Thursday, December 21, 2006

SANTA HAT INCORRECT



A Commack School District bus driver says he nearly lost his job because he refused to take off his Santa Claus cap while driving his route. With his long white beard and generous midriff, 65-year-old Kenneth Mott bears more than a passing resemblance to St. Nick. The Bayport resident says he has been wearing his furry red-and-white hat every December since he started working for the Baumann and Sons bus company, which transports students in the Commack School District, five years ago.

But after Mott completed his morning route on Thursday, shuttling kids to Rolling Hills Primary School and Commack Middle School, he said his supervisors at Baumann and Sons called and demanded that he take off his Santa hat. Mott said he was told that a parent of a child complained to the district about Mott's headgear, saying that the child doesn't believe in Santa Claus and was bothered by the hat.

"I said, 'What, are you kidding me?,'" Mott recalled. "I thought it was a big joke." He resolved to keep his hat on that afternoon. "Nobody is going to tell me what I can do and can't do," said Mott, who added that he doesn't pretend to be Santa Claus while driving, nor does he play Christmas carols or decorate his bus. "This is America. I'm not hurting anybody."

Benedict Pressimone, who also drives a bus for Baumann, bought his own Santa hat to wear on his route after he heard the story. "This is ridiculous," said Pressimone, of Holbrook. "We have to make a stand."

But Mott said that after he told parents that Friday might be his last day on the job because of the hat, supervisors suddenly had a change of heart and told him he could wear the hat after all. Representatives of Baumann and Sons did not return calls for comment Monday.

Commack School District Superintendent James Feltman said he told the district's transportation supervisor that the hat could stay since it was not a religious object, was not distracting to the driver, and didn't interfere with the driver's duties. Feltman said he received one call from a parent, in support of Mott and his hat.

Michele Morley, a member of the Rolling Hills PTA, said Mott "always" has worn his hat on his route. "The kids point him out: 'Look, there's Santa,'" she said.

Feltman called the dispute a misunderstanding of the district's policies, which allow everything from menorah ties to Christmas sweaters to Halloween costumes. "On Halloween, do we tell teachers and staff and drivers not to wear Halloween outfits?" Feltman asked. "During holidays, do we tell teachers they can't wear sweaters that have Christmas trees? "I think it comes mostly under the category of misunderstanding," he said.

Even though the dispute apparently is over, Mott said the issue has soured his holiday season. "They sure took a lot of the joy out of my Christmas," he said.

Source



"ANTI-ISLAMIC" OPERA PRODUCTION PERFORMED AFTER ALL



Welcome to Fortress Mozart. It was not exactly showbusiness as usual at the renowned Deutsche Oper in Germany last night as the nervous political classes filed through airport-style security checks so that they could watch the decapitated head of the Prophet Muhammad being held aloft in the name of art. The great and the good were stripped of their opera glasses, and plainclothes police mingled with the audience. Dog teams checked out the aisles and foil sheets were stuck to windows in order to make them shatterproof.

There were howls of protest in September when the opera management cancelled performances of Idomeneo for fear of sparking anger from Muslims around the world. The West, it seemed, was capitulating before Islam, surrendering Mozart, one of the defining symbols of European culture, on his 250th birthday. "The decision to cancel was insane, laughable and unacceptable," Wolfgang Schaeuble, the Interior Minister, said. Angela Merkel, the Chancellor, agreed. The Cabinet, which is dominated by Wagnerians, became fans of Mozart, an Austrian, overnight.

German politicians turned out in force at the performance and were determined to draw a line, if not between Islam and Christianity, then at least between artistic freedom and the paralysing fear of terrorism. Mr Schaeuble was there; Ms Merkel was not, but allowed Bernd Neumann, her Culture Minister, to leave a Cabinet session early so that he could get through the police cordons. Earlier, Mr Neumann had said: "If the mere fear of Islamic protest leads to self-censorship, then the democratic principle of the freedom of expression is directly threatened." The leaders of the Green Party were in attendance, as was Klaus Wowereit, the Mayor of Berlin.

Newspapers sent their terrorism experts rather than music critics. They wore grim expressions, as if they were about to charge out of the trenches into the clash of civilisations. Leaders of the Muslim community, having at first promised to attend, stayed away. Ali Kizilkaya, the chairman of the German Islamic Council, said that the idea that Muslims should sit shoulder-to-shoulder with Christian politicians in a show of solidarity towards Mozart was "a bit too populist for my liking". Aiman Mazyek, the secretary-general of the Central Council of Muslims, agreed. "I go to the opera to relax, not in order to chuck religion, art and politics into one pot."

