The Washington Post
By JENNIFER LOVEN
The Associated Press
Thursday, July 2, 2009
9:33 PM
WASHINGTON -- Days from his first Moscow summit, President Barack Obama declared Thursday that former Russian President Vladimir Putin "still has a lot of sway" in his nation and needs an in-person reminder the Cold War is over.
On next week's trip, Obama will meet not only with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev but with Putin, the prime minister who hand-picked Medvedev as his successor. Said Obama: "I think that it's important that even as we move forward with President Medvedev that Putin understand that the old Cold War approaches to U.S.-Russian relations is outdated. ... Putin has one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new."
In a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press, Obama also:
In light of recent Supreme Court cases dealing with highly charged questions about the nation's racial progress, said the high court was "moving the ball" away from affirmative action but noted the justices had not foreclosed the continued use of racial preferences in hiring and college admissions, which he said he supports in some circumstances. In any case he said affirmative action is neither the panacea - nor the problem - that it's often made out to be. ...
Full Story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/02/AR2009070201793_2.html
Thursday, July 2, 2009
All for Wearing a Hijab
Inside Higher Ed
July 2, 2009
Slma Shelbayah always wanted to be a Middle East television analyst. Now the former Georgia State University doctoral student and visiting instructor at the university's Middle East Institute is finding herself in the media for a different reason -- discrimination against her because of her Middle Eastern background.Georgia State University is coming under scrutiny after the head of its Middle East Institute stepped down Wednesday, asserting in an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint that both she and Shelbayah had been mistreated after an incident of racism. Dona Stewart, who is also a tenured professor of geography, alleges that after Shelbayah was harassed by a professor for wearing a traditional Islamic hijab, they were both subjected to a bout of hostile actions by the university. The EEOC is currently evaluating separate but related complaints filed in by Shelbayah in November and Stewart in January."As professors, we are in powerful positions," said Stewart, who has been tenured since 2002 and worked at Georgia State since 1996. "We have an obligation not to abuse power, and in this case the professor clearly did that. I am simply not willing to sit by and watch this happen, and I'm shocked that our institution is willing to do so."The chain of events began last August after Mary Stuckey, a professor of communications and graduate director for the department, was said to have made discriminatory comments about Shelbayah. Stuckey allegedly asked Shelbayah whether she had bombs underneath her hijab and made other references to her carrying bombs. After the incident, and another case where Stuckey made similar racist remarks, Shelbayah filed a grievance within the university, aided by Stewart. After going through the formal complaint process, Shelbayah believed that the issue had been worked out between her and Stuckey.She wrote in a September 7 e-mail to the communications department chair, which was included in Stewart's EEOC complaint, that "I want you to know that this incident has touched me personally on several levels, but in the end of it all, I feel that it has left me with more positive than negative! I feel that I've grown and developed through it all! I also want to say that Dr. Stuckey and I both feel that it has only brought us to a better understanding of each other and has also strengthened our relationship and connection with one another."A day later, the associate dean of Georgia State's College of Arts and Sciences informed Shelbayah that she could not remain a visiting instructor while also being a graduate student in the department of communications. Though she had been admitted into the Ph.D. program with the university's full endorsement that she would also be a visiting instructor -- and her previous office-mate had done both as well -- she was told that unwritten policies disallowed such a practice, Shelbayah said.
