Media bias turns murderers of Latinos into “illegal immigration activists”
Mainstream news outlets barely cover tragedies when they involve victims who don’t fit strict criteria of what is considered worthy of media attention. If the victim is a person of color, poor, or considered unsavory or criminal, it’s unlikely that their story will be told. And when media conglomerates do cover these stories, they often get them wrong.
This was the case with 9-year-old Brisenia and her father Raul Flores, who were murdered in their Arizona home in 2009 by Shawna Forde and two alleged accomplices. Forde’s trial took place immediately after the tragic killing of another 9-year-old, Christina Green, the little girl fatally shot during the assassination attempt on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. But based on the scant coverage of Forde’s crimes and trial, few realized the overlapping tragedy of these two young Arizona girls both lost to violence. Commentator Nezua succinctly describes the disparity in coverage here.
When the Flores murders occurred, they were mostly reported on by bloggers and advocacy groups. Despite, or perhaps because of a climate in Arizona that was rife with violent and dehumanizing activity targeting Latinos, mainstream news failed to give the story enough attention. Read more
Cross-Post: News With Nezua | The Invisible Flower
by nezua. written Tuesday, February 15th, 2011 6:10 pm
JUDGING BY THE EGREGIOUS SILENCE on mainstream U.S. infotainment stations, one might assume that the life and premeditated murder of an innocent child is only worth our compassion and outrage if she is white. Because the brutal shooting and home invasion that swallowed up the life of nine year-old Brisenia Flores has had a hard time getting any play on major “news” outlets.
AND SO IT FALLS ON US here at UMX—as well as at other blogs and independent news sites—to spread the word; to remember the name and smile of Brisenia Flores; to make clear that this killing is no isolated event perpetrated by a couple “crazies,” but is woven tightly to the anti-Mexican/anti-immigrant/anti-Latin@ sentiment that festers in so many layers of popular US culture. Read more
The power to communicate and the power to transform society belongs to everyone
There is something awkward about the way we as a society view communication. Perhaps the lack of comprehension is due to the business surrounding the idea.
We live in a world where communication is taken for granted. We waste words without any real attention to their meaning, let alone their value.
We see communication as a career path. We don’t fully embrace the notion that it is inherently human to communicate, or to want to. Communicating with others makes us feel connected. In fact, our whole development, from prehistory to now, is communication-based. Read more
New Orleans police on trial over killing in chaos following Hurricane Katrina
Chris McGreal reports for the guardian.co.uk, Friday 19 November 2010:
Rebecca Glover, aunt of Henry Glover
There’s not much mystery about how Henry Glover ended up a charred corpse in a burned-out car in the heart of New Orleans. One police officer has admitted to shooting the young black man. Another has confessed to throwing flares into the car where Glover lay covered in blood on the back seat. He then put a couple of shots through the window as the vehicle was consumed by fire. The officer has since called that “a very bad decision”.
Glover’s body was not recovered for weeks and proved so difficult to identify that it was nine months before his family could bury him. But it has taken five years to bring anyone to trial, and only then after the federal authorities waded in with accusations of an institutional cover up that continues to this day. Read more
Mineros Rescatados
El 5 de agosto del 2010 el trágico accidente en la mina “San José” conmociono a la republica de Chile. 33 mineros fueron sepultados a más de 700 metros bajo cientos de toneladas de rocas. Después de 17 días la buena noticia de que los 33 mineros permanecían vivos alegró a la nación y por la esperanza que ésta noticia representaba hizo que los medios de comunicación no prestaran tanta atención a las razones por las cuales este accidente ocurrió.
