Budget supermarket chain bans kids' book

So, Aldi has banned the Roald Dahl kids' classic Revolting Rhymes over a word.

The word at issue – and it pains me to assault your ears, dear reader, with such unpleasantness but assault I must – is "slut".

It was withdrawn, apparently, after "comments by a limited number of concerned customers", which appears to mean a single post on the supermarket's Facebook page.

"There is an unacceptable word in it for kids!!! Not OK!" fumed the outraged (and over-punctuated) customer.

Since when did Aldi sell books, anyway? I always thought it was that place you went to buy baked beans and come home instead with a new golf bag and some off-brand breakfast cereal the kids refuse to eat.  But now apparently it's a bookstore, too. And a laughably and stupidly prudish one at that.

Dahl is routinely described as "much-loved" largely because he is ... much loved. And the reason his books like Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, James And The Giant Peach and The Twits are so popular is because he is so totally unsentimental. People – especially adults – behave very badly in Dahl's books and characters routinely come to a sticky end (in Augustus Gloop's case, literally). The stories are gloriously gruesome and violent ... and kids adore them because they don't feel patronised.

Dahl's work also demonstrate his fierce intelligence and his passion for language, which brings us to the word slut, which has been excised lest it provoke uproar among the baked bean shoppers of Aldi.

The couplet in Dahl's re-working of Cinderella reads: "The Prince cried, 'Who's this dirty slut?/ Off with her nut! Off with her nut!"

Fully accepting that words can and do change their meaning over time (cf "gay") it's nevertheless clear Dahl is using the word here in its original sense, "a dirty, slovenly woman", according to the Macquarie Dictionary.

One of the earliest recorded usage of the word is in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, a work which presumably also has no chance of making it on to Aldi's shelves.

A few kids books have so far escaped the eagle eye of the supermarket censors. How long they might last before someone complains, however, is anybody's gues

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"Doctor Who" criticised for scene in which characters tear out their hair after complaints from sufferers of rare disorder

No matter what you do, it seems you will "offend" someone

Doctor Who has come under fire after a scene featuring stars Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman pulling out their hair sparked complaints from sufferers of a rare disorder.

The BBC sci-fi show has been branded 'insensitive' following a scene which left sufferers of trichotillomania 'upset' and 'uncomfortable'.

Around 36 minutes in, the Doctor, who at the time was seen to be in an intense conversation with Clara Oswald (Ms Coleman), appears to begin to pull his hair out before then pulling out the hair of his co-star.  After pulling her hair out he remarks to Clara 'it was the only one out of place, I am sure you would have wanted it killed'.

Quickly after the short scene finished, sufferers of trichotillomania and Dr Who fans took to social media to slam the BBC for showing the scene which could be seen as a trigger to some people.

Trichotillomania is an uncommon way of harming where the inflictor pulls their hair out.  It’s classed as an obsessive compulsive  disorder and can affect anyone. Unfortunately there is still no known cure for the life-long disorder.

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Australia: Apartheid Billboard -- "Wrong in South Africa. Wrong in Palestine" -- taken down



Libel has never had free speech protections and the message on  the billboard is an egregious lie -- grossly defamatory to Israel and Israelis

The Free Palestine billboard that was taken down last week from its City Road, Southbank [Melbourne] position by oOh! Media pending a determination, will not be put back.  

The Chief Operating Officer of oOh! Media said that his company had decided the Apartheid message – Wrong in South Africa. Wrong in Palestine. was political and that it was within its rights to terminate the contract with Australians for Palestine.   He also advised that the Advertising Standards Board would not be making a ruling.

While clause 10.1 does allow for termination of the contract, the required seven (7) days written notice was never given.  Instead the billboard was arbitrarily taken down within 48 hours.  The company claimed that it had made its decision after considering the unprecedented number of complaints.

Ms Samah Sabawi speaking on behalf of Australians for Palestine said “that this action contravenes the rights to freedom of opinion and expression as set out in articles 19 and 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Australia is party.”