Full Story: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/07/02/discrimination
July 2, 2009
Slma Shelbayah always wanted to be a Middle East television analyst. Now the former Georgia State University doctoral student and visiting instructor at the university's Middle East Institute is finding herself in the media for a different reason -- discrimination against her because of her Middle Eastern background.Georgia State University is coming under scrutiny after the head of its Middle East Institute stepped down Wednesday, asserting in an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint that both she and Shelbayah had been mistreated after an incident of racism. Dona Stewart, who is also a tenured professor of geography, alleges that after Shelbayah was harassed by a professor for wearing a traditional Islamic hijab, they were both subjected to a bout of hostile actions by the university. The EEOC is currently evaluating separate but related complaints filed in by Shelbayah in November and Stewart in January."As professors, we are in powerful positions," said Stewart, who has been tenured since 2002 and worked at Georgia State since 1996. "We have an obligation not to abuse power, and in this case the professor clearly did that. I am simply not willing to sit by and watch this happen, and I'm shocked that our institution is willing to do so."The chain of events began last August after Mary Stuckey, a professor of communications and graduate director for the department, was said to have made discriminatory comments about Shelbayah. Stuckey allegedly asked Shelbayah whether she had bombs underneath her hijab and made other references to her carrying bombs. After the incident, and another case where Stuckey made similar racist remarks, Shelbayah filed a grievance within the university, aided by Stewart. After going through the formal complaint process, Shelbayah believed that the issue had been worked out between her and Stuckey.She wrote in a September 7 e-mail to the communications department chair, which was included in Stewart's EEOC complaint, that "I want you to know that this incident has touched me personally on several levels, but in the end of it all, I feel that it has left me with more positive than negative! I feel that I've grown and developed through it all! I also want to say that Dr. Stuckey and I both feel that it has only brought us to a better understanding of each other and has also strengthened our relationship and connection with one another."A day later, the associate dean of Georgia State's College of Arts and Sciences informed Shelbayah that she could not remain a visiting instructor while also being a graduate student in the department of communications. Though she had been admitted into the Ph.D. program with the university's full endorsement that she would also be a visiting instructor -- and her previous office-mate had done both as well -- she was told that unwritten policies disallowed such a practice, Shelbayah said.
Full Story: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/07/02/discrimination
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Reverse discrimination ruling leaves confusion
San Francisco Chronicle
By DAVE COLLINS, Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
The Supreme Court ruling in favor of white New Haven firefighters who said they were victims of reverse discrimination will probably leave employers confused, civil rights advocates and labor attorneys say.
The court ruled 5-4 Monday that the white firefighters were denied promotions unfairly because of their race, reversing a decision that high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed as a federal appeals court judge.
The majority of justices said the city was wrong to scrap a promotion exam because no African-Americans and only two Hispanic firefighters were likely to be made lieutenants or captains based on the results. The city said it had acted to avoid a lawsuit from minorities.
While the court upheld that employers still have an obligation under civil rights laws to avoid discrimination in hiring, promoting and compensating workers, the ruling creates confusing standards on how to meet that obligation, said Wade Henderson, president and chief executive of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.
"Employers will now face a convoluted minefield when attempting to protect workers from discrimination," Henderson said. "Employers are looking for bright lines ... they're looking for clear directives to help them better understand how they can engage in nondiscriminatory decisions."
The ruling is confusing, Henderson said, because the high court seemed to say that while New Haven officials tried to avoid discrimination, throwing out the test was discriminatory. "It puts employers in a real quandary," he said.
The Obama administration should direct the government's civil rights agencies to offer guidance on the ruling, said Shirley Wilcher, executive director of the American Association for Affirmative Action.
"In the meantime, we're scratching our heads," she said. "We're concerned about the impact on employers who want to comply with the law and do not want to discriminate ... and it's not clear how to do that."
Full Story: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/06/29/national/w070244D76.DTL
By DAVE COLLINS, Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
The Supreme Court ruling in favor of white New Haven firefighters who said they were victims of reverse discrimination will probably leave employers confused, civil rights advocates and labor attorneys say.
The court ruled 5-4 Monday that the white firefighters were denied promotions unfairly because of their race, reversing a decision that high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed as a federal appeals court judge.
The majority of justices said the city was wrong to scrap a promotion exam because no African-Americans and only two Hispanic firefighters were likely to be made lieutenants or captains based on the results. The city said it had acted to avoid a lawsuit from minorities.
While the court upheld that employers still have an obligation under civil rights laws to avoid discrimination in hiring, promoting and compensating workers, the ruling creates confusing standards on how to meet that obligation, said Wade Henderson, president and chief executive of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.
