Weight and Height May be Added to Massachusetts Anti-Discrimination Laws May 18, 2007
Posted by C.A.R.D in Card, Citizens Against Racism and Discrimination, Discriminate, Discrimination, Height discrimination, Massachusetts Anti-Discrimination, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, Race, Weight discrimination.comments closed
Ellen Frankel stands just 4-foot-8 1/2 inches tall, a size that allowed larger co-workers to playfully scoop her up at the office and make remarks about her height. Some even patted her on the head.
Lawmakers are considering complaints such as hers as they review a bill that would make Massachusetts just the second state to bar discrimination based on height or weight.
“People in authority will very easily make comments about height that they wouldn’t make about race or gender,” said Frankel, a Marblehead author.
Jeanne Toombs understands the frustration. She says overweight people routinely are discriminated against because of their size.
“It’s not fair. No matter what you think of fat people, they deserve to be treated like human beings,” said Toombs, 59, a piano teacher who weighs 300 pounds and is on the board of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance.
The proposed law does not define short or fat. It would apply mainly to the workplace but also to landlords and real estate transactions.
Bank Of America Sued For Race Discrimination May 18, 2007
Posted by C.A.R.D in African Americans, African-American, anti-Black discrimination, Bank of America discrimination, Bank of America racism, Bank of America Racist, Black, Blacks, Card, Citizens Against Racism and Discrimination, Discriminate, Discrimination, North Carolina, Racism, Racist.comments closed
Five black current and former employees of Bank of America Corp. have sued the second-largest U.S. bank, accusing it of racial discrimination by steering lucrative clients to their white counterparts.The 29-page complaint, filed Thursday with the U.S. District Court in Boston, contends that the bank discriminates against African-Americans in pay, promotions, training and support services.
It said the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank regularly teams African-American workers together and assigns them to largely minority neighborhoods and low net-worth clients.
When the workers complained, according to the lawsuit, the bank said it believed that clients are more “comfortable” dealing with bankers and brokers of their own race.
Religious Discrimination 101: On The College Campus May 8, 2007
Posted by C.A.R.D in Alan Cooperman, anti-Christian, Card, Christian, Christians, Citizens Against Racism and Discrimination, college, College discrimination, Discriminate, Discrimination, Gary A. Tobin, Institute for Jewish and Community Research, professor discrimination, Religion, religous discrimination, university.comments closed
Alan Cooperman wrote a interesting story for the Washington Post that talks about the views that college faculty have towards religion. Specifically it seems that negative views of evangelical Christians topped the list in the one study that was done:
The other survey, by the San Francisco-based Institute for Jewish and Community Research, confirmed those findings but also found what the institute’s director and chief pollster, Gary A. Tobin, called an “explosive” statistic: 53 percent of its sample of 1,200 college and university faculty members said they have “unfavorable” feelings toward evangelical Christians.
A graph accompanying the story drove the point home. By comparison, only three percent of faculty members had unfavorable feelings toward Jews. What’s funny is that the latter survey was designed to gauge anti-Semitism.
The only groups with significantly negative responses were Christians and Muslims. A full third of faculty had negative views toward Mormons, with 22 percent reporting unfavorable views toward Muslims, 18 percent with negative feelings toward atheists, 13 percent with negative feelings toward Roman Caholics, 10 percent with negative feelings toward the non-religious, nine percent with negative feelings toward non-evangelical Christians and four percent reporting negative views toward Buddhists.
Link to the full article at washingtonpost.com
Audit uncovers discrimination against disabled in Newton housing May 3, 2007
Posted by C.A.R.D in audit, Card, Citizens Against Racism and Discrimination, Committee for People with Disabilities, Disability Law Center, Disabled, Discriminate, Discrimination, discrimination against disabled, Discrimination against people with disabilities, discrimination in housing, housing discrimination, minority group, Murphy, Newton housing, The Newton Fair Housing Task Force.comments closed
The woman called a real estate agent looking to rent an apartment, and indicated that she uses a wheelchair. Despite promising to call her back about prospects, the agent never did.
Another person without a disability called the same agent and was shown an apartment.
