racist graffiti spree hits Vancouver strip mall

Source: Vancouver Sun

Richmond RCMP are looking for two white males who went on a twisted, sometimes racist rant with a felt marker at an Asian strip mall.

The two men, who were caught on security cameras, filled two levels of a stairwell with felt marker graffiti, which included threats against police and racial slurs against Asians:

One of the suspects wrote "F--k the Chinese" next to a Swastika, and wrote "KKK" beneath it.

They also wrote "187 a pig" and "187 on an undercover cop" and "F--k the police."

The term "187" is used by some police agencies to refer to a homicide, so the graffiti could be read as a threat against police.

The scrawls have all the earmarks of a tweaking crackhead indulging in a stream-of-consciousness rant.

"I just got out of jail and I'm high," one of them wrote.

The word "jailbird" also appears a few times. A number of individuals are also named in the kind sophomoric trash-talk one finds scrawled on high school bathroom stalls.

If it's on camera why weren't the arrested on the spot? Isn't anyone watching the live video? Aren't cars in the parking lot supposed to be protected? Is the security guard asleep?

And how does this happen in Richmond. Isn't it 90% Chinese? Should these guys be pummeled? Aren't there any eyewitnesses? Where is everyone!?

Harold Koh Supreme Court

Source: Huffington Post

This nomination to replace Justice Stevens -- a staunch liberal on the court for 35 years -- can be more important than health care, the recovery bill and financial reform combined. That's why President Obama shouldn't just nominate someone who Republicans deem acceptable -- he should nominate someone that progressives would be proud to fight for.

That's why we need Harold Koh.

The son of first-generation immigrants from South Korea, Koh would be the first Asian-American nominated to the Supreme Court -- and his credentials speak for themselves. The former dean of Yale Law School and a renowned expert in international law, he served as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights & Labor under President Clinton and is currently Legal Adviser to the State Department. In an increasingly global era where knowledge of international law will be crucial on the Court, Koh is the strongest candidate from this field and would also be the first Justice to hold such expertise. Beyond his roles at the State Department, Koh also worked in the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department under President Reagan.

FAIL. You CAN NOT start a defense of any position with race. We need Harold Koh because he would be the first Asian-American nominated.. blah blah. That's stupid.

Asians needs to stop looking at people through race. Forget that he's Asian. He's the best candidate because he's the best candidate and make your argument starting there.

This is the argument
We need Harold Koh because...

1. Worked as an attorney-adviser to the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) in the United States Department of Justice under Reagan.

2. Koh was nominated by President Clinton to become Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

3. Author of several books, including The National Security Constitution: Sharing Power after the Iran-Contra Affair (Yale University Press,1990); Transnational Legal Problems (with Harry Steiner and Detlev Vagts, Foundation Press, 1994); Deliberative Democracy and Human Rights (with Ronald C. Slye, Yale University Press, 1999); and Transnational Litigation in United States Courts (Foundation Press 2008). He has also written over 175 law review articles and legal editorials.

Stuff like that. As an Asian writer Mr. Chi, make an argument for an Asian without mentioning he's Asian and the argument will go much further. Starting a defense with.. He's ASIAN and will make HISTORY immediately draws the reader to that fact and undermines the rest of the article. Someone who doesn't like racial profiling will read that first sentence and conclude "Another fucking Asian supporting someone because they're a fucking Asian."

Takeout from Y.E. Yang

Source: Deadspin

I'm not sure the joke is as bad as it is old. Come on guy, you're an established writer and you resort to toilet humour? And then the next time you see Yang and he doesn't want to talk to you, you'll cry about it in the paper as Yang being a jerk eh?

Perhaps Yang should hit him with the BIG trophy he won last year.

Don't Turn There! That's Wong Way!

Source: Press-Enterprise

Riverside officials have righted what many believe is a decades-old wrong.

For 48 years, "Wong Way" was the name on a short connector street near downtown Riverside.

Now, it is "Wong Street."

Regardless of whether it's way or street, the block is still named after the late George Wong, the last resident of Riverside's former Chinatown. Wong was believed to be 90 or older when he died in 1974, a holdout who never moved from his longtime home.

The former street name, unanimously approved by the Riverside City Council in 1961, appeared to be more of a joke than an honor, said current Riverside City Councilman Mike Gardner, who requested the street name change.

The former street name appeared to imply a "wrong way" while also disparaging Chinese immigrants with limited English skills, Gardner said. The double-entendre wasn't always appreciated.