"Employers will now face a convoluted minefield when attempting to protect workers from discrimination," Henderson said. "Employers are looking for bright lines ... they're looking for clear directives to help them better understand how they can engage in nondiscriminatory decisions."
The ruling is confusing, Henderson said, because the high court seemed to say that while New Haven officials tried to avoid discrimination, throwing out the test was discriminatory. "It puts employers in a real quandary," he said.
The Obama administration should direct the government's civil rights agencies to offer guidance on the ruling, said Shirley Wilcher, executive director of the American Association for Affirmative Action.
"In the meantime, we're scratching our heads," she said. "We're concerned about the impact on employers who want to comply with the law and do not want to discriminate ... and it's not clear how to do that."
Full Story: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/06/29/national/w070244D76.DTL
Harvard program targets diversity at highest levels
The Boston Globe
By Dave Copeland, Globe Correspondent July 1, 2009
Minority executives find support and direction from faculty and one another
Ursula M. Burns takes over as chief executive of Xerox Corp. today, making her the first African-American woman to head a Standard & Poor’s 100 company. Harvard Business School professor David A. Thomas is impressed by Burns’s ascension. But not that much.
“When you consider all the women of color that went into the pipeline for these jobs 25 or 30 years ago, having just one rise to the top means we have a long way to go,’’ said Thomas, who is also the business school’s faculty chair.
Last week, Thomas and his colleagues at Harvard kicked off Next Generation Executive, a program aimed at improving that track record in corporate America. Nearly 30 minority executives from around the country were invited to be part of the first class and spend a week attending intensive sessions at the school aimed at helping them advance even higher. The sessions will be followed up with six months of coaching and culminate with a retreat in Naples, Fla., in December.
“It’s always healthy to get together to exchange ideas with people who are facing similar challenges,’’ said Rudy Wynter, a senior vice president for customers and markets at National Grid PLC in New York, an electric utility. Wynter, who is African-American, was one of 28 executives invited to participate in the program. “Clearly, we’re learning from the faculty at Harvard, but we’re also learning from each other.’’
The Partnership Inc., a Boston-based workplace diversity organization, is partnering with the school to sponsor Next Generation Executive. While in Cambridge, the executives participated in sessions on subjects ranging from managing talent to emerging markets. The costs were paid by the executives’ companies.
“There’s a misconception that there’s not enough talent in the pipeline,’’ said Beverly Edgehill, president and chief executive of Partnership. “We see that the talent is there - what we needed to do was bring them together and get them poised to take the next step.’’
But Lee H. Igel, an assistant professor at New York University who specializes in management and organizational behavior, said programs like Next Generation Executive “may be based on old assumptions.’’ Igel stopped short of proclaiming that corporate America is now “post-racial,’’ but he said everything from Burns’s appointment to the election of Barack Obama as president show significant progress has been made in breaking down racial barriers.
Full Story: http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/07/01/harvard_program_targets_diversity_at_highest_corporate_levels/
By Dave Copeland, Globe Correspondent July 1, 2009
Minority executives find support and direction from faculty and one another
Ursula M. Burns takes over as chief executive of Xerox Corp. today, making her the first African-American woman to head a Standard & Poor’s 100 company. Harvard Business School professor David A. Thomas is impressed by Burns’s ascension. But not that much.
“When you consider all the women of color that went into the pipeline for these jobs 25 or 30 years ago, having just one rise to the top means we have a long way to go,’’ said Thomas, who is also the business school’s faculty chair.
Last week, Thomas and his colleagues at Harvard kicked off Next Generation Executive, a program aimed at improving that track record in corporate America. Nearly 30 minority executives from around the country were invited to be part of the first class and spend a week attending intensive sessions at the school aimed at helping them advance even higher. The sessions will be followed up with six months of coaching and culminate with a retreat in Naples, Fla., in December.
