Some news from around the way:
The Red Phone in Black and White
On first watching Hillary Clinton’s recent “It’s 3 a.m.” advertisement, I was left with an uneasy feeling that something was not quite right — something that went beyond my disappointment that she had decided to go negative. Repeated watching of the ad on YouTube increased my unease. I realized that I had only too often in my study of America’s racial history seen images much like these, and the sentiments to which they allude.Ferarro gets free pass on racist comment
Compare this quote by Clinton surrogate and former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferarro: "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept."Racist Hate in US at 'Staggering' Levels, Report Says
The number of "hate groups" operating in America has jumped 48 percent since 2000 due to those groups' "exploitation" of the immigration debate, according to a new report from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a controversial civil rights organization that has monitored hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan for nearly 30 years. In the current issue of its quarterly magazine "Intelligence Report," the SPLC said on Monday that 2007 was "another year marked by staggering levels of racist hate in America."BBC blasted over 'racist white season'
The BBC have come under attack from anti-racist groups over their decision to air a series of programmes called the "white season". Billed as an investigative look into why some sections of the white community feel increasingly marginalised, the programmes begin on BBC 2 this week. But black led organisations have blasted the BBC for their insensitivity.Three U.S. Senators query U.C. Irvine anti-Semitism report
Questions about anti-Semitism and harassment at UCI, which has seen two separate reports in recent months on the subject, now involves three U.S. senators. The three senators on the U.S. Senate Committee of the Judiciary recently sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education calling into question some portions of its investigation into alleged anti-Semitism on UCI’s campus.Racist KellyAnne Conway Sends Obama To The Back Of The Bus
On Larry King Live show (Friday, March 7th), Republican strategist and owner of The Polling Company, KellyAnne Conway, stated that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were: "...arguing about whether she should let him SIT ON THE BACK OF THE BUS of her presidential ticket." Even by CNN standards, with its ample chicanery and spin, Conway's remark was brutal. Larry King's nightly program, usually more schmooze than news, was plunged to a Limbaugh-like low. Gratefully, Democratic strategist and Obama supporter, Jamal Simmons, was on hand to challenge Conway.
