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Chris Grayling, the Justice Secretary, could be dragged into a messy legal battle after a Muslim family demanded that a “non-believer” who was buried next to their relation be exhumed for religious reasons. The unnamed Muslim family raised objections after an 89-year-old Roman Catholic man was buried in a plot adjacent to their relation. Shadrack Smith was buried in the multi-denominational Lychgate Lane Cemetery in Burbage, Leicestershire, following his funeral on Jan 30. Mr Smith had lived in an official gipsy camp in nearby Aston Firs for more than 20 years, and in excess of 400 relations and friends attended...

This is so expected.  First, the “gay pride” flag was flown over the U.S. Embassy in Madrid.  Then it was Israel’s turn to hoist the rainbow ensign over the embassy in Tel Aviv.  Now, Secretary of State John Kerry will appoint an LGBT special envoy. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said US Secretary of State John Kerry would “soon” make the appointment. “It will be an openly gay foreign service officer. We don’t have a finalized name yet. But we will announce soon,” Harf said. Resume qualifications for this position:  be openly gay.  It’s not like there’s any discrimination going...

Today's lead editorial in The New York Times came out in strong support of Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed for firing the city's Fire Chief, Kelvin Cochran. Cochran, as you may know was fired recently for having “antigay views.” Christian author and professor, Denny Burk, took issue with the NYT editorial on his blog, arguing that if the Atlanta Fire Chief’s termination isn’t a religious liberty case, then nothing is. Extensive details about this curious case of termination are easy to find elsewhere. For instance, see this Christianheadlines.com article, click the related links throughout this post, and view Chief Cochran’s own...

It was only a matter of time before it actually happened. In Colorado, where Masterpiece Cakeshop has been cited by the state for refusing to make wedding cakes for gay couples, a man has filed a complaint with the state that a different bakery has refused to make him a cake, violating public accommodation laws. In this case, though, the man claims religious discrimination for a bakery's refusal to make a cake that's not quite so love-affirming. ...."He wanted us to write God hates …" she trails. "Just really radical stuff against gays." "He wouldn't allow me to make a...

Ex-CIA Officer Indicted for Leaking Classified Info to New York Slimes Reporter Jeffrey Sterling, a former CIA officer, was indicted today for leaking classified information to New York Times reporter James Risen. The indictment shows that the federal government had access to their e-mail and phone contacts going back several years. Sterling served on the Iran desk of the CIA in the 1990s, and oversaw a classified program aimed at sabotaging the development of its nuclear programming. He left the CIA in 2000 and sued for racial discrimination (he is African American) in a case that went all the way...

A former CIA officer was arrested on Thursday on charges of illegally disclosing national defense information about Iran to a New York Times reporter who wrote a book. The U.S. Justice Department said Jeffrey Sterling, 43, was charged with six counts of unauthorized disclosure of national defense information and one count of unlawfully keeping national defense information, mail fraud, unauthorized conveyance of government property and obstructing justice.

He seemed like a shoe in for the job of Director of Public Health for the state of Georgia. A medical doctor and PhD, Dr. Eric Walsh had been thoroughly vetted for the position in over 100 pages of documentation praising the doctor being hired by the agency. That is, until Dr. Walsh’s Christian sermons were uncovered. In a law suit filed by Liberty Institute on behalf of Dr. Walsh, it is alleged that Department of Public Health, DPH, Human Resource decision-makers decided not to hire the doctor after viewing You Tube recordings of his sermons. Dr. Walsh’s Christian faith...

San Jose State University in California has intimated Ratio Christi, a grassroots campus student ministry, of its decision to "de-recognized" the campus chapter as punishment for the ministry's "discriminatory" policy for leadership positions. School officials wrote to Ratio Christi, explaining their action is as per a new California State University Executive Order on how an organization selects its officers, the ministry revealed on its website this week. The ministry requires its chapter officers to be Christian and holding biblical beliefs, and the State of California now deems that as "discriminatory." "De-recognition" means the school chapter of the ministry is no...

