There was the worst kind of tragic event in Melbourne a few days ago when a three year old child was found dead, dumped at the roadside twenty kilometres from his home.
He was a little boy called Gurshan Singh, who happened to be Indian and who was on holiday in Oz with his parents. Dad went out, mum was in the shower and it's thought the little boy wandered out through the front door.
Police said he was fully clothed, there were no signs of injury. A post mortem didn't reveal a cause of death, toxicology and forensic tests were being done and the investigation continued.
In spite of that the screams of racism began immediately.
To see the extent of the utter stupidity and bigotry of so many people, look at just one newspaper, the UK's Daily Mail.
The paper headlined the story with a racism slant:
"Murder of Indian boy, 3, in Australia sparks diplomatic row after spate of racist attacks"
That had the brainless bigots rushing from under their rocks.
Remember, little Gurshan Singh's body had only just been found, no cause of death had been established, he had no injuries, police had just begun their investigation.
A selection of the comments to the Mail's story:
"Racists killing three year olds? Sick and deeply disturbing." Alan, Planet Reality
"This has been happening for the past year! I'm a British born Indian and every time there is a racist attack on an Indian Student it is widely reported on the Indian news channel
A few weeks ago another Indian student in Australia was burnt alive in a racist attack." shania, London.
(Actually Shania, an Indian couple has been charged with that murder. Don't let the facts get in the way of your bigotry though).
"How can someone's hatred of a race be so great as to kill an innocent 3 year old boy." Nat, London
"HOW can anyone do this? When will people realise we are essentially all the same. Skin colour? So what, there is just no excuse for racism these days" karen n, manchester
"Has Australia failed to embrace diversity more than any other country. Australia will have problems to attract visitors if these issues are not tackled promptly." Romi May, Handsworth
"I have always said Auustralia has concentrated racism." Mukeye, TO
"Perhaps the Aussies need to remember that they are in fact ALL immigrants!" Shorty, Suffolk
"Seriously , both America and Australia have massive problems related to self worth and hatred of ethnic minorities" john, China
"It never ceases to amaze me when I hear of racist attacks in these countries when the original inhabitants of those countries were blacks or dark skinned." ira, FL USA
People with more sense responded to the stupidity of such comments to say that the cause of death and, if it was murder, the motive had not been established.
So Shania came back screeching:
"To all of you saying this is isn't racist, YOU CLEARLY DO NOT KNOW THE FULL STORY!!!!!!!! I have been following the series of attacks this is just one of them. What about the attacks targeting Indians specifically from India??? you cannot say that is purely coincidence
I am not saying all Australians are racists but to dismiss this as not racism is noting but sheer ignorance." shania, London
Shania knows what's going on, she's absolutely positive. And anyone who doesn't agree with her is showing their sheer ignorance.
Right.
And another bigot, the oxymoronically named 'truthspeaker' from Newcastle has the answer to it all:
"When will the authorities just admit that this is what happens when you try and force people together from very different races."
None of them are prepared to wait for the facts to emerge before shouting their version of the truth. They're not interested in the facts because they may contradict their bigotry.
The police carried out their investigation. Here's today's news:
"Toddler's death: housemate charged
A 23-YEAR-OLD Indian national has been charged with manslaughter due to criminal negligence following the death of three-year-old Gurshan Singh Channa.
Gursewak Dhillon, a taxi driver who is in Australia on a student's visa, was refused bail in an out-of-sessions hearing.
Dhillon had made admissions to police that he had placed the child in the boot of a car while the youngster was unconscious and had driven him to Oaklands Junction near Melbourne Airport and placed him by the roadside."
In the light of that, Shania, Alan, Nat, Karen N, Romi May, Mukeye, Shorty, John, Ira and the rest of you, would you care to add to your original comments?
You'll find the Daily Mail stupidity here and today's report on the arrest of Gursewak Dhillon here.
And my 'racism' tag has some previous posts on the subject of attacks on Indians in Australia.
Showing posts with label racism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label racism. Show all posts
Monday, March 08, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Racism again
How irresponsible it is for people who influence opinion to immediately claim that any violent assault on a non-caucasian is racially motivated.
Before there's a police investigation, before the perpetrators and motives have been established, the accusations that it was racially motivated have started.
Australia has been getting a lot of criticism lately, particularly about attacks in Melbourne on Indian students. There's no doubt that some were racially motivated, and my guess is that a lot of those are copycat attacks by neanderthal youths who brag to their friends about it.
However, many are simply muggings and some are by people of the same ethnicity as the victim, as I've pointed out in previous posts (just hit the 'racism' label to go to the earlier posts if you're interested).
A Malaysian-born Australian was killed in Sydney on Sunday. In Australia we had the headline "Race-hate fears over fatal bashing".
Malaysia's New Straits Times had "Road rage or hate crime?" The story went on to emphasise the race angle:
"Australian police should work quickly to ascertain the motive behind the murder of Malaysian-born Mohd Shah Saemin who was brutally attacked by two men in Sydney on Sunday night.
Police there linked the attack to a possible road rage incident but Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, while offering his condolences to the victim's family, asked if the incident was a race-based hate crime.
In a statement released on Monday night, Anifah urged the Australian authorities to "thoroughly investigate the case to ensure that the incident is a genuine road rage case and not a case of race-based hate crime".
Australia was rocked recently by a series of attacks against Indian nationals and students living there.
There have now been arrests.
Guess what. Race isn't remotely involved.
"Love triangle behind murder of consulate employee Mohd Shah Saemin" says the headline.
"THE wife of a Sydney taxi driver accused of murdering her alleged lover is due to face court today.
Nita Eriza Iskandar, 46, was yesterday arrested in Leichhardt and charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder, and hindering a police investigation.
Her husband, taxi driver Hazairin Iskandar, 55, was arrested at his Croydon home on Tuesday night. He was charged with murder and will appear in court again in April.
The couple's 20-year-old son was arrested in Singapore, and NSW detectives will seek his extradition today."
I don't pretend that race crimes don't happen, and when they do they should be exposed as such. But politicians playing to their voters and the media looking for sensationalism by immediately screeching 'racism' at every opportunity do nothing but irresponsibly add to tensions.
Road rage or hate crime.
Love triangle behind murder.
Before there's a police investigation, before the perpetrators and motives have been established, the accusations that it was racially motivated have started.
Australia has been getting a lot of criticism lately, particularly about attacks in Melbourne on Indian students. There's no doubt that some were racially motivated, and my guess is that a lot of those are copycat attacks by neanderthal youths who brag to their friends about it.
However, many are simply muggings and some are by people of the same ethnicity as the victim, as I've pointed out in previous posts (just hit the 'racism' label to go to the earlier posts if you're interested).
A Malaysian-born Australian was killed in Sydney on Sunday. In Australia we had the headline "Race-hate fears over fatal bashing".
