Jay-Z, Kanye West Accused Of Copyright Infringement

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Jay-Z, Kanye West Accused Of Copyright Infringement
R&B artist Syl Johnson alleges Watch the Throne track samples his 'Different Strokes' without permission

Def Jam's lawyers are about to get busier. According to a post on "archival record label" and publisher the Numero Uno Group's blog, acclaimed R&B/soul singer Syl Johnson is considering a lawsuit against the Throne (Jay-Z and Kanye West) for an uncleared sample of one of his songs on their album Watch the Throne. A sample of Johnson's 1967 song "Different Strokes," which appears on the track "The Joy," was allegedly never properly cleared.

"Two decades and several lawsuits later, Syl Johnson is a veteran of copyright infringement cases, and has done very well for himself clearing samples from his fertile catalog (we're glad to say we've helped him with a few) for use in numerous tracks," reads part of the post. "He's been amply paid, as he is quick to boast in his concerts, by acts like Wu-Tang Clan, Kid Rock, and Michael Jackson. Other performers ... have not been so respectful."

The post, titled "Syl Johnson vs Kanye West/Jay-Z," goes on to say that the Numero Uno Group reached out to Def Jam's business department about clearing "The Joy" after Syl Johnson had gotten wind of the song. Last year, the Pete Rock-produced tune (Kanye West is credited as producer along with Mike Dean and Mike Bhaskar) was part of the G.O.O.D. Fridays series of leaks. Although originally intended to be included on West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, the sample was unable to be cleared in time to make the album (though an agreement was apparently reached for its use). Negotiations stalled due to the fact that the song was not actually being sold. However, "The Joy" recently reappeared as a bonus cut on the deluxe edition of Watch the Throne.

The Numero Uno Group points out that in the credits for Watch the Throne, they are erroneously identified as the publishers of Syl Johnson's "Different Strokes." "Wondering why we weren't consulted on this new use, and baffled why we appear in the credits, for which we never asked, we contacted the sample clearance house," continued the post. "Even they cannot get a response from their own clients. Island Def Jam seems to think that Syl doesn't have any fight left in him. We're betting otherwise."

Since the song appears on an album that is being sold — Watch the Throne has already gone gold, selling more than 600,000 units to date — Johnson is expected to be properly compensated for the use of his song, whether via a lawsuit or some sort of settlement. Messages to Def Jam representatives for comment were not returned as this story went to press.

Hollywood Racism: Quantum of Solace(James Bond Movie)

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Olga Kurylenko - Kurylenko Got Dark To Play Bond's Bolivian Beauty
23 October 2008 07:18

Ukrainian actress OLGA KURYLENKO enjoyed two days in the sun so she could top up her tan for the new JAMES BOND movie.

The pale actress insisted her Bolivian character Camille should be much darker - and Bond producers agreed to pay for an all-expenses two-day beach holiday, so she could do nothing but sun worship.

She tells WENN, "We spoke about the accent and I was learning all these fighting skills but nobody was talking about her skin colour.

"Some South Americans have such dark skin, so I felt I'd be much more believable as the character if I was darker. I said, 'Look, I think she should be darker,' and they said, 'OK, just don't burn yourself,' so I spent two days in the sun and I became black.

For Second Week In A Row On Hannity, Malkin Launches A Racial Attack

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One week after using the flash mobs as a vehicle to attack African Americans, Michelle Malkin was back on Hannity, this time using what FoxNews.com called the “liberals’ assault” on the Tea Party to attack African Americans again. This time, Malkin accused the Congressional Black Caucus of "joining hands" with immigrant activisits in order to "amnestize them and turn them into Democratic voters."

With her customary contempt, Malkin sneered about Rep. Maxine Waters’ “demagoguery” and “vitriol” before accusing her of “trying to get the gander up of the black community to distract from her own ethical problems.”

Only on Fox News would someone like Malkin – who last week complained that it might be too late to counteract “festering aggrievement in the inner cities” – be consulted for “insights” into minority communities. But this is just the kind of racial perspective Hannity has implicitly endorsed – without exposing his own neck.

With faux sympathy, Malkin accused Waters of "pandering to a lot of unemployed, dissatisfied people." As if the constant fear mongering and hate mongering on Fox does not.

But then Malkin trotted out an explicitly racial attack, by accusing Waters of "joining hands with people who would rather see black Americans dependent and collecting food stamps and more unemployment benefits. I mean, that’s the ‘jobs program’ of the Congressional Black Caucus and that will be unveiled after Labor Day by President Obama and then also of joining hands with the open borders alliance… These are people who …want to recruit more illegal aliens so they can amnestize them and turn them into Democratic voters.”

Another fascinating insight into black America, care of Michelle Malkin!

After that, the discussion moved on for Hannity to whine again about how conservatives would never be able to get away with calling President Obama “unpatriotic.” If you’re not already doubled over with laughter at such a lie, check out my post citing just some of Hannity’s hilarious hypocrisy on the subject here.

Naturally, Malkin – who scorned the “aggrievement” of minorities the last time she was on Hannity – checked right into the GOP: Special Victims Unit along with the poor, persecuted host.

Pinoys in UK cry foul over racist tabloid column

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Pinoys in UK cry foul over racist tabloid column
LIAN BUAN, GMA News
08/25/2011 | 04:59 PM

Filipinos in the United Kingdom (UK) cried foul as a British tabloid columnist talked of "buying Filipino dwarves" in criticizing Hollywood celebrity couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt when they chartered an entire train express there for their kids and entourage.

On August 16, the couple commissioned 14 carriages of Virgin train for them, their kids and entourage for a 5-hour ride from London to Glasgow.

On Aug. 18, "The Sun" guest columnist Rod Liddle wrote: "They should have bought a team of 25 Filipino dwarves to carry them on a giant golden litter all the way up the M6, which they'd had shut for the day."

Filipinos, who felt insulted for what was perceived to be an insinuation that Filipinos are short in height and are slaves, expressed their displeasure over Liddle's column on social networking sites.

On the social networking site Facebook, Gilda Wacan Garcia, a caregiver in London, wrote: "Rod Liddle of The Sun, you are such a dreadful man. Who the hell are you?"

She went on to defend the Filipinos, saying despite being averagely short, they are "pretty."