"It's insensitive and it's a bad joke," said Jean Wong, a member of a citizen group opposed to development of the Chinatown site about block or two from Wong Street. She is not related to George Wong.

Gardner said he had met George Wong shortly before he died and had long thought the old street name didn't show proper respect.

"I wanted to go back and correct the insult," Gardner said.

A search of Google maps turned up four other streets named Wong Way -- in San Jose and San Bruno; in Bristol, Mass.; and New Brunswick, Canada.

I wonder if these street will have to be corrected as well. Since 1961 eh? Takes that long for people to change a frigging street name?

York school board stands down, reinstates bullied student

Source: Globe and Mail

A 15-year-old black belt who was suspended for breaking the nose of a classmate who racially abused him will return to school Tuesday after a sudden change of heart at the York Region board.

The reversal represents a dramatic victory for the Asian student, who was suspended a maximum 20 days last week. He had received a letter from the school board – later retracted – that said his principal recommended he be expelled from all schools in the region.

The 15-year-old will return to Keswick High School this morning with the suspension removed from his academic record and his upcoming expulsion hearing cancelled, the boy's father said Monday.

The turnabout began Monday when the student and his parents were invited to a hastily convened reconciliation session with his antagonist and that boy's parents. At that meeting, the white student apologized for directing a racial slur at the 15-year-old and for punching him in the mouth. The 15-year-old apologized for breaking his classmate's nose.

“He knew he was wrong so I was really glad to hear that,” the Korean-born student said. “I felt bad for breaking his nose so I apologized to him after that.”

The fight broke out April 21 during a gym class game of speedball. The white student called the 15-year-old a “fucking Chinese,” which led to pushing and shoving. After being struck in the mouth, the 15-year-old, a black belt in tae kwon do, struck back with his weaker left hand, which his father, a martial arts master, had taught him was a measure of last resort. Afterward, only the 15-year-old was charged by police. His fellow students, outraged by what they saw as injustice, walked out of school en masse last Monday to protest.

.....more

See? Was that so hard? This should have been done THAT DAY. No need for police or counsellors or hate-crime experts with nothing better to do. The principal of this school is an idiot. Take responsibilty of your own school and resolve this dispute in 10 minutes. These are 15-year old kids who are learning about life.

When we were kids, these things happened all the time. A kid would call another kid a name and then get his teeth bashed in. Principal would call parents and it would blow over.

These two kids have now learned more about each other and don't be surprised if they become good friends because of it.

Related: Teen brawl probed for racial taunts

Old Japanese maps on Google Earth unveil secrets

Source: Yahoo Tech

When Google Earth added historical maps of Japan to its online collection last year, the search giant didn't expect a backlash. The finely detailed woodblock prints have been around for centuries, they were already posted on another Web site, and a historical map of Tokyo put up in 2006 hadn't caused any problems.

But Google failed to judge how its offering would be received, as it has often done in Japan. The company is now facing inquiries from the Justice Ministry and angry accusations of prejudice because its maps detailed the locations of former low-caste communities.

The maps date back to the country's feudal era, when shoguns ruled and a strict caste system was in place. At the bottom of the hierarchy were a class called the "burakumin," ethnically identical to other Japanese but forced to live in isolation because they did jobs associated with death, such as working with leather, butchering animals and digging graves.

Castes have long since been abolished, and the old buraku villages have largely faded away or been swallowed by Japan's sprawling metropolises. Today, rights groups say the descendants of burakumin make up about 3 million of the country's 127 million people.

But they still face prejudice, based almost entirely on where they live or their ancestors lived. Moving is little help, because employers or parents of potential spouses can hire agencies to check for buraku ancestry through Japan's elaborate family records, which can span back over a hundred years.

An employee at a large, well-known Japanese company, who works in personnel and has direct knowledge of its hiring practices, said the company actively screens out burakumin job seekers.

"If we suspect that an applicant is a burakumin, we always do a background check to find out," she said. She agreed to discuss the practice only on condition that neither she nor her company be identified.

Lists of "dirty" addresses circulate on Internet bulletin boards. Some surveys have shown that such neighborhoods have lower property values than surrounding areas, and residents have been the target of racial taunts and graffiti. But the modern locations of the old villages are largely unknown to the general public, and many burakumin prefer it that way.

Google Earth's maps pinpointed several such areas. One village in Tokyo was clearly labeled "eta," a now strongly derogatory word for burakumin that literally means "filthy mass." A single click showed the streets and buildings that are currently in the same area.

