Bishop: Investigate Sexual Abuse in Catholic Church Independently
http://www.trouw.nl/religie-filosofie/nieuws/article3008057.ece/Van_Luyn_wil_onafhankelijk_onderzoek_misbruik.html
March 10, 2010
Posted in: Anti-Semitism News 
No Comments
US Apologizes to Gaddafi For Using Harsh Words That Offended the Dear Dictator
The Obama State Department apologized to Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi for offending the dear tyrant with offensive language.
The BBC reported:
The US State Department has apologized for comments made about Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s call for jihad, or holy war, against Switzerland.
Department spokesman PJ Crowley, who made the dismissive comments, said they did not reflect US policy and were not intended to offend.
Col Gaddafi had criticised a Swiss vote against the building of minarets and urged Muslims to boycott the country.
Mr Crowley described it as “lots of words, not necessarily a lot of sense.”
Libya and Switzerland are embroiled in a long-running diplomatic row.
“I regret that my comments have become an obstacle to further progress in our bilateral relationship,” Mr Crowley said.
Last week, Libya’s National Oil Corporation warned US oil firms of possible “repercussions” over Mr Crowley’s reaction. The Libyan ambassador to the US sought to clarify Col Gaddafi’s remarks saying the Libyan leader meant an economic boycott not “an armed attack”.
“I should have focused solely on our concern about the term jihad, which has since been clarified by the Libyan government,” Mr Crowley added.
“I understand my personal comments were perceived as a personal attack on the president,” he said.
Hat Tip Dan Friedman
Libyan dictator Moamer Gaddafi warned the Swiss in December that their minaret ban invited attacks by Al-Qaeda on Europe.
In September it was reported that the Obama Administration planned to give $400,000 in funding to a Libyan charity run by the Gadhafi family.
March 10, 2010
Posted in: Racist News No Comments
Glenn Beck on Massa Interview: “Sorry For Wasting Your Time America” (Video)
One hour of your life– wasted.
After interviewing tickler Eric Massa (D-NY) for an hour Glenn Beck apologized to America.
“Sorry, I’ve wasted your time.”
Via BreitbartTV:
FOX News reported:
Massa told Fox News that, yes, he groped a male staffer — but not sexually.
“Not only did I grope him, I tickled him until he couldn’t breathe and then four guys jumped on top of me,” he said. “It was my 50th birthday. It was ‘kill the old guy.’ You can take anything out of context.”
Massa has previously claimed his misconduct was limited to using inappropriate language with staffers.
Massa’s interview came after the former New York Democrat alleged that party leaders conspired to force him out of office so they would have an easier time approving the health care reform bill.
In a radio interview Sunday, Massa described himself as the “deciding vote” on health care.
March 10, 2010
Posted in: Racist News No Comments
Obama & Dems Ignore the Will of the People– Ready to Ram Through Obamacare
“The will of the people” be damned.
Democrats continue to ignore the will of the people and push forward with their “angry mob unpopular” socialist agenda.
Despite clear opposition from the American people, Democratic leaders in Congress are continuing with their efforts to ram through a bloated, trillion-dollar health care bill that will hike taxes, raise premiums, and cut Medicare. Republicans are urging Democrats to start over and work with Republicans to develop bipartisan health care legislation that will actually lower health care costs.
Barack Obama Is Coming to St. Louis on Wednesday March 10, 2010.
—–NOW IS THE TIME – LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD
Protests are planned for tomorrow.
March 10, 2010
Posted in: Racist News No Comments
Nancy Pelosi: “We Have to Pass Our Bill So That You Can Find Out What Is In It”
Nancy Pelosi pushed Obamacare today during her speech to the 2010 legislative conference of the National Association of Counties. She told the group, “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.”
Uh-huh.
FOX Nation and The Corner reported:
You’ve heard about the controversies within the bill, the process about the bill, one or the other. But I don’t know if you have heard that it is legislation for the future, not just about health care for America, but about a healthier America, where preventive care is not something that you have to pay a deductible for or out of pocket. Prevention, prevention, prevention—it’s about diet, not diabetes. It’s going to be very, very exciting. But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy.
Call me old-fashioned but how about we read it first, then vote on it?
By the way… This was in her prepared speech.
March 9, 2010
Posted in: Racist News No Comments
HCAN & SEIU Hold Massive Astroturfed Rally in DC; Protesters Arrested After Busting Into Ballroom
Barack Obama’s HCAN (Health Care for America Now) organization and SEIU supporters held a joint rally today in Washington against the insurance industry. The groups bussed in their protesters from DE, CT, MD, MN, VA, NJ, NC, NY, OH, PA, and RI.
The police arrested the more violent protesters outside the Ritz Carlton. (Flickr)
From the SEIU Blog:
If AHIP thinks they’ve been getting an incredible amount of heat lately for their stunning rate increases, they haven’t seen anything yet.
