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SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) — Danny Rose has called for Serbia to be given a significant international ban after he was racially abused (video) throughout England Under-21'smatch in Krusevac on Tuesday.

The Football Association issued a formal complaint to Uefa after England players were targeted during the European Championship play-off second leg, which ended in a brawl involving staff and players.

The Tottenham full-back, currently on loan at Sunderland, said he was stunned to have been shown a red card for reacting to the abuse by kicking the ball away after the final whistle.

"The Serbia players were surrounding me… I remember getting slapped twice and then I got ushered away," he told Sky. "That's when I kicked the ball – and the referee sent me off. I don't understand, the game had finished by then but he still sent me off for kicking the ball."

Rose said that although reports had focused on the racist abuse aimed at players after the final whistle, it had been going on throughout the match, and had started in the pre-match warm-up.

"When we went out for the warm-up, behind the bench they started monkey chanting straight away," he said.

"Half way through the warm-up I went to the assistant manager [Steve Wigley] and told him what was happening. He said I should try my best to get through it and we'll deal with it after the game.

"The first half was no way near as bad as the second half. I had two stones hit me in the head when I went to get the ball for a throw in. Every time I touched the ball I heard monkey chants. After 60 minutes my mind wasn't really on the game after that, I was so angry and it was just so hard to concentrate. I don't understand how they [Serbia] can learn from it, they have to be banned."

Quoted by local media, Serbia's coach Aleksandar Janković reportedly reacted to the chaotic scenes by refusing to issue an apology: "Apologise for what? It takes two for a brawl. We will analyse tomorrow what exactly happened but let's talk about football now."

Clarke Carlisle, the Professional Footballers' Association chairman, echoed Rose's call for a long-term ban for the Serbs after what he described as "utterly deplorable" scenes in Krusevac.

"It's quite farcical. A guy is racially abused and then he gets punished for containing his reaction to that. We saw how the whole debacle progressed into punching, kicking… We saw photos of headbutts going on in the staff. But Danny Rose for kicking a ball away ends up getting himself sent off. This is just wrong.

"Uefa need to make a standpoint here and more importantly Fifa, I feel, because it was a Fifa qualification tournament. The message has to come from the top down that this behaviour will not be tolerated."

A match between the two countries at the 2007 Under-21 European Championship in the Netherlands was marred when England's Nedum Onuoha was racially abused. Serbia were fined £16,000 by the European governing body after that incident.

Carlisle believes only a lengthy ban would force Serbia to address the issue. "It's immaterial where it is, who the perpetrators are," he said. "What's material is that the governing bodies lay down extremely harsh sanctions so that they deter countries and people from acting in this way.

"You can draw parity with what happened to English football when we were kicked out of Europe for the violence [following the 1985 Heysel disaster] – that instigated a period of self-governance. I believe Serbia should be banned because it's a repeat offence.

"Banning them for a start, from any tournament, would be progress but I think if it's significant – if it's a couple of tournaments – then that would cause that nation to address the issue that has deprived them of international competition."

Jason Roberts, meanwhile, accused Uefa of not dealing adequately with past racism issues and said players should have take action themselves by walking off the pitch if subjected to racist abuse.

The 34-year-old Reading striker told the BBC: "I was absolutely fuming at what I saw. To think this was an England Under-21 game and another generation of players is seeing this sort of behaviour makes me very sad and makes me aware of the fact we haven't moved far enough.

"Everyone says Uefa needs to be stronger, do this and do that. They've shown they have no stomach for this battle. They haven't taken it on in the past. I doubt they will now with paltry fines and slapping on the wrists.

"So that's why it's time for players to take action. I'll go one further and say players should walk off the pitch because – guaranteed – if that happened, things would change."

Asked if a failure to rescind Rose's red card would leave Uefa's bid to stamp out racism in tatters, Roberts replied: "I would say it's in tatters already.