Joemari Rosales, an employee at the University College London Hospitals, on the other hand, said he was not amused by the "racist" column, even more by Liddle's choice of words.

"To hire a Filipino, I can accept that. But to buy? No way," Rosales said.

According to the Philippine Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the United Kingdom remains a top market for Filipino caregivers.

One of Rosales' Facebook friends, reacting to Liddle's column, said: "Filipinos are the world's modern slaves. Truth always hurts."

Other "dwarves"

"The Sun" was the same newspaper that made a meme out of Junrey Balawing, the 18-year-old, 22-inch tall Filipino, whom Guiness declared the world's smallest man.

"The Sun" printed a cut-out of Balawing in its March 10 release this year.

The next day, it featured photos of their readers posing with their Junrey paper doll, such as photos of Junrey beside a dog, in front of a football goal, and in bed with a girl.

Lee Price of "The Sun" wrote: "Junrey Balawing is about to be crowned the world's smallest man? But at the rate he's going, he'll soon be the world's most popular man, too."

A comment by "scattyanny" on the article said, "I love him (Balawing).

However, another commenter, "Drangle," said "This is actually really offensive."

Racist columnist?

In 2010, UK's Press Complaint Commission (PCC) upheld a complaint against a magazine that published Liddle's blog which was accused as being baseless and racist.

Liddle had written that young African-Carribean men were to blame for the "overwhelming majority" of violent crimes in London.

African groups decried Liddle's claim and the PCC responded by censuring Liddle and the magazine for failing to substantiate the piece. - VVP, GMA News

Lil Wayne Sued Over Allegedly-Stolen Beat of 'How to Love'

twice this month he is sued for stealing copyrighted songs


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Lil Wayne continued to being the subject of copyright infringement allegation. Less than a month after he was reported to face a $15 million lawsuit for allegedly stealing "BedRock", the rap mogul is now accused of music fraud over another song "How to Love".

According to TMZ, a rapper named Rich Rick filed the legal complaint in L.A. County Superior Court last week. He claimed he purchased several master recordings between 2006 and 2009, including the beat that appears on Weezy's song, from a group of rap producers called Drummer Boyz.

Rick believed the producers pitched the same beat to the Young Money rapper in exchange for a 35% royalty agreement. Calling it a theft, he demanded all sums the group are entitled to under their agreement with Weezy, plus 10% interest.

Vogue in Hot Water for 'Slave Earrings' Ad

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Fashion magazine Vogue's Italian Edition, which ran a picture ad under the title "Slave earrings," is facing heavy criticism from internet community which calls it "disgraceful" to "glamorize slavery," and is demanding an apology from Vogue to black women.

The ad with alleged racist undertones says that the latest interpretation of "Hoop earrings" is "pure freedom."

"Jewellery has always flirted with circular shapes, especially for use in making earrings. The most classic models are the slave and creole styles in gold hoops. If the name brings to the mind the decorative traditions of the women of color who were brought to the southern Unites States during the slave trade, the latest interpretation is pure freedom. Colored stones, symbolic pendants and multiple spheres. And the evolution goes on," the Vogue ad read.

The ad became a hot topic of debate on Twitter after a fashion blogger wrote about it saying that "There is NOTHING humorous, fashionable, chic or stylish about slavery."

"Chalk it up to institutionalized racism and a lack of concern for offending anyone of color, oppression, or common sense. SO disgusted VOGUE, and I will consider ending my 15 + year relationship as a faithful subscriber if no apology is issued and this ridiculous article isn't taken down. There is NOTHING humorous, fashionable, chic or stylish about slavery. NOTHING. And no hoop earring, regardless of the price tag will represent "freedom" or liberation from oppression. Stop it with the racist marketing ploy, unless you want racist consumers as the new demographic," the blogger, Dawnavette wrote.

Twitterverse has resorted to act.ly, a Web site to bring in "tweet change" where one can sign and tweet a petition to the Italian Vogue.

The petition says "Ad agencies are clearly in dire need of consultation by Black Women and Men, as they routinely miss the mark in communicating with consumers. From the Summer's Eve to McDonald's to Vogue, the lack of tact, cultural relevance and basic intelligence is simply appalling."

Petitioners demand an apology from @Vogue_Italia and says, "In this latest example by Vogue Magazine, we want the ad removed IMMEDIATELY and we want a specific apology to Black women because Black womens' supposed slave narratives were used in the promulgation of the ad."

Fox Nation Patriot Wishes The Chinese Had Stomped The Black Georgetown Basketball Players “To Death”

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Fox Nation claims to be a community of patriots “committed to the core principles of tolerance (and) civil discourse.” But as we’ve proven repeatedly – when we pointed out how readers want President Obama assassinated and the racist glee over the Williams’ sisters loss at Wimbledon, e.g. – the site has proven to be anything but. The latest example of “love” for country and “tolerance” is the shocking bigotry shown and hatred toward the American basketball team from Georgetown University. In the comments linked to a post about the brawl that broke out between Georgetown and a Chinese basketball team, at least one Fox Nation reader wished the Chinese had stomped the Americans to death. Why? As one “patriot” asked, "WOULDN'T IT BE NICE if BLK people really believed they are AMERICANS FIRST???" As another put it, “The majority of blacks are rude, overbearing and evil no matter where they go in the world.”

Nivea Makes Us Ask Again: Why Is It So Hard to Make Non-Racist Ads?

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Nivea Makes Us Ask Again: Why Is It So Hard to Make Non-Racist Ads?

If the advertising profession had its own equivalent of the Hippocratic oath, it would go something like this: “First, do not offend the person whose money you’re trying to get.” This being America, you could safely add “…especially with anything that might come across as racist or racially insensitive, since we’re all hyper-attuned to that kind of thing over here.”

Somehow, though, the handsomely compensated geniuses of Madison Avenue keep having trouble satisfying that rather simple-sounding mandate. The latest failure is an ad from Nivea instructing its target consumer, a notional black male, to “Re-Civilize Yourself” by trimming his bushy hair and shaving off his beard. Hmm, where have we heard language like that before? Oh, that’s right: 400 years of colonialism and slavery. Beiersdorf USA, which owns Nivea, has apologized for the ad, created by Draftfcb.

