Clipmarks | Discrimination Clips

Healthcare Provision Seeks To Embrace Prayer Treatments

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:49:49 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Backed by some of the most powerful members of the Senate, a little-noticed provision in the healthcare overhaul bill would require insurers to consider covering Christian Science prayer treatments as medical expenses.

The provision was inserted by Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) with the support of Democratic Sens. John F. Kerry and the late Edward M. Kennedy, both of Massachusetts, home to the headquarters of the Church of Christ, Scientist.

The measure would put Christian Science prayer treatments -- which substitute for or supplement medical treatments -- on the same footing as clinical medicine. While not mentioning the church by name, it would prohibit discrimination against "religious and spiritual healthcare."

But critics say the measure could have a broader effect, conferring new status and medical legitimacy on practices that lie outside the realm of science.

Tags: religion, healthcare, legal, government

AFTER 40 YEARS, AGE DISCRIMINATION STILL GETS SECOND -CLASS TREATMENT

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:27:30 GMT

clipped by: ellington
clipper's remarks: IT WAS SIMPLY A"FACT"OF LIFE THE COURT SAID,WITH "NO DISPARAGING UNDERTONES."

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

After 40 Years, Age Discrimination Still Gets Second-Class Treatment

After working for a vending machine company for more than 20 years, James O’Connor was replaced with someone younger. He sued. He testified that his boss had disparaged older workers, including saying — two weeks before he was fired — “O’Connor, you are too damn old for this kind of work.” A federal court was unmoved, ruling in 1995 that he had not connected the bigoted comments to his firing.

When two older supervisors at a light bulb company were fired and sued, their claim of age discrimination was denied. A federal appeals court ruled in 1994 that the statement by the company’s vice president that “there comes a time when we have to make way for younger people” was “irrelevant.” It was simply a “fact of life,” the court said, with “no disparaging undertones.”

Tags: age, second, class, discrimination

Bus company seeks ban on heavyweight drivers

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:54:07 GMT

clipped by: hotdoge3

Clip Source: www.nzherald.co.nz

Bus company seeks ban on heavyweight drivers

The company, embroiled in a dispute with drivers over pay and conditions, is trying to bar job-seekers weighing more than 115kg from its Auckland workforce.

And it has not gone down well with drivers like Sean Conway who, despite tipping the scales at 173kg (27st 3lb), says he "flew through" his last medical checkup.

Irish-born Mr Conway, delegate for 32 National Distribution Union drivers at the company, admitted to being a trimmer 135kg when he joined the bus service nine years ago.

"But nobody becomes a bus driver to lose weight," he said.

It says this is "in accordance with the manufacturing guidelines for driver seats and safe weight limits".

"You don't want to add more discrimination, and people who are overweight can actually be very healthy, so you've really got to dig much deeper than how much space a person is taking," Professor Rush said.

Tags: bus, company, seeks, ban, on, heavyweight, drivers

The trouble with diversity: celebrating difference doesn't reduce inequality

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:27:02 GMT

clipped by: Lexica
clipper's remarks: More:

If you're worried about the growing economic inequality in American life, if you suspect that there may be something unjust as well as unpleasant in the spectacle of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, no cause is less worth supporting, no battles are less worth fighting, than the ones we fight for diversity…

Our identity is the least important thing about us. And yet, it is the thing we have become most committed to talking about. From the standpoint of a left politics, this is a profound mistake since what it means is that the political left -- increasingly invested in the celebration of diversity and the redress of historical grievance -- has converted itself into the accomplice rather than the opponent of the right.
Clip Source: www.prospect.org
What's important about The Great Gatsby, then, is that it takes one kind of difference (the difference between the rich and the poor) and redescribes it as another kind of difference (the difference between the white and the not-so-white).
books like The Great Gatsby (and there have been a great many of them) give us a vision of our society divided into races rather than into economic classes. And this vision has proven to be extraordinarily attractive.
the commitment to appreciating diversity emerged out of the struggle against racism
Our commitment to diversity has thus redefined the opposition to discrimination as the appreciation (rather than the elimination) of difference. So with respect to race, the idea is not just that racism is a bad thing (which of course it is) but that race itself is a good thing.
And what makes it a good thing is that it's not class. We love race -- we love identity -- because we don't love class.

