links for 2011-04-21

"It seems as if many Republicans are confused about how best to properly slander Barack Obama without being racist. They'd like to let the world know they despise the president, but then they're shocked when people take issue with them calling Obama a monkey. Believe it or not, it's possible to insult the president without coming off as a horrible bigot. Here's a handy guide."

"Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca’s totally groovy AFRODISIAC has been nominated for an Eisner for Best Humor Publication. But it’s currently between printings…"

"'I'm so sick of hearing about damn Spike Lee,' Perry said during the press conference. 'Spike can go straight to hell! You can print that. I am sick of him talking about me, I am sick of him saying, 'this is a coon, this is a buffoon.' I am sick of him talking about black people going to see movies. This is what he said: 'you vote by what you see,' as if black people don't know what they want to see.'

"'I am sick of him — he talked about Whoopi, he talked about Oprah, he talked about me, he talked about Clint Eastwood. Spike needs to shut the hell up!' Perry reportedly said."

"Mostly I've chosen stuff from the last 40 years here, just because we could easily fill pages and pages with all the wrongness before that – think Ming the Merciless (evil Asian guy) or the many stereotypes of African Americans that emerge in stories of visiting "savage" planets. What's sad is that we haven't come that far since those overtly racist days. So without further ado, here are the characters that make you want to slap some sense into somebody and make them read some Nisi Shawl."

"'Until you deal with the underlying cause, until you deal with the lack of certainty and the anxiety associated with mandatory detention, nothing is going to change. It’s very obvious.' Refugee advocates and human rights defenders are among those who have long been opposed to what they regard as the harsh, unfair treatment of those who claim asylum in Australia, often fleeing persecution in their homeland…"

"Garg's killing was one of several attacks in 2009 and early 2010 against Indian students in Melbourne. Some Indian news outlets claimed they were racially motivated."

"In total, 56 percent of people in the American Indian and Alaska Native alone-or-in-combination category reported one race. Of the 2.3 million who reported American Indian and Alaska Native along with one or more additional races, about 63 percent reported one combination: American Indian and Alaska Native and White. American Indian and Alaska Native and Black (12 percent) as well as American Indian and Alaska Native and White and Black (10 percent) were also common combinations reported among the Native population."