At least they have company in their shame. Just a few weeks ago, Summer’s Eve had to ditch a campaign that starred talking vagina hands with stereotyped ethnic personas. Confused by the previous sentence? The douche maker has pulled the spots all from YouTube, but you can watch them here.

Then there was a misguided ad that accidentally implied that Dove body wash can help black and Latina women achieve the smooth, even skin tone of a white person. That one, at least, seemed to be a genuine oversight rather than an instance of colossal bad judgment.

The irony here is that all of this represents progress, albeit in perverted form. Marketers are now taking pains to reach out to minority (and, yes, we do need a better term) consumers they were once content to ignore. Now it’s time for the ad industry to fix its well documented diversity problem so that next time some too-clever copywriter comes up with a campaign that puckishly plays on stereotypes or speaks to hypothetical urban or ethnic consumers “in their own voice,” there will be someone in the room who can tell him how bad his idea actually is.

Ango-American rip off music for August 18, 2011

These songs sound the same

Grease-Summer Nights


Men without hats-Sideways


Nirvana-smells like teen spirit


Suicidal Tendencies- I saw your mommy


Puddle of Mudd-She hates me

Michelle Malkin Uses Flash Mobs As An Excuse To Attack African Americans

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The Hannity show had a discussion about flash mobs Wednesday night (8/17/11). But instead of booking a guest with any real expertise in or insight into youth violence, inner city violence or even racial violence, Hannity trotted out Michelle Malkin. She used the segment to launch a shocking, full-scale attack on African Americans - with bonus swipes at President Obama, the Congressional Black Caucus, unions and more. It was clear her animosity was nothing new. Sean Hannity said nothing to challenge her hideous invective. If any black person said such things about whites on Fox, he or she would be crucified. Or, should I say, "electronically lynched?"

Hannity began by fear mongering. “Fear is escalating across the country as flash mobs are on the rise in recent weeks.”

After noting that flash mobs had “an instant organizing tool,” (presumably social networking and other technology), Malkin, with her trademark sour sanctimony, added,

I think the other thing that stands out of course is something that the liberal media elite doesn’t want to talk about. And that is the explicit racial factor that’s going on in many of these cases. Now, yes, we had (African American) Mayor Nutter call out some of these young black students and youth that have been involved in some of these but you don’t for the most part hear minority leaders – and we certainly haven’t heard anything from President Obama, who’s shown willingness to talk about racial issues – remember the beer summit? But he has said nothing about this when it involves minority young people who are explicitly going after whites, Asians – not just on the streets but in our schools.

Hannity sat silently, then played a clip of Nutter telling African Americans (to enthusiastic applause) to pull the hoodies down, “pull your pants up and buy a belt ‘cause no one wants to see your underwear or the crack of your butt.”

“Amen, it’s about time,” Malkin said. But that was really just a segue for her next racial attack:

But I wonder, and I think many people do who have observed this festering aggrievement in the inner cities, whether it’s too late. Now we have had some role models in the black community, particularly Bill Cosby, who has been sending that ‘pull your pants up and get your act together’ message for a long time but there have been too many in the minority community, too many in the Congressional Black Caucus, for example, Maxine Waters types who are excusers and rationalizers and who have turned the perpetrators into the victims. I mean, it’s this whole welfare state mentality where people’s violent acts have been excused.

As Hannity brought up violence in Europe – suggesting that a “mindset of entitlement” was to blame here and there, Malkin used that as a springboard to spread her scorn to everyone else she disagrees with.

…The same sort of ACORN, community organizer mentality, the issuing of intimidation manuals by groups like the SEIU, for example, are of a piece. Because what they do is condone the kind of barbaric behavior we’ve seen from some of these activists showing up at the private homes of corporate executives, for example, and the kind of rhetoric that never gets condemned by the civility police.

… And I think the stoking of that kind of entitlement certainly is the road to barbarism that we’ve seen in Greece and Europe and yeah, I mean, it’s not just a matter of predicting that it will come here, we’ve seen it happen.

Feel free to contact Michelle Malkin at writemalkin@gmail.com and suggest that she make sure her children pay for their own education, buy their own clothes and food – and heck, maybe they ought to learn to cook it, too – because she certainly won’t want to start them on the “road to barbarism” through some sense of entitlement.

More on Michelle Malkin who earn a living by preaching white supremacy in order to "fit in"

Black Journalists Scold BBC for ‘Stunning Lack of Sensitivity’ in London Riots

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A string of questionable incidents at the BBC related to their handling of race has earned the news organization an open letter of concern from the National Association of Black Journalists.

The letter, sent earlier today, opens by stating that the NABJ “is disappointed to learn that the BBC, an organization long known for accuracy and impartiality, is failing to adhere to its own values.” The group’s displeasure with the world’s largest broadcaster stems from the BBC’s inflammatory treatment of race in light of London’s recent riots, which racked the country for four days. They cite a number of incidents in their letter that display a “stunning lack of sensitivity” and ask whether they display “shocking incompetence or racism.”

On August 8, during the peak of the rioting, the BBC’s phone-in radio program World Have Your Say posed a problematic query for its listeners, asking the startlingly simplistic question, “Is there a problem with young black men?” This infers, as the NABJ points out, that last week’s violence came only from the hands of Black Brits, and demonstrates that “black people in Britain have not been afforded the same respect given to others.”

The NABJ also refers to a comment made by historian David Starkey on the BBC’s Newsnight television program. Stating that the problem with this month’s riots is that “the whites have become blacks,” Starkey’s reference to the race of rioters went unchallenged by the program’s host. “By allowing the comment to go unchallenged,” asked Gregory H. Lee Jr., President of the NABJ, “Was the BBC agreeing with the inference that becoming black is monolithically synonymous with being violent?”

According to the NABJ’s open letter, these episodes, along with a BBC anchor’s now-infamous mislabeling of veteran civil rights activist Darcus Howe as a former rioter, “raises the question of whether the BBC’s senior editorial ranks need better racial and philosophical diversity to avoid being blind to such insensitive incidents.”

Hollywood Racism: The Shining

video


If the Shining gave him the power to mentally communicate over long distances and see into the future, how come it didn't help Scatman Crothers see Jack Nicholson standing behind the column with a fucking axe?

He traveled from the safety of his home in Florida and spent an assload of money to go to Colorodo just to save a family of white people. WTF?
Fuck Hollywood.


And thanks to Jewels Logan for the narration...Priceless.

