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16 May 2011 21:46

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Politics: Three ways Satoshi Kanazawa is the worst scientist — ever

  • As evolutionary psychologists go, he’s pretty much the worst of the bunch. And while his prior studies have been derided as “crap,” the latest one — now pulled by Psychology Today and replicated here — takes it to a whole new level. And with Kanazawa arguing that black women are less attractive than other races, of course it seems that someone has a huge PR problem. “It is very interesting to note that, even though black women are objectively less physically attractive than other women,” he writes (unbelievably), “black women (and men) subjectively consider themselves to be far more physically attractive than others.” While you’re trying to take that racist nugget in, here’s a sample of his broader work:
  • EDIT: The Noob Yorker recommends a follow-up piece by biology professor PZ Myers, where he rips apart Kanazawa further and breaks apart his bad science piece-by-piece. “It seems to have been purged from Psychology Today,” he writes in his most biting remark, “but I suspect this article will soon find a happy home on the pages of Stormfront and other such aryan racist tripe.”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Apr 2011 16:39

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Politics: Dilbert’s Scott Adams: Bush, Obama chimp jokes are the same

  • …if I add the context that Googling ‘George Bush monkey’ gives you over 3 million hits, and most of them are jokes where President Bush’s face is transposed on a monkey, you see what’s really going on. Democrats and advocates of civil rights are using the media to further an agenda at the expense of a woman who was probably so non-racist that the photo in question didn’t set off her alarms…
  • “Dilbert” creator Scott Adams • On the topic of Orange County Republican official Marilyn Davenport, who emailed a photo of an Obama “family portrait,” showing two grinning adult chimpanzees with a chimp-ish baby Barack. First of all — the Dilbert guy? What? Why!? But second of all, we agree wholeheartedly with the folks at Mediaite on this one. To compare Bush monkey/chimp jokes to ones directed at Obama is at best silly and at worst willfully evasive and/or ignorant. You don’t have to be a scholarly social critic to understand why a joke aimed at two different people could be construed as racist against one, and at worst stupid or unfunny against the other. To deny this seems like digging your head in the sand about what are and aren’t racial stereotypes in our society. Wanting to excise racism doesn’t necessitate pretending not to recognize it. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Apr 2011 10:01

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U.S.: NYC juror’s racist, anti-cop attitude backfires on her

  • cause A woman who apparently really didn’t want to do jury duty told the court that she thought cops were lazy, and also said racist things about blacks and Latinos. Whew.
  • reaction The judge in the death penalty trial of alleged mob boss Vincent “Vinny Gorgeous” Basciano, forced her to come to court every day  indefinitely in retaliation.
  • relent After a day, though, the judge had a change of heart and let her go — but not before forcing her to sit in a room by herself and think about what she did. Timeout! source
  • » Worst questionnaire answer, ever: The woman, reportedly Asian and in her mid-20s, was asked on a questionnaire about the three types of people she least admires. She wrote in her response, “African-Americans, Hispanics and Haitians.” Look, nobody likes jury duty, but you don’t have to be an evil human being in the process of getting out of it.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Mar 2011 11:25

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Culture: Oh, Paris Hilton: This might perhaps be a tad racist, guys

  • We were making out, but then we went somewhere where it was bright and I saw that he was black and made an excuse and left. I can’t stand black guys. I would never touch one. It’s gross (pauses). Does that guy look black to you?
  • Paris Hilton • Quoted in celebrity interviewer and creepy guy Neil Strauss’ new book “Everyone Loves You When You’re Dead.” Granted, it was from an interview she did in 1999, when she was 18 (she was talking about an unnamed actor from “Saving Private Ryan”), so let’s not be too hard on her. (Others have disagreed with this point.) But that said … Hilton followed up by saying this in response to the question “How black does a guy have to be?” “One percent is enough for me.” We’ll just leave this here. Whew. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Mar 2011 15:29

