Israelis must not speak the truth?

We read:

"The Israeli prime minister's 19-year-old son posted disparaging and obscene comments about Arabs and Muslims on his Facebook page, an Israeli paper reported today.

Earlier this year, Yair Netanyahu posted that Muslims 'celebrate hate and death,' the Haaretz daily reported.

After Palestinian assailants entered a West Bank settlement and stabbed five members of an Israeli family to death, he wrote that 'terror has a religion and it is Islam.'

Yair Netanyahu, the eldest of the prime minister's two sons, is currently a soldier in the Israeli military's media liaison unit.

But a lawyer for the Netanyahu family, David Shimron, defended teh soldier, insisting in a statement that the comments were those of a 'teenager' and were 'taken out of context in an attempt to defame the prime minister and his family.'

In another comment, he wrote that there had never been a Palestinian state and that he hoped 'there would never be one.'

Source

I am sure I would feel similarly in his situation

The anti-religious media

Earlier this month, NBC launched its coverage of the final round of the U.S. Open Golf Championship with a generally patriotic video montage

Interspersed with this patriotic footage was video of children in a classroom reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Talk about creative! Juxtaposing the innocence of children’s voices speaking the words of the pledge against the dramatic and intentional act of raising the colors with military precision, wordlessly communicated the message, “Our military protects us and keeps us safe.”

There was only one glitch, evident to every golf lover tuned in June 18, as well as the millions of folks who have since watched the video on the Internet. The audio of the pledge - repeated during the 100-second video - was edited twice to exclude the words “under God” and “indivisible,” and on the second pass, to also exclude “one nation.”

Three hours into the event’s coverage, commentator Dan Hicks, perhaps revealing the volume of calls that deluged NBC’s telephone operators, interjected into his golf riff, “It was our intent to begin the coverage of this U.S. Open Championship with a feature that captured the patriotism of our national championship being held in our nation’s capital for the third time. Regrettably, a portion of the Pledge of Allegiance that was in that feature was edited out. It was not done to upset anyone, and we’d like to apologize to those of you who were offended by it.”

Plenty of Americans were offended. As Dan Gainor, vice president of business and culture at the Media Research Center notes, “NBC has unquestionably committed an act of religious bigotry. … Removing ‘under God’ from the Pledge of Allegiance … was absolutely not accidental. It was brazenly deliberate. NBC’s pathetic apology did nothing but compound the offense by refusing to admit what they had done.”

Source

Denmark's Police Propose Ban On Anonymous Internet Use

We read:

"Imagine if the police knew exactly what you do online: All the porn sites you scan secretly, the vitriolic comments you leave on blogs, the number of hours you spend playing Farmville.

In Denmark, police have recommended to Parliament that it create laws that make it impossible for citizens to surf anonymously. According to Danish-language blog Computerworld Denmark, the proposal is intended to help investigate terrorism.

In the proposal, locations providing open Internet, like cafes and libraries, would have to confirm a user's identity, with some form of official ID, before letting them get online. Companies may also have to register and verify users' identities before providing access, as well as retain records of user logs.

Danish law already requires that ISPs store user data for at least a year, as an anti-terrorism measure. The proposal suggests that with such information, police would be able to see who exactly is on the network, where they go, and who they talk to.

Such a move would have serious privacy implications. But another problematic facet of the proposal is in the nature of online identity itself. 4Chan founder Christopher Poole recently defended web anonymity against those, including Facebook, who believe real-world identity and web identity should be one.

"Anonymity is authenticity," said Poole. "It allows you to share in an unvarnished, unfiltered, raw and real way. We believe in content over creator."

Source

Banning anonymity would have a chilling effect on much internet speech. For some people, it is simply not safe to identify themselves.