Malaysia's New Straits Times had "Road rage or hate crime?" The story went on to emphasise the race angle:
"Australian police should work quickly to ascertain the motive behind the murder of Malaysian-born Mohd Shah Saemin who was brutally attacked by two men in Sydney on Sunday night.
Police there linked the attack to a possible road rage incident but Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, while offering his condolences to the victim's family, asked if the incident was a race-based hate crime.
In a statement released on Monday night, Anifah urged the Australian authorities to "thoroughly investigate the case to ensure that the incident is a genuine road rage case and not a case of race-based hate crime".
Australia was rocked recently by a series of attacks against Indian nationals and students living there.
There have now been arrests.
Guess what. Race isn't remotely involved.
"Love triangle behind murder of consulate employee Mohd Shah Saemin" says the headline.
"THE wife of a Sydney taxi driver accused of murdering her alleged lover is due to face court today.
Nita Eriza Iskandar, 46, was yesterday arrested in Leichhardt and charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder, and hindering a police investigation.
Her husband, taxi driver Hazairin Iskandar, 55, was arrested at his Croydon home on Tuesday night. He was charged with murder and will appear in court again in April.
The couple's 20-year-old son was arrested in Singapore, and NSW detectives will seek his extradition today."
I don't pretend that race crimes don't happen, and when they do they should be exposed as such. But politicians playing to their voters and the media looking for sensationalism by immediately screeching 'racism' at every opportunity do nothing but irresponsibly add to tensions.
Road rage or hate crime.
Love triangle behind murder.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The anti-immigrant immigrant
I love the irony in the story about Australia's most famous anti-immigrant becoming an immigrant herself.
Pauline Hanson made news around the world with her anti-immigration rantings. In fact it was pure racism, she was anti-immigrants if they were not Anglo-Saxon.
She had a short-lived political career and in her maiden speech in parliament commented that Australia was being 'swamped by Asians', which did great damage to the country's standing abroad, especially of course in Asia.
In particular I loved her reasons for leaving Oz:
"Over-regulation, increasing taxes and lack of true representation are affecting our way of life."
So she's decided to get away from that by moving to what UK blogger Keith calls Britanistan.
BBC report is here.
Pauline Hanson made news around the world with her anti-immigration rantings. In fact it was pure racism, she was anti-immigrants if they were not Anglo-Saxon.
She had a short-lived political career and in her maiden speech in parliament commented that Australia was being 'swamped by Asians', which did great damage to the country's standing abroad, especially of course in Asia.
In particular I loved her reasons for leaving Oz:
"Over-regulation, increasing taxes and lack of true representation are affecting our way of life."
So she's decided to get away from that by moving to what UK blogger Keith calls Britanistan.
BBC report is here.
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
It's never that simple
A couple of reports recently from Oz prompt me to post again about the attacks on Indians in Victoria.
I posted a couple of times last year, when the media frenzy in India seemed to be at its peak.
The theme was that Indians were being targeted in racially motivated attacks. There were the inevitable protests on the streets, effigy burning, government discussions at the highest level, calls for Indians to boycott Australia because it's so unsafe, the Indian government issuing a travel warning.
Of course, like everything, it's not that simple.
I don't doubt that some of the attacks were racially motivated. Morons, usually young males, usually with the bravery that comes from being in a group and often drunk, attacking lone walkers after dark.
But then you look at context.
According to the Victorian police, in 2007/08, 1,447 people of Indian origin were victims of crimes against the person such as robberies and assaults. This compared to 24,260 Caucasian victims and 36,765 victims overall.
The police go on to say that a lot of international students work and study late at night and are often travelling home by themselves on trains, equipped with their laptops and phones. That makes them much easier soft targets than the average person.
Then to the two recent reports.
At the end of December Ranjodh Singh was stabbed repeatedly and then set on fire. Another racially motivated attack?
At the end of last week it was reported:
"In a new twist to the 'horrific' murder of Indian youth Ranjodh Singh, whose partially charred body was found from the city of Griffith Dec 29, Australian police Thursday arrested an Indian couple in the case and said the victim was burnt alive. Police charged a 23-year-old Indian man and his wife with murder."
An Indian couple.
The report is here.
Early in January we also had:
"In yet another attack targeting Indians in Australia, a 29-year-old man from the country was set on fire by four assailants, drawing strong condemnation from a student body which called such assaults unacceptable and asked authorities not to "dodge" the issue."
The Times of India reports that story here.
Today's report:
"AN Indian man who told police he was attacked and set on fire by a gang of four men has been charged with making a false report to authorities and criminal damage for financial gain."
It was an insurance scam.
That story's here.
As I said, things are always more complicated than the knee-jerk reaction would have us believe.
I posted a couple of times last year, when the media frenzy in India seemed to be at its peak.
The theme was that Indians were being targeted in racially motivated attacks. There were the inevitable protests on the streets, effigy burning, government discussions at the highest level, calls for Indians to boycott Australia because it's so unsafe, the Indian government issuing a travel warning.
Of course, like everything, it's not that simple.
I don't doubt that some of the attacks were racially motivated. Morons, usually young males, usually with the bravery that comes from being in a group and often drunk, attacking lone walkers after dark.
But then you look at context.
According to the Victorian police, in 2007/08, 1,447 people of Indian origin were victims of crimes against the person such as robberies and assaults. This compared to 24,260 Caucasian victims and 36,765 victims overall.
The police go on to say that a lot of international students work and study late at night and are often travelling home by themselves on trains, equipped with their laptops and phones. That makes them much easier soft targets than the average person.
Then to the two recent reports.
At the end of December Ranjodh Singh was stabbed repeatedly and then set on fire. Another racially motivated attack?
At the end of last week it was reported:
"In a new twist to the 'horrific' murder of Indian youth Ranjodh Singh, whose partially charred body was found from the city of Griffith Dec 29, Australian police Thursday arrested an Indian couple in the case and said the victim was burnt alive. Police charged a 23-year-old Indian man and his wife with murder."
An Indian couple.
The report is here.
Early in January we also had:
"In yet another attack targeting Indians in Australia, a 29-year-old man from the country was set on fire by four assailants, drawing strong condemnation from a student body which called such assaults unacceptable and asked authorities not to "dodge" the issue."
The Times of India reports that story here.
Today's report:
"AN Indian man who told police he was attacked and set on fire by a gang of four men has been charged with making a false report to authorities and criminal damage for financial gain."
It was an insurance scam.
That story's here.
As I said, things are always more complicated than the knee-jerk reaction would have us believe.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Escalation of racial tensions in Oz
Racial tensions involving Indian students are on the rise in Australia.
It was inevitable, given the hysteria whipped up by the media and politicians. I said in a post last week the climate is going to get worse in both countries, the extremists are jumping on the bandwagon, the real danger is an escalation of violence..
Now there are reports of exactly that in Sydney and Melbourne:
A protest involving hundreds of Indian students on Monday night turned into a "vigilante" attack, with a group wielding sticks and baseball bats attacking men of "Middle Eastern appearance" in apparent retaliation for an earlier alleged assault on an Indian student.
