[Onthebarricades] Global North: Anti-racist protests, Apr-Aug 2008

[Andy]

ON THE BARRICADES:  Global Resistance Roundup, April-August 2008
https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/onthebarricades
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/globalresistance/



*  US:  Thousands protest CNN "goons and thugs" remarks about Chinese

*  US:  Dakota Jews protest alleged anti-Semitism, swastika

*  UK:  BT staff protest anti-Irish discrimination

*  US:  Hassidic Jews protest assault on teenager

*  US:  Protests over "racist" Obama monkey T-shirts

*  US:  Tension in Idaho over Cinco de Mayo flag seizure

*  ITALY:  Roma protest prejudice, crackdown

*  SPAIN:  Roma solidarity demo

*  NEW ZEALAND:  10,000 protest anti-Asian violence, some form vigilante 
groups

*  CANADA:  Protests over racist police incident in Digby, Nova Scotia

*  US:  Protest against racial profiling of Hispanic-Americans

*  US:  Fox News protested over racist comments about Obama

*  US:  Protest to save name of Booker T Washington school, sign removed

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90883/6399778.html

Thousands protest over CNN commentator's anti-China remarks in San Francisco

+-14:04, April 27, 2008


Thousands of Chinese Americans gathered in San Francisco Saturday to protest 
against CNN commentator Jack Cafferty's controversial remarks about Chinese 
products and people, and the network's supposed distorted reports on the 
recent riots in Tibet.

Some 5,000 people from the Chinese community in San Francisco and 
surrounding areas participated in the two-hour mass rally in front of CNN's 
local office building, calling for the firing of Cafferty and a sincere 
apology by CNN to ethnic Chinese people allover the world.

Holding U.S. and Chinese flags and banners accusing the CNN commentator of 
making racist remarks and the network of biased Tibet coverage, the 
demonstrators chanted slogans like "CNN liar, Cafferty fire," and marched 
along a stretch of a downtown street after the rally.

"Chinese people tend to live peaceful and modest lives. The Chinese here in 
the United States are law-abiding and hard-working people," said Guobao Wu, 
a local Chinese community leader who helped organize the event.

"The CNN guy's comments really hurt the feelings of the Chinese American 
community, we strongly protest and condemn his remarks," he added.

Saturday's event was the latest in a series of protests by Chinese Americans 
across the United States after Cafferty said in a live show earlier this 
month that Chinese products were "junk" and the Chinese were "basically the 
same bunch of goons and thugs they've been for the last 50 years."

In a later statement he said his comments were about the Chinese government 
not the Chinese people.

Protests against CNN and Cafferty by Chinese Americans would not stop until 
they make acceptable apologies, said organizers of the San Francisco 
demonstration.

Cafferty's remarks infuriated Chinese people around the world, especially 
those living in the United States, where demonstrations against CNN had been 
staged earlier in major cities like Los Angeles, New York and Washington, 
D.C.