Rep. Todd Akin Refuses to Apologize for Saying: ‘At the Heart of Liberalism…Is a Hatred For God’‏

Given the abuse and obstruction Christians get from Leftists, this is a pretty reasonable conclusion:

Earlier this month, in a radio interview, Missouri congressman and GOP Senate candidate Todd Akin said the following: "Well, I think NBC has a long record of being very liberal and at the heart of liberalism really is a hatred for God and a belief that government should replace God. And so they’ve had a long history of not being at all favorable toward many of things that have been such a blessing to our country.

Liberals have since demanded an apology, with ThinkProgress (TP) publishing its own rebuttal to the politician’s statements. According to TP, Akin does not plan on backtracking on his statements:

Akin’s communications director, Steve Taylor, told the [St. Louis Post-Dispatch] that Akin was commenting on a difference between the two ideas: while conservatives believe rights come from God, liberals think they come from the government. Taylor said Akin was not referring to any individual’s beliefs, only the “defining principles of two political ideologies.”

Source

And it is decayed "mainstream" churches (such as the Episcopalians) who have lost the faith (as set out in the Bible) who favor Democrat policies. Such churches are just social clubs masquerading as Christians. Ask Episcopalian clergy such as Bishop Spong the simple question: "Do you believe in God?" and you will rarely get a straight answer. You will hear that God is "the ground of our being" or some other such mumbo jumbo.

Teachers not free to say they dislike their pupils?

Given this recent story about an inner city school in NYC, I would be surprised if any teacher there felt differently. But it is obviously a mistake to be honest about such feelings.

An arbitrator upheld the firing of a veteran Brooklyn teacher over a sarcastic Facebook post suggesting she'd be glad if her students drowned. Christine Rubino posted the comment on June 23, 2010, the day after a 12-year-old Harlem girl, Nicole Suriel, drowned on a Long Island school trip.

"After today, I'm thinking the beach sounds like a wonderful idea for my 5th graders. I HATE THEIR GUTS! They are all the devils spawn!" fumed the 38-year-old teacher at PS 203 in Flatlands.

Rubino insisted her insensitive comments were harmless, made in anger over misbehavior by her pupils. She also argued the postings were private and protected by freedom of speech. But arbitrator Randi Lowitt found Rubino guilty of conduct unbecoming a teacher.

Source

I am inclined to think that the woman would win her case on First Amendment grounds if she appealed it far enough

Mark Steyn on free speech

James Paterson writes from Australia's Institute for Public Affairs with news that Andrew Bolt, Australia's most prominent conservative columnist, is currently being prosecuted under appallingly restrictive racial tolerance laws. Mark Steyn recorded this special message for an event held by the IPA in Australia to defend free speech.

Mark Steyn on Free Speech at the IPA from Institute of Public Affairs on Vimeo.

Andrew Bolt comments: "Of all that was said on the night and sent, Mark Steyn's contribution was the one that brought down the house. I confess to being in awe of it -- not just because I appreciate the compliment of having it come from probably the most brilliant columnist in the English-speaking world, but because it's such a tremendous piece of writing.

Source

I covered the hate speech trial concerned on this blog on April 17

It is not an offence to abuse British police: Officers told not to arrest people who scream obscenities because courts won't convict

We read:

"Police have been banned from arresting foul-mouthed yobs who abuse them with the most offensive swear words in the language. The rule change, which has sparked a revolt in the force and anger among MPs, is revealed in secret advice issued to officers and leaked to The Mail on Sunday.

Scotland Yard has issued a card to its officers, telling them to do nothing if they are subjected to a torrent of obscene abuse.

The card, which the police are told to keep on them, secreted behind their warrant badges, says: ‘The courts do not accept police officers are caused harassment, alarm or distress by words such as ‘f**k, c**t, b*****ks, w*****s’.

The guidance has been issued despite existing laws that sanction the fining of people who swear at police and the jailing of persistent offenders.

Officers have the power to arrest yobs who swear at them, either by quoting the Public Order Act – which prohibits the ‘use of threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour’ – or as a breach of the peace under Common Law.

