Some amusing (or, maybe not, tibits for the day):
Excerpts from
Tongue Tied :
Nixed NeckwearA teacher in Norway has been asked not to wear a half-inch Star of David around his neck so as not to offend some students, especially those from the Palestinian territories, reports Norwegian Broadcasting.
The teacher, Inge Telhaug, works at an adult education center in Kristiansand. The principal of the school told him the star could be interpreted as a political symbol and provoke Muslim students.
Telhaug is not happy. "I can't accept this. It is a small star, 16 millimeters [0.6 inches] that I have around my neck, usually under a T-shirt. I see it as my right to wear it," he said.
BerzerkleyActivists in Berkeley, Calif., are angling to change the name of Jefferson Elementary School because the signer of the Declaration of Independence owned slaves during his lifetime, reports the Berkeley Daily Planet.
Instigators of the change have garnered the signatures of 40 percent of the staff and 32 percent of the parents in their effort. Now, students must vote on the change.
Should Jefferson go, he would be the latest in a stream of dead white males scrubbed from school buildings in Berkeley. Abraham Lincoln Elementary was renamed Malcolm X following community pressure some years ago, and just four years ago Christopher Columbus Elementary was rebuilt and renamed after Rosa Parks .
So Were WeAn NBA announcer who came under fire for referring to basketball star Yao Ming as a "Chinaman" has apologized and said he was unaware it was an insult, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
Steve Kerr was pilloried after he used the term during a nationally televised game a couple weeks ago. The Organization of Chinese Americans described its members as incensed by the phrase.
"I'd like to offer a heartfelt apology to all viewers, and to Chinese Americans in particular, for referring to Yao Ming as a 'Chinaman' on TNT's broadcast of the Houston Rockets game this past Monday night," Kerr said in a statement. "I made the comment very innocently, as I incorrectly believed that referring to Yao in that way was the same as calling someone a 'Frenchman', an 'Englishman' or a 'Dutchman.'"
A New Slur?A Canadian hockey player has been suspended for referring to an opposing player as a "Euro" during a match, reports The Associated Press.
The Ontario Hockey League suspended Plymouth Whalers defenseman James Wisniewski for five games for telling Stefan Ruzicka that he did not fight "Euros" when challenged. Ruzicka is from Slovakia.
Ted Baker, the OHL's director of hockey operations, said the league does not tolerate comments directed at players based on their origin, ethnicity or sexual orientation.
der Brucer (hoping Jennifer or Emily will post something nice about The Ontario Hockey League)