Group items tagged

Even though biologically, there are no 'races', just human beings, the classification system which racializes different groups and pegs us according to skin color, has a history dating back to antiquity. Racism is a systemic phenomenon that permeates our values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. We know a great deal about the economics and politics of oppression, while the psychology and history of oppression is neglected. That is why I write about race. I don't write about race to disparage whites or to pour salt on old wounds. Throughout history, there have always been whites who fought shoulder to shoulder with Blacks at great risk and sacrifice to themselves, driven by a sense of humanity, principal and true belief that all men really are created equal and I honor them. I write about race because it shaped our founding and is the heartbeat of this nation.

Via Sociological Images (by way of the Economic Mobility Project) is an interesting chart showing downward class mobility among blacks and whites. Each bar represents the percentage of children who end up in the bottom fifth of income earners by race and income of the parent:

BAD NEWS LOUIS...DNA STUDIES HAVE REVEALED THAT OVER 33% OF ALL AFRICAN AMERICANS ARE OVER 25% WHITE. BARAK OBAMA HOWEVER HAS LESS THAN 9% AFRICAN BLOOD AND IS MOSTLY ARAB.

AFP - The race to avert an oil catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico intensified Thursday with BP rushing to lower a dome to contain the spill, while sheen was confirmed on land for the first time.

DEREK BELL OBAMAS HERO: INSIGHT INTO WHAT EFFECTS HE HAD ON OBAMA

The human race has witnessed many crises that have changed the course of history. These crises brought destruction to the world peace. The most destructive events in world history were the world wars which lead to loss of human life and resources. After the world war the crisis that has engulfed the whole world is the 9/11. The incident of 9/11 was seen as the direct threat by the Americans but the steps taken by America have now made the entire world a dangerous place to live in. The aftershocks of the 9/11 were observed in every part of the world. The United States of America blamed Muslims for the 9/11 incident which was made the reason for war against terrorism. This war against terrorism was started by Americans in Afghanistan, Iraq and other parts of the world. American believes that Islamic extremists are a big threat to American existence and they should be finished to bring peace to the world. For this, America first blamed Afghan mujahedeen and started a war there. The war is still on the go but it sees that America has lost the war as the death toll of the allied forces is still high.

To visit China today as an American is to compare and to be compared. And from the very opening session of this year's World Economic Forum here in Tianjin, our Chinese hosts did not hesitate to do some comparing. China's CCTV aired a skit showing four children - one wearing the Chinese flag, another the American, another the Indian, and another the Brazilian - getting ready to run a race. Before they take off, the American child, "Anthony," boasts that he will win "because I always win," and he jumps out to a big lead. But soon Anthony doubles over with cramps. "Now is our chance to overtake him for the first time!" shouts the Chinese child. "What's wrong with Anthony?" asks another. "He is overweight and flabby," says another child. "He ate too many hamburgers." That is how they see us.

Lisa Murkowski promised to get out of the race if she lost the primary. Lisa ran as an independent promising to support the GOP, promising to stay conservative like the Alaskan voters wanted. Lisa won based on ideals that the voters bought - lock, stock and barrel. Everyone loves an underdog right? Question is, what flag will she fly in the Congress?

Madison, Wisconsin - The gears of government tend to grind slowly. But in Wisconsin lately they are racing at turbocharged speed. In just the last few weeks, Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, has signed legislation to require voters to show photo identification cards at the polls and to deregulate elements of the telecommunications industry. And the Republican-dominated Legislature is now in the midst of advancing provisions to expand school vouchers, to allow people to carry concealed weapons, to cut financing for Planned Parenthood and to bar illegal immigrants from paying in-state tuition at Wisconsin's universities. Why the urgency? Republicans, who suddenly swept into control of this Capitol in last fall's elections, face a deadline of sorts. Though the lawmakers insist that their hurry-up offense is just living up to campaign promises, there is a threat looming: They are at risk of losing their newly won majority in the State Senate as early as next month. New, special elections are expected in as many as nine Senate districts (six of which are now held by Republicans) as part of the largest recall effort against state lawmakers in Wisconsin's history - an effort that grew out of yet another controversial measure Republicans pushed through this spring, a sharp reduction to collective bargaining rights for public workers.

With all due respect to Charles Dickens, it appears to be the worst of times for public and higher education in America, if not democracy itself; public schools are increasingly viewed as a business and are prized above all for customer satisfaction and efficiency, while largely judged through the narrow lens of empirical accountability measures. When not functioning as an adjunct of corporate value or a potentially lucrative for-profit investment, public schools are reduced to containment centers, holding institutions designed to largely punish young people marginalized by race and class.