But the new guidance, issued to officers in London by the Civil Actions Unit of the Metropolitan Police, states that a prosecution for swearing will be lost without ‘compelling evidence of a person within sight or hearing likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress’. It adds that this is ‘very unlikely to be you [the police officer]’.

Scotland Yard says the advice was issued because compensation had recently been paid out to ‘victims’ who had been ‘falsely’ arrested for swearing.

Source

Confederate flag license plates on the agenda in Texas

We read:

"Would you buy a license plate with a Confederate flag on it? State officials are looking at possibly launching a new Texas state license plate honoring veterans of the War Between the States.

Mr. Hilary Shelton, with the NAACP in Washington, D.C., said that the Civil War may not be something we want to celebrate. "When many look at that history, we think about it in terms of secession, that is we were seceding from the Union in the southern parts of the country," explained Shelton.

"Many would view that, quite frankly, as treason, because they meant to actually destroy the existing governmental structure. But when we dig deeper, the issue becomes even more offensive to many African Americans and those that sought freedom for those of darker skin in our country."

But the Texas Sons of Confederate Veterans have renewed their push for a Texas license plate that includes the rebel flag in its design.

Thomas Muhammed founded an organization to recover reparations for slavery. Still, he would not oppose the license plates. "I don't see how a flag hurts someone, as long as the people displaying these license plates are not killing people physically who are of African descent." Muhammed said.

Currently, nine states already allow the license plates. A statement in a recent newsletter from the Texas Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans said, "…the Florida Division, the eleventh state, has just filed a lawsuit against the DOT there after their request was denied. I am confident their case will prevail, because legal precedents are in place. I am hopeful that the Texas DOT also realizes this as they consider our application."

The state board that regulates license plates has rejected Confederate flag license plates before, but the issue is set to come up again at an upcoming meeting that has not yet been scheduled.

Source

You can read my opinion of Lincoln's war here -- and I'm no Southerner

Judge intervenes to let tea party hand out Constitution

The Left have long hated the restrictions that the constitution imposes on them -- giving rise to Woodrow Wilson's unfounded proclamation that the constitution is a "living" document: Meaning that the Left can ignore bits it thinks to be out of date. The constitution IS changeable -- but only by a vote of the people.

Just in time for the Independence Day holiday, a judge in California has intervened to allow members of the tea party there to hand out copies of the U.S. Constitution, which had been banished by a local library board decision.

The news of the battle comes from Brad Dacus, of Pacific Justice Institute, who has been fighting officials in Redding, Calif., since earlier this year on behalf of tea party groups who want to give out copies of America's founding document.

"As a matter of policy, they said they could not pass out the Constitution … We're talking about outside the library in the breezeway, where people have passed things out before. [Library officials] saw this group, a tea party group, passing out the Constitution and specifically amended their policy to make it more restrictive," he told WND.

A judge in Shasta County Superior Court now, however, has granted a preliminary injunction against the library, clearing the way for a distribution when tea party members choose, Dacus said.

"Of all places, the library should be encouraging the free flow of information, especially when it promotes patriotism, the Constitution, and good citizenship," said PJI affiliate attorney Timothy Pappas. "The evidence shows that the tea party members have acted sensibly and politely, that their educational activities occur away from the quiet reading rooms of the library, and their presence has not created any kind of disturbance."

He said the fight was ironic on two levels: the first that libraries generally are seen as spreading information, not censoring it, and the second that the Constitution probably "is the most accepted and revered document in our country, as well as the most uncontroversial."

Source

Apple responds to incitement to violence against Israel

We read:

"After much controversy, Apple has decided to pull its “3rd intifada” iPhone application as it “violates the developer guidelines by being offensive to large groups of people.”

Reportedly, the 3rd intifada app provided users with information about when and where violent anti-Israel rallies and activities would take place.

Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein sent a letter to Apple CEO Steve Jobs on Tuesday, imploring him to remove the app from circulation. Once its removal was confirmed,
Jpost reported that Edelstein praised the company for doing so:

The computer giant Apple’s decision to remove an application from its online store called “3rd intifada” is an additional step in “preventing hostile elements – which are frequently tainted by anti-Semitism – from spreading incitement via the new media,”

Source

NY: Atheists protest “Heaven” sign honoring 9/11 victims



Atheists making themselves obnoxious again:

A group of New York City atheists is demanding that the city remove a street sign honoring seven firefighters killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks because they say the sign violates the separation of church and state.

The street, “Seven in Heaven Way,” was officially dedicated last weekend in Brooklyn outside the firehouse where the firefighters once served. The ceremony was attended by dozens of firefighters, city leaders and widows of the fallen men.

“There should be no signage or displays of religious nature in the public domain,” said Ken Bronstein, president of New York City Atheists. “It’s really insulting to us.” Bronstein told Fox News Radio that his organization was especially concerned with the use of the word “heaven.” “We’ve concluded as atheists there is no heaven and there’s no hell,” he said.

Source

Antisemitic speech prosecuted in France

I don't think this would fly in the USA. Calling someone a Jew or Jewish is not illegal. At most in the USA he might be charged with disorderly behavior or some such

A French prosecutor wants the fashion designer John Galliano to pay 10,000 euros ($14,350) in damages to people at whom he allegedly hurled anti-Semitic abuse in a drunken outburst that has wrecked a towering career.

Galliano, an enfant terrible of fashion with a huge celebrity following, told the court in Paris he had been so out of control on drink and drugs that he could not recall hurling insults at strangers in a bar in recent months.

The judge also read phrases he allegedly uttered in a February 24 incident in Paris including "dirty Jewish face," "f****** Asian b****** I will kill you," and "f****** ugly Jewish b****."

Asked whether he remembered the insults, Galliano said: "I don't remember very well ... I have no recollection," adding: "I have a triple addiction. Alcohol, sleeping pills and Valium."

Source

Geert Wilders cleared by Dutch court of inciting hatred

We read:

"Right-wing politician Geert Wilders was today cleared by a Dutch court of inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims. The court in Amsterdam ruled that Mr Wilders' anti-Islam statements, while offensive to many Muslims, fell within the bounds of legitimate political debate.

Presiding judge Marcel van Oosten said the politician's claims that Islam was violent by nature and his calls to halt Muslim immigration and ban the Koran must be seen in a wider context over immigration policy. He also ruled that Mr Wilders' public statement could not be directly linked to increased discrimination against Dutch Muslims.

Mr Wilders did not react as the verdict was read out, but supporters in the public gallery hugged one another and clapped after his acquittal.

One of the most powerful and popular politicians in the Netherlands, Mr Wilders was accused of inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims through numerous public statements and with insulting them by comparing Islam with Nazism.

He said outside court: 'I'm incredibly happy with this acquittal on all counts. 'It's not only an acquittal for me, but a victory for freedom of expression in the Netherlands. 'Fortunately, you're allowed to discuss Islam in public debate and you're not muzzled in public debate.

The court found that Mr Wilders' rhetoric was 'on the edge of what is legally permissible', but not illegal. In speeches, written articles and a short film that incited riots around the Muslim world, Mr Wilders said Islam is an inherently violent religion, and he compared the Koran to Hitler's Mein Kampf

Mr Wilders argued that his statements represented the views of millions of Dutch voters, that they were protected by freedom of speech law and that the court was biased against him. He also claimed the charges were politically-motivated

Source

Web censorship begins in Australia next month

And the pissweak ISPs are doing it VOLUNTARILY!

Most Australian internet users will have their web access censored next month after the country's two largest internet providers agreed to voluntarily block more than 500 websites from view.

Telstra and Optus confirmed they would block access to a list of child abuse websites provided by the Australian Communications and Media Authority and more compiled by unnamed international organisations from mid-year.

