"Racist" Ringtone Censored

Cingular Wireless was selling the following jocular ringtone:

"The ringer paints this scene: Anytown, USA. An undocumented Hispanic immigrant selling oranges on the street. Then, sirens wail and a man with a mild Southern accent begins to speak. "Calmate, calmate, this is la migra. Por favor, put the oranges down and step away from the cell phone. I repeat-o, put the oranges down and step away from the telephone-o. I'm deporting you back home-o."

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It was judged to be racist and offensive and has now been removed from sale, amid apologies from Cingular. The fact that nobody was compelled to buy or use it, seems to have been rather overlooked.

"La migra" means "The Immigration" and "calmate" means "relax".




"Sensitive" Tune

One of the great songs from classical music is "See the conquering hero" from "Judas Maccabeus" by G.F. Handel. So the BBC have chosen it as the theme music for their broadcast of a big soccer match in which the England team will be playing.

Soccer matches between England and Scotland are normally an occasion for bringing out into the open the Scottish dislike of the English. Soccer seems to be where you can express what you cannot express elsewhere. So the fact that Handel wrote his music to celebrate the crushing of a rebel Scottish army by a Royal English general has become a big issue in Scotland. The BBC (that paragon of "sensitivity") is being accused of insensitivity over their choice of the tune.

The fact that the Scottish army that was defeated was a rebel one and that more Scots fought under the Royal general than fought in the rebel army is irrelevant, of course. More here.




Yes. That WAS the Point

Lawsuit Challenges Arizona's Voter ID Rules:

"Hispanic groups on Tuesday filed a lawsuit asking a federal court to block and declare unconstitutional voter identification requirements imposed under a 2004 voter-approved state law. Voter registration drives are being hindered by the law's mandate for registrants to submit documents proving their citizenship, the lawsuit said".

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A Practical Joke is now "Sexual Harassment"

From Arizona:

"Two police officers have been suspended for five days without pay for pulling a prank involving a sex toy, the mayor of San Luis said. Mayor Nieves Riedel said the incident involved an officer who planted a phallic sex toy in a patrol car as a joke on another officer last week....

Police spokesman Ernesto Lugo declined to discuss specifics, but said such cases are treated as sexual harassment by the department."

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