La compañía minera San Esteban es la propietaria de de la mina San José, es una explotación de oro y cobre muy Antigua ubicada en Atacama, Zona del desierto mas árido del mundo, como toda compañía minera, la compañía San Esteba ha logrado acumular una gran fortuna. Read more
Cross-Post: Georgia Bans Undocumented Students From Public Universities
Color Lines reports on the banning of undocumented students from attending public universities in Georgia. Georgia becomes the third state after Alabama and South Carolina to restrict undocumented students from seeking some form of higher education:
The state of Georgia has banned undocumented immigrants from attending public colleges and universities. The board of regents voted 14-2* to prohibit public universities from enrolling students without papers in any school that has rejected other qualified read more
Cross-Post: Islamophobia on Trial
Dutch politican Geert Wilders goes on trial in Amsterdam tomorrow. Wilders is facing charges of incitement to hatred, discrimination against Muslims and insulting Moroccans and other non-Western foreigners. Huffington Post reports:
AMSTERDAM — Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders appealed for freedom of expression Monday as he went on trial for alleged hate speech at a time when his popularity and influence in the Netherlands are near all-time highs.
Prosecutors say Wilders has incited hate against Muslims, pointing to a litany of quotes read more
Neo Nazi Show Cancelled in NYC
New York City’s Otto’s Shrunken Head in the East Village was due to host a show this weekend featuring three bands that have direct connections and affiliations with the white power scene.Two of the bands, Veganza Tatuada and Combate 49 self identify as part of the Rock Against Communism music genre. But despite its name, this genre rarely focuses on the specific topic of anti-communism and instead has lyrics which typically feature nationalist, neo-Nazi, anti-Semitic, racist and other violent themes. Veganza Tatuada and Combate 49 are nationalist supporters of the Colombian death squads. They also have strong ties with a variety of neo-Nazi groups both in the United States and in Latin America, including Tercera Fuerza in Columbia, a neo-Nazi paramilitary organization.
Neo-Nazi literature, symbols and politics have a long history in Latin America. They are almost always connected to the death squads and military regimes that killed or caused the “disappearance” of hundreds of thousands of people throughout the continent. Hitler’s writings are all well-read, and the fascists who have read them are the same people who have erased entire towns off the face of the planet, run torture chambers, murdered unionists and tortured children.
Comedian Stephen Colbert – A Thorn in the Anti-immigrant Movement’s Paw
A few days ago, comedian Stephen Colbert testified before Congress, more precisely a House subcommittee on immigration, about his experience packing corn and picking beans on a farm. Over the summer, United Farm Workers launched “Take Our Jobs,” a campaign that challenged U.S. citizens to replace immigrants in farm work. Colbert was there to relate his experiences during this campaign, in which he spent a day with immigrant farm workers.
Also appearing alongside Colbert was United Farm Workers President Arturo Rodriguez, who testified that less than twenty citizens or permanent residents have taken him up on his offer, shattering the widespread accusation spread by the anti-immigrant movement that immigrants are taking citizens’ jobs. Anti-immigrant organizations love to argue that people are lining up to take jobs that undocumented immigrants currently hold. The experiment by the United Farm Workers indicates that this is not the case. The group is pushing for a bill that would give undocumented farm workers currently in the United States the right to earn legal status.
Of course, for the anti immigrant movement, this was like nails on a chalkboard.
Cross-Post: Wonk Room on Mistreatment of Roma in Europe
Andrea Nill over at the Wonk Room discusses the Roma situation in Europe which is testing the EU’s “open borders” policy for member states:
This summer, while the immigration debate broiled in the U.S., the government of France launched a countrywide crackdown on the Roma, an ethnic group with origins in South Asia or Eastern Europe, that drew criticism from both the United Nations and theread more
Civil Rights Groups Slam Dr. Laura for Racist Rant
Dr. Laura
Conservative commentator and radio therapist Dr. Laura has always been a bit of a jerk - often criticizing listeners to her call-in radio program for their moral short-comings rather than providing sound advice. She’s perhaps known best for lashing out at callers and making horribly derogatory statements about the LGBTQ community - gay men in particular. As a result, her ratings took a dive ten years ago and have never recovered. Yet she still commands 10 million listeners to her daily program. That may change.
On Tuesday, Laura Schlessinger, commonly referred to as “Dr. Laura,” used the “n” word on her radio show 11 times while speaking with a caller who identified herself as black. Dr. Laura initially suggested that the woman, who was calling for advice about how to deal with racist remarks, was “hypersensitive.”
