Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tom Clarke who wrote (19664)	7/30/2001 3:53:11 PM
From: Neocon	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 82486

It is true, the Paris of Josephine Baker and other famous black emigres is remarkably segregated when it comes to normal immigrants, and the less segregated areas are more working class and still tend to be an admixture of....immigrants of various races......

To: Tom Clarke who wrote (19664)	7/31/2001 8:18:16 AM
From: thames_sider	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 82486

Now look at 'enlightened' Europe. Their high officials are all lily white. And the whiteness goes down to local police and fire departments, even to municipal services. Do you always make sweeping and incorrect generalisations without knowledge, or are you simply lying for effect? The UK is part of Europe, and the part I know best. So, let's go through... First, the non-white population of Europe is far lower than the US - UK is more mixed than most, about 6% non-white (and more young than elderly). Second, the vast majority of non-white immigration to Europe is post-colonial. We're barely on a third generation here. Start from the bottom in any culture and it will take time to achieve power. [but hey, they've had the vote for as long as any others, since 1848 anyhow]. The non-elected leadership of any large company, govt. body, etc, will surely tend to reflect the attitudes and views of the 'ruling class' 40-50 years earlier, when the youngest of said class were being born and raised. Third, even then you're wrong. For the UK, we have plenty of non-white management and professionals, numerous non-white mayors and equivalents, some MP's and a few in govt (none in Cabinet currently - we're before the election). There's theoretical numerical under-representation, IMO partly because of point 2: it's very rare for even a 2nd-generation immigrant, given likely poverty especially when young, to really do well. But I don't rule out prejudice at the top levels, also: especially when there isn't really any strong ethnic voting bloc to back an individual, they're going to be more vulnerable to 'passive' racism (lack of preferment, etc). Note that we also have very few elected posts compared to the US: individuals tend to be chosen for (for example) judicial posts by length of service, quality of service, etc... not ideal. And also (as is noted) leads to stagnation of attitudes and a 'club' mentality which excludes outsides - be they non-white, female, or whatever. The more senior the judicial ranks, the less non-whites or women among them (although, again, this tends to reflect the 'educated elite' from the immediate post-war generation: at younger levels it's very different). Lawyers, startlingly enough, do have an effective lobby, and a lot of MPs worked in the legal field before election... they're among the slowest to change. On police and fire services (and also prison warders), I'll grant you're accurate. But they're more racist than the majority of state and local leadership, not less. They have been and are more white than most of the communities they protect, and there's still a culture of at least prejudice against non-whites, if not active racism as such... this is an attitude which the senior levels are still not sufficiently active in eradicating. The armed forces have managed to change, however. IMO the police will too, soon enough: they get public condemnation now, not acceptance, for showing any other attitude in most quarters. It's the lowest level - the real dregs of society - who form the most visible and vocal voices of white supremacy... the skinhead thugs that join whatever gang will accept them and offers the most violence, with the cause irrelevant. The leaders tend to make common cause with neo-Nazis, white supremacists and some of the nastier US 'militia'. Their adherents are even younger and less intelligent than the leadership, who use them to stir up fear and trouble. I suspect they're the inevitable low end of the IQ bell curve... and hence they're also a tiny minority. Rest assured that they're not coherent enough to lecture you or anyone. <edit> I don't believe that an international conference is likely to achieve much, anyway. Still, it's unworthy to snub it.

To: Tom Clarke who wrote (19664)	8/1/2001 5:57:52 AM
From: GUSTAVE JAEGER	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

Re: We have people of various ethnic origins in high offices. Look at Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, and Elaine Ciao. And they aren't tokens, there is diversity in the judiciary and legislature and on down.... July 25, 2001 Merrill Lynch Names O'Neal President, Anointing Him as Komansky's Successor By Charles Gasparino Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal Merrill Lynch & Co. is paving the way for a new leader, but the road has been a bit bumpy. Tuesday, the nation's largest securities firm named E. Stanley O'Neal as president, putting him in line to succeed David Komansky as chief executive officer when Mr. Komansky is scheduled to retire in three years. The move came after Merrill's board, disappointed with the Wall Street firm's recent poor financial performance, pressured Mr. Komansky, 62 years old, to move up his timing and name a new president immediately, people familiar with the matter say. Merrill for some time had said it would name a new president near year-end. Mr. Komansky, in an interview, says he wasn't coerced to make the move. But a person close to Merrill says members of the firm's board had prodded Mr. Komansky to name Mr. O'Neal, the company's 49-year-old brokerage chief and former chief financial officer, who has made a mark for his cost-cutting efforts at Merrill in the past two years -- far earlier than some rivals amid the current market slump. The move essentially anoints Mr. O'Neal as Merrill's next CEO; historically, the firm's leaders are groomed as presidents before assuming the top spot. Such a promotion for Mr. O'Neal would cap a 15-year Merrill career that has included stints as an investment banker and chief financial officer. And in a significant milestone for Wall Street, it would make Mr. O'Neal the first black executive to become CEO of a major Wall Street brokerage house. [snip] public.wsj.com