Migration and Racism

*** Disclaimer: please read my framework for analyzing the Wright sermons before reading this post. *** First of all, let me say that the good folks over at Fox (and every other mainstream media outlet for that matter), clinging desperately to the formula "controversy=eyeballs=advertising dollars" really bungled the hell out of this one while leaving the task of investigative journalism to the weary few in the blogosphere. I apologize in advance that most of those accounts are a little biased in defending Wright, but that's because, to the best of my knowledge, no major media outlet was interested in publishing the actual transcripts, just the controversial remarks. ... Read Full Story

This is a more documented phenomenon than I had originally expected. The Economist of March 15th had a 14-page special report on China's entitled "The New Colonialists." The cover image gave me a chuckle or two: Economist.com: Mary Dell Lucas and Getty Images If you're the Chinese Communist party, you’re on a dual-mission: 1) censor the Internet 2) find oil. Well, oil and other natural resources. And where better to find those resources than in the many resource-rich, GDP-poor countries of Africa? The Economist’s report took a particularly close look at the Democratic Republic of Congo. Here's the article's summary of the situation there: "Congolese are constantly ... Read Full Story

To understand market-dominant minorities and their role in ethnic conflict, we must first go to the proverbial horse's mouth: In World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability , Yale Professor Amy Chua writes that the US's prescription for developing countries, "more free markets and more democracy" may in fact be a mistake...no big surprises there. However, the reasoning behind her claim is very interesting. She says that essentially free markets in the current global economy are ethnically-biased, leading to the creation of market-dominant ethnic minorities who, while accounting for only a miniscule percentage of the population, control a disproportionately large share of the wealth ... Read Full Story

*** Disclaimer: please read my framework for analyzing the Wright sermons before reading this post. *** This Week in the Adventures of Jeremiah Wright Interestingly enough Reverend Wright has appeared again in the media in the past few days, and the media has done an equally terrible job of covering his statements. Here is the full speech he gave before the National Press Club: Speech Part 1  - Speech Part 2 - Speech Part 3 It's a nice speech about love and reconciliation if you really listen to it. Then you can watch the working press bring up the same old rehashed malarkey they've been talking about for ... Read Full Story

Do not call each other by demeaning nicknames: How foul is a name connoting vileness … Al-Qur’an 49:11 I was recently involved in a forum entitled, “Should Muslims Use the ‘N’ word.” The event could have more appropriately been entitled, “Should Anyone Use the ‘N’ Word.” However, the reason for the gathering was the frequency young Muslims, of all ethnic and racial backgrounds, are employing the term. One of the individuals whose suggestion inspired the forum mentioned that he was shocked—upon returning to the university after an absence of several years—by how frequently he was hearing other Muslims on campus saying, “My nigga’,” “What’s ... Read Full Story