Google posted the maps as one of many "layers" available via its mapping software, each of which can be easily matched up with modern satellite imagery. The company provided no explanation or historical context, as is common practice in Japan. Its basic stance is that its actions are acceptable because they are legal, one that has angered burakumin leaders.

"If there is an incident because of these maps, and Google is just going to say 'it's not our fault' or 'it's down to the user,' then we have no choice but to conclude that Google's system itself is a form of prejudice," said Toru Matsuoka, a member of Japan's upper house of parliament.

No no no no.. it's not Google's system that's a form of prejudice. IT'S YOU! If the Japanese government gets so bent out of shape that a map leads to prejudice and discrimination, then why don't they get mad that there is prejudice and discrimination to begin with!

It makes no sense why the burakumin are hated. Such a snobbish class society from medival times. We should respect all people. How can the Japanese eat prepared meat and fish and then dog on the people who prepare it for them. That's so ungrateful!

We need people to do all sorts of things, , run funeral homes, fix cars, cut hair, clean sewers, prepare meat, etc... They make our lives much easier. Why discriminate against an entire village because they did such things centuries ago.

"If we suspect that an applicant is a burakumin, we always do a background check to find out," she said. She agreed to discuss the practice only on condition that neither she nor her company be identified.

You know you are doing something wrong when you don't want to be identified.

Teen brawl probed for racial taunts

Source: Globe And Mail

A hate-crime investigator continues to probe the fight that led to the suspension of a 15-year-old Korean student at a high school in Keswick, Ont.

The youth began his first day at a special centre for suspended students yesterday, still unsure whether the boy he says racially abused and then punched him will face charges.

A spokeswoman for York Regional Police said no further charges have been laid, but police continue to conduct interviews.

"There is a hate crime investigator assigned to look into whether it is a hate crime or hate motivated in some way," Sergeant Laurie Perks said yesterday.

The 15-year-old was suspended for 20 days and will not be able to attend regular classes at Keswick High School. He is also charged with assault causing bodily harm, and will have to attend a local police station next week to be processed and fingerprinted, his father said.

The charge stems from a fight in gym class on April 21. The 15-year-old, who came with his parents to Canada from Korea in 2004, says he got into a dispute with a white classmate. The white student addressed him with a racial slur, calling him "a fucking Chinese," and when confronted he refused to apologize.

The white student threw the first punch, hitting the 15-year-old in the mouth. The 15-year-old, a black belt in tae kwon do, threw a left-handed jab that broke the white student's nose. The 15-year-old was the only one charged, which led to an outcry from the students at his school.

More than 400 walked out of class Monday morning to protest, carrying signs and wearing black clothing as a sign of solidarity.

Why do schools and police complicate things so much. Aren't kids allowed to fight anymore? The white boy called the Asian kid fucking chinese and punched him in the mouth. The Asian kid retaliated and knocked him out. What's the commotion about? We all must have seen this many times during our 12 years of school.

This is an easy job for the principal. Call both boys into his office, call both parents and work it out. What's the point of suspending 15-year old kids?

And a hate crime? "Fucking Chinese" is now a hate crime? Come on, the kid is fucking 15. You're going to charge him? Just get a counsellor and work it out. I bet you anything the two kids will become friends if they spend any amount of time together.

The police better think really hard about this. Take race out of it. If they seriously are going to charge a kid for taking a punch first and then punching back they're going to be in some heat. I might as well go around town taunting and punching people and then taking punches to the face and charing them. Who do the police think they are? The NHL?

Japan Pays Foreign Workers to Go Home

Source: Yahoo

Rita Yamaoka, a mother of three who immigrated from Brazil, recently lost her factory job here. Now, Japan has made her an offer she might not be able to refuse.

The government will pay thousands of dollars to fly Mrs. Yamaoka; her husband, who is a Brazilian citizen of Japanese descent; and their family back to Brazil. But in exchange, Mrs. Yamaoka and her husband must agree never to seek to work in Japan again.

“I feel immense stress. I’ve been crying very often,” Mrs. Yamaoka, 38, said after a meeting where local officials detailed the offer in this industrial town in central Japan.

“I tell my husband that we should take the money and go back,” she said, her eyes teary. “We can’t afford to stay here much longer.”

Japan’s offer, extended to hundreds of thousands of blue-collar Latin American immigrants, is part of a new drive to encourage them to leave this recession-racked country. So far, at least 100 workers and their families have agreed to leave, Japanese officials said.

But critics denounce the program as shortsighted, inhumane and a threat to what little progress Japan has made in opening its economy to foreign workers.

“It’s a disgrace. It’s cold-hearted,” said Hidenori Sakanaka, director of the Japan Immigration Policy Institute, an independent research organization.

