"Caucasian" is now a naughty word

“Bachelor” star Sean Lowe may be realizing that he may not have the right moves on the dance floor to win this season of “Dancing with the Stars.” There are some younger contestants that may be doing much better than Sean himself, and he is now making a joke about how he could thrive on the dance floor. However, his joke may have rubbed people the wrong way, as some people feel that his tweet did come off a little racist. Even though he is mocking himself in the tweet, some feel that it was highly inappropriate. And he isn’t deleting the tweet, so his publicist may not find it to be a big deal. According to a new Wetpaint Entertainment report published on April 25, “Bachelor” star Sean Lowe is now being accused of sending out some racist tweet.

“Getting ready for Latin week with the rumba. When is Caucasian week? That's when I'm really going to shine,” Sean tweeted this week. While he did tweet it to mock his own dancing skills, he could have worded it differently, since some people are clearly taking offense to the tweet. Sure, he probably didn’t mean to mock other races, but it sounds like he is being a little insensitive.

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Man fined for racism after Welsh sheep slur

Not quite clear whether it was his words or behavior that was penalized

A man who was fined for racism after he branded Welsh people “sheep shaggers” claims he was using a term for people living in the countryside.

Anthony Taaffe had to be restrained and sat on by an off duty policeman and security staff at a holiday park in Wales after he was seen shouting and swearing while drunk, a court in Lladudno heard.

He then called the off duty policeman and security a staff “a bunch of sheep s******s.”

The court heard there were children present at the time at the holiday park in Gronant.

But Taaffe, of Bolton, told the court that he hadn’t been insulting Welsh people specifically and that instead he was using the words because it “is a term for people living in the countryside.”

The 47-year-old was fined £150 after he admitted racially aggravated disorderly behaviour.

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New Zealanders are also routinely joshed about their many sheep and supposed carnal connections with them but mostly they seem to smile through gritted teeth about it.  The joke seems reliably hilarious to Australians but it undoubtedly gets tedious to Kiwis.  It seems that the Welsh have a similar problems with the rougher element among the English.  Ethnic jokes are jokes no more

Asian-American Frat Under Fire for Blackface Video



The curious convention that whites (and Asians?) must not look like blacks again

The Lambda Theta Delta Fraternity at the University of California, Irvine, has apologized after the release of a YouTube video featuring one of its members in blackface.

The video depicts members of Lambda Theta Delta, an Asian-American fraternity, performing to the Justin Timberlake Song, "Suit and Tie." Members say it was designed to promote an upcoming fraternity event.

Halfway through the clip, one of the members, in an attempt to portray rapper Jay-Z, appears made up in blackface.

"I feel personally offended at that act whether it was for ignorance, whether they just didn't know about it, I feel like that's not an excuse," Ayana Baines, member of UC Irvine's Black Student Union told ABC News affiliate KABC-TV.

Lambda Theta Delta President Darius Obana told KABC-TV the makeup was meant to distinguish one of the performers as Jay-Z. "In a nutshell it was pretty much just to play that role and be Jay-Z and kind of distinguish himself from the other guys in the video," he said.

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Too much truth

I have to tread warily here in case I get something wrong but I gather that many of the Orthodox in Israel do avoid normal citizen duties by spending their lives as "students"  -- just studying religious texts.  Anger over that is common among more secular Israelis

Deputy Finance Minister Mickey Levy (Yesh Atid) called the ultra-Orthodox public "parasites" during a live radio interview on Wednesday, exacerbating the already tense situation between the ultra-Orthodox public and a government which seeks to implement universal conscription and changes in the ultra-Orthodox educational system.

In an interview with Kol Berama, an ultra-Orthodox radio station, Levy, a former Jerusalem District police chief, said that the community must join the labor force because "it's impossible to be parasites on the Israeli public. The ultra-Orthodox must bear the burden. and enter the job market. It is impossible to continue to be carried on the shoulders of the Israeli taxpayer."

Levy immediately apologized and retracted his remark, and said that "you are equal citizens, [and must] be obligated with responsibilities" instead of "continuing to live off those. who serve their country."

MK Eli Yishai of Shas immediately denounced Levy's remarks, likening them to statements made in 1942 Germany. "If similar statements, such as the deputy minister said, were spoken about the Jewish community by a parliament member in another country, that country would be shocked, and rightly so."