When the caller asked about use of the “N-word,” Schlessinger said, “Black guys use it all the time. Turn on HBO, listen to a black comic, and all you hear is n*****, n*****, n*****.” Read more
Cross-Post: Massive Censorship Of Digg Uncovered
Posted on Alternet.org by oleoleolson, August 5, 2010
A group of influential conservative members of the behemoth social media site Digg.com have just been caught red-handed in a widespread campaign of censorship, having multiple accounts, upvote padding, and deliberately trying to ban progressives. An undercover investigation has exposed this effort, which has been in action for more than one year.
“The more liberal stories that were buried the better chance conservative stories have to get to the front page. I’ll continue to bury their submissions until they change their ways and become conservatives.”
-phoenixtx (aka vrayz)Digg.com is the powerhouse of social media websites. It is ranked 50th among US websites by Alexa (117th in the world), by far the most influential social media site. It reached one million users in 2007 and likely has more than tripled that by this point. Digg generates around 25 million page views per month, over one third of the page views of the NY Times. Front page stories regularly overwhelm and temporarily shut down websites in a process called the “Digg Effect.” Read more
Fox News & Tea Party Went On Despicable Witch Hunt
As Keith Olbermann said “by trying to be everyone’s President you are being no one’s President” Mr. Olberman, you hit the proverbial nail on the head. The White House should not be the student when it comes to issues of race. Nor should it be completely without a position or a backbone.
The lack of said backbone became crushingly clear this week as Shirley Sherrod was forced to resign from her position with the USDA. The request for her resignation was prompted by a heavily edited video clip put into circulation by Andrew Breitbart, a right-wing blogger. In the 38 second clip, taken from a 43 minute speech, features Sherrod sharing an experience of what was, if viewed in context, actually a story of enlightenment in regards to the plight of farmers of all races suffering through the 1980s farm crisis. Read more
Huff Hosts Nativist Posts
Next time you log onto the Huffington Post be aware that it is hosting anti-immigrant nativists posing as “Progressives for Immigration Reform” (PFIR), a front group spun out by the white nationalist Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the very hub of the infamous John Tanton Network. The first PFIR column by its executive director, Leah Durant, appeared last week; more are said to be coming, twice weekly. Hosting PFIR puts Huff Post up there—almost—with The Nation magazine, which has unashamedly taken significant paid advertising from other FAIR fronts, the “Coalition for the Future American Worker” and related “America’s Leadership Team for Long-Range Population-Resource-Immigration Planning.”
Expressing faux-concern about the undercounting of undocumented immigrants in last week’s column, Durant feigned that “the incomplete census format is diluting the voting power of millions of American citizens,” an indication that she has conveniently forgotten her friendly photo with white nationalists at the 33rd Writers Workshop put on by The Social Contract Press, founded by anti-immigrant guru John Tanton. Durant was formerly a staff attorney for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, as if her PFIR “credentials” were not enough to expose her politics. Read more
New Anti-Immigrant Spokespersons Carry On FAIR’s Dirty Work
After Rachel Maddow’s credibility crippling exposé on the Federation for American Immigration (FAIR), the anti-immigrant movement’s linchpin is still finding ways to sneak comments into mainstream media stories on immigration. Although many news outlets have avoided citing the group since Dan Stein’s embarrassing debate with Maddow, the organization continues to pop up in national papers such as The Washington Post and USA Today. Rarely do newspapers describe the group for what it really is, an anti-immigrant hate group. Instead mainstream media seems more comfortable describing it merely as an organization that desires less immigration.
Pretty tame depiction for an organization that took $1.2 million from the white supremacist Pioneer Fund, a foundation that has a history of promoting the genetic superiority of white, European-Americans.
One thing’s for sure, it would be difficult for reporters to briefly sum up the controversy surrounding FAIR. But if they did, they could start by telling readers about FAIR’s former staffers who’ve been associated with the Council of Conservative Citizens, the reconstituted, segregationist White Citizens’ Councils. Read more
Cross-Post: NumbersUSA Email Ad Causes Outrage
Roy Beck, president of NumbersUSA
Anti-immigrant group NumbersUSA caused a bit of trouble for the Daily Progress last week when it sent out an email ad to subscribers asking them to support Arizona’s racist Senate Bill 1070. The Hook has the story:
The marketing email is nothing new, and if you’ve ever purchased anything online, you’ve probably gotten ‘em, probably deleted ‘em.