'Middle eastern appearance' is PC-speak for Lebanese by the way.
So it's escalated from protest marches in Melbourne and Sydney to protests in Indian cities, then to extremist groups jumping on the bandwagon with effigy burning in the streets of Indian cities, and now to ethnic groups, in this instance Indians and Lebanese, attacking each other.
The police and politicians, in Victoria, NSW and federal government, have handled it badly, which hasn't helped.
They've consistently said in the past that the attacks are not racial but opportunistic, which is only partly true and gives the students the impression that any racist element is being denied, is being swept under the carpet, their safety concerns are being dismissed. That's bound to raise tensions.
Undoubtedly some of the attacks are not racially motivated, they're part of the unfortunately normal mugging of vulnerable people. Students living in poorer areas, as their finances force them to do, working late and going home alone - often carrying a valuable laptop - are vulnerable.
But other attacks obviously are racially motivated and denying it was ridiculous and unhelpful.
At least now the Victorian police chief has acknowledged the fact:
Victoria's police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland has admitted that some of the attacks on Indian students were "clearly racist in motivation''.
"Some of the attacks were clearly racist in motivation and that violence is unacceptable and racism is unacceptable in any form.''
There are examples of the escalation in the rough Sydney suburb of Harris Park, where crime is high, and in Melbourne.
A demonstration was called in Harris Park after an Indian student was allegedly assaulted by a group of men of 'Middle Eastern appearance'. Around 200 Indian students, some of them armed with baseball bats and hockey sticks, gathered and attacked men of 'Middle Eastern appearance'.
I don't think there's much doubt that the violence was planned - you're not expecting to demonstrate peacefully if you go armed with a baseball bat or hockey stick.
The Times of India also reports a group of Indians retaliated against racial verbal abuse by stabbing a 20-year-old youth. The stabbing was in St Albans in Melbourne on Sunday when the youth was stabbed once in the neck and twice in the arm.
Police said they were looking for two Indian attackers aged 23 and 29. They added that a car believed to be that of a man involved in attacks on Indian students had also been torched.
In Melbourne Indian students have formed 'security patrols' to protect their own people around St Albans and Thomastown railway stations. That is a very stupid thing to do in countries such as Australia where it simply isn't done. It will do nothing but raise tensions and turn even mainstream Australians against them.
Amongst a lot of coverage in the Indian and Australian newspapers about the escalation there is one article which took a broader look at what's happening. It's by a well respected journalist, Paul Sheehan, who points out that "each incident is another brick in the wall of misconception that Indians in Australia have become the frequent victims of violent white racism.
This misconception has hardened into belief in India, where widespread media coverage of the attacks has played on old sensitivities about the treatment of Indians by whites and white Australia.
He goes on to point out that "the attacks on Indians (were) committed by a polyglot mix reflecting the streets - white, Asian, Middle Eastern, Aboriginal, Pacific Islander."
Detailing recent attacks:
"The most recent attacks, in Harris Park this week, allegedly involved assailants of the proverbial 'Middle Eastern appearance'.
In Melbourne, an assault on an Indian student on a train was recorded on video (which) shows a swarm of young men robbing and repeatedly attacking the student. Most of them do not appear to be white.
A recent assault on an Indian student in Glebe was committed by a young offender described as Aboriginal.
Another recent assault on an Indian student...in Port Melbourne, involved three attackers identified as Caucasian.
As he says, the ethnicity of the attackers varies from crime to crime.
All in all it's a sad and sorry saga which isn't finished yet.
Here's another prediction. With non-white gangs fighting each other on the streets and Indian 'security patrols', the next stage will be white bigots, such as I posted about in September, jumping in with their 'white Christians only' rantings about immigration.
If you're following the story here are some links to references in the posting:
Indians stab racial abuser.
Harris Park violence.
Some attacks are racist: police chief.
Street patrols.
Paul Sheehan: Brutal truth about attacks.
And I'll throw this one in, which I came across in The Times of India, just to get the Anons steaming. We're even more racist than Aussies: Jug Suraiya.
As always, the comments make interesting reading too.
It was inevitable, given the hysteria whipped up by the media and politicians. I said in a post last week the climate is going to get worse in both countries, the extremists are jumping on the bandwagon, the real danger is an escalation of violence..
Now there are reports of exactly that in Sydney and Melbourne:
A protest involving hundreds of Indian students on Monday night turned into a "vigilante" attack, with a group wielding sticks and baseball bats attacking men of "Middle Eastern appearance" in apparent retaliation for an earlier alleged assault on an Indian student.
'Middle eastern appearance' is PC-speak for Lebanese by the way.
So it's escalated from protest marches in Melbourne and Sydney to protests in Indian cities, then to extremist groups jumping on the bandwagon with effigy burning in the streets of Indian cities, and now to ethnic groups, in this instance Indians and Lebanese, attacking each other.
The police and politicians, in Victoria, NSW and federal government, have handled it badly, which hasn't helped.
They've consistently said in the past that the attacks are not racial but opportunistic, which is only partly true and gives the students the impression that any racist element is being denied, is being swept under the carpet, their safety concerns are being dismissed. That's bound to raise tensions.
Undoubtedly some of the attacks are not racially motivated, they're part of the unfortunately normal mugging of vulnerable people. Students living in poorer areas, as their finances force them to do, working late and going home alone - often carrying a valuable laptop - are vulnerable.
But other attacks obviously are racially motivated and denying it was ridiculous and unhelpful.
At least now the Victorian police chief has acknowledged the fact:
Victoria's police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland has admitted that some of the attacks on Indian students were "clearly racist in motivation''.
"Some of the attacks were clearly racist in motivation and that violence is unacceptable and racism is unacceptable in any form.''
There are examples of the escalation in the rough Sydney suburb of Harris Park, where crime is high, and in Melbourne.
A demonstration was called in Harris Park after an Indian student was allegedly assaulted by a group of men of 'Middle Eastern appearance'. Around 200 Indian students, some of them armed with baseball bats and hockey sticks, gathered and attacked men of 'Middle Eastern appearance'.
I don't think there's much doubt that the violence was planned - you're not expecting to demonstrate peacefully if you go armed with a baseball bat or hockey stick.
The Times of India also reports a group of Indians retaliated against racial verbal abuse by stabbing a 20-year-old youth. The stabbing was in St Albans in Melbourne on Sunday when the youth was stabbed once in the neck and twice in the arm.
Police said they were looking for two Indian attackers aged 23 and 29. They added that a car believed to be that of a man involved in attacks on Indian students had also been torched.
In Melbourne Indian students have formed 'security patrols' to protect their own people around St Albans and Thomastown railway stations. That is a very stupid thing to do in countries such as Australia where it simply isn't done. It will do nothing but raise tensions and turn even mainstream Australians against them.
