College Students Want 'Our Lord' Phrase Off Diplomas

We read:

"A group of students at Trinity University in Texas wants the Christian-rooted school to remove the words "Our Lord" from their diplomas, the Houston Chronicle reported.

"A diploma is a very personal item, and people want to proudly display it in their offices and homes,” Sidra Qureshi, president of Trinity Diversity Connection, told the Chronicle. “By having the phrase ‘In the Year of Our Lord,' it is directly referencing Jesus Christ, and not everyone believes in Jesus Christ."

Qureshi, a Muslim student at the school, is leading the campaign to remove the words. The Board of Trustees is expected to vote on the matter during a meeting next month.

The school was founded by Presbyterians in 1869 and has been governed by an independent board of trustees since 1969.

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But I guess that "Allah" would not be objected to. That would be "racist"

List of "banned" websites to be kept secret by Australia's own Geheime Staatspolizei

We read:

"Communications Minister Stephen Goering Conroy has agreed that greater oversight of which websites will be banned under the Government's mandatory internet filter is needed but has ruled out making the list public.

The Federal Government plans to introduce a filter aimed at blocking access to illegal material such as child pornography or content refused classification (RC) by the Australian Communications and Media Authority. But the blacklist put together by the communications watchdog has not been made public, raising concerns that governments can impose censorship without proper oversight.

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Media Badly Misrepresent Ann Coulter's 'Take A Camel' Remark

We read:

"Conservative author Ann Coulter found herself embroiled in controversy last week after she spoke at a Canadian university.

According to numerous American media outlets, when asked by a seventeen-year-old Muslim student at the University of Western Ontario last Monday, "[S]ince I don't have a magic carpet, what other modes [of transportation] do you suggest," Coulter responded, "Take a camel."

What the Coulter-hating media ignored is that she spent almost two full minutes giving a rather thoughtful, fact-based answer to the first, more serious part of Fatima Al-Dhaher's question, and was badgered by others in the crowd who clearly didn't like her response.

At that point, Coulter heckled the hecklers



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If you haven't got time to watch the video, there is a transcript and further discussion at the source given.

US must stop spying on WikiLeaks

Wikileaks is a great site for busting government secrecy but they are not wholly reliable. I wish them a long life, however.

"Developing world violence aside, we’ve become used to the level of security service interest in us and have established procedures to ignore that interest. But the increase in surveillance activities this last month, in a time when we are barely publishing due to fundraising, are excessive.

Some of the new interest is related to a film exposing a U.S. massacre we will release at the U.S. National Press Club on April 5. The spying includes attempted covert following, photographing, filming and the overt detention & questioning of a WikiLeaks’ volunteer in Iceland on Monday night.”

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Coulter update



Leftist thugs shut down a talk by Ann Coulter at the University of Ottawa but she was not completely silenced in Canada

"Right-wing U.S. pundit Ann Coulter's comments to a Muslim student in London earlier this week were "distasteful" but don't qualify as hate speech, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association general counsel said Thursday.

"It is distasteful speech," Nathalie Des Rosiers said before speaking to The Windsor Star's editorial board. "It's appropriate to challenge her to say how inappropriate and silly an example it is, but it doesn't amount to hate speech."

Des Rosiers said hate speech in Canada is defined as a direct invitation to inflict violence and Coulter's comments didn't reach that level.

Coulter gained media attention this week for a speech at the University of Western Ontario where she declared that Muslims should be banned from flying on airplanes.

When a Muslim woman asked Coulter how she would be able to get around, Coulter repled that she could "take a camel."

Des Rosiers defended Coulter's right to free speech even if she doesn't support her views.

Coulter's comments caused a protest and the cancellation of her speech at the University of Ottawa Tuesday and increased security at a scheduled Thursday night speech at the University of Calgary.

Universities should pay for extra security so controversial speakers like Coulter can be heard, Des Rosiers said.