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Brit forced to apologise after describing severely disabled boy as a 'vegetable' 

Given the severity of his handicaps, "vegetable" would  seem a reasonable quick description.  And anything on Twitter has to be short

The son of an MP has been forced to apologise after describing Katie Price's disabled son as a 'vegetable'.

Ian Lavery Jnr, 24, cracked a sick joke on Twitter about ten-year-old Harvey and made a crude reference to his mother.

Last night, Price, 34, blasted the pair and claimed the joke should be treated as a hate crime like racism.

The model told The Sun: 'This makes me sick to my stomach. Not just that someone could be so vile as to say such a thing, but also could think it clever to repeat to the world on Twitter.

'What kind of father, what kind of MP, is Ian Lavery?

'These disgusting comments aimed at Harvey all too often get aimed at other disabled children and the poor souls his father's charity rightly campaigns for.'

Harvey was born with septo-optic dysplasia, which causes blindness and growth hormone deficiency and also suffers from Prader-Willi syndrome, which can lead to obesity and diabetes.

Ian Lavery Jnr, from Newcastle, reacted angrily with a string of expletives when he was first challenged on Twitter about his comments.

But today he told MailOnline: 'I unreservedly apologise for any offence that I have caused Katie Price and her family.

'I am ashamed that my actions have caused such distress, to my father, especially given how strongly he campaigns for disabled rights.

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Depicting suicide is a no-no

Even if you depict it as failing

HYUNDAI has apologised for a commercial that shows a man trying to kill himself by piping emissions into his car.

The 60-second ad was intended to be used in the UK, and shows the suicide bid failing because the ix35 SUV model used - a fuel-cell model - does not produce harmful emissions.

Hyundai said it did not order or approve the "offensive" ad, and apologised for it appearing, carsguide.com.au reports.

"Hyundai Motor deeply and sincerely apologises for the offensive viral ad," the Korean car maker said in a statement.

"It runs counter to our values as a company and as members of the community. We are very sorry for any offense or distress the video caused. More to the point, Hyundai apologizes to those who have been personally impacted by tragedy."

The ad sparked outrage after it went viral.

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Fair's fair

Restaurant worker 'took photos of bad tippers and posted images online with insulting hashtags such as #jew and #hillbillies'

A Delaware restaurant has come under fire after photographs of bad tippers and their receipts were uploaded to its social networking sites alongside offensive and racist messages.

The Padi Restaurant in Hockessin has apologized after images appeared on its manager's Instagram account and the eatery's Facebook page calling people names such as 'cheap' and 'hillbilly'.

But the manager, Aaron Kwan, has denied he took the images or wrote the messages - and has instead blamed other employees for accessing his online profiles when he was not looking.

After the Wilmington News Journal reported about the messages, the Instagram and Facebook accounts were promptly removed. The News Journal shared several of the offensive messages.

Among them, there was a photo of a bill for $53.80 for a customer with an Indian surname, who had tipped $5.20 - less than 10 per cent. The photo appeared on the Instagram account, fumanchu85, alongside the message: 'What do you expect from a last name like that? #cheap #jew'

In a similar message, where a diner with a $45.90 bill paid a $6.10 tip, the person wrote: 'With a last name like that, I don't think you will ever expect a GOOD tip. #cheap #jerk #indian.'

Edward B. Rosenthal, an attorney representing the restaurant's owner and Kwan's aunt, Eve Teoh, said the business is working hard to restore its image after the messages emerged two weeks ago.

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He doomed himself once he used racial epithets

The naughtiness of describing illegals as illegals spreads to Australia

Tony Abbott's [conservative leader] office has defended his continued use of the word "illegal" to describe asylum seeker boats by referring to the UN Refugee Convention. But the UN High Commissioner for Refugees says it does not use the word "illegal" to describe asylum boats, or encourage others to do so.

On Monday the Opposition Leader re-launched the Coalition's "illegal boats" billboards, used during the last election campaign. The billboards read: "How many illegal boats have arrived since Labor took over? 639 illegal boats. Labor has lost control of Australia's borders."

Reactions were swift, with a petition launched calling on Mr Abbott to apologise for the word.

But Mr Abbott's office referred to Article 31 of the UN Convention which states "contracting states shall not impose penalties, on account of their illegal entry or presence, on refugees".

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Women's basketball team the Boston Bombers to rename their franchise after terror attack

I guess I can understand that one!

Up until last week the Boston Bombers were just a basketball team out of New England.

The city's only semi-professional women's basketball team has changed their name after abruptly closing their Facebook page and website in a bid to disassociate themselves from last week's horrific attack.

