Gable Was An Anti-Racist!

"Frankly, my dear, I'm a bit annoyed by your racism."

Clark Gable almost walked off the set of Gone With the Wind because of racism, reveals an upcoming book. Author Michael Sragow writes about how a group of black extras, who were upset at studio bathrooms with "White" and "Colored" signs, approached Gable. "He got on the phone to [director Victor] Fleming, who called the prop master and told him, 'If you don't get those signs down, you won't get your Rhett Butler'. The signs came down immediately," Sragow wrote.

Round-up

1. Racism remains a problem in Australia, with one in 10 Australians believing some races are superior to others, according to a new study. The group most often singled out as "not belonging" in Australia was Muslims or people from the Middle East, Professor Kevin Dunn told reporters on the weekend. "They stand out at the moment as the group that people would be most concerned about. There [are] stronger levels of social distance or fear of Islam or concern about Islam than of any other group at the moment," said Mr Dunn, a professor of human geography and urban studies

And I'm sure resentment toward Muslims in Australia couldn't possibly have anything to do with things like this, or this, or this.

2. Norway's state church is caught in what most church leaders admit is a racist conflict in the mountain community of Oppdal, Norway. The local church leader there faces harsh criticism after preventing a pastor who's originally from Sierra Leone from conducting several funerals, allegedly because families of the deceased objected to his skin colour.

Round-up

1. In this article in the Daily Mail, Neil Moxley complains that despite FIFA's claims to "abhor" racism, it only fined Croatia £15,000 for the racist taunts of its fans towards Emile Heskey earlier this month.

But wait, isn't the Daily Mail a racist paper? Whoops.

2. Army chiefs want foreign recruit numbers to be capped to safeguard 'Britishness' within the ranks. They have demanded a 15 per cent limit amid fears the soaring numbers of foreign troops would dilute the force's cultural identity.

I think anyone who is loyal to the Queen, regardless of their nationality, should be allowed in the army, but I can see why the Army chiefs might want this, as it is representative of a larger problem in Britain as a whole.

Round-up

1. Thousands of Australians are lobbying the Rudd government to reinstate anti-racism laws put on hold as part of the federal intervention in the Northern Territory. The intervention, initiated by the previous government last year to tackle child sex abuse in remote indigenous communities, was exempted from the Racial Discrimination Act. "It is wrong that a law designed to protect all Australians ... has been suspended to enable laws which discriminate against Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory," spokesman James Ensor said in a statement.

This makes me wonder why the law was suspended. Could it be because the government knew that any intervention among the Aborigines would be met by cries of "racism" as those Aborigines tried to cover their own backs, and thus they removed their power to use the race card to prevent important work being done? If so, it all seems entirely reasonable to me.

2. The Golliwog Returns: Mum Denies Racism.

More Palestinian Propaganda, This Time From the West

DissidentVoice.org - "a radical newsletter in the struggle for peace and social justice" - today publishes this piece of "anti-Zionist" propaganda about the "Palestinian right to return". It is utter drivel. Here, once again, is the truth about the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Ex-Minister Accuses Israel of "Racism"

At the Tehran Times today we read how the former Israeli education minister, Shulamit Aloni, has slammed her country for its "racist", "brutal", "apartheid" policies.

The amount of falsehoods here should be obvious to anyone who keeps up with the news.

"the regime's constant refusal to a peace deal for decades"

Actually, just this week Ehud Olmert is crazily considering transferring 98.1% of the West Bank (which, incidentally, will still not be enough) to the Palestinians. In 2005 the Israelis pulled out of the Gaza Strip entirely and were met with only more rocket and mortar attacks. They have made numerous concessions to the Palestinians, including releasing hundreds of Islamic terrorists from prison as "good-will" gestures. They have called for peace time and time again. And all they have got in return is more violence. Hamas have repeatedly called off and violated truces with Israel, while the "moderate" party, Fatah, broadcasts television programmes about the ethnic cleansing of Israeli Jews.

And Aloni has the cheek to blame Israel for all of this.

"and Israelis atrocities in the Palestinian territories."

Of course, no mention is made of the fact that Palestinians commit just as many, probably more, atrocities than do the Israelis. Or the fact that Israel tries as hard as it can to minimise civilian casualties, but Palestinian jihadists deliberately place themselves in civilian areas so that the Israelis have no choice but to take out innocents, which can then be used by the Palestinians for propaganda purposes.