Tags: equity, fairness, diversity, economics, class-issues

Carrie Prejeans Lawsuit Fizzles Due To Sex Tape

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:04:18 GMT

clipped by: ljsdesign

Clip Source: wbztv.com

Did the legal battle between former Miss California USA Carrie Prejean and pageant organizers suddenly conclude because organizers presented Prejean with a sex tape starring the religiously devout beauty queen?

Celebrity site TMZ says yes and CNN, last night, said a source with knowledge of the settlement confirmed it. CBS News has no independent verification of the story at this time.

n August, Prejean sued Miss California USA organizers for libel, slander and religious discrimination. She accused them of telling her to stop mentioning God, even before she made controversial remarks against gay marriage.

The pageant countersued Prejean last month, claiming the buxom blonde still owed them $5,200 for the breast implants they helped her buy.

the warring factions abruptly made peace on Tuesday

As for that alleged sex tape reportedly starring Prejean

Managing Editor Harvey Levin claimed in a Wednesday webcast that the tape, which he said features just Prejean, was too graphic for their taste.

This? You're going to cover this?

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:00:41 GMT

clipped by: fudomyoo
clipper's remarks: so, let me get this straight - no single payer, "public" might not be an option, but one of your solutions to the problems we have with health care in this country is PAYING PEOPLE TO PRAY FOR YOU?!?

Clip Source: open.salon.com

Pay to Pray, it will be covered

a little-noticed provision in the healthcare overhaul bill would require insurers to consider covering Christian Science prayer treatments as medical expenses.

While not mentioning the church by name, it would prohibit discrimination against "religious and spiritual healthcare."

I do hope they include VooDoo (that's a religion, right?)

Oh yeah, that reminds me, what about Ras Tafari? Will they be covering Jah herb for those who must use it to communicate with Jah?

If someone is truly Christian, why would they make you pay for prayer treatments? I don't remember Jesus raising people from the dead, curing lepers, throwing out demons, then saying, "Oh, by the way....I take Discover."

Tags: health care, healthcare, insurance, bill, prayer

Sex Discrimination and Sexual Harassment at Work

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:45:00 GMT

clipped by: AScomputer
clipper's remarks: Sexual harassment is rampant in the workplaces of the modern day. But there are tons of laws in place that are there just to protect all employees from the throes of sexual harassment.

Clip Source: www.egodevelopment.com

Sex Discrimination and Sexual Harassment at Work

Sexual harassment is rampant in the workplaces of the modern day. But there are tons of laws in place that are there just to protect all employees from the throes of sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination. The legal definition of sexual harassment is “unwelcome verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature that is severe or pervasive and affects working conditions or creates a hostile work environment.”

Examples of Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of situations. These are examples of sexual harassment, not intended to be all inclusive.

- Unwanted jokes, gestures, offensive words on clothing, and unwelcome comments and repartee.

- Touching and any other bodily contact such as scratching or patting a coworker’s back, grabbing an employee around the waiste, or interfering with an employee’s ability to move.

- Repeated requests for dates that are turned down or unwanted flirting.

Tags: sex, discrimination

City bank sued for £3m over 'your breasts are honkers' comments

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:25:04 GMT

clipped by: clip-on-tie

Clip Source: www.metro.co.uk

Two women are suing Nomura for sex and race discrimination and unfair dismissal

By LONDON LITE - Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Compensation claim: Maureen Murphy (left) and Anna Francis

Two City high-fliers who claim they were hounded out of their jobs by sexist Japanese bosses are suing a leading investment bank for £3m.