Source: Xinhua

http://www.forward.com/articles/13290/

Jewish Students Protest Bias in North Dakota
By Anthony Weiss
Thu. May 01, 2008

Jewish students at a midwestern university are accusing the administration 
of ignoring antisemitic incidents.
Jewish students at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks say the 
university ignored weeks of complaints about antisemitic incidents on campus 
until the news was reported in local newspapers. One Jewish student has 
moved off-campus to escape harassment, and two others say that when they 
presented the university president with photographic proof of one of the 
incidents, he refused to acknowledge that the image depicted was a swastika.
Someone has now been charged in one of the incidents, but several other 
episodes are still under investigation. The Jewish students say they are 
waiting for an apology from the university.
The allegations are the latest for a university that has been plagued for 
the past several years by charges of insensitivity toward racial and ethnic 
minorities. UND has been embroiled in a struggle with the National 
Collegiate Athletic Association over objections by Native American tribes to 
the university's athletic mascot, the Fighting Sioux. The university also 
made headlines several years ago when it accepted a $100 million donation 
from a casino mogul who reportedly celebrated Hitler's birthday and stocked 
his office with Nazi paraphernalia. Now, Jewish students and their faculty 
adviser are saying that the university continues to demonstrate that it can't, 
or won't, protect minorities on campus.
"The fact that this blindsided them so much shows that there's almost a 
denial that any of this exists on campus," said Shannon Neegard, president 
of UND's Jewish Student Organization.
Jews make up a tiny proportion of this Midwestern campus, with an estimated 
15 to 20 Jews out of a student body of nearly 13,000 students, almost all of 
them white and Christian. Jack Weinstein, a professor of philosophy and 
religion and the faculty adviser of the university's JSO, said that overt 
antisemitism on campus has not historically been an issue. Rather, he says, 
there is a "climate of uncomfortableness" embodied in myriad small gestures, 
including occasional attempts by students to proselytize, and professors who 
refuse to make allowances for Jewish holidays.
The atmosphere changed this year when Scott Lebovitz, a freshman in the 
university's aviation program, came across a pair of swastikas drawn in the 
stairwell of his dormitory. Lebovitz says employees of UND's residential 
services promised to report the incident to campus police. More incidents 
followed in the weeks thereafter, as Lebovitz says other students in his 
dorm taunted him, chased him, brandished pellet guns and wrote "Scott is a 
Jew" in ice cream on the elevator door. When he went back to the police in 
late March to report another complaint, he found that the first complaint 
was never filed.
Lebovitz says he became so intimidated that he began locking himself in his 
dorm room, afraid even to use the bathroom. Finally, in mid-April, he moved 
out of the dorm room and into his fraternity house.
Weinstein, Lebovitz and other JSO students complained to the administration, 
but after finding the university's response unsatisfactory, the students 
decided to take their story to the media.
After the story broke in the campus newspaper and in the local Grand Forks 
Herald newspaper, Weinstein and two students met with UND's president, 
Charles Kupchella. When they showed Kupchella a photograph of one of the 
scrawlings found in a dorm, Kupchella refused to call the image a swastika, 
or even to say the word "swastika" during the meeting.
"He refused to say it was a swastika. He said, 'I have no idea what that is,'" 
said Martin Rottler, a former president of JSO who attended the meeting.
UND spokesman Peter Johnson said that Kupchella refused to label the image 
because he didn't have enough information about the incidents and didn't 
want to prejudge the issue.
Kupchella was also the president in 2000, when casino magnate Ralph 
Engelstad threatened to withdraw a $100 million gift to the university if it 
acceded to the wishes of Native American tribes and dropped its Fighting 
Sioux mascot. Engelstad had already brought the university under fire a 
decade earlier, when media reports appeared saying that had had thrown 
parties on Hitler's birthday and that his office featured matching portraits 
of himself and Hitler in uniform. A university commission that vetted the 
gift declared that Engelstad was guilty only of "bad taste." In both 
instances, UND accepted the gift.
Weinstein argues that the recent battles with the NCAA over the Fighting 
Sioux logo have left UND officials so cautious about the university's image 
that they will not acknowledge bias for fear of giving fuel to the school's 
critics.
Johnson said the university was simply waiting for police investigations to 
play out before taking its own actions.
Based on findings by the university police, the Grand Forks County state's 
attorney's office announced on April 29 that it was charging a UND student, 
Spencer Garness, with a misdemeanor for the ice cream incident. Meanwhile, 
the police continued to investigate several other bias incidents on campus.
Lebovitz and the other students say they want UND to issue an apology and 
comprehensive hate-crime policies. Lebovitz is also considering legal 
action.
Weinstein said that every year, he gets e-mails from Jewish parents asking 
if their children will feel comfortable at UND. He has always responded that 
though it is difficult, the Jewish community is strong and whatever problems 
exist are tolerable.
"I can't write that anymore. I cannot in good conscience encourage students 
to come to UND," he told the Forward. "That breaks my heart."

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/397843.html

BT staff protest against anti-Irish discrimination
Hands across the Water | 29.04.2008 20:06 | Anti-racism | Globalisation | 
Workers' Movements
On Tuesday April 22nd a large group of BT Ireland staff, with support from 
other CWU members, held a public protest at the corporate head office for 
British Telecom in Dublin

BT Ireland workers protest against anti-Irish discrimination

The protest was held to publicly highlight the fact that British Telecom is 
refusing to give collective bargaining rights to a large group of its staff 
simply because they are Irish. The company, which runs its business on an 
all-Ireland basis, deals with the CWU in Northern Ireland and staff there 
enjoy the benefits of independent collective representation. In recent years 
staff in the Republic of Ireland have sought equal treatment with their 
colleagues elsewhere in the business and, through the CWU and internal 
company mechanisms, they have asked to be given the same right to collective 
bargaining as their colleagues.

To date the company has refused to honour this legitimate request and in 
doing so is not only denying staff a basic human right but is doing so on 
the basis that they are Irish.

BT staff felt the company's position on this issue was completely 
unacceptable as it was effectively a form of discrimination. Members wanted 
to highlight their cause as part of a campaign to try and get management to 
engage in meaningful dialogue with their Union.