A man who is blind called an agent about renting a unit in a three-family, owner-occupied building. The agent asked if the man had pets, and he acknowledged using a guide dog. The agent said the owner lived below the available apartment, and the guide dog “would drive her crazy.” The man did not get the apartment.
Solidarity predicts end of affirmative action May 3, 2007
Posted by C.A.R.D in affirmative action, African Americans, African-American, Black, Blacks, Citizens Against Racism and Discrimination, Indian, Johannesburg, Racism, Racist, reverse racism, South Africa, White, Whites.comments closed
A Johannesburg metro police campaign to recruit white, coloured and Indian members could be part of the slow death of affirmative action, the trade union Solidarity said on Thursday.
The scrapping of affirmative action — and discrimination against young white people — at entry-level is “a rapidly growing trend”, said Solidarity’s deputy general secretary, Dirk Hermann.
Apart from the Johannesburg metro police, several mining houses and large businesses are actively recruiting white people at lower levels, he said.
“This means that affirmative action is slowly dying from the bottom up.”
Solidarity saw the move as the first step in a process of exempting young people from affirmative action.
However, Hermann said it should not only be scrapped at the lower levels of the labour market, but throughout.
At the moment — in the metro police — minorities are being given the message that they are being recruited, but should not expect promotion.
House approves bill that bans discrimination based on genetics May 3, 2007
Posted by C.A.R.D in Card, Citizens Against Racism and Discrimination, Discriminate, Discrimination, gene discrimination, Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, genetics, Human Genome Project.comments closed
After more than a dozen years of working on the issue, Congress is rightly poised to clear a bill that would prohibit insurers and employers from using genetic information as a source of discrimination.The bill, which cleared the U.S. House last week, bans employers from using one’s genetic information in making hiring, firing or promotion decisions. Likewise, insurers would be prohibited from denying coverage or charging higher premiums based on a person’s genetic disposition to certain diseases.
The benefits of prohibiting such discrimination are clear. For starters, it would alleviate the fear of losing jobs or health insurance coverage for those in need of crucial genetic testing for medical reasons.
The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2007 cleared the House with a 420-3 vote. The bill is expected to easily pass in the Senate, and President Bush has said he will sign it.
The government has already invested $3.7 billion in the Human Genome Project. The ban on genetic discrimination would ensure the job is completed, with proper protections that safeguard individual privacy and allow us to make the most of scientific research.
CARD {Citizens Against Racism and Discrimination} Source: kansascity.com
Snoop Dogg say’s “Rappers Ho’s are different” Rules are different for Imus April 12, 2007
Posted by C.A.R.D in basketball, CBS Radio, Citizens Against Racism and Discrimination, Don Imus, Hip Hop, ho, hoe, Hoes, Hos, Imus Racist, MSNBC, nappy, nappy headed, nappy headed hos, nigga, nigger, Racism, Racist, rap, rapper, Rappers, Rutgers University, Snoop, snoop dog, Snoop Dogg, Snoop Imus, women's basketball team.comments closed
Rapper has dismissed comparisons between sexist hip-hop lyrics and the recent racist remarks made by radio DJ Don Imus.
Imus was suspended by CBS Radio and MSNBC on Monday after he referred to the Rutgers University women’s basketball team as ‘nappy-headed hos’–a racially charged sexist term.
Snoop frequently refers to women as “b**ches” and “hos” in his music, but he insists Imus’ use of the term was unacceptable and the 66-year-old DJ should be taken off the air.
The Doggystyle star says, “It’s a completely different scenario.”
Caucasophobia — the Accepted Racism April 6, 2007
Posted by C.A.R.D in Accepted Racism, African Americans, African Studies, African-American, Allen G. King, Anti-White, anti-white racism, Asian, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Black, Blacks, Caucasophobia, Citizens Against Racism and Discrimination, David Horowitz, Discriminate, Discrimination, Hispanic, Howard University Racism, Immigration, Islam, Kamau Kambon, Latino, Muslim, non-white racism, Racism, Racist, René Descartes, reverse racism, Shelby Steele, Wangari Maathai, White, Whites.comments closed
From globalpolitician.com :
I had written much of this essay more than a year before I finally decided to post it online. A couple of personal experiences brought me onto the subject of non-white racism. I hesitated to post it, mainly because I instinctively dislike writing about anything related to race. I was brought up that way. Partly, I also convinced myself that I was first and foremost against Islam, and that writing about skin color would only complicate this fight.
