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The US considers dropping out of WCAR II but leaves the decision to the next administration. Fox News spreads the warning that Al Qaeda is now recruiting white people. A judge in Massachusetts recalls a jury to investigate possibility of racist bias in 2006 decision. The governor of Pennsylvania says some white Pennsylvanians will vote against Obama because he is black. Actor Alex Baldwin leads drive to fire columnist who authored racist rants. An anti-racism session at the "Creating Change" conference gives activist insight.

Last fall DiversityInc.com featured a story on the whiteness of fashion shows. This month the Wall Street Journal printed a similar article. The problem is on the runways, not in print and TV commercials which feature a more diverse group of models. The concern for lack of diversity extends overseas. But the cosmetics industry, at least, remains acutely aware of racial and cultural differences among consumers.

Two sources report on a recent study of gene maps of European Americans resulting in the identification of 3 subgroups in the European American gene pool. The results are believed to be helpful for medical studies of genetic factors in disease (Article 1, Article 2). DiversityInc.com is took a look at the genetic basis of race and promises more on the topic of gene discrimination in the workplace in their April issue.

Black nursing home residents in two states receive poorer care than white residents. White patients are more likely to get narcotics in the ER. Youth are abusing cold remedies to get high and the trend is greatest in white youth. Canadian youth in Saskatoon differ in their view of race relations with white youth reporting fewer problems and concerns. On an optimistic note, USA TODAY reports that black and Hispanic children are catching up to white children in terms of health, safety and income.

Williams College, MA, investigates incidents of racist grafitti. Before the tragic shootings at Northern Illinois University, and with no apparent connection, a speaker on campus, Art Munin, talks about white privilege. Another speaker, Duke professor Eduardo Bonilla-Silva critiques colorblindness before a Smith College audience. A University of Connecticut student believes "white privilege" is playing the race card. At the College of William and Mary a progressive 1945 student editorial on equality still reverberates.

The "stolen generation" in Australia awaits an apology. The Australian parliament opened its new session with an indigenous ceremony, a first. In the meantime, a racist mock apology circulates on the Internet. Comedian Lenny Henry accuses British TV of racism. In another story, "only the BNP (British National Party) would protest against a conference called Hope not Hate." In the area of Iver, just west of London, racist grafitti is appearing. The French police unleash a massive raid to round up leaders of last November's race riots. Spain plays dumb on claims its motorsport fans are racist (Article 1, Article 2). The Philippine government is accused of racism by indigenous peoples with a Canadian mining company apparently part of the problem.

Karen Burton, a white participant in the West Virginia kidnapping and torture of a black woman, Megan Williams, has now been charged with a hate crime (Article 1, Article 2). In Utah, a white supremacist receives 5 years for beating two minority men. Also in Utah, a woman is sentenced for helping a white supremacist and murderer escape.A Lousiana cop killer has white supremacist ties. A former white supremacist organization withers, but others continue in the northwest USA. In New Jersey a white supremacist radio host quits.

Here's something that's been "out there" on the web for a while, but just came to our attention. See "A concise history of black-white relations in the U.S.A.," by Barry Deutsch, published by ZNet.

See also, "White privilege, satirically drawn by Ruben Bolling," at the blog, "white noise" (which found it at "Alas, a blog.")

"Top 10 things to say to white people when you first meet them," at feminist-reprise: the blog.

A new blog, "Stuff White People Like."

The recent spate of lynching references should be viewed against history. The Reconstruction era following the Civil War didn't die out on its own; it was actively opposed by counter-revolutionary forces under the banner of white supremacy.

The story is being told locally, in Arkansas; the state of Alabama; Tuscaloosa, AL; Greensboro, NC; and North Augusta, SC. The candidates for President are afraid to touch the topic, even when standing amidst the memorials to white supremacy's triumphant post-Civil War assertion in the South. Some local politicians, however, press the issue despite call from their colleagues to drop it.

A theater group in Iowa makes white privilege their theme for the year. In Chicago, the play, "White People," gets a review. Another play, "Description Beggared; or the Allegory of Whiteness," is performed in North Carolina.

The film, "Traces of the Trade," premiers at the Sundance festival. It chronicles white descendants of the largest slave-trading family in the U.S. as they travel and learn their family's history. One member of the journey has written a book as well.

The 1970s saw the proliferation of "trash cinema," in which images of hillbillies and poor urban blacks often interwove and created alternative views of whiteness and blackness says film studies professor. In Cape Cod, a white former art director for "Ebony Magazine" chronicles the civil rights era she witnessed by producing a series of paintings, or "icons."

White rappers continue to find a place in hip hop, both old (Vanilla Ice) and new (Golden).

(From South Africa) "The Madiba magic to look a racist straight in the eye," by Sandile Memela. thought leader, January 24, 2008.

(From India) "The real roots of white racism," by Minhaz Merchant. Daily News & Analysis, January 27, 2008.

"Children of the Confederacy, or children of the USA?" by Jim McEnery. Press-Register, February 3, 2008.