More South Philadelphia High News

Caught this post up down via an alert and wanted to make sure and post it on up because it's good to see that after the fact (even though what happened should never have happened anyway) people are continuing to ask more questions.

A state panel has voted to investigate allegations of racial discrimination against immigrant students at South Philadelphia High, the second such independent probe.

The Pennsylvania Commission of Human Relations' inquiry could expand to examine bias against immigrants throughout the Philadelphia School District, said Stephen A. Glassman, chair of the commission.

The commission voted to open the probe on Monday night - after a private meeting with district officials and a public session where community members said students still felt targeted at the school. Work began on the case yesterday, commission officials said.

"We wanted to respond with immediacy to what we thought were really urgent pleas from the students and their advocates," Glassman said last night.

Read it in full here.

Paige Wiser, Meet Captain Obvious

So down at the blog for the Chicago Sun-Times journalist/writer/alphabet studier Paige Wiseron asked the following questions:

I don't want to take anything away from the brother-sister team that was smart enough, athletic enough, and sane enough to win the race. Yay for family, etc. But I can't get this nagging question out of my mind: Was it fair for Tammy and Victor to dominate the challenges in China, considering that they are of Chinese descent and speak Chinese? Especially considering one of the challenges was, um, to speak Chinese?

The leg was late enough in the race to give them a significant boost. I don't think that anyone should be penalized for specific talents, but it seems like it wouldn't have been that difficult to change the restaurant challenge to something more fair. It would be like casting me in the next season of "The Amazing Race" -- and then scheduling roadblocks in Woodfield Mall. I might even recuse myself.

Am I overthinking this?

Uh - yeah - I think you are Paige. And while I could go on and on about how this is an issue simply because Tammy and Victor are Asian versus if it was a white brother and sister team who were Italian, spoke Italian, and one of the challenges was in Italy - I'll just reprint some of the comments from one poster in particular:

Captain Obvious says:

-Mirna and Charla were in TWO series of the Amazing Race, their season(5) and All-Stars and guess what? Mirna spoke fluent Spanish and used it all the time when they went to South America and they LOST both times.

-Last season, Terence and Sarah...Sarah spoke FLUENT Portuguese and Spanish and used it all the time in Brazil(where Portuguese is the main language spoken)and Bolivia. Oh yeah, they lost too [...]

Examples from recent memory-

AR14-Oh no, lets not let the sisters on because they're former college athletes! They can win every athletic challenge and hey, the former cheerleaders...let's not let them in because they can memorize a dance routine better than anybody else like it's second nature. Oh yes, both teams lost.

AR 13-Leg 9 (Kazakhstan → Russia), Toni and Dallas...Dallas had to carry those heavy bags of flour. Oh no, let's not let him in the race, he was too strong and fit compared to other competitors. Oh yeah, they lost too [...]

Do I even have to mention all of the other past contestants that have spoke other languages(and have USED them in the countries visited)and not won? Or does Paige Wiser need to be Wiser and take the foot out of her mouth before being so ignorant?

Well said Captain Obvious.

Well said indeed...

Amazing Race: Tammy & Victor Win It All!

I thought it was over when they kept on dropping the pig and then got the arrangement all wrong.



I figured they were just too far behind to make up the time and when Luke got to the final memory task before everyone else I was just going "Nooooo!!!!! You've Got To Win!!!" - or at least beat Jamie and Cara.

And wouldn't you know it?



They pulled it out.

Winners of the Amazing Race, Asian American, and a million dollars richer.

Does it get any better than that?

Tammy And Victor: The Peacemakers (Who Were Also Worried About Their Chinese)

So if you watched last night's Amazing Race you knew three things.

1. Tammy and Victor are in the top four.

2. The best line of the night was during the calligraphy challenge when Victor said something akin to: "We're Chinese, born in America, and if we don't win this challenge our parent's will cry".

3. That was some drama that went down last night.

And now - you can know one more thing - Tammy and Victor are peacemakers.

Jaime From The Amazing Race: I Just Don't Like You

I've really tried to like the team of Jaime and Cara if only to prove to myself that I too can embrace my inner White cheerleader from Florida, but when all is said and done, after I've thrown my pom poms up in the air and given it my White cheerleader all - I still can't.

Maybe it's the fact that Jaime doesn't do "foreign" or "foreign language", and I'm using quotes because when she says it, it really does sound like "I don't like those dirty foreign people who can't speak English - unless they're French, Italian, Swedish, or Norwegian".

Or maybe it's because she likes to scream at people like they're her slaves and while I do enjoy a good S&M scene, there's just something about watching someone from the White Cheerocracy screaming endlessly at the nicest of older Thai grandpa pa's that makes me want to throw the T.V. out the window.

