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TALDF TAKES ACTION AGAINST OFFENSIVELY-NAMED PRODUCT
NEWELL RUBBERMAID INC. AGREES
TO
STOP USING ANTI-TURKISH TERMINOLOGY
Washington, DC, June 4, 2009 - Alerted by a Turkish American that distributors of Rubbermaid Commercial Products were selling an item called a "Turk's Head Toilet Bowl Brush," on April 7 the TALDF contacted the manufacturer, Newell Rubbermaid Inc., protesting the product name and calling for it's use to cease. In our letter, linked below, we noted that such a product name, "evokes an image highly unflattering to any person who may consider him or herself a Turk. The slur is not subtle: a toilet bowl brush being named after any race or ethnicity ought to be considered insulting." We added that such terminology is not only, "infuriating and hurtful to Turkish Americans," it also "encourages ethnic prejudices and bigotries that ill-serve our diverse and democratic society."
Two weeks later, Newell Rubbermaid responded, largely agreeing with the TALDF's position and vowing to make amends. It pledged to, "educate [its] marketing and sales associates of the potential derogatory connotations associated with the terminology...." The TALDF commends Newell Rubbermaid for its quick and sensible response. The TALDF, acknowledging that the complete cessation of this term will not occur overnight, will follow up with the company periodically to judge whether its efforts have been sincere and result in the the withdrawal of the insulting term.
TALDF's Letter [ ] | Newell's Response to TALDF []
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TALDF DECLARES LEGISLATIVE VICTORY IN SACRAMENTO
CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY BILL 961 HELD IN COMMITTEE
Sacramento, CA, May 29, 2009 – The Turkish American Legal Defense Fund announced today that Assembly Bill (AB) 961 has been effectively held in the CA Assembly Appropriations Committee by Chairman Kevin De Leon. The bill cannot continue to the full Assembly floor for consideration without a vote from the committee.
“We are very encouraged that the California Assembly carefully reviewed the bill and adjusted their stance. I am heartened that the Assembly took the proper democratic steps,” said Bruce Fein, counsel for the TALDF. [read] |
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TALDF STATEMENT IN OPPOSITION TO CA ASSEMBLY BILL AB 961
Prohibition on contracts with companies that aided genocidal regimes. []
Addendum to statement on AB 961 [] |
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TALDF STANDS UP FOR FREE SPEECH ON US CAMPUSES
TALDF sent the following letters to McGill University and Hampshire College in response to efforts by Armenian student and other groups to pressure the universities’ to ban speech.
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McGill University Letter [ ]
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Hampshire College Letter [ ]
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SCHOLAR SUES SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER
FOR FALSELY ACCUSING HIM OF BEING A FOREIGN AGENT
Washington , DC- December 1, 2008: On November 17, 2008 Professor Guenter Lewy filed a defamation suit against the Southern Poverty Law Center, Inc., and writer-editor David Holthouse in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia . The suit is being supported by the Turkish American Legal Defense Fund, which seeks to preserve and promote open discourse about issues significant for Turkish Americans, including the characterization of the events bearing on the World War I deaths of Ottoman Muslims and Armenians. Among other works, Professor Lewy is author of The Armenian Massacres in Ottoman Turkey: A Disputed Genocide ( University of Utah Press , 2005), which concludes that the evidence to support the popular allegation of genocide in the Armenian case is inconclusive.
The defamation claims pivot on twin false assertions made by Defendant Holthouse in an article published in the Summer 2008 issue of Intelligence Report entitled, “State of Denial: Turkey Entices U.S. Scholars, Law Makers to Cover Up Armenian Genocide.” The first was the false statement that Professor Lewy was on the payroll of the Government of Turkey in exchange for compromising his scholastic integrity in disputing the Armenian allegation of genocide. The second was that Professor Lewy deceived his readers or audiences by failing to disclose the money he had received from the Government of Turkey to shape his view of the Armenian claim. The false statements also insinuated that Professor Lewy had violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act by failing to register with the Department of Justice as a mouthpiece for the Government of Turkey. Professor Lewy is seeking damages to clear his good name and to send a message that sham accusations of being on the take is not an acceptable substitute for reasoned and civil debate over genuine historical controversies. The climate of intimidation, coercion and worse that confronts anyone who quarrels with the Armenian view of the events of 1915 in the Ottoman Empire must end.
Professor Lewy is being represented by attorneys Bruce Fein and David Saltzman on behalf of the Turkish American Legal Defense Fund.
Download PDF of complaint []
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PROJECT ONE: FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The initial mission of the Turkish American Legal Defense Fund (TALDF) is to provide legal advice and counsel to Turkish Americans regarding their constitutionally guaranteed right to free expression. The right attaches, in varying degrees, to public school textbooks and instruction; permits for demonstrations; and, the print, broadcast, and Internet media. Turkish Americans most frequently perceive a limitation of their freedom of expression when encountering one-sided depictions of controversial issues related to their ancestral history or current issues related to Turkey or Turkish Americans. |
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