Commenting on the protest the CWU's Head of Organising, Ian McArdle said 
'The facts in this issue are simple - staff want equal treatment and the 
right to union representation which their colleagues in Northern Irelandd 
enjoy. They do not want to be treated like second class citizens simply 
because they are Irish.'

As part of the campaign the CWU has rented billboard advertisements around 
Dublin city centre as well as a number of ad mobiles that will be active 
over the coming weeks with the message - 'Disconnect Discrimination'. In 
addition to this the Union is running an email campaign which can be 
accessed from

 http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=367http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/17/nyregion/17protest.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=sloginCrowd Protests an Assault on a Jewish TeenagerBy ANNIE CORREAL and CHRISTINE HAUSERPublished: May 17, 2008A crowd of more than 300 Hasidic Jews, some shouting "We want justice!"marched in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, on Friday afternoon to protest theassault and robbery of a Jewish teenager early that morning.Skip to next paragraphPost a CommentThe protesters marched from the scene of the assault, at Empire Boulevardand Albany Avenue, to the 71st Precinct station, and then up New York Avenueto Eastern Parkway, where they blocked traffic. They were briefly stopped atKingston Avenue by a line of police officers who stood arm to arm.Traffic was reopened on Eastern Parkway at 6:10 p.m., and the crowdgradually dispersed around 6:45 p.m.According to the police, the teenager, 16, left his house in Crown Heightsaround 12:10 a.m. on Friday and was attacked and robbed a short while later.He sustained a concussion and cuts on his face and hands, and his bicycle,watch and cellphone were stolen, the police said.The beating of the teenager, identified by the protesters as Alon Sherman,is being investigated as a possible hate crime, and officers are looking forwitnesses, the police said.The protest was an outburst of tension in a neighborhood that erupted in1991 with unrest and violence among Jews and blacks, who have coexisted inthe area, usually peacefully, for decades.Recently, black leaders expressed anger after a 20-year-old black collegestudent, Andrew Charles, was attacked in the neighborhood on April 14 by twoJewish men, in what the police have described as a hate crime. On Friday,the police released a photograph of a man, Yitzhak Shuchat, 25, who is beingsought as a "person of interest" in the attack on Mr. Charles.Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said at a news conference Fridaymorning that the police were investigating reports that Mr. Shuchat was amember of an unofficial Hasidic security group."There has been talk of a group that is not officially sanctioned orrecognized," he said. "If that is the case, we certainly frown on that."http://www.wsbtv.com/news/16255301/detail.html?rss=atl&psp=newsPublisher Mulls Legal Action To Stop Sales Of 'Racist' Obama T-ShirtsPOSTED: 3:38 pm EDT May 13, 2008UPDATED: 2:50 pm EDT May 14, 2008ATLANTA -- The publishing company that owns the rights to Curious George isconsidering legal action to stop the sale of T-shirts that show presidentialcandidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. as the cartoon monkey.Representatives of Houghton Mifflin said Wednesday they have not authorizedthe use of the image by Marietta tavern owner Mike Norman. He is selling theshirts that feature Curious George peeling a banana with the words "Obama'08" at his Mulligan's Tavern."We find it offensive and obviously utterly out of keeping with the valueCurious George represents," Houghton Mifflin spokesman Rick Blake told theAtlanta Journal-Constitution. "We're monitoring the situation and weighingour options with respect to legal action."Norman said he got the shirts from someone in Alabama and he insists theyaren't racist."This is 2008. If this was 1940-something, maybe. I don't see the big deal,I really don't," Norman told Channel 2.But many people do think it's a big deal. Critics say the shirts are anoffensive stereotype from generations past."GALEO condemns the t-shirt as racist and highly offensive. As a privatebusiness, Mulligan's is free to conduct business as it chooses. However, asa community, we must unite against such intolerance. The t-shirt being soldis highly offensive and should not be sold any further," said JerryGonzalez, Executive Director for the Georgia Association of Latino ElectedOfficials in a statement.The Anti-Defamation League also condemned the T-shirt being sold, sayingit's, "An outrageous slur against Barack Obama and all African Americans.""Mike Norman - the bar's owner - pretends he is shocked that people would beoffended by the T-shirt," said Bill Nigut, ADL's Southeast RegionalDirector. "But he knows full well that the characterization of AfricanAmericans as monkeys is a highly offensive stereotype. Every time he sellsone of the shirts he is happily sending a racist message out the door."Channel 2's Manuel Bojorquez asked Norman why he chose Curious George. "Ithought, man, look at those ears and his hair line and that's what I saw. Ididn't see anything offensive," Norman said. He said he was not a racist.Norman added the money from the sale of the shirts was being donated to