Amongst a lot of coverage in the Indian and Australian newspapers about the escalation there is one article which took a broader look at what's happening. It's by a well respected journalist, Paul Sheehan, who points out that "each incident is another brick in the wall of misconception that Indians in Australia have become the frequent victims of violent white racism.
This misconception has hardened into belief in India, where widespread media coverage of the attacks has played on old sensitivities about the treatment of Indians by whites and white Australia.
He goes on to point out that "the attacks on Indians (were) committed by a polyglot mix reflecting the streets - white, Asian, Middle Eastern, Aboriginal, Pacific Islander."
Detailing recent attacks:
"The most recent attacks, in Harris Park this week, allegedly involved assailants of the proverbial 'Middle Eastern appearance'.
In Melbourne, an assault on an Indian student on a train was recorded on video (which) shows a swarm of young men robbing and repeatedly attacking the student. Most of them do not appear to be white.
A recent assault on an Indian student in Glebe was committed by a young offender described as Aboriginal.
Another recent assault on an Indian student...in Port Melbourne, involved three attackers identified as Caucasian.
As he says, the ethnicity of the attackers varies from crime to crime.
All in all it's a sad and sorry saga which isn't finished yet.
Here's another prediction. With non-white gangs fighting each other on the streets and Indian 'security patrols', the next stage will be white bigots, such as I posted about in September, jumping in with their 'white Christians only' rantings about immigration.
If you're following the story here are some links to references in the posting:
Indians stab racial abuser.
Harris Park violence.
Some attacks are racist: police chief.
Street patrols.
Paul Sheehan: Brutal truth about attacks.
And I'll throw this one in, which I came across in The Times of India, just to get the Anons steaming. We're even more racist than Aussies: Jug Suraiya.
As always, the comments make interesting reading too.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Crystal Ball working well
A couple of days ago I located the Life in Dubai Crystal Ball at the back of a drawer, gave it a polish and the picture it showed me led me to write:
The temperature's rising and I expect to soon see photographs of effigies being burnt in the streets of Indian cities.
The old Crystal Ball is working well because today Reuters gives us this:
All major Aussie newspapers are running the photos so the climate is going to get worse in both countries, the extremists are jumping on the bandwagon, the real danger is an escalation of violence.
I tend to agree with the comments of Dr. Yadu Singh in Australia, reported in the Sydney Morning Herald.
The Indian media's coverage of the plight of Indian students in Australia has been "irresponsible" and could backfire on Indians who have lived here for years, a local community leader fears.
Yadu Singh, a Sydney cardiologist, has viewed with growing anger the pronouncements about Australia by the Indian press, after violence against Indian students in Sydney and Melbourne came under the spotlight last week.
Headlines such as "Australia, land of racists" have led to loud street protests in Australia and India, with an effigy of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd set alight in India.
Dr Singh, who heads a committee at the Indian consulate looking at Indian student issues, labelled the reporting "irresponsible".
"There is a problem with Indian media and Indian leadership - they can't assess a situation in a rational way," he said.
"It's the high competition in that industry. They all get on the bandwagon and say 'Oh racism', but it's not like that.
"Something like this happens and they think: 'The whole world is against us.' I mean, burning effigies of Kevin Rudd ... come on.
"This is not a racist country. Every country has one or two racists.
"When Australian [missionary] Graham Staines was burnt to death [by Hindu extremists in January 1999], did everyone call India racist? No."
Dr Singh believed Australians were "outraged with the way Indian media" was smearing the country.
He feared the outrage could mask the genuine issues faced by Indian students, who Dr Singh said were over-represented in robbery statistics in Melbourne and also faced exploitation by employers.
He also feared there could be a backlash against other Australians of Indian heritage, many of whom had lived here for years.
"I was at a function last night with other Indians [well-established in Australia] - other doctors and lawyers - we were all saying this game has to stop," Dr Singh said.
"We are not suffering. We are doing well in Australia."
Street muggings are deplorable, more so in my opinion when they're racially motivated. But so is whipping up hysteria just to increase newspaper sales or to further a political agenda.
Sydney Morning Herald report is here.
The temperature's rising and I expect to soon see photographs of effigies being burnt in the streets of Indian cities.
The old Crystal Ball is working well because today Reuters gives us this:
All major Aussie newspapers are running the photos so the climate is going to get worse in both countries, the extremists are jumping on the bandwagon, the real danger is an escalation of violence.
I tend to agree with the comments of Dr. Yadu Singh in Australia, reported in the Sydney Morning Herald.
The Indian media's coverage of the plight of Indian students in Australia has been "irresponsible" and could backfire on Indians who have lived here for years, a local community leader fears.
Yadu Singh, a Sydney cardiologist, has viewed with growing anger the pronouncements about Australia by the Indian press, after violence against Indian students in Sydney and Melbourne came under the spotlight last week.
Headlines such as "Australia, land of racists" have led to loud street protests in Australia and India, with an effigy of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd set alight in India.
Dr Singh, who heads a committee at the Indian consulate looking at Indian student issues, labelled the reporting "irresponsible".
"There is a problem with Indian media and Indian leadership - they can't assess a situation in a rational way," he said.
"It's the high competition in that industry. They all get on the bandwagon and say 'Oh racism', but it's not like that.
"Something like this happens and they think: 'The whole world is against us.' I mean, burning effigies of Kevin Rudd ... come on.
"This is not a racist country. Every country has one or two racists.
"When Australian [missionary] Graham Staines was burnt to death [by Hindu extremists in January 1999], did everyone call India racist? No."
Dr Singh believed Australians were "outraged with the way Indian media" was smearing the country.
He feared the outrage could mask the genuine issues faced by Indian students, who Dr Singh said were over-represented in robbery statistics in Melbourne and also faced exploitation by employers.
He also feared there could be a backlash against other Australians of Indian heritage, many of whom had lived here for years.
"I was at a function last night with other Indians [well-established in Australia] - other doctors and lawyers - we were all saying this game has to stop," Dr Singh said.
"We are not suffering. We are doing well in Australia."
Street muggings are deplorable, more so in my opinion when they're racially motivated. But so is whipping up hysteria just to increase newspaper sales or to further a political agenda.
Sydney Morning Herald report is here.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
'Curry bashing' in Oz
Making big news in India, and amongst Indian communities around the world, are reports of racist attacks on Indian students in Australia.
A protest march was just held in Melbourne, reported variously as having either 300 or 1,000 or 5,000 participants depending which report you read.
It was organised by the Federation of Indian Students in conjunction with Melbourne University's Graduate Student Association. That's an indication of the majority opinion in Oz, people of different ethnic backgrounds living side by side.
But there will always be racist elements and sadly they're coming out of the woodwork all over the world.
Recent governments have a lot to answer for, those of BushW and the last Australian PM John Howard in particular. They created a climate of fear and loathing, of foreigners wanting 'to destroy our way of life', which they promoted to keep themselves in power and to push through their extreme policies.