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Must not mention the oppression of Muslim women

"He could be funny anywhere. We were such close friends," Billy Crystal said of Robin Williams in a special tribute to the comedian aired midway through the Emmy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles last night

"While some of the brightest of our celestial bodies are actually extinct now, their energy long since cooled, but miraculously, because they float in the heavens so far away from us now, their beautiful light will continue to shine on us forever.

 "And the glow will be so bright it will warm your heart and will make your eyes glisten and you will think to yourselves, 'Robin Williams. What a concept.'"

And for the most part, the audience at home and in the Nokia Theatre crowd appeared visibly moved by the segment.

That is until the honour ended in a series of clips of the comedian in action, cracking jokes during televised interviews and in stand-up.

In particular, it included a short snippet of a stand-up performance during which Williams borrows a pink scarf from an audience member in the front row and wraps its round his head to simulate a Hijab, or Islamic headscarf.

"I would like to welcome you to Iran… Help me!" he cries.

Viewers participating over Twitter were quick to criticise the inclusion of the joke as "racist":

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Must not disparage the Taliban (!)

The writer is a member of UKIP, an increasingly influential British conservative party



Over the weekend I came across a spoof picture of a Taliban Online Dating Website with profiles of burka-clad women listed as: Occupation: Not Allowed; Income: Not Allowed; and Hobbies: Not Allowed, I re-tweeted it saying humour can be a most expressive form of critical comment.

To my shock, a torrent of abuse landed in my Twitter feed. Despite the picture being beyond any doubt a pop at the Taliban - and only the Taliban - the UKIP-haters still did their worst. By the end of the day I’d been labelled a ‘truly sickening racist,’ ‘openly racist,’ ‘sexist,’ ‘xenophobic,’ ‘Islamophobic,’ ‘vile,’ and a ‘lout.’ And that’s just the stuff I can publish here.

When I tweeted back, expressing astonishment anyone could think I was bigoted because I slated the Taliban and suggested one particularly vituperative correspondent might struggle to defend his claims in court, I was accused of ‘harassment,’ ‘thuggery’ and being a ‘bully.’ A few then started copying journalists not known for their love of UKIP into their tweets. You really couldn’t make it up.

Presumably these agitators generally consider themselves to be the very epitome of feminist, free speech-loving liberalism. They probably even complain on occasion that there aren’t enough women in politics – oh the irony!

Yet in their bloodlust for seeing someone, anyone, in UKIP humiliated they effectively defended one of the world’s most despicable political organisations, one that wouldn’t hesitate to execute a teacher who taught a girls to read and write, or slaughter a gay man on sight.

But of course, that doesn’t matter; because for the anti-UKIP internet ‘liberals’ who hide behind false profiles and fake photos and scream ‘intolerance’ while hurling abuse and trying to ‘expose’ you to all and sundry, this isn’t about right or wrong, or it’s about perpetuating a political witch-hunt. That and completely muddle-headed thinking.

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Hate speech against tea partiers from Karl Marx avatar



All assertion.  No supporting evidence

In an op-ed published on Tuesday, an Illinois State University professor made numerous baseless accusations leveraged at the good people of the Tea Party. Steve Hochstadt stated:

    “Tea party politicians don’t like people who are out of work. In Congress and in campaigns they consistently oppose paying unemployment insurance to the most distressed citizens, those who have been out of work for the longest time.”

In reality, members of the Tea Party don’t want to pay for the bottom feeders of society to sit on their rear ends all day while the rest of us foot the bill. But Hochstadt doesn’t have time for all that logic. He went on to say:

    “They don’t like immigrants. Most of those who identify with the tea party want to deport all undocumented immigrants. But tea party supporters don’t like immigrants in general: Over half think that ‘immigrants’ take away jobs from ‘Americans.”

Then, Hochstadt went on to call all members of the Tea Party racist. Of course, he has no evidence to back any of these claims up. Liberals don’t like to get tied up with pesky evidence. Hochstadt ranted:

    “[Tea partiers harbor] generally negative beliefs about African-Americans. They do not believe that all men have inalienable rights. Only they have the right to say what is right. They don’t want to govern, they want to dictate. They don’t like most Americans, who don’t agree with their ideas. They probably don’t like you. They are intolerant and dangerous.”