Racebating Beck warns of 'race riots' if Obama isn't re-elected

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Glenn Beck never fails as a source of entertainment for people who possess intelligence and common sense. He's like one of those sideshow entertainers when taken in small doses, but over the past few years he's proven to be a nuisance with increasingly extreme right-wing views and conspiracy theories. Now, he's predicting race wars in 2012, if Barack Obama isn't re-elected.

If anyone is listening to Glenn Beck on purpose anymore, it's either because they're curious about what this former Fox News commentator is ranting on about, or they honestly support his views. This piece is not for the latter, obviously.

Leave it to people like Beck to bring up race wars and instantly start inciting hate as the 2012 elections are around the corner. People like him accuse people on the left of wanting to force this country into a communist nirvana, but it's people like him who dream of a fascist nation run by racist anti-semites.

"I firmly believe that race riots are on the way. They are being encouraged...[the Obama administration] will take this country down. If it looks like they are losing, the uber left, they will take it down. If I can't have it, no one will," said Beck on his radio show.

So basically what Glenn Beck is saying, is if Obama doesn't win re-election in 2012, he's going to order those who voted for him to start rioting with violence to try to force him back into office? Yah, that makes a lot of sense and highly unlikely.

some videos showing racism in hollywood movies

the movie "Crash"


this movie blames racism on people of colour, promotes stereotypes of non-whites and ignoring the problems of white supremacy


Hollywood racism: Panic room

black man save the robbery victims from getting killed and he goes to jail

the movie did not show the mother and daughter telling the police and the courts about him saving them


Hollywood racism in Scream 2,3 and 4

racism in this scream series where blacks getting killed off.

Young White Woman Uses Mustard, Porn to Make ‘How To Be Asian’ Video

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The unidentified woman in the video starts out by telling viewers the offensive series of jokes she’s about to make are in honor of her Asian friend. “So today is my friend Jess’ birthday and she’s Asian, which got me thinking ‘wow what’s it like to be Asian?’ so I did a little research and now I’m going to provide for you a tutorial on how to be Asian.”

Sounds like this woman may have been under a rock during UCLA’s Alexandra Wallace “Asians in libraries are loud” fiasco because not only does this woman articulate every offensive stereotype in the book but she also illustrates how to get what she calls “the look” by smothering French’s classic yellow mustard over her face and putting tape over her eyes to make them appear smaller.

[NSFS] And be forewarned, at the 1:48 mark where she teaches you how to be “culturally Asian” there’s a 2-second scene of two naked woman peeing on an octopus.

The video is available at WorldStarHipHop.com.

Western racism in the IMF and the World Bank

09.08.2011

By Peter Baofu, Ph.D.

The extensive Western mainstream media coverage of the arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in May of 2011 with charges of sexual assault, and his replacement by Christine Lagarde, has distracted the attention to one of the most serious problems confronting the global institutions like the IMF and the World Bank, namely, their long history of Western racism, which still exists today.

Let me explain this serious problem below, first (1) in regard to the IMF and then (2) in regard to the World Bank.

(1) First, in regard to the IMF, it is a global institution responsible for the management of "the global financial system by taking part in the macroeconomic policies of its established members, in particular those with an impact on exchange rate and the balance of payments" -- and, because of this global mission, the IMF has "a relatively high influence in world affairs and development."

Yet, ever since its creation in 1944 (originally with "45 members") until now (with "187 members" around the world), the head of the IMF has always been a white (or more precisely, a white Western European), and non-whites have been marginalized in its leadership hierarchy, as shown by the following list of the heads of the IMF since its creation in 1944:

1946-1951, Camille Gutt (a white from Belgium)

1951-1956, Ivar Rooth (a white from Sweden)

1956-1963, Per Jacobsson (a white from Sweden)

1963-1973, Pierre-Paul Schweitzer (a white from France)

1973-1978, Johannes Witteveen (a white from Netherlands)

1978-1987, Jacques de Larosière (a white from France)

1987-2000, Michel Camdessus (a white from France)

2000-2004, Horst Köhler (a white from Germany)

2004-2007, Rodrigo Rato (a white from Spain)

2007-2011, Dominique Strauss-Kahn (a white from France)

2011-now, Christine Lagarde (a white from France)

More importantly, if one examines the distribution of the voting rights in the IMF, the problem of Western racism is even more severe. In the IMF, major decisions must have the support of "an 85 percent supermajority," which guarantees that all decisions need the approval of the United States (which has "42,122.4 votes," or "17.72%" of the total) and the European Union, whose "27 member states...have a combined vote of 710,786 (32.07%)."

Non-white countries have been marginalized in the IMF. Even China, which is currently the world's second largest economy (and is expected to surpass the economy of the U.S. to be the world's largest economy before the end of this decade, according to a recent estimate by The Economist in the UK), has a voting right which is less than that of France or the UK, even though these two European countries have a much smaller economy by comparison (or more precisely, about 5 times smaller than the economy of China, if measured in terms of GDP PPP).

And (2) in regard to the World Bank, it is a global institution responsible for "the reduction of poverty" by providing "loans to...countries for capital programmes." Because of this mission, the World Bank also has a relatively high influence in world affairs.

Yet, ever since its creation in 1944 until now (with "186 countries" from all over the world as members), the head of the World Bank, like its counterpart in the IMF, has always been a white (or more precisely, a white American), and non-whites have been marginalized in its leadership hierarchy, as shown by the following list of the heads of the World Bank since its creation in 1944:

1946-1946, Eugene Meyer (a white from the U.S.)

1947-1949, John J. McCloy (a white from the U.S.)

1949-1963, Eugene R. Black, Sr. (a white from the U.S.)

1963-1968, George Woods (a white from the U.S.)

1968-1981, Robert McNamara (a white from the U.S.)

1981-1986, Alden W. Clausen (a white from the U.S.)

1986-1991, Barber Conable (a white from the U.S.)

1991-1995, Lewis T. Preston (a white from the U.S.)

1995-2005, Sir James Wolfensohn (a white from the U.S.)

2005-2007, Paul Wolfowitz (a white from the U.S.)

2007-now, Robert B. Zoellick (a white from the U.S.)