Howard and his cronies had a huge and disgraceful campaign to drum up hatred against asylum seekers, or 'illegal immigrants' as they called them. Lies were regularly told, photographs were doctored, the hysteria mounted.
They were in power for over a decade which was plenty of time to well and truly create the atmosphere. We're seeing the effects now amongst the teenagers who grew up in that climate and who are carrying out these attacks.
There seems to be an increase on attacks on Indian students, although a number of them are undoubtedly not racially motivated but are standard street crimes.
Community leader Dr Yadu Singh said the attacks had been happening for about four years and were a mixture of opportunistic robberies and outright racist attacks.
In the robbery cases, Indian students often became victims because they traveled home late at night, alone, after working to support their studies, Dr Singh said.
He has another interesting theory too, that thieves knew the incidents were unlikely to be reported to police:
"They are not reporting to police because their experience of police in India is pathetic - they are corrupt, pathetic, not helpful."
There does seem to be a copycat element to the racially motivated attacks though, with the phrase 'curry bashing' becoming more widespread. The phrase spreads amongst college students, the morons amongst them seize on it and think they'll go out for what their pea-sized brains think is fun.
"What we gonna do tonight? Study? 'ave a beer? Find some girls?"
"Nah, let's have some real fun, we'll go curry bashing."
That means they are specifically targeting Indians, or more accurately people from the sub-continent because they wouldn't be able to distinguish amongst them.
The fallout is growing, Australian government ministers are involved, the PM has spoken with Manmohan Singh, actions are obviously being taken.
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told TV news:
"We're doing everything that we can, both with the Indian community in Australia and India itself ... but also working very closely with the relevant state authorities."
Mr Smith said Australia was trying to bring the attackers to justice and ensure a safe environment for all international students.
But now adding fuel to the flames the Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan has gone public with his decision to reject an honorary doctorate from an Australian University, which he'd earlier accepted.
The temperature's rising and I expect to soon see photographs of effigies being burnt in the streets of Indian cities.
Every society has this problem from a moronic minority I'm afraid. Racism, bigotry, discrimination are part of human society around the world. It isn't only, contrary to often stated opinion, a white on non-white issue, it involves people of all colours on people of all colours, religion on religion, class on class, caste on caste, tribe on tribe.
Fortunately Australia is nowhere as bad as many, in spite of the huge reaction in India to these current attacks.
Reading the Times of India I was, as I often am, fascinated by the comments left by readers to these stories. They give a real insight into the range of human thinking. Ignorance of the facts not limiting adamant statements, what I call the arrogance of ignorance. The extreme views of some balanced by the reasonable views of others, the calls for revenge.
Kirpa Raj who lives in the USA is in the 'arrogance of ignorance' file:
Crime is in the genes of Australians who are actually descendants of convicts from England. "Hate crime" is a very soft term. They committed genocide of Ab Origine population, which is a crime against humanity. It is futile to expect any civilized behavior from Australians. India, China, Indonesia, Japan and other civilized Asian countries should occupy/liberate Australia, and put these convicts back in prisons where they actually belong.
I'm sure he wouldn't believe the fact that the vast majority of the 21 million Aussies have no convict ancestors.
He has a fellow travellor in New Zealand too, who's also a conspiracy theorist:
Melchides Rodrigues wants us to know that:
Racism is widely prevelant in Australia and New Zealand. A white (whose ancestors were from Britain) is more likely to be racist toward immigrant Asians than an other persons. Apparently their mental attitude that they are superior than Asians, and their imperialistic (colonial) nature is still widely rampant. They cannot accept the fact that Asians an other non British people , are doing better educationally and job prospect wise.This fact is being covered up by the Australian High Commissioner in New Delhi(John McCarthy), to protect his own fellow Anglo Saxon breathern.
Both happy in their racist, bigoted world, exactly like the morons they're complaining about.
And talking about racists complaining about racism, how about the words of wisdom from Kiran,Kumar:
Out of 95000 Indian students only 500 are real student and rest of them are Punjabis who are here to do anything to earn $$$$$$ and create nuisance wherever they can with best of their abilities. Their so called leaders are all ex taxi drivers who had no life...
Onkarnath,USA has a similar problem:
Why so much crying? Are we safe in India? Can North Indian go to Mumbai and feel safe?
And Jack in Mumbai obviously agrees:
At least now Indians are fighting together. I feel the attack was shameful, But the MOST SHAMEFUL ACT is the one that happened in Austria, Indians Attacking Indians. That's the reason i Feel Australian attack was nothing before it. We Indians are already so discriminative that racism is nothing. India is full of racism and discrimination right the religion, caste, creed, state and language.
JJ has another take on it and wonders why the fuss over these attacks:
When thousand of were Tamilians killed in Sri lanka no body in India made a cry. Why now this cry in the north?
They kind of demonstrate that racism, bigotry and discrimination are alive and well don't they.
There's another side to the view of Australia though. Here's an ABI - Australian Born Indian - who lives in Canberra. Eric Jusula says:
As a first generation Australian who is planning to spend some time visiting India this year I'm very disturbed by what is happening and the media reports in Australia and in India. In my view Australia is one of the least racist countries that I have lived, or traveled, within. Racism exits in all societies to varying degrees. So does violence and crime, and adolescent stupidity. The individuals responsible for the cowardly attacks against Indian students need to be seen for what they are. They are extremely rare, pathetic dregs of society, who will be dealt with as criminals, and disgraces to Australian values.
Australia's first Asian-born cabinet minster agrees with Eric. Penny Wong told TV news that racism in Australia is confined to a minority of people with extreme views, saying that "On the whole I think Australians are tolerant."
Former Indian consul general Mr TJ Rao went even further and said the recent attacks on Indian students had nothing to do with racism.
"This has nothing to do with racism, Australians are not racist people," Mr Rao said. "I have been in this country for 41 years and have never had any trouble.
Well that's an overly rosy opinion because some are, same as the world over, but thankfully they're a tiny minority.
I think the comment form another USA based Indian is a good place to finish.
Ajay Sharma, from Dayton, Ohio makes a lot of sense to me:
Marching peace rallies will not stop evil doers from committing such brutal attacks. The root cause is somewhere else. Irrespective of the country, as long as our planet is divided by man-made borders of states, religion, cast and creed; such heinous incidences will keep on happening. We humans proclaim ourselves as wisest species but we repeatedly behave in a way that is worst than wildest creatures ever wondered on earth!
There's plenty of coverage in newspapers in the UAE, India and Australia and here are some links to various bits of the story I've mentioned in the post. If you're interested in the story they're worth reading.
Melbourne Herald Sun report on the rally.
Foreign Minister's comments in Sydney Morning Herald.
Dr Yadu Singh interview in Sydney Morning Herald.
Minister Penny Wong's interview in The Australian.
Here's where you'll find the fascinating and illuminating comments, sent in to The Times of India main story.
Big B's rejection of doctorate.
