MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — Al-Jazeera news channel captured chilling footage of men in uniforms shooting unarmed men after they purportedly were arrested during clashes last year with Muslim militants in northern Nigeria.
The footage aired Tuesday on Al-Jazeera shows two uniformed men forcing seven young men to lie face-down at the side of a busy road. The uniformed men then fire into the men’s backs.
Boko Haram sect militants sparked violence in late July, unleashing a bloodbath in which 700 people died. Rights groups claimed authorities committed extrajudicial killings.
Borno state Police Commissioner Ibrahim Abdu says the TV images are false and “a deliberate attempt of the surviving sect members to cause confusion and threats.”
Why the crucifixion of Tiger Woods? The answer is partly the shock (to white America) of seeing a black man become the best in golf, a previously white-only sport, always noted for its more intelligent, refined, polite aura both in performers and fans. Many white Americans still haven’t gotten over it. They say in their mind, okay, this happened, but you (Tiger) better act just the way I want you to act. A higher standard than others.
Columnist – John Sammon Poor Tiger Woods.
The media circus he’s subjected to because he cheats on his wife is another example of how the public persona of a famous person is subjected to hypocritical scrutiny by the public. In other words, if you’re famous, how the public perceives you is what determines whether your indiscretions are largely ignored, or as in the case of Tiger Woods, you’re crucified.
Golf is viewed by people as a squeaky clean sport, unlike boxing. If Woods was a boxer like Mike Tyson and cheated on his wife, hardly anybody would take notice. Boxers are perceived by the public as low-lifes.
Let me show you how this works using two movie performers of the 1940s, Charles Chaplin the comic, the Little Tramp, and Errol Flynn, the dashing Robin Hood hero of sword and horse movies. Both men had extra-marital affairs at the same time in the 1940s. Flynn had many, Chaplin a few.
Every time Flynn cheated, the public loved him more. It perfectly fit his image as a dashing rogue.
But when Chaplin the Little Tramp cheated on his wife, the public was outraged. The image of the Little Tramp, psychologically, symbolized the nobility of the downtrodden, the pathetic struggles of the lowly, common man. Such a person would never fool around with another woman. The fans couldn’t accept it. It was insult.
But not for Flynn. The image the public had of him perfectly fit his marital indiscretions. A classic double standard.
I mentioned boxing earlier. The same thing happened to Joe Louis. The first black heavyweight champion, Jack Johnson, fooled around with white women and openly flaunted it in front of racist white America in 1910. He was roundly hated. When Joe Louis came along in the 1940s, he and his handlers were careful not to make the same mistake Johnson had. Louis was polite, respectful, had a black wife, the perfect non-threatening image for white America.
I think most white golf fans are willing to tolerate Tiger Woods having a white wife, but not his fooling around. Tiger is supposed to behave in a way that racists used to say, “He’s a credit to his race.” Numerous African American sports figures, performers, rock stars and others have had extra marital relations. Hardly anybody notices them.
Why Tiger?
The answer is partly the shock (to white America) of seeing a black man become the best in golf, a previously white-only sport, always noted for its more intelligent, refined, polite aura both in performers and fans. Many white Americans still haven’t gotten over it. They say in their mind, okay, this happened, but you (Tiger) better act just the way I want you to act. A higher standard than others.
I think the box Tiger found himself trapped in, as the highest paid athlete, spokesman for countless sponsors and products, the almost Jesus-like standards of conduct he must adhere to, the microscope of public and media dissection that follows his every move, might provoke in anybody a desire to somehow rebel, to do something reckless, naughty.
John F. Kennedy was trapped in the same box. He had to live up to the world’s image of him as a saint and a hero. When asked why he cheated on his beautiful wife, he said. “I can’t help it.”
Martial infidelity is a fact of life and practiced by millions of Americans. I’m not condoning it. Just castigating the hypocritical double standards with racist overtones that dictate how public figures are perceived.
