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14 Sep 2011 00:58

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Biz: After dodging a Supreme Court bullet, Walmart focuses on women

  • june In what would’ve been the largest class-action suit ever, over a million female employees tried to sue Walmart for discrimination. The Supreme Court, however, said it stretched the definition of a class-action suit way too far, blocking the suit from moving forward.
  • september Looking to improve its image after avoiding what could’ve been a hugely damaging lawsuit, the company says it plans to double its investment in businesses run by women, and show in other ways that they’ve changed their ways. Have they? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Jul 2011 13:08

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U.S.: A tale of two unemployment rates, through an urban microcosm

  • 9.8% the unemployment rate in the Washington, DC — a little higher than the rest of the nation
  • 3.6% the unemployment rate for the more affluent areas of DC — mostly populated by whites source
  • » This isn’t good. The unemployment rate of Anacostia, a district in Southeast DC east of the river mostly populated by blacks? Nearly 20 percent. DC is merely just a flash point for a much-larger trend. All over the United States, blacks are twice as likely to be unemployed as whites. What’s worse is there’s no real explanation for it — other than the obvious one.
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Jul 2011 16:50

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World: Indian official makes anti-gay remark, then steps it back

  • Unfortunately, this disease, where a man has sex with a man, which is absolutely unnatural and shouldn’t happen but it is happening, is spreading around the world and has also come to India. Even in our country the numbers of men having sex with men is significant.
  • Indian Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad • Making comments about the AIDS virus. He later tried to clarify that he didn’t mean gay people, but it’s kinda hard to prove that when he’s quoted saying this. He claims that it only sounded like this because of the way he said it in Hindi, but there’s no way of telling if that’s true. Let’s hope not, because placing a stigma on an entire group of people is wrong, but especially when it comes from government official, simply because it has more impact. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Mar 2011 12:46

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U.S.: From the chamber: Senator Dick Durbin’s Muslim rights hearing

  • …it is incumbent upon all Americans who love this nation and the values our Constitution protects to make it clear to defend the civil rights of our Muslim neighbors are as important as the rights of Christians, Jews and non-believers.
  • Senator Dick Durbin • On his Senate hearings on anti-Muslim discrimination, broadly viewed as a counter-weight to Rep. Peter King’s hearings on radicalized Islam in the House. For what it’s worth, King’s anti-terrorism zeal wasn’t beyond the scope of his responsibility, nor could it not have been handled tastefully as a hearing on terrorism writ large. The standard of tacitly condemning an entire community for the actions of the very few, however, was and is unpleasant, and its given Durbin a chance to shine some light in the other direction. Also, isn’t it cool that non-believers get a shout out, too? The first time we can recall that was during  Obama’s inauguration, and it’s a welcome and overdue addition to the public discourse on faith. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Mar 2011 10:13

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Biz: Supreme Court: Wal-Mart’s worker discrimination case hits today

  • Today’s a fun day in the Supreme Court: See, Wal-Mart, the world’s largest corporation, will be in front of the nine justices, fending off claims that they discriminated against female workers systemically. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The women fielding the claim want to bring a huge class-action discrimination lawsuit against the company. If they succeed at the Supreme Court, the lawsuit, which would cover EVERY female employee — current and former — from 1988 onward, would go forward, costing the company as much as $1 billion. But considering they make billons of dollars each year, it’s really not that much, is it? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Dec 2010 10:34

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Biz, U.S.: Supreme Court takes up massive labor suit against Wal-Mart

  • What’s bigger than a breadbox, involves a lot of women, and could give Wal-Mart some major fits? If you answered Wal-Mart Stores v. Dukes, a very large class-action discrimination suit that’s about to hit the Supreme Court. The case revolves around whether the class action suit is too large to be treated as a class-action suit. If it is, Wal-Mart wins because it won’t be forced to pay, because the cases will have to be treated individually. If it isn’t, Wal-Mart could be forced to pay out an epic settlement. We like watching Supreme Court cases where a lot is at stake, so, really, we win either way. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Jun 2010 21:01

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Biz: Show offs. Wal-Mart anticipated costly class-action bias suit

  • 1995 Wal-Mart hired a bunch of lawyers to see if they might be vulnerable to a costly class-action discrimination suit from female workers.
  • 2001 A bunch of female workers file a class-action suit against the company, claiming bias. It then winds its way through the courts.
  • 2010 A lower court decides to let the suit go forward. Wal-Mart plans to appeal that obvious decision all the way to the Supreme Court. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

30 Apr 2010 15:17

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World: Belgians to Muslim women: Lose the veil or get a fine (or jail time)

  • $35 maximum size of the fines the country will be handing out
  • seven number of days women could go to jail for wearing them source
  • » The explanation: According to Belgian officials, the law isn’t meant to be discriminatory, but instead is meant to ensure public safety by making it easier to see the faces of people in public places. As you might guess, human rights groups aren’t buying that.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Apr 2010 20:57

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Biz: Wal-Mart’s bracing for a huge sex-discrimination lawsuit

  • one
    million     number of women that could
    sue Wal-Mart in a class action
    trial over unfair pay
  • nine
    years     amount of time this case
    has been winding through the
    federal courts source
  • » Oh, just an FYI: This court case is weeding its way through the Ninth Circuit Federal Appeals Court. Wal-Mart plans to appeal the case. If you remember our article from yesterday, this doesn’t bode well for the result.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Jan 2010 16:59

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Biz, Culture: Update: ManCrunch.com’s Super Bowl ad rejected by CBS. WTF?

  • We’re calling hypocrite on CBS. A gay-themed ad was rejected by the same company that approved an anti-abortion ad. They’re claiming credit problems, despite the fact that the company was willing to pay cash and had $40 million in venture capital. Come on. This is politics, clear and simple. And we hope that CBS hears it loudly. By the way, GoDaddy’s latest sexapalooza was also rejected. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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