Friday, December 23, 2011


British stores 'ashamed' to sell religious cards... but obscene ones litter the High Street

I couldn't find any Christian cards in the Australian supermarket that I go to either. But I got some from a nearby small Indian shop where the owner reads the Bhagavad Gita!

Supermarkets have become ‘ashamed’ of selling Christmas cards with religious themes, Christian leaders said yesterday. They claimed a creeping ‘multicultural indoctrination’ had led to an aversion to Christianity, and that shops were worried about stocking cards that might offend other faiths.

The rebuke to Britain’s big four supermarkets – Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons – came as a snapshot poll by the Daily Mail revealed the tiny number of religious cards on sale.

Christmas cards emblazoned with obscenities are on sale across Britain’s High Streets. One card showing a quintessential 50s family inside a wreath reads ‘Merry Christmas W*****’, while another depicts a pair of carol singers with the words ‘Merry F****** Christmas.’ A third says: ‘Merry Christmas You F****** F*****.’

In total, dozens of the explicit cards are on sale in branches of Scribbler. Each costs around £2.50.

Mike Judge, of the Christian Institute, said: ‘You don’t have to be a prude to see this is inappropriate at what is, after all, a special time for families.’

Christian Concern’s Andrea Williams added: ‘Christmas is a time when we remember the birth of Jesus, a message of hope and peace for all people. It is a great shame if Scribbler use it to promote obscenities.’

In the branch of the store in London’s Kensington High Street, the filth-ridden cards are part of a large display containing other family-orientated festive greetings.

One shows Santa saying: ‘Shh! Nobody knows I’m gay’ while another shows him with a cigarette in hand and the words: ‘F*** off! I’m smoking.’

A third shows a cheery-looking Father Christmas with the phrase ‘YOU ain’t getting s***!’

But Scribbler’s managing director John Procter described the cards as having a ‘schoolboy’ sense of humour. ‘It’s our company policy not to use expletives or such words in a gratuitous way. If we think it makes a joke then we will use one,’ he said. ‘We do group all of these rather rude cards together and keep them at eye level so children can’t see them.

‘I understand why some people might find them offensive. But they really are our best sellers and in reality we get very few complaints.’

Of 6,576 cards sold individually, just 36 – 0.5 per cent – featured scenes such as Jesus in a manger or angels.

Multi-packs fared little better, with only 5 per cent of 1,337 on sale at the stores visited containing at least one card that reflected the season’s Christian message.

One store, a Tesco in Manchester, didn’t have a single religious card on sale. Many others had just one or two.

The worst offender overall was Asda, which had just four Christian cards out of 2,638 sold individually across all the stores visited – 0.15 per cent. It also had the lowest proportion among multi-packs, with 13 out of 427, or 3 per cent.

Stephen Green, national director of Christian Voice, said: ‘I can’t believe this is being led by consumer demand. 'I believe there is anti-Christian prejudice in the buying departments involved.

‘There’s too much of this multicultural indoctrination and too much of an idea that if they put out Christian cards they will alienate or discriminate against or offend other faiths.

‘There’s a kind of militant atheism and nasty secularism at work in this country which is completely opposed to Christianity.’

Dr Don Horrocks, of the Evangelical Alliance, said supermarkets were ‘helping to kill off the Christian theme at Christmas’.

‘There appears to be an aversion in society to Christianity being public,’ he said. ‘Supermarkets appear to be ashamed to put cards on shelves because there is a perception it is dodgy.

'Half a per cent of cards with religious themes when 70 per cent of people describe themselves as Christian shows this is totally out of kilter with the country.’

The Bishop of Colchester, the Right Reverend Christopher Morgan, said Christmas church services were among the most popular of the year. He added: ‘It is disappointing that so few of our Christmas cards now portray symbols and scenes at the heart of the Christmas story.’

The comments follow the Pope’s criticism of ‘aggressive secularism’ in Britain during his visit last year.

And last week Prime Minister David Cameron called on the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, to speak up for Christianity.

The Mail visited stores owned by the four biggest supermarket chains in seven areas – Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Colchester and Witham, London, Manchester and Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

An Asda spokesman said: ‘We sell a variety of cards that meet the demand of our customers.’

Tesco said: ‘Our religious Christmas card range has increased for the second year running.’

Sainsbury’s also said that what appeared on shelves was based on customer demand, adding: ‘It is wrong to suggest we are ignoring religious themes at Christmas.’

And Morrisons said its range of religious cards included a multi-pack aimed at children that included the Nativity scene.

SOURCE





Another triumph for multiculturalism in Britain

Afghan rapists aged just 16 caught on camera 'elated' after horrific sex attack on woman, 20. Another example of Muslim respect for women in action

Two teenagers subjected a woman to a terrifying rape ordeal after stalking her and abducting her as she left a nightclub. Jailat Khan and Shahzada Khan, both just 16, were caught after they were captured on CCTV celebrating their sickening attack in Leeds city centre.

