Obama有点黑： "young, handsome and even tanned."

xblues

What do you think this comment on Obama?

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, known for his political incorrect remarks, on Thursday described U.S. President-elect Barack Obama as

"young, handsome and even tanned.”

MOSCOW-- Italy's famously impolitic Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi described U.S. President-elect Barack Obama on Thursday as "young, handsome and even tanned.

Berlusconi appeared to be joking about America's first black president at a news conference following talks with Russia's president.

The Italian leader, who has a history of controversial remarks, was asked by a reporter about the prospect for U.S.-Russian relations, which have plummeted to Cold War-levels in recent months.

Berlusconi responded by saying that the relative youth of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, 43, and Obama, 47, should make it easier for Moscow and Washington to work together.

Then he said, smiling: "I told the president that (Obama) has everything needed in order to reach deals with him: he's young, handsome and even tanned."

Medvedev did not visibly react to the comment.

Italian news agencies said Berlusconi later defended the remark to reporters as he returned to his hotel in Moscow, calling the statement "a great compliment"

"Why are they taking it as something negative? ... If they have the vice of not having a sense of humor, worse for them," the ANSA news agency quoted him as saying.
Berlusconi is infamous for eyebrow-raising comments.

He once compared a German lawmaker to a Nazi camp guard, asserted after the Sept. 11 terror attacks that Western civilization was superior to Islam and more recently, that the new Spanish government had too many women.

Italy's only black lawmaker, Jean-Leonard Touadi, called the comment embarrassing.

"In the United States, a joke like that wouldn't just be politically incorrect, but a great offense to this amazing example of integration, which it seems the Italian premier should take as an example," Touadi said.

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Bernie Ecclestone was accused of condoning the racist abuse of Lewis Hamilton last night as the controversy over the treatment of Britain’s new world champion roared back to life four days after his title victory in Brazil.

A leading anti-racist pressure group accused Ecclestone of setting a “shocking and disgraceful” example after the Formula One commercial rights holder said that he regarded the conduct of fans who taunted Hamilton in Barcelona this year as “a bit of a joke”. Hamilton, however, said that he did not consider funny the behaviour of Spanish fans — who hurled abuse at him, blacked up their faces and wore wigs plus T-shirts inscribed with the legend “Hamilton’s family”.

“I didn’t see it as a joke,” the Briton, making a promotional appearance in London, said. “It’s something that happened but it is in the past. What’s more important to me is that I had a lot of support, especially from UK fans . . . I know Bernie and have a huge amount of respect for him. I can only assume he said positive things.”

Ecclestone sparked the row, which comes in the wake of recent racial taunting of Hamilton on a Spanish website that has been shut down, during a radio interview in which he repeated his view that the conduct of spectators during a test in Barcelona should not be taken seriously.

“There were a few people in Spain and that was probably beginning as a joke rather than anything abusive,” he said. “I think people look and read into things that are not there. All those things are all a bit of a joke and people are entitled to support who they want. I don’t see why people should have been insulted by it.”

His comments were condemned by Kick It Out, the anti-racism sports pressure group. “What Bernie Ecclestone said is shocking and disgraceful,” the organisation said. “In his position in Formula One, and with the sway that he holds, for him to come out and say this . . . is very worrying and short-sighted.

“You would expect [him] to be protective of someone like Hamilton and use his authority to chastise these supporters. This will upset a lot of people, particularly young mixed-race and black males who are looking up to Hamilton and what he has achieved.

“Fans blacking up in the stands was overt, old-school racism and that is still fresh in the memory. People are entitled to support who they want but that is no reason for racist abuse, which this clearly was.”

Ecclestone reacted angrily when told how his comments had been received. He denied that he was condoning racism and said that his record doing business around the world over 40 years showed that he would do no such thing. “I was the one who pulled the grand prix out of South Africa [after 1985] in support of Nelson Mandela because of bloody apartheid before these people knew anything about racism,” he told The Times last night.

Ecclestone said that he had tried to persuade the Spanish authorities to force the fans in Barcelona to apologise to Hamilton. “I said to the promoters in Barcelona, ‘Let me go and get the people that blacked their faces up and bring them into the paddock and introduce them to Lewis and then see what they’ve got to say.’ But the police said, ‘Don’t do it.’ I personally was going to get them,” he said.

Anthony Hamilton, Lewis’s father and manager, said this week that the abuse directed at him and his son had prompted him to consider whether they should continue in the sport. “I did think maybe this isn’t the place for my family,” Hamilton Sr said.

xblues

上面这则新闻有点像西班牙人在奥运会期间涉及种族歧视中国人的事情。
看来西班牙人有开种族主义玩笑的传统。而且也不仅仅是中国人对西班牙人的玩笑过分敏感。

注：西班牙篮球队曾经拍了一张宣传照片，个个人都拉低了眼睛，用来隐喻“斜眼南亚人”，而据称这是西班牙人对亚洲人表示友好的体现！

zhengwei1984

what a idiot dick!

zhengwei1984

Obviously that's racial discrimination!

ritaclin

Some jewish people call each other "kike"; some black call each other "negro"; some white people call each other "bitch". However, it is not a good joke for not-so-close friends.

xblues

He had that joke when giving a speech facing international media, I dont think that was a smart move.
Everyone who has an opinion about it is right, the only one that had showed his stupidity was him.
It's a lousy joke and was told in the wrong situation. Now, everyone will think that he's an idiot.