Affirmative action: an idea whose time has come... and gone

Yesterday, in an update to "Hey whitey! You'll never work for the CBC again!", Walt mentioned that the cover story in this week's Economist is a briefing entitled "Time to scrap affirmative action". The "briefing" consists of three articles, examining the reasoning (?) behind and consequences of affirmative action policies in the USA, South Africa and Malaysia. Here are the titles and a few select quotes.

Unequal protection (on access to universities in the USA)

Lino Graglia, holder of an endowed chair at the University of Texas at Austin law school, thinks "lower[ing] standards to admit members of preferred groups" is "a bad idea".
Black law students fail the bar exam at four times the rate of whites.

A study...found that black students with average grades and test scores were almost three times more likely than Asians with similarly average qualifications to get into medical school.
More black than white high-school seniors aspire to science and engineering careers, but once in college twice as many black students as white abandon those challenging fields.

Universities can ensure diversity without race-based affirmative action. If [the Supreme Court's] ruling...helps bring America's experiment with well-intentioned discrimination in universities to a close...it will not be because the country has entered...a "post-racial" period. It has not. Blacks and Hispanics will still lag behind white in income and education levels, and still exceed whites in incarceration rates. But one set of injustices does not excuse another.

Fool's gold (on South Africa's black empowerment policy)

Black empowerment has not worked well. Nor will it end soon.

The white elite at the top of South African business has been joined by a sliver of super-rich blacks. ...Cyril Rampaphosa, a union-boss-turned-tycoon who is now the ANC's number two (and therefore perhaps the next president of South Africa), is worth $675 million.
The lot of poorer blacks, however, has not improved much.

The binding constraint on greater black participation in the economy is education.... It is no good setting quotas if there are not the skilled workers to fill them....

A Never Ending Policy (on policies favouring ethnic Malays in Malaysia)

The policies which favour ethnic Malays and other indigenes at the expense of Malaysia's ethnic Chinese and Indian citizens are an oddity. [These citizens] chafe at being second-class citizens. Quotas in university admissions are particularly resented. Chinese and Indian students flock to private and foreign [universities]. Those who leave often stay away.

Critics of [the policy] worry that it dulls [Malays'] incentives to excel. There is evidence of a skills gap.
A survey...found that 71% of Malaysians agreed that "race-based affirmative action" was "obsolete" and should be replaced with a "merit-based policy".

Further reading in this week's Economist, and by far the leader in online comments is this week's editorial, "Time to scrap affirmative action"

Note from Ed.: The Economist has a paywall, so the links may or may not work for you. If they don't, and the fallacy of affirmative action concerns you, consider buying a copy of the print edition, if you can find a newsstand or other store that still sells magazines.

Or you might think about subscribing. The Economist is the one and only magazine Walt actually pays to get. And no, we're not getting paid to say so.  

And one more note... This is Walt's 1500th post. Congratulatory messages may be written on the back of a cheque (or "check", if you're American) and sent to the usual address.

Walt handicaps the NHL playoffs -- Eastern Conference

Note from Ed.: Walt has been a little off his schedule for the last couple of weeks -- spring fever perhaps -- so didn't hand in this piece until after the first Western Conference games last night. Shame to anyone who thinks he waited to see which way the ice was tilting before making his fearless predictions.

The National Hockey League's shortened season ended on Sunday, with the big bad Bruins succumbing to the surprising Senators, so it wasn't until Monday that Walt was able to suss out the final standings and figure out which way to bet on the Stanley Cup playoffs. A few minutes ago Walt posted his best bets for the outcomes of the Western Conference series. Here's what's going to happen in the East.

Eastern Conference

Pittsburgh Penguins (1) vs New York Islanders (8) -- Can Isles' John Tavares win 4 games singlehandedly? Can Evgeni Nabokov stop the other Evgeni (Malkin) and Jerome Iginla and Sid the Kid from scoring? No to both questions. Penguins in 4 if Crosby plays the first game, otherwise in 5.