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Radio Bigot Rush Limbaugh on Tiger Woods
Racist Limbaugh: “Tiger Woods’ Choice Of Females” Is Not Helping The “Black Frame Of Mind“
Limbaugh: Report that Woods patronized prostitutes means he “completed a resume requirement for election to high office as a Democrat,” calls it “Clintonesque”
Power, pressure serving and grass-court experience prevailed Thursday as Serena and Venus Williams earned the right to make the final a family affair.
WIMBLEDON, England — Standing on the now-patchy grass of Centre Court on Thursday and smiling at her family in the players’ box with delight and a bit of relief in her eyes, Serena Williams was also looking at the only woman left who can stop her from winning a third Wimbledon title.
That would be her older sister Venus, who will try to win her fifth singles title at the All England Club.
Serena, left, and Venus Williams will meet in the women’s singles finals at Wimbledon.
It has been five years since the Williamses played each other for a Grand Slam trophy, five years since Serena beat Venus here in straight sets in the 2003 final; five years since the sisters dominated their sport and the rest of the field was trying in vain to catch up to their power, athleticism and self-belief……[MORE >>]
Venus Williams quote: “Some people say that I have an attitude- Maybe I do. But I think that you have to. You have to believe in yourself when no one else does- that makes you a winner right there.”
Sports metaphors are trite and too male-oriented, but sometimes they are so apt they are unavoidable.
The Clinton-Obama contest is like a 15-round heavyweight title bout in boxing.
Billary – Click pic for larger image Hillary went for an early knockout. All previous Democratic races since 1960 have been decided that way, with one candidate winning decisive primaries, forcing his opponents to withdraw. But Obama beat her to the punch in Iowa, survived a loss in New Hampshire, and countered her sweep of New York, New Jersey and California on Super Tuesday by winning a large number of smaller states, largely by out-organizing Hillary in caucus states. While most traditional candidates are forced out if they lose key states because their money dries up, Obama’s ingenious use of Internet funding provided him with an ample financial base even as he fell behind Hillary in the delegate count.
But Hillary, in spending all her resources on an early Super Tuesday knockout, was too depleted to do well in the middle rounds — the February caucus and primary states. Her focus on an early knockout led her to neglect organizing in these states, and her insistence on spending every dime she had in pursuit of an early win left her financially incapable of competing in these February contests. Obama won round after round on points, sweeping 11 states in a row and establishing a solid lead in elected delegates.
Obama piled up such a lead in points in the middle rounds that Hillary has been forced to go for a knockout in the final rounds. Knowing that Obama has more delegates, she has to win decisively in the late primaries to have a chance at persuading the superdelegates to flip and abandon the voters’ choice. But, so far, the proportional representation rules and Obama’s daunting financial advantage have denied her the elusive knockout. Obama can’t knock her out, but he doesn’t need to. Remember, he’s ahead on points.
Hillary won in Pennsylvania for two key reasons:
1. Pennsylvania only permits Democrats to vote in its primary. Hillary has always won among Democrats. It is among independents, the swing voters in November, that Obama has manifested his greatest strength.
2. Pennsylvania is the second oldest state in the nation after Florida. But while the elderly moved to Florida, Pennsylvania acquired its status by having its young people move out. The result is a demographically atypical electorate.
Both Indiana and North Carolina, the next two states, allow independents to vote in Democratic primaries, and North Carolina has a decidedly young population (it is here that the Pennsylvanian youths moved!). Obama should win both of these states, North Carolina by a lot, Indiana by a little, and their combined effect should wipe out most of the gains Hillary got from her Pennsylvania win.
By the time the voting ends on June 3, Obama will still lead Hillary among elected delegates by 100 to 150 delegates.
At that point, the Gang of Four — Gore, Edwards, Pelosi and Dean — will probably call on the superdelegates to make commitments in the next 10 days so that the race can draw to a close and the party can have its nominee. Shortly thereafter, Obama will be able to claim that he is above 2,025, the threshold for victory. And the ref will be raising his arm in triumph.