However, after thinking about it for some time, I find that none of these arguments hold true. I am tired of ideological censorship. Western nations can never mount a defense against Muslim immigration if this is always dismissed as “racism.” But above all, if you believe that non-white racism exists, it is actually immoral not to deal with the problem and its victims. I am convinced that not just non-white, but also anti-white racism, are real and underestimated phenomena.
In London, an elderly driver who had a heart attack careered into a bus. Here you had a dying man, people trying to save him and police trying to clear the scene. Meanwhile, black youths at the scene just wanted to fight the cops. They shouted, ‘Who cares — it’s just a white man’.”
Anti-Jewish Rapper 50 Cent Labels “Je-Je-Je-Jews” the “Real Goon Squad” April 6, 2007
Posted by C.A.R.D in "Je-Je-Je-Jew unit", "Je-Je-Je-Jews", "Real goon squad", 50 Cent, 50 Cent anti-Jewish, 50 Cent Anti-semitic, 50 Cent Racism, 50 Cent Racist, Anti-Semitic, Antijewish, Antisemitism, Citizens Against Racism and Discrimination, Fifty Cent anti-Jewish, Fifty Cent Racism, Fifty Cent Racist, Jew, Jewish, Jews, Miss Jones in the Morning, Racism, Racist.comments closed
Rapper 50 Cent might be in da you-know-what for calling Jews “goons” on a radio show yesterday. On New York’s Hot 97’s “Miss Jones in the Morning” show, as the New York Daily News reports, Fitty called to weigh-in on fellow rapper Tony Yayo’s assault case. After telling the host that he didn’t think Yayo’s legal troubles would hurt “his crew,” he added, “Worry about the Je-Je-Je-Jew unit. They’re the real goon squad. When the lawyers come out, you’ll see what it is. I don’t pay nobody. I only pay the lawyers.” The rapper didn’t clarify what he meant, or if he was referring to anything in particular.
CARD {Citizens Against Racism and Discrimination} Source: TMZ.com
Imus Apologizes for ‘Nappy Hos’ Comment April 6, 2007
Posted by C.A.R.D in African Americans, African-American, Black, Blacks, Bryan Monroe, Citizens Against Racism and Discrimination, Discrimination, Don Imus, Don Imus Racism, Don Imus Racist, Gregory Lee, hardcore hos, Imus, Imus in the Morning, Imus Racist, nappy headed hos, Nappy Ho, Nappy Hos, National Association of Black Journalists, NBA, Racism, Racist, Radio host, rough girls from Rutgers, Rutgers University, they got tattoos, Toronto Raptors, women's basketball team.comments closed
Update: [related stories]
Does Rapper 50 Cent Get a “Get Out of Racism Free Card”?
Snoop Dogg say’s “Rappers Ho’s are different” Rules are different for Imus
Radio host Don Imus apologized Friday for calling the Rutgers University women’s basketball team “nappy headed hos” on his nationally syndicated program.
The National Association of Black Journalists demanded his immediate firing after the man known as “Imus in the Morning” put his foot deep in his mouth Wednesday. Imus questioned the players’ looks, describing them as tattooed “rough girls.” His producer compared the team _ which has eight black members _ to the NBA’s Toronto Raptors.
Near the start of Friday’s show, Imus said he wanted to “apologize for an insensitive and ill-conceived remark we made the other morning referring to the Rutgers women’s basketball team.”
“It was completely inappropriate, and we can understand why people were offended. Our characterization was thoughtless and stupid, and we are sorry.”Gregory Lee, an NABJ officer and senior assistant sports editor at The Boston Globe, said the mea culpa did little to atone for the comments.
“You can apologize, but what does that mean when you have a history of making disparaging remarks about people?” Lee asked about the acid-tongued Imus. “This kind of behavior must be punished. I hope the company and sponsors he has take some sort of action … to educate him.”
NABJ President Bryan Monroe asked Thursday if Imus had “lost his mind” and called for the veteran radio host’s dismissal.