Montréal Canadiens (2) vs Ottawa Senators (7) -- Are the Habs for real? When does the crystal coach turn into a pumpkin? Naysayers saw the wheels coming off in April, but les Glorieux still finished first in their division. But Ottawa is healthy at last and should put up a good fight. Home ice advantage should see the Canadiens win the series in 7.

Washington Capitals (3) vs New York Rangers (6) -- Will Ovechkin stay hot or suffer a fit of pique if he can't put the puck by Henrik Lundqvist. Can Walt's favourite coach, John Tortorella, get the Rangers to do his will? Walt is amazed to see these teams in the playoffs at all. You pick `em, but I'll go with Rangers in 7, just because I hate Ovechkin.

Boston Bruins (4) vs Toronto Maple Leafs (5) -- Speaking of hate... Here we've got the two roughest, toughest teams in the East squaring off for what should be a fight-filled goonfest. Leafs lack playoff experience and have a couple of nice kids -- exactly -- in goal. Bruins will be wishing they still had Timmy Thomas. Leafs will win Game 4, that's all. Boston in 5.

Trust me. Lifetime pct .990. You're welcome.

Walt handicaps the NHL playoffs -- Western Conference

Note from Ed.: Walt has been a little off his schedule for the last couple of weeks -- spring fever perhaps -- so didn't hand in this piece until after the first Western Conference games last night. Shame to anyone who thinks he waited to see which way the ice was tilting before making his fearless predictions.

The National Hockey League's shortened season ended on Sunday, with the big bad Bruins succumbing to the surprising Senators, so it wasn't until Monday that Walt was able to suss out the final standings and figure out which way to bet on the Stanley Cup playoffs. Here's what's going to happen.

Western Conference

Chicago Blackhawks (1) vs Minnesota Wild (8) -- "Wild" is a stupid name for a sports team. Like "Storm" or "Jazz". There is virtually no facet of the game in which the Hawks -- the name is really "Black Hawks" but that's not PC any more -- do not excel. Even if goalie Nik Backstrom stands on his head, the Wild are going to be Tamed in 5 games, max.

Another note from Ed.: Backstrom was injured during the warmup last night, and the Wild lost 2-1 in OT. Backup goalie Harding may be too shell-shocked to play the second game.

Anaheim Ducks (2) vs Detroit Redwings (7) -- Another team with a dizzy Disney name vs another one with a previous non-PC name. (It was "Red Wings" before the McCarthy era!) The Ducks have an on-again-off-again offence, and predictions of the Wings' demise are premature, IMHO. Detroit in 7.

Vancouver Canucks (3) vs San Jose Sharks (6) -- Sharks had a better season than their sixth place finish suggests. Always the bridesmaids ["groomsmen"? Ed.] the Canucks are weak on the PK and in the faceoff circle, and still haven't sorted out their goaltending situation. If Luongo has to play, school's out! If San Jose wins the first game, they'll take the series in 7.

St. Louis Blues (4) vs Los Angeles Kings (5) -- Quick, who's going to win? Note the punctuation. Two strong goaltenders, but LA's Quick has been known to choke. [Walt admits he wrote this after last night's gaffe.] Two strong, hard-working teams. Perhaps better coaching by Ken Hitchcock of St. Louis. Really close but, on the strength of last night, let's say Blues in 7.  

Time for a coffee break, sponsored by Tim Horton's. Walt will be right back with powerful prognostications for the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Hey whitey! You'll never work for the CBC again!

Canadians who listen to the CBC -- and yes, there are many -- are aware of its blatant liberal (and Liberal) bias in favour of all things politically correct.

Examples include CBC Radio's Toronto flagship station, proudly "sounding like Toronto looks", which means speaking with incomprehensible Caribbean and South Asian accents. For a while there they couldn't figure out how to pander to the LGBT community, but recently they've hired a couple of audibly gay "news reporters" -- Jermaine and Trevor -- who lisp their way through their cute little stories.

