This just keeps getting better
In a fun follow-up to the Sikh Jay Leno story, Leno is now being sued for a joke that “clearly exposes plaintiff, other Sikhs and their religion to hatred, contempt, ridicule and obloquy.”
This is after the State Department defended Leno’s right to make the joke:
“I hope [Leno will] be appreciative if we make the point that his comments are constitutionally protected in the United States under free speech and, frankly, they appeared to be satirical in nature,” Ms Nuland told reporters.
Bernie Fine case update
Yet another puzzling development in the Bernie Fine case. With Syracuse No. 1 in the polls, you’d figure this would get more coverage. I’m not entirely sure why it isn’t.
Leno joke offends Sikhs
The premise of this controversy is ridiculous enough:
India has condemned a comment by US comedian Jay Leno on the holiest Sikh shrine, the Golden Temple of Amritsar.
A Leno skit showed the temple as the summer home of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
But this quote took the cake:
Mr Ravi said the Indian embassy would take up the matter with the US state department, the Press Trust of India reported.
He said: “The Golden Temple is the Sikh community’s most sacred place… The American government should also look at this kind of thing.
“Freedom does not mean hurting the sentiments of others… This is not acceptable to us and we take a very strong objection for such a display.”
No, the American government will not look in to this kind of thing.
Very interesting video, including some people I used to know from Tulane.
This isn’t why I left there, but it’s interesting to see it’s still a problem.
Also, an article in the Times-Pic.
Ice along Skyline Drive
Today’s Tracks
In honor of Etta James:
The Advocate (Baton Rouge), via Poynter
The NHL proves once again it's the most progressive sports league
While I’m unsure about the implementation details about this plan, it is certainly a testament to the leadership of the NHL that they are constantly trying to make their product better.
I remember multiple instances where the league implemented rules not just mid-season, but mid-playoff series to stop certain things. Pretty great to me—they are tied to any “traditions” that no longer make sense, like the MLB is under Bud Selig.
Journo-Maps
The project is very cool, and you should read the whole article, but this is the most impressive to me:
If you need proof that such work is valuable, the map was WNYC’s No. 6 traffic-getter for the month — despite the fact it was truly useful for about 4 hours late on the evening of an off-year election.
Makes me feel good to be getting in to this field.