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At Ann Coulter event, 'lots of hate speech -- from students'

Two letters:

"On Tuesday night I was one of several hundred people who waited patiently in the Ottawa rain to hear what Ann Coulter had to say, but alas it was not to be. It was an interesting experience being called a racist bigot and other slurs by a cadre of unruly and rude students, whose education is subsidized by my tax dollars.

Then in yesterday's National Post, letter-writer Denise Cooke Browne asks the great unwashed not to "show up at [Ms. Coulter's] talks."

Contempt prior to investigation: Doesn't that constitute bias?
Ms. Cooke Browne also boasts of having been a former journalist and human rights investigator. It was fortunate I did not have to appear before her; I wouldn't have stood a chance.

Geraldine Hyland, Orleans, Ont.

While watching television coverage of Ann Coulter's aborted speech at the University of Ottawa on Tuesday, I saw no free speech but plenty of hate speech and threats of violence --from the students.

Sharon Quickfall, Edmonton.

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No right to pray in a public park?

It should be realized that saving souls is an integral part of evangelical Christian beliefs and that some homosexuals have repented and changed their behavior with Christian help. So the preacher below was clearly exercising his religion, which the 1st Amendment says he is free to do

"A street preacher who intruded on an Elmira, New York gay pride event along with three others in 2007 has been arrested on disorderly conduct charges. Julian Raven had been fined $100 for refusing to obey police, who ordered him and several others out of a park where the pride event was taking place at the time.

He could have faced 15 days in jail for not paying the fine; reports say that he was sentenced to only nine days. Anti-gay religious conservatives agree with the preacher, who says that his constitutional rights to freedom of speech have been violated.

The case is on appeal and may be headed to the New York supreme court

Raven, and anti-gay Christians supportive of him, says that he has the right to pray in public even during an event that draws people who might take offense at the message.

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St. Paul himself preached that homosexuals are worthy of death (Romans 1:32). No doubt he too would be jailed in America today.

Must not correct official lies

We read:

"Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Pentagon reporters Thursday it's "inappropriate" for active duty officers to comment on potential changes to the law that bans gays from openly serving in the military.

Those comments were a direct response to a March 8th letter written to the "Stars and Stripes " by Lieutenant General Benjamin Mixon, commanding general of the US Army Pacific, which clearly stated his opinion that most servicemembers are opposed to repealing the policy.

In the letter Mixon wrote: "It is often stated that most servicemembers are in favor of repealing the policy. I do not believe that is accurate."

He went on to say, "Now is the time to write your elected officials and chain of command and express your views. If those of us who are in favor of retaining the current policy do not speak up, there is no chance to retain the current policy."

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Florida still trying to regulate political speech

We read:

"After a sharp Senate debate Wednesday, a bill is headed to Gov. Charlie Crist’s desk that would revive and modify a Florida ‘electioneering’ law that was ruled unconstitutional last year by a federal judge who said it violated freedom of speech. The debate, though, wasn’t about that part of the bill. …

U.S. District Judge Stephan Mickle last year ruled Florida’s ‘electioneering communications’ law violated constitutional guarantees of free speech by requiring nonpolitical organizations to register with the state and comply with financial reporting requirements if they so much as mentioned a candidate or issue.

The bill still would require some groups and individuals engaged in ‘election-related activities’ to register with the state if they raise more than $5,000, but not those focused only on issues.”

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Black rapper offends Buddhists

We read:

"Singer Akon has postponed his April concert in Sri Lanka after the island nation's government said they planned to deny his visa on Tuesday.

Their announcement followed a violent incident on Monday, when more than 200 protestors in the city of Colombo threw rocks at the offices of Capital Maharaja, Akon's concert promoters. Chevan Daniel, Maharaja broadcasting's head of news, told The Associated Press that the mob - some carrying signs that read "Stop Akon Now" -- broke windows and hit cars parked near the building. Four employees were reportedly injured.

The protestors were incited by Akon's video, "Sexy Chick," the #3 hit song he recorded for Dave Guetta's One Love album. The video features bikini-clad women dancing suggestively in front of a Buddha statue during a pool scene. The clip "triggered a lot of disappointment among Buddhists all over the world," a government spokesperson said in a statement.