Today, we’re taking a stand together to show AHIP we’re not going to allow the big corporations and their lobbyists to bully Congress into inaction. We kicked off today’s rally this morning at around 10:30 a.m. Health care activists spilled off of buses that traveled from DE, CT, MD, MN, VA, NJ, NC, NY, OH, PA, RI to be here today.
They joined union members, health care supporters, politicians, progressive leaders and faith leaders, until there were several thousand of us packed into the Circle by the fountain. HCAN’s Richard Kirsch, SEIU’s Anna Burger, and Howard Dean all spoke briefly, energizing the crowd and reminding us all why we’re all out here: to hold the abusive health insurance industry accountable for its actions.
The leftists were arrested after breaking into the ballroom where insurance executives were holding a meeting. (Flickr)
Howard Dean fired up the crowd. Yeaaarahh! (Flickr)
March 9, 2010
Posted in: Racist News No Comments
Students irate at Cuccinelli over gay-rights policies
The Washington Post
By Daniel de Vise and Rosalind S. Helderman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Campus activists across Virginia put spring break on hold Monday to mobilize against Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II, who has riled student groups with a letter advising public universities to retreat from their policies against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
More than 3,000 people joined the Facebook page “We Don’t Want Discrimination In Our State Universities And Colleges!” Nearly 1,000 people joined another, started by activists at the College of William and Mary. The University of Virginia group Queer & Allied Activism urged students to protest on Cuccinelli’s Facebook page and on Twitter.
Students at Virginia Commonwealth University, one of the few in the state not on break, planned a rally for noon Wednesday, with several hundred students committed. At Christopher Newport University, student Republican and Democratic leaders will discuss their next steps at a bipartisan meeting Friday.
“I’ve never gotten so many e-mails from students wanting to do something,” said Brandon Carroll, 21, president of the student government at Virginia Tech. He said any erosion in gay rights at state universities is “going to make us lose top students. It’s going to make us lose top faculty.”
A growing number of industry leaders have also lined up against the directive from Cuccinelli (R), some portraying it as a threat to the quality and competitiveness of Virginia’s higher-education system.
On Thursday, Cuccinelli wrote in a letter that Virginia’s public universities could not adopt policies that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation “absent specific authorization from the General Assembly.” All of Virginia’s largest state schools have adopted such language. Faculty leaders at William and Mary sought expanded protections for gender identity and expression earlier this school year.
Full Story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/08/AR2010030804999.html
March 9, 2010
Posted in: Affirmative Action News No Comments
How Social Media Is Muddying the Waters for Jobseekers
Net-Temps
Crossroads JobSeeker News
Caution People! How Social Media Is Muddying the Waters for Perfectly Good Jobseekers … and How Companies are Letting it Happen
Invited to an interview, you step into the room and unload that heavy photo album you’ve been clinging to onto the conference table. In addition to a resume and brag book, you have pictures on your iPhone of your dogs and the neighbor’s cat stalking the birds enjoying your new bird feeder. The interview progresses by you opening and flipping through the pages of your album, pointing to your family and friends. You gladly draw the interviewer’s attention to those older pictures taken during your college days … and to the many of your drunk, sleeping positions your friends encapsulated forever through one click of a camera.
Eeerrrk!!!
What? Personal items presented during an interview?
Why not? Isn’t that basically what hiring companies are doing rummaging through your public social media accounts, learning more about you and your online activities?
The next few years are certainly gray, unchartered waters for jobseekers. The issue of whether a person’s personal life and involvement online should have any place in the hiring realm is definitely a topic that will be battled over for years — maybe even decades. Some might unexpectedly find themselves entangled in lawsuits, as privacy experts grow increasingly concerned that disqualifying a candidate based on information gained online can introduce certain forms of discrimination into the hiring process.
Jobseekers have every right to be concerned about protecting their online identities from prying eyes, but where should the line be drawn? Employers shouldn’t be given uninhibited access to a jobseeker’s private life, should they?
Interestingly, a recent study released at Microsoft’s 4th Annual Data Privacy Day identified that 70% of those surveyed in the US indicated they had disqualified a candidate based on online information.
Full Story: http://www.net-temps.com/careerdev/crossroads/index.htm?op=view&id=3835&newsletter_id=839&archive=1
March 9, 2010
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15 Female Scientists Who Changed the World
The Medical Small Business Blog
According to the National Science Foundation, in 2006 50 percent of students who enroll in graduate courses in science or engineering are women. However, these results fall when compared to the real world. Between 2000 and 2005, only 27 percent of women are employed by the computer field, a leading employer of such graduates.
Could this be due to the previous lack of women engaging in the scientific field? While there were definitely barriers in the past that prevented women from obtaining an education and going into the workforce, things are different today. Yet we still recognize the many men who have throughout the course of science made amazing breakthroughs while neglecting the women.