The whole article is full of this kind of dishonest self-loathing and dhimmitude.

Why Can't I Just Eat My Waffle?

Activists at a conservative political forum snapped up boxes of waffle mix depicting Barack Obama as a racial stereotype on its front and wearing Arab-like headdress on its top flap.

While I don't see exactly how the image of Obama on the front of the box is a "racial stereotype" rather than a simple caricature of the man himself, I must say that this was an utterly stupid move by the maker of the waffles. It will simply reinforce the idea that conservatives' opposition to Obama is because of his race. Never a good idea.

Round-up

1. A black writer says that calling Obama "uppity" is "racially loaded".

2. Black Caribbean pupils are being subjected to institutional racism in English schools which can dramatically undermine their chances of academic success, according to a new study.

3. Embattled Scotland Yard boss Ian Blair, who has been accused of racial discrimination by an Asian origin Muslim officer, is set to be on his way out to halt the "collapse of morale" in the Metropolitan Police, a news report said on Thursday

4. RAW Watch from Rockaway.

Yet Another Big Brother "Racism" Row

"What is it the say about those inscrutable Chinese?"

Yes, seriously.

This time it's Wendy Richard in the doghouse. The former Eastenders actress was appearing on comment show Big Brother's Little Brother when she appeared to make a "racially insensitive" remark about Thai housemate Kathreya.

Richard said: "I was a big fan of Kat, and we would discuss it amongst our friends and they said she is not right. I looked at her through different eyes, and I have to admit they were right and I was wrong. She is fake, and she is very cute. What is it they say about these inscrutable Chinese? And she is Thai, but it is all Oriental isn't it? Well, it is to me anyway."

Were these comments rather silly? Yes. But were they racist? No. After all, if Richards was really a racist she wouldn't have been a "fan" of Kathreya - whoever the hell she is - in the first place.

"No Racism" Over Met Promotions

"Mr Hussain claimed he was disappointed by the tribunal's decision" - I bet he was

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair did not overlook black and Asian officers to promote white candidates, a tribunal has ruled.

Good. At last. Can we sack these whiners now?

Terrorism and Poverty

I thought I'd briefly follow up to this story I posted yesterday about the erroneous theory that the current economic crisis will result in more "racism", and because we are "racist" towards some unidentified group, that will cause more terrorism.

I must admit that yesterday I was a little slow and didn't quite get the point of the story, so today I want to expand on this premise slightly.

The idea that terrorism is somehow linked to poverty and desperation has been debunked numerous times. Study after study has shown that jihadists are generally better educated and more well-off than their peers - with multi-millionaire Osama bin Laden being the most obvious example. Those who attacked Glasgow airport last year, and plotted other attacks, were doctors and lawyers.

For more information, here is one such study exposing this myth. Here is another. And here is a detailed round-up of the evidence by Daniel Pipes.

Round-up

1. A leaked letter from the Home Office outlines how the so-called "credit crunch" in Britain will lead to people becoming poorer, which in turn will fuel resentment of immigrants as job competition stiffens. The letter states: "There is a risk of a downturn increasing the appeal of far-right extremism and racism, which presents a threat as there is evidence that grievances based on experiencing racism are one of the factors that can lead to people becoming terrorists."

Really? And what terrorists might these be, exactly?

2. RAW Watch - Here is a piece of Palestinian propaganda posted at Media Matters: "Racism is Alive and Well in Israel."

3. Check out this truly lazy news article at the Telegraph. Even the headline is misleading.

A Cambridge academic, George Steiner, 79, said he believed racism was inherent in everyone and that racial tolerance was merely skin deep. "It's very easy to sit here, in this room, and say 'racism is horrible'," he said from his house in Cambridge, where he has been Extraordinary Fellow at Churchill College since 1969. "But ask me the same thing if a Jamaican family moved next door with six children and they play reggae and rock music all day. Or if an estate agent comes to my house and tells me that because a Jamaican family has moved next door the value of my property has fallen through the floor. Ask me then!"

The playwright and critic Bonnie Greer labelled him a "cranky old man", while Muslim groups accused him of "offensive and lazy" racist generalisations.

Actually, Mr. Steiner didn't make any "generalisations" at all; he simply used a hypothetical example to illustrate his point that sometimes people may have valid grievances against people of other races, and that someone's being Jamaican, for example, shouldn't make them immune to criticism or reproach.