Category Archives: Freedom

PORT ANGELES Classic World War II planes will return to the North Olympic Peninsula this month as the Wings of Freedom Tour lands in Port Angeles on June 21.

The vintage warbirds will be featured at William R. Fairchild Memorial Airport from June 21-23.

Members of the public can walk-through or fly in the B-17 Flying Fortress, B-24 Liberator, B-25 Mitchell or P-51 Mustang as part of the Collings Foundations 110-city nationwide living history display.

This years tour stop the eighth in Port Angeles since 2004 will feature more activities on the tarmac with a vintage car show, live music, no-host barbecue, hot air balloon, dragster and possibly a Coast Guard helicopter.

The Port [of Port Angeles] wanted to help support the Wings of Freedom with a little more involvement than in past years, said Dan Gase, real estate and business manager for the port, which operates the airport.

The events will take place the afternoon and evening of June 21, a Wednesday.

Longtime Wings of Freedom Area Coordinator Alan Barnard said the theme for this years stop in Port Angeles is Salute to Veterans.

I want to have a 100 percent focus on veterans, Barnard told Clallam County commissioners Tuesday.

Barnard, who received a proclamation recognizing Wings of Freedom Days, said the idea is to tell the story of the cost of freedom through these airplanes.

The airplanes are cool, but the airplanes are part of the story, Barnard said.

Barnard is making arrangements for local World War II veterans to ride on the airplanes for free.

Every visit I look for opportunities to communicate between World War II veterans and our younger people, to put them together, to create dialogue where our younger people realize, I hope, a little better why we have what we have today, Barnard told commissioners.

And had it not been for the brave men and women of our armed forces in the past, in all wars, we would be looking at a totally different country than we have today.

The cost of entry to Wings of Freedom is $15 for adults and $5 for children 12 and younger.

Half-hour flights on the B-25 are $400 per person. Half-hour flights on the B-17 or B-24 are $450 per person.

Flight training with stick time on the P-51 fighter is $2,200 for 30 minutes or $3,200 for an hour.

Since the Massachusetts-based Collings Foundation is a nonprofit, the majority of the flights are tax deductible, officials said.

The Wings of Freedom Tour previously stopped in Port Angeles in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015.

With help from the port, Barnard said this years tour stop has been ratcheted up with more events after the planes arrive.

We wanted to help raise it a bit and just have a party for Port Angeles, said Gase, a Port Angeles City Council member and recent aerospace business development specialist for the port.

A big part of it is to help raise awareness of the airport.

The bomber and fighter aircraft are scheduled to arrive at William R. Fairchild from Bremerton at about noon June 21.

The barbecue, hosted by the Port Angles Red Lion, will be in the west block hanger from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. June 21.

The band Fat Chance will perform in an adjacent hanger from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Gase said.

The car show will be in front of the terminal throughout the day June 21. Classic, vintage or show car owners are welcome to participate.

For information on the Wings of Freedom tour, click on the Collings Foundation website at http://www.cfdn.org.

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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.

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World War II planes to come to Peninsula with Wings of Freedom Tour - Peninsula Daily News

FrontPage Magazine

Video: The Freedom Center and the White House FrontPage Magazine A note from David Horowitz: On Sunday, the Washington Post published a lengthy profile of me and the David Horowitz Freedom Center, motivated by leftwing bias and framed in a perverse and calculatedly destructive way around the issue of our 501c3 ... and more »

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Video: The Freedom Center and the White House - FrontPage Magazine

Irish have the right to national freedom

BelfastTelegraph.co.uk

I wish to Jim Allister's comment published on June 1 about the EU.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/letters/irish-have-the-right-to-national-freedom-35789289.html

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/incoming/article34634950.ece/50203/AUTOCROP/h342/letters.jpeg

I wish to Jim Allister's comment published on June 1 about the EU.

He said: "We joined the EU as one nation, we must leave as one nation." He also stated, "Putting IRA/Sinn Fein in government has weakened the Union" and "Sinn Fein does not want Northern Ireland to work."

In his own words, he admits that Northern Ireland has two main national groups. People of the Irish nation were roped into the unionist state when it was established under Britain's Partition of Ireland Act.

Unionists need to accept that Irish people in Northern Ireland have a right to national freedom on equal terms with the unionist right to be British. The Union will be stronger for unionists when Irish people are free.