To that end, we have gathered the top 15 female scientists who changed the world. It includes some of which contributed in the early days of science and some who still practice today.
Past Female Scientists Who Changed the World
Ranging from Egyptian times to the twentieth century, the world would not be the same without the contributions of these female scientists.
1. Marie Curie : Together with her husband, they performed ground breaking and risky procedures in their laboratory. On the heels of the discovery of radiation by Henri Becquerel in 1896, she developed ways to separate radium from radiation leading to many current practices, including chemotherapy. Later in life, she became the Director of the Curie Laboratory in the Radium Institute of the University of Paris. For her work, she was awarded various prizes, including the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903 and again for chemistry in 1911.
2. Ada Byron, : Also known as Lady Lovelace, she was the daughter of world renowned poet, Lord Byron. Although she strived to be an analyst and metaphysician, her father’s gift of imagination and creativity led her to see the then Analytical Engine as something far more profound. After her translation of the engines creator’s work took on a life of its own, she suggested a plan for how the engine could calculate Bernoulli numbers. This plan, developed in 1843, would then be regarded as the first ever computer program.
3. Rosalind Franklin : Born in Great Britain in 1920, Rosalind decided to be a scientist at the age of 15. However, she hit a speed bump when her father refused to pay for higher education, believing women were unfit for it. With some prodding from family members, Rosalind was finally able to go where she was able to assist in making amazing breakthroughs in DNA research. She was able to adjust x-ray equipment to produce a fine beam and extract DNA fibers like never before. Unfortunately, her life was cut short at the age 37 by ovarian cancer. But her name and work still live on the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in Illinois.
Full Story: http://www.ekgclasses.org/15-female-scientists-who-changed-the-world/
March 9, 2010
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Officials Step Up Enforcement of Rights Laws in Education
The New York Times
By SAM DILLON
Published: March 7, 2010
Seeking to step up enforcement of civil rights laws, the federal Department of Education says it will be sending letters in coming weeks to thousands of school districts and colleges, outlining their responsibilities on issues of fairness and equal opportunity.
As part of that effort, the department intends to open investigations known as compliance reviews in about 32 school districts nationwide, seeking to verify that students of both sexes and all races are getting equal access to college preparatory curriculums and to advanced placement courses. The department plans to open similar civil rights investigations at half a dozen colleges.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan is to announce the initiatives in a speech on Monday in Selma, Ala., where on March 7, 1965, hundreds of civil rights marchers were beaten by Alabama state troopers.
Mr. Duncan plans to say that in the past decade the department’s Office for Civil Rights “has not been as vigilant as it should have been in combating gender and racial discrimination and protecting the rights of individuals with disabilities,” according to a text of the speech distributed to reporters on Sunday.
It continues, “We are going to reinvigorate civil rights enforcement….”
The department intends to send letters offering guidance to virtually all of the nation’s 15,000 school districts and several thousand institutions of post-secondary education, officials said.
The letters will focus on 17 areas of civil rights concern, including possible racial discrimination in student assignments and admissions, in the meting out of discipline, and in access to resources, including qualified teachers. Other areas include possible sex and gender bias in athletics programs, as well as sexual harassment and violence. Other letters will remind districts and colleges of their responsibilities under federal law with regard to disabled students.
Full Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/08/education/08educ.html?scp=10&sq=university&st=cse
March 9, 2010
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STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
Office of the Press Secretary
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
From the global challenge of climate change, to a world that is not yet free from poverty and conflict, our challenges are many. Women are vital to the solutions to these problems, and we will not sow the seeds for a brighter future or reap the benefits of the change we need without the full and active participation of women around the world.
Worldwide, women play leadership roles in the health and education of our families, in our fields, our factories, our classrooms, our laboratories, and our boardrooms. With or without awards or acknowledgement, women have taught us about hope, about courage, and about opportunity.
The United States is filled with great hope that our daughters, and the daughters of all nations, will continue to serve as leaders in the pursuit of our collective well-being and have the opportunity to achieve their full potential. Today, Michelle and I remember, celebrate, and honor the sacrifices, talents and leadership of women around the world.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/statement-president-international-womenrsquos-day
March 9, 2010
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International Women’s Day, March 8: Time to Recommit to Equal Rights
AFL-CIO NOW BLOG
by James Parks, Mar 7, 2010
Women make up more than half the American workforce and are approaching half of union members. On International Women’s Day, March 8, the AFL-CIO is recommitting itself to continue the struggle for equal rights, dignity and respect for all working women.
This past week, the AFL-CIO Executive Council pointed out that much needs to be done for women workers to gain equal footing. For example, the council cites a United Nations report, which shows the majority of the world’s 1.3 billion absolute poor are women. On average, women receive between 30 percent and 40 percent less pay than men earn for the same work. Women also continue to be victims of violence, with rape and domestic violence listed as significant causes of disability and death among women worldwide.
