Crossover Appeal

CBS Baltimore:  An Ocean City marina is selling T-shirts featuring the phrases “White Lives Matter” and “Blue Lives Matter” to spread awareness about the conservation of marlins. The White Marlin Marina is selling two types of the shirts — one in honor of white marlins and another in honor of blue marlins.

Worcester County NAACP president Ivory Smith tells The Daily Times of Salisbury that the shirts could be interpreted as a mockery of the Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter movements. Those two phrases have been rallying cries following police shootings of African-Americans and shootings of police officers, respectively.

The designer of the shirts, employee George Lamplugh, says his shirts promote billfish conservation by featuring images of marlins on safe-release circle hooks, unlike Swagger Fishing, which sells “Kill Whitey” shirts and stickers promoting non-release white marlin fishing.

Meanwhile, in San Francisco, this picture which appeared in a police monthly journal is causing controversy.... (Link to NBC Bay Area distressed coverage)

"Black Labs Matter, All Labs Matter"

SF GATE:  The photo, submitted by a union supporter, is accompanied by a plea from the union: “Maybe it’s time we all just sit back and tone down the rhetoric,” a reference to many months of heated national debate over police shootings and, recently, the targeted slayings of police officers.

"Germany: Traditional sausages banned in public canteens out of respect to Muslims"

IBT: A regional branch of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU party is fighting to keep pork on the menu in public canteens, with many institutions allegedly removing the meat from menus out of concern that religious minorities could be offended.

The proposal will be presented by the CDU's Schleswig-Holstein group in the state parliament's session next week. The group's parliamentary leader, Daniel Guenther, claims that pork products were being taken off the menu in schools, nurseries and canteens across the region.

"The protection of minorities - including for religious reasons - must not mean that the majority is overruled in their free decision by ill-conceived consideration," said Guenther, as quoted by Deutsche Welle, arguing that tolerance must mean "the appreciation and sufferance of other food cultures and lifestyles."

Bratwurst sausages and other pork products are at the heart of German cuisine, with pig farming particularly important in the northern state of Schleswig Holstein, where agricultural production is the source of 17 per cent of state revenues.

Is ‘Culturally Insensitive’ Attire At AT&T Park A Far Cry from Room 641A?

"The San Francisco Giants are considering a new dress code for fans, which may include a ban on fake Native American headdresses and other “culturally insensitive” clothing."

The proposal for a new dress code comes after two Native Americans were detained during a Giants game last month after asking a fan to remove a headdress they found disrespectful.

If approved, the new policy could be a first for a major-league sports franchise, American Indian activist Suzan Shown Harjo told USA Today. The headdress incident happened during Native American Heritage night on June 23 at AT&T Park when the Giants were hosting the San Diego Padres.

It may be worthy of note to point out just where these "culturally insensitive" fans are displaying their "culturally insensitive attire". AT&T Park was "originally named Pacific Bell Park, then SBC Park in 2003 after SBC Communications acquired Pacific Bell, the stadium was ultimately christened AT&T Park in 2006 following SBC's merger with AT&T." 

So, what's the big deal Lem? The Giants baseball team plays their home games at a park named AT&T. Whoopty Doo

Well... It just so happens that approximately seven minutes away from AT&T park, at 611 Folsom St, there is a room 641A which acquired certain "disrespectful" and "culturally insensitive" notoriety, operated and maintained by AT&T.

The room commenced operations of a "disrespectful" and "culturally insensitive" nature in 2003; about 3 years after the opening of AT&T park.

Room 641A is a telecommunication interception facility operated by AT&T for the U.S. National Security Agency

Room 641A is located in the SBC Communications building at 611 Folsom Street, San Francisco, three floors of which were occupied by AT&T before SBC purchased AT&T. The room was referred to in internal AT&T documents as the SG3 [Study Group 3] Secure Room. It is fed by fiber optic lines from beam splitters installed in fiber optic trunks carrying Internet backbone traffic and, as analyzed by J. Scott Marcus, a former CTO for GTE and a former adviser to the FCC, has access to all Internet traffic that passes through the building, and therefore "the capability to enable surveillance and analysis of internet content on a massive scale, including both overseas and purely domestic traffic." (read more)

While I, AT&T may listen in and/or read your private communications at will... 'just 'don't bring your disrespectful, cultural insensitivity to my ball games...', to paraphrase another notoriously "disrespectful" and "culturally insensitive" Tea Toddler A-hole :-P