"The official match report doesn't even mention what happened. I think that just shows they would like to sweep it under the carpet and make out we don't have these problems in football when clearly we do." www.shafaqna.com/English

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) — Danny Rose has called for Serbia to be given a significant international ban after he was racially abused (video) throughout England Under-21'smatch in Krusevac on Tuesday.

The Football Association issued a formal complaint to Uefa after England players were targeted during the European Championship play-off second leg, which ended in a brawl involving staff and players.

The Tottenham full-back, currently on loan at Sunderland, said he was stunned to have been shown a red card for reacting to the abuse by kicking the ball away after the final whistle.

"The Serbia players were surrounding me… I remember getting slapped twice and then I got ushered away," he told Sky. "That's when I kicked the ball – and the referee sent me off. I don't understand, the game had finished by then but he still sent me off for kicking the ball."

Rose said that although reports had focused on the racist abuse aimed at players after the final whistle, it had been going on throughout the match, and had started in the pre-match warm-up.

"When we went out for the warm-up, behind the bench they started monkey chanting straight away," he said.

"Half way through the warm-up I went to the assistant manager [Steve Wigley] and told him what was happening. He said I should try my best to get through it and we'll deal with it after the game.

"The first half was no way near as bad as the second half. I had two stones hit me in the head when I went to get the ball for a throw in. Every time I touched the ball I heard monkey chants. After 60 minutes my mind wasn't really on the game after that, I was so angry and it was just so hard to concentrate. I don't understand how they [Serbia] can learn from it, they have to be banned."

Quoted by local media, Serbia's coach Aleksandar Janković reportedly reacted to the chaotic scenes by refusing to issue an apology: "Apologise for what? It takes two for a brawl. We will analyse tomorrow what exactly happened but let's talk about football now."

Clarke Carlisle, the Professional Footballers' Association chairman, echoed Rose's call for a long-term ban for the Serbs after what he described as "utterly deplorable" scenes in Krusevac.

"It's quite farcical. A guy is racially abused and then he gets punished for containing his reaction to that. We saw how the whole debacle progressed into punching, kicking… We saw photos of headbutts going on in the staff. But Danny Rose for kicking a ball away ends up getting himself sent off. This is just wrong.

"Uefa need to make a standpoint here and more importantly Fifa, I feel, because it was a Fifa qualification tournament. The message has to come from the top down that this behaviour will not be tolerated."

A match between the two countries at the 2007 Under-21 European Championship in the Netherlands was marred when England's Nedum Onuoha was racially abused. Serbia were fined £16,000 by the European governing body after that incident.

Carlisle believes only a lengthy ban would force Serbia to address the issue. "It's immaterial where it is, who the perpetrators are," he said. "What's material is that the governing bodies lay down extremely harsh sanctions so that they deter countries and people from acting in this way.

"You can draw parity with what happened to English football when we were kicked out of Europe for the violence [following the 1985 Heysel disaster] – that instigated a period of self-governance. I believe Serbia should be banned because it's a repeat offence.

"Banning them for a start, from any tournament, would be progress but I think if it's significant – if it's a couple of tournaments – then that would cause that nation to address the issue that has deprived them of international competition."

Jason Roberts, meanwhile, accused Uefa of not dealing adequately with past racism issues and said players should have take action themselves by walking off the pitch if subjected to racist abuse.

The 34-year-old Reading striker told the BBC: "I was absolutely fuming at what I saw. To think this was an England Under-21 game and another generation of players is seeing this sort of behaviour makes me very sad and makes me aware of the fact we haven't moved far enough.

"Everyone says Uefa needs to be stronger, do this and do that. They've shown they have no stomach for this battle. They haven't taken it on in the past. I doubt they will now with paltry fines and slapping on the wrists.

"So that's why it's time for players to take action. I'll go one further and say players should walk off the pitch because – guaranteed – if that happened, things would change."

Asked if a failure to rescind Rose's red card would leave Uefa's bid to stamp out racism in tatters, Roberts replied: "I would say it's in tatters already.