Noting that International Women’s Day began a century ago when women workers in New York City marched for better wages, the council said in a statement:
Just like women 100 years ago, women in America-and around the world-are fighting back. On this year’s anniversary of International Women’s Day, we recommit ourselves to continue to the struggle for equal rights, dignity and respect for all working women while paying close attention to women’s concerns in our fight to create jobs.
Full Story: http://blog.aflcio.org/2010/03/07/international-womens-day-march-8-time-to-recommit-to-equal-rights/
March 9, 2010
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Special Report on Background Checking—Burden of Proof
Workforce Management
February 2010
Employers will soon be asked to provide empirical evidence for screening and hiring practices based on assumptions about workplace criminality—but they’ll be hard-pressed to find it.
By Fay Hansen
EmploymentGroup’s December job postings included a “trial hire” for a small assembly job, paying $9 per hour, the equivalent of $17,550 a year. The Michigan staffing firm listed requirements for the position: a high school education or general equivalency diploma, small assembly experience and “no convictions.”
Virtually all of EmploymentGroup’s client companies have a blanket “no felons” policy.
“It’s about keeping the workplace safe, and about those lawsuits we all read about,” CEO Mark Lancaster says. In Michigan, a state that spends more on corrections than on higher education, smoking pot in a park or bouncing a $500 check can produce a felony conviction.
Like most employers, EmploymentGroup doesn’t have any empirical evidence that the “no convictions” policy helps keep the workplace safe. And screening vendors, who routinely claim that criminal checks reduce workplace violence, theft and fraud, don’t have any meaningful empirical evidence either. In addition, the actual probability of a negligent-hiring lawsuit—a perceived risk that often drives criminal screening practices—remains undocumented.
Employers spend billions on criminal checks and often base hiring decisions on the results without evidence of the return on the investment or the efficacy of the decisions. The absence of empirical evidence will soon become more than a question of effective screening and hiring practices.
Full Story: http://www.workforce.com/archive/feature/27/03/17/
March 9, 2010
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Special Report on Training & Development: Powering Up a Hispanic Workforce
Workforce Management
May 2009
A Florida energy company turns to local Latino talent as it grapples with an aging workforce. With Latin American immigrants a growing presence in the U.S. labor force, multicultural experts advise employers to start thinking about development programs that go well beyond basic English training.
By Charlotte Huff
Officials at Florida Power & Light Co. preferred not to dally until national demographic trends eroded the core of their nuclear expertise: their employees. The median age of a nuclear energy worker had reached 48, according to data from the Nuclear Energy Institute, a Washington-based industry lobbying group. Up to 35 percent of existing employees nationally will qualify for retirement within the next five years.
Florida Power & Light had traditionally hired through several routes for its nuclear plant in South Florida, including recruiting former military personnel, says James Auld, industry and community training coordinator for the 11,000-employee company. Since those employees usually relocated from elsewhere, they were prone to later jump ship, fleeing Florida’s hothouse climate or moving back closer to family.
So officials began to brainstorm several years ago about ways to better cultivate local talent. That meant reaching out to the predominantly Hispanic community living near the nuclear plant, which is about 25 miles south of Miami. The result: a partnership with nearby Miami Dade College that has already produced its first class of graduates, with more in the pipeline, and a growing waiting list.
Teaming up with a nearby community college is only one of various strategies that corporate employers in Florida and elsewhere are implementing to better train and support Hispanic employees, a demographic group that’s poised to constitute a significant portion of the labor force’s backbone.
Full Story: http://www.workforce.com/archive/feature/26/44/43/index.php
http://www.workforce.com/archive/feature/26/44/43/index.php
March 9, 2010
Posted in: Affirmative Action News No Comments
University of Puerto Rico Settles Class Age Discrimination Case with EEOC
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Press Release
Federal Agency Charged Pension System Was Unfair to Employees Aged 55 and Older; Court Official Will Process and Resolve Claims
SAN JUAN, P.R. – The University of Puerto Rico (UPR) has agreed to settle a class age discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the agency announced today. The EEOC had charged that the UPR discriminated against public employees age 55 and older by not allowing them to obtain pension credit because of their age.
The EEOC’s suit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Juan (Civil Action No. 06-1660), alleged that prior to 2001 UPR did not allow older employees to become members of pension systems. In 2001 the UPR changed its rules to allow older employees to become members, but required that employees age 55 and older pay, in addition to the employee’s contribution to the retirement system, the employer’s contribution as well.
“In this era of economic uncertainty, retirement security is more critical than ever” said EEOC Acting Chairman Stuart J. Ishimaru. “When that retirement security is undermined by practices that violate the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the EEOC will fight back to protect the rights of older workers, as we did in this case.”