More importantly, if one examines the distribution of the voting rights in the World Bank, the problem of Western racism is even more severe (just as this problem exists in the IMF, as already shown above). In the World Bank, major decisions must have the support of a "85% majority," which guarantees that all decisions need the approval of the United States (which has "15.85%" of the voting rights in the World Bank) and, for that matter, of the European Union.

Non-white countries have been marginalized in the World Bank, just as they are similarly discriminated against in the IMF. Even China, which is currently the world's second largest economy (and is expected to surpass the economy of the U.S. to be the world's largest economy before the end of this decade, according to a recent estimate by The Economist in the UK), has a voting right which is only comparable to that of France, Germany, or the UK, even though these three European countries have a much smaller economy by comparison (or more precisely, several times smaller than the economy of China, if measured in terms of GDP PPP, as already indicated above).

Lest any misunderstanding occurs, the figures as cited above are current, which already reflect the most recent "reforms" in the World Bank and the IMF to increase the voting rights of developing countries (almost all of which are not whites from the U.S. or Western Europe). But the problem here is that these so-called "reforms" are extremely superficial, because the overall power hierarchy in both the IMF and the World Bank for Western global domination remains unchanged. The World Bank and the IMF remain two Western-white-dominated institutions, even though they are global by membership.

The lesson to learn here is that the West has so often preached human rights and equality on paper (for its global soft-power propaganda) but has so often practiced the most sophisticated forms of racism in the global institutions which it controls for its global domination. Western mainstream media are often the cheerleaders for the perpetuation of the racist power structure of these global institutions as something entirely legitimate (or natural).

Even Joseph E. Stiglitz, himself a Nobel laureate in economics, once thus criticized the IMF, in that its policies often "reflect...the interests and ideology of the Western financial community," as pointed out by Benjamin Friedman in his 2002 article "Globalization: Stiglitz's Case." And Catherine Caufield in "Masters of Illusion: The World Bank and the Poverty of Nations" (1996) argued that the policies of the World Bank often "harm...southern nations."

In this light, it is quite sensible for Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuela, to call the IMF and the World Bank as "the tools of the empire" that "serve the interests of the North" in a speech delivered in 2007 -- in light of the notorious history of the U.S., for instance, which has time and again used its veto power in the IMF and the World Bank to prevent them from "taking action against its interests" and to promote other actions for itself, at the expense of other countries.

In conclusion, freedom and equality -- thus speaks Western rhetoric in global media. But racism and domination -- thus behaves Western practice in global institutions.

But this Western racism in the IMF and the World Bank has its days numbered, since the world nowadays is no longer what it used to be at the end of WWII (when victorious Western powers at the end of the war created the IMF and the World Bank with rules set up for their own global domination), because the global balance of power is now quickly changing towards the direction of an Asian century (as already analyzed in depth in my 2007 book titled "Beyond the World of Titans, and the Remaking of World Order").

Unless the IMF and the World Bank are willing to undergo a radical reform, not a superficial one (to prolong its power structure for Western domination), their historical relevance will come to an end soon, to be replaced by alternative global institutions when the new powers in the Asian century (and others) take their turn to reshape the world order.

This is no wishing thinking, as things are already moving towards that direction. For instance, only a few weeks ago, the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) issued a rather unusual collective statement to show their displeasure with the current "tradition of appointing a European as managing director" (that is, head of the IMF), which only "undermined the legitimacy of the IMF," so they "called for the appointment to be merit-based," as reported by Robin Harding in the article "Brics Say European IMF Claim 'Obsolete'" in The Financial Times (May 24, 2011).

In South America, they are already forming "the Bank of the South" as a way to reduce Western domination through the IMF and the World Bank in the region. Similar alternatives also exist in other regions of the world, like "the East African Development Bank" for East Africa. And global protests had already been organized against the IMF and the World Bank, and good examples include "the World Bank Oslo 2002 Protests," "the October Rebellion," and "the Battle of Seattle."

Peoples and countries in the non-Western world are really sick and tired of Western racism in global institutions, which has been going on since the modern European colonization of the world (and its contemporary successor like the U.S.). Many in the Non-West are rebelling against this continuation of Western racism.

Thus, there will be a change of the guards, as the old ones (like the current Western powers) are slowly forced out and the new ones (like the Asian powers and others) will rise for the remaking of world order.

Although this racist (non-merit-based) old power structure of the IMF and the World Bank for Western global domination is still alive and well, it is living its last days (of historical obsolescence) -- as a new world order is already in the making, although it is not fully formed yet.

We are living in this transitional period of world history at an interesting time.

(Note: The figures and quotes as cited above are from the articles on the "IMF" and the "World Bank" in Wikipedia.)

______________________
About the author: Dr. Peter Baofu is the author of 46 books and 54 new theories (as of July, 2011) in different fields, ranging from the social sciences through the formal sciences and the natural sciences to the humanities, with the final convergence into a "unified theory of everything." Some of his latest books include "The Future of Post-Human Geography" (2011, forthcoming), "The Future of Post-Human Data Analysis" (2011), "The Future of Post-Human Literature" (2011), "The Future of Post-Human Computing" (2011), "Beyond Ethics to Post-Ethics" (2011), "The Future of Post-Human Humor" (2011), "Beyond Cosmology to Post-Cosmology" (2010), "The Future of Post-Human Education" (2011), "The Future of Post-Human Religion" (2010), "The Future of Post-Human Personality" (2010), "The Future of Post-Human War and Peace" (2010), "The Future of Post-Human Law" (2010), "The Future of Post-Human Mass Media" (2009), "Beyond the World of Titans, and the Remaking of World Order" (2007), "The Rise of Authoritarian Liberal Democracy" (2007), "Beyond Nature and Nurture" (2006), "Beyond Civilization to Post-Civilization" (2006), "Beyond Capitalism to Post-Capitalism" (2005), the 2 volumes of "Beyond Democracy to Post-Democracy" (2004), "The Future of Capitalism and Democracy" (2002), and the 2 volumes of "The Future of Human Civilization" (2000). The rest of his 46 books touch on numerous other fields in the natural sciences, the formal sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences -- ultimately for a "unified theory of everything."

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Is 'The Help' Movie a Retro Form of Racism?