Ironically, Hochstadt is a history professor at ISU. If he knew a thing or two, he’d realize that it’s the Democrats who have historically been, ‘racist, intolerant and dangerous’.  [Google "klanbake" if you doubt it]

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Racist slur backfires

Olivia Chow is a prominent Leftist in Canadian politics who is at present running for Mayor of Toronto.  A senior member of her campaign team made an egregious accusation of racism about one of Ms Chow's opponents.  That was widely seen as offensive and unwarranted

Ever since Warren Kinsella, an outspoken Liberal strategist who is head of Ms. Chow’s rapid-response “war room,” incited controversy this week by accusing rival John Tory of having a “segregationist” transit plan, Ms. Chow has attempted to play down his role on her campaign. In recent days, Mr. Kinsella appears to have deleted more than 40 blog posts he’s written in support of Ms. Chow, dating back to at least November of last year -- later writing on his blog that he still supports her, but is trying to be "positive".

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British soccer official in trouble over things he said in private emails

Iain Moody has resigned as Crystal Palace's sporting director after Sportsmail revealed that he exchanged a series of shocking text messages with then Cardiff City boss Malky Mackay.

Mackay and Moody have been reported to the FA and accused of being racist, sexist and homophobic after the alleged recovery of around 70,000 texts and 100,000 emails.

These messages came to light after a dawn raid on Moody’s south London home in March this year, as part of Cardiff’s £750,000 investigation into eight controversial transfers.

The letters to the FA make reference to the following alleged offensive communications between Moody, Mackay and others:

    In July 2012, Cardiff signed South Korean international Kim Bo-kyung, but when Moody informed Mackay on July 12 that ‘five of the b******s including the player’ were arriving for talks, the reply from Mackay’s phone was: ‘Fkn chinkys.’ A further message says: ‘Fk it. There’s enough dogs in Cardiff for us all to go around.’

    In reference to the prominent football agent, Phil Smith, a text states: ‘Go on, fat Phil. Nothing like a Jew that sees money slipping through his fingers’. The Israeli club, Maccabi Tel Aviv, are also referred to simply as ‘the Jews’.

    A football official at another club is referred to as ‘a gay snake’ and ‘the homo’ and someone who is ‘not to be trusted’, while a French player is someone ‘who struck me as an independently minded young homo’.

    In a separate exchange a picture entitled ‘Black Monopoly’ is sent, with every square a ‘Go To Jail’ square. Of one African player, it is stated: ‘Doesn’t look like a good cv. And he’s Nigerian.’

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Harry Reid Tells Some Asian "Jokes"

Sen. Harry Reid is continuing his odd habit of providing racial commentaries. It seems that Asians were the next demographic on his list, where his speech to the Las Vegas Asian Chamber of Commerce included some awkward jokes about Asian-Americans:

"I don’t think you’re smarter than anybody else, but you’ve convinced a lot of us you are,” Reid, a Nevada Democrat, told the guffawing crowd at the Las Vegas Asian Chamber of Commerce. Video of the remarks was recorded by the Republican opposition research group American Rising.

Later, before walking off stage, Reid quipped: “One problem that I’ve had today is keeping my Wongs straight.”

The group decided against backing the Reid-endorsed Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor, Lucy Flores, supporting Republican Mark Hutchison instead, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.

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Amazing what you can say if you are a liberal

Black basketball player  Calls Rev. Al Sharpton A 'Coon'

Gilbert Arenas uncorked a racial slur on Reverend Al Sharpton ... attacking him over his reaction to the police shooting of Michael Brown and the riots that have followed. Arenas posted his rant on Instagram, saying ... "the stats also show AL coon Sharpton has not helped one situation he has protested at,he actually made it worst and because of him the jury goes the other way." Gilbert appeared to be reacting to news coverage of Sharpton arriving in the St. Louis area and marching arm-in-arm with protesters. As if the racial slur wasn't enough, Arenas added, "#AL ur like a #THOT in the club, lookn for attention. What u said at trayvons rally #enoughisenough ur right were tired of u PRETENDING." Sharpton hasn't responded. Yet.