The voluntary scheme was originally proposed by the Federal Government last year as part of a wider, $9.8 million scheme to encourage internet service providers to block all Refused Classification material from users as an optional service.

The Government dropped its funding for the scheme last month due to "limited interest" from the industry, but a spokesman for Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said a basic voluntary filter was still on track to be introduced by Telstra, Optus and two small ISPs.

SOURCE

Perhaps the most interesting question is whether the list of banned sites will be released publicly. An early version of the list was leaked and found to have some completely innocent sites listed on it. Wide open to abuse if it is not published in full.

Britain: Must not mention that blacks are hard to see in a dim light

We read:

"Chris Evans has been accused of racism after telling a black scientist he could not see her in a dim BBC studio. The presenter told Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, a highly respected space expert and government adviser: ‘I can barely see you, to be honest.’

The remark came after he mistakenly said she was Caribbean when she is of Nigerian descent.

The Corporation received 56 complaints from viewers who interpreted his comments as a racist joke. One angrily condemned the words as ‘proper foot-in-mouth’.

Evans’s comment was made early in The One Show last Friday during a discussion about a week of ‘space spectating’ which had included a lunar eclipse.

Dr Aderin-Pocock, sitting next to singer Tom Jones on the studio sofa, was asked if there were more to come.

She replied: ‘There’s plenty out there to see, unfortunately not tonight.’

Mr Evans then said: ‘It’s terrible tonight, I can barely see you, to be honest.’

Source

Extreme Green/Left hate speech: Warmist journalist wants skeptics gassed

You can't make this stuff up. Do I need to mention whom her wishes align her with? You won't be surprised that she made her career with the ABC, Australia's main public broadcaster. And, needless to say, she pays zero attention to any of the science concerned. In effect she just says "Heil Klima" while her right arm edges upwards. In other words, she accepts the Warmist faith without question ("Klima" is the German word for climate)

Jill Singer

While Tony Abbott has previously lent support to schemes including an emissions trading scheme and a carbon tax, you wouldn't know it today. The only real scheme he and supporters are currently backing is political interference.

It's a dangerous game they're playing with our future, but you've got to hand it to them, they're ruddy good at it.

Cate Blanchett pops up her head to support a carbon tax and Abbott's band of climate sceptics quickly lops it off because she's richer than most.

But when Gina Rinehart pops hers up, Australia's richest woman is touted as some kind of working-class hero.

Then there's David Murray, chair of Australia's $71 billion Future Fund and recipient of a $28 million golden parachute from his time running the Commonwealth Bank. Murray states there's no link between global warming and carbon dioxide emissions because carbon dioxide is necessary for life, colourless and odourless - and therefore can't be considered a pollutant. It's a popularly held view.

Andy Semple of the Menzies Institute claims it's "refreshing" for someone with Murray's standing to take on the global warming "scam" by expressing such views.

Really? I'm prepared to keep an open mind and propose another stunt for climate sceptics - put your strong views to the test by exposing yourselves to high concentrations of either carbon dioxide or some other colourless, odourless gas - say, carbon monoxide.

You wouldn't see or smell anything. Nor would your anti-science nonsense be heard of again. How very refreshing.

More HERE

Carbon monoxide inhalation is of course rapidly fatal

Muslim coverup in Sweden

I reproduce below the whole of a news report from an English-language news site in Sweden. The "local youths" are of course Muslims -- but you are not supposed to mention that in Sweden

The police station in Malmö district Rosengård, in the south of Sweden, was fired upon early Saturday morning. "At 4:29 a.m. police on location alerted us about the gunshots," Hanna Berndtsson, Skåne police information officer, told the TT news agency.

No one was physically injured by the shooting. "There were police officers on the second floor of the building, but the shots were fired towards the first floor, so there were no injuries."

Security at the police station has now been tightened, and a forensic investigation squad is on location to find out what happened.