This lawsuit is related to the EEOC’s lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, where the EEOC alleged that the Commonwealth did not allow older employees to become members of retirement systems. The UPR agreement provides that the district court will appoint the same special master (an officer of the court) to process and resolve discrimination claims, which the EEOC estimates will be more than $200,000. Employees who make the employee contributions to their retirement systems will be eligible for a pension; if they are retired, they will receive lost benefits. Retired U.S. District Judge Hector Laffitte will be the special master.
“Not allowing older employees to participate in essential retirement plans is discriminatory,” said EEOC Senior Trial Attorney Michael O’Brien. “The EEOC will vigorously enforce the law and we hope this lawsuit reminds other employers of their obligations under federal law.”
Spencer H. Lewis, director of the EEOC’s New York District Office, said, “Employers need to be aware of their responsibilities under the age discrimination laws and treat older employees equally.”
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.
http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/2-2-10.cfm
March 9, 2010
Posted in: Affirmative Action News No Comments
Walmart To Pay More Than $11.7 Million To Settle EEOC Sex Discrimination Suit
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
PRESS RELEASE
3-1-10
Kentucky Distribution Facility Denied Jobs to Female Applicants on a Systemic Basis, Federal Agency Charged
INDIANAPOLIS –Walmart Stores will pay $11.7 million in back wages and compensatory damages, its share of employer taxes, and up to $250,000 in administration fees and will furnish other relief, including jobs, to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Walmart’s London, Ky., Distribution Center denied jobs to female applicants from 1998 through February 2005. During that time period, the EEOC contends, Walmart regularly hired male entry-level applicants for warehouse positions, but excluded female applicants who were equally or better qualified. The EEOC alleged that Walmart regularly used gender stereotypes in filling entry-level order filler positions. Hiring officials told applicants that order filling positions were not suitable for women, and that they hired mainly 18- to 25-year-old males for order filling positions, the EEOC said.
Excluding women from employment or excluding them from certain positions because of gender violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The consent decree settling the suit, entered by the court on March 1, 2010, requires Walmart to provide order filler jobs, as they become available, to eligible and interested female class members, as determined by a claims administrator. Walmart will fill the first 50 available order filler positions with female class members. For the next 50 positions, female class members will be offered every other job. Thereafter, every third position will be offered to female class members.
“Forty-plus years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, far too many employers are still blatantly excluding women from particular jobs, segregating their workforces on the basis of sex, and denying women equal pay for equal work,” said Acting EEOC Chairman Stuart J. Ishimaru. “Let this major settlement serve as a warning: Employers must stop engaging in these outdated and sexist practices, or they will face severe legal consequences.”
Pursuant to the consent decree, Walmart has agreed not to discriminate against females in hiring for order filler positions and not to retaliate against applicants or employees who exercise their rights, complain about discrimination or assist in an investigation or discrimination-related proceeding. Walmart will post a notice of non-discrimination at its warehouse facilities in Kentucky, train its managers and employees involved in the hiring process at the London Distribution Center, and use validated interview questions for the order filler position. Walmart will also submit reports to EEOC detailing its compliance with the decree.
A settlement administrator will distribute the proceeds to eligible class members. Walmart has agreed to pay the first $250,000 of the administration costs.
Indianapolis EEOC Senior Trial Attorney Nancy Dean Edmonds said, “Although it took a long time, we are very pleased that women who want to work at the London Distribution Center will now be able to do so and those who were rejected will be compensated for their losses and offered jobs.”
Louisville EEOC Senior Trial Attorney Aimee McFerren added, “It is satisfying to know that the EEOC’s efforts will allow the women in eastern Kentucky affected by Walmart’s discriminatory practices to better themselves and their families.”
According to company information, Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at more than 8,416 retail units under 53 different banners in 15 countries. With fiscal year 2009 sales of $401 billion, Walmart employs more than 2.1 million associates worldwide.
Class members will be contacted by the Settlement Administrator. Updated information on the settlement will be available on the EEOC v. Wal-Mart information line (317) 226-5485.
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on the agency’s web site at www.eeoc.gov.
March 9, 2010
Posted in: Affirmative Action News No Comments
U.S. EDUCATION SECRETARY DUNCAN TO VISIT ALABAMA, ANNOUNCE PLANS FOR A REINVIGORATED OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS
Media Advisory
U.S. Department of Education
Event Date: Monday, March 8, 2010
Contact: Jim Bradshaw, 401-1576 or press@ed.gov
U.S. EDUCATION SECRETARY DUNCAN TO VISIT ALABAMA, ANNOUNCE PLANS FOR A REINVIGORATED OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will visit Alabama Monday where he will commemorate the 45th anniversary of the “Bloody Sunday” civil rights confrontation in Selma, Ala., by announcing plans for a reinvigorated Office for Civil Rights to ensure equal educational opportunities for all children.