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Amazing what you can say if you have a dark skin

College Newspaper Changes Name, Says 'The Bullet' 'Propagated Violence'

The usual Leftist gun phobia

Located in Fredericksburg, Virginia -- a place where the Civil War once raged -- Mary Washington University's student newspaper has been known as The Bullet since 1922. But not any more.

Pending final approval by the university, the newspaper will now be called "The Blue & Gray Press," a change intended to "really be reflective of the student body," the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star quoted Editor-in-Chief Alison Thoet as saying.

"The editorial board felt that the paper’s name, which alludes to ammunition for an artillery weapon, propagated violence and did not honor our school’s history in a sensitive manner,” said a news release announcing the change. “The board intends to remain faithful to the history our university stands upon, and we continue to honor this history both in a respectful and meaningful way.”

The new name reflects the college's colors. The Mary Washington yearbook is still called "The Battlefield."  Mary Washington is a public liberal arts school with an enrollment of 4,000 undergraduates.

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'Taylor Swift may be boring but she's not a racist': Critics rubbish claims that singer's new twerking video 'perpetuates black stereotypes'

Critics have rubbished claims that Taylor Swift's latest music video, Shake It Off, 'perpetuates black stereotypes.'

After the singles release on Monday, two members of the California hip-hop collective Odd Future branded the 24-year-old singer 'racist' with her attempts at break dancing and twerking.

However, now several members of the black community have weighed in on the debate and come to Miss Swift's defense.

Everdeen Mason, a writer and SEO for the fashion website, Refinery 29, wrote in an article titled Taylor Swift's "Twerking" Is Not Racist, how she can’t help but 'feel sorry' for the star.

Ms Mason continues: 'Swift may be many things - boring, overly twee, and an opportunist who capitalizes on her "approachability" - but she’s probably not a racist.'

Meanwhile, an anonymous commenter for the tumblr account orhgasm.com says that as a 'proud black man' he doesn't find the video 'problematic or even close to racist.'

He adds: 'If you bothered to watch the video, the video was about being happy and dancing and celebrating other people’s dancing. One of them happened to include twerking.

'Taylor was not “cultural appropriating” anything and she wasn’t “being racist” by only having black woman in that part of the video.

'She was celebrating people’s dancing and how they celebrate music throughout the video and a large variety of black woman twerk. Would it honestly make sense if Taylor had 100 or so white girls try to twerk?

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Twerking seems to consist mainly of pointing your bottom at the audience so why that is even seen as entertaining rather escapes me.  It must communicate something I guess.  Lack of good taste?

Student reportedly suspended after saying 'Bless you'

DYER COUNTY, TN - A young girl, who claims she was standing up for her religious beliefs in the classroom, was suspended after breaking a class rule of saying "bless you" after a classmate sneezed.

When Dyer County High School senior Kendra Turner said bless you to her classmate, she says her teacher told her that was for church.

"She said that we're not going to have godly speaking in her class and that's when I said we have a constitutional right," said Turner.

Turner says when she defended her actions, she was told to see an administrator. She says she finished the class period in in-school suspension.

Students sent WMC Action News 5's Michael Clark a photo of the teacher's white board that lists 'bless you' and other expressions that are banned as part of class rules.

Turner's family met with school leaders Tuesday. They say the teacher claimed Turner was being disruptive and aggressive. Some classmates showed support Tuesday by wearing hand made bless you shirts.

Turner said she doesn't want trouble for her teacher but says she'll stand up for her faith.   "It's alright to defend God and it's our constitutional right because we have a freedom of religion and freedom of speech," said Turner.

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Ireland: Tyrone footballer Tommy McGuigan saw no problem in recently tweeting that we should assault Jews

Showing the kind of keen political understanding that we have come to know and expect of our Norn Iron [Northern Ireland] brethren, McGuigan - a former All-Ireland winner, lest we forget, felt no qualms about expressing his distaste for the situation in Gaza by encouraging his followers to randomly attack Jews on the street or in the workplace.