A protest march was just held in Melbourne, reported variously as having either 300 or 1,000 or 5,000 participants depending which report you read.
It was organised by the Federation of Indian Students in conjunction with Melbourne University's Graduate Student Association. That's an indication of the majority opinion in Oz, people of different ethnic backgrounds living side by side.
But there will always be racist elements and sadly they're coming out of the woodwork all over the world.
Recent governments have a lot to answer for, those of BushW and the last Australian PM John Howard in particular. They created a climate of fear and loathing, of foreigners wanting 'to destroy our way of life', which they promoted to keep themselves in power and to push through their extreme policies.
Howard and his cronies had a huge and disgraceful campaign to drum up hatred against asylum seekers, or 'illegal immigrants' as they called them. Lies were regularly told, photographs were doctored, the hysteria mounted.
They were in power for over a decade which was plenty of time to well and truly create the atmosphere. We're seeing the effects now amongst the teenagers who grew up in that climate and who are carrying out these attacks.
There seems to be an increase on attacks on Indian students, although a number of them are undoubtedly not racially motivated but are standard street crimes.
Community leader Dr Yadu Singh said the attacks had been happening for about four years and were a mixture of opportunistic robberies and outright racist attacks.
In the robbery cases, Indian students often became victims because they traveled home late at night, alone, after working to support their studies, Dr Singh said.
He has another interesting theory too, that thieves knew the incidents were unlikely to be reported to police:
"They are not reporting to police because their experience of police in India is pathetic - they are corrupt, pathetic, not helpful."
There does seem to be a copycat element to the racially motivated attacks though, with the phrase 'curry bashing' becoming more widespread. The phrase spreads amongst college students, the morons amongst them seize on it and think they'll go out for what their pea-sized brains think is fun.
"What we gonna do tonight? Study? 'ave a beer? Find some girls?"
"Nah, let's have some real fun, we'll go curry bashing."
That means they are specifically targeting Indians, or more accurately people from the sub-continent because they wouldn't be able to distinguish amongst them.
The fallout is growing, Australian government ministers are involved, the PM has spoken with Manmohan Singh, actions are obviously being taken.
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told TV news:
"We're doing everything that we can, both with the Indian community in Australia and India itself ... but also working very closely with the relevant state authorities."
Mr Smith said Australia was trying to bring the attackers to justice and ensure a safe environment for all international students.
But now adding fuel to the flames the Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan has gone public with his decision to reject an honorary doctorate from an Australian University, which he'd earlier accepted.
The temperature's rising and I expect to soon see photographs of effigies being burnt in the streets of Indian cities.
Every society has this problem from a moronic minority I'm afraid. Racism, bigotry, discrimination are part of human society around the world. It isn't only, contrary to often stated opinion, a white on non-white issue, it involves people of all colours on people of all colours, religion on religion, class on class, caste on caste, tribe on tribe.
Fortunately Australia is nowhere as bad as many, in spite of the huge reaction in India to these current attacks.
Reading the Times of India I was, as I often am, fascinated by the comments left by readers to these stories. They give a real insight into the range of human thinking. Ignorance of the facts not limiting adamant statements, what I call the arrogance of ignorance. The extreme views of some balanced by the reasonable views of others, the calls for revenge.
Kirpa Raj who lives in the USA is in the 'arrogance of ignorance' file:
Crime is in the genes of Australians who are actually descendants of convicts from England. "Hate crime" is a very soft term. They committed genocide of Ab Origine population, which is a crime against humanity. It is futile to expect any civilized behavior from Australians. India, China, Indonesia, Japan and other civilized Asian countries should occupy/liberate Australia, and put these convicts back in prisons where they actually belong.
I'm sure he wouldn't believe the fact that the vast majority of the 21 million Aussies have no convict ancestors.
He has a fellow travellor in New Zealand too, who's also a conspiracy theorist:
Melchides Rodrigues wants us to know that:
Racism is widely prevelant in Australia and New Zealand. A white (whose ancestors were from Britain) is more likely to be racist toward immigrant Asians than an other persons. Apparently their mental attitude that they are superior than Asians, and their imperialistic (colonial) nature is still widely rampant. They cannot accept the fact that Asians an other non British people , are doing better educationally and job prospect wise.This fact is being covered up by the Australian High Commissioner in New Delhi(John McCarthy), to protect his own fellow Anglo Saxon breathern.
Both happy in their racist, bigoted world, exactly like the morons they're complaining about.
And talking about racists complaining about racism, how about the words of wisdom from Kiran,Kumar:
Out of 95000 Indian students only 500 are real student and rest of them are Punjabis who are here to do anything to earn $$$$$$ and create nuisance wherever they can with best of their abilities. Their so called leaders are all ex taxi drivers who had no life...
Onkarnath,USA has a similar problem:
Why so much crying? Are we safe in India? Can North Indian go to Mumbai and feel safe?
And Jack in Mumbai obviously agrees:
At least now Indians are fighting together. I feel the attack was shameful, But the MOST SHAMEFUL ACT is the one that happened in Austria, Indians Attacking Indians. That's the reason i Feel Australian attack was nothing before it. We Indians are already so discriminative that racism is nothing. India is full of racism and discrimination right the religion, caste, creed, state and language.
JJ has another take on it and wonders why the fuss over these attacks:
When thousand of were Tamilians killed in Sri lanka no body in India made a cry. Why now this cry in the north?
They kind of demonstrate that racism, bigotry and discrimination are alive and well don't they.
There's another side to the view of Australia though. Here's an ABI - Australian Born Indian - who lives in Canberra. Eric Jusula says:
As a first generation Australian who is planning to spend some time visiting India this year I'm very disturbed by what is happening and the media reports in Australia and in India. In my view Australia is one of the least racist countries that I have lived, or traveled, within. Racism exits in all societies to varying degrees. So does violence and crime, and adolescent stupidity. The individuals responsible for the cowardly attacks against Indian students need to be seen for what they are. They are extremely rare, pathetic dregs of society, who will be dealt with as criminals, and disgraces to Australian values.
Australia's first Asian-born cabinet minster agrees with Eric. Penny Wong told TV news that racism in Australia is confined to a minority of people with extreme views, saying that "On the whole I think Australians are tolerant."
Former Indian consul general Mr TJ Rao went even further and said the recent attacks on Indian students had nothing to do with racism.
"This has nothing to do with racism, Australians are not racist people," Mr Rao said. "I have been in this country for 41 years and have never had any trouble.
Well that's an overly rosy opinion because some are, same as the world over, but thankfully they're a tiny minority.
I think the comment form another USA based Indian is a good place to finish.
Ajay Sharma, from Dayton, Ohio makes a lot of sense to me:
Marching peace rallies will not stop evil doers from committing such brutal attacks. The root cause is somewhere else. Irrespective of the country, as long as our planet is divided by man-made borders of states, religion, cast and creed; such heinous incidences will keep on happening. We humans proclaim ourselves as wisest species but we repeatedly behave in a way that is worst than wildest creatures ever wondered on earth!