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Is 'The Help' Movie a Retro Form of Racism?
Why Some People Are Boycotting 'The Help'


Nancy Tracy, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Jul 18, 2011


Despite having a black president in the White House with an Ivy League education, the biggest movie about African Americans this summer involves black maids and their deadbeat men. The rekindling of demeaning stereotypes and depiction of white people as their saviors are two of the problems some African Americans had with the 2009 book version of "The Help," the novel upon which the upcoming movie is based. Critics of Kathryn Stockett's take on blacks of the 1960s are saying "thanks, but no thanks" to the author's patronizing portrayal of the black experience.

"The Help" quickly became a New York Times best-seller and book club favorite, and the movie version -- which is being marketed as an island of sophisticated drama in a sea of summertime shoot 'em ups and sci fi -- is likely to sell a lot of popcorn. Yet beneath the glossy veneer of this hyped Hollywood movie are some tired funhouse cliches that distort the reality of being black in the 1960s.

Some of the movie's detractors are urging a boycott of the film, creating a Facebook page to publicize the protest. Critics of the movie also dished on its defects July 16, using the Twitter hashtag #100voicesrespondtothehelp.One blogger even called the book "a whitewashed, declawed version of history."

Here are some of the biggest beefs that boycotters have with "The Help":



Reinforces Negative Stereotypes



The Help" dredges up stale stereotypes of African Americans being less intelligent and attractive than white people.The maids in "The Help" are adorably illiterate, like children who unknowingly say funny things. Minny, for instance, mixes up her body parts and cars: "Cat got on the porch this morning, bout gave me a cadillac arrest thinking it was Mister Johnny," she says. Another maid, Aibileen, is an Uncle Tom who admires her friend's straight hair. "Yule May, Miss Hilly's maid setting in front in me. Yule May easy to recognize from the back cause she got such good hair, smooth, no nap in in," she gushes. In "The Help," good hair is code for white women's hair


Black Men are Worthless


Minny is married to an abusive man who refrains from beating her only when she is pregnant, but otherwise lacks paternal instincts. After bearing six children, Minny complains, "Plenty of black men leave their families behind like trash in a dump, but it's not something the colored woman do. We've got kids to think about."

But why should black men be good to their women? The maids in "The Help" seem to like their men mean. Even the devout Aibileen laments, "Much as I love the Lord, church going man never do all that much for me. Kind a man I like ain't the kind that stays around when he done spending all you money. I made that mistake twenty years ago. When my husband Clyde left me for that no-count hussy up on Farish street."

Overdone Dialects

Remember Prissy in "Gone With the Wind," the silly young black woman who said, "I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' babies"? Echoes of her illiterate speech and that of Mammy, Aunt Jemima and every other comically drawn black female character from historic pop culture can be heard throughout "The Help."

A writer for the Christian Science Monitor wondered why Stockett used a thick dialect only for the black characters, "with nary a dropped 'g' among her generally less sympathetic Southern white characters." Even Viola Davis, the actress who plays the maid Aibileen in the movie, had qualms with duplicating her character's exaggerated speech patterns. "I didn't want [Aibileen's] dialect to be as strong as it was in the book," she confided in an interview with Cinema Blend.

White Women Are Saviors

As with "The Blind Side," a 2009 movie in which a white middle class housewife played by Sandra Bullock saves a poor black teenager, in "The Help," an unmarried white journalist named Skeeter comes to the black maids' rescue. The subtext in both movies is that African Americans cannot improve their lot in life without a white lady to help them.

Desperate for Reality

Ironically, the movie trailer for "The Help" looks like a 1960s version of "Desperate Housewives" -- only instead of wine and housework, these southern-fried white women have maids and mint juleps. It is likely that Stockett's flawed film will not only prove as popular as the Sunday night soap, but also bear as little resemblance to reality.

Is Viola Davis Character In The Help Just The Stereotypical Black Mammy?

trailer for "the help



Is Viola Davis Character In The Help Just The Stereotypical Black Mammy?

by the blogger "GayblackCanadianman"

I cannot contain my anger and disappointment that Viola Davis decided to star in the new film The Help. Hollywood produces very myopic representations of black women. Black women are either whores like Halle Berry in Monster’s Ball or maids like Viola Davis in The Help. The social construction of the binary of black female sexuality is very limited.

I noticed a couple of things while watching the trailer for The Help. First, the white women are presented as the stereotypical pristine, upper class, and feminine. However, the black women in The Help speak in a Southern dialect, and constructed as inferior to the white women.

Of course, the white woman saves the day since the purpose of The Help is to promote the narrative that black people we cannot save ourselves.

The Help is just another form of the classic white saviour movies.

I am so tired of the racist white saviour narrative that black people need to be saved by whites.

Another problem, I have with The Help is the film promotes the racist narrative that black women have no agency. The only purpose black people have is to serve white folks. Black womanhood is constructed as just to be loving and nurturing. Hollywood consistently promotes the discourse that a black woman’s purpose in life is to exist in an anterior time. I cringed when I heard the line in the trailer “we love them and they love us.”

Yes, black women love working in the domestic sphere and serve rich white women. Of course, The Help ignores the fact in America, black women were blocked from higher educational opportunities for decades. Black women worked in the domestic sphere because this was the only work to make a living in America prior to the civil rights movement. Of course, there were black women such as Zora Neale Hurston that became a writer. However, the majority of black women had to work in domestic work because that’s the only form of work they were offered!

Two years ago, Sandra Bullock racist film The Blind Side also promoted this abhorrent narrative disavowing black agency.

I understand Viola is a black actress, and she needs to work. However, time really has not changed for black women in Hollywood.

I wish Viola Davis had more pride and decided NOT to take the role in The Help!

In the year 1940, Hattie McDaniel won an Academy Award for her role as mammy in the film Gone With The Wind. The black mammy stereotype of black womanhood is so pervasive in racist Hollywood!

McDaniel did not have a choice because in the year 1940 there were a paucity of good roles for black women in Hollywood.

I understand Viola Davis needs a pay cheque but taking on the role of a maid is demeaning.

The trailer for The Help is so racist and sexist against black women. I just feel so sick watching this racist garbage!

It is so sad that the best role Viola Davis can get since her Academy Award nomination for Doubt is just being the black mammy! It is so so deleterious and abhorrent that Viola would take this disgusting role as a maid to a white woman!