That is appalling enough in itself. But what has been remarkably depressing, although not very surprising, is the silence of the usual mob of poltroons who are so quick to hop on any perceived slight or threat against one of their pet ethnicities.

But Jews are not a pet ethnicity, you see, and they never have been, so therefore McGuigan isn't a racist, bigoted scumbag. No, he is merely expressing his horror at a situation he obviously knows absolutely nothing about.

The difference between actual freedom of speech and literal incitement to violence is very clear. You are perfectly entitled to express your contempt for a particular group or culture if you want. After all, that means you have to defend your position.

But when you start encouraging people to attack members of that group, you've crossed a line and entered the realm of violent rabble rousing.

The reason why so many of the Irish Left squeal so loudly when accused of anti-Semitism is because they know, deep down, that even if they aren't anti-Semitic themselves, there are plenty in their ranks.

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British far-Leftist lashes out at 'despicable' police probe into his declaration that Bradford was an 'Israel free zone'

It's a wonder he hasn't been prosecuted under Britain's hate speech laws -- but being a well-known politician probably protects him

Controversial MP George Galloway today vowed not to be 'silenced' after he was interviewed under caution by police for publicly declaring Bradford an ‘Israel-free zone’ in protest at the war in Gaza.

Speaking in Leeds earlier this month, the veteran Left-wing firebrand said Israelis were no longer welcome in the city where he has a constituency. The remarks sparked outrage and hundreds of complaints to West Yorkshire Police.

Mr Galloway today lashed out at the police's decision to question him over the speech.

He said: 'This is an absolute and despicable attempt to curb my freedom of speech by people who appear to be quite happy about the indiscriminate murder of Palestinians in Gaza.'

Mr Galloway added: 'I won't be silenced, I will keep speaking out against horrendous injustice.'

The police probe was sparked after Mr Galloway made a speech in Leeds in front of a Palestinian flag, lashing out at Israel's policies in Gaza.

In one part of his speech, Mr Galloway said: ‘We have declared Bradford an Israel-free zone.

‘We don’t want any Israeli goods. We don’t want any Israeli services. We don’t want any Israeli academics coming to the university or college.

‘We don’t even want any Israeli tourists to come to Bradford even if any of them had thought of doing so.

‘We reject this illegal, barbarous, savage state that calls itself Israel. And you have to do the same.’

The row escalated on Monday after Daniel Taub, Israel's ambassador to the UK, visited Bradford and held meetings with local Jews and prominent councillors.

During his visit Mr Taub said: 'In the best spirit of Yorkshire, the real voice of Bradford knows that there has only ever been one good boycott – and that's Geoff Boycott.' [A famous Yorkshire cricketer]

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Old-fashioned slang for homosexuals lands Australian regional politician in trouble

The Northern Territory’s Deputy Chief Minister Dave Tollner is in trouble after being heard calling the gay son of fellow Country Liberals Party politician Gary Higgins a “pillow biter” and “shirt lifter.”

The incident happened during a row over the content of a draft speech, reports the NT News. It may have serious fall-out, with Higgins reportedly telling the parliamentary wing that he would boycott all party meetings while Tollner remained in a leadership position.

Tollner has apologised to Higgins’ son for the comments, which have also been condemned by Chief Minister Adam Giles as “inappropriate” and “not acceptable.”

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The Northern Territory is something of a Wild West in Australia so political incorrectness is common there

Must not be sarcastic about black looters

The following three-paragraph comment was considered to be so offensive that it is now hidden behind a disclaimer screen

The story goes, Michael Brown was doing hood rat shit with his friends, walking down the middle of the street. The officers warned him to get on the sidewalk, Michael refused. Here is where the story gets bizarre, he was shot 25 or 35 (I forget) feet away from the Officer, yet the Officer claimed there was a struggle for his gun. Not sure if this is like the JFK magic bullet theory or even really what happened. The only people who knows are shot or a cop.

So like a normal neighborhood dealing with the loss of someone they love, they started breaking into every shopping center plaza store and gas station. Newsreels yell “Riot!” “Looters!” As every stupid item gets stolen and the “looters” get to burning stores to the ground. You cannot find Jordans, rims, weaves or Quick Trips in Ferguson, MO.