"The official match report doesn't even mention what happened. I think that just shows they would like to sweep it under the carpet and make out we don't have these problems in football when clearly we do." www.shafaqna.com/English

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) — Mitt Romney “jokingly” observed that “no one’s ever asked to see my birth certificate” as he once again pandered to “birthers” and their racist conspiracy theory. But TV commentators rushed to put down any suggestion that Romney is a racist.

U.S. media pundits were quick to reassure the American people that – despite a tasteless “joke” referring to the racist lie that Barack Obama was born in Kenya – Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is surely no racist. We were told it was just an unfortunate off-the-cuff attempt at humor. But is that true?

Romney may not be a crude racist, the sort who would dress up in white sheets and burn crosses on someone’s lawn. But America has had a long – and equally grim – history of country-club racists whose personal contempt toward blacks, Hispanics, Arabs and other dark-skinned people is cloaked in more genteel phrasing.

The Republican presidential candidate more fits that mold. In his book, No Apology, Romney delved into academic theories about the alleged cultural inferiority of Mexicans and Palestinians. Describing his thoughts as he traveled the world, he wrote:

“I wondered how such vast differences could exist between countries that were literally next door to each other. How could Americans be so rich and Mexicans so poor? How could Israelis have created a highly developed, technology-based economy while their Palestinian neighbors had not yet even begun to move to an industrial economy?”

Romney praised the writings of Harvard professor David Landes, who in Wealth and Poverty of Nations said “culture makes all the difference.”

Romney added that “What people believe, value, strive for, and sacrifice for profoundly shape the nature of their society and affect its prosperity and security. So while America’s abundant natural resources certainly facilitated its ascent, it is America’s culture that enabled the nation to become and remain the most powerful and beneficent country in the history of humankind.”

Then, Romney cited some cultural aspects possessed by such countries that prosper – contrasted with those that don’t – including a strong work ethic, creativity, entrepreneurial spirit, cooperation, commitment to education, faith in God, devotion to family, patriotism, honor, trust in the law, and respect for life.

“There are cultures where life is cheap, but thankfully, ours is not one of them,” Romney wrote.

Romney reprised these thoughts in a late July speech in Jerusalem to wealthy Jewish-American supporters. Again citing Landes’s book, Romney asserted that “culture makes all the difference. And as I come here and I look out over this city and consider the accomplishments of the people of this nation, I recognize the power of at least culture and a few other things,” an apparent reference to divine intervention on Israel’s behalf.

“As you come here and you see the G.D.P. per capita, for instance, in Israel, which is about $21,000 and compare that with the G.D.P. per capita just across the areas managed by the Palestinian Authority, which is more like $10,000 per capita, you notice such a dramatically stark difference in economic vitality.”

Romney misstated how big a discrepancy there was between what the average Israeli makes versus the average Palestinian. He put the difference at about 2 to 1, when it is more like 20 to 1. According to the World Bank, Israel’s per capita G.D.P. actually is $31,282, compared to a Palestinian per capita G.D.P. of around $1,600.

But Romney’s larger point was that Israel’s relative economic success, versus the Palestinians’ economic predicament, could be traced to Israel’s cultural superiority, not to the long-term Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories that has denied those inhabitants a reasonable chance to build a modern economy.

Saeb Erekat, a top aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, told The Associated Press that Romney’s comment was “a racist statement” and ignorant of the facts.

“This man doesn’t realize that the Palestinian economy cannot reach its potential because there is an Israeli occupation,” Erekat said. “It seems to me this man lacks information, knowledge, vision and understanding of this region and its people.”

Romney’s campaign denied that his remark was intended to slight the Palestinians. But there’s no doubt that when you say that one nation thrives because of its superior culture that means that another one fails because of its deficient culture. For the Palestinians, that assessment is particularly offensive since much of their poverty relates directly to the harsh conditions from decades of Israeli occupation, including barriers to outside trade.

A Pander to Birtherism

Similarly, Romney showed no regard to the racial dimensions of the “birther” controversy in which right-wingers have claimed that President Obama was born in Kenya despite the state of Hawaii releasing his birth certificates showing he was born in Hawaii, a fact verified by contemporaneous birth announcements in local newspapers.