Secretary Duncan will first visit students and teachers at Robert E. Lee High School in Montgomery, then travel to Selma where he will hold a national press conference call on his intentions for the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights. (Dial-in information below)
Following the call, he will march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma with students and civil rights activists, recognizing the 45th anniversary of the “Bloody Sunday” confrontation which became one of the defining events of America’s civil rights movement. Afterwards, he will address students and adults, announcing his plans for reinvigorating the Office for Civil Rights, which protects against discrimination on the basis of sex, race, national origin and disability status.
EVENT ONE
Who:U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
What:Meet students and teachers at Robert E. Lee High School
Where:225 Ann St., Montgomery, Ala.
When:12:05-12:45 p.m. CT Monday, March 8
EVENT TWO
What:National press conference call on reinvigorating Office for Civil Rights
Where:Dial-in: 888-769-8523, passcode: civil rights..
When:2-2:30 p.m. CT Monday, March 8
EVENT THREE
What:March across Edmund Pettus Bridge
Where:Edmund Pettus Bridge, 1012 Water Ave., Selma, Ala.
When:2:30-2:45 p.m. CT Monday, March 8
EVENT FOUR
What:Speech announcing plans for a reinvigorated Office for Civil Rights to ensure equal educational opportunities for all children.
Where:Edmund Pettus Bridge, 1012 Water Ave., Selma, Ala.
When:3-4 p.m. CT Monday, March 8
###
March 9, 2010
Posted in: Affirmative Action News No Comments
EEOC issues proposed regulations on employer defenses to disparate impact age discrimination
Lexology
Ballard Spahr LLP
Brian D. Pedrow USA February 22 2010
On February 18, 2010, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the issue of employer defenses to disparate impact age discrimination under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).
The EEOC issued the revised rules in response to two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, Smith v. City of Jackson (2005) and Meacham v. Knolls Atomic Power Lab (2008). Both cases involved the question of when an employer is liable for age discrimination when a facially neutral policy or practice has a disparate impact on age-protected employees.
In Smith, the Supreme Court held that an employer can defend a policy that disproportionately affects older workers by showing that the policy is supported by “reasonable factors other than age” (RFOA). According to the EEOC, this standard is lower than Title VII’s business necessity test.
Meacham involved a reduction in force in which supervisors ranked employees based on performance, flexibility, and criticality of skill sets. More senior employees received additional points for years of service. The lowest-ranked employees were laid off. Of the 31 employees selected for layoff, 30 were over the age of 40, even though only 58 percent of the employer’s workforce was over 40. The older employees claimed that the facially neutral selection process had a disparate impact on them. The Court held that the employer bears the burden of demonstrating that its selection system was based on reasonable factors other than age.
In light of these decisions, the EEOC decided to amend the ADEA regulations to address the RFOA defense. The proposed regulations define the phrase “reasonable factor” as one that is “objectively reasonable when viewed from the position of a reasonable employer.” The factor must be reasonably designed to further or achieve a legitimate business purpose and administered in a way that reasonably achieves that purpose in light of the facts and circumstances. Reasonableness, according to the EEOC, will be judged from the perspective of a “prudent employer mindful of its responsibilities under the ADEA.” A prudent employer knows or should know that ADEA prohibits facially neutral employment policies or practices that disproportionately impact older workers.
Under the proposed rules, the EEOC will examine the following nonexhaustive list of factors to determine if a policy or practice is reasonable: (i) whether it is a common business practice; (ii) the extent to which the factor is related to the employer’s stated business goals; (iii) the extent to which the employer took steps to define the factor accurately and to apply the factor fairly and accurately; (iv) the extent to which the employer took steps to assess the adverse impact of its employment practice on older workers; (v) the severity of harm to the individuals in the protected age group and whether the employer took preventive or corrective steps; and (vi) whether other options were available to the employer.
March 9, 2010
Posted in: Affirmative Action News No Comments
Women Leaders Honored at ACE Meeting
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
by Diverse Staff , March 8, 2010
The American Council on Education honored Dr. Blenda Wilson, former president of California State University, Northridge, with the Donna Shavlik award Saturday, at the Women’s Leadership Dinner during ACE’s 92nd Annual Meeting being held through Tuesday in Phoenix. Named for the former longtime director of ACE’s Office of Women in Higher Education, the Shavlik award honors a leader who has demonstrated a sustained and continuing commitment to enhancing women’s leadership and career development.
ACE also honored Dr. Alison Bernstein, vice president for the Knowledge, Creative and Free Expression Program of the Ford Foundation, with its Lifetime Achievement Award.
Wilson was the first African-American woman senior administrator at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, the first woman and African-American senior associate dean at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education and, as chancellor of the University of Michigan-Dearborn from 1984-88, the first woman to head a four-year institution in Michigan.
The former executive director of the Colorado Commission on Education, Wilson became the first woman president of California State University, Northridge.