But you know what?

Take all that away and I still don't like her.

Maybe I'm just not in touch with my inner cheerleader...

Tammy And Victor Take First Place And Thoughts On The Amazing Race Episode 6

Was it just me or were Tammy and Victor one of the only teams that didn't shout at their cab drivers like they were pieces of meat in this episode while at the same time seeming to be (at least from the edits) one of the few teams that didn't look down at the people or the culture?

If you compared their outlooks on the people and where they were to the team of Cara and Jaime you got two totally different views. One was about seeing the beauty of where they were, the pride in the people, even how great it was to see the animals just chilling out doing what they do (versus say being a zoo where they just get stared at).

The other was about how sad it was, almost how in a way there was no beauty whatsoever in the place or the people - and I'm not denying that they didn't see poverty - but we have it here too - and I can't help but think of the mindset - even if unspoken - that says "If it's poor (or perceived as poor) and brown or black versus poor and white, it's somehow worse".

Video Clips

Here are some videos from the CBS site after Tammy and Victor took first place during the Moscow to India lag - and

A Tour Of India



Sibling Cooperation



On Being Stressed In Moscow

Amazing Race: And Victor Weeps

If you watched the Amazing Race tonight as well as the after-show webclips you saw a few things: Victor breaking down after he finally realized he took himself and sibling Tammy completely off the wrong path, Tammy letting Victor walk all over her, and Victor (from the video below) still not really being able to say "I should have listened to my sister" - and seriously - that's some good T.V.



Here's hoping that they get it together next episode (because that was enough drama for me and I really want to see them win).

Tammy And Victor: You've Got Pie On Your Face But That's O.K.

If Tammy and Victor keep this up - because it seemed like they came in light years ahead of everyone else for first place this episode - they've gotta be a lock to win this season.

Here's their "after the show" video complete with cake on their face where Tammy talks a little bit about breaking out and being more than the little sister.

You're In The Top 2...At Least For Now

Coming in right behind the mom/son team of Margie and Luke (who are pretty cool themselves) and leading a lot of the way through the first leg - you have to think that right now the brother/sister duo of Tammy and Victor have a pretty good shot at winning it all.



Looked like fun.

The Amazing Race: Tammy And Victor

They seem fit, they have the brains, apparently they're well traveled - and let's just say it - that's a good looking set of siblings - but will the brother and sister team of Tammy and Victor Jih be able to stop themselves from wringing the other one's neck on their way to possibly winning the big prize?

Below is their info from the CBS cast page.





Tammy Jih (26); Victor Jih (35)
Hometown: San Francisco, Calif./Los Angeles, Calif.
Occupation: Lawyers
Relationship: Siblings/Lawyers

If they can manage to work together, this smart and sassy brother/sister duo – both with Harvard Law degrees – might have just what it takes to outsmart the competition and cross the finish line first.

Tammy is a litigator who believes that her ability to keep a cool head under pressure, especially with little or no sleep, will lead to success on the Race. Her biggest pet peeve with her brother is that he’s a bit of a control freak. This was never more evident than when they recently traveled with friends to China and Victor mapped out the entire trip down to the minute.

Victor is a partner at his law firm and works as a corporate litigator. He is running the Race to see if he and his sister can co-exist in a hyper-competitive situation without driving each other crazy. Victor thinks that his teammate can be immature and selfish and he’s hoping the Race will remedy that.

Victor is confident in his decision making and believes his sister should do what he says as he knows best. Tammy would like to prove to Victor that she’s not a baby anymore and that it’s time he view her as an equal. Victor is modeling his game play after the cut-throat style of Rob and Amber while Tammy prefers Season 12 winners TK and Rachel’s laid back approach.

Both have traveled extensively and are supremely confident in their ability to win the million dollar prize.

Meet them (video may take a moment to load)



See them in action starting this Sunday.

Ubuntu is the new Zen

I have to admit that while I'm all about the Big Three (and some guys named Rondo, Sam, P.J., and Kendrick among others), I also have another reason for rooting for the Celtics: Doc Rivers can become the first black head coach to win an NBA championship since K.C. Jones did it in 1986 (and 1984 too), coincidentally with the Boston Celtics as well - and while some of you might think it's a non-issue no matter what color you may be - to me it's significant - not just seeing more black head coaches in the NBA than in another Major League sport (which is significant in itself), but seeing a black head coach who's been vital in making the biggest turnaround in NBA league history go to the Finals and then win it all; because I never got to see K.C. Jones or Bill Russell do it.

I never got to know it in that way, and I want too.