The Help engenders the discourse that a black woman purpose is to be subservient to white folks. I also find the racist narrative of the white saviour in The Help problematic. In the 1960s, civil rights movement my black elders helped themselves they did not sit and wait for white folks to gain freedom!

Ex-NBC technician sues in NYC, says colleagues harassed him over his Native American heritage

Ex-NBC technician sues in NYC, says colleagues harassed him over his Native American heritage

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By Associated Press, Updated: Friday, August 5, 8:59 PM


NEW YORK — Workers at NBC maligned a Native American colleague about his heritage by taunting him with a doll in traditional dress and making insulting comparisons to him, he said in a lawsuit Friday.

Former studio technician Faruq “Peter” Wells sued NBC Universal and some employees, saying he was ultimately forced to quit because of the employees’ behavior and the company’s inaction.


“They told him nothing was coming of this, just go back to work” alongside the same people, said Wells’ lawyer, Matthew Blit.

But NBC Universal said it had indeed acted on his July 2009 complaint.

“The company conducted a thorough, independent investigation and disciplined employees who behaved inappropriately,” and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reviewed the matter and declined to take further action, the company said in a statement.

“We believe that NBC Universal took appropriate actions and the lawsuit is without merit,” the company added. EEOC representatives didn’t immediately respond to an email Friday evening.

When Wells returned from a July 2009 vacation, a co-worker pointed out the doll on another colleague’s desk, and colleagues showed him photos of the doll hanging by a noose-like string and labeled “Baby Wells,” the lawsuit said.

Later that day, a worker lobbed the doll at Wells, described it as “your long-lost daughter,” plopped it on his desk and said, “Look, it’s got your DNA, skin color, and you both have the same hair. It’s braided, just like yours,” according to the lawsuit.

He alerted supervisors and human-resources officials, who told him the next month that the company had investigated, the matter was closed and he should get back to work and never speak of it, the lawsuit said. He left in August 2009 after about three years with the company, his lawyer said.

Wells has since done temporary work, but he’s been unable to find a permanent job, Blit said.

He’s seeking reinstatement to his job and unspecified damages.

Lil Wayne and Lady Gaga are sued for copyright infringement

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Lil Wayne is facing copyright infringement lawsuit yet again. The "6 Foot 7 Foot" MC is accused by Georgia-based production company Done Deal Enterprises of stealing their copyrighted song "BedRock" and incorporated it into the track of the same name.

In the legal paper filed in the United States District Court, Southern district of New York, the company are seeking $15 million in compensation. In response to the filing, judge has ordered Weezy to appear in court on October 12.

"BedRock" is a hip-hop single featuring the likes of Drake, Nicki Minaj, Gudda Gudda, Tyga, Jae Millz and Lloyd. Taken from Young Money's compilation CD "We Are Young Money", it peaked at No. on Billboard Hot 200 and climbed to No. 1 on Rap Songs chart.

This is not the first time Weezy is slapped with such lawsuit. In May 2010, the rap mogul was sued by a rapper named Dirahn Gilliams for allegedly sampling his song for Grammy-winning single "Lollipop" without his consent. The suit came just a month after "Lollipop" producer Jim Jonsin took legal action against Weezy, claiming he has yet to receive any royalty payments for his work.

Additionally, another "Lollipop" producer Darius "Deezle" Harrison filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit over royalties from Weezy's "Mrs. Officer". Adding piles to the legal woes, Weezy was recently sued by production duo Play-N-Skillz and producer David Kirkwood over unpaid royalties to his song "Got Money" and album "Tha Carter III" respectively.



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August 4, 2011 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- Rebecca Francescatti of Chicago filed a federal lawsuit against Lady Gaga and her record company over one of her songs.

The suit claims they stole Francescatti's song entitled "Juda" and changed the title to "Judas" on the singer's "Born This Way" album.

The suit claims the Chicago woman got a copyright for the song in 1999, and recorded it in 2004. She's seeking an unspecified amount of damages.

No one from Lady Gaga's camp is commenting on the matter.

Chicago CBS Affiliate Makes 4-yr.-old Sound Like a Thug, Says Sorry

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Over the weekend, Chicago CBS-affiliate WBBM apologized for misquoting a black 4-year-old boy and making him out to be a future thug.

It all started out when a freelancer was shooting video interviews at a crime scene and met the child, who was standing nearby when a drive-by shooting took place. In the news segment, the child tells a reporter that such shootings don’t scare him and that, when he grows up, “I’m going to have me a gun.” But it turns out the station left out a key part of the story.

The Maynard Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to training journalists of color, transcribed the conversation between the cameraman and the boy as broadcasted by WBBM:

Boy: “I’m not scared of nothing.”

Reporter: “When you get older are you going to stay away from all these guns?”

Boy: “No.”

Reporter: “No?

What are you going to do when you get older?”

Boy: “I’m going to have me a gun!”

Bartelstein ended the story saying, “that was scary indeed.”

However, an unedited version of the interview shows the boy’s words were taken completely out of context. It turns out he wants a gun because he wants to become a police officer.

Gawker.com has published the station’s apology:

We accept responsibility for the mistakes that were made, both in the reporting and editing of the story. The video of the child should not have aired. As soon as news management identified the problem, they took immediate steps to ensure that the video would not air in subsequent newscasts. In addition, we have followed up with our employees to make sure that we all have learned from the mistakes that were made.

Boyce D. Watkins, a professor and columnist, writes that it’s easy to dismiss this incident as a simple mistake, “but it’s much deeper than we might think” because of how black men are portrayed in the media already. Watkins goes provides another local black figure who’s famous for being misquoted:

Even more challenging is the frustration that millions of educated, hard working, law abiding black men feel when the world typecasts us as being less than human. This little boy is already growing up in a city, Chicago, where a brilliant and hard-working man by the name of Rev. Jeremiah Wright had his 40-year legacy crippled by a Fox News sound bite that presented him to be the kind of unpatriotic, hateful black man that Fox News loves to present to its audience.

In the video posted above, Ben Jealous, president of the NAACP, called the edits in the video “disturbing.” Jealous, who’s also a former journalist, went on to say it’s important to tell the whole truth because “when you’re telling half the truth, you’re in effect lying.”

Bronx white supremacist principal fired

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A Bronx parochial school principal was fired Tuesday from his post at a largely minority school after the Daily News exposed his writings for a white supremacist group.

