1. You misrepresented the article. The article does not say “it is the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas.” Quite the contrary it says that it is one person from that council + a few rabbis, members of the faculty. Others took the opposite view.

2. Poor Desmond Tutu’s freedom of speech has hardly been impeded upon. He never shuts up; mostly to attack Jews or Israel. Don’t you think St. Thomas administration has a write to uninvite who they invited? Big deal.

3. He figured us out anyway when he stated: “People are scared in the United States to say wrong is wrong because the Jewish lobby is powerful - very powerful. Well, so what? Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin were all powerful, but in the end they bit the dust.” [Don’t you just love this touch - comparing Jews to Hitler?].

Now that he knows there is no point hiding that we are omnipotent.

4. I have to admit that he is indeed a very godly and forgiving man. In 1989 he visited Yad Vashem memorial to the millions of Jews murdered by the Nazis only to pray for the Nazi murderers and to lecture the Jews on how they should not defend themselves.

5. Never realized that Minneapolis newspapers are so popular. It is the second time in the last 24 hours that I find someone who reads them . The last link was from, in the words of a British judge, “racist, anti-Semite, holocaust denier and a liar” - David Irving: http://www.fpp.co.uk/online/index.html

[1] there is no misrepresentation

[2] in this case his freedom of speech has been impeded

[3] the quote I was able to find (Haaretz April 29, 2002) reads

“Israel is like Hitler and apartheid”: “I’ve been deeply distressed in my visit to the Holy Land; it reminded me so much of what happened to us black people in South Africa…I have seen the humiliation of the Palestinians at checkpoints and roadblocks, suffering like us when young white police officers prevented us from moving about…”I say why are our memories so short? Have our Jewish sisters and brothers forgotten their humiliation? Have they forgotten the collective punishment, the home demolitions, in their own history so soon?…The apartheid government was very powerful, but today it no longer exists. Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Pinochet, Milosevic, and Idi Amin were all powerful, but in the end they bit the dust. Injustice and oppression will never prevail.”

…. some what different from yours isn’t it?

[4] I am not familiar with the event, possibly you have a link that describes it, and his words, in full you could point us towards.

[5] yeah, yeah, I get your point shlemazl, David Irving is a “racist, anti-Semite, holocaust denier and a liar”, David Irving reads (or once read or once quoted) a Minneapolis newspaper, therefor, because stageleft read and quoted a Minneapolis newspaper he to is a “racist, anti-Semite, holocaust denier and a liar” ……. you posted about being on a plane a few days ago, have you ever eaten anybody?

Don’t you find that sort of thing even a little bit weak?

Here is another link to the speech which was quoted by university as the reason for canceling the invitation:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/comment/0,10551,706911,00.html

And here is definition of the freedom of speech:

http://www.bartleby.com/59/14/freedomofspe.html

Yeah, and spokespersons talk to journalists or the public. In this case Hennes consulted Swiler and a few rabbies and they gave their views.

As it happens Swiler acts as a spokesperson for a government environmental department, which may have been the source of this confusion.

Misrepresentation of the article comes because it is not clear at all from the article that at any point “Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas” or even Swiler stated Tutu to be anti-Semitic. “Some people” did. Swiler stated that “She run across some statements that were of concern to her”.

Personally, I wouldn’t necessarily call Tutu anti-Semitic. He makes anti-Semitic statements. I most certainly support university’s decision which was clearly justified very well. Had Tutu been white and had he been targeting blacks in his statements, me thinks left-wingers would have taken a different approach. Attacking Jews gets full support on the left.

As for Tutu’s message on what the descendants of those who suffered the Nazi crime should do… I don’t care much for any instructions from Desmond “fucking” Tutu.

As for your regular interest in all things Jewish and Israeli… It is noted and highly appreciated.

St Thomas has re-evaluated it’s decision to ban Tutu, three things that remain outstanding at this point are whether

[1] he will accept

[2] poet Lucille Clifton who canceled her appearance as part of a CommUNITY Week Celebration at St. Thomas will decide to attend after all

“It is with deep regret that I must cancel my visit. … I have spent my life trying to be a human of integrity and hope and peace; and I find it difficult to speak and model these things in light of the situation concerning Bishop Tutu.”

[source: email]

[3] Cris Toffolo, an associate professor of political science who was removed from her job over the incident, will ever be reinstated as director of the Justice and Peace Studies Program

He denied that Toffolo was removed from the position for her criticism of the original decision to block Tutu’s appearance. However, Hennes acknowledged that the removal did relate to the Tutu situation.

… how’s that for a convoluted statement?