I want to see Ubuntu become the new Zen.

Ninjas, God, and the Amazing Race finale

This is why I don't actually gamble outside of blackjack, slots, and the occasional game of poker.

While father and daughter team Ron and Christina firmly had the lead in grasp looking to take the one million home, they got edged out by winners TK and Rachel - who for all intensive purposes should have been out of the race in this final leg because of what seemed to be a massive 25 minute lead by Christina and her dad.

But if this season finale proved anything, it was this: two degrees from Duke and Princeton along with multiple shouts of "Please God Please" doesn't necessarily help you decide if you need a donkey or a pair of stilts for the final task at hand.

At the same time, while I did have a soft spot for the team of Rachel and TK before, I can't help but be turned off now because of TK deciding to compare Ron to running like a ninja.

C'mon - a ninja?

So when you see a bunch of really fast Asian American people in something like the Boston Marathon, you don't really see fast runners, but instead see ninjas?

Do they have throwing stars too?

I wonder if when TK sees a bunch of Asian women walking down the street he doesn't really see just a group of women, but rather sees a bunch of comfort women who are there to fulfill his needs? I wonder if when he sees Asian Americans applying for jobs, does he see well deserved applicants, or foreigners who take away from real Americans?

And yes - I know I'm taking some liberties and that TK may not actually think all of those things when he sees Asian people - but since he said what he did - I get to ask the question and make the point that I am.

Amazing Race Update: Ron and Christina race for 1 million

The race is on - and if you're a betting person - the odds on favorite has to be for the father and daughter team of Ron and Christina (who you know I'm rooting for) because they've pulled into first the last two legs of the race gaining momentum - including this last leg which secured their place in the top three earning them the right to race for the ultimate prize - 1 million dollars.

And while I'm still hoping for another Asian American reality winner - I do have a big soft spot for TK and Rachel who just seem like such a nice couple, and who I was rooting for to make up their time and get into the top 3 - which they did - and if they do happen to win the Amazing Race instead over Ron and Christina, that won't be such a bad thing either.

Belated: Amazing Race Asians

Forgot to post about this earlier in the week - but a nod has has to go out to the father and daughter pair of Ron and Christina (pictured above trying to drive in Japan) from CBS's Amazing Race for winning first place in the most recent lag set down in Osaka (which also netted them two electric cars).

Here's hoping that they can survive another episode and get into the top three.

Amazing Race: #1 Asians and the fall of the siblings

With the smart money on Christina beating the smack out of her father, or Ron's hernia putting him down for the count, you can admit it - you really didn't think the father/daughter team would actually make it this far. But not only did they make it this far - in the top five - but they also hit the #1 spot this week - definitely cool.

But while the fighting Asians seem to be headed on for some smooth sailing (at least right now), unfortunately the ultra cool siblings Azaria & Hendekea, who seemed poised to at least make it to the top three (if not win it all) got eliminated for not flying economy.

Only on the Amazing Race will an upgrade kill you.

Another coach, another player

Bad coach, or bad player? Something to keep an eye out for in the coming weeks for college football fans.

UNT's Dodge denies allegations of racism

North Texas football coach Todd Dodge denied allegations by a suspended player of racial bias by his coaching staff Tuesday, when a second suspended player said he will join in a complaint made to the Texas chapter of the NAACP. Junior cornerback Dominique Green filed his complaint Monday after being suspended Sunday. Sophomore defensive back Desmon Chatman, who was suspended earlier in the season, contacted the NAACP on Tuesday to join in the complaint. Both Green and Chatman are black.

Amazing Asians: Amazing Race's Ronald & Christina

The new upcoming season of The Amazing Race starts soon (November 4th) and two of the contestants are an Asian-American father and daughter team. How they'll fare is anyone's guess, but it's good to see CBS continuing its representation of Asian-Americans on the show - and judging from their information, their backdrop could prove to be an interesting storyline.

Here's some more info on the team from their CBS bio:

Ronald: Tacoma, WA58, VP of Sales
Christina, Washington, DC26, Policy Analyst

Ronald & Christina are a father/daughter Team who are competing in the Race to make up for lost time. Since Ronald was constantly traveling for work throughout much of his daughter's formative years, Christina hopes the Race will allow her father--a self-proclaimed workaholic--to stop and smell the roses and provide them with some meaningful time together.

Ronald, a first-generation immigrant and eldest of five, works as a Vice President of sales for a paper packaging company. His proudest achievements are his thirty-one years of marriage and raising two independent daughters.

Christina is Ronald's youngest daughter and holds degrees from both Duke and Princeton. She once served in the State Department and often wishes her Teammate could be as diplomatic as she.