As if it didn’t have enough people shaking their fists and writing strongly-worded letters to them over the hiring of former Bush administration legal adviser John Yoo, Chapman University’s School of law will play host to a screening of controversial Dutch filmmaker Geert Wilders’ short film “Fitna” Saturday, April 4. To state that Wilders – who was banned from entering the United Kingdom for his points of view – is anti-Islam is putting it lightly.
“Islam is not a religion, it’s an ideology … the ideology of a retarded culture,” Wilders told The Guardian newspaper in the UK last year. He states that he intends the film to “show the real face of Islam. … I see it as a threat. I’m trying to use images to show that what’s written in the Koran is giving incentives to people all over the world.
As of the posting of this entry, I didn’t see any news on the Interwebz from the Council on American Islamic Relations, which has an office in Anaheim, regarding Geerts’ visit to the nearby campus.
Here’s the first 8 minutes and 15 seconds of the film on YouTube as a preview for tomorrow’s event. Be sure to read the lively debate in the comments section.
Geerts’ visit to the university marks the beginning of a weekend blitz of the West Coast, according to FrontPage magazine. Following his visit to Chapman, he will visit the David Horowitz Freedom Center in Sherman Oaks, Calif. to show his movie, then deliver a keynote speech in Beverly Hills. He’ll round out his tour Sunday in Los Angeles.
Saturday’s event takes place at 2 p.m. in Memorial Hall. It is co-sponsored by the Freedom Center, the Claremont Institute, the Lincoln Club of Orange County and the International Free Press Society. Students with ID are free, and public non-reserved seating is free. For reserved seating, a $50 donation to the Geert Wilders Defense Fund is requested. For more information, call 818-849-3470 or send an email to Stephanie@horowitzfreedomcenter.org.
(Read about this in an article by Ask a Mexican’s Gustavo Arellano on OC Weekly)
Photo: Wikipedia
If you’ve seen the word “gunner” in law school-related forums, you’ve probably interpreted the word to mean something bad. I mean, you can basically replace it with the word “leper” without changing the intent of the sentence too drastically.
Just how bad is a gunner? Here’s an Urban Dictionary definition:
A person who is competitive,overly-ambitious and substantially exceeds minimum requirements. A gunner will compromise his/her peer relationships and/or reputation among peers in order to obtain recognition and praise from his/her superiors.
Oh my word. Kill it. With fire. Seriously though: What does the world have against the high-performing student? I say this based purely on anecdotal evidence, but it seems that, in a scholastic setting, achieving academic prowess is seen to be at odds with ascending the popularity ladder.
Researchers in the UK, who studied children ages 12 to 13, have now discovered how to be good at both. And how is that accomplished? The researchers concluded that you can avoid being called a “nerd” (or, in the case of law school, a gunner) by … wait for it … being thought of as good looking and fashionable by your classmates. Like, ZOMFG! Obvious researcher is obvious.
Telegraph education correspondent Julie Henry writes:
“A number of the pupils interviewed were aware of the tensions inherent in being clever and popular. Some mentioned being chided jokingly for being ‘boffs’ by friends.
There was evidence that some of the pupils were carefully negotiating the “balance”. One middle-class boy said: ‘Well, you try to make yourself be funny as well as do the right answers.’ “
Read the full article here. (via Neatorama)
Photo: I Can Has Cheezburger
The Blawgirl crawls the Interwebz to find steals and deals for the frugal law student and the competitive bargain shopper. Find a new Frugal Finds 11:30 (ish) p.m. PST every Monday through Saturday! Also, each post is updated as I come across items. You’re welcome.
Alerts:
- Ritz Camera is closing over 300 of its 700 stores as part of its bankruptcy reorganization plan, according to MarketWatch. For the closing stores, liquidation sales begin April 4, and will run until stock is depleted. A complete list of store closings is available here in PDF format. (via DealNews)
- If you’re a Borders Reward member (which is free, btw!), you can get 50 percent off best sellers using this print-at-home coupon. Sale runs today through Sunday. (via CheapTweets @bearabledeals)
Gadgets and Gear:
- TigerDirect.com is offering the HP 550 Celeron 2GHz 15.4″ Widescreen Notebook for $429.99. A $50 mail-in rebate brings the computer, which originally costs $499, to $380. You just tack on another $1.99 for shipping. The rebate ends August 30. (via DealNews)
- Dell Small Business is offering the Dell Vostro 1510 Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8GHz 15.4″ Widescreen Notebook, which is originally listed for $897, for $499 with an additional $25 for shipping. Sales tax is added where applicable. (via DealNews)
- The HP Home & Home Office Store offers the HP Pavilion dv4t Pentium Dual-Core 2GHz 14.1″ Widescreen Notebook in Espresso Black or Moonlight White for $569.99 with free shipping and a free deskjet printer via the directions found on the DealNews Web site.
- CellHut.com is offering the Jabra BT5010 Wireless Bluetooth Headset for $29.99. Apply coupon code “DNEWSBT5010N” to drop it to $9.99 with free shipping. (via DealNews)
- Staples offers its Staples Loft Large Desk for $99.90 with free shipping. (via DealNews)
Entertainment:
- If you want to get a little traveling done before law school, Travelocity currently has deals on 100 hotels that cost less than $100 per night. They are also offering $100 off a 5-night flight/hotel combo via code “TOYOTA100″ and $75 off a 3-night Vacation in Savannah via code “SAVANNAH75″. An example: room rates at the Circus Circus Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas start at $26.28 beginning April 26. Deals expire April 30. (via DealNews)
Odds and Ends:
- Cooking.com is offering the Joyce Chen 14″ Carbon Steel 9-Piece Wok Set for $49.95 plus $9.99 for shipping. Suggested retail for the set is $90. The 9-piece set includes a 14″ wok with dome lid and bamboo handles, 9″ spatula, 13″ slotted spatula, 12″ corner spatula, cooking chopsticks, 12″ wire fry rack, and 5″ stainless steel skimmer with bamboo handle. I don’t know who this Joyce Chen is, but, if you don’t know your pots and pans, lemme ‘splain why a wok is on this list: You can pretty much cook anything in a wok, which makes having one in your cooking arsenal a good frugal investment.
- Buy one Grand Slam Breakfast and get a free Grand Slamwich 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 8 at participating Denny’s. (via CheapTweet via Nation’s Restaurant News)
- Free mini churros with purchase of mini sirloin burgers at Jack In The Box using this coupon. Coupon valid through April 10. (via CheapTweet via Coupon Cravings)
- Get 50 percent off one item at Old Navy using a coupon. Follow directions at the DealNews Web site to get the coupon. Offer expires April 9.
Thumbnail: Steve Wampler / Flickr
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