theMuscular Dystrophy Association."It's their right to protest my right to have that to say," Norman said."I've had a lot of threatening calls. It's just a lot of stupidity."http://www.chinapost.com.tw/international/americas/2008/05/11/155944/Idaho%2Dstudent.htmIdaho student arrested during flag protestsAPSunday, May 11, 2008BOISE, Idaho -- A student was arrested and security tightened at a highschool in Idaho following a week of racial tension that began when a teacherconfiscated the Mexican flag of a student celebrating Cinco de Mayo.Student protests and counterprotests, faculty sanctions, desecration ofMexican and American flags and threats of legal action have rocked MinicoHigh School in Rupert, a town of 5,600 people in southern Idaho. As aprecaution, security was increased Friday when about 40 students planned aprotest over school administration treatment of two teachers at the centerof the controversy.http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/08/europe/italy.phpGypsies in Italy protest prejudiceBy Elisabetta PovoledoPublished: June 8, 2008ROME: The first national demonstration of Gypsies brought hundreds of peopleto the capital Sunday to protest recent episodes of racism in Italy thathave targeted Roma and Sinti people, as they prefer to be called."We're being used as scapegoats" to gain political advantage, saidStoyanovic Vojislav, a Serbian Roma and one of the organizers of thecolorful demonstration, which involved about a dozen organizations.Roma communities and illegal immigrants are increasingly blamed for risingcrime in Italy, although statistics do not reflect a marked change overprevious years.The demonstration, Vojislav said, will make Italians understand "that theRoma are very different from how we are depicted" in the media and by somecenter-right politicians. More than half of the estimated 160,000 Roma inthis country are Italian citizens, while most of the remainder are fromRomania - since 2007 part of the European Union - or from the formerYugoslavia. But they are usually treated as foreigners."This is the first time in six centuries that we are demanding our rights,"said Santino Spinelli, another organizer, who is a popular Gypsy musicianand a professor of Roma culture at the University of Trieste. "We aredemanding to be integrated because we are citizens like any others."Violent episodes against the Roma in Italy have increased in the past year.The worst violence took place in Naples nearly a month ago, when Romaencampments were set on fire. Last week, protesters from the rightistNorthern League party managed to halt work on the construction of a newhousing project in Venice, and a Roma camp in central Rome was evacuated.Silvio Berlusconi's center-right government has promised tough legislationthat would allow the police to shut down unauthorized Roma camps. Thegovernment also wants to carry out a census of people living in the camps.Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said last week that the issue of the Romacamps would be resolved by the end of the  year.Many of the demonstrators on Sunday wore black triangles, like those thatthe Nazis forced the Roma to wear in concentration camps."Today is a great day for the Rom," said Gina, a Roma from Romania who didnot want to give her last name. "Remember that if you forget history, it canrepeat itself."http://www.italymag.co.uk/italy/immigration/spanish-gypsies-protest-against-italian-immigration-lawsSpanish gypsies protest against Italian immigration lawsPublished on the 03-06-2008Spanish gypsies staged a demonstration outside the Italian embassy here onTuesday to protest against Italy's plans to adopt tough new laws againstillegal immigration.They also protested against the recent wave of violence against Romaencampments in Naples and other Italian cities.The demonstration came after the United Nations High Commissioner for HumanRights, Louise Arbour, and the Holy See at the weekend criticised plans bythe center-right government of Premier Silvio Berlusconi to make illegalimmigration a punishable criminal offense.The Italian foreign ministry responded by observing that the criticism waspremature given that the proposed law has yet to be presented to parliament,where it must clear both the House and Senate.The demonstration in Madrid was organized by the Fondazione Gitanos, whichclaims to represent some 700,000 Spanish gypsies.''We oppose the Berlusconi laws. One cannot generalize and judge everyonethe same. If someone commits a crime, they should pay for it. Individualsshould be punished, not a whole people,'' observed foundation head Jose'Eugenio Serrano.According to foundation director Isidro Rodriques, gypsies came to Spain inthe XV century and are fullY integrated into the community.In recent years, he added, the Roma from Bulgaria and Romania have beencoming to Spain ''and it cannot be ruled out that the tough measures adoptedin Italy will force other Roma to go to other countries, including Spain''.''The problem in Italy is that for a long time very little attention waspaid to the Roma. In Spain, on the other hand, many communities adoptedsocial measures to integrate them into society''.In reply to the criticism from the UN and the Vatican, the Italian foreignministry said that the proposed laws on immigration had nothing to do withxenophobia or racial discrimination.The aim of the