takeaway. Under her view of “free speech,” Hillsdale College, a small liberal arts school in Michigan and crisis pregnancy centers throughout the nation that receive no funds might find themselves subjected to speech restrictions due to a perceived hostility on their part to women and minorities.

Nevertheless, Planned Parenthood and presumably Harvard would be allowed to operate free from any restrictions on pro-abortion or gay rights advocacy while because they receive public funds.

Next, there is her 1995 University of California, Davis law review article on speech codes in which she asserts one way to defend a Stanford University speech code would be to consider it “a ban on the subcategory of fighting words that must pose the dangers associated with fighting words generally.”

Finally there is a 1996 Chicago Law review article on the First Amendment in which Kagan theorizes that the Courts -- instead of focusing on the First Amendment’s goal of ensuring that individual expression and the marketplace of ideas is encouraged -- should focus on the government’s motives in adopting regulations that impact speech. If their goals were neutral then the impact on speech wouldn’t necessarily be protected.

As demonstrated by her record, Kagan clearly believes the scope of the First Amendment should be narrower than it is today. She consistently devalues political speech and freedom of expression in favor of government control.

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Australian footballer banned from playing after writing that homosexual sportsmen should not "come out"

We read:

"An Australian sportsman has been suspended by his club over homophobic comments he made in a newspaper column. Australian Rules star Jason Akermanis had used his comment piece in Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper to urge gay players to 'stay in the closet'.

Akermanis, 33, has been criticised over the column, in which argued that the deeply traditional, Gaelic football-style sport was not ready for its first openly gay player.

He wrote: 'Imagine the publicity associated with a current player admitting he's gay. It would be international news and could break the fabric of a club.'

Source

He was clearly motivated by a concern for the best interests of his sport rather than by any animus towards homosexuals -- but you are not allowed to offer any such arguments, it seems.

Must not use "rape" metaphorically

Comparing other things to rape is as old as the hills. Alexander Pope wrote his satirical "The rape of the lock" in 1712. But some angry feminist below says that is wrong

"Twilight actress Kristen Stewart has often been outspoken about her hatred of the spotlight shined on her personal life and rumoured romance with co-star Robert Pattinson.

But Stewart needs to know that there's a big difference between being hounded by the media and being raped, according to rape victims' advocates who were offended by remarks from Stewart in the July edition of British Elle magazine.

“It's so... The photos are so… I feel like I'm looking at someone being raped. A lot of the time I can't handle it,” the 20-year-old actress said when asked how she feels about being photographed by paparazzi. “I never expected that this would be my life.”

Katherine Hull, a spokesperson on behalf of Rape and Incest National Network (R.A.I.N.N.), spoke out against Stewart's comments on FOXNews.com.

“Stewart's comments are regrettable," she said. "Portraying a rape survivor in the film Speak should have led her to use a more appropriate metaphor to describe the intrusive nature of the paparazzi. "Rape is more than an intrusion, it's a violent crime, that causes serious long term mental health effects for victims.”

Source

One could be forgiven for concluding that Ms Hull is suffering from "serious long term mental health effects"

A Loss for the bureaucrats. A Victory for the First Amendment

We read:

"SpeechNow.org is an association of citizens that wanted to pool their money to run independent political ads for and against candidates based on their support for the First Amendment. SpeechNow.org does not accept any money from corporations or unions and does not make any contributions to political candidates or parties. Although individuals are allowed under the First Amendment to spend unlimited amounts of money on independent political ads (which is political speech in its most basic form), if two or more individuals tried to pool their money to do exactly the same thing, the FEC classified them as a Political Action Committee. That meant that all of the registration requirements and contribution limits of FECA that govern PACs applied to SpeechNow.org, which acted as a direct and onerous limit on the association’s ability to engage in political speech.

Fortunately, all nine justices of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of SpeechNow.org and against the FEC last March, holding that such government-imposed restrictions on participation in the political process are a violation of the First Amendment. The case was then remanded back to the federal district court. On June 1, the district court issued an injunction against the FEC that implemented the decision of the Court of Appeals. The injunction prevents the FEC from enforcing contribution limits against SpeechNow.org and its prospective donors.

In conjunction with the Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court, this decision goes a long way towards restoring First Amendment rights that have been systematically denied over the past thirty years by so-called “campaign finance reform” laws, most of which are more correctly termed as incumbent-protection laws.

The latest example of that is the DISCLOSE Act, which is a “reform” bill being pushed through Congress in a big hurry by Senator Chuck Schumer and Rep. Chris Van Hollen in an attempt to reverse the Citizens United decision in time for the November election. It just goes to show that we are in a seemingly never-ending war to stop violations of our freedom and liberties by members of Congress who exhibit no qualms about violating the Constitution or the Bill of Rights.

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Leftist hate at work

Leftists despise America. All they like about it is their own twisted idea of what it could become through force and coercion

"People in one Ohio town say they were startled Memorial Day morning to find vandals had torched close to 20 U.S. flags installed on lawns by the Rotary Club.

Residents in Wooster say it appears fires were set on the ground at the bases of the 10-foot metal flag poles and that flames traveled up and burned the flags.

Police were alerted just before 3:30 a.m. Monday in the community 50 miles south of Cleveland. Lt. Greg Bolek says the poles were cool to the touch by the time officers arrived.

