Album Cover Draws Fire From Heritage Minister

According to a short article in today's Globe and Mail, a Toronto-based record label named Black Box has been criticized by the Federal Heritage Minister for distributing an album cover "that is clearly designed to offend a group of Canadians based on their faith . . ." The album, Holy Shit, is the product of a Vancouver band, and its cover "satirically mixes Christian motifs with references to excrement." The record label received over thirteen thousand dollars from a funding agency named FACTOR.

Dutch Politician in Toronto Calls for Ban on Muslim Immigration

Last Monday's National Post carried a story about a speech given before a Toronto audience on the subject of Islam and immigration by Dutch politician Geert Wilders. According to the article, Wilders, a controversial figure, stated that "Our Western culture is far superior to Islamic culture . . . and only once we are convinced of this will be able to defend our civilization." Wilders went on to call for the suspension of immigration of Muslims into Western countries, including Canada. The article also carried comments from a band of protestors outside the speech, who labelled Wilders' comments hate speech.

U.S. Military Faced With Requests for Atheist Chaplains

Last week, the New York Times published a fascinating article on a push by atheist and agnostic members of the U.S. military for the creation of chaplains who represent their beliefs. According to the article, the U.S. military has over 3,000 chaplains representing Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists. "Atheist leaders acknowledge the seeming contradiction of non-believers seeking to become chaplains or receive recognition from the chaplain corps. But they say they believe the imprimatur of the chaplaincy will embolden atheists who worry about being ostracized for their worldviews." As of yet, the military has not granted the requests.