Saturday, August 20, 2005

Multiculturalism, racism and Keith Vaz

Keith Vaz has been writing about race relation issues in the Parliamentary Monitor magazine where he talks about the hate mail he receives and developments in attitudes to multiculturalism.

Vaz reveals race-hate fears, ePolitix. Vaz and family are targets of hate-mail, Leicester Mercury.

The Monitor is published by the Runnymede Trust but an online copy of the full article is not available.

After reading some of his comments I am going to be writing to Keith Vaz to try and understand how these sentiments can be reconciled with some of the legislation that he and his government are supporting.

Vaz round up

A more general look at Vaz's recess projects...

Here he is weighing in over NHS (or not) dentists: The future's wide open as dentists seek new role in NHS and Dentists ready to drop NHS patients, both Leicester Mercury.

And now NHS hospitals: 'People are being left on trolleys' and a letter, Time to improve, again both Leicester Mercury.

Our Keith is also busy handing out IT skills qualifications, Skills up to profit, Leicester Mercury. Wait a minute, the Keith Vaz responsible for this?

And last but not least a story about the successful use of traffic calming in Evington village, Accident rate cut, thanks to speed curbs, Leicester Mercury. Maybe someone should mention that after £890,000 and 3 years it looks like fault lines are running through the mini roundabout.

More video games and Vaz

The video game controversy rumbles on with the arrival of a new game, Bully.

Fury of victim's mother over computer game on bullying
, The Guardian.

Bully game 'is irresponsible', Leicester Mercury.

Saturday, August 13, 2005

Rebrand this: rebranding, identity, profiling and... quangos? The solution to all Britain's problems

With the walls of the internet closing in around me I struggled to find free / linkable content for you to read on this story.

Hazel Blears has been put in charge of a government commission on racial integration. Yes, that would be the Hazel Blears that said Muslims should expect to be unjustly harrassed by the police, this back in March - one can only imagine the situation now.

In an interview in the Times on Monday she floated the idea that Britain should start talking about its various communities along US lines of Irish-American, Italian-American and the like. They then ran a feature on this 'rebranding' plan that was picked up elsewhere (such as the Independent, subscribers only should apply).

The Guardian carries most of the business - Tories criticise government 'confusion' on extremism, Multiple choices and Life on a hyphen edge.

Keith Vaz hurries in to the fray in the New Kerala in Rebranding of Indians unacceptable, say UK ethnic communities:

“I understand what Hazel is trying to do but the British Asian community know precisely who they are. We know who we are and we are comfortable in being able to identify ourselves without the need for external labels. What we should be doing rather than rebranding is doing more to positively encourage young people from the Asian community to become more involved in the mainstream. That means ministers like Hazel and others ought to appoint more Asians to positions of responsibility through quangos, for example.”

I wouldn't worry about it though peeps. Blears is on the side of the oppressed. As discussions about active racial profiling come to the fore Blears assures us in the Times article that she is familiar with conflicts of identity and the like - she's from the North.

The parents aren't alright

BBC - Parents 'ignore game age ratings'. Found via Slashdot, discussion here. One for Keith Vaz's reading list perhaps?

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