The dismissal of Frank Borzellieri from Our Lady of Mount Carmel School in the Bronx became a black and white issue: His opinions were deemed "incompatible" with Catholic teachings.

The firing was quickly hailed by the ex-principal's critics, including his old boss at another Catholic school.

"I'm so glad I just can't tell you," said Annemarie Zagaglia, former principal at St. Barnabas elementary school. "People are really happy."

Zagaglia had warned the pastor at Mount Carmel about Borzellieri's beliefs before he was hired in 2009 - but says she was ignored. The school's students are mostly black and Latino.

The Rev. Eric Rapaglia, pastor at the church, apologized to his parishioners for "my mistake in judgment." The pastor fired Borzellieri after consulting with authorities in the Archdiocese of New York.

Archdiocese spokesman Joe Zwilling said officials met with Borzellieri and reviewed "his opinions and beliefs as expressed in his books and columns."

Daniel Dromm, an openly gay teacher targeted by Borzellieri in the early '90s, praised the decision to boot the principal.

"I'm very glad that the Catholic Church did the right thing," said Dromm.

"The fact that this man was allowed to be in this position even after other teachers complained is outrageous."

Borzellieri, 48, bolted from his Queens apartment around 7 a.m. Tuesday after learning about the firing. A neighbor said he was well-regarded in their building.

"He's a very nice guy," the neighbor said. "He's friendly with everyone in the building. Everyone's shocked."

The News revealed that as a Queens school board member, Borzellieri tried to bar "anti-American" literature - including a biography of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - from school libraries.

His own writings included a 2004 book asserting "diversity is a weakness," and Borzellieri was a frequent contributor to the white supremacist publication American Renaissance.

Word of Borzellieri's racist ties caused a ruckus at the parish's Sunday Mass, where one parishioner stood to demand the principal's ouster.

White supremacist principal running Bronx school with majority black and Latino students

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A firebrand educator with ties to a white supremacist group is running a Bronx Catholic school where most of the students are black and Latino, the Daily News has learned.

Frank Borzellieri, 48, was quietly promoted to principal of Our Lady of Mount Carmel School two years ago - despite a history of controversial writings and campaigns, including a push to ban a biography on the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

In 2004, Borzellieri wrote the book "Don't Take It Personally: Race, Immigration, Crime and Other Heresies," in which he declares "diversity is a weakness" and says the rising black and Hispanic populations in America will lead to the "New Dark Age."

He has also written frequently for the white supremacist publication American Renaissance, with which he is still "intimately involved," the non-profit Southern Poverty Law Center says.

Borzellieri declined comment.

Mount Carmel pastor, the Rev. Eric Rapaglia, said he knew of Borzellieri's views, but didn't "see any cause for concern" when he hired him to run the 200-student elementary school.

"I knew of him from my last parish," he said. "Do I agree with all of it? No. But I think much of it is valuable and logical and reasonable.

"A lot of his ideas would actually benefit minorities," he added.

Borzellieri, who unsuccessfully ran for state Assembly in 1994 and City Council in 1997, previously made headlines as a school board member in District 24 in Queens, where he lives.

During his board tenure, from 1993 to 2002, he tried to:


Ban literature he labeled "anti-American" from school libraries. His targets included books on different races and culture, and a biography of King.


Remove an openly gay teacher and gay-rights activist from the classroom at Public School 199 in Sunnyside, and ban school employees from making any references to homosexuality.


Introduce a resolution calling for students to be taught that U.S. culture is superior.

Borzellieri's views rankled teachers at St. Barnabas School in Woodlawn, Bronx, where he taught English from 2006 to 2009.

"You can't have someone with those beliefs or who writes that kind of stuff working at a Catholic school," said Annemarie Zagaglia, principal of St. Barnabas School during Borzellieri's time there.

When Rapaglia was the pastor of St. Barnabas, Zagaglia warned him that teachers had legitimate concerns about Borzellieri. She said Rapaglia "dismissed the whole thing, and that was the end of that."

Rapaglia became pastor of Mount Carmel - in Fordham, Bronx - in 2009 and hired Borzellieri as principal that year.

A former teacher at St. Barnabas said she alerted the Archdiocese of New York in 2007 that students had complained Borzellieri was using them as "research" for his books, but the teacher never got a response.

Archdiocese spokesman Joe Zwilling said there is no record of a complaint against Borzellieri, but said the matter is under review.

Zwilling added that sweeping changes in hiring parish principals went into effect in 2009 - right after Borzellieri got the gig.

"Previously, pastors had great leeway and discretion in the hiring of principals," Zwilling said. "That practice usually worked well, but we saw room for improvement."

Parents of students at Mount Carmel voiced concern after the Daily News informed them of Borzellieri's past.

"I've heard kids say they don't like him," said one mother, a Jamaican immigrant. "I was wondering where the heck he came from. He shouldn't be teaching here. He could look at kids differently because they're black. It's not fair."
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Racism in Oz: Aus radio host calls India 'shit hole', Ganga a 'junkyard'

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Melbourne: An Australian radio show host is facing criticism from the Indian community over his reportedly derogatory comments on India and Hinduism, in which he called river Ganga a 'junkyard'.

A Sydney-based Indian group is seeking an apology from the radio station following a report that host Kyle Sandilands made anti-India comments on his "Kyle and Jacky O" show.

According to a report by a local ethnic TV programme 'Desi Kangaroos', Sandilands said "India is a shit hole" and went further to describe river Ganga as a 'junkyard'.

The Council of Indian Australians (CIA) lashed out on Sandilands for the "insulting" remarks, and has said it would take up the issue with Australia's media regulatory body if it was not amicably resolved.

"Sandilands made insulting comments against India and ridiculed River Ganges which is a sacred river in Hinduism. His ridicule involved some of the practices of the followers of Hinduism," CIA president Yadu Singh said in an official statement.

Singh said he found Kyle's comments "insensitive, insulting, hurtful and unwarranted" and that he was upset and angered by them.

"Indian Australian community is a peaceful and tolerant community... It does not attack any nation, national group or religious practices of any group. It is obviously not happy when others attack them or their belief system," he said.

The body has written to his radio station, demanding an apology from it and from Sandilands.

It said it will pursue the matter and will seek a satisfactory resolution, failing which the matter will be pursued with Australian Communication & Media Authority (ACMA).