143 search results for "protected class"

A 45-year old convicted sex offender has defended his child-pornography collection by claiming he identifies as an 8-year-old girl. During his sentencing, Joseph Gobrick of Grand Rapids, Michigan, argued, “I’ve always been an 8-year-old girl. And even in my drawings and fantasies, I am always an 8-year-old girl.” Gobrick also claimed the images did not constitute child pornography because they were mostly computer-generated images and were protected under the First Amendment. Police, however, said eight child victims were identified in the images recovered from his computer. Kent County Circuit Court Judge Paul Denenfeld found Gobrick guilty on three counts of…

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An article in The Australian titled, “Amended religious freedom bill ‘deeply flawed’, says Law Council”, reports the Law Council of Australia president Arthur Moses SC is highly critical of the second exposure draft of the Religious Discrimination Bill (RDB2). The planned legislation is an attempt at the fulfilment of promises by the Turnbull Government which undefined marriage without building in the necessary protections for those whose deeply held convictions were suddenly at conflict with the official, novel beliefs about marriage. That failure is in a legal environment where radical fringe activists have increasingly sought to weaponise anti-discrimination tribunals against people…

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An academic in the UK has said anti-IQ “slurs” such as “nerd”, “geek” and “smarty-pants” should be classed as a “hate crime.” Psychology lecturer and psychotherapist Dr Sonja Falck spent eight years researching the impact of discrimination against high IQ individuals and concluded that intelligent people should be protected by the same hate crime laws as ethnic, religious and sexual minority groups. “The N-word was common parlance in the UK until at least the 1960s,” Dr Falack said at her book launch, according to The Telegraph. “Society at the time turned a blind eye to their impact by passing them off…

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Those of you who were correctly raised will remember watching the Princess Bride (if truly correctly then many times), a movie that despite all of its ridiculousness is one of the most classic fantasy love tales ever told. You may also recall how Vizzini the scheming kidnapper keeps describing situations involving the witty hero Westley that is happening before his eyes as ‘inconceivable’. Eventually, the honourable and loveable Inigo Montoya eventually says ‘You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.’ Ah, how classic, such a fun movie, but oh what a great…

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The line between inciting hate or violence and informing others about that hate and violence is being blurred. Facebook’s recent heavy-handed actions against Caldron Pool, and Caldron Pool contributor, Evelyn Rae, suggest that the social media platform is happy to unfairly conflate reporting or fair criticism of an event with endorsement of that event. There is a difference between advocacy and commentary. If we apply descriptive and prescriptive linguistics to how newsworthy events or commentary are presented, we can see that companies like Facebook will inevitably hurt their customer base, because they continue to blur the descriptive and the prescriptive,…

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Police in the UK are urging members of the public to report ‘hateful’ people, even if they haven’t committed an actual crime. In a short video published to social media last Saturday, Devon and Cornwall Police said it’s everyone’s responsibility to report anyone seen to be “hateful” even if their behaviour is not criminal. The minute-long animation is part of the ‘Zero Tolerance to Hate Crime’ campaign, which was launched with the help of “a representative group of different minority communities which expressed feelings of disharmony and unrest after the Brexit result…” The video shows several white men harassing and…

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Unless you’ve been completely living off-grid for the past three years, you’ll know that the United Kingdom’s, 2016, Brexit referendum is yet to be officially ratified. The 2016 referendum saw the people of the United Kingdom vote in favour of leaving the European Union by 1,269,501 people. The final result ended with 51.9% (17.5 million) of those in the U.K voting to leave the E.U, while 48.1% (16.1 million) voted to remain [i]. The results uncovered a division between North and South. The majority in England and Wales chose to leave, while Northern Ireland and Scotland, still heralding a decent…

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A UK doctor who was told by a judge that his Christian beliefs were “incompatible with human dignity” has responded to the ruling, calling it “beyond reason, logic, and science.” Dr David Mackereth lost his Employment Tribunal case last week after he was fired by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for refusing to identify his patients by anything other than their biological gender. The DWP’s case against the 56-year-old father of four claimed the doctor’s belief in Genesis 1:27 was not a belief protected by the Equality Act 2010 but was rather a ‘mere opinion.’ “In essence, I’m now being compelled…

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A college in Ohio is teaching students that pedophilia is a “sexual orientation” that could be part of the “acceptance of diverse sexual identities.” A student from the college tweeted a photograph of a lecture slide titled, “Pedophilia as a Sexual Orientation.” “An actual topic we discussed in class at a State University after watching in 8 minute Vice News video showcasing self-identified pedophiles. This is going to be mainstreamed,” the student said. An actual topic we discussed in class today at a State University after watching an 8 minute Vice News video showcasing self identified pedophiles. This is going…

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A Victorian MP is pushing to broaden the state’s anti-vilification laws in an effort to crack down on unapproved speech. Victorian upper house MP Fiona Patten, leader of the Reason Party — formerly known as the Sex Party — proposed the amendments to the Racial and Religious Tolerance Bill 2001 to include gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics. The changes would also include substituting “race” with “protected attribute” and substituting “incites” with “likely to incite hatred against, serious contempt for, or revulsion or severe ridicule of, that person or class of persons.” According to Patten, “Hate speech…