new legislation, the ministry explained, was to combatillegal immigration in full accordance with European Union laws.http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10520221&ref=rssVigilante mobs 'in training', claims protest organiser12:00PM Sunday July 06, 2008Triad gangs and vigilante groups of concerned citizens, trained in martialarts, will soon be roaming the streets of south Auckland looking fortrouble-makers, it's been reported today.The organiser of yesterday's huge south Auckland protest against anti-Asianviolence says he has vigilantes in training to stop further attacks.A crowd estimated at more than 10,000 turned out in cold, wet conditions insouth Auckland yesterday to demonstrate against recent attacks on members ofthe Asian community.Organiser Peter Low from the Asian Anti-Crime Group (AAG) said politicianscould not ignore the strong message sent out by the marchers.The east Auckland importer said if authorities tried to stop his vigilanteslooking after their own, then the AAG would consider hiring local Triads toprotect his people from violent attacks."We are a vigilante group and are training now," he told a Sunday newspaper."We are training people in hand-to-hand combat and how to handle situations."I want this group to be legalised. If they (the police) don't allow it,that's when we might have to employ Triads to protect our community," hesaid.Mr Low, 55, said he had been organising his team of vigilantes for monthsbut brought forward the start date because of the recent violent deaths ofthree Asians.Liquor store owner Navtej Singh, 30, was fatally shot at his shop on June 7.A week later, Yan Ping Yang, 80, died after having been attacked by anintruder in her home three days earlier.On June 16, Joanne Wang, 39, was knocked down by a stolen vehicle in ashopping mall car park after her handbag was snatched. She died in hospital.Mr Low said Asians had become targets because many did not speak goodEnglish and criminals thought they had lots of money."My wife is frightened to go to the supermarket now and I'm always worryingabout my daughter going to the bank."Is this the kind of place we want our families living in?"We live in fear. We live in anger."Mr Low said many Asians had lost faith in the police's ability to protectthem."New Zealand is promoted as a green and peaceful country. That's not true,"he said."We don't deserve to be humiliated by this crime while the Government doesnothing about it."I have gotten fed up because the police response is not good enough."Mr Low said yesterday's march through east Auckland, which has a heavyconcentration of Asians gave a voice to members of the community who wantaction by the Government, the justice system and the police.Until such action came, he was preparing trained patrols to be able toanswer calls for help.Mr Low, who admitted there was opposition from within the Asian community tothe concept of a vigilante force, is funding the AAG from his own pocket.Manukau Acting Mayor Gary Troup said month it would be concerning if suchgroups were set up."Rather than creating vigilante groups and trying to distinguish isolatedincidents we've really got to work together and make it work long-term."- NZPAhttp://networks.org/?src=abcau:2008:07:05:229546310,000 protest against violence towards Asians in NZPosted Sat Jul 5, 2008 6:40pm AESTAn estimated 10,000 people took part in a rally in pouring rain in Aucklandon Saturday to protest against violence against Asians in the city.Police said the demonstration stretched about 2.5 kilometres through thestreets of south Auckland where three people of Asian descent have beenkilled in the past month.The march was organised by the Asian Anti-Crime group and included peoplecarrying coffins and placards with pictures of those killed.Others carried New Zealand flags and signs calling for tougher sentencingand zero tolerance for crime.Liquor store owner Navtej Singh was shot and killed during a robbery at hisshop on June 7, a week later 80-year-old Yan Ping Yang died after beingattacked by an intruder in her home.Joanne Wang, 39, died in hospital in late June after being knocked down by astolen vehicle in a shopping mall car park after her handbag was snatched.-AFPhttp://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/080713/national/police_fightProtest planned over alleged racism, taunts by N.S. police against blackyouthModule bodySun Jul 13, 5:15 PMBy Michael Tutton, The Canadian PressYARMOUTH, N.S. - Angie Lawrence is 67 and has never attended a protest, butafter hearing allegations that off-duty police officers insulted andprovoked a fight with two black youths, she's gathering a carload of blackchurch women to attend an anti-racism demonstration on Monday in Digby, N.S.The soft spoken former nursing home worker decided to attend on Sunday,while listening to an impassioned account from Rev. Michael Alden Fells ofhow his son Nathaniel, 19, and William Drummond, 20, fought with off-dutypolice officers in Digby's town's centre on June 22."I never went before (to a protest), but I surely feel that this time it's amust that we should stand with one another," she said as she left the150-year-old Sharon Assembly church in Yarmouth, about 100 kilometres southof Digby.The fist fight in Digby has drawn frustrated reactions across severalgenerations and communities of Nova Scotia's black