Malachy Scott

Belfast

Belfast Telegraph

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Irish have the right to national freedom - Belfast Telegraph

That good internship on your resume can be the difference between getting a job interview or not. And the competition to get internships is brutal, because students really, really want them.

Unfortunately, the number of internship opportunities available has dropped over the past five years, as "unpaid" internships have found themselves under regulatory, legislative, and legal scrutiny. Critics say that unpaid internships take unfair advantage of the participants.

The conundrum here is that many undergraduate and new graduate students WANT unpaid internships if they can't get paid ones. They would rather work for free to gain the experience and the lines on their resume than not have an internship opportunity at all.

In a survey commissioned by The Fund for American Studies (TFAS) in February 2017, and released in April, 89 percent of the people surveyed felt that "College students who wish to do unpaid internships should be able to have that opportunity."

But Steve Slattery, Executive Vice President of TFAS, an educational non-profit organization that has placed thousands of students in D.C. internships since 1967, says that many of the most prestigious entities have dropped their unpaid internship programs after years of enthusiastic participation.

For example, Joe Starrs, director of TFAS's Institute on Political Journalism (IPJ), reported that one television network news outlet used to take 15 or more unpaid interns every summer. Now, they're offering three paid internships, and no unpaid internships. This means 12 fewer journalism students have an opportunity to learn the trade at that network.

Some frame the requirement that businesses pay interns as a matter of fairness. But is it fair to take away unpaid internship opportunities from students who need them?

I did an unpaid internship at Campaigns & Elections Magazine through IPJ immediately after graduation in 1996. The magazine hired me full time before my internship ended, giving me my first real job in journalism. My next stop, less than a year later, was the Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition. If not for my unpaid internship opportunity where I learned and proved my worth, I might well have ended up living my mother's nightmare of using my journalism degree from Ohio State to write obituaries on the midnight shift at a Midwest newspaper. And that's if I was lucky.

"Because Americans fundamentally believe in freedom of opportunity, and they are willing to start at the bottom to cultivate their future success," Slattery says. "People looking to launch a career know that the kind of experience you get in an internship is so much more valuable in the long term than an hourly wage," Slattery says.

There are paid internships, and there are unpaid internships. But whether you get paid isn't necessarily the deal breaker for most applicants. These kids are looking for results. They want internships with companies that have proven placement records with their interns. Smart applicants ask where the company's former interns ended up working after graduation. Good intern supervisors will know the answer to that question.

Most paid internships don't pay well anyway. Interns are lucky if their stipend covers room and board. Which is why the financial compensation for a useless internship pales in comparison to starving and sweating at an unpaid internship that lets you publish your writing, create a new app, or work side-by-side with a brilliant and successful professional in your chosen career field.

Who gets hurt if you do away with unpaid internships? All the students desperate to have something on their resume that will get them an interview with a potential employer after graduation.

For years, I mentored young women who wanted to learn the wedding planning business on a Caribbean island. I received hundreds of applications for every position. After we'd messaged all the rejected applicants to thank them, I'd receive long emails from some, begging me to allow them to come intern for me in an unpaid position. I even had a few offer to pay me to let them work a few weddings. That's how desperate they are to get some on-the-ground experience for their portfolios and resumes.

It's a Catch-22. The desire to be "fair" and the need for opportunity clash badly here. Fewer unpaid internship opportunities means that much more competition for the coveted paid-intern slots.

The need for skilled labor in the workforce doesn't decrease just because students have fewer opportunities to become prepared before graduation. It simply means companies must do more training of new grads who may not stay long in their first jobs, instead of hiring former interns with a proven track record. And students will have a much harder time getting interviews with less practical experience on their resumes.

Sandy Malone runs a destination wedding planning business and is the star of TLC's reality show "Wedding Island."Thinking of submitting an op-ed to the Washington Examiner? Be sure to read ourguidelines on submissions.

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Students should have the freedom to do unpaid internships - Washington Examiner

by Jeff Goldberg, ABC7 News

Two Muslim students at Freedom High School in Woodbridge, Va. had to carry permission slips to wear hijabs. (WJLA)

WOODBRIDGE, Va. (WJLA) - Hajah Bah and Fatmata Mansaray are first cousins. Both are Muslim and seniors about to graduate from Freedom High School in Woodbridge - a name they find ironic, Not a lot of freedom not at all.

But their smiles disappear quickly when talking about an incident on Thursday, It was so emotional.