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Getting offended seems to be all the rage now (apologies for the pun)

Tombola Bingo advert gets banned in Britain

We read:

"It seems to be more of an issue of political correctness than the suggested presenting of a negative racial stereotype as the latest Tombola Bingo advert gets banned by ASA. This bingo sites latest advert prompted just two complaints but this is all it took for ASA to consider whether the complaints about the Tombola Bingo advert were justified or not.

Obviously it would not be appropriate to get into a debate as to whether the decision to ban the Tombola Bingo advert was the right thing to do. However, this bingo sites advert, which featured a coloured man playing a ukulele, repeating everything that the white man next to him was saying, was deemed to imply that black people are less intelligent than white people.

This is not the first time that Tombola Bingo has had to pull a TV advert off air. One of this bingo sites previous adverts was also banned after it was deemed to appeal to the younger generation.

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"appeal to the younger generation"! How shocking!

Feminists say hospital's breast cancer campaign is sexist

We read:

"Polish feminists have objected to a hospital's breast cancer prevention slogan which they say encourages workplace harassment.

The Gazeta Wyborcza says the slogan "I check the breasts of my workers on my own" was devised by a cancer hospital in the southern town of Opole and aimed at convincing employers to encourage their female workers to have their breasts checked regularly for cancer symptoms.

"This is a sexist slogan that obviously brings sexual molestation to mind," the head of the Feminoteka foundation, Joanna Piotrowska, was quoted on the website as saying.

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Sex is bad, say feminists -- which shows how weird they are

Where Is the Outrage When Black Conservative Tea Party Activists Are Called the N-Word?

We read:

"Black conservatives opposed to government-run health care routinely are called the "n-word" and worse, says Deneen Borelli, full-time Fellow with the Project 21 black leadership network -- by liberals.

To black lawmakers allegedly receiving the same treatment, Borelli said: "Welcome to my world! I've been called worse than the N-word by alleged enlightened liberals for the outrage of expressing my views on topics such as the threat of government overreach on things such as ObamaCare, climate change legislation, the Second Amendment and pro-growth economics."

"It should go without saying that racial slurs are offensive and uncalled for," added Borelli. "But progressives seem far more aggressive in hurling racist comments than Tea Party members. I find that all the time on my e-mail after I appear on television or radio."

Responding to comments made by Representative Charlie Rangel (D-NY) about the racial aspects and alleged racial tone of Tea Party rallies opposed to a government takeover of America's health care system, Borelli said: "In an attempt to inject race into the national debate about government running our nation's health care system, Representative Charlie Rangel made false allegations about the Tea Parties when he said that '[y]ou don't see any black folks in these groups. Ever, ever, ever, ever, ever.' Considering he's never invited me -- or any of his conservative colleagues, for that matter -- for insight on reworking one-sixth of our economy, he obviously must not realize I am black. He also failed to see the other black faces I've seen at the many tea party rallies I've attended and spoken at over the past few months."

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Arty-farties offend Australian blacks



We read:

"It was meant to be the Dreamtime set in stone, a celebration of reconciliation and a "revival of Aboriginal spirituality". But Wanjina Watchers in the Whispering Stone, an 8.5-tonne sculpture in Katoomba, has sparked vandalism and death threats.

"This is the most beautiful thing that has been done for Aboriginal people," a Blue Mountains gallery owner, Vesna Tenodi, says. "They should be thanking me, but instead I get yelled at wherever I go."

Tenodi is the owner, together with her husband Damir, of the ModroGorje Wellness and Art Centre. Originally from Croatia, Tenodi ruffled feathers late last year when she published her book Dreamtime Set in Stone: The Truth about Australian Aborigines, an exploration of indigenous culture that was dedicated to "the Aboriginal people and to the Aborigine in each of us". But the book offended many local Aborigines, not least for its illustrations of wanjina, a sacred creation ancestor of the Kimberley people in Western Australia.

