Friday, November 8, 2013
CONTACT ME AT: manessmorrison2@yahoo.com


News Clips For The Day


Israel 'utterly rejects' potential Iran nuclear deal; Kerry heads to talks in Geneva – NBC


By David Stamp and Alastair Macdonald, Reuters

The State Department says John Kerry's unplanned trip to Geneva is intended to assist in ongoing nuclear talks with Iran, although some officials say a deal may already be done. NBC's Ann Curry reports.

GENEVA - Israel rejected out of hand on Friday a mooted deal between world powers and Iran, just as Secretary of State John Kerry prepared to join nuclear talks that aim to nail down an interim agreement on the decade-old standoff.
Western diplomats say that a deal at the negotiations in Geneva is far from certain, and it would in any case mark only the first step in a long process towards settling the dispute over Tehran's nuclear program.

Nevertheless, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran would be getting "the deal of the century" in the talks between Tehran and six powers.
"Israel utterly rejects it and what I am saying is shared by many in the region, whether or not they express that publicly," Netanyahu told reporters.
"Israel is not obliged by this agreement and Israel will do everything it needs to do to defend itself and the security of its people," he said before meeting Kerry in Jerusalem on Friday.

Israel has repeatedly warned that it might strike Iran if it did not halt the nuclear program, accusing Tehran of seeking to build atomic weapons. Iran says its various nuclear facilities are geared only to civilian needs.
Tehran is trying to win respite at the talks from international sanctions which are strangling its economy. The United States has said world powers will consider relaxing some of the sanctions if Iran takes verifiable steps to limit its nuclear program.
Iran and the powers are discussing a partial suspension deal covering only a limited period. It would be the first stage in a process involving many rounds of negotiations in the next few months aimed at securing a permanent agreement.
The core of that first stage would be freeing up cash frozen in foreign accounts for years, giving Iran access to funds.

After meeting Netanyahu, Kerry boarded a jet bound for Geneva, where Iran and six world powers are holding negotiations. These are the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council - the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain - plus Germany.
Kerry's unplanned trip to Geneva was first reported by NBC News' Ann Curry.
Israel has called for the sanctions to remain in place until Iran has dismantled its entire uranium enrichment program. "I understand that the Iranians are walking around very satisfied in Geneva - as well they should be, because they got everything and paid nothing," Netanyahu said.
Kerry will fly to the Swiss city at the invitation of European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in "an effort to help narrow differences" in the negotiations, a senior State Department official said.
Ashton is coordinating talks with Iran on behalf of the six.
After the first day of meetings set for Thursday and Friday, both sides said progress had been made.
President Barack Obama said the international community could slightly ease sanctions against Iran in the early stages of negotiating a comprehensive deal.

"There is the possibility of a phased agreement in which the first phase would be us ... halting any advances on their nuclear program ... and putting in place a way where we can provide them some very modest relief, but keeping the sanctions architecture in place," he said in an interview with NBC News.
Kerry said earlier in Israel that Tehran would need to prove its atomic activities were peaceful, and that Washington would not make a "bad deal, that leaves any of our friends or ourselves exposed to a nuclear weapons program".
"We're asking them to step up and provide a complete freeze over where they are today," he said on Thursday.

In Geneva, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi was cautious on the chances of a deal. "Too soon to say," he told reporters on Thursday after the first day of talks.
"I'm a bit optimistic," he added. "We are still working. We are in a very sensitive phase. We are engaged in real negotiations."
The fact that an agreement may finally be within reach after a decade of frustrated efforts and hostility between Iran and the West was a sign of a dramatic shift in Tehran's foreign policy since the election of a relative moderate, Hassan Rouhani, as Iranian president in June.
Iran and the United States have had no diplomatic ties since soon after the 1979 Islamic Revolution that overthrew the U.S.-backed monarchy, and their mutual mistrust and enmity have posed the biggest obstacle to any breakthrough nuclear accord. 


Though I empathize with the Israeli determination to live in their homeland again, and I can see that there are many potential enemies around them, I have seen them balk repeatedly at efforts the US has made to achieve a peaceful and permanent solution to the hostilities in the Middle East. Palestine has also been averse to bargaining in honesty. Between the two of them, the world remains endangered by the potential of a hot war, even including the use of nuclear weapons. Getting Iran to approach a peaceful relationship with the West and to guarantee that they will refrain from making nuclear weapons is a most desirable goal, and a step toward stability in the Middle East. I am glad to see that the Obama administration is not knuckling under to Israel in their predictable position of obstinacy.