On Friday, speaking in his native Michigan and standing alongside his wife Ann, Romney said, “Now I love being home in this place where Ann and I were raised, where both of us were born. Ann was born in Henry Ford Hospital. I was born in Harper Hospital. No one’s ever asked to see my birth certificate. They know that this is the place that we were born and raised.” After the “punch line,” Romney paused to take in the appreciative laughter and applause from his predominantly white audience.

Though Romney’s remark drew immediate criticism from commentators, many were just as quick to add that Romney is no racist. But it is often true that people demonstrate their racism or other bigotry through humor. Especially in more refined circles, it is considered a more acceptable way to disparage a racial or ethnic group.

A key point of No Apology is to disparage President Obama for supposedly “apologizing” for America, though Romney is short of specifics as to exactly what Obama has said that would constitute an apology, rather than just the occasional recognition that the U.S. government hasn’t always been perfect.

Yet, one of the ways the United States clearly has fallen short of its finest ideals has been in the history of white supremacy and the callousness toward the harm done to non-whites. Romney’s book – and his “joke” on Friday – puts him in the camp with white supremacists, a place where he has chosen to be.

By noting, accurately, that no one has asked for his birth certificate, Romney also recognized that – as a white man from a prominent family – his Americanism is beyond question. The same is not true for an African-American with a “foreign-sounding” name like Barack Hussein Obama.

It is ironic, however, that neither Romney nor Obama had fathers who were born in the United States. Romney’s father, George Romney, was born in Mexico where his polygamous Mormon grandfather had fled to escape American laws against a man taking multiple wives. Obama’s father was from Kenya.

Yet, the two family situations have been treated entirely differently. As Mitt Romney noted, “No one’s ever asked to see my birth certificate,” while many prominent white Republicans have demanded to see Obama’s birth certificate.

The baseless “birther” conspiracy theory has been perpetuated despite the fact that Obama authorized Hawaiian authorities to release even his “long-form” birth certificate when “birthers” raised questions about the “short-form” certificate that had been public for years.

Though the offensive theory about Obama’s birthplace has been repeatedly disproved, its promoters continue to use it as a way to rally working-class whites against the black “other.” Romney is even giving several prominent “birthers” speaking slots at the Republican National Convention next week. These include billionaire Donald Trump who briefly jumped to the top of Republican presidential polls when he began promoting the lie about Obama being born in Kenya.

Taking everything into account – including Romney’s well-documented hostility toward undocumented Mexicans in the United States – a troubling case could be made that Romney indeed is a racist, at least of the country-club variety, a sad turn for a nation that only four years ago elected its first African-American president.

Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories in the 1980s for the Associated Press and Newsweek. His latest book, Neck Deep: The Disastrous Presidency of George W. Bush, was written with two of his sons, Sam and Nat, and can be ordered at neckdeepbook.com. His two previous books, Secrecy & Privilege: The Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq and Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & ‘Project Truth’ are also available there.

To read more of Robert Parry’s writings, you can now order his last two books, Secrecy & Privilege and Neck Deep, at the discount price of only $16 for both. For details on the special offer, click here.

Robert Parry is a frequent contributor to Global Research.   —www.shafaqna.com/English

Source: Globalresearch

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) - Mitt Romney's campaign stop in “Israel” left behind furious Palestinians charging that the Republican presidential candidate hasn't fully grasped the complexities of one of the world's most intractable conflicts.

Romney's sweeping embrace of “Israel”i government positions — especially on the Iranian nuclear program — came as no surprise. But Palestinian — and some “Israel”i — critics say he overshot by seeming to snub the Palestinians' president, dismiss their claims to Jerusalem, and suggest their culture is inferior to “Israel”'s.

That came on Monday when Romney addressed the stark economic differences between “Israel” — a high-tech powerhouse with the per capita income of a developed nation — and the poorer Palestinians. Romney told an audience of affluent Jewish donors — including gambling magnate Sheldon Adelson, who is pumping millions into a crusade to defeat President Barack Obama — that some economic historians have theorized that "culture makes all the difference."