That’s what Zach Carter usually does, until one from the Daily Progress caught his attention June 16 with this subject line: “Tell President Obama YOU Support Arizona’s Enforcement Law! –Paid Advertisement by NumbersUSA.”
Carter calls the subject line “obnoxious” and describes the ad’s content as “raging right-wing propaganda.” Read more
Media Watch Group Demands O’Reilly Retract False Reports About Immigrants & Crime
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) is calling out Fox host Bill O’Reilly for his vilification of immigrants.
The national media watch group has documented a pattern of gross bias and outright falsehoods in O’Reilly’s reporting in the wake of Arizona’s draconian immigration law, SB 1070. After issuing an alert on May17th, the group is turning up the pressure with a petition demanding that O’Reilly retract his claims linking immigrants to high crime rates.
O’Reilly has persistently blamed immigrants for Arizona’s soaring crime rates and as a reason to support Arizona’s racist immigration law. There is only one problem, crimes rates aren’t soaring in Arizona. In fact, according to the city of Phoenix crime rates in 2009 were the lowest in 15 years. Read more
Cross-Post: Abortion Doctor Killer Not A Lone Wolf
As we find with most extremist violence, the urge to classify killers as act-alone outliers is comforting but normally wrong and often dangerous.
Amanda Robb writes a great investigative piece for Ms. Magazine about the web of pro-life extremists and killer Scott Roeder.
Scott Roeder is now serving a life term for murdering abortion doctor George Tiller. But did he really act alone?
AS SOON AS SCOTT ROEDER WAS NAMED THE SOLE SUSPECT IN THE point-blank shooting death of Wichita, Kan., abortion provider Dr. George Tiller in the vestibule of the Reformation Lutheran Church Tiller attended, a predictable story began to be told. Following the lead of a recent Department of Homeland Security report characterizing right-wing terrorists as lone wolves, the Los Angeles Times, CNN, ABC, NBC and FOX News all ran stories calling Roeder a “lone wolf” gunman.
It is the oldest, possibly most dangerous abortion story out there. Read more
Bigots Defend Georgia Anti-immigrant Leader Against Charges of Bigotry
D.A. King
D.A. King is the face of the anti-immigrant movement in Georgia. His current group, the Dustin Inman Society, persistently promotes and pushes anti-immigrant legislation in Georgia’s State Senate and House. The Dustin Inman Society is listed as a state contact on the website of hate group Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).
In recent months, King and his group have received increased press attention. King has enjoyed being quoted and having op-eds published in Georgia newspapers, something he loves to share with his supporters on the Dustin Inman Society blog. King is also involved in an ongoing battle with Jerry Gonzalez of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO).
Clear Split Between ALIPAC and Tanton Network Over Upcoming Anti-immigrant Rally
Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC) leader William Gheen has always been a bit of a nut. Just last month Gheen inappropriately called for Sen. Lindsey Graham to admit he was gay at a tea party event, and who could forget when he said, “Call me old fashioned, but people should be able to shop at Wal-Mart without worrying about catching [t]uberculosis.” For years Gheen has had a close relationship with the more disciplined network of anti-immigrant groups run by John Tanton. He has attended events featuring FAIR (Tanton’s flagship organization) state groups and participated in strategy calls conducted by leaders of Tanton’s network.
Given Gheen’s past history with the Tanton Network, it was not surprising when he announced that ALIPAC would participate in an anti-immigrant rally on June 5 in Phoenix. Two days later, in its weekly letter to members, NumbersUSA, the Tanton Network’s mobilizing arm, announced it would also support the rally, stating it would “kick off other state efforts and a week long campaign called ‘Shop In Arizona.’” It appeared as if the Tanton Network and ALIPAC were working hand in hand. But then something went wrong. Read more
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