Mansaray and Bah say all year school administrators have required them to carry signed notes from their mothers giving them permission to wear a hijab. Bah says Thursday a staffer asked for her note but Bah didnt have it. She says the staffer then told her to take off the hijab or go home, "I was like, I refuse. Im not taking it off because of my religion.'" Mansaray says she watched the incident with sadness and disbelief, Im sad to say, but I think its about race, honestly.

I apologized to the family, said Mike Mulgrew, the associate superintendent for Prince William County Public Schools. He says staff members should not have required the students to have notes to wear hijabs, I think they had a misinterpretation. We used to give passes to assist students so they could carry out their prayers. Somehow that message got lost. Were gonna fix that message and were gonna move on.

Prince William County Public Schools issued the following statement:

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2 Muslim students at Va. high school had to carry permission slips to ... - WJLA

Steve and Bridget Tennes. CREDIT: Alliance Defending Freedom/YouTube

The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the anti-LGBTQ hate group fighting for discrimination across the country, is back with a new lawsuit defending a business owner who wants to refuse service to same-sex couples. The latest case involves a Michigan farmer who wants to refuse to host same-sex weddings while still participating in a farmers market in a city with nondiscrimination protections.

Steve Tennes, owner of the 120-acre Country Mill farm, announced on Facebook last August that it would temporarily stop booking any weddings at the farm. It had come to light that Tennes had refused a same-sex couple back in 2014 after one of the women in that couple complained publicly. In December, however, Tennes explained that the farm would resume hosting weddings and would reserve the right to refuse same-sex couples because of deeply held religious belief that marriage is the union of one man and one woman.

Michigan has no state law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, so there was no enforcement action against Tennes for this open policy of discrimination. But the Country Mill also participates in a farmers market in East Lansing, a city with Michigans oldest municipal protections against anti-gay discriminationdating back to 1972. As a result of Tennes new business policy, the Country Mill was not invited back to the farmers market this year.

In fact, the city established a new guideline in its vendor application for the farmers market. A new requirement for vendors is complying with the City of East Lansings Civil Rights ordinances and the public policy against discrimination while at the ELFM and as a general business practice. This requirement that vendors cannot discriminate as a general business practice led the city to determine that because of Tennes open promise to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation as a wedding venue, the Country Mill no longer qualified to participate in the farmers market.

ADFs complaint claims that Tennes is having his freedoms of speech, press, and religion violated because he is being punished for expressing his beliefs. It also claims that his right to equal protection was violated because the city allows pro-LGBTQ messages but not anti-LGBTQ messages.

As has been the case in most of ADFs similar pro-discrimination caseswhich theyve nearly universally lostthese arguments are largely hogwash. Thats because the city was not responding to Tennes beliefs, but to his discriminatory business practices. As courts in several other states have ruled (against ADFs clients and similarly situated businesses), laws protecting against discrimination do not target religious beliefs because they apply neutrally to all purported rationales for the discrimination. If ADFs points were valid, business owners religious beliefs discrimination against interracial and interfaith couples would have to be accommodated as well.

Where ADF might have a case in this particular complaint is in its claim that East Lansing violated Michigans Home Rule City Act, which ADF alleges prohibits the city from enforcing its nondiscrimination ordinance outside the city boundaries. On its face, thats not what the city did, because that would have required actually enforcing the law against the farm for discrimination. But ADF argues that by rejecting the Country Mills farmers market application, the city is trying to extend the reach of the ordinance 22 miles outside of its jurisdiction to where the farm is located.

Hypothetically, it would only take a single person inquiring at the farmers market about the Country Mill hosting a same-sex wedding for this argument to fall apart. Likewise, a judge would have to agree that the city has little to no discretion in assessing the applicants to the farmers market in accordance with the citys laws. In other words, the city would be forced to welcome openly discriminatory businesses to do business in the city based on the logic that it only sells produce in the city, not wedding services.

In this sense, the case is an interesting new test on ADFs go-to pro-discrimination argument. As it does on behalf of the Country Mill, ADF regularly asserts that refusing to sell services related to same-sex weddings isnt anti-gay discrimination so long as the vendor sells all its other products and services to LGBTQ people. For this to be true, it requires believing that different-sex weddings and same-sex weddings are two different products; otherwise, the business is offering two different menus based on the sexual orientation of the customer, whichas courts have consistently agreedis clearly discrimination.