Source

This is not actual speech but it conveys a clear message nonetheless

Tintin ban is 'like book burning'



We read:

"Legal attempts to ban Tintin in the Congo for racism are a form of "book burning", according to lawyers acting for the estate of Hergé, the Belgian cartoon hero's creator.

Belgium's courts are investigating whether Tintin's 1931 Congolese adventures, when the country was a Belgian colony, portrays black Africans in a racist way.

Alain Berenboom, a lawyer for the estate of Georges Remi, the Tintin cartoonist who worked under the Hergé pen-name, attacked the calls to censor the book which was published for over 70 years before being accused of racism. "I cannot accept racism but I consider it equally lamentable that we burn books. To ban books is to burn them," he said. "It has never caused public order problems, including in Africa."

Bienvenu Mbutu Mondondo, a Brussels-based Congolese man, has spent the last three years pursuing Tintin's copyright holders and publisher in the civil and criminals courts....

British editions of Tintin Au Congo have not been banned but are now sold with a band of paper around the cover, warning the content is offensive.

Allegations of racism surrounding the Tintin book are deeply sensitive in Belgium, a small country where the intrepid boy reporter and his dog Snowy are a rare national symbol, and where postcolonial guilt over its record in the Congo is acute.

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NY: Judge orders reinstatement of boy suspended over rosary

We read:

"A federal judge says a New York school must reinstate a 13-year-old boy who was suspended for wearing rosary beads. Raymond Hosier, a 13-year-old Schenectady, New York, boy, filed a federal suit Tuesday against his middle school after he was repeatedly suspended for wearing a rosary, which he says is in memory of his older brother who died in a bike accident. …

Oneida Middle School officials contend Raymond Hosier violated a policy banning gang-related clothing because the prayer beads sometimes are worn as gang symbols.”

Source

I'd believe the gang symbol explanation myself. Rosary beads are not normally worn as necklaces.

Conn. Town Can't Hold Graduations in Church, Judge Rules

We read:

"A federal judge has ruled two Connecticut public high schools can't hold their graduations inside a church because that would be an unconstitutional endorsement of religion.

U.S. District Court Judge Janet Hall made the ruling Monday in the case of Enfield High School and Enrico Fermi High School, both in Enfield. [Does the stupid b*tch think the air inside a church is a secret gas that brainwashes people into becoming Christians?]

The Enfield school board says it voted to hold services June 23 and 24 at The First Cathedral in Bloomfield because it had enough space at the right price. But two students and three of their parents sued.

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Must not preach the Gospel in Afghanistan

We read:

"Afghan authorities suspended two Christian foreign aid groups Monday on suspicion of proselytizing in the strictly Islamic nation and said a follow-up investigation would include whether other groups were trying to convert Muslims.

U.S.-based Church World Service and Norwegian Church Aid will not be allowed to operate while the allegations, aired Sunday on Afghan television, are investigated, said Mohammad Hashim Mayar, the deputy director of the Afghan government office that oversees nongovernment organizations, known as NGOs....

Proselytizing is illegal in Afghanistan, as it is in many Muslim countries. It is a hot-button issue for many Afghans sensitive to the influence of the scores of foreign aid groups operating in the country to help it recover from decades of war.

Source

"Nazi" game stirs up California school

We read:

"La Quinta High School is working with the Anti-Defamation League to provide more tolerance education in response to a controversial game dozens of students played, officials said Friday.

The off-campus game, dubbed “Beat the Jew,” was a chase game that involved a group of students in cars, called “Nazis,” trying to catch up with a student — a “Jew” — trying to run to a specified location.

Participation in the game was voluntary. It did not constitute a crime and did not happen on school property, so officials said the 40 or so students involved can't be punished by the school — though officials did talk with them and ask that the Facebook group promoting the game be taken down.

“I would love to be able to do something,” Salazar said about creating more consequences for the students involved.

Many of the students have been to museums of tolerance in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and teachers work hard to make historical events such as the Holocaust hit home with students, she said.

Some have argued that while the game included insensitive terminology, it meant no harm and was not intended to be a threat.

Source

The game was undoubtedly insensitive but it would be very tedious if everybody was sensitive all the time. I suspect that the kids just saw it as a variation on "cowboys and Indians" -- though I suppose "cowboys and Indians" is pretty "incorrect" these days too.

Social networking site squashed by British university

We read:

"The founder of a student flirting website has been fined £300 for bringing his university into disrepute. The FitFinder, set up last month, combines Twitter and Facebook to allow students to exchange saucy messages on campus. The site received four million hits in its first month and has rapidly expanded to universities across the country.

Rich Martell, 21, a final-year computer sciences student at University College London, has taken the site down under pressure from university authorities, who were concerned that it was distracting students from their studies. Staff claim to have been contacted by a number of other universities unhappy about FitFinder.

FitFinder has gained national attention since its launch in April for its risque content and its wildfire-like spread. The site allows students to “spot” attractive people in libraries, cafes and lecture theatres, and post a message about them on the publicly visible site in the hope of getting a response.The site has been criticised by women’s groups, who cite sexually explicit comments as evidence of its offensive tone, while supporters argue that it is nothing more than friendly banter and a bit of tongue-in-cheek fun.

Mr Martell has vowed to resume the service as soon as the safety of his university degree is guaranteed and said that it was an unfair reaction to a social networking site that he sees as no different to Facebook or Twitter. “If a UCL student posted something offensive on Facebook would they hold Mark Zuckerberg [the site’s founder] responsible?” he asked.

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