Obama: 'No way' I would have dumped Biden from 2012 ticket
By Carrie Dann, NBC News

President Barack Obama would have refused to take Vice President Joe Biden off the Democratic ticket in 2012, he told NBC’s Chuck Todd Thursday, calling Biden “one of the best vice presidents in our history” and saying his selection of the Delaware senator as his running mate was “one of the best decisions that I’ve ever made.”

In an exclusive interview, Obama dismissed a report that his campaign poll-tested dumping Biden in favor of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as would-be leakers trying to “seem important.” But he said he would have flatly rejected the suggestion of removing Biden from his team.
“If they had asked me, I would have said there is no way that I am not running again with Joe Biden,” he said.
The reported consideration of a ticket swap was revealed by authors Mark Halperin and John Heilemann in a new book, Double Down: Game Change 2012.
Calling his second-in-command “a personal friend” and “one of my most important advisors on domestic and foreign policy,” Obama said that he and Biden have since spoken since the book's release and that the vice president knows “I would not be here if it weren’t for the support that I have had from Joe Biden.”
“I like him,” Obama added. “When my back’s up against the wall, he has my back.”


I'm glad to see this confirmation of the bond between President Obama and Joe Biden, after all the press to the contrary. I thought Biden was a very intelligent and fair-minded thinker before he ran for Vice President, and the “gaffs” that he has committed are mistakes of an open personality and not harmful. Even President Obama has spoken hastily a couple of times, and apologized. This most recent situation of Biden's calling the wrong people – twice – looks like his assistants need to research their telephone numbers better, but again it is harmless.





US to require insurers to cover mental health, addiction same as physical illness
By Elizabeth Chuck, Staff Writer, NBC News

The Obama administration will require insurers to cover mental health and addiction just as they cover physical illnesses.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius made the announcement at a mental health conference Friday morning at the Carter Center in Atlanta with former first lady Rosalynn Carter.
"This is the largest expansion of behavioral health coverage in a generation," Sebelius said. "The rule is a reality in part because of the leadership of President Obama, who was committed to getting this done this year."
The administration will post the parity rule for mental health later Friday morning, Sebelius said. 
"There's no question we have to expand access to treatment, services, and support," she said.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.



As far as I'm concerned, it's high time mental health issues were covered by all health insurance. Some type of mental health issue hits most people at some time in their life, if it's only a problem with insomnia or the inability to lose weight. Most people have some trouble with depression and many have fixed ideas that dominate their thinking. They may not consider themselves to have a “problem,” but yet they often join groups that foster wild political or religious ideas. When I go on the Internet I often run into some conspiracy theory website, or a white supremacy group – or even black supremacy – which are, in my mind, examples of disordered thinking. Then, for no apparent reason, they take up a gun and start shooting people. They need medication and therapy.

Insurance companies have, for years, been charging higher and higher prices for their policies and, too often, trying to get out of paying the claims. That ought to be illegal – it is extortion. Even under Obama's plan, apparently, the insurance companies are being allowed to charge much higher prices for their fuller coverage. The government has yet to reign them in, really. They're going to win big on the Affordable Care Plan unless the number of choices that the plan offers can give insureds a real option so they can find a policy they can afford.





Safety advocates: Loophole puts users of generic drugs at risk
Jeff Rossen and Avni Patel TODAY
Viola Purcell can't even drink a bottle of water without choking. She twitches uncontrollably and has trouble breathing and eating. She says it all started after her doctor prescribed a generic drug for acid reflux.
"I was a happy person and I liked to smile, and I can' t smile now," she said, breaking into tears. "There's no smile in there."
She took the prescription drug, metoclopramide, for more than five years, thinking it was safe.
"The doctor told me that 'this is going to make you feel better,'" Purcell said. "But it didn't; it only got worse."
She stopped taking the drug in 2009 after the FDA issued a warning that long-term use of metoclopramide can cause a neurological disorder called tardive dyskinesia, the same condition Purcell now suffers from. So she tried to sue the drugmakers, saying the warning label for her pills was “misleading” and “inadequate”.
But the court threw out her case based on a 2011 Supreme Court ruling. In a 5-4 decision, the justices found generic drugmakers can’t be sued because, under FDA rules, only name-brand drugmakers are responsible for safety warnings. Generics are required to copy the label from the name brand and have no control over what’s on it, so as a result, they can’t be held liable. 
Now, in a potentially big development, the FDA says this is a priority and is preparing to change the rules to improve safety. 


