Anti-Semitism Rises in Europe Amid Israel-Gaza Conflict – NYTimes.com

2014/08/05 Leave a comment

Good overview of some of nastier aspects of antisemitism emerging in Europe from the NY Times:

Carola Melchert-Arlt, an elementary school principal in Berlin and mother of three, said she felt afraid for the first time in her decades of living in Germany. She said her mother had asked her to stop wearing a Star of David, a family heirloom from her grandmother’s bat mitzvah, around her neck.

Friends have taken down their mezuzas, Ms. Melchert-Arlt said, and she no longer stifles a smile when a fellow Jew wonders if they are really welcome in Germany.

“We have all always felt the latent anti-Semitism here,” Ms. Melchert-Arlt said. “But what we have experienced in recent weeks and days, not only in Germany but across Europe, is a prevailing mood of outward anti-Jewish sentiment in the streets.”

Anti-Semitism Rises in Europe Amid Israel-Gaza Conflict – NYTimes.com.

And the Globe’s similar take by Eric Reguly:

The intense media coverage of the war, much of it sympathetic to the Palestinians, has added fuel to the anti-Semitic fire, Jewish and Muslim group say. And what the mainstream European media shows is positively sanitized compared to what can be found on social media such as Twitter, where pictures of dead, dying and mutilated Palestinian children are common.

“The thing about social media is that it cannot be reined in,” says Salman Farsi, communications officer for the East London Mosque and London Muslim Centre. “Everyone pushes out their propaganda and it’s quite scary. Left unchecked, it will generate more hatred and possibly violence.”

Mark Gardner, director of communications for Britain’s Community Service Trust, has a similar view. “I think of a lot of the anti-Semitic reaction comes from the media,” he said. “It causes enraged people to become more enraged. It can come from the mainstream media or, increasingly, from self-selected media like the social media sites.

”For years, CST has carefully monitored anti-Semitic “incidents” in Britain and claims it is ultra careful to distinguish between ant-Semitic and anti-Israel behaviour. Mr. Gardner says the number of anti-Semitic incidents always spike up when the Israel-Gaza conflict, ongoing since 2006 erupts into extreme violence Hamas has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007.

The peak monthly number of anti-Semitic incidents recorded in Britain by the CST was 289, in January, 2009, during Operation Cast Lead. That’s when the Israelis, determined to stop the rocket launches from Gaza and the delivery of arms into Gaza through what Israel described as “terror tunnels”, launched a bombardment and ground invasion of the strip. Between 1,200 and 1,400 Palestinians were killed, and 13 Israelis.

The second highest figure came this month as the Israel-Gaza war grew bloodier by the day. Between July 1 and July 29, 130 anti-Semitic incidents were recorded.

Is the Gaza conflict stoking anti-Semitism in Europe? – The Globe and Mail.

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Conservative support grows among Chinese-Canadians, despite Liberal push to regain ethnic voters

2014/08/02 Leave a comment

Good read and analysis on the political efforts of the major parties with Chinese Canadians:

The data appear to indicate the Tories’ continuing ethnic outreach, spearheaded by cabinet minister Jason Kenney, is connecting with the fast-growing numbers of Canadians who trace their roots to China and Taiwan.

The party’s more conservative approach to social issues and softened stance toward China may also be helping it reach Chinese-Canadians who were once seen as more likely to support the Liberal party.

For both parties, the money raised from Chinese-Canadians accounts for only a small share of total fundraising, but could be a leading indicator of ballot-box support in the coming election.

Although the parties do not report the ethnicity of donors to Elections Canada, contributions from Chinese-Canadians can be roughly tracked because of the limited number of Chinese surnames.

Most Chinese have one of about 100 common family names or their Romanized variants, such as Wong or Wang. So common are the Chinese names, the expression “Old One Hundred Names” is used in China to refer to the average person.

In 2007, seven of every 1,000 contributors to the Conservatives had one of these common Chinese surnames, according to the analysis of donors who gave more than $200 annually. But the 2013 numbers, reported this month, show that share has nearly doubled, with 13 of every 1,000 with a Chinese name.

Over the same period, the number of contributors who gave to the Tories rose by 34%, but the share with Chinese names outpaced that, rising by 173%.

The share of Liberal support from the Chinese community has remained largely static since 2007, when 10 in 1,000 donors to the party had Chinese names. That figure was unchanged in the 2013 filings, despite a surge in support for the party and its new leader, who was elected in April 2013.

The New Democrats appear to have the weakest level of support from Chinese-Canadians, the data show, with only three contributors in 1,000 with Chinese names.