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Dave Chappelle’s new Netflix Special ‘Sticks and Stones’ could offend just about everybody. There are racist stereotypes, homophobic and transphobic punchlines, cracks at Michael Jackson’s accusers… the works. Predictably, he’s come under fire. A few critics of Chappelle’s new special have claimed that their objections aren’t born from being ‘triggered’ but simply from Chappelle missing the mark. Interestingly, Rotten Tomatoes review system demonstrates just how out of touch many media critics are with the demos. Whilst receiving a score of only 38% from 8 verified critics on the Tomatometer, it received north of 99% from more than 5,000 user ratings. The…

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You know that things have really spiralled downward when Princeton atheist and bioethicist — Peter Singer — is defending Israel Folau and his freedom to express his Christian convictions. Singer writes: [Folau’s] post no more expresses hatred toward homosexuals than cigarette warnings express hatred toward smokers. The only rational reason that anyone would get so upset about Folau’s post is if you actually believe that he is speaking the truth about heaven and hell. Singer continues: [Folau’s beliefs] do not trouble me, because there is, in my view, no god, no afterlife, and no hell. Nor do I differentiate, ethically,…

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Actress Ellen Page has targetted Chris Pratt, following his recent appearance on the Late Show With Stephen Colbert. During his appearance, Pratt opened up about his “spiritual side”, prompting Page to suggest the Guardians of the Galaxy star should have to address his church’s “infamously anti lgbtq” position. “Oh. K. Um. But his church is infamously anti lgbtq so maybe address that too?” Page tweeted in response to the episode. Oh. K. Um. But his church is infamously anti lgbtq so maybe address that too? https://t.co/meg8m69FeF — Ellen Page (@EllenPage) February 8, 2019 Why? Because like most of the vocal…

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A UK professor has received a barrage of abuse after suggesting a woman is defined by law as biological, not psychological. Rosa Freedman, Professor of Law, at The University of Reading, posted a series of tweets detailing the backlash. “I found my office door covered in urine,” Professor Freedman said. “People are continuously calling my phone from an anonymous number, and when I answer I am laughed at and told that I am a ‘TERF’ who ‘should be raped and killed.’” “If this is how a University Professor is treated, little wonder that women who work in jobs without protection…

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Facebook is supposed to be a safe and welcoming place; it is an online forum where we can make out that our lives are better than they really are, and a platform for us to advance different causes that we are passionate about. As a result social media is filled with all the weird and sometimes wonderful thoughts of humanity. Over the years Facebook has been repeatedly called upon to ensure the safety and well-being of its users. Recently, the internet giant indicated that they would be doing more to remove hate speech and threats of violence, which was welcomed…

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Defaming Mohammed exceeds the limits of free speech, “goes beyond the permissible limits of an objective debate” and “could stir up prejudice and put at risk religious peace,” the European Court of Human Rights ruled on Thursday. The ruling came after the seven-judge panel upheld an Austrian court’s decision to convict a woman for calling Mohammed a paedophile. The 47-year-old woman from Vienna, known only as Mrs S, reportedly held two seminars titled, “Basic Information on Islam,” in which she detailed the marriage between Mohammad and his six-year-old wife, Aisha. According to reports, Mrs S told her class that Mohammad…

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In Walsall, the UK NHS vacuously asserts “Bware da baby trap – use a condom” on bus ads. The ads infantalise Brits by pushing contraception as a way to avoid parenthood, and by extension sacrificing nights out on the town or in playing video games. The two ads ask, “Would you give up this?” followed by a picture of either a video game controller or a roll of lipstick and pair of high heels; then “For this?” followed by a baby pacifier. The makeup ad says, “You can still get Emergency Contraception up to five days (120 hours) after unprotected…

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Amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act which would ensure the rights of Australians in the wedding service industry are protected has been rejected, 36 to 3. The amendments, moved by Liberal Democrats Senator David Leyonhjelm, were designed to “allow providers of goods, services and facilities in connection with the solemnisation of marriage to refuse to do so on the ground of sexual orientation or relationship status of their would be clients” According to a statement from Senator Leyonhjelm, “This would provide an exemption from discrimination law not only for marriage celebrants but also for wedding planners, reception venue operators, florists and cake…

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U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will address left-wing censorship of conservative news and online content, calling it “a very serious situation.” In a two-part post tweeted earlier today, the President said, “Google search results for ‘Trump News’ shows only the viewing/reports of Fake News Media. In other words, they have it RIGGED, for me & others, so that almost all stories & news is BAD.” “Fake CNN is prominent,” he went on to say. “Republican/Conservative & Fair Media is shut out. Illegal? 96% of results on ‘Trump News’ are from National Left-Wing Media, very dangerous. Google & others…

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Standing outside the British Embassy in The Hague, Netherlands, Geert Wilders issued a statement about the arrest of Tommy Robinson and the current state of Europe. Islam critics are taken to court, jailed or targeted with fatwas. The authorities try to silence us. However, Islamists are pampered, protected and defended. And that is totally unacceptable… Britain used to be a bastion of freedom of speech. Today its authorities are behaving like North Korea and Saudi Arabia. Watch: My statement in front of the British Embassy in The Hague today. Free Tommy Robinson!Restore Freedom Of Speech!#TommyRobinson #FreedomOfSpeech #FreeTommy pic.twitter.com/VLq0Xo6xWq — Geert…

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