The victim, in her early 20s, was on the phone to her boyfriend asking him to get her a taxi at around 2am when she was dragged into a doorway. He could hear her screams for 30 seconds before the line went dead. She was then raped.

The pair have now been jailed for the shocking attack. A court heard the pair, both Afghans, were prowling the streets on June 12 this year looking for an easy target when they came across their victim.

The defendants spotted the woman and followed her after she left the HiFi club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, and one spoke to her when she stopped at a bus stop while the other was looking around assessing the area. The pair then struck from either side bundling her into a fire exit doorway.

Jason Pitter, prosecuting, told Leeds Crown Court she was pushed to the ground and when she screamed Shahzada put his hand over her mouth. She could hear Jailat laughing and tried to struggle but was overpowered. Jailat raped her while his accomplice held her down.

Mr Pitter said: 'While on the mobile phone to her boyfriend, he had the misfortune of hearing the attack begin. 'He heard her become distressed then say ‘Get off, get off, what are you doing’. He heard her scream for 30 seconds before her line went dead.'

The defendants ran off when they were disturbed but Shahzada was then captured on CCTV making a playful bowling motion. The prosecutor said they appeared 'elated' after the attack. 'Those actions do not portray the grave nature of their conduct moments before,' said Mr Pitter.

Two men heard the victim’s distress and went to her assistance. She was hysterical and pleaded with them not to leave her alone saying 'Why has this happened to me? Why have they done this to me?' When the police arrived they found her sitting in the doorway hugging her knees, shaking, crying and muttering.

Jailat Khan, of Beeston, Leeds, was ordered to be detained for five years and Shahzada Khan, of Leeds, was ordered to be detained for four years after both admitted kidnap and rape.

Sentencing the pair on Tuesday, Judge Christopher Batty said they had targeted a vulnerable woman alone in the city centre and the effect on her was 'immeasurable'. 'Not a day passes without her suffering flashbacks and nightmares. She has not been out since these events, her confidence has gone and she is currently taking anti-depressant medication.'

The judge, who lifted a ban on their identities because of the severity of the attack, said: 'I have been to that alleyway and it is a very cold, miserable, frightening place and I can’t even begin to imagine how the complainant felt. It is a very dark and lonely spot.' He told them had they been adults the sentence would have been longer but he had taken into account their plea sparing the victim a trial and their age.

The Khans were identified following an appeal. Jailat Khan’s DNA was found on the woman and while in custody, he was found to have a 'worrying attitude to women' and threatened to rape a member of staff.

After the case Det Supt Paul Taylor said: 'This was an extremely shocking incident and is thankfully something which I have never seen before in my many years as a detective.

'After stalking lone women until they were able to find a victim, they then celebrated their crimes in full view of CCTV cameras. This proved to be their undoing.'

SOURCE




Really, Macy’s? Men in women’s fitting rooms?

For some reason Macy’s is going out of its way two weeks before Christmas to alienate an enormous bloc of potential shoppers.

Perhaps you were unaware of Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s LGBT-friendly dressing room policy. At Macy’s, a man who is dressed as a woman is permitted to use the women’s fitting rooms. I’m sure Macy’s women shoppers don’t mind. Right, women?

It gets worse. Apparently, in San Antonio, Texas, a Macy’s employee was recently fired from her job for not permitting a young man in drag to enter the women’s dressing room.
A young woman was fired from the Macy’s San Antonio Rivercenter department store for refusing to violate her religious beliefs by permitting a young man dressed as a woman from entering the women’s dressing room. Natalie Johnson claims she saw the young man walk out of the women’s fitting room and politely told him that he could not go back in because it was for women only. The cross-dressing young man claimed that he is a “female.” Johnson said that he was wearing make-up and girl’s clothing, but clearly he was a male. The cross-dresser was accompanied by five other individuals. The group argued with expletives that Macy’s is LGBT-friendly, to which Johnson replied that Macy’s is also non-discriminatory toward religion, and that it would go against her religious beliefs to lie that he was a woman or compromise with homosexuality. The group then demanded to speak with a manager.

When Johnson was confronted by her employer, she explained that she could not allow a male to change in a female’s fitting room. Johnson’s boss referred her to Macy’s LGBT policy which allows “transgender” people to change in any dressing room they want. However, Johnson pointed out that the same policy also protects against religious discrimination and, in this case, it protects her right to her beliefs that were being violated. The manager demanded that she comply with the LGBT policies or lose her job. Johnson refused to go against her sincerely held religious beliefs and was terminated from her job.