minority.The RCMP has launched an inquiry into the incident to see if charges shouldbe laid and determine if on-duty officers who used a stun gun that knockeddown Drummond took the proper steps to control the situation.Darlene Lawrence, a black member of Digby's race relations committee, saidshe's seen enough from a video recording taken by a street camera to believeNathaniel Fells's allegation that he was racially insulted and that officersprovoked the fight."These two young men were backing up, with their hands up and there was agroup moving towards them," said Lawrence, a distant relative of AngieLawrence, in an interview."This needs to be addressed. The black community has been traumatized. Thisincident is another in a series of incidents over the last several years."Lawrence said the black community in southwestern Nova Scotia has painfulmemories of a previous RCMP detachment commander who was accused in 2005 ofracist and sexist treatment of female staff.In January 2008, RCMP assistant commissioner Ian Atkins apologized to theblack community at a full-house public meeting, saying the force was"disappointed and embarrassed" by the incidents.Rev. Fells says the RCMP must back up its apology with action."God has given us a responsibility, we must make a difference," he told theYarmouth congregation, one of two he ministers to in the area."We are saying to them, you have a responsibility. We're all royalCanadians, not just those in uniform, and I want to be treated like a royalCanadian."The fight began shortly after Nathaniel Fells and Drummond walked by a blackvan filled with off-duty police officers from police departments in Halifaxand New Glasgow, as well as from the RCMP.Fells and Drummond say they were racially insulted by a man who appeared tobe drunk and was leaning against the van.They say they were then taunted into fighting by five or six off-duty policeofficers who emerged from the vehicle and pursued them down the street.In Digby on Sunday outside the Bethel Temple church, Nathaniel Fells and agroup of his friends prepared for the protest by making signs.He and Drummond were joined by several other black youth, who allege theyhave been mistreated by police as well. They expect about 40 people toattend the protest."There's a van load coming from Halifax. They're coming from Annapolis, afew from Digby. We're going to make it loud and clear that what happenedthat night isn't acceptable by any means," said Nathaniel."We're not having it any more."Drummond said he still suffers pain from the stun gun shots to his side, legand stomach."I'd like to see it stopped and have a racist-free world," he said.In a previous interview, RCMP Staff Sgt. Phil Barrett, the new commander ofthe Digby detachment, said he has hired an almost entirely new staff and isplanning to set up cameras and audio recorders in every police car to seehow incidents are handled.RCMP Cpl. Joe Taplin, the force's spokesman in Halifax, said Barrett wasn'twilling to comment further until he "sees how the public protest turned out"on Monday.Taplin said officers in Digby have received race relations andmulticulturalism training.And he said the video of the incident hasn't changed the Mounties' position."We believe the on-duty RCMP officers conducted themselves in a veryprofessional manner," Taplin said.The Halifax and New Glasgow police departments are doing internal reviews ofhow their off-duty officers behaved. There's been no indication of whetheroff-duty RCMP officers will be the subject of an internal review.Halifax police will also look into why a van belonging to the force was usedby the group of officers in Digby. The van was loaned to the officers, whorode motorcycles to the Digby area to participate in a charity event.Last Monday before the internal review was announced, the police departmentin Halifax said its officers had done nothing wrong during the incident.Darlene Lawrence said she has asked the police to bring in Raymond Winbush,an expert in race relations from Morgan University in Baltimore, Md., tohelp suggest longer-term solutions to the racial conflicts in the community.She wants funding to create a black community centre for youth, along withdetailed race relations workshops for the police."At the end of the day, we will submit a five-year plan to address some ofthese issues for black youth," she said.http://www.novanewsnow.com/article-231942-Plan-protest-at-noon-outside-RCMP-detachment.htmlPlan protest at noon outside RCMP detachmentby John DeMingsView all articles from John DeMingsArticle online since July 13rd 2008, 16:00Read all 2 comments about this article / Comment on this articlePlan protest at noon outside RCMP detachmentRev. Alden Fells of Digby says a protest is planned outside the local RCMPdetachment for noon Monday.Fells' 19-year-old son Nathaniel and a second young black man, WilliamDrummond, 20, of Halifax, were involved June 22 in a scuffle that led toDrummond being shot with a Taser by a member of the Digby RCMP.As well, Halifax and New Glasgow police departments and the major crimesunit of the RCMP are looking into the matter that involved a number ofoff-duty police from Halifax and one from New Glasgow.http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2008/07/14/digby-protest.html?ref=rssDigby protesters demand independent review of fightLast Updated: Monday, July 14, 2008 | 3:35 