Conservative support grows among Chinese-Canadians, despite Liberal push to regain ethnic voters

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Islam in Egypt: Manipulating the minarets | The Economist

2014/08/02 Leave a comment

The Economist on the clampdown in the mosques in Egypt:

The Muslim Brotherhood has called the government’s expanding control a “war on Islam”. But in the current climate of repression, and at a time when the Muslim Brotherhood is loathed by the army, the civil service and many ordinary Egyptians, there has been little protest. Secular opponents who have been outspoken against restrictions on activists in the past have been silent. Some Salafists, who tend not to speak out against the government, have grumbled, but most abide by the curbs.

Human-rights groups see good reason for all to be worried by the new restrictions. “This in effect kills the idea of religious freedom, since Egyptians can’t opt for any religious practice not approved of by the authorities,” says Mr Ezzat. It may be counter-productive, too. In the past, clamping down on the mosques has bred anger and forced hardliners underground. That is not what Egypt needs.

Islam in Egypt: Manipulating the minarets | The Economist.

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Ontario now the worst place for educated immigrants looking for work

2014/08/02 Leave a comment

canada-wide-unemployment-rates-for-university-graduates-very-recent-immigrants-5-years-or-less-canada-born_chartbuilderNot exactly good news, but expect that there is variance based on country of origin and ethnicity. Will be doing some number crunching over the coming months  in this area, as well as looking at second-generation economic and social outcomes:

According to data Statistics Canada crunched for Global News, 14 per cent of university-educated immigrants who’ve come to Canada in the last five years are without a job – more than their counterparts with a post-secondary certificate or high-school diploma.

Only 3.3 per cent of Canadian-born university grads, on the other hand, are unemployed, as are 5.6 per cent of university-educated immigrants who’ve been in Canada a decade or more.

And 2013 numbers indicate Ontario’s swapped places with Quebec as the worst place to be a highly educated new immigrant in search of work: Last year 14.7 per cent of recent immigrants in Ontario with university degrees were out of work, compared to 12.4 per cent in Quebec.

Ontario now the worst place for educated immigrants looking for work | Globalnews.ca.

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Maytree Lessons for and from Toronto » Maytree

2014/08/01 Leave a comment

open-uri20140701-27920-t13my

Graphic from Good Magazine

Ratna Omidvar’s report of the recent Cities of Migration Berlin conference. Worth reading:

For all the self-criticism that we Torontonians like to inflict on ourselves, we secretly know that our city is admired all over the world as a place that works well with its diversity. But lest we feel too smug, let’s remember that world leaders don’t keep their titles without continuous learning and innovation. They should, in the words of Hamburg Mayor Olaf Scholz, “Oppose the idea that there’s nothing to change any more.”

At the international Cities of Migration conference in Berlin convened by Maytree in June, practitioners, policy makers and private sector leaders shared lessons on good practice in immigrant inclusion from their own cities: Helsinki, Nashville, Tokyo, Lisbon, Auckland, Sao Paulo, Athens, and many more. From this global hub in Berlin come many ideas for and a few from Toronto.

One of the founding principles of Maytree’s Cities of Migration project is that good ideas can travel. That a smart policy working in Seattle can be tweaked to also work in Halifax. That a successful initiative from San Francisco can be replicated in London. This is because cities are often better placed to address immediate needs that are local in nature, such as employment, home ownership, success in school, and neighbourhood inclusion. As Khalid Koser of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy said in his keynote, “While states are building walls, cities are building bridges.”

Maytree Lessons for and from Toronto » Maytree.

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‘Koreans not ready for multiculturalism’

2014/08/01 Leave a comment

Interesting story on increased diversity within South Korea, particularly through the offspring from mixed unions, and how that comes across in a country with a strong cultural and historical identity:

South Korea is quickly turning into a multicultural society with a growing number of biracial children, but the majority of Koreans are “not ready” for ethnic diversity, according to scholars and experts.

The number of biracial babies in the country increased dramatically, making up 4.7 percent of all newborns in 2012. In 2008, they accounted for 2.9 percent, and 4.3 percent in 2010. A total of 97,701 biracial children were born from 2008 to 2012, according to Statistics Korea.

However, Koreans tend to have racial and ethnic prejudice against immigrants based on their countries of origin, according to research by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies.

Canada’s figure for mixed unions nationally is 4.6 percent, no data that I have seen about the percentage of mixed union offspring.

‘Koreans not ready for multiculturalism’.

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Diversity Hires Punished For Valuing Diversity « The Dish

2014/08/01 Leave a comment

Seems counter-intuitive but it does reinforce the difficulty in changing corporate and individual cultures. And of course, ambitious women and minorities will tend to adapt to the corporate culture, consciously or not, part of a normal and human integration process:

A woman who shepherds women up the ranks, for example, is perceived as less warm, while a non-white who promotes diversity is perceived as less competent. Both end up being rated less highly by their bosses, according to the paper, which is set to be presented at an Academy of Management conference next month. … Often, having women or minorities atop a company is perceived as a marker of progress for diversity efforts, but [David] Hekman’s research suggests their presence might not have a large impact on the rest of the organization. If they believe it’s too risky to advocate for their own groups, it makes sense that successful women and non-white leaders would end up surrounded by white males in the executive suite, he said.