“And Japan is kicking itself in the foot,” he added. “We might be in a recession now, but it’s clear it doesn’t have a future without workers from overseas.”

Sad isn't it. Can you imagine if your parents weren't allowed to be a citizen of Canada or the US and lived off working VISAs? Then any day they could just pay you to leave? That's remarkable.

Maybe one should think twice about living in places like Japan that have such tight foreigner laws. We are very lucky to live in North America.

Are you smarter than a 5th grade Asian kid?

Are you smarter than a 5th grade Asian kid?

HAHAHAHA!!!

*This test is not racist because it was created by an Asian kid.

It's still pretty racist, especially the caricatures which are foul and unnecessary.

I only got 7 out of 10, this test is way too hard!

Sri Lankan postmaster won't serve migrants who won't learn English

Ooooooh look at me, I'm BRITISH!

Source: Daily Mail

There's a huge Union Flag flying proudly outside Deva Kumarasiri’s house and it’s been there so long the edges are tattered and torn.

Nearby, another one flutters from the back of his favourite Land Rover as he drives to work as the local cornershop postmaster.

In case it’s not immediately clear, the Sri Lankan-born father of two – who fulfilled a dream to come to this country 17 years ago and took citizenship to make his life here – is proud to be British.

So proud, in fact, that he’s insisting all his fellow immigrants embrace our culture with the same enthusiasm as he does. Yesterday Mr Kumarasiri, who

taught his two daughters every word of the National Anthem, introduced a controversial regime at his post office counter.

If his customers can’t be bothered to learn English, he tells them, they must go away and learn it before he serves them.

His bold stand against nonintegration has sent a shudder of political correctness down whatever spine the post office has these days, and infuriated some local do-gooders who accused him of inciting division among the community.

But a few minutes spent with the 40-year-old Liberal Democrat councillor are about all it takes to establish his motives are pure – and that he’s driven only by a passion for the country he loves.

‘Nobody stands up for anything in Britain any more,’ he said.

‘It’s the best country in the world as far as I’m concerned, but the great country I once called Great Britain has changed a lot since I came here.

‘All I’m doing is telling people if they want to live in Britain, be British. Don’t boo our soldiers when they come home from Iraq. Don’t live your life without embracing our culture. Don’t stay here without making any effort to learn the language. And if you don’t want to be British, go home.’

I don't like it. Even though I agree with the principals of what he is saying that people who come to a country should learn the language of that country, I don't like this. It reeks of snobbishness and arrogance.

He was fortunate enough to learn English in his homeland and then come to Britain. He dreams about Britain in his sleep. Fine. But not everyone is as fortunate as him and to say it's easy to learn or adapt to a new place is arrogance.

Let's say you are a 70 year old man or woman. Your son is a citizen of Britain and sponsored you over to join him. At 70 years old, what the heck are you going to learn the language and become a citizen for? You might learn a few words here and there but as long as you have an interpreter, you're ok right? I'm not saying that the government should make any special laws for you, but if you can get through life and have people tell you what's going on, that's fine.

And this is a post office! It's not some advanced learning institution or a place of any importance. It's a frigging smoke shop/post office. I could actually go in there and send a letter or buy something without saying a word. I would not go anywhere near this place. It reeks of pompous arrogance.

Student refuses to take 'demeaning' test

Source: KTIV

A Siouxland student says she wants answers from the federal and state government.

That's after the "No child left behind" law has made it mandatory for students who pick English as their second language to take an English language proficiency test.

But she refuses to take it saying it's discriminatory.

"This is a cause and it's not only for me, it's for everyone else out there who does speak a second language and does not want to get hurt," said Lori Phanachone a senior at Storm Lake High School.

Aiya! Most people can speak a 2nd language. But when the 2nd language is English, the education system has to do a review. Doesn't matter if your GPA is 4.0. Everything is computerized and nobody has time to study case by case. If you mark ESL, you're taking a test.

Lori Phanachone is proud of her Laotian heritage.

"I'm not going to deny my heritage, I'm not going to disrespect my mother," said Phanachone.

Because the 18 year old senior checked English as her second language, she's been put into a category where the government says she'll have to take a test to determine her English speaking and comprehension abilities.

"Testing of the students is federally mandated and what to use is state mandated," said Superintendent Dr. Paul Tedesco.

We're all proud of our Asian heritage. Doesn't mean we put a check mark beside ESL and put Laotian as our first language to prove our pride! Having English as your first language doesn't disrespect your mom! These two things have nothing to do with each other. I don't care where you come from, Asia, Africa, Europe, South America. If you are born in the US, your first language is English. End of discussion.