PM AT Comments41Recommend25CBC NewsAbout 25 people took part in the peaceful protest in Digby, a small town insouthwestern Nova Scotia. (CBC)Demonstrators braved heavy rain Monday in a march to the RCMP detachment inDigby to protest what they call the unfair treatment of two black men at thehands of police.Rev. Michael Fells renewed his call for an independent inquiry as he ledabout two dozen people in the march from Bethel Temple Church."We're asking for a public inquiry," said Fells, adding he plans to file ahuman rights complaint.The demonstrators included the reverend's son, Nathaniel Fells, and WilliamDrummond, who say off-duty police goaded them into a fight by yelling racialslurs as they left a Digby bar on June 22.A member of the Halifax Regional Police, one of several off-duty officersfrom central Nova Scotia in town for a charity event, was knockedunconscious.Drummond was shocked with a stun gun and was the only one arrested. He hasnot been charged.The marchers sang hymns and protest songs, and carried signs around theirnecks that read, "Racism is abuse" and "Stop victimizing the victim."The demonstration "means a lot," said Drummond.Once the demonstrators left, RCMP spokesman Cpl. Joe Taplin told reportersthe investigation by the RCMP's major crimes division is continuing and is"unbiased."So far, he said, investigators have found that the on-duty Mounties workingthat night acted appropriately."We're still asking anybody who may have seen the incident if they couldcome forward to the Digby detachment here and we'll put them in touch withthe appropriate investigators," Taplin said.The Digby detachment commander, Staff Sgt. Phil Barrett, called for theinvestigation, telling CBC News last week he worried about the integrity ofthe detachment and its relationship with the community.Earlier this year, Nova Scotia's top Mountie, Assistant Commissioner IanAtkins, apologized for sexist and racist remarks made by a former detachmentcommander. He said the problems at the detachment were the result of theactions of one person, and were not systemic.The Halifax police department and New Glasgow police have launched their owninvestigations to review the actions of their off-duty officers.http://www.novanewsnow.com/article-235321-Taking-protest-to-Halifax.htmlTaking protest to HalifaxBy Robyn Young - Metro HalifaxArticle online since July 25th 2008, 15:55Taking protest to HalifaxBy Robyn Young - Metro HalifaxRev. Michael Alden Fells of Digby will travel to Halifax with his son and adozen or so supporters next Tuesday to protest by the Halifax RegionalPolice station on Gottingen Street.Fells's son Nathaniel Fells, 19, and his friend William Drummond, 20, allegea group of Halifax Regional Police officers, along with some Digby policeofficers, started a fight with them in downtown Digby.They say the officers confronted them and hurled racial slurs and insults atthe two young black men.Halifax Regional Police acknowledge that five or six of their officers wereinvolved in an altercation that night in Digby, but they've started aninternal investigation into what role the officers played.The major crime unit of the RCMP is also investigating the incident and theHalifax and Digby officers who were involved.Fells said he's tried to do everything he can to get help in this situationand has even written Prime Minister Stephen Harper.The Halifax police department has stated Fells and Drummond have never fileda formal complaint against any of their officers.So that's what they intend to do in Halifax, Fells said, adding they willalso protest in front of the police station for what they believe was racistand criminal behaviour.Both Jeff Carr with the Halifax Regional Police and RCMP's Joe Taplin saidinvestigations are ongoing.http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-flbraids0731sbjul31,0,7526642.story?track=rssAdvocates protest Hispanic 'profiling' by government agentsBy Luis F. Perez | South Florida Sun-SentinelJuly 31, 2008West Palm Beach - After Border Patrol agents detained two men in aneighborhood laundromat, business at the aptly named Mexican Restaurant nextdoor fell off some 30 percent, said Juan Jose Ramirez, a cook at therestaurant,A few doors down at Intercapitales Courier Express on Broadway Street, it'sdown 50 percent, said Henry Rivas, an owner. In the same plaza, the owner ofCheers Supermarket said his business is off by about the same."I've been here since April 1998," said Amon Hawija, Cheers' owner. "This isthe worst I've seen."Immigrant advocates and business owners blame the loss of income on whatthey say are a recent spate of arrests by immigration agents improperlytargeting Hispanics. Advocates plan a know-your-rights workshop to educateimmigrants in the area. Immigrants in the area, many who admit they are herewithout authorization, say they are scared. Day laborers said they to havelost work because employers are hesitant to hire them.During a news conference on the steps of City Hall on Wednesday, theImmigrants' Rights Coalition of Palm Beach County called for aninvestigation and for federal agents to stop profiling Hispanics by race andethnicity. On Tuesday, the group filed a formal complaint with theDepartment of Homeland Security's Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Office.Officials with Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and