Diversity Hires Punished For Valuing Diversity « The Dish.

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Minister Kenney concludes successful trip to Lebanon – Canada News Centre

2014/08/01 Leave a comment

Interesting quote by Kenney on Lebanon’s “balanced partnership.” Not sure that I would characterize that way, given Lebanon’s past civil wars and that it is largely a country with parallel structures, rather than the more integrative model of multiculturalism in Canada:

Canada’s model of pluralism is profoundly relevant to Lebanon, the only Middle Eastern country built on a balanced partnership between religious and ethnic communities.

Minister Kenney concludes successful trip to Lebanon – Canada News Centre.

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Editorial: Canada is leading the pack in mixed unions

2014/07/31 Leave a comment

Citizenship Fraud.021Further to my earlier post on the StatsCan study (Metro Vancouver has highest ratio of mixed couples in Canada), the Macleans editorial on what it may mean (I developed the chart above based on the study):

A couple of trends suggest the overall growth rate will move up in future, regardless of ethnicities involved. First, mixed unions tend to track the percentage of visible minorities in the greater Canadian populace. With visible minorities predicted to account for up to a third of the population by 2031, further growth will no doubt occur as the dating pool changes. Mixed unions are more common within younger age groups, as well, suggesting a gradual progression through society. Higher education is also correlated with mixed unions, as is urban living. Vancouver boasts the highest percentage of mixed unions, at nearly 10 per cent, followed by Toronto, Victoria, Ottawa and Calgary. As the number of mixed unions grows, so, too, will the offspring from these relationships. Whatever taboos may have existed for these children in the past, they’re being erased by sheer numbers.

Putting Canada’s record in global context is complicated by different definitions and the availability of data, but we appear to stand out for several reasons. European figures define mixed unions as between two people with different citizenship, a far lower standard of tolerance. Even so, the figures show no strong trend, with most countries no higher than Canada, despite a much broader definition of what “mixed” means. American research tends to focus solely on marriages, ignoring the prevalence of common-law relationships. When all couples are considered, Canadian figures are substantially above those in the U.S.

As for public attitudes, last year, a Gallup Poll announced that American approval of black-white marriage hit an all-time high of 87 per cent, up from four per cent in 1958. Yet Canadian sociologist Reginald Bibby points out that Canadian acceptance rates have long outstripped those in the U.S. A 2007 poll, for example, showed 92 per cent of Canadians approved of mixed marriages at a time when U.S. figures were 77 per cent. “There is probably no better index of racial and cultural integration than intermarriage,” Bibby writes. And Canada leads the pack in both performance and perspective.

Editorial: Canada is leading the pack in mixed unions.

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Professor goes to big data to figure out if Apple slows down old iPhones when new ones come out

2014/07/31 Leave a comment

Apple Slow iphones

A good illustration of the limits of big data and the risks of confusing correlation with causation. But bid data and correlation can help us ask more informed questions:

The important distinction is of intent. In the benign explanation, a slowdown of old phones is not a specific goal, but merely a side effect of optimizing the operating system for newer hardware. Data on search frequency would not allow us to infer intent. No matter how suggestive, this data alone doesn’t allow you to determine conclusively whether my phone is actually slower and, if so, why.

In this way, the whole exercise perfectly encapsulates the advantages and limitations of “big data.” First, 20 years ago, determining whether many people experienced a slowdown would have required an expensive survey to sample just a few hundred consumers. Now, data from Google Trends, if used correctly, allows us to see what hundreds of millions of users are searching for, and, in theory, what they are feeling or thinking. Twitter, Instagram and Facebook all create what is evocatively called the “digital exhaust,” allowing us to uncover macro patterns like this one.

Second, these new kinds of data create an intimacy between the individual and the collective. Even for our most idiosyncratic feelings, such data can help us see that we aren’t alone. In minutes, I could see that many shared my frustration. Even if you’ve never gathered the data yourself, you’ve probably sensed something similar when Google’s autocomplete feature automatically suggests the next few words you are going to type: “Oh, lots of people want to know that, too?”

Finally, we see a big limitation: This data reveals only correlations, not conclusions. We are left with at least two different interpretations of the sudden spike in “iPhone slow” queries, one conspiratorial and one benign. It is tempting to say, “See, this is why big data is useless.” But that is too trite. Correlations are what motivate us to look further. If all that big data does – and it surely does more – is to point out interesting correlations whose fundamental reasons we unpack in other ways, that already has immense value.

And if those correlations allow conspiracy theorists to become that much more smug, that’s a small price to pay.

Professor goes to big data to figure out if Apple slows down old iPhones when new ones come out

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