They revealed their new name of the Boston Bulldogs on Tuesday.

'We was planning on changing it once the Boston incident happened,' a team spokesperson confirmed to MailOnline.

The Bombers were one of more than 40 teams part of the Women's Blue Chip League, a non-salaried league that provided its players with advanced exposure for opportunities to compete in the next level.

The team featured a red and black logo of a detonating bomb with four basketball seams crossing the front.

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Black hate speech

Ms. Wright was a counselor at Andrew Jackson Middle School in Grand Prairie ISD. That was until the district announced that she has been “immediately relieved of all duties.” The action was reportedly taken after an offensive remark written from her Facebook page (now removed from the web) was posted on WFAA-TV’s Facebook page.  The statement in question referenced to the tragedy in West, Texas.



WFAA’s report states that the school district was quite clear in how they viewed the statement attributed to Ms. Wright, calling it “highly offensive, insensitive to the tragedy happening to our friends and neighbors in West, and disrespectful to the very human bond that we share with the people of West, especially those who have lost their loved ones.”

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British businesswoman/actress  wins High Court battle over businessman who attacked her property business

Actress Linda Bellingham has won damages and an apology from a businessman who wrongly accused her and her husband of being involved in property fraud.

Darren Richards created anonymous blogs that defamed Miss Bellingham and her property business, Virtual Property World, which she owns with her husband Michael Pattemore.

The 64-year-old actress, who starred as the mother in the Oxo television adverts, won a six-figure settlement from Richards who has also apologised.

Mr Richards accused Mr Pattemore of being involved in property fraud. The couple believed he was trying to stop customers using their property business

Miss Bellingham and her husband only discovered what had been written on the blogs when they were contacted by the British Franchise Association.

The couple applied to the High Court and were granted an 'unmasking order' which meant Google and Wordpress had to reveal the IP address of the computer which posted the blog.

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Libel is harder to uncover now but is still illegal, as it should be.  It can do great damage.

Colorado Democrats "mis-speak" on rape

In the House, Representative Joe Salazar (D-Thornton) made an incoherent and insensitive argument on the floor that college girls might not know when they were about to be raped and might overreact to a perceived threat with deadly consequences should they be allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus.

Two weeks later as a Senate committee was discussing the same campus gun ban, Senator Evie Hudak (D-District 19) came under fire for citing research that contradicted a woman who’d been raped on a college campus in Nevada and her emotional testimony that she might have been safer had she been carrying a concealed handgun.

Those gaffes, in part, forced Senate Democrats late Friday to kill House Bill 1226, the campus gun ban. “Republicans will remind the public about these blunders as often as possible until 2014 elections,” former state Representative B.J. Nikkel (R-Loveland) tells me.

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But being Democrats, nothing will be held against them

A rude cashier and a stupid firm pile up trouble for themselves

A New Jersey woman of Korean decent is suing CVS for $1 million after claiming that a store employee used a racial Asian slur on her receipt.

Hyun Lee, 37, of Egg Harbor, N.J., was picking up photos from a CVS, also in Egg Harbor, N.J., when she noticed that the cashier had identified her as “Ching Chong Lee” on her receipt.

According to her attorney, Lee contacted CVS customer relations, but was apparently told by CVS in an email response that the employee would be “counseled and trained.”

“He should have been terminated immediately,” Lee said through her attorney, Susan Chana Lask

Unhappy with CVS’ response, Lee filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against CVS Caremark Corp., CVS Pharmacy, Inc., CVS, New Jersey CVS Pharmacy LLC and the unnamed cashier on April 16 in federal court in Camden, N.J.

Lee is seeking $1 million due to “injury, mental anguish, severe emotional distress, harm, and damages,” that she allegedly continues to suffer from as a result of the alleged receipt, according to the lawsuit.

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The cashier probably thought it was a great joke but such jokes are big trouble these days.  Firing the jokey one would have been wisest for the firm.

TMZ accused of racism, bigotry over Boston bombing article that blames hip hop

TMZ has been accused of insensitivity, racism and bigotry after posting an article on the Boston bombings and subsequent manhunt.

The gossip website posted a brief article in which they appeared to be linking the terrorist attack to hip hop music and its "violent", "degrading" culture. The evidence? Tamerlan was signed up to a website called Real-HipHop.com and liked hip hop.