CustomsEnforcement denied the allegations.Nonetheless, said Victor Colon, assistant chief patrol agent for the BorderPatrol's Miami Sector, "We take any complaint seriously. We'll look at it."Nicole Navas, an ICE spokeswoman, said her agency was not involved in theWest Palm Beach raids advocates mentioned."However, I can say that [ICE] agents and officers conduct targetedenforcement operations and arrest those in violation of both immigration andcustoms laws," she said. "ICE does not conduct random arrests."Andrea Ortega, of the immigrants' rights group, spent part of Wednesdayhanding out fliers detailing the Saturday workshop at area homes andbusinesses, and to day laborers on Broadway Street"All they want to do is work," she said. "They're not criminals. They'rehuman beings. And they just want to take care of their families at home."Ortega encouraged day laborers standing in front of the Broadway Market toattend the workshop.One of them, who said his name was Efrain but declined to give his last namesince he is undocumented, said he is 39 years old and has six children and awife to support back in Guatemala. He sends them money when he can. But workhas been scarce as of late, he said.He has seen Border Patrol agents pick up many friends. Agents intimidate,discriminate and don't regard immigrants' rights, he said."When we see them, all us of run," Efrain said. "If you don't run, you getdeported. That's our fear."Luis F. Perez can be reached atlfperez at sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4553.http://networks.org/?src=reuters:idUSN2342214420080723Protesters denounce Fox News as racistWed Jul 23, 2008 6:52pm EDTNEW YORK (Reuters) - Protesters gathered on Wednesday outside Fox NewsChannel to denounce what they claim is its racist campaign coverage,including a pundit who called Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama aterrorist.The crowd of some 150 people wielded a petition with more than 600,000signatures objecting to news coverage by Fox, owned by Rupert Murdoch's NewsCorp, organizers said.Some demonstrators held signs that crossed out the network's "Fair andBalanced" slogan and replaced it with the words "Fairly Racist!"Led by activist groups MoveOn.org and ColorOfChange.org, protesters citedincidents on Fox including an on-screen graphic calling Michelle Obama"Obama's baby mama" and a pundit who confused Obama with Osama bin Laden andjoked they should both be assassinated.Another anchor called a televised fist bump between Obama and his wife a"terrorist fist jab," they said, and talk show host Bill O'Reilly discussedcalling a "lynching party" to deal with Michelle Obama after criticizing herpatriotism."Putting racism on national television and calling it news is never funny,"said Andre Banks of ColorOfChange.Joining the protest was hip hop star Nas, who said the Fox coverage inspireda song "Sly Fox" on his new album."Fox poisons this country every time they air racist propaganda and try andcall it news," he said.A spokeswoman for Fox said: "Fox News believes in all protesters exercisingtheir right to free speech, including Nas, who has an album to promote."(Reporting by Nancy Leinfuss, Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Eric Beech)http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/081408dnmetbookert.43bb1271.htmlProtesters rally around Booker T. Washington High School in Dallas07:49 PM CDT on Wednesday, August 13, 2008By MARISSA ALANIS / The Dallas Morning Newsmalanis at dallasnews.comAbout 25 protesters turned out at the Dallas school district's headquartersWednesday to urge officials not to rename Booker T. Washington High Schoolfor the Performing and Visual Arts.District leaders later said they have no plans to rename the school.The dispute stems from the district's recent decision to post a sign on thebuilding's new wing calling it the "Hamon Arts Magnet" in honor of residentNancy Hamon, who donated $10 million for the school's renovation.District officials removed the sign - and all other signs on the outside ofthe high school - after many residents spoke out because they felt theschool's name was being changed.Members of the Concerned Citizens for the Preservation of the Booker T.Washington High School Name said Wednesday that they wanted reassurancesfrom the district that leaders won't change the name of the school."I wanted to come out here because I feel that the history of the school isvery important," said Afi Rawlings, a 2000 Booker T. Washington graduate."The name of the school conveys that history.  And so all of that isattached together."School officials said they plan to clear up the issue by posting new BookerT. Washington signs on all sides of the building, but it's unclear when thesigns will be installed."There is no move afoot by anyone to change the name of the school," saidJon Dahlander, district spokesman. "I know everyone understands thehistorical significance of that school.  The idea that it would be changedis far-fetched."Mr. Dahlander said the district plans to honor Ms. Hamoninside the building - a plan the protesters said they support. "We are very grateful to her," Illona Sheffey-Rawlings said. "We want asuitably large and noticeable tribute.she is our benefactress. But it needsto be interior so the only name on the outside needs to be Booker T.Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts."