Texas group launches scholarship for white men ONLY… because they ‘need an equal shot’

Tired of being left out: The board of the Former Majority Association for Equality. L-R: Calysta Spence, Colby Bohannan, Heidi Olson, Brandon Bohannan, Shannon Laage, William Lake, and Christopher Celis

A non-profit group has launched a college scholarship for a demographic it claims are under-represented in society – white men.

The Former Majority Association for Equality will give grants of $500 to any man from Texas who is at least ‘25 per cent Caucasian’, has good grades and can demonstrate they are in need.

Its founder Colby Bohannan claims whites feel ‘excluded’ when they apply to college and that they are ‘left out’ when it comes to funding.

The provocative move risks a backlash by anti-racism groups but college officials in Texas have said there is little they can do to prevent it.

Mr Bohannan, a former Texas State University student and Iraq veteran, said the group was named because of the idea that ‘if you’re not a male, and if you’re not white, you’re called a minority’.

‘I’m not sure white males are the majority any more,’ he said. ‘If everyone else can find scholarships, why are we left out?’

He added that the group is not taking a stance on affirmative action and has denounced racism.

COLONEL SIXX : BULLSHIT!

‘It’s time in our society to look at the way our culture views race,’ he said. ‘It’s time to give everyone an equal shot.’

FMAFE plans to offer four $500 scholarships to any college, inside Texas or outside the state, for the forthcoming academic year.

So far it has raised more than $1,600.

It is not clear how the percentage of ‘whiteness’ will be evaluated but the group’s officers say they will consider each applicant carefully.

On its website FMAFE claims its goal is: ‘To financially assist young Americans seeking higher education who lack opportunities in similar organisations that are based upon race or gender.

‘In a country that proclaims equality for all, we provide monetary aid to those that have found the scholarship application process difficult because they do not fit into certain categories or any ethnic group,’ it says.

It adds that they do ‘not want to appear racist or racially motivated’ and that they will not accept any donations from hate groups.

“Five hundred each?

Mr Bohannan said: ‘The toughest obstacles to getting this organisation off the ground seem to be not appearing racially motivated, and getting taken seriously.

‘The board members of FMAFE are not trying to put anyone down or make any race or cultures seem inferior.’

Despite the apparently wild claims Bohannan may actually be correct – Hispanics accounted for two-thirds of the population growth over the past decade in Texas.

Non-Hispanic whites now make up about 45 per cent of residents.

The scholarship has already touched off a heated debate in Texas and on the Texas State University student newspaper opinion was divided.

About-time wrote: ‘This is awesome! Its about time people realize that white people deserve help too. Its not just minorities who struggle’.

Armset11 however said: ‘Great..yet another scholarship fund that discriminates based on race.’

William Lake, FMAFE’s treasurer, said: ‘There’s a scholarship out there for just about any demographic, except this one.

‘We realise it’s for good reason – this is a touchy subject.’

“I SEE YOU”

China’s holdings of US debt larger than reported

WASHINGTON (AFP) – China’s holdings of US bonds reached $1.16 trillion at the end of December, almost $270 billion more than previously estimated, new data showed Monday.

Beijing, which has converted much of a huge trade surplus with the United States over the past two decades into buying up US treasuries and other securities, held 26.1 percent of the total of $4.44 trillion held by foreigners, the Treasury said.

The figures came as the US government recalculated its data on foreign holdings of US securities from June 2010.

Chinese-held Treasuries have fallen since hitting a high of $1.18 trillion in October, under the revised figures. Japan remained by far the second largest holder of US government debt, with $882 billion in December, around $1.3 billion less than original estimates.

Britain was third at $272.1 billion.

U.S. Repositions Forces Around Libya

By Missy Ryan

WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) – The United States began repositioning naval and air force units around Libya on Monday, stepping up pressure on embattled leader Muammar Gaddafi after calling on him to step down immediately.

The naval units could be used for humanitarian and rescue missions, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Geneva, where she told the U.N. Human Rights Council that Gaddafi was using “mercenaries and thugs” to suppress a popular uprising.

“There is not any pending military action involving U.S. naval vessels,” she said after the Pentagon announced the repositioning of military units.

U.S. oil prices, which have risen due to the turmoil in Libya and unrest elsewhere in the region, did not immediately respond to the news of the redeployment of U.S. forces around the oil-producing North African country.

The Obama administration has said military action is one option it is looking at, although many analysts say the United States is highly unlikely to launch a ground invasion or air strikes because of the volatile situation on the ground.

The Pentagon gave no details of the forces being moved, but its announcement was likely aimed at sending a signal to Gaddafi and his government that the United States was matching its sharper rhetoric with action.

“We have planners working and various contingency plans and … as part of that we’re repositioning forces to be able to provide for that flexibility once decisions are made,” said Colonel David Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman.

It was not immediately clear what ships the U.S. Navy has in the Mediterranean but it does have two aircraft carriers stationed further southeast in the Gulf and Arabian Sea.

Foreign governments are increasing the pressure on Gaddafi to leave in the hope of ending fighting that has claimed at least 1,000 lives and restoring order to a country that accounts for 2 percent of the world’s oil production.

The United States is in talks with allies on whether to create a “no-fly” zone, White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

A no-fly zone would stop Gaddafi using warplanes or helicopters to attack rebels who have seized large swaths of the country.

Government aircraft bombed an arms dump inside rebel-held eastern regions on Monday, two senior security sources said, but it is unclear how big a role the Libyan air force has played in the crisis so far.

U.S. TALKING TO OPPOSITION

Republican lawmakers and conservative commentators have criticized the Obama administration for what they see as its slow and initially restrained response to Gaddafi’s bloody crackdown. U.S. officials have said they were waiting for Americans to be evacuated before ratcheting up their rhetoric.

Hours after a plane carrying Americans departed Tripoli on Friday, Washington froze the assets of Gaddafi, his family and top officials, as well as those of the Libyan government.

Republican Senator John McCain contrasted Obama’s handling of the Libyan crisis with the approach of the British and French leaders. He said concerns for their citizens’ safety had not stopped Britain’s David Cameron and France’s Nicolas Sarkozy from taking a tough stance on Gaddafi.

Obama said on Saturday it was time for Gaddafi to leave but he did not spell out how he envisioned that happening.

“Exile is certainly one option for him,” Carney told reporters on Monday.

He also said the United States was in contact with opposition groups in the country.

“It’s premature to make decisions about recognizing one group or the other,” he said.

Falun Gong Group Protests Persecution During Hu’s Visit in Chicago

(Clearwisdom.net) CCP Head Hu Jintao arrived in Chicago from Washington DC on the afternoon of January 20, 2011 for a two-day visit. Protesters of the CCP’s human rights abuses waited for him again. Falun Gong practitioners held banners that read “Bring Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Liu Jing and Zhou Yongkang to justice”, “Stop persecuting Falun Gong”, “Falun Dafa is great,” earnestly making their appeal.

Mr. Yang Sen, president of the US Midwest Falun Dafa Association said, “We call on all people of conscience, including the American people and President Obama, not to forget that human rights are of utmost importance. Many people are deceived by China’s false appearance of economic strength and dare not to speak out about human rights. Today we would like to let the people of Chicago know that the persecution of Falun Gong is still happening and must be stopped. If we have an opportunity to meet Hu Jintao, practitioners will shout ‘Stop persecuting Falun Gong! Bring Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Liu Jing and Zhou Yongkang to justice!’”

Mr. Yang said, “Hu Jintao is the current head of the CCP. The persecution of Falun Gong was actually initiated by the former head Jiang Zemin in collusion with the CCP in 1999. The persecution has lasted for 11 years. Many Falun Gong practitioners are being tortured in China, and unlawfully imprisoned in brainwashing session, labor camps or prisons. They are treated inhumanely.”

Mr. Yang continued, “Human rights are universal values. Every citizen should have freedom of belief, speech, and assembly. Falun Gong practitioners have their own jobs. They believe in Truth-Compassion-Forbearance and strive to be better people. They have done nothing wrong. In America, we can hold banners on Michigan Avenue and tell anyone, ‘Falun Dafa is great.’ But in China, if you so much as make a movement resembling the meditative Falun Gong exercises on Tiananmen Square, you will be arrested and even tortured.”

Former associate professor of Tsinghua University, practitioner Xu Yin, also spoke at the rally and called for an end to the brutal persecution.

 

The price of food is at the heart of this wave of revolutions

Protesters in Yemen yesterday holding bread with ‘Leave’ written on it

 

No one saw the uprisings coming, but their deeper cause isn’t hard to fathom

Revolution is breaking out all over. As Gaddafi marshals his thugs and mercenaries for a last-ditch fight in Tripoli, several died as protests grew more serious in Iraq. Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah tried to bribe his people into docility by splashing out $35bn on housing, social services and education. Across the water in Bahrain the release of political prisoners failed to staunch the uprising. In Iran, President Ahmadinejad crowed about chaos in the Arab world, but said nothing about the seething anger in his own backyard; in Yemen, the opposition gathers strength daily.

And it’s not just the Middle East. This is an African crisis: Tunisia, where it started, is an African country, and last week in Senegal, a desperate army veteran died after setting fire to himself in front of the presidential palace, emulating Mohamed Bouazizi, the market trader whose self-immolation sparked the revolution in Tunisia. Meanwhile, the spirit of revolt has already leapt like a forest fire to half a dozen other ill-governed African nations, with serious disturbances reported in Mauritania, Gabon, Cameroon and Zimbabwe.

Nowhere is immune: dozens of activists in China are in detention or under other forms of surveillance, and the LinkedIn network was shut down as authorities seek to stamp out Middle East-style protests there. In what is arguably the most repressive state on the planet, North Korea, the army was called out and five died in the northern city of Sinuiju after violent protests erupted there and in two other cities. The generals who rule Burma under a trashy façade of constitutional government were keeping a close eye on the Middle East, ready to lock up Aung San Suu Kyi again at the first sign of copycat disturbances.

Egypt bans gold exports

Egypt has banned the export of gold for the next four months, a measure bankers said seemed aimed at preventing businessmen and former government officials who acquired capital illegally from transferring it abroad.

An official from a gold mine in Egypt said he was confident it was not aimed at gold production but at individual exports.

A decree banning the export of gold in all its forms, including jewelry and ornaments, was issued by newly appointed Trade Minister Samir el-Sayyad. It takes effect immediately and continues until June 30, the official news agency MENA reported.

“This decision, which comes in light of the exceptional circumstances the country is passing through …, is to preserve the country’s wealth until the situation stabilises,” MENA said.

The MENA statement made no mention of whether the ban included exports of gold from mining. But an official from the flagship Sukari gold mine of Centamin Egypt said he was confident the order did not affect the mine’s operation.

“For Centamin this is not a problem … I know 100 per cent that this is not a problem for us,” said Youssef el-Raghy, managing director for the Sukari gold mine, adding that the ruling appeared aimed at individuals taking gold out of Egypt not producers of gold like Centamin.

The Egyptian pound has come under pressure after some of the country’s main sources of foreign currency, including tourism and foreign investment, collapsed after the protests that ousted President Hosni Mubarak erupted on January 25.

But bankers said the decision on gold exports seemed designed more to stop individuals from expatriating funds under the radar than to stem major capital outflows.

“It is most likely aimed at the big guys — the top officials and businessmen who are under suspicion,” said John Sfakianakis, a Riyadh-based economist with Bank Saudi Fransi. “They are blocking capital flight in a new asset class.”

A banker in Cairo also said it seemed aimed at former officials or executives trying to smuggle gold or wealth out of the country. – Reuters

Bill Clinton’s Ominous Warning: Too Much Ethanol Could Spark Food Riots

WASHINGTON (AP) — With global food prices rising and more corn being diverted to the production of ethanol fuel, Bill Clinton is warning of food riots in poor nations.

The former president told farmers and Agriculture Department employees on Thursday that while producing biofuels is important for reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil, farmers should also look beyond domestic production and consider the needs of developing countries.