Well, at least the FDA is going to take action on it. It looks to me like the problem is not with the quality of generic drugs as opposed to brand name, but that the label didn't carry a sufficient warning. This time, in addition to requiring generic products to have all proper warnings, the drug itself should surely be taken off the market. It isn't safe.





Home Depot apologizes for racist tweet – NBC
Matt Murray
The company has apologized about a tweet some say was racist. It featured a photo of two African-American men and a man in a gorilla costume playing the drums and read, “Which drummer is not like the others?”
A racist tweet sent from an outside agency landed Home Depot in a hornet’s nest of trouble on Thursday.
Here's a screenshot of the @HomeDepot tweet... pic.twitter.com/R1GmK5Iwv6
— Jonathan Wall (@imfromraleigh) November 7, 2013
The company quickly pulled the tweet and issued an apology after many spoke out on Thursday.
@OfficiallyIce @NAACP We are deeply sorry for the dumb tweet and have deleted it.
— The Home Depot (@HomeDepot) November 7, 2013
They later announced they'd cut ties with the agency and individual responsible. 
We have zero tolerance for anything so stupid and offensive. Deeply sorry. We terminated agency and individual who posted it.
— The Home Depot (@HomeDepot) November 7, 2013
Home Depot is not naming the firm or individual involved in the tweet, but tells NBC News they're reviewing internal policies. 
"We're also closely reviewing our social media procedures to determine how this could have happened, and how to ensure it never happens again.” 
Here's what users had to say in response to the initial tweet:

Another instance from the Daily News about Home Depot:


Worker claims racism at Home Depot
By BRAD A. GREENBERG, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/06/06, 9:00 PM PST |
Antwion Lewis' suffering began with racial slurs about being black. Next came the taunts of two colleagues clad in Klansmen hoods. Finally, hangman's nooses were strategically placed in the Woodland Hills' Home Depot where he worked.
Those were among the allegations included in a racial harassment and discrimination lawsuit that Lewis filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court against The Home Depot, where he worked from April 2002 until he was fired last year, allegedly for complaining about harassment.
"It makes you a little nervous, a little nauseous," said Lewis, 30, of North Hollywood. "I really thought something was going to happen, something was going to go down."
Lewis claims that as the harassment escalated, he repeatedly sent letters to the human-resources department, which ignored his pleas.
"No matter how many times I report it, nothing gets done," the lawsuit quotes from an October 2004 report Lewis filed after allegedly finding a fourth noose.
And the more he complained, he said, the worse the treatment became.
The Home Depot's corporate office would not discuss the case.
"The Home Depot is an equal-opportunity employer and maintains a zero-tolerance policy against discrimination," spokeswoman Kathryn Gallagher said in a prepared statement. "We are extremely disappointed that these allegations are being made, and we look forward to responding to them in the appropriate forum."
The lawsuit was filed on the heels of a former Los Angeles firefighter's racial-harassment claim that highlighted the vastly different perspectives blacks and whites have regarding racism in L.A.
The firefighter, who is black, won a $2.7 million payout from the City Council after his spaghetti was spiked with dog food as a prank.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa vetoed the settlement amid public outrage over the amount, and the council failed to override the veto.
Lewis is not the first to accuse the Woodland Hills' Home Depot of racism. Kamau Barr and Troy Crisp, who are both black, sued in 2004. The case was settled out of court last year for an unspecified amount. Lewis' attorneys, Joshua Piovia-Scott and Randy Renick, represented Barr.
Lewis began working at The Home Depot shortly after moving to L.A. from Indianapolis to pursue a music career. Soon, his supervisor began referring to him as "my n-----," the suit claims, and harassment quickly escalated.
"When I first heard what happened to Mr. Lewis and the other African-American employees at Home Depot, I thought I had been transported to the Deep South 50 or 100 years ago," Piovia-Scott said.
"My history books had come alive, and the Ku Klux Klan was riding again. We were no longer in California in the 21st century but had regressed to a time of extreme violence, racism, hatred and oppression."
But at the Woodland Hills store, a former colleague was skeptical of Lewis' accusations.
"Antwion - are you kidding me?" said Wil Pinto, a special services representative.
"He was like the black sheep. He was sort of the troublemaker of the crew."
brad.greenberg@dailynews.com


