links for 2011-05-26

"Comcast has insisted the episode is the result of one rogue communications exec acting in haste and poor judgement. But it’s an apt illustration of the concern media justice advocates have voiced about telecom firms—that they have too much power and have proven themselves willing to abuse it. It’s also brought to the surface a host of perennially difficult questions for struggling community groups. How do you remain true to your politics while accepting (and seeking) funding from a corporation with politics that are at odds with yours? How do you bite the hand that feeds you?"

"'And I’ve noticed this in terms of white people who will cross the street before they even get there,' often going out of their way, or blatantly crossing the street near the center, she says. 'Sometimes there’s an assumption that because they are kids, you will have cracks thrown at you or something. But you walk by and you’re either going to say ‘hi’ and they’re going to say ‘hi’ back, or they’re going to make a comment and you ignore it, or they will most likely ignore you because you are not the center of their world.'"

"[N]ote that the tribe/reservation language seems to have been imposed by the filmmakers. It apparently wasn't in the comics. Why the change? Because the filmmakers evidently associate deadly creatures with savage Indians. I don't see any way around that.

"Scotland Yard says its computers randomly picked a codename for Obama, 'chalaque,' for his visit to the country. But the newspaper quoted a Sikh community leader saying the name is often used to 'denigrate' someone. Yahoo News then picked up the story, featuring it on its homepage under the headline: 'Obama Code Named ‘smart alec' in Britain.'"