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12 Jan 2011 19:51

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U.S.: Westboro Baptist Church gives in (a little) on funeral protests

  • good Westboro Baptist Church promised not to protest the funeral of nine-year-old Christina Green after Arizona passed a law against their protests. They made a deal with a radio host in exchange for airtime.
  • bad However, the WBC still plans to protest the other funerals in the wake of the Tucson shootings, because clearly it’s still OK to protest a random person’s funeral when they’re older than nine. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Jan 2011 10:20

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U.S.: Counter-protesters using angel wings against Westboro Baptist Church

  • 42 people plan to use “angel wings” to protect mourners from Westboro Baptist Church protesters
  • 8×10 the size of the enveloping “angel wings” (in feet) – they’ve been around since 1999 source
  • » Protesting a 9-year-old’s funeral? Too far: These giant angel wings, which are designed to protect mourners from crazy folks like Fred Phelps, are being put into action thanks to residents of Tucson and the help of Facebook. “For something like this to happen in Tucson was a really big shock to us all,” said resident Christin Gilmer. “Our nightmare happened when we saw Westboro Baptist Church was going to picket the funerals.”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Dec 2010 10:35

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Biz: Could Bernie Madoff get out for his son’s funeral? Unlikely.

  • I would question whether they’d grant him a furlough because of heightened publicity. He could be a target. He could be shot.
  • Federal Prisons Consultants managing director Ed Bales • On Bernie Madoff’s chances of being allowed to go to his son’s funeral. Madoff has two things against him here: A handbook that generally only allows furloughs for prisoners with two years or less in their terms, and (since that’s usually waived for white-collar criminals) a level of notoriety that would probably mean an appearance like that would endanger his safety. On a side note, this story is from the New York Post, which used an “end of his rope” pun to explain Mark Madoff’s death on its front page recently. We’re sure they’ve hit lower depths, but we can’t remember when. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Dec 2010 15:00

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Culture: Elizabeth Edwards’ funeral: Many guests, few crazy protesters

  • 1,200 number of mourners that went to Elizabeth Edwards’ funeral today; John Edwards was in attendance
  • five number of Westboro Baptist Church protesters that showed up; why are they worth our attention again? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Mar 2010 23:47

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U.S.: The Supreme Court takes on Fred Phelps’ hate-causing cronies

  • cause Phelps’ Westboro Baptist Church,
    which has made it a mission of
    theirs to protest soldiers’ funerals,
    was sued in 2006 after they
    protested the funeral of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder.
  • issues The corresponding issues of
    free expression and right to dissent meet with the conflicting issue of
    privacy in this case, which could
    set a pretty huge precedent for
    protesters. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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