Category Archives: racism

Anne Applebaum Interview About President Donald Trump – SPIEGEL ONLINE

Applebaum: I don’t want to predict calamity. But I am afraid of a new Russian occupation of parts of Eastern Europe. Also of a new Russian campaign to exert influence in Germany or other parts Europe, aimed at making continental politics less democratic. I am afraid of a US trade war and even a shooting war with China.

Source: Anne Applebaum Interview About President Donald Trump – SPIEGEL ONLINE

American hegemony: The Anglo-American suicide | In English | EL PAÍS

And yet it would not be the first time in history that an empire has committed suicide. From 1405 to 1433, China’s imperial navy sailed all the seas of Asia and along the east coast of Africa under Admiral Zheng He. The Ming dynasty was able to organize expeditions of up to 300 ships (some of them 120 meters in length at a time when the Santa María of Columbus only measured 26 meters) and employing tens of thousands of sailors. But when the Yongle Emperor died, coinciding with the era when Portuguese sailors were beginning to sail the seas, his successors decided to end the expeditions and began a long period of isolation that would ultimately cut China off from knowledge and key markets at a crucial juncture in its own development. This left the country in a position of weakness that later allowed the West to easily defeat it, obliging it to open its markets. The fact that, while Trump and May are announcing their intention to leave, Chinese president Xi Jinping is defending globalization at Davos, should offer a very clear indication of the depth of the power shift that we are acting as witnesses to – one that will only get deeper.

Source: American hegemony: The Anglo-American suicide | In English | EL PAÍS

No, I Will Not Give Trump a Chance | Dame Magazine

There’s no giving a chance to a man who doesn’t understand the basic principles of the U.S. Constitution. Who threatens Americans their citizenship or prison for burning the flag.Not only will I refuse to participate in my own soul murder of a foul man who takes a Victory Tour that got rebranded a “Thank-you” tour while visiting only states where he “won,” but that foulness doesn’t get a chance.There’s not a person on the planet who gets a chance after allowing “Lock her up” chants or racial and imperialistic violence at his rallies to win a seat to work for us.No influential person worth his salt gets a chance after messing in the business dealings of Carrier or Toyota or General Motors or who influences stocks to fall when he publicly pouts about their loyalty. No one who affects Boeing stock and causes it to plummet after lying about the cost of it compared to Air Force 1, gets a chance.There’s no giving a chance to a man who sides with a murderous leader like the Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte. DUTERTE.

Source: No, I Will Not Give Trump a Chance | Dame Magazine

Without Obamacare, I Will Get Sicker, Faster, Until I Die – The New York Times – But GOP does not care, not a whit!

My prognosis is not good, but Obamacare gets me the treatment I need so that I can be myself as long as possible. Without this insurance, my illness would progress more rapidly, until I died.Early on Thursday morning, the Senate voted to begin the process of repealing Obamacare. On Friday, the House followed suit. A repeal of Obamacare — without even knowing what the replacement would be — obviously makes me very scared. I used to be the one helping people as a social worker. Now I’m the one who needs help.17COMMENTSIt’s not too late for Republicans in Congress to change their minds and see reason. It will be at least a few weeks before Congress formally votes on the question of repeal.If one of the last meaningful things I can do is help even one person understand how important it is for millions of people to keep their Obamacare, then my illness will have served its purpose. For that I will be grateful.

US shoe company recalls boot that ‘mistakenly’ leaves swastika prints – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Not a mistake – they just got caught being stupid trying to profit off of racism and hate.

Conal said it did “not promote hate or discrimination of any kind” and was investigating what had gone wrong.The Reddit post, which has been viewed more than 3 million times, sparked a flurry of jokes on social media.On Amazon, where the boots were sold before being pulled by the company, users left reviews describing the boots as “good for marching into Poland, but not so much for anything else”, and rating them a “nein out of ten”.Other Reddit users pointed out the boot style shared its name — Polar Fox — with that of the codename for a German and Finnish military operation in World War II.