When I googled “Home Depot Racist Claims” I came up with a page full of articles, with ten more pages available to open. The above story from the Daily News was only one of them. This recent incident of racial abuse is not new at Home Depot. The title of one article is “Home Depot Founder Virulently Anti-Obama.” That article reads as follows:

Home Depot Founder Virulently Anti-Obama – Could Race Be To Blame?
Author: Wendy Gittleson March 15, 2012 1:53 pm
If billionaire Home Depot mogul, Ken Langone has his way, there will be a new face in the White House come January. That face, he hopes, will belong to fellow mogul, Mitt Romney.
Long before Romney declared his intention to run for the Presidency, Langone regularly expressed his discontent with the Obama administration. His complaints ranged from unsubstantiated policy disagreements to what many would call racist code.
He has supported Democrats like Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), NY Rep. Carolyn Maloney and NY Governor Andrew Cuomo.
So what is so different about President Obama? Naturally, many of Langone’s criticisms have to do with the economy. He has called Obama anti-business and has accused him of promoting class warfare.
Accusations of racism are nothing new to Langone’s company, Home Depot. In 2009, a Haitian immigrant sued Home Depot over allegations that the home improvement company gave preferential treatment to staffing agencies that were Caucasian owned. Ludin Pierre, the plaintiff in the suit, claimed,
Throughout the years, they’ve also been known for gender discrimination and age discrimination.


The above article by Wendy Gittelson is under the web site called “www.addictinginfo.org” and gives much more information than I have included here. To be fair, there is an ad for Lowes Home Improvement on Gittelson's web page, so maybe the article is biased against Home Depot, however there are so many of the articles that I think it's safe to say that social sensitivity is not a part of the Home Depot work atmosphere.




Florida panel rejects bill to repeal 'stand your ground' – NBC

By Daniella Silva, NBC News
A committee of Florida lawmakers rejected a proposal to repeal the ''stand your ground'' self-defense law Thursday, following an hours-long hearing. 
The Florida House of Representatives Criminal Justice Subcommittee held a five-hour hearing starting at 3 p.m.  to vote on a bill repealing the law granting individuals to use deadly force when they believe their life is in jeopardy.
"Today, our state is a safer place and has the lowest crime rate in 42 years," Rep. Marti Coley, a Marianna Republican, said, according to the Tampa Bay Times. "Florida's 'stand your ground' law is solid. It's good and should not be changed."
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Alan Williams (D-Tallahassee), would have specifically repealed the statute allowing individuals the right to “stand their ground” and use deadly force against another instead of retreating under fear of death or great bodily harm. 
The hearing followed protests in July sparked by the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the shooting and death of Trayvon Martin. Protesters, many of whom were students calling themselves the “Dream Defenders,” held a 31-day sit-in at the Florida Capitol calling for Gov. Rick Scott to call a special session to debate the self-defense law.
While the stand your ground” law did not play a role in Zimmerman being found not guilty by a jury, the law did delay police from arresting and charging Zimmerman in Martin’s death.
While the governor refused the protesters' demands, House Speaker Will Weatherford agreed to a hearing on the law during the fall.
Last month, two Florida mothers whose sons were shot to death, including Trayvon Martin's mother Sybrina Fulton, gave emotional testimony at a Florida Senate panel calling on states to alter their laws granting use of deadly force. 
At least 22 states currently have stand-your-ground laws. 
The House committee also considered a separate measure at the hearing involving deadly force -- eliminating punishment for defensively displaying a weapon and firing warning shots.
The panel approved the expansion of the ''stand your ground'' immunity to people who fire a warning shot.
Under the measure, individuals are exempt from Florida’s mandatory minimum sentencing provisions for discharging a firearm when used only as a warning.
The “warning shot” measure comes after Marissa Alexander was sentenced to 20 years in prison by the state’s mandatory sentencing law for firing a shot at a wall during an August 2010 fight with her husband in which she said she feared for her life. Alexander won a new trial following an appeal in September.


At least they have improved the law to exclude the firing of a warning shot as being subject to the mandatory minimum. In Marissa Alexander's case, her husband was not hurt or even menaced, and he was abusing her. This is another case of Florida's socially closed culture, though. There is a school in Jacksonville that is named for a KKK grand dragon, and an attempt to get it renamed recently failed. Former Governor Crist is going to run again as a Democrat for the Florida Governor's race. I hope he gets it. I liked him even when he was a Republican, as a man and a governor.