There's plenty of coverage in newspapers in the UAE, India and Australia and here are some links to various bits of the story I've mentioned in the post. If you're interested in the story they're worth reading.
Melbourne Herald Sun report on the rally.
Foreign Minister's comments in Sydney Morning Herald.
Dr Yadu Singh interview in Sydney Morning Herald.
Minister Penny Wong's interview in The Australian.
Here's where you'll find the fascinating and illuminating comments, sent in to The Times of India main story.
Big B's rejection of doctorate.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Bigotry is alive & well...
On her blog A Year in Exile Melanie talked about the Dunkin Donuts story too, as part of her concern at 'Bigotry, discrimination and prejudice' she'd been appalled to see in the American media.
There's been a story in the Sydney Morning Herald on similar lines.
We're here in Muslim Dubai, where we have other religions' places of worship and schools.
In free, liberal, laid back Australia, where giving everyone 'a fair go' is claimed as some sort of unique attribute, where multiculturalism is official government policy, we have this.
"Am I the new Pauline Hanson? I hope so"
Photo: Lisa Wiltse. Sydney Morning Herald
Mrs McCulloch, a Catholic mother of four, became the poster girl for Camden's Muslim-shy residents this week when local councillors voted unanimously "on planning grounds alone" to reject a Quranic Society proposal for a $19 million Islamic school on Sydney's rural outskirts.
Having railed against Muslims who "take our welfare", Mrs McCulloch, 45, now says she is considering following Mrs Hanson into politics.
Mrs McCulloch, who owns a hospitality business in Camden, accuses Australia's Muslim leadership of saying nothing while mothers and children are used as suicide bombers.
"The ones that come here oppress our society, they take our welfare and they don't want to accept our way of life," she said after the council vote.
Fortunately:
However, not all of Camden is behind her. A 72-year-old farmer in Argyle Street, Camden's main thoroughfare, said giving Mrs McCulloch publicity was the best way to silence her: "Eventually she'll choke on her own words."
Hanson made a noise, got some redneck support, inevitably made a complete fool of herself and has disappeared. Publicising her ramblings worked there, so the farmer probably has it right - publicise them and they bury themselves under their own manure.
Religious fanatics, racists, the sweeping bigoted mis-statements, said with such conviction...these people are a disgrace to the human race. They disgust me.
The story is here.
Just a quick bit of background. Muslims and Australia pre-date Europeans and Australia. Indonesians were trading with Aboriginals in the 17th Century, way before Europeans arrived. In the 1860’s many Afghan cameleers worked the camel trains which opened up the interior of the continent. The famous Ghan railway, of which Australians are very proud, is named after them.
The 2006 census shows that there are at least 340,000 Muslims in Australia, in a population of 20 million. 128,904 were born in Australia.
There's been a story in the Sydney Morning Herald on similar lines.
We're here in Muslim Dubai, where we have other religions' places of worship and schools.
In free, liberal, laid back Australia, where giving everyone 'a fair go' is claimed as some sort of unique attribute, where multiculturalism is official government policy, we have this.
"Am I the new Pauline Hanson? I hope so"
Photo: Lisa Wiltse. Sydney Morning Herald
Mrs McCulloch, a Catholic mother of four, became the poster girl for Camden's Muslim-shy residents this week when local councillors voted unanimously "on planning grounds alone" to reject a Quranic Society proposal for a $19 million Islamic school on Sydney's rural outskirts.
Having railed against Muslims who "take our welfare", Mrs McCulloch, 45, now says she is considering following Mrs Hanson into politics.
Mrs McCulloch, who owns a hospitality business in Camden, accuses Australia's Muslim leadership of saying nothing while mothers and children are used as suicide bombers.
"The ones that come here oppress our society, they take our welfare and they don't want to accept our way of life," she said after the council vote.
Fortunately:
However, not all of Camden is behind her. A 72-year-old farmer in Argyle Street, Camden's main thoroughfare, said giving Mrs McCulloch publicity was the best way to silence her: "Eventually she'll choke on her own words."
Hanson made a noise, got some redneck support, inevitably made a complete fool of herself and has disappeared. Publicising her ramblings worked there, so the farmer probably has it right - publicise them and they bury themselves under their own manure.
Religious fanatics, racists, the sweeping bigoted mis-statements, said with such conviction...these people are a disgrace to the human race. They disgust me.
The story is here.
Just a quick bit of background. Muslims and Australia pre-date Europeans and Australia. Indonesians were trading with Aboriginals in the 17th Century, way before Europeans arrived. In the 1860’s many Afghan cameleers worked the camel trains which opened up the interior of the continent. The famous Ghan railway, of which Australians are very proud, is named after them.
The 2006 census shows that there are at least 340,000 Muslims in Australia, in a population of 20 million. 128,904 were born in Australia.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Be very afraid.
I've just been reading the Sydney Morning Herald and found this story.
The US Dunkin' Donuts chain has pulled an online advertisement featuring celebrity chef Rachael Ray, it says.
Here's the ad that had to be pulled:
Well, you would pull it wouldn't you.
Supporting terrorism as it does.
Uhhh?
Yes, "the ad offers symbolic support for terrorism."
What do you mean you can't see what they're frothing at the mouth about?
Here's a clue..."sporting of a jihadi chic keffiyeh"
Jihadi chic! I nearly fell off my chair.
Critics, including conservative commentator Michelle Malkin, complained that the scarf appeared to be traditional garb worn by Arab men. The ad's critics say such scarves have come to symbolise Muslim extremism and terrorism.
These people terrify me. More so because they come from the world's most powerful country, with armed forces that its government is happy to use on a whim.
It's not so much the far-right extremists, paranoid loonies frothing at the mouth when they see things that aren't there, who frighten me. Every country has some of them and they're best ignored. As are the far left fanatics, religious fanatics and fanatics of all persuasions.
But in the good ol' US of A a huge company like DD is running scared of them. What does that say about the climate of fear, where the society they live in finds itself?
The lunatic fringe makes a fevered infantile accusation and it's taken seriously. The company buckles at the accusation and pulls the ad.
They should have threatened legal action for the libel of accusing them of supporting terrorism, demanded a grovelling written apology acknowledging the crass stupidity of the accusation, and run a campaign in the media to expose and ridicule the loonies.
Critics, including conservative commentator Michelle Malkin, complained that the scarf appeared to be traditional garb worn by Arab men. So are sandals. Will wearing sandals come to symbolise extremism and terrorism to these people?
Concede to demands by fanatics and where will it end? The situation will worsen with every win they have.
And since the ad was withdrawn, Michelle Malkin has had this to say on her blog:
It's refreshing to see an American company show sensitivity to the concerns of Americans opposed to Islamic jihad and its apologists...Fashion statements may seem insignificant, but when they lead to the mainstreaming of violence -- unintentionally or not -- they matter. Ignorance is no longer an excuse. In post-9/11 America, vigilance must never go out of style.