"It's totally inappropriate for a non-indigenous person to be doing wanjinas, especially without permission," said Chris Tobin, a member of the local Darug people who works as a guide with the National Parks and Wildlife Service. "Aboriginal law is very specific on what you can and can't do with wanjinas."

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Court Blocks Website From Reporting The News

First amendment??

"In the last few years, there's been a push by some companies to bring back the immensely troubling "hot news doctrine," that appears to violate everything we know about the First Amendment and copyright law. Basically, the "hot news doctrine" says that if someone reports on a story, others are not allowed to report on their reporting for some period of time -- on the theory that it somehow undermines the incentive to do that original reporting. Last year, we wrote about the very troubling implications of allowing the hot news concept to stand. Beyond the free speech implications, it also has the troubling quality of effectively creating a copyright on facts -- which are quite clearly not covered by copyright. On top of that, it's not necessary in the slightest. As anyone who is actually in the online news business knows, getting a scoop gets you traffic -- even if others report the same thing minutes later. Being first gets you the attention. You don't need to artificially block others from reporting the news.

Unfortunately, with various publications struggling, some have picked up on the hot news doctrine as a way to somehow block competition. Tragically, it looks like a court has now adopted the hot news doctrine in one case. Paul Alan Levy alerts us to the news that a judge issuing an injunction against TheFlyOnTheWall.com, a website that would publish summaries of Wall Street research. The Wall Street firms said this undermined their business model -- and the court agreed. It passed an injunction saying that TheFlyOnTheWall had to hold off publishing any news about any Wall Street research report until either 10am (if the report is released early in the morning) or for two hours after it's released if it comes out during the day.

These totally arbitrary restrictions are highly troubling from a free speech standpoint and seem effectively random. This seems like yet another case of a company being upset by interference with its business model, which should be a reason to change the business model -- not run to the courts.

But what's most troubling of all is that now all the publishers who have been salivating over the hot news doctrine have a legal ruling to point to. Can you imagine how the world would work if you couldn't blog about or mention a particular piece of news for a few hours because the Associated Press got to it first? It's hard to see how this could possibly stand up to a First Amendment analysis, and it's quite troubling that the judge found the way she did.

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Must not generalize about nationalities

Even if it's true

"Air New Zealand has been forced to apologise for a crew manual which suggested that Tongan passengers may "drink the bar dry".

The airline issued the apology after the manual was made public in New Zealand's Sunday Star-Times yesterday.

The document caused a stir by making generalisations about different nationalities, also stating that Korean passengers will expect good manners, Thais expect a souvenir and Samoans will appreciate a rug.

Air New Zealand spokesman Alan Gaskin said the manual was not meant to cause offence.

"This section of the document was designed as a reference guide to ensure international cabin crew were familiar with the expectations of the diverse range of nationalities Air New Zealand carries on its international services," Mr Gaskin told new website Stuff.co.nz.

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Were racial slurs hurled at John Lewis and his entourage by Tea Party members?

We read:

"The MSM has decided the answer is yes: "Demonstrators outside the U.S. Capitol, angry over the proposed health care bill, shouted obscenities at members of the Congressional Black Caucus and spat on Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Missouri Democrat. The protesters used a racial epithet toward Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat, and confronted a gay congressman with taunts."

The meme is clear. And it's not new. Tea Party members have been called racists for some time now by the race hustlers so this isn't surprising. The real question however is did it actually happen.

GatewayPundit brings us a video snippett of the event that seems to cast some serious doubt: Nothing is heard there that would suggest Lewis and his gang of political exploitation experts are correct. Nothing. But of course, it's only a snippet.

Let's assume the charges are true... that someone from the crowd yelled the "N" word and that someone spit at Lewis or Clyburn... who's to say that it wasn't a plant? Do you doubt for a minute that these leftist radicals would stoop to such a ploy? Seriously?

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There is now such a long history of Leftists creating "racist" incidents in full confidence that the media will blame it on conservatives that it now should be the default assumption that Leftists did it.