Even Hockey Night in Canada -- happy 60th anniversary!!! -- has a PC lineup of "analysts", including one blonde bimbo who seems unfamiliar with the players, and one black ex-player who is very careful not to sound too black.

That's right, nobody celebrates diversity like the CBC. But now we finally  have confirmation of our suspicions that diversity and "minorities" are being promoted to the exclusion of straight white males. If you're one of those -- now an endangered species in Toronto -- you can forget about working for the CBC.

Where's Walt's proof? Why, right here!

That's a recruitment ad for the host of a children’s show -- Patty and Mamma Yama. It was placed on Craigslist by Larissa Mair Casting and Associates Inc., a casting agency hired by "Kids'CBC", whose logo appears in the ad.


In case you're having trouble reading it, the ad says you should "...only submit [an audition tape] if you match the following criteria: Male between the ages of 23-35 years; Any race except Caucasian."

A new version of the ad removes the race reference, but maintains the sex and age criteria, which Agent 3 says is contrary to Ontario's labour standards laws and the province's human rights code.

Why would the casting agency flout the laws enacted years ago to protect everyone from discrimination on the basis of gender, race, religion, age etc etc? Larissa Mair, the agency's chief cook and bottlewasher, is prepared to take the fall. She told the National Post "We were asked to seek a cast of diversity. We mistakenly took that to mean that the production was not seeking Caucasian actors. This was a mistake that was made entirely by the casting company."

Pretty big of Ms Mair to carry the can, because the truth is that the original ad is right on the money in its description of the kind of on-air personalities the CBC wants -- any race except white! Let's hear from Chuck "Chuck" Thompson, head of media relations for CBC English Services:
"At CBC, inclusion and diversity is a priority. This means reflecting Canada and its regions as well as the country’s multicultural and multiracial nature... We are now reaching out to our partners in production to ensure that a concerted and documented effort be made…to cast actors who reflect Canada’s diversity."

In other words, no whites need apply. Any white man who has applied for this or any other in-front-of-the-camera job at CBC and got as far as the interview stage is invited to let Walt know. I'm always happy to set the record straight. (Lifetime pct .990)

Update: Further proof positive of the CBC's anti-white anti-male bias emerged today. Check out "The CBC’s ‘no whites’ policy is a mistake, but no accident" by Matt Gurney, in today's National Post. Matt! Take it to the Human Rights Commission!

And just by coincidence... the mailman [letter carrier! Ed.] brought Walt's Economist today. Its cover story is a "briefing" called "Time to scrap affirmative action". There's an editorial (or "leader", as the Brits say) with the same title. Here's a quote: "If Barack Obama's daughters apply to a university, judge them on their academic prowess, not the colour of their skin." More on this anon.

Gosnell not the only abortionist willing to kill babies born alive

Today a Philadelphia jury heard closing arguments in the murder trial of Dr. Kermit Gosnell, an abortionist accused of murdering babies born alive and viable, by snipping the spinal cords at the back of their tiny necks. The defence contends that the state prosecutors are hyping this up, making Gosnell's actions seem more horrendous than they really are (if that's possible). "No biggie" is what they're saying.

Meanwhile, pro-abortion publicists -- for that's what the "reproductive rights" gang really are -- say Gosnell and his "House of Horrors" clinic represent an extreme, not the kind of caring and humane service to wimmin that Roe v. Wade was meant to ensure, yada yada yada.

Well, guess what? Kermit isn't the only doctor [Could we put that word in quotes? Ed.] who'll happily snuff out a new life, in exchange for a modest fee. The pro-life campaigners Live Action have just released a new video in which an abortionist in Washington DC says he'll do his best to assure the death of a baby who somehow survived an abortion. Here's the video.



