The perfect mp3 player for howling boot boy racists:This lovely little piece of kit, comprising a 4 gb harddrive, 1.3 inch screen and internal radio, retails for way less than the equivalent Ipod (which are shit anyway) or Creative (which are great, but pricey.)And it's made by German firm Trekstor, so it's going to be reliable.Such a pity then that it's called the 'I.Beat Blaxx.'Or it was until the PC brigade mugged the firm last year. Now it is the only item in Trekstor's 'I.Beat' range of MP3 players that's not actually called 'I.Beat.'But you can still pick up an old stock model for your favourite racist friend in Eastern Europe, where they don't get their knickers in a twist about accidental, perceived racism, or from an English online retailer....
Here's a pertinent little point I suspect might raise a few hackles, but that's what I'm here for, so let's go.What would President Barack Obama do about affirmative action programmes after he was elected?Try as I might, as I wade through the positivist verbiage that passes for political discourse in the US presidential election, I can't find a single hard statement by Obama on the issue.But in the past, he has said he supports affirmative action supporting the promotion of blacks in educational admissions, public employment and state contracting. Then again, he's also said that the black community need to take responsibility for their own fate, and that there is no black or white Americans, just Americans. So, the position is a little contradictory.But if he gets elected, the future of...
Are we all programmed to be racist? Is a degree of racist response endemic in our DNA? I was wondering about this while the Celebrity Big Brother programme row over racism raged last week both in the media and in comments from senior politicians like Gordon Brown.I have a theory, which I will happily admit to nicking partly from my old pal Missing Neighbour, about the nature of racism and why, despite the fact that our contemporary intelligence would counter such insane prejudice, many people are still capable of iterating racist opinions.The gist is basically that we're predisposed to fear as 'the other' those from visually different tribal backgrounds as ourselves, since back in the day they offered a tangible threat to available resources (ie they'd nick your bint, your grub and then...
A Guardian journalist just spent seven months undercover as a member of the British National Party. Amazingly, he made it as high as London organiser for the party during his stint.Splashed all over the paper's front page today are his exclusive revelations, gleaned as a result of his undercover efforts. These include:Members are advised not to be racist or anti-semiticThey are told to act at all times in a way that brings credit to the partyThey use encryption software to protect their member listsThey occasionally use false names while on party business for fear of losing their jobs otherwise, especially those in the public sector.Is it just me, or do all of those 'revelations' seem perfectly sensible, and in some cases, admirable? I'm no fan of the far right, but from the sounds of...