Totally STUPID Accusations of RACISM!

From the NSP News Service:  Generally speaking, the NSP is, according to Dr. Jacques Pluss, sympathetic to Moslem causes; the NSP holds that Moslems have been the object of much unwarranted and vicious Jewish persecution, which is worsening.

But this time, we've got to stop and review things for a moment. The Turkish accusation that the Lego game is racist (see article, below) is patently ridiculous. The mosque in question, one of Islam's most holy sites, and located in Istanbul (formerly Constantinople), was originally a Christian Byzantine (East Roman) Cathedral. Its construction began around 560 AD during the reign of one of the last truly powerful Roman emperors, Justinian I. At that time, Constantinople stood as the capital of the Roman empire, which still included much of what is now south Eastern Europe, Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, and parts of Italy, including (technically) the faltering city of Rome. The Hagia Sofia contained some of the most beautiful Christian religious mosaics in the World at that time, and was the seat of the head of the now Eastern Orthodox Church, the Patriarch of Constantinople. When the moslem Turks overtook the city in 1453, they transformed the Hagia Sophia into a mosque, and in doing so, they ruined many of the great architectural features, including the mosaics, by covering them over. Today, the interior of the mosque contains placards with Islamic sayings thereon; many hang ungraciously from the high ceiling, suspended by wire.

To make a flap over the Lego firm's use of a "model" of the Hagia Sophia in one of its construct games is ridiculous. Why, Christians could just as well petition the Turkish government to return the Church to Orthodox Christians, accusing them of racism in turning it into a mosque 450 years ago! And the contentions could go on and on! This time, the Turks are really "reaching," and their attempts just make them look petty and ridiculous.

Lego accused of racism because of the shape of Jabba the Hutt's palace

11 hrs ago

You can call Jabba the Hutt a lot of things (gross, lazy, terrible to sit next to on an airplane), but calling him racist might be a stretch. Austria's Turkish community wants an apology from Lego, accusing the company of using Istanbul's famous Hagia Sophia mosque as a model for Jabba's Palace in one of its Star Wars-themed sets. The Turkish Cultural Community of Austria referred to Jabba himself as a "terrorist" and complained that "the whole scene smacks of racial prejudice and vulgar insinuations against Asians and Orientals as people with … criminal personalities." A Lego spokesperson politely reminded them that the set was based solely on the "fictional content of the Star Wars saga."

-- Karl Wolff III, Director of Communications, NSP.  1488!