If for some reason you didn't watch the video, abortionist Cesare Santangelo -- good Catholic name, that -- says that the law would require him to provide life-saving help to a child who survived an abortion attempt. But he assured the undercover investigator (a pregnant woman posing as someone who wanted a late-term abortion) that he could assure her the child would not survive. He said that his clinic would not take steps to save the baby's life.

Click here to read the full article on the LiveAction website.

Memo from Walt to Dr. Santangelo: Have you been to confession lately?

Black people killing each other for no reason, sez Toronto teen

15-year-old Zack Issa is a student at Toronto's Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School. Thursday night one of his best friends, 20-year-old Kwada "Kojo" Mensah, was shot and killed by unknown assailants in a public housing co-op -- in America it might be called a "project" -- on the other side of the city.

Zack told the Toronto Star, "I was just shocked! I didn’t know what to do. He always told me to be careful where I go and stay good." The teen added, "[Kojo] was a nice guy and had lots of patience. People are killing each other for no reason."

Issa went on to say that he didn’t know why Mensah was in the notorious Malvern area, as he rarely left his "hood" in the equally notorious Jane-Finch district of west Toronto.   Maybe Zack didn't know, but Toronto cops have a clue. [Snide comment deleted. Ed.] Police say further investigation has found that Mensah’s death was connected to another shooting that occurred later on the same day.  

Just before midnight, a 32-year-old black man arrived at a hospital with a gunshot wound to his lower body. He said he had been shot in Scarborough earlier in the evening. Toronto's finest are searching for a suspect, described as "a black man with medium complexion, between 18 and 20, and about 5’9” with a medium build and short black hair", which narrows it down to about 100,000 denizens of the GTA.

So far this story doesn't rate much attention, even in the Toronto media. SSDD. That it's getting any play at all is due to the fact that Kojo was a former player for the Don Bosco Eagles, a football team for deprived (i.e. black) youths sponsored and coached by controversial Toronto mayor Rob Ford.

Hizzoner told the Toronto Sun he remembered coaching Mensah. “Someone called to tell me Kojo Mensah was shot and I just said ‘I can’t believe it.' ... He was one of my kids. It just kills me.” End of quote.

Eating your nose goblins could be good for you!

If you don’t know what a "nose goblin" is, you haven't been watching Ren & Stimpy! Yes, gentle readers, the videos that were too gross for kids TV are still out there. But if you don't like that kind of thing, this story is snot for you.

Canadian Press reports today that an associate professor of biochemistry at the University of Saskatchewan is trying to get more students interested in science by looking at the health benefits of picking your nose and eating it.

Prof S. Napper -- no kidding: his first name is "Scott" -- says nature pushes us to do different things because it is to our advantage to have certain behaviours, to consume different types of foods. Mucus traps germs and stops them from getting into our body, but if we consume that mucus, it could help train our immune system by exposing it to the germs. So he says when children have the urge to pick their nose and eat it, parents shouldn’t get upset.

Dr. Napper says he hopes to conduct a study where some type of molecule is inserted in people’s noses and then half the participants pick their nose and eat it and the other half don’t.
“I think the challenge would be getting volunteers to participate in this experiment,” he says with a laugh. [A snort, possibly. Ed.] “Especially if you didn’t know which group you were going to fall into.”

Napper also says making science more humorous and fun keeps students interested and engaged.
“I don’t try to convert them all to biochemistry. My goal is always if I can teach you one thing that you’re going to tell somebody else about outside the scope of this class, then I’ve prompted you to think a little bit, to question these things and I think with this example, it probably succeeded in that.”

Walt must admit that he always found such experiments fascinating, back in his school days. Haven't we all -- all the boys at least -- tried to find out if it's true that you can ignite a fart? We even had songs and poems about flatulence and other excretions... like this one...

Everybody's doin' it, doin' it, doin' it
Pickin' their nose and chewin' it, chewin' it.
They think it's candy
But it's not.