The Country Mill offers many services at the farm throughout the year that arent part of the farmers market, such as a corn maze, hay rides, and a petting zoo. Thus, there are obviously two different menus for two different locations. ADF will likely try to argue that because wedding hosting isnt a service offered at the farmers market, its not on that menu and thus there is no way the anti-gay discrimination will take place while Tennes is doing business there. Its a stretchand doesnt change the fact that its the same Country Mill with the same Facebook page and same discriminatory policy regardless of where its doing business.

The case is one of many suits ADF has filed across the country on behalf of wedding vendors seeking to overturn or circumvent laws protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination. Its a reminder that the Supreme Courts marriage equality decision did not put an end to discrimination against same-sex couples.

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Michigan farmer claims it's 'religious freedom' to deny service to same-sex couples - ThinkProgress

A United Nations expert on Friday defended his report on significant threats to freedom of expression in Japan as factually accurate, rebutting the Japanese governments assertions that his views are based on hearsay information.

I feel very confident based on the work weve done and the fact-checking we did that the facts in the report are accurate, David Kaye, the U.N.-appointed special rapporteur on freedom of expression, told a news conference in Tokyo.

Kayes visit to Tokyo coincided with the release of his report, which sheds light on a raft of threats endangering media independence and free speech in Japan. The threats range from the well known kisha (reporter) club system to state influence over history education and the 2014 state secrecy law, which critics warn could be used to intimidate journalists into self-censorship.

The report, which is slated to be submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council in June, is based on Kayes first investigation into Japanese freedom of expression last year. He interviewed a wide range of government officials, NGO representatives and journalists to compile it.

Fridays rebuttal was a response to government criticism of Kayes report that said most of his views are based on hearsay information or assumptions and do not show any verification of the details of related information.

Kaye said it is now up to Tokyo to decide what to do.

We may have disagreements with the government over interpretation of those facts, interpretation of the law, interpretation of the risks that might be posed to freedom of expression, the University of California law professor said. But at the end of the day, the report has no legally binding power and is left in the hands of the government.

Our hope is always to engage in a dialogue with the government, not to engage in an adversarial relationship, he said.

Kaye also demanded more respect from Tokyo, which recently made light of U.N. rapporteur on the right to privacy Joseph Cannatacis critique of the conspiracy bill, describing him as operating in a private capacity and not speaking on behalf of the U.N.

Professor Cannataci, like myself, is independent, Kaye said.

At the same time, he said, they are formally appointed by the Human Rights Council of the U.N. and mandated to make evaluations of domestic law and practices. In this regard, their views deserve certain kind of respect at least a certain kind of consideration, because were giving our recommendations in the spirit of good faith, constructive criticism, he said.

Regarding freedom of speech, the professor repeated his concerns about the kisha club system, noting that while it allows mainstream media to easily approach government officials, it also effectively discriminates against independent and foreign journalists by restricting or outright denying them the same access.

The entrenched system has resulted in mainstream coverage of government affairs descending into access journalism that undermines the ability and willingness of journalists to conduct hard-hitting investigative journalism under the threat of losing the privileged membership.

The fact that the regulation of broadcast media is handled by the government, and that the commercial television networks are tied to major dailies, does nothing to curb this trend, he said.

All of these things, together combined, make me very concerned about the nature of media independence in this country, he said.

In this situation, the Japanese media are prone to self-censorship even under modest pressure, which in turn results in the public not taking what the government is saying, or doing, seriously.

The governments view is not always tested in the environment of independent media that prizes investigative journalism, prizes hard questions, prizes criticism. In the absence of that kind of criticism and investigation, the government position seems untested, Kaye said.

Its in the governments interest to open up the avenues for investigation and criticism so that its own views can be tested against that criticism. Without that, there will always be doubts.

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U.N. expert Kaye fires back at Tokyo's criticism of freedom of expression report - The Japan Times

Universities nowadays often must fight for their independence on two fronts, against autocratic governments and private interests from without, and against the threat from within posed by fiefdoms of jargon and self-righteous coercion. But success ultimately depends on convincing fellow citizens that what may look like a battle for the privileged few is a battle for the benefit of all.

BERLIN I am the President of Central European University, which is now under attack. CEU is fighting to remain a free institution in Budapest, Hungarys capital, following the passage of new legislation that would, in essence, require the university to close.