Full Story: http://diverseeducation.com/article/13605/women-leaders-honored-at-ace-meeting.html
March 9, 2010
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US education secretary to visit 2nd Ala. school
Associated Press
Posted on Mon, Mar. 8, 2010
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has decided to visit a second Montgomery school after a complaint by a veteran black legislator.
Officials with Duncan’s office in Washington confirmed that Monday’s visit to Montgomery would include a stop at King Elementary.
Democratic Rep. Alvin Holmes of Montgomery had complained that Duncan had chosen to visit Robert E. Lee High School. Holmes said that in 1965, the school and its then-principal publicly opposed the Rev. Martin Luther King and the Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march.
Duncan still plans to visit Lee high school. Officials in Duncan’s office said the school is now majority black and the current principal was 2 years old at the time of the march.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.
The federal Department of Education plans to intensify its civil rights enforcement efforts in schools around the country, including a deeper look at issues ranging from programs for immigrant students learning English to equal access to a college preparatory courses.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan plans to outline the department’s plans in a speech delivered Monday in Alabama to commemorate the 45th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” in which several hundred civil rights protesters were beaten by state troopers on Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge during a voting rights march in 1965.
“For us, this is very much about working to meet the president’s goal, that by 2020 we will regain our status in the world as the number one producer of college graduates,” Russlynn Ali, assistant secretary for civil rights in the Education Department, told The Associated Press.
The department is expecting to conduct 38 compliance reviews around 40 different issues this year, she said.
Though the investigations have been conducted before, the department’s Office of Civil Rights is looking to do more complicated and broad reviews that will look not just at whether procedures are in place, but at the impact district practices have on students of one race or another, and if student needs are being met.
Full Story: http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/nation/20100308_ap_useducationsecretarytovisit2ndalaschool.html
March 9, 2010
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CNN Props Up Astroturfed Coffee Party Movement (Video)
One thing is for sure… If you’re a leftist organization and you need a hand up, the state-run media is always there to help. CNN propped up the astroturfed coffee party movement this week. They include my critique at the 1:40 mark:
Via BreitbartTV
The coffee party was founded by top Obama Campaign official Anabelle Park. The group was formed in response to the tea party movement.
St. Louis had their first coffee party meeting last week. About 40 people turned out. The St. Louis Coffee Party is a branch of the national astroturfed group based out of Washington DC. Founding Bloggers wrote more about the local media bias in promoting the St. Louis coffee group.
March 9, 2010
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David Forster, fighter against anti-Semitism, dies (JTA)
(JTA) — Arnold Forster, an attorney who fought against anti-Semitism and extremism, and advocated for civil rights and the State of Israel, has died.
March 9, 2010
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State-Run Media Red-Faced Over Palin’s Canadian Doctor Visits
The state-run media was sooooo desperate to find something to attack Sarah Palin on yesterday that they forgot to factcheck their latest smear.
On Monday, the leftist media was thrilled to report that Sarah Palin used the Canadian health care system when she was a child. The Huffington Post, the Washington Post and Matthew Yglesias were happy to report this line this line from her speech this past weekend in Calgary:
“We used to hustle over the border for health care we received in Canada. And I think now, isn’t that ironic? ”
This, they suggested, proved she endorsed the Canadian and US democrat’s socialist health care system.
But, unfortunately they didn’t have all the facts.
Ben Smith later in the day posted the corrections:
CORRECTION: Whitehorse is in Yukon, not Saskatchewan, and Palin, as a young child, lived closer to itthan earlier reported.
UPDATE: Here’s some more context: “My first five years of life we spent in Skagway, Alaska, right there by Whitehorse. Believe it or not – this was in the ’60s – we used to hustle on over the border for health care that we would receive in Whitehorse. I remember my brother, he burned his ankle in some little kid accident thing and my parents had to put him on a train and rush him over to Whitehorse and I think, isn’t that kind of ironic now. Zooming over the border, getting health care from Canada.”
ALSO: Socialized medicine apparently only kicked in in Yukon in 1972, post-Palin.
Another attack on Palin falls flat.
Bummer.
March 9, 2010
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Change!… Syria Holds Love-Fest With Iran & Hezbollah As US Reinstalls Ambassador
Barack Obama nominated a US ambassador to Syria in February after a 5 year absence. The US recalled its Ambassador in the wake of the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in 2005 and speculation over Syrian involvement. The UN investigation is still ongoing.
Iranian regime President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Syrian dictator Assad and Hezbollah terror leader Hassan Nasrallah met for dinner last month in Damascus. Hassan Nasrallah (far right) has made few public appearances since 2006. This dinner was held right after US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns’s visit with Assad in Damascus.
Watching Barack Obama’s Middle East foreign policy is like watching a horror movie.
Barry Rubin at The Jerusalem Post reported:
The stories of the US engagement with Syria and the sanctions issue regarding Iran’s nuclear program are fascinating. Each day there’s some new development showing how the Obama administration is acting like a deer standing in the middle of a busy highway admiring the pretty headlights of the automobiles.