Imus was speaking with producer Bernard McGurk when the NCAA title game between Rutgers and Tennessee came up.
Laid Off Employees Sue Circuit City For Age Discrimination April 6, 2007
Posted by C.A.R.D in Age Discrimination, Circuit City, Circuit City Age discrimination, Circuit City Lawsuit, Citizens Against Racism and Discrimination, Daniel Weidler, Discriminate, Discrimination, Eloise Garcia, Lawsuit, Michael Yezback.comments closed
Three Circuit City employees laid off last week have sued the electronics retailer, alleging it violated California law prohibiting age discrimination. Daniel Weidler, Michael Yezback and Eloise Garcia, who worked at the Circuit City store in Oxnard, also alleged wrongful termination in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
The suit, which seeks class action status, names Richmond-based Circuit City Stores Inc. as the defendant.
The company, facing larger competitors and falling sales, said last week that it would immediately lay off 3,400 workers earning “well above the market-based salary range for their role” and replace them with lower-paid new hires. Five of those workers are in our area.
The laid-off workers would get a severance package and a chance to reapply for their former jobs, at lower pay, after 10 weeks, the company said.
Weidler, Yezback, and Garcia claimed they were let go because they were better paid than other workers thanks to their higher seniority at the store.
Chinese Restaurant Passes Out Racist Fliers April 6, 2007
Posted by C.A.R.D in Chinese immigrants, Citizens Against Racism and Discrimination, Discrimination, eggrolls etc., Joke Racist Fliers, Marie Hanna, Pan-Asian Community Alliance, Racism, Racist, Racist Chinese Restaurant, stereotype.comments closed
Tucson AZ, A local Chinese restaurant is getting complaints about bad taste – not from its food, but from its advertising. The restaurant’s owner says it’s meant as a joke, but some members of Tucson’s Asian-American community are not laughing.
Eggrolls Etc. is a Chinese food delivery and take-out restaurant. It distributed advertisement fliers on the East side that read, “Every order is delivered via rickshaw by first generation Chinese immigrants… We really should charge more for delivery, old Chinamen are getting expensive these days.”
“I was actually shocked when I read the advertising,” said Marie Hanna, Board President of the Pan-Asian Community Alliance. “This is a stereotype that really cannot be tolerated.”
The Pan-Asian Community Alliance plans to send a complaint letter to the restaurant owner. Similar letters have already been sent by the Tucson Chinese Association as well as the Chinese American Citizens’ Alliance. The letters say, in part, “… humor is never an excuse to deride any person or culture… we would like to see the offensive advertising immediately stopped… the ads are very offensive, insulting, and hurtful…”
The owner of the restaurant, Mike Reynolds, says the ad is not intended to be offensive.”This isn’t meant to degrade by any means the Chinese community or any kind of Asian heritage,” Reynolds said.
Indianapolis city officials accused of religious discrimination March 6, 2007
Posted by C.A.R.D in ADF, anti-Christian, Baptist Church of the Westside, Card, Christian, Christians, Citizens Against Racism and Discrimination, city zoning, David Langdon, Discriminate, Discrimination, Indianapolis, Indianapolis discrimination, zoning code discrimination.comments closed
A Baptist church in Indianapolis is standing its ground in a dispute with city officials over alleged violations concerning zoning codes. The Alliance Defense Fund is appealing the decision of a federal judge that could prevent the church members from meeting in their leased facilities.
Last month, city officials in Indianapolis sent a letter to the Baptist Church of the Westside, where members meet regularly at their leased building for worship and other church-related activities. The letter said the church’s “religious use” of the property violated the city’s zoning code.
A federal district court has refused to halt enforcement of the zoning code, so ADF attorneys are appealing that decision. David Langdon, an allied attorney with ADF, says churches should not be relegated to second-class status by city zoning officials.
“The city has indicated that they’re going to pursue legal action against the church, which could involve severe fines up to $2,500 a day as well as possibly seek an injunction from a court shutting them down, preventing them from meeting and from worshipping on Sunday mornings and on Wednesday nights and so forth.”