Now, I can’t imagine why Macy’s found it necessary to fire this young woman, especially at the height of the Christmas shopping season. Presumably with the boss standing right there, Johnson’s cooperation or permission wasn’t needed to allow the “female” shopper access to the women’s fitting rooms. I’m also not clear from the report why Natalie felt that allowing the cross-dresser into the women’s fitting rooms would constitute a “lie” on her part. Perhaps her job involved keeping track of the number of male and female shoppers in the fitting rooms at any given time.

What does seem to be clear is that Macy’s and its affiliate Bloomingdale’s would apparently rather cater to the antisocial demands of a tiny percentage of the population than make the vast majority of its customers comfortable. I can’t imagine that many women would appreciate bumping into a man in drag in the corridor of the women’s dressing rooms. Assuming he’s even in drag—after all, women can wear pretty much anything men can wear. What’s to stop a guy in jeans and a T-shirt from barging into the women’s dressing rooms, declaring himself a woman?

The Liberty Council, which is representing Natalie, argues, “Right now, any kind of sexual predator could put on lipstick and have full access to any of the women’s fitting rooms and the girls of all ages who may be present.” That’s a real possibility. A question: At Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s corporate headquarters, are the women’s restrooms open to male employees? If not, why not?

SOURCE






Dangerous "Marie Stopes" abortion facility in Melbourne, Australia

Women may end up killing themselves instead of their babies. A warning to all?

A 42-YEAR-OLD woman died days after attending a controversial abortion clinic in Croydon last week. Authorities have confirmed that the woman was taken to the Box Hill Hospital where she died on Sunday, after earlier having "a procedure at a private Croydon clinic".

A spokeswoman for the Coroners Court of Victoria said yesterday that the "unexpected" death of the woman, from Sunshine, would be investigated.

It is the fourth investigation involving the clinic in six years.

Anaesthetist James Latham Peters allegedly infected more than 50 women with hepatitis C at the same clinic in 2008 and 2009. Peters, who was bailed on a $200,000 surety, will return to court in May for the remainder of the committal hearing.

The surgery's owner, Dr Mark Schulberg, was in 2009 found guilty of unprofessional conduct for failing to gain legal consent to perform a late-term abortion on an intellectually disabled woman.

And earlier this year it was revealed that a 40-year-old woman was left fighting for her life in the Box Hill Hospital after Dr Schulberg performed a late-term abortion surgery on her.

Health Department officers yesterday visited the abortion clinic, which also gives advice on sterilisation and contraception devices, after being made aware of the death. "There was no indication from the visit that it was operating outside its requirements," a department spokesman said.

The department also notified the medical practitioners' watchdog, the Medical Board of Australia, of the death.

Last year police began investigating the surgery, formally known as Croydon Day Surgery and now the Maroondah surgery of Marie Stopes International Australia, after claims patients had been infected with hepatitis C.

Peters, 62, was suspended by the practitioners' board and was this year charged by police with conduct endangering life, recklessly causing injury and negligently causing serious injury. He is facing 162 charges of infecting women patients he treated for pregnancy terminations at the surgery between 2008 and 2009.

Dr Schulberg, who was on holiday, was not available for comment yesterday. He is still being investigated by the practitioners' board after 40-year-old mother Pheap Sem was rushed to hospital in August in a critical condition after a late-term abortion.

In 2008 he was found guilty of professional misconduct by the board for failing to gain legal consent for the 25-week abortion of an intellectually disabled woman raped by her father. A year later he was found guilty of inappropriately prescribing painkillers.

Marie Stopes International chief executive Maria Deveson Crabbe said yesterday the organisation was helping in the probe into the Sunshine woman's death.

"It is with great sadness that we confirm the death of a female patient, who attended our associate registered day procedure centre in Maroondah on Wednesday, December 14, passed away at Box Hill Hospital on Sunday, December 18," Ms Deveson Crabbe said. "Due to patient confidentiality it is not possible to go into any details about the patient or the service they received."

A spokeswoman for the Medical Board of Australia confirmed it had received notification about the death.

SOURCE

*************************

Political correctness is most pervasive in universities and colleges but I rarely report the incidents concerned here as I have a separate blog for educational matters.

American "liberals" often deny being Leftists and say that they are very different from the Communist rulers of other countries. The only real difference, however, is how much power they have. In America, their power is limited by democracy. To see what they WOULD be like with more power, look at where they ARE already very powerful: in America's educational system -- particularly in the universities and colleges. They show there the same respect for free-speech and political diversity that Stalin did: None. So look to the colleges to see what the whole country would be like if "liberals" had their way. It would be a dictatorship.

For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, GREENIE WATCH, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN (Note that EYE ON BRITAIN has regular posts on the reality of socialized medicine). My Home Pages are here or here or Email me (John Ray) here. For readers in China or for times when blogger.com is playing up, there is a mirror of this site here.

***************************

1 comment:

slktac said...

Concerning the lack of Christian Christmas cards in England--that's why Al Gore invented the internet. Problem solved.