At this point I'm speechless.
The story is here.
The US Dunkin' Donuts chain has pulled an online advertisement featuring celebrity chef Rachael Ray, it says.
Here's the ad that had to be pulled:
Well, you would pull it wouldn't you.
Supporting terrorism as it does.
Uhhh?
Yes, "the ad offers symbolic support for terrorism."
What do you mean you can't see what they're frothing at the mouth about?
Here's a clue..."sporting of a jihadi chic keffiyeh"
Jihadi chic! I nearly fell off my chair.
Critics, including conservative commentator Michelle Malkin, complained that the scarf appeared to be traditional garb worn by Arab men. The ad's critics say such scarves have come to symbolise Muslim extremism and terrorism.
These people terrify me. More so because they come from the world's most powerful country, with armed forces that its government is happy to use on a whim.
It's not so much the far-right extremists, paranoid loonies frothing at the mouth when they see things that aren't there, who frighten me. Every country has some of them and they're best ignored. As are the far left fanatics, religious fanatics and fanatics of all persuasions.
But in the good ol' US of A a huge company like DD is running scared of them. What does that say about the climate of fear, where the society they live in finds itself?
The lunatic fringe makes a fevered infantile accusation and it's taken seriously. The company buckles at the accusation and pulls the ad.
They should have threatened legal action for the libel of accusing them of supporting terrorism, demanded a grovelling written apology acknowledging the crass stupidity of the accusation, and run a campaign in the media to expose and ridicule the loonies.
Critics, including conservative commentator Michelle Malkin, complained that the scarf appeared to be traditional garb worn by Arab men. So are sandals. Will wearing sandals come to symbolise extremism and terrorism to these people?
Concede to demands by fanatics and where will it end? The situation will worsen with every win they have.
And since the ad was withdrawn, Michelle Malkin has had this to say on her blog:
It's refreshing to see an American company show sensitivity to the concerns of Americans opposed to Islamic jihad and its apologists...Fashion statements may seem insignificant, but when they lead to the mainstreaming of violence -- unintentionally or not -- they matter. Ignorance is no longer an excuse. In post-9/11 America, vigilance must never go out of style.
At this point I'm speechless.
The story is here.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Racial discrimination in the UAE
There's a lively debate going on at the Community Blog, on a posting by SANS headlined Equal Opportunity. It uses an employment advertisement to illustrate the point of discrimination.
Racism and racial discrimination are alive and well in the region. It is an abomination and every step should be taken to remove it from society, but regrettably we have no legislation against the practice.
Unfortunately, SANS chose the wrong advertisement to illustrate a very valid and important point. There are many blatantly discriminatory advertisements every day, any of which would have supported the point much more accurately.
One quick glance through the employment pages of today's Gulf News came up with these examples:
It's a sad reflection of our society isn't it.
Racism and racial discrimination are alive and well in the region. It is an abomination and every step should be taken to remove it from society, but regrettably we have no legislation against the practice.
Unfortunately, SANS chose the wrong advertisement to illustrate a very valid and important point. There are many blatantly discriminatory advertisements every day, any of which would have supported the point much more accurately.
One quick glance through the employment pages of today's Gulf News came up with these examples:
It's a sad reflection of our society isn't it.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Mindset confirmed.
"We don't do body counts" was a memorable quote from Gen. Tommy Franks, who directed the invasion of Iraq. A moment of truth that must have had the spin doctors in a real spin. Too late, he'd said what he really thought without, for once, the news being managed.
It set the tone, confirmed a suspicion - non-Americans simply don't matter. 'We can't even be bothered to worry about how many Iraqis are killed'.
That's been confirmed by actions over and over again, and now the latest revelation, from the LA Times & Washington Post in today's Gulf News. It clearly shows the mindset of the officers and the men they command. A sample of what it says:
Officer: Haditha killing normal
Los Angeles Times-Washington Post
Washington: Commander of the battalion involved in last November's Haditha killings did not consider the deaths of 24 Iraqis, many of them women and children, unusual and did not initiate an inquiry, according to a sworn statement he gave to military investigators in March.
It...provides a glimpse of the mindset of a commander on the scene who, despite the carnage, did not stop to consider whether Marines had crossed a line and killed defenceless civilians.
(Lt Col) Chessani told investigators he concluded that insurgents had staged a "complex attack" that began with a roadside bomb, followed by a small-arms ambush that was intended to provoke the Marines to fire into houses where civilians were hiding.
"I did not see any cause for alarm," especially because several firefights had occurred in the area the same day November 19, 2005 Chessani said. Because of that conclusion, the commander added, he did not see any reason to investigate the matter, or even to ask how many women and children had been killed.
Incidentally, notice that we have that 'he made me do it' nonsense of an excuse yet again..."intended to provoke the marines to fire into houses where civilians were hiding."
They couldn't win hearts & minds in Vietnam because of their disregard for non-Americans, it's continued ever since and I can't see it changing.
(The original Washington Post report).
It set the tone, confirmed a suspicion - non-Americans simply don't matter. 'We can't even be bothered to worry about how many Iraqis are killed'.
That's been confirmed by actions over and over again, and now the latest revelation, from the LA Times & Washington Post in today's Gulf News. It clearly shows the mindset of the officers and the men they command. A sample of what it says:
Officer: Haditha killing normal
Los Angeles Times-Washington Post
Washington: Commander of the battalion involved in last November's Haditha killings did not consider the deaths of 24 Iraqis, many of them women and children, unusual and did not initiate an inquiry, according to a sworn statement he gave to military investigators in March.
It...provides a glimpse of the mindset of a commander on the scene who, despite the carnage, did not stop to consider whether Marines had crossed a line and killed defenceless civilians.
(Lt Col) Chessani told investigators he concluded that insurgents had staged a "complex attack" that began with a roadside bomb, followed by a small-arms ambush that was intended to provoke the Marines to fire into houses where civilians were hiding.
"I did not see any cause for alarm," especially because several firefights had occurred in the area the same day November 19, 2005 Chessani said. Because of that conclusion, the commander added, he did not see any reason to investigate the matter, or even to ask how many women and children had been killed.
Incidentally, notice that we have that 'he made me do it' nonsense of an excuse yet again..."intended to provoke the marines to fire into houses where civilians were hiding."
They couldn't win hearts & minds in Vietnam because of their disregard for non-Americans, it's continued ever since and I can't see it changing.
(The original Washington Post report).
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Mel Gibson - priorities
Much as I abhor racism, isn't it a disgrace that it's Mel Gibson's outburst that's being depicted as the serious crime, not that he was drunk driving and endangering innocent lives. A breath test indicated Gibson's blood-alcohol level was 0.12 percent. California drivers 21 and older must remain under 0.08 percent. That's being ignored in the hysteria over what he said.
Where's the outrage at the real crime?
Where's the outrage at the real crime?
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