Affirmative action ‘a new form of apartheid’ in South Africa March 6, 2007
Posted by C.A.R.D in affirmative action, affirmative-action policies, Africa, Black, Black Management Forum, Blacks, Citizens Against Racism and Discrimination, Discriminate, Discrimination, FF+, Freedom Front Plus, ILO, International Labour Organisation, Mncane Mthunzi, Racism, Racist, reverse racism, South Africa, White, Whites, Willie Spies.comments closed
It is becoming increasingly clear that some in the African National Congress want to ensconce affirmative action as a permanent measure and thus enforce a new form of apartheid, the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) said on Tuesday.
The party intends asking the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to pay urgent attention to its complaint about affirmative action, handed to the ILO’s Pretoria office on Youth Day last year, FF+ spokesperson Willie Spies said.
The complaint specifically deals with the fact that affirmative action in South Africa is increasingly being given a permanent nature, and that the position is being worsened through often-repeated populist statements in this regard by Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana.
“Mdladlana has this past weekend once again made the news when he said affirmative action will never be phased out in South Africa, but to the contrary will be sharpened.”
Spies said that going by Mdladlana’s past statements, it is clear he not only condones black-against-white prejudice, but even encourages it. “The ILO should take note of Mdladlana’s reckless actions in this regard.”
Arab Drivers Win Right To Pursue Discrimination Case Against FedEx March 6, 2007
Posted by C.A.R.D in Arab, Arabs, Card, Citizens Against Racism and Discrimination, Discriminate, Discrimination, Discrimination against Arabs, discrimination policy, FedEx, Islam, Islamic, Lawsuit, Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, Osama bin Laden, Racism against Arabs, Terrorist, Terrorists.comments closed
Four Arab-American drivers who claim they were harassed by their FedEx supervisors in Massachusetts have won the right to pursue their case. The men say they were called “terrorists” and asked if they were sending money to Osama bin Laden.
FedEx argued that the four were independent contractors and weren’t eligible for protections under the state’s anti-discrimination laws.
The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination denied that objection saying the drivers were employees.
The four foreign-born drivers are Massachusetts residents and practicing Muslims.
The lawsuit claims the company’s ground package unit and two of its terminal supervisors engaged in a pattern of racial, ethnic and religious discrimination.
A FedEx spokesman declined to comment on the case, but did say FedEx doesn’t tolerate behavior that violates their discrimination policy.
CARD {Citizens Against Racism and Discrimination} Source: wcsh6.com
Africa: Despite Progress, Girls Subjected to Violence and Discrimination March 5, 2007
Posted by C.A.R.D in Africa, Africa sexism, AIDS, Citizens Against Racism and Discrimination, discrimination against girls, HIV, Millennium Development Goals, Sexism, sexism against women, Sexist, sexual violence, UN, United Nations, violence, violence against women.comments closed
Violence against women and girls is one of the most extreme forms of inequality, UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman said today on the occasion of the 51st Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
“Despite progress, we continue to live in a world where millions of girls remain out of school, engaged in exploitative labor, are trafficked, are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and are targets of sexual violence,” Veneman said in advance of International Women’s Day on March 8.
String the critical link between discrimination against girls and women and violence, Veneman drew attention to the sexual violence committed in armed conflict, trafficking, and practices such as honour killings, dowry crimes, early marriage, and female genital cutting/mutilation.
“In too many countries and regions, the plight of girls is ignored or denied,” Veneman said. “This leaves girls to suffer in silence and has a devastating effect on the well-being of families and communities.”
Veneman said education is a key to addressing discrimination and violence against girls and to helping achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Educated girls are better equipped to protect themselves against life-threatening diseases such as HIV/AIDS, are more likely to give birth to healthy babies who will survive and grow into adulthood, tend to delay marriage, and are more likely to have fewer children.
YouTube censors strike again March 2, 2007
Posted by C.A.R.D in anti-Christian, atheists, blasphemy, blasphemy challenge, Card, Censorship, Citizens Against Racism and Discrimination, youtube, YouTube Censors, YouTube Discrimination.comments closed
From the Hot Air web log:
Verum Serum has the irony-filled story of Pastor David Williams and his travails at YouTube. Pastor Williams took on a campaign by atheists on YouTube called the “blasphemy challenge.” Atheists challenged YouTubers to post videos of themselves committing blasphemy, and many have risen to the call.