Source: US shoe company recalls boot that ‘mistakenly’ leaves swastika prints – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

The Archaeological thefts | nadiaharhash

An Israeli colleague of mine, from an Israeli organization that stands against Israeli policies (Emek Shaveh) in what is claimed to be archeological and national parks as means to displace Palestinians and grab more control on the land, found while surfing some archaeological journals on the web, about some new findings in Deir Dib Wan, a town on the outskirts of Ramallah in what is categorized as a B area according to Oslo Accords. The excavated site was on the C area of the village, which seemed to have been covered by an American mission belonging to a theological institute within the University of Texas for the last twenty years, without even bothering to search for the landowners or taking any permission. The Israeli Coordination offices in charges of area C, however, no one has the right to enter a land and use it, excavate it without the permission or the notice of its people. Something that kept happening for twenty years. What we know from the journal, and thanks to this!!! That the area has a 1500 years old Byzantine city, the excavations revealed a church, homes, potteries, and definitely more. The university has been conducting exhibitions on the findings in the last years.

Source: The Archaeological thefts | nadiaharhash

It’s Against My Religion to Accommodate Nazis. | Rebelle Society

 

The backlash so far is mostly vindictive, verbally violent, and devoid of insight that tables have turned on the flamethrowers. This lack of self-awareness is stunning, if not surprising. The same constituency who applauded business owners who exercised their freedom of religion by denying service to LGBTQ patrons are now howling at the injustice of being unwelcome beyond certain doors or, in this case, a door.While it’s amusing to observe the confused flailing of bullies receiving a taste of their own medicine, there’s a larger kernel of wisdom to pluck from this story. Even as they are placed firmly in the shoes of their victims, the new GOP are incapable of making the leap to empathy.They see no connection between harm they’ve done and their own outrage at being excluded from places to which they’ve denied others entrance. This is the hubris of white males who believe the myth of their superiority, but it’s also something more troubling.The GOP’s devolution escalated with the election of Barack Obama. At a secret dinner, the night of Obama’s inauguration, 15 Republicans schemed to block the new president and do everything in their power to bring down his presidency. They put party ahead of country, caring little if the downward-spiraling economy bullet-trained to the abyss.

Source: It’s Against My Religion to Accommodate Nazis. | Rebelle Society

Facebook lets rightwing site repost torture video after it was removed | Technology | The Guardian “Cause Facebook does not really care about anything but ca$h”

A video showing the brutal attack of a young man with disabilities in Chicago that was broadcast on Facebook Live has resurfaced on the social media network, attracting millions of new viewers.The 30-minute attack, which shows a man bound, gagged and cut with a knife, was viewed live by 16,000 people and eventually removed by Facebook for violating its community standards. Facebook prohibits the celebration or glorification of crimes on its platform.Facebook refuses to explain why live torture video wasn’t removed sooner Read moreOn Thursday, conservative news site the Daily Caller repackaged the same footage and re-uploaded it to Facebook, along with the message: “Share if you think this is a hate crime.”The video, which appears to be three minutes shorter than the original but otherwise appears to be identical, has since been watched more than 7m times and shared more than 200,000 times.Facebook appears to be content to allow the video to exist on its network.

Source: Facebook lets rightwing site repost torture video after it was removed | Technology | The Guardian

Coachella owner denies donating to anti-LGBT groups amid outrage | Music | The Guardian “Talking from both sides of mouth – he uses funds from Coachilla to fund Trump supporters!”

A major Republican donor, Anschutz gave more than $1m to conservative candidates and political fundraising groups in 2016, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan watchdog. Employees of the Anschutz Corporation also leaned heavily toward Republican candidates. The businessman has attended political events hosted by the Koch brothers, the billionaire scions of an oil fortune and also Republican donors, and Anschutz has donated to their political group Americans for Prosperity, which opposes climate change research and regulations. Anschutz’s natural gas company has also sued small towns in pursuit of fracking rights, and the businessman has invested heavily in a gigantic Wyoming wind farm.

Source: Coachella owner denies donating to anti-LGBT groups amid outrage | Music | The Guardian