Must not mention testicles in beer ad

Australia:

"Foster's has pulled an advertising campaign that it admitted was too risque for TV just days after it released it online. The series of seven ads for Carlton Draught, which make reference to "man plums" and "goolies", were put on the internet last Wednesday.

The company aborted a TV campaign in late February days before it was due to go to air, after senior executives in the listed alcohol manufacturer got cold feet about the ads. The company then decided that having spent the best part of the $200,000 in fees and production, it felt compelled to release it on the internet in the hope that somehow only its target market of 18- to 30-year-old men would see it.

That strategy appears to have failed and in the past few days, as the ad got more talked about and viewed on the internet - normally something that every marketer craves - Foster's management pulled the plug, fearing a public relations backlash.

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"Goolies" is actually Scottish slang. It is very rare for Australians to call them anything but "balls". Video at link. Americans often seem to deal with a similar sensitivity by using a Spanish word: "cojones". For some reason, using the Spanish word seems quite respectable. "Cojones" is not listed in my Spanish dictionary so I gather that it is a slang term too. Spanish slang is OK, apparently. All very strange.

The elastic British definition of "hatred"

We read:

"Last summer the British government banned U.S. radio commentator Michael Savage from setting foot in the UK. “Fostering extremism and hatred ” was his crime, as explained by Britain’s Home Secretary of the time, Jacqui Smith. “Coming to the U.K. is a privilege,” she elaborated, “and I refuse to extend that privilege to individuals who abuse our standards and values to undermine our way of life. Therefore, I will not hesitate to name and shame those who foster extremist views as I want them to know that they are not welcome here.”

The following month, for a hoopla titled “Cuba 50,” Britain rolled out the red carpet for Che Guevara’s daughter, Aleida. The celebration was billed as “the biggest European celebration in this 50th anniversary year (of Castro’s Stalinist regime).”

This British celebration for a regime that jailed political prisoners at a higher rate than Stalin’s, murdered political prisoners at a higher rate than pre-war Hitler’s, created refugees at a higher rate than the Waffen SS and Gestapo created while conquering and subjugating France, and came closest of anyone to plunging the world into nuclear war—the festival for this regime was held in London’s luxurious Barbican Centre....

“Hatred as the central element of our struggle!” raved Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara in his 1966 Message to the Tricontinental Conference in Havana. “Hatred that is intransigent…hatred so violent that it propels a human being beyond his natural limitations, making him violent and cold- blooded killing machine…We reject any peaceful approach. Violence is inevitable. To establish Socialism rivers of blood must flow! The imperialist enemy must feel like a hunted animal wherever he moves. Thus we’ll destroy him! These hyenas (Americans) are fit only for extermination. We must keep our hatred alive and fan it to paroxysm! The victory of Socialism is well worth millions of atomic victims!”

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Read the whole thing

Canadian student group attempts to silence Anne Coulter

We read:

"The president of the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa has barred a volunteer organizer from putting up posters advertising the upcoming appearance of American right-wing columnist and political commentator Ann Coulter.

She is to talk about political correctness, media bias and freedom of speech Tuesday night at Marion Hall as part of a Canadian lecture tour. Canadian conservative political activist Ezra Levant will also speak at the event and introduce Coulter.

"The federation does not support Ann Coulter speaking on our campus," said student president Seamus Wolfe. "We're trying to work with the administration to see if we can ask her to do her speaking event somewhere else."

He said the federation controls which posters can be placed inside the University Centre building, while administration officials approve posters at other university buildings. A university spokesperson said the administration did not object to the poster. Wolfe said the executive of the federation is in agreement that they don't want to see Coulter speaking on campus.

Nicholas Fleet, a U of O economics student, said it's an "affront" that the student federation has prevented him from putting up posters at the University Centre. "People like Ann Coulter will come and go, but freedoms such as expression need to be tested and should be respected by student unions," said Fleet, adding that he's agreed not to distribute the posters.

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They know that she will make them look ridiculous