But Phanachone says the test is demeaning and she has refused to take it.

"For the federal government to throw that in my face, and say hey you have to prove yourself. I've proved myself my whole entire life, it's not right," said Phanachone.

She's got a 3.9 grade point average. Since the district considers her refusal to be insubordinate, they have punished her by asking her to leave school last Friday, missing activities and in-school suspension for three days this week.

The reason this girl has been fighting her whole life is because she keeps checking the wrong box.

For me it's easy. First language: English. Second language: French
If there's another option then I'll fill it in. It doesn't make me disrespectful or any of that BS. I speak my mother-tongue at home and to my friends and family. But on legal documents, English is the primary language!

Here's a personal non-racial example. I'm a University graduate.

If I go to staffing agencies, they know from my resume that I am a University graduate. What's the first thing they make me do? Spelling test, grammar test, typing test, keying test etc etc.. What am I going to say?

"I'm a fucking university graduate and these tests are degrading"?
I can't say that. In life you always have to take tests to prove yourself.

Chinese Calgarians enraged at report urging no "Asian" malls

Source: Canada.com

Members of Calgary's Chinese community are enraged after a consultant's report commissioned by the city said Calgary should avoid the development of "Asian" malls that serve only one ethnic group.

The report raises the debate over whether cities should be encouraging ethnic enclaves, or whether those enclaves only isolate certain communities from the larger population.

Chinese residents are angry at being singled out by the consulting company -- whose president is Chinese -- in a report on how the city should deal with future commercial and retail development.

Calgary should "avoid the development of 'Asian' malls that cater only to a specific ethnic group," says the report, posted on the city's website.

"An effort must be made to avoid 'exclusive' cultural-specific retail developments, as they lead to marginalized ethnic enclaves which can diminish overall community cohesiveness."

There were about 67,000 people of Chinese descent living in the Calgary area in 2006, according to Statistics Canada.

Booooo. Nothing worse than a Chinese-Canadian wannabe who walks around dissing FOBs all day and wanting to outlaw Chinese malls! Nice report buddy.

Related Stories:

Like variety, ethnic malls add spice to life
The notorious report urging that Asian malls be discouraged has been cleansed but the result still looks and reads a lot like the idiotic original

N.B. education minister orders end to race-based Grade 4 assignment

Source: CBC

New Brunswick's education minister has ordered the cancellation of a school assignment that asked children which lives they would save if they had to choose among different ethnic groups.

Kelly Lamrock's move came after outrage was expressed by a mother at the school.

"I can't mince words," Lamrock said. "It is unacceptable in every way. Whatever the intent was, it invites and encourages defining people by stereotypes. It needs to stop."

The education minister said the objective of promoting cultural diversity is a part of the curriculum, but that specific class project is not.

The assignment for the Grade 4 students at École Mont-Carmel in Ste-Marie-de-Kent was based on the notion that the planet was about to explode.

The students had three spaces in a rocket ship and they had to decide which person they would save among the following: an Acadian francophone, a Chinese person, a black African, an English person and an aboriginal person.

Looks like this student chose the Acadian, American and African. The Chinese guy is toast. At least the decision was a difficult one!

Smart vs. cool

Smart vs. cool: Culture, race and ethnicity in Silicon Valley schools

If you're smart you've lost your Mexican identity? Way to celebrate stoopidness. And if you're not smart, you're no longer Asian.

I've been out of school for awhile. Is this really the atmosphere in today's schools? Pretty depressing.

Tiffany Nguyen. Another white-trash name!

So you're a smarty-pants eh?

The question of identity

I was a victim of this being an average student. Other Asian students mocked me and even my mom was disappointed.

So a couple of tips from me to you.

If you're a parent, advise but don't push your kids and most importantly don't use your kids as a tool to brag to other parents.

If you're a smart kid it wouldn't hurt to lend a hand every now and then to your fellow Asian instead of teasing and mocking. Karma is a bitch you know.

Racism? Still?

Resentment towards Vancouver's visible majority

If there's racism in Vancouver there must be in the rest of Canada right?
But here in Calgary I've never felt much racism. Growing up I wasn't a victim of any slurs. I was quite comfortable and enjoyed my high-school years. I work with people from many-races now and there's no problem. And socially I've been been to pretty much every club and bar in Calgary and I've never felt unwanted.

Maybe I'm just lucky.


Please answer the poll question. Feel free to elaborate in the comments section.