One alleges that a woman trader had her breasts referred to as 'honkers' during a meeting.

She also says a male colleague claimed women belonged “at home cleaning the floors”.

Miss Murphy, a senior analyst earning £55,000 a year, and Anna Francis, 37, a director on £250,000 including bonus, had worked in Asian equities sales at Lehman Brothers in Canary Wharf before the bank collapsed in September last year.

The two women moved to Nomura as part of a buyout by the Japanese bank and expected equally prominent roles.

But they claim sexist Japanese bosses withheld work and fired them because they were female and non-Japanese.

Clip Source: www.copytaste.com

via

Tags: nomura, japan, indecent, awful, sexist, gross, idiot men

The Federalist No. 10

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 12:18:19 GMT

clipped by: katsteevns
clipper's remarks: Daily Advertiser
Thursday, November 22, 1787
[James Madison]

Clip Source: www.constitution.org

Hence it is that such democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.

But the most common and durable source of factions has been the various and unequal distribution of property. Those who hold and those who are without property have ever formed distinct interests in society. Those who are creditors, and those who are debtors, fall under a like discrimination. A landed interest, a manufacturing interest, a mercantile interest, a moneyed interest, with many lesser interests, grow up of necessity in civilized nations, and divide them into different classes, actuated by different sentiments and views.

The Federalist No. 10

Daily Advertiser
Thursday, November 22, 1787
[James Madison]

Clinton Denounces Proposed 'Defamation of Religions' Policies

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:53:38 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.christianpost.com

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton voiced strong opposition Monday to proposed U.N. resolutions on “defamation of religions,” saying that such policies would restrict free speech.

In opening remarks for the release of the State Department’s Annual Report on International Religious Freedom, Clinton said that while some claim so-called defamation of religions policies would help protect freedom of religion, she “strongly disagree[s].”

“The United States will always seek to counter negative stereotypes of individuals based on their religion and will stand against discrimination and persecution,” Clinton stated. “But an individual’s ability to practice his or her religion has no bearing on others’ freedom of speech.”

The protection of speech about religion and religious discourse is important in a world with many different faith beliefs, asserted the high-ranking U.S. diplomat.

Tags: religion, belief, free speech, un

Army vet wins $4.3 million verdict

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:18:51 GMT

clipped by: Jacob173
clipper's remarks: Should come out of the boss and co-workers pay.

Clip Source: www.freep.com

Army vet wins $4.3 million verdict

A former Michigan soldier who lost his hand after an explosion while trying to disarm a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2004 won a $4.3 million verdict today against the U.S. Army in a disability discrimination civil case.

“He proved that the Army created a hostile work environment for him because of his disability.” said Royal Oak attorney Kevin Carlson who won the case along with attorney Joseph Golden.

The attorneys represented James McKelvey, 38, of Macomb Township, who said in a discrimination lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit that a boss and coworker derided him as "the cripple, " refused to provide him with computer equipment and door handles to accommodate his disabilities, excluded him from meetings and told him to stay in his office cubicle for months on end.

Parisians ashamed of being from Paris

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:21:27 GMT

clipped by: infidel70
clipper's remarks: The whole affair came to light when the French authorities decided to introduce new license plates that displayed the symbol of the country's departments, and not only the number of the department as previously. Moreover, the French can now choose any department they like- it does not have to be their actual place of residence. It soon turned out that the residents of Paris preferred to choose plates other than Parisian ones. As a result, the number of Parisian plates has declined by 60% since April 2009.

The decline in license plates has also been reported in Hauts-de-Seine department near Paris. It is a place where the richest people in the country live. Also many residents of Seine-Saint-Denis, one of the poorest departments near Paris, have decided to hide their place of residence, as "bad address" often makes it difficult to get a good job.