Pastor Williams thought the challenge was silly nonsense, so he posted a video parodying the effort. YouTube yanked that video after just six hours, apparently on complaints that it was “Inappropriate Content.” Williams has since re-posted the video on Google, so you can see it here for yourself. There’s nothing inappropriate about it at all. It’s just good old-fashioned snark, of the type that the Rational Response Squad seems to have hoped to receive, just not from Christians. Verum Serum says that atheists led the charge in getting Williams’ video banned.
This follows closely on the heels of another YouTube censorship scandal, that one involving atheist Nick Gisburne.
New York bans ‘nigger’ slur: Eroding free speech in America? March 1, 2007
Posted by C.A.R.D in 10 years nigger!, African Americans, African-American, Albert Vann, banned, BET, Black, black comedians, Black Entertainment Television, Blacks, Citizens Against Racism and Discrimination, Eroding free speech, First amendment, Free Speech, Freedom of Speech, n word banned, New York bans 'nigger', New York City, New York City nigger, New York n word, Niger, nigga, nigger, nigger banned, nigger slur, NYC, NYC ban, rap, Recording Academy, Ron Roecker, The Laugh Factory.comments closed
Is it racist for New York City to single out one racial slur and turn a blind eye to all the others? Is this constitutional? Is this the first steps of eroding free speech in America? Well regardless of what critics have said, New York City has now officially banned the use of the word ‘nigger’ in a “symbolic gesture.” Newsday.com has published some notable quotes from people in regard to this story. One of these quotes is:
“People are using it out of context. People are also denigrating themselves by using the word and disrespecting their history, disrespecting the history of a people and a country and also putting themselves in a negative light that we need to correct.” _ Councilman Leroy Comrie, sponsor of the bill.
The featured article follows below:
New York City symbolically banned use of the word nigger today, the latest step in a campaign that hopes to expunge the most vile of racial slurs from hip hop music and television.
The City Council unanimously declared a moratorium that carries no penalty but aims to stop youth from casually using the word, considered by most Americans to be the most offensive in the English language.
The New York City measure follows similar resolutions this month by the New York state assembly and state senate, and supporters of the ban are taking their campaign to The Recording Academy, asking it not to nominate musicians for Grammy awards if they use the word in their lyrics.
Many rap artists and young New Yorkers toss the word around as a term of endearment or as a substitute for black, angering some black leaders who consider those who use it as ignorant of the word’s hate-filled history in slavery and segregation.
“This could be the beginning of a movement,” councilman Albert Vann said.
Councilman Leroy Comrie, a sponsor of the moratorium, said the campaign against the word has gained strength since comedian Michael Richards spewed it in a racially charged tirade in Los Angeles.
Houston affirmative action programs questioned: Now helping the rich get richer? February 28, 2007
Posted by C.A.R.D in affirmative action, affirmative action contracts, affirmative action for the rich, affirmative action programs, affirmative discrimination, Card, Citizens Against Racism and Discrimination, city contracts, Contractors, Discriminate, Discrimination, government affirmative action contracts, Lady Pegasus, mansion, mansions, Michael Ware, millionaire, millionaire affirmative action, multi-million, Racism, Racist, Republic Waste, reverse racism, Velma Laws.comments closed
Houston’s affirmative action program — it was created to stop discrimination but now it’s helping the rich get richer. If you think affirmative action was controversial before, wait until you see what a multi-million dollar mess it has become.
Drive south on the bridge to Kemah and look to your right. It’s hard not to notice an 11,000 square foot mansion. The property appraises at about $2 million. Do the owners look like they need affirmative action help from Houston’s city hall? Well, they got it — to the tune of $12 million.
We asked city affirmative action director Velma Laws, “Do you think it’s fair that people with mansions can get affirmative action contracts?”
“I believe it’s fair if they are qualified to participate in the program,” she responded.
Imagine a big icebox pie, except this one doesn’t just have lemon filling. It’s full of money — city contracts. For 22 years Houston’s city hall has used affirmative action to make sure qualified minority and women-owned companies get a piece of the pie. Contractors wanting city business have to make a good faith pledge that a percentage of the work will go there.
C.A.R.D 