The offending scene in the production, by Hans Neuenfels, arrives at the end. The King of Crete has been saved from drowning in a storm by the intervention of Poseidon, God of the Sea, and must repay his debt by sacrificing his son. The King rails against the injustice in an epilogue, and stumbles on stage with a bag containing the heads of Poseidon, Jesus, Buddha and Muhammad. The head of Muhammad has become the symbol of this potential conflict with Islamic sensibilities, the operatic equivalent of the Danish cartoons.

Source



Australia: Bikini party forbidden

A win for the wowsers and feminists -- an unholy alliance these days. Victoria does seem to have a lot of both



A nightclub bikini booze-up has been sunk by public [one small part of the public, to be precise] outrage. Amber Lounge management yesterday scrapped plans for a Christmas bikini party where women wearing bathers would have received unlimited free drinks at the CBD bar on Friday night. In a two-hour meeting with the director of liquor licensing, Sue Maclellan, and Victoria Police yesterday, both the management and promoter WTF Productions decided it was in their best interests to dump the party. Ms Maclellan had threatened to stop the event going ahead if she concluded that it failed to meet the legal requirement for responsible serving of alcohol. The bar will now host a Hawaiian summer party night offering two free drinks for all who attend.

Rape crisis counsellors and alcohol experts slammed the bikini party, claiming that it reduced women to sexual objects and exposed them to the risk of extreme intoxication and sexual assault.

Ms Maclellan said the result was good for all those involved. "Following a meeting between Amber Lounge management, the promoter of the Christmas bikini night, and liquor licensing and Victoria Police, the club manager and the promoter have decided to withdraw the bikini party promotion following liquor licensing concerns about whether the event met licence requirements to serve alcohol responsibly," Ms Maclellan said.

Centre Against Sexual Assault manager Helen Makregiorgos - who had condemned the proposal for reducing women to sexual objects - said the decision was fantastic. Premier Steve Bracks weighed into the controversy yesterday, saying people could dress as they chose, but clubs had to ensure they served alcohol responsibly.

Source



AUSTRALIA: FREE CHOICE TRUMPS FEMINIST PRESSURES

Brisbane Tattersall's Club was in uproar last night after members voted to maintain its ban on women members. In doing so the members went against the wishes of seven of their 10 committee men who sought to overturn the 141-year-old ban. The vote came after a passionate debate in which president Peter Carroll and other committee men were criticised for supporting the "yes" case. The committee's motion to allow women was lost by 106 votes - 1683 to 1577.

Mr Carroll is understood to be considering quitting. "Of course I'm disappointed," he said. "It's a private club and it was a democratic vote. "If that's what they want you have to abide by that." A number of committee men can now expect to face a challenge. There were rousing cheers last night in favour of speakers proposing a "no" vote.

The membership includes 17 judges, 219 managing directors, 481 accountants, 38 stockbrokers, 149 doctors, 97 architects, 510 solicitors and 140 barristers. Tattersall's on the Queen Street Mall was founded in 1865 in an age when women could not vote. Although women cannot become members, they already enjoy club facilities as guests of their partners.

The vote was a resounding victory for vice-president Jonathon Bloxsom, who staunchly opposed the entry of women. One member, who voted against the motion, said: "Many of the members felt under siege from women and they certainly weren't going to have outsiders tell them what to do in their private club." Leading businesswoman Sarina Russo waited outside the club during the vote. She was turned away when the membership voted to exclude women.

Source



PC Canadian judge loses

The Muslim Canadian Congress has expressed dismay at the decision by Ontario judge to ban a Christmas tree from her court. "This is stupidity and takes political correctness to new heights," said Farzana Hassan, President of the MCC. "We should ban political correctness, not the Christmas Tree," said Ms. Hassan.

Reacting to the judge's remarks that the Christmas Tree was "a Christian symbol that might alienate people of other creeds and cultures," Ms. Hassan said the judge was creating an unnecessary issue and looking for problems where none exist.

She welcomed the decision of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty in restoring the Christmas Tree back to the Ontario Court.

The MCC has urged all Muslims to celebrate Christmas with their Christian cousins and light up Christmas trees to send a message to the Ontario judge that she is wrong on all counts of her argument.

Source

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