"You notice a stark difference in economic vitality" between “Israel” and the Palestinians, Romney said, proceeding to badly flub the economic output numbers on both sides. "And as I come here and I look out over this city and consider the accomplishments of the people of this nation, I recognize the power of at least culture and a few other things," he said, citing an innovative business climate and the Jewish history of thriving in difficult circumstances.

Palestinian leaders were outraged.

"The statement reflects a clear racist spirit," said Palestinian Labor Minister Ahmed Majdalani. "If Romney came here to rally “Israel”i and Jewish support in the U.S. election, he can do that without insulting the Palestinian people."

As criticism mounted as he traveled from “Israel” to Poland later Monday, campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul said the candidate's comments were "grossly mischaracterized." The Republican's campaign contended Romney's comparison of countries that are close to each other and have wide income disparities — the U.S. and Mexico, Chile and Ecuador — showed his comments were broader than just the comparison between “Israel” and Palestine. While speaking to U.S. audiences, Romney often highlights culture as a key to economic success and emphasizes the power of the American entrepreneurial spirit compared to the values of other countries.

Palestinians noted that Romney's comments did not address the stifling effect of “Israel”'s occupation. Although “Israel” withdrew its soldiers and settlers from Gaza in 2005, it continues to restrict Palestinian trade and movement there and in the West Bank. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have said repeatedly the Palestinian economy can only grow in a sustainable way of “Israel” lifts those restrictions.

Saeb Erekat, a senior Palestinian official, said Romney's comments are hurting U.S. efforts to restore Washington's standing in the Muslim and Arab world.

"There are 57 Muslim and Arab countries here, and while U.S. diplomats are exerting every possible effort to explain their position, here comes Romney, with no knowledge of the region, its history and culture, and gives such statements, which will only serve as ammunition in the hands of extremists in this region," Erekat said.

In recent years, the U.S. has remained constant in its support for “establishing” a Palestinian state alongside “Israel”, regardless of whether a Democrat or a Republican sat in the White House. But two decades of on-again, off-again U.S.-led peace efforts have been bedeviled by violence and have not nudged the sides towards a final peace deal that would settle borders and other issues.

It's become the norm for U.S. presidential hopefuls to make a stop in “Israel” in hopes of winning support from Jewish voters in the U.S., and Palestinian officials say Romney's embrace of “Israel”'s positions was expected, especially with polls showing a close race. Romney apparently hoped to exploit the sense that Obama's relations with “Israel”is and the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been rocky.

“Israel”i officials received Romney warmly as he agreed with “Israel” that “Jerusalem is “Israel”'s capital”, disregarding the Palestinians' claim to the war-won eastern sector, annexed by “Israel” in 1967 in a move that is not internationally recognized. Romney also suggested he was open to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, something the “Israel”is have long sought but the U.S. has refused to do because it would imply recognition of “Israel”i sovereignty over the entire city.

Romney also spoke categorically about protecting “Israel” from Iran's nuclear ambitions, which both “Israel” and the U.S. think are directed at producing bombs, despite Tehran's denial. He also cancelled a planned meeting with “Israel”'s opposition Labor Party leader, sparking concerns among “Israel”i commentators that Netanyahu and his visitor appeared so politically allied that it might endanger “Israel”'s standing in Washington if Obama were reelected.

During his 36 hours in “Israel”, Romney did not make the 30-minute trip to the West Bank or seek a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, though he did meet briefly with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Jerusalem. Romney left on Monday.

Romney's remarks also managed to offend some Jews, who thought the talk about Jewish prosperity played into an anti-Semitic stereotype. "When I heard the association between Jews and money, it really caused me some uncomfortable feeling, I must say, because that was what was said by anti-Semites all over the years," said Abraham Diskin, a political science professor at the Inter-Disciplinary Center outside Tel Aviv.