Clip Source: opentravel.com

Considering their reputation of the world's most aggressive, unpleasant, and unfriendly people, it is hardly a surprise that Parisians try to hide they are from Paris. Recently the France Info radio has advanced a thesis that Parisians are actually ashamed of their local identity. How is that possible? Apparently, Paris, the cultural iconic capital of France, is considered by both the French and visitors to be pervaded with the most stressed and arrogant people in the entire country, if not in the world.

The Parisians claim that they do not feel welcome in other regions of the country and they are often treated with prejudice or discrimination by the French living in different departments.

Do you think Parisians deserve such a bad reputation? Is it really so bad or are they just being a bit paranoid?

Exposing the Colour of Prejudice

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:14:03 GMT

clipped by: sahara
clipper's remarks: John Howard Griffin was a remarkable man. As a Texan teenager who found himself in France at the outbreak of World War II, he helped to smuggle Jewish children to safety and freedom.

He then served with distinction in the US Air Force in the Pacific. And then, after the war - when illness struck him blind for 10 years while he was still relatively young - he became a prolific writer.

It was after his sight returned that he hit upon the idea of Black Like Me, the work which is his most important legacy.

The whole business of racial impersonation might make us feel vaguely uncomfortable now, but in 1959 a black writer simply could not have found an audience for such a graphic portrayal of African-American grievance.
Griffin's grim adventures as a black man in a white man's world are worth reading. They remain a set text for many American high school children.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

How much does the colour of our skin make us who we are, and shape the way the world sees us?

The answer to that question may seem obvious now after decades of slow and uneven progress towards racial equality and enlightenment.

Griffin exposed the discrimination prevalent in the Deep South

It would have seemed very different 50 years ago to the white Texan writer John Howard Griffin, when he embarked on one of the most remarkable one-man social and psychological experiments in history.

Griffin was the white man who fooled hundreds of Americans into believing he was a black man as he travelled through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia - and who felt at first hand the bigotry that meant.

When he toured the South lecturing to white audiences about his experiences as a black man, he was threatened, intimidated and, on at least one occasion, seriously beaten.

In the American Deep South in 1959, to be black was to be despised - to be treated as something less than human.

Report: Franken's Rape Amendment May Be Stripped From Defense Bill

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 10:42:08 GMT

clipped by: chestnut501
clipper's remarks: In a psychological sense, this is the equivalent of forcing us to rape each other, demoralizing us and lowering our self-esteem because we will have allowed this to happen.

Clip Source: tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com

The anti-rape amendment introduced by Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) may be stripped from the defense appropriations bill by Appropriations chairman Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI), the Huffington Post reports.

Multiple sources told reporter Sam Stein that the provision -- which would prohibit the Pentagon from hiring contractors whose employment contracts prevent employees from taking work-related allegations of rape and discrimination to court -- is being targeted by defense contractors. Their lobbyists have reportedly flooded Inouye's office, worried they may lose contracts or open themselves up to lawsuits.

One source said it "looks increasingly likely" that Inouye will remove the amendment.

Tags: al franken, daniel inouye, department of defense, rape, white house

Strong link between obesity and depression

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 03:35:02 GMT

clipped by: kjames045
clipper's remarks: Overall well being of a person compose of mental, physical and emotional fitness. Science has yet to discover how each relates. Can a person running 5 miles a day happier than a person who sits in front of the tv all day?

Clip Source: www.worldwidehealth.com

Strong link between obesity and depression

Doctors should pay more attention to the link between common mental illness and obesity in patients because the two health problems are closely linked, according to researchers at the University of Adelaide.

"Although the topic is largely unexplored, several psychosocial, lifestyle and physiological factors may be involved in the complex inter-relationship between obesity and mental illness," he says.

"Obese people - especially those who perceive themselves as being overweight - often experience weight-related stigma and discrimination, and consequently present with symptoms of low self esteem, low self worth, and guilt. Obesity is associated with socioeconomic disadvantage and low levels of physical activity, both of which are strong predictors of depression.

Tags: fitness, obesity, depression