Pope drawn into row over racism
Robert Mickens
Pope Benedict XVI has found himself in the midst of a heated debate over Italy's controversial new security measures - which some say unfairly single out Gypsies and foreigners - after he warned against the rise of "new and worrying signs of racism" in "some countries" around the world.
The Pope never mentioned Italy in remarks he made last Sunday before praying the Angelus at Castel Gandolfo, but some Italian commentators and politicians were quick to link his comments to stinging criticism that the country's most popular Catholic magazine has been levelling for weeks against Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right Government.
Famiglia Cristiana, a mainstream family-oriented publication that sells up to two million copies a week, preceded the Pope's remarks with its latest critique, insinuating that the Berlusconi Government was verging on fascism.
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Friday, August 22, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Dalit village faces 'economic boycott'
Dalit village faces 'economic boycott'
Wed, Aug 20 03:27 AM
The Dalit settlement in Pirali village in Limdi Taluka is facing an economic boycott of sorts by the upper caste Darbar community which blocked their access to the village and even stopped them from going outside for work. The trouble started after the Dalits protested against the Darbars releasing sewage into their area three years ago.
"Earlier, the sewage from the Darbar locality used to flow out of the village, but about three years ago they changed the direction of the water and made it flow towards our village," said Tulsi Parmar, a resident of the Dalit village. "With the sewage flowing straight into our area we have major water contamination," he said.
The Darbars have now blocked the road connecting the settlement to the Dalit village. The Dalits are now being forced to travel through another road which bypasses the village. The Indian Express reporter, too, was accosted by some men wielding sticks when he tried to take the disputed road."What are you doing here? You guys have no business here," said a member of the group. Asked about the problems with the Dalits, a youngster in the group, said: "Yes, there are issues with the Dalits here, but we do not wish to discuss it with you."
Meanwhile, last week the police refused to register an FIR against the Darbars for assaulting Tulsi Parmar who had been protesting the release of sewage. Though a few arrests were made, the accused were later released on bail. "I have arrested 12 men as a preventive measure and produced them in the local court, where they have been granted bail," said Panshena SI P L Padvhi, who claimed to have visited the village.
The Dalits allege that an economic boycott has been imposed since they approached the police. "Most of us work in their fields. Now they have stopped giving us work, they also stopped us from working in other villages," said Raju Soya.
Read it allSunday, August 17, 2008
White Party, Black Party: Racial Division in American Politics
Rarely Discussed in Public and Almost Never by Politicians
By RON CLAIBORNE
MIAMI, Aug. 17, 2008
In an interview on National Public Radio last week, Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean touted the racial and gender diversity of the Democratic Party to the Republican Party. In what sounded like a slip of the tongue, he momentarily referred to the GOP as the "white party." Paging Dr. Freud.
In American politics, racial differences are rarely discussed in public and almost never by politicians.
The McCain campaign pounced on the remark. Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and chair of Victory 2008 -- and one of the highest-ranking females in the McCain campaign -- issued a statement calling Dean's comments -- as if they had been intentional -- "insulting, inappropriate, and have no place in this election."
What Dean said was, "If you look at folks of color, even women, they're more successful in the Democratic party than they are in the white, uh, excuse me, in, uh, Republican party."
"He misspoke and corrected himself immediately," Stacie Paxton, DNC press secretary said Sunday.
In any case, Dean raised an issue that is rarely discussed in public and almost never by politicians: the marked racial division by party in American politics. Members of the country's largest minority groups -- blacks, Latinos, Asian-Americans -- are predominantly Democratic.
According to 2004 statistics, white Americans are split evenly between the two parties with an equal percentage who are independents. But 90 percent of registered Republicans are white.
These cold numbers are reflected in the audiences Sens. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and John McCain, R-Ariz., attract. In this year's presidential race, a crowd at an Obama public event often looks like a Benetton ad, compared to a McCain event, where the crowds are overwhelmingly white.
No doubt, a lot of this is because Obama is African-American (or, more accurately, half-black). The prospect of a black president has clearly excited many black Americans.
For more than 40 years, African-Americans have voted overwhelmingly Democratic for president, by margins of up to 9-to-1. Hispanics and Asian-Americans traditionally vote Democratic, but by smaller margins. A look at voter registration shows that 45 percent of Latinos are Democrats. Just 19 percent are Republican. Forty-one percent of Asian-Americans are Democrats compared to 18 percent, who are Republican. The Democratic party overall is 65 percent white and 35 percent non-white. Ninety percent of registered Republicans are white.
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By RON CLAIBORNE
MIAMI, Aug. 17, 2008
In an interview on National Public Radio last week, Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean touted the racial and gender diversity of the Democratic Party to the Republican Party. In what sounded like a slip of the tongue, he momentarily referred to the GOP as the "white party." Paging Dr. Freud.
In American politics, racial differences are rarely discussed in public and almost never by politicians.
The McCain campaign pounced on the remark. Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and chair of Victory 2008 -- and one of the highest-ranking females in the McCain campaign -- issued a statement calling Dean's comments -- as if they had been intentional -- "insulting, inappropriate, and have no place in this election."
What Dean said was, "If you look at folks of color, even women, they're more successful in the Democratic party than they are in the white, uh, excuse me, in, uh, Republican party."
"He misspoke and corrected himself immediately," Stacie Paxton, DNC press secretary said Sunday.
In any case, Dean raised an issue that is rarely discussed in public and almost never by politicians: the marked racial division by party in American politics. Members of the country's largest minority groups -- blacks, Latinos, Asian-Americans -- are predominantly Democratic.
According to 2004 statistics, white Americans are split evenly between the two parties with an equal percentage who are independents. But 90 percent of registered Republicans are white.
These cold numbers are reflected in the audiences Sens. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and John McCain, R-Ariz., attract. In this year's presidential race, a crowd at an Obama public event often looks like a Benetton ad, compared to a McCain event, where the crowds are overwhelmingly white.
No doubt, a lot of this is because Obama is African-American (or, more accurately, half-black). The prospect of a black president has clearly excited many black Americans.
For more than 40 years, African-Americans have voted overwhelmingly Democratic for president, by margins of up to 9-to-1. Hispanics and Asian-Americans traditionally vote Democratic, but by smaller margins. A look at voter registration shows that 45 percent of Latinos are Democrats. Just 19 percent are Republican. Forty-one percent of Asian-Americans are Democrats compared to 18 percent, who are Republican. The Democratic party overall is 65 percent white and 35 percent non-white. Ninety percent of registered Republicans are white.
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