CEUs battle has become a global cause clbre. More than 650 colleges, universities, and professional associations have opposed Hungarys legal moves against CEU. Some 80,000 people marched through the streets of Budapest in our defense. Twenty-four Nobel laureates have lent their prestige to our cause. On June 22, one of them, Mario Vargas Llosa, will join us in Budapest for a conference on the global challenge to academic freedom.

We at CEU know that we are not the only university struggling to repel government attacks. Across Turkey, universities are being padlocked, and professors are being purged. In St. Petersburg, our sister European University struggles against repeated malicious attempts to close it down.

These are but some of the threats that universities now face from without. Yet there are equally worrying threats from within.

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Defending Academic Freedom in a Populist Age - Project Syndicate

NPR

Texas Freedom Caucus' Tactics Anger Many State Lawmakers NPR Heard on Weekend Edition Saturday. Ben Philpott. From KUT 90.5. The arch-conservative Freedom Caucus has stymied congressional Republicans over the past several years. A copycat group in Texas and other places is forcing the state legislative agenda ...

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Texas Freedom Caucus' Tactics Anger Many State Lawmakers - NPR

USA Today Network Kaila White, The Arizona Republic Published 7:33 p.m. ET June 1, 2017 | Updated 3 hours ago

Congress passed the Real ID Act in 2005. The law sets new validity requirements for state driver's licenses. Video provided by Newsy Newslook

Sean Corbett of Chandler took his official driver's license photo wearing a spaghetti strainer on his head.(Photo: Sean Corbett/Special for azcentral.com)

PHOENIX After years of trying and getting turned away, an Arizona man has finally received his officialstate driver's license bearing a photo of him wearing a spaghetti strainer on his head.

He appears to be the first Arizonan to successfully do so, though his victory is brief: State officials say they will void the license.

And while some may say it's a joke, he says it's an act of religious freedom.

Sean Corbett of Chandler has long believed in respecting and never judging others. Then, three years ago, he stumbled across the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, also known as Pastafarianism.

The church promotes a lighthearted view of religion. It was created in 2005 to criticize schools teaching intelligent design alongside evolution but has become a social movement for freedom of religion and expression.

Read more:

Trump's religious freedom order doesn't change law on political activity

Muhammad Alis son, ex-wife launch religious freedom campaign against Trump

"Some may view the religion as a satirical version of standard religion," Corbett said. "I think it really drives in the point that if youre going to include one, you have to include all. You have to respect everybodys beliefs if youre going to respect one."

Corbett, 36, said he first tried to take a license photo wearing a colander in 2014.

"I tried a couple different locations and was met with a lot of pushback and resistance, he said. I was scorned at every location I went to, and they put out a memo about me, so by the time I got to (the) fourth and fifth MVD, they stopped me at the door.

Sean Corbett after he was first denied taking his driver's license photo wearing a colander in 2014.(Photo: Sean Corbett/Special for The Republic)

"They got angry at me and treated me with such disrespect."

He recently tried again and, after talking with the location's manager, was able to take the photo. He received his official ID in the mailTuesday.

"I was really excited," Corbett said. "I felt, in that moment, that I won my battle. It was a huge victory for me."

"Initially it may have started off as, 'Hey, wouldnt it be cool if I could get a spaghetti strainer in my picture? That would be boss,' but if you look at whats going on in the world today, people being persecuted for religious beliefs, maybe its time to take a step back and say, 'You know what? You shouldnt be persecuted for your religion.' "

A spokesman for the Arizona Department of Transportation, which oversees the Motor Vehicle Division, released a statement on the matter.

"MVD license and ID photos are meant to show a persons typical daily appearance and allow for religious expression or medical needs. Photos are filtered through facial recognition technology and if an error occurs, the photo can be recalled," the statement said.

Spokesman Doug Nick later added that "we will go through the process to pull this credential."

"I'm going to fight it," Corbett said. "They have no valid reason to void it."

Corbett said he hopes he can help pave the way for people of other religions to wear what they want in their license photos a hijab or a turban, for example without the same resistance he faced.

"Its a terrible feeling. Its nothing anybody should have to experience," Corbett said. "They shouldnt be bullied because their beliefs are different from other people.

"For the government to step in and say, 'You have the right to religious freedom but we're not going to allow you to recognize this religion' is just preposterous."

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Arizona man wears colander in driver's license photo in name of religious freedom - USA TODAY