“I think the best thing to say is we have to become energy independent, but we don’t want to do it at the cost of food riots,” Clinton said.

Clinton’s foundation has worked to develop agribusiness in African countries such as Malawi and Rwanda. He said the United States needs to look at the long term, global effects of its farm policy.

“We know that the way we produce and consume energy has to change, yet for farmers there are no simple answers,” he said. “There is a way for us to do this and to do it right.”

At the department’s annual Agricultural Outlook Forum, chief economist Joseph Glauber said food prices are expected to rise this year and corn use for ethanol will continue to grow. He said 37 percent of all U.S. corn production could be used for ethanol by 2012.

The ethanol industry long has said that its production does not significantly drive up food prices and that the price of corn contributes to a tiny percentage of every food dollar.

“The driver behind rising food prices has been and remains oil,” said Matt Hartwig of the ethanol industry group Renewable Fuels Association. “Rising oil prices, even before the unrest in the Middle East and Northern Africa, have made everything we buy from food to clothes to oil more expensive.”

Norfolk-based USS Stout hit with wave of disciplinary actions

By Hugh Lessig, hlessig@dailypress.com

— A pervasive pattern of rule-breaking during stops at “multiple ports” in the Mediterranean has triggered the removal of the skipper and nine others on the Norfolk-based USS Stout.

The sweeping round of discipline, which is considered rare, comes as the guided-missile destroyer is in the Mediterranean and a potential player in the crisis in Libya.

The Navy asserted that the Stout “is fully ready for any mission tasking” after the changeover of personnel.

Cmdr. Nathan Borchers, the commander of the guided-missile destroyer, was relieved of command Tuesday due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command, according to the Navy. Borchers was relieved by Vice Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., commander U.S. 6^th Fleet.

Harris also relieved the ship’s command master chief, Master Chief Susan Bruce-Ross.

“We hold our leaders to a high standard,” Harris said.

Also, one officer, five chiefs and one petty officer were removed from the ship after receiving non-judicial punishment for offenses that occurred while on liberty ashore. It included fraternization, violations of orders and disregard of naval standards of conduct.

Another chief has been removed from the ship for further legal proceedings.

Violations included being drunk and disorderly, and the problems occurred at multiple ports, said Lt. Cmdr. Bill Urban, a spokesman for Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic.

Urban could not specify which ports, but the ship has stopped at Haifa, Israel; Sicily, and the island of Crete, according to its blog.

No sailor was arrested by local authorities during these stops, Urban said, and the fraternization was between sailors, not between sailors and civilians.

The misconduct ashore led to morale problems and a hostile climate on board the ship, Urban said.

“Anytime there is widespread disregard for the rules, you’re going to have sailors who follow the rules wonder why they are following the rules” and others aren’t, he said.

The widespread discipline is considered “very rare,” Urban said.

The Stout left Norfolk in December and went directly to the Sixth Fleet area of operations — the Mediterranean. The investigation commenced on Feb. 18, said Urban, so the violations would have taken place earlier.

According to Fox News, the Stout is currently in the Mediterranean and will be joined by other ships.

Stout is currently commanded by Capt. Dan Shaffer, commander of Task Force 65, who will serve until the next CO reports to the ship.

The U.S. 6^th Fleet’s command master chief, Master Chief Jay Wood, has taken over as Stout’s command master chief until relief arrives.

Are Black Babies an Endangered Species? — An Interview with Ms. Catherine Davis

http://www.albertmohler.com/2010/03/02/the-racial-case-against-abortion-an-interview-with-ms-catherine-davis/

Frustrated by a perceived lack of success with minorities, the Georgia Right to Life recently hired a black woman, Ms. Catherine Davis, to make the case against abortion to minority audiences.  Ms. Davis began making the case that abortion is the key tool in the hands of those who seek to do harm to minorities.   On today’s show, Dr. Mohler interviews Ms. Davis about her efforts not only to end abortion but also the unpublicized efforts of abortion groups to prey on black women.  This interview brings to light the courageous work of Ms. Davis and others and demonstrates the significant steps that have been made in the decades-long fight to end the tragedy of abortion.