“It’s always healthy to get together to exchange ideas with people who are facing similar challenges,’’ said Rudy Wynter, a senior vice president for customers and markets at National Grid PLC in New York, an electric utility. Wynter, who is African-American, was one of 28 executives invited to participate in the program. “Clearly, we’re learning from the faculty at Harvard, but we’re also learning from each other.’’
The Partnership Inc., a Boston-based workplace diversity organization, is partnering with the school to sponsor Next Generation Executive. While in Cambridge, the executives participated in sessions on subjects ranging from managing talent to emerging markets. The costs were paid by the executives’ companies.
“There’s a misconception that there’s not enough talent in the pipeline,’’ said Beverly Edgehill, president and chief executive of Partnership. “We see that the talent is there - what we needed to do was bring them together and get them poised to take the next step.’’
But Lee H. Igel, an assistant professor at New York University who specializes in management and organizational behavior, said programs like Next Generation Executive “may be based on old assumptions.’’ Igel stopped short of proclaiming that corporate America is now “post-racial,’’ but he said everything from Burns’s appointment to the election of Barack Obama as president show significant progress has been made in breaking down racial barriers.
Full Story: http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/07/01/harvard_program_targets_diversity_at_highest_corporate_levels/
Ex-Bingham Associate Files Date Rape Suit
The AmLaw Daily
Posted by Brian Baxter
June 30, 2009 1:53 PM
Months after a Massachusetts state agency dismissed a sexual harassment and retaliation complaint against Bingham McCutchen filed by a former associate, the firm has been slapped with a civil suit by Michelle Moor, who is seeking damages for allegedly being drugged at a holiday party by a Bingham staffer.
Courthouse News reports that Moor filed an 18-page complaint in Suffolk County Court in Boston last week alleging that she was drugged with Tegretol--an anti-seizure medication that causes memory loss when mixed with alcohol--while attending a lunch party with about 100 other Bingham employees at Lucia Ristorante & Bar in Boston's North End in December 2007.
The Am Law Daily reported on Moor's allegations in May 2008 when the former litigation associate claimed that during an office outing at another Boston restaurant called Grill 23 a month later, a litigation support employee told her that he liked to have sex with unconscious women and knew how to get "roofies," a slang term for the date rape drug Rohypnol. Moor also claims that at least one other female associate was drugged and raped by a Bingham employee the previous year.
Bingham vigorously denied Moor's allegations at the time, stating that the firm had tried to conduct an investigation of the staff member in question but was stymied by Moor's request to keep the incident under wraps. The firm also stated that Moor's rape allegations about another Bingham associate were "fundamentally inaccurate."
Full Story: http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/amlawdaily/2009/06/ex-bingham-associate-files-date-rape-suit.html
Posted by Brian Baxter
June 30, 2009 1:53 PM
Months after a Massachusetts state agency dismissed a sexual harassment and retaliation complaint against Bingham McCutchen filed by a former associate, the firm has been slapped with a civil suit by Michelle Moor, who is seeking damages for allegedly being drugged at a holiday party by a Bingham staffer.
Courthouse News reports that Moor filed an 18-page complaint in Suffolk County Court in Boston last week alleging that she was drugged with Tegretol--an anti-seizure medication that causes memory loss when mixed with alcohol--while attending a lunch party with about 100 other Bingham employees at Lucia Ristorante & Bar in Boston's North End in December 2007.
The Am Law Daily reported on Moor's allegations in May 2008 when the former litigation associate claimed that during an office outing at another Boston restaurant called Grill 23 a month later, a litigation support employee told her that he liked to have sex with unconscious women and knew how to get "roofies," a slang term for the date rape drug Rohypnol. Moor also claims that at least one other female associate was drugged and raped by a Bingham employee the previous year.
Bingham vigorously denied Moor's allegations at the time, stating that the firm had tried to conduct an investigation of the staff member in question but was stymied by Moor's request to keep the incident under wraps. The firm also stated that Moor's rape allegations about another Bingham associate were "fundamentally inaccurate."
Full Story: http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/amlawdaily/2009/06/ex-bingham-associate-files-date-rape-suit.html
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