Round-up

1. The head of the Islamic Movement in Israel's Northern Branch, Ra'ad Salah, was charged today in Jerusalem Magistrate's Court with incitement to violence and racism, over a fiery speech he gave a year ago in which he invoked the blood libel. During the speech at the February 16, 2007 protest in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Wadi Joz, Salah accused Jews of using children's blood to bake bread.

Funnily enough, this kind of propaganda was common among Christians in the Middle Ages, who were prone to anti-Semitism, often backed by wild tales such as these.

2. A hilarious article by Sam Means - aka C.H. Dalton, author of A Practical Guide to Racism - on the American Democrat primaries.

A couple of stand-out lines:

"So the presence of a female candidate has, understandably, confused things quite a bit. A slim majority of Americans are women, and an even larger majority of Democrats are, which would suggest that Hillary Clinton is a shoo-in for the nomination. But gender isn't as simple as race -- as I've learned in my extensive field research on the subject, most women hate each other. They see other females as competition for men and shoes, and therefore obstacles to their own fulfillment."

"Luckily, the Republican side offers several attractive options. Except for the Mormon... and the Italian. And the old, immigrant-loving cripple. In any case, I think it's clear that everyone can get behind Ron Paul." (See here for more info on Ron Paul, by the way)

3. Australia: A taxpayer-funded program suggests Barbie may be Italian and asks whether she likes Spider-Man in a bizarre bid to tackle racism in childcare centres.

But the move may have backfired with the radical blueprint telling teachers the Government itself is a racist institution run by white Anglo-Saxon men. The federally funded childcare resource warns early childhood teachers to be wary of "government policy" that expect "all cultures to conform to a white Anglo Australian way of living".

It seems even the recently-elected left-wing government of Australia can't be free of even more left-wing people accusing it of racism, as John Howard's administration often (unfairly) was.