Leader Of New York’s Women Firefighters Makes Controversial Post On ‘White Privilege’

According to The New York Post, the leader of New York City’s female firefighters has sparked outrage for blasting “white boys” and “white privilege.”

Sarinya Srisakul, president of United Women’s Firefighters, is taking heat from fellow firefighters after posting online comments.

They read:  ‘“These white boys crying and complaining over this because their white privilege is being messed with. Trying living a life being racially profiled!!!!”’

Critics say Srisakul violated the FDNY’s social-media policy when she posted the comments in November. The policy bars statements that bring the department into disrepute, but some firefighters say Srisakul gets away with it because she is “politically correct.”

(Updated article)

Hillary Clinton Breaks Her Silence

Hillary Clinton has broken her 28-day streak avoiding the press.

Following a campaign event here in Iowa, where she was discussing small businesses and entrepreneurship, the Democratic presidential candidate meandered over to the rope line to greet the media today. She then proceeded to answer a total of six questions from reporters — her first time to do so in roughly four weeks.

During this “ramp up” phase of her candidacy, Clinton has kept her distance from the media, answering only a handful of questions from the reporters following her on the campaign trail. Her opponents – and not surprisingly, the press – had taken notice.

Hillary Clinton Hasn’t Answered a Press Question in 21 Days (And Her Opponents Are Taking Notice)

5 Things Hillary Clinton Accomplished In Iowa (And 5 Questions That Still Remain)

South African Leaders Visit Cook County Jail, Have Odd Question

Sam Seder

NBC / The Chicago Tribune had an interesting account of a South African delegation’s reaction after touring a Cook County, IL, jail facility. (The account was buried towards the end of an article about the Cook County criminal justice system.)

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-alvarez-dart-evans-preckwinkle-city-club-met-20150507-story.html

Corrupt Oklahoma ‘Good Old Boy’ System: Wealthy White Businessman Threatens To Get Cops Fired After DUI

Secular Talk

When interacting with police, does it matter if you have wealth, power, or influence?

According to Raw Story, police in an Oklahoma town said city officials tried to block the drunken driving arrest of a well-connected businessman and have threatened officers after they refused.

A wealthy businessman named Brian Haggard was stopped two months ago by Chelsea, Oklahoma, Police Officer Nicholas Pappe and charged with driving under the influence, according to KTUL-TV.

Police said they received telephone calls from influential officials in the city, including the police commissioner and city manager, asking officers to go easy on Haggard, according to Raw Story.

“If you would give me a free pass tonight, I would sure appreciate it,” Haggard told the officer on police dash cam video.

The officer continued the arrest, and Assistant Police Chief Travis Hogan said city officials have made clear since then they are unhappy with him and the police chief.

“We live in a good ol’ boy system here in this town,” Hogan said. “My officers have received threats. I personally and the chief has received threats to our jobs,” he said, according to Raw Story.

(Updated article)

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/05/we-live-in-a-good-ol-boy-system-ok-cops-say-officials-tried-to-block-businessmans-dui-arrest/

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/05/08/oklahoma-boys-threaten-cops-dui/

Right Wing Press: ‘Anger Translator’ Reveals President’s True Nature

TYT Network

At the 2015 White House Correspondents’ Dinner, the low-key President had a humorous speech with Luther, his “anger translator.”

Some might recognize Luther as Keegan-Michael Key from the Comedy Central series “Key & Peele.”

Did some in the right-wing media believe that the anger translator represented the President’s true nature?

Black And Blue Dress Highlights Domestic Violence

Recently, the “optical illusion dress” that came to worldwide attention was used in a Salvation Army public service announcement in South Africa.  The announcement is targeting domestic violence against women and it uses the viral success of “The Dress.”

The ad featured a woman in a white and gold dress with a caption that reads, “Why is it so hard to see black and blue?”

The caption in the ad further reads: “The only illusion is if you think it was her choice. One in 6 women are victims of abuse. Stop abuse against women.”

The advertisement features the logo for Carehaven, a home for abused women and their children run by the Salvation Army.

The charity says Carehaven has helped more than 5,000 people.

Ireland/Davenport, the South African advertising agency behind the image, told BuzzFeed News in an emailed statement, “For the past few days the internet has been swarming with comments about ‘the dress’ – overall people have been commenting how they hate the fact that an insignificant thing like this could take priority on the internet over more pressing topics such as abuse.”

The agency’s creative team created it within 24 hours and then approached the Salvation Army to ask if they would like to put their name to ad.

“After the idea had been cracked by the team there was no time to spare. We approached the Salvation Army and they were nothing but helpful and overjoyed to help us get their message out there,” the agency said. “With the help of favors from suppliers and production we managed to create and publish the ad in a day.”

TYT Network

More:

http://www.inquisitr.com/1901573/thedress-used-for-salvation-armys-stopabuseagainstwomen-ad-campaign/#kaLbuOoBtYjqxzzu.99

Food Stamp Recipients By Race

(Huffington Post graph)

Abercrombie & Fitch Refused To Hire Muslim Woman Due To Hijab, Now In Court

Abercrombie & Fitch, purveyor of preppy teen wear, is fighting out its latest hijab-related controversy in the Supreme Court, where the clothing store is currently facing a religious bias case for alleged discrimination against a potential hire who wore a traditional Muslim headscarf (“hijab”) to an interview, according to Vice News. The case has dragged on since 2008, when Samantha Elauf, then 17, allegedly resisted the store’s infamous “look policy” — which dictates staff guidelines on clothing accessories, and even makeup . She wore a black headscarf to her interview in a Tulsa, Oklahoma branch of the kids store.

“I learned I was not hired by Abercrombie because I wear a head scarf, which is a symbol of modesty in my Muslim faith,” Elauf said after oral arguments had been presented to the court Wednesday.

Abercrombie claims in a court brief that Elauf’s scarf infringed on company policy because the company explicitly forbids its “models” — as sales staff are called — from wearing the color black or from sporting headwear in store, which is why she was not offered the job.

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which brought the suit on Elauf’s behalf, claims Abercrombie violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, specifically aimed at stopping companies from refusing to employ someone based on race, color, sex, national origin, and religion, according to Vice.

TYT Network

Southern Poverty Law Center Takes Dr. Ben Carson Off ‘Extremist Watch List,’ Apologizes

The Southern Poverty Law Center removed Dr. Ben Carson, M.D., from its “extremist watch list” and apologized to the potential GOP presidential candidate.

Carson was originally put on the list because of what the SPLC called his “anti-LGBT” views, according to Mediaite.

The list includes notorious neo-Nazis and white supremacists.

“This week, as we’ve come under intense criticism for doing so, we’ve reviewed our profile and have concluded that it did not meet our standards, so we have taken it down and apologize to Dr. Carson for having posted it,” the SPLC wrote in a statement.

The statement still stated that the SPLC still believes Carson has “made a number of statements that express views that we believe most people would conclude are extreme.”

Alabama Billboard Complains Of ‘White Genocide’

Secular Talk

According to TPM, a billboard displaying a message tied to a hashtag popular with white supremacists appeared outside of Birmingham, Alabama. Birmingham has seen several racially charged, separatist signs posted in recent years.

AL.com reported Sunday that a billboard reading “Diversity means chasing down the last white person #whitegenocide” was posted on I-59 in St. Clair County.

http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2015/01/white_genocide_billboard_poste.html