Not 100% certain what any of this solved or how it was useful. But from what I have gathered from staying up watching the news and listening to police scanners, they were trying to rob a bank, break into a police station, grab guns from a Cabelas.

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Leftists talk tolerance but advocate censorship

We often hear those on the right branded as “intolerant.” We’re all a bunch of extremists who just want to shut down the other side, right? We’re unlike those on the left, who welcome debate and want to give all viewpoints a respectful hearing.

Or so we’re told. We might even start to believe it — until we encounter the oh-so-tolerant voices of our loyal opposition. Voices such as:

Josh Barro: This New York Times reporter has said of viewpoints that he calls “anti-LGBT” (lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender): “We need to stamp them out, ruthlessly.” So he has little patience with Heritage Foundation expert Ryan Anderson, an expert on marriage issues well-known as an informed and courteous debater.

In a recent Twitter exchange with Mr. Barro, Mr. Anderson told him: “We may disagree, but [there is] no need to be uncivil,” adding, “Even in the midst of disagreement, we should treat all people with respect.” Mr. Barro disagreed: “Some policy views render people unworthy of respect.”

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Australia: Chinese cafe owner was foolishly frank

He was obviously unaware of ubiquitous Western prohibitions on discrimination.  Westerners know that you find some other reason to give if you don't want to hire a protected minority.  In China, however, there is widespread disapproval of Africans so you can safely say what you want about them there


The rejected barista

A Brazilian-born Australian man has told how he was denied a job as a barista after a cafe owner told him his customers wouldn't want their 'coffee made by black people'.

Patrons of the Forbes and Burton café in Darlinghurst, inner city Sydney, were stunned to hear Nilson Dos Santos, an Australian citizen, had been turned down for the job because the owner
'only wanted locals'.

In incredible scenes, after being told by the cafe owner, who would only give his name as 'Steven', that he was not right for the job, Mr Dos Santos, 39, stood up and addressed the other customers at about 1.30pm on Sunday and told them why he had been turned down and asked if they would have a problem being served by a black man.

In a sign of solidarity, many walked out - and a staff member even quit on the spot.

There was also outrage among other customers who took to social media and urged others to boycott the cafe.

Steven, from Shanghai, China, who confirmed he was the owner, admitted to Daily Mail Australia that the fact Mr Dos Santos was black was the reason he didn't give him the job.

‘There are a lot of white customers at the café and I think the clients here want local people, not African people,' said Steven, who arrived in Australia from China this year.  ‘We need to offer good service at this café and I think the coffee culture is more about white people.’

Mr Dos Santos, who recently became an Australian citizen, has worked as a barista in Sydney for nine years.

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UK: Slang causes offence

A Ukip MEP has apologised "profusely" after calling a Thai constituent, and member of the party, a "ting tong".

Janice Atkinson, who represents the south east, was recorded making the comments after meeting Fa Munday, a mobile food seller in Ramsgate, Kent.  She said: "..so that was good. We've got Fa who's, I dunno, she's a ting tong from somewhere."

Mrs Munday and her husband Vincent, both loyal Ukip supporters, handed back their membership of the party claiming they felt “betrayed”.

The caterer, 35, who has lived in England since she got married eight years ago, said: "I can't understand why she said that.

"It left me feeling hurt and disgusted. Nobody has ever spoken to me in that way."

Senior party member Ms Atkinson's comments were captured by the BBC team while she spoke to local people and Ukip members in Ramsgate.

She insisted the comments were naive rather than malicious and said she was "incredibly sorry" for offending the couple.

She said: "I deeply regret the words I used and am incredibly sorry. It was poor judgment and naivety on my part rather than words spoken with any malice. I am devastated that I have caused hurt and apologise profusely to both Mr and Mrs Munday."

A Ukip spokesman said: "Janice has apologised for the words she used. Ukip in no way condones the use of language that may reflect prejudice or cause offence and we sincerely hope this matter can be resolved privately."

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