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I gather that nobody was saying that HipHop CAUSED the masssacre so what is the problem about noting that a violent man liked violent music?  Or are we supposed to ignore the violent lyrics of HipHop?

Mexico Barbie sparks controversy

"As part of its Dolls of the World line, Mattel toy company introduced a new Mexico Barbie. The doll with long, dark, wavy hair dons a frilly fiesta dress trimmed with lace and colorful ribbons. She comes with a pet chihuahua tucked under her arm and her own passport.

Mexico Barbie, which sells for $29.95, is meant to teach girls 'about the culture, traditions and ancestral dress of Mexico,' according to Mattel’s description. But some critics say that instead she’s bolstering Mexican cultural stereotypes."

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So what? Stereotypes exist because they are a rough guide

Must not praise Margaret Thatcher

Britain’s two most powerful civil servants were today accused of having ‘prostituted your high office’ after writing an article about Margaret Thatcher.

Labour MP Paul Flynn launched a lengthy attack against Sir Jeremy Heywood  and Sir Bob Kerslake, before storming out of a Commons committee.

The mandarins had praised the Iron Lady as a ‘kind and considerate boss’ who would make shepherd’s pie for staff when working late in Downing Street.

Sir Jeremy, the Cabinet Secretary, and Sir Bob, the head of the civil service, were forced to deny being pressured into writing the piece by Tory strategists as they were accused of breaching rules on impartiality for Whitehall staff.

The two men were giving evidence to the Public Administration Select Committee. Civil servants are supposed to remain impartial because they have to work with all political parties if they win a general elections.

Mr Flynn, Labour MP for Newport West, began the session with a 10 minute attack on the article.

He said: ‘The main controversy going on in the country may have passed you by is on the verdict on Margaret Thatcher’s period in government, this is something which divides this country, it’s the hottest political issue of the moment.

‘You penned an article that was entirely sycophantic, no kind of criticism whatsoever. This is not what civil servants traditionally should do.’

Sir Jeremy refused to apologise for the article, insisting it was ‘about the civil service relationship with Margaret Thatcher as a person, as a human being’.

Sir Bob added: ‘The article is not intended to be a comment on her policies, critical or otherwise.’

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Homebuilders scrap 'master bedroom' because of racist, gender-biased connotations

The “master suite” is being phased out — not from our homes, but from our lexicon.

A survey of 10 major Washington, D.C.-area homebuilders found that six no longer use the term “master” in their floor plans to describe the largest bedroom in the house. They have replaced it with “owner’s suite” or “owner’s bedroom” or, in one case, “mastre bedroom.”

Why? In large part for exactly the reason you would think: “Master” has connotation problems, in gender (it skews toward male) and race (the slave-master).

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"Racist" to say that Al Qaeda may infiltrate the USA via Mexico

Representative Gohmert (R-Texas), of course, begs to differ: Think Progress reports that Gohmert said, “We know Al-Qaeda has camps on the Mexican border. We have people that are trained to act Hispanic when they are radical Islamists.”

Other representatives, including Steve King (R-Iowa), expressed similar opinions, arguing that immigration reform should slow down, citing the tenuous connection between immigration reform and the Boston Marathon bombing.

King and Gohmert’s opportunistic response to the Boston Marathon demonstrates not only the inherent racism that undergirds our discussions of public policy, but the willingness of our national policymakers to stoop to new lows in the face of horror.

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Whites must not dress like Africans

Blacks and whites must be segregated?

On Feb. 13 a group of white student athletes at Hopkins dressed up to celebrate their upcoming trip to a state ski meet.

Some African-American students said the ski team members called it "Ghetto Spirit Day."  But one of the students who came up with the idea for the day, whom MPR News has agreed not to name, said he and his teammates called it "Rapper Day."

"I thought it was just going to be fun with my friends and I guess some people just thought it was a really big deal, and I think it got a little bit out of proportion."  - Unnamed Hopkins High School student

"I thought it was just going to be fun with my friends and I guess some people just thought it was a really big deal, and I think it got a little bit out of proportion," the student said.

Two African-American students complained to school administrators about how the white students were dressed.  "One of them was wearing basketball shorts, a tank top, a "do-rag." Mind you these are all white students," he said.

Almost 70 percent of Hopkins High School's students are white. About one-fifth are black.

The other protesting student, a senior, said "They dressed up like gangsters basically. There were sagging chinchilla coats with the chains, joint in the ear just mocking our culture. Really how we reacted, we felt it was modern day 'blackfacing.'"

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