Thus far the forensic investigation has revealed that live ammunition was used in the shooting, and therefore an attempted murder probe has been initiated, according to the Malmö police force. At this moment the police have no information about the type of weapon used, or the reason for the shooting. "We don't know the origins of all this yet," said Hanna Berndtsson.

Rosengård, centrally located in Malmö, is an area commonly associated with social difficulties, and has been the place of several riots and clashes between local youths and authorities in recent years.

Source

See here for some videos about the matter that call a spade a spade

The dishonest Ed Schultz again

Leftists are dab hands at misleading by quoting out of context

My WSB colleague and guru, the Talkmaster Neal Boortz, created a bit of controversy this past week over comments he made about shooting thugs in Atlanta.

The controversy actually blew up because of Ed Schultz at MSNBC who claimed Boortz was advocating the murder of urban youths in Atlanta.

There’s just one problem here. In both the screen shot and the accompanying audio, Ed Schultz doctored Neal Boortz’s quote. See, Boortz said those things, but in the middle there was this bit:

"You need to get a permit to carry that gun. And you do in fact need to carry that gun and we need to see some dead thugs littering the landscape in Atlanta. We need to see the next guy that tries to carjack you shot dead right where he stands. We need more dead thugs in this city."

The full quote is below the fold. But this is the relevant portion for purposes of Ed Schultz’s monologue and it is clearly references self-defense, not wanton murder of thugs.

This was a wholly dishonest editing of Boortz’s quote and his context, without even using ellipses in the on-screen text, to accuse Boortz of advocating murder instead of self defense.

Source

Fascism and faith prove too hot for Australian outdoor advertising giant

We read:

"Outdoor advertising giant APN has refused to display two posters on government-owned buses for Ten's new prime-time TV show Can of Worms.

The posters that were rejected are based on questions that will be put to guest panellists on Ian "Dicko" Dickson's new show, due to air next month. The two questions that were rejected were: "Is it wrong to tell your kids there is no God?" and "Is it wrong to dress up as Hitler for a fancy dress party?".

Can of Worms producer Anita Jacoby told Media she was shocked the campaign had been rejected by APN Outdoor. "The marketing campaign has taken some of our fodder for the show and used it as a device to capture people's attention," said Ms Jacoby, who is Andrew Denton's partner in the production company Zapruder's Other Films. "We've put the key questions out there to provoke some conversation.

"I can't for the life of me see what's so controversial about putting out a question like: 'Is it OK to tell your kids there is no God?' "I mean, isn't that what we talk about around the dinner table every night? For one politically correct person within an organisation -- who is fearful of government -- to say we can't talk about these things is wrong."

Earlier this month, another outdoor advertising company, Adshel, was forced to back down on a decision to ban billboards on bus shelters in Brisbane promoting safe sex and the use of condoms. Adshel had been targeted by the Australian Christian Lobby, but the Can of Worms marketing campaign was rejected even before a single complaint from the public.

SOURCE

Actress fired by Jewish boss for comparing someone to Hitler

We read:

"Megan Fox didn't quit the latest Transformers film to pursue other acting opportunities. She was fired because she upset Steven Spielberg.

The 25-year-old actress was dumped and replaced by Victoria Secrets model Rosie Huntingdon-Whitley after she compared the film's director, Michael Bay, to Hitler in a magazine interview.

The comparison angered Spielberg, who is executive producer of the Transformers series and deadly serious when it comes to Nazis.

Bay revealed for the first time he was told to get rid of Fox. "You know the Hitler thing. Steven (Spielberg) said, fire her right now," he said ahead of the premiere of Transformers 3.

Bay said he wasn't hurt by the Hitler comment. However, Spielberg is known to be sensitive when it comes to Nazis. After his experience directing Schindler's List, he founded the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, which furthers the remembrance of the Holocaust of World War II.

Source

But Bush=Hitler is OK, of course