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World: Disgraced fashion designer John Galliano will stand trial

  • It was a social crime … In a highly-publicized incident, fashion designer John Galliano was captured on film saying “I love Hitler,” an anti-Jewish sentiment that cost him his job with Christian Dior and drew the public ire of none less than their Oscar-winning spokeswoman Natalie Portman. Galliano has apologized for the incident, but the damage has already been done.
  • … but is it a legal crime? Galliano will be forced to stand trial in Paris over his remarks. French law designates that incitement of racial hatred is a crime, and Galliano could face six months in prison. Obviously racism is abhorrent and deleterious to society, but the idea of going to prison for what Galliano did seems like a pretty good illustration of the First Amendment’s beauty. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Feb 2011 22:36

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Politics: Haley Barbour refuses to condemn tribute to KKK leader

  • No candidate can successfully run for president if he doesn’t understand you should rebuke efforts to honor the man most identified with the KKK.
  • The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin • On Mississippi governor and likely presidential candidate Haley Barbour’s latest racially-tinged blunder. After praising the racist, pro-segregationist Council of Conservative Citizens last year as “an organization of town leaders,” and insisting that that the civil rights battles of the 60s weren’t “that bad,” he’s now refusing to condemn an effort in Mississippi to make commemorative license plates honoring a leader of the KKK, Nathan Bedford Forrest. For a while, members of the GOP establishment have been urging Barbour not to run for President. We think they’re onto something. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Feb 2011 13:18

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Politics: Shirley Sherrod makes good on her promise to Andrew Breitbart

  • YES Shirley Sherrod has filed suit against Andrew Breitbart source
  • » Bad day for scurillous-ness: The former USDA official was famously the target of a heavily cut video clip that seemed to present her as a racist who withheld help to a white farmer. The aftermath saw a gross and shocking leap to conclusion by the USDA under Tom Vilsack, which forced her resignation, before some helpful skeptics examined the full video which showed she was making a point AGAINST racism. I’ll admit, this case does have relevant, personal importance for bloggers, as the man charged is in that sense “one of our own,” even ones that wouldn’t be caught dead at a Breitbart event. But notwithstanding, whether the charge of defamation is well-earned or not, some of Mr. Breitbart’s antics have been grossly deceptive and unscrupulous.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

11 Dec 2010 21:29

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Politics: Terrible idea in retrospect: Richard Nixon saying racist things on tape

  • My own view is I think he’s right if you’re talking in terms of 500 years. I think it’s wrong if you’re talking in terms of 50 years. What has to happen is they have be, frankly, inbred. And, you just, that’s the only thing that’s going to do it, Rose.
  • Former president Richard Nixon • Talking on his just-released audio files about black people. Does that sound racist to you? Well, that’s because it’s pretty racist-sounding. It’s one line from 265 hours worth of tapes, and since we know you’re not going to dig through all of them, let this be the main message you take from these tapes: Nixon taped himself saying racist things. On tape. (And he says worse things abut Jews.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Nov 2010 11:07

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U.S.: Screwed-over minorities finally unscrewed by legislative process

  • $3.4
    billion     the amount headed to Native Americans over land trust royalty mismanagement by the government
  • $1.15
    billion     the amount headed to black farmers unfairly refused loans by the Agriculture Department source
  • » The worst part about the mess: The cases dragged on for much longer than they should have partly because the Senate could not get a majority vote on funding either of these settlements over a number of years. They passed the bill Friday. The House has to pass this still, but they’ve already done that twice, so it should be less of an issue.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Oct 2010 01:43

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Politics: Attack ads in West Virginia not even hiding their racism

  • It’s funny. All you have to do to make a basic statement of fact, like West Virginia Rep. Nick Rahall’s mention that he helped get out the vote to Arab-Americans for Obama, into an attack ad is to add some dark music, deep voices and foreboding fades. In other news, holy crap. Can you believe how blatantly racist this ad is? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink
 
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