It’s like watching the monster sneak up behind someone. Even though you know he won’t turn around, you can’t help but watch in fascinated horror and yell: “Look out!” But he pays no attention.
Briefly, the Syrian government keeps punching the US in the face as Washington ignores it.
On March 1, a new record was set. The place: State Department daily press conference; the star, spokesman Philip J. Crowley. A reporter asks how the administration views the fact that the moment a US delegation left after urging Syrian President Bashar Assad to move away from Iran and stop supporting Hizbullah, Syria’s dictator invited Iran’s dictator along with Hizbullah’s leader to visit.
In other words, the exact opposite of what the US requested. Is the government annoyed? Does it want to express some anger or issue a threat?
Let’s listen. Crowley: “Well, I would point it in a slightly different direction… We want to see Syria play a more constructive role in the region. We also want – to the extent that it has the ability to talk to Iran directly – we want to make sure that Syria’s communicating to Iran its concerns about its role in the region and the direction, the nature of its nuclear ambitions…”
In other words, I’m going to ignore the fact that the first thing that Assad did after Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns’s visit was a love fest with Iran and Hizbullah. But even more amazing, what Crowley said is that the US government thinks Syria, Iran’s partner and ally, may be upset that Iran is being aggressive and expansionist. And it actually expects the Syrians to urge Iran not to build nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, as the administration congratulates itself on explaining to Syria that it should reduce support for Hizbullah, IDF military intelligence releases an assessment that Syria is giving Hizbullah more and better arms than ever before…
…Is it too much to ask policy-makers to pay attention to what’s going on occasionally?
So let’s leave it to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to sum up how things seem to Iran, Syria, Hamas, Hizbullah and many others. The Americans, he said, “not only have failed to gain any power, but also are forced to leave the region. They are leaving their reputation, image and power behind in order to escape… The [American] government has no influence [to stop] the expansion of Iran-Syria ties, Syria-Turkey ties and Iran-Turkey ties – God willing, Iraq too will join the circle.”
The US will return an American ambassador to Syria after a hiatus of 5 years.
Related… Obama talks, Syria mocks.
March 9, 2010
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Obama’s Latest Assault on Freedom– New Regulations Will Ban Sport Fishing
More Hope and Change…
Obama’s latest assault on your rights– He wants to ban sport fishing.
Barack Obama has a message for America’s 60,000,000 anglers– We don’t need you.
The American Sportfishing Association reported back in October about the sweeping changes proposed by the Obama Administration in regards to the sport fishing industry:
A sweeping oceans and Great Lakes management policy document proposed by the Obama Administration will have a significant impact on the sportfishing industry, America’s saltwater anglers and the nation’s coastal communities. The draft policy, the Interim Report of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force, issued on September 17, will govern federal Pacific and Atlantic Ocean waters and Great Lakes resource conservation and management and will coordinate these efforts among federal, state and local agencies. This past June, President Obama created the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force, led by the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), to develop a draft national policy and implementation strategy for conserving and managing the United States ocean territory and the Great Lakes.
Now it looks like the Obama Administration is going to move ahead with these restrictions.
ESPN reported:
The Obama administration will accept no more public input for a federal strategy that could prohibit U.S. citizens from fishing the nation’s oceans, coastal areas, Great Lakes, and even inland waters…
“When the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) completed their successful campaign to convince the Ontario government to end one of the best scientifically managed big game hunts in North America (spring bear), the results of their agenda had severe economic impacts on small family businesses and the tourism economy of communities across northern and central Ontario,” said Phil Morlock, director of environmental affairs for Shimano.
“Now we see NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and the administration planning the future of recreational fishing access in America based on a similar agenda of these same groups and other Big Green anti-use organizations, through an Executive Order by the President. The current U.S. direction with fishing is a direct parallel to what happened in Canada with hunting: The negative economic impacts on hard working American families and small businesses are being ignored.
“In spite of what we hear daily in the press about the President’s concern for jobs and the economy and contrary to what he stated in the June order creating this process, we have seen no evidence from NOAA or the task force that recreational fishing and related jobs are receiving any priority.”
Consequently, unless anglers speak up and convince their Congressional representatives to stop this bureaucratic freight train, it appears that the task force will issue a final report for “marine spatial planning” by late March, with President Barack Obama then issuing an Executive Order to implement its recommendations — whatever they may be.
Led by NOAA’s Jane Lubchenco, the task force has shown no overt dislike of recreational angling, but its indifference to the economic, social and biological value of the sport has been deafening.
Additionally, Lubchenco and others in the administration have close ties to environmental groups who would like nothing better than to ban recreational angling. And evidence suggests that these organizations have been the engine behind the task force since before Obama issued a memo creating it last June.
March 9, 2010
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