http://www.thetoyzone.com/10-of-the-most-racist-toys-ever-made/

No before you ask I don’t agree with what any of these toys say - I have just compiled the list for the interest of you my readers.

1. Golly Wog

An English toy based on a 1885 book with a character of the same name. Many people still believe that the toy is a relic of an earlier time when racism against black people was blatant. Recently the Supermodel Naiomi Cambell assaulted airline staff after reportedly being called a ‘Golliwog supermodel’

Read more: http://www.ferris.edu

2. Chop Suey Specs (more…)

JONATHAN TURLEY

In a set back for the government, Dr. Sami Al-Arian was granted bail by Judge Leonie M. Brinkema today. Over the objections of the government and the pre-trial services, Judge Brinkema agreed that Dr. Al-Arian was not a flight risk and no danger to the community. The government has suggested that it may now block release by having Immigration officials hold Dr. Al-Arian for deportation — despite the fact that it is trying to hold him for years under a criminal sentence rather than deport him. (more…)

from: David Greenberg

http://www.slate.com/id/2194695/entry/2194697/

How the Republicans Claimed the “Patriotism” Mantle in Presidential Politics

The 1988 race for the White House was the last campaign of the Cold War. By the time Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis and Vice President George H.W. Bush emerged in midspring as their parties’ nominees, Mikhail Gorbachev had begun his historic reforms, and the superpowers had signed a landmark arms-reduction deal. Still, the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union remained intact, and the Democrats remained afraid of being tarred as squishy-soft. So when the Republicans met in New Orleans in August for their convention, with Dukakis far ahead in the polls, they set out—in the manner of many previous GOP campaigns—to paint their adversary as weak on defense and suspect in his devotion to country. (more…)

‘Grand,’ but No ‘Godfather’

Rockstar Games

I am one of them, the early adopters. I’ve been playing Grand Theft Auto since the beginning. I was there in 1998 when GTA was a throwaway with two-dimensional graphics on the original PlayStation. I was there in 2002 when Tommy Vercetti, the main character in a follow-up, blew a “Scarface”-size hole in Vice City. I rebuilt my gang with CJ, star of another sequel, San Andreas. Sandbox games (which is a fancy way of saying a game where you can ignore the game’s objectives) shot through with criminal aberrance have always been a weakness of mine. Call it the American in me. Call it permanent adolescent.

So it’s 2008 and the latest edition of the GTA franchise has come upon us like corporate lightning. The new game took in more than $500 million in world-wide sales in its first week. The critical reaction has been widespread and adulatory and in certain corners beyond over-the-top: GTA IV is better than “The Godfather,” better than “The Sopranos,” better than say, a novel!

(more…)

This Strange Thing Called Prom