In the closely watched Supreme Court case, EEOC v. Abercrombie, the Becket Fund a brief debunking Abercrombie's claim that a Muslim job applicant should have explained during her job interview that she was wearing a headscarf for religious reasons in order to be protected by anti-discrimination laws. "Abercrombie's claim is both an absurd and dangerous precedent for all people of faith seeking employment," said Eric Baxter, Senior Counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. "Justice may be blind, but that doesn't mean employers can cover their eyes. A job applicant does not have to bring a 'Look at me...

NEW YORK — The highest-ranking Hispanic woman in a management position at Major League Baseball headquarters said in a lawsuit on Thursday she has faced discrimination there for two decades. Sylvia Lind’s lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court, seeks unspecified damages for what she describes as a failure by the league to consider, interview, appoint and promote qualified Hispanic women to managerial and executive positions. Lind, 48, says the league has created a hostile work environment for her because of her age.

For decades, courts have been struggling to reconcile two conflicting theories of what constitutes unlawful discrimination. The first theory, often called “disparate treatment,” reflects the commonly understood meaning of “discrimination.” Under this theory, a government action discriminates—violates the principle of equal protection or equality under the law—if it explicitly or implicitly treats members of one race or other special group differently from others. Examples of disparate treatment include Jim Crow’s black codes, university admission caps and quotas, and policies excluding women from certain positions.The second theory, known as “disparate impact,” argues that the definition of discrimination should be much broader...

In a dispute that could have greater legal implications, a local pro-life organization filed suit Wednesday against a landlord, whose Vacaville office building houses Planned Parenthood, alleging religious discrimination after the owner first agreed to lease space to the group and then reneged, saying only that their pro-life clinic was “not a good fit.” Pacific Justice Institute, a nonprofit legal defense organization, filed the complaint on behalf of Alpha Pregnancy Clinics of Northern California in Solano County Superior Court, alleging breach of contract and violation of the organization’s civil rights. Alpha, a licensed medical clinic in the state of California,...

Organizers of a recent Ferguson protest at the University of Missouri requested “only people of color” take part in the event’s “die-in,” one element of a larger demonstration that prompted at least two classes to be shelved so students could participate. “During the demonstration we will hold a ‘die-in’ in the student center. We are asking that only people of color be the ones to do so,” event organizers stated in an email obtained by The College Fix. “We are asking non-people of color to stand holding hands in solidarity.” “The ‘die-in’ is meant to represent black bodies that are...

For five hours, numerous people spoke about whether transgender men and women should be protected under the human rights ordinance in Miami-Dade County....

We hear very little about the treatment of Christians in Israel. Among the terrible persecution that Christians face in Muslim countries in the Middle East and elsewhere, Israel is usually portrayed as a beacon of tolerance where Christians are free to follow their faith without fear of being killed. Everything is relative. Looking at what happens in Israel's neighbouring countries, where Christians are forced to convert to Islam, humiliate themselves by becoming second-class citizens and paying the extortionist jizya tax, die or flee, Israel may indeed seem a good place for them to live. Israel has no policy of...

The Justice Department reached an agreement Monday with Peapod, a popular Internet grocer, to settle claims that the company’s website discriminated against people with disabilities.The agreement forces Peapod LLC and parent company Ahold USA to update www.peapod.com so assistive technologies like text-to-speech and Braille displays function with the site.The DOJ hailed the action as ensuring that anti-discrimination laws under the Americans with Disabilities Act apply to Internet businesses as well as brick and mortar stores.“This agreement ensures that people with disabilities will have an equal opportunity to independently and conveniently shop online for groceries,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita...

COURT HOUSE – Colin Flaherty is a noted journalist for 30 years, whose works have appeared in major newspapers including The New York Times, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times, and has been published in 1,000 sites around the world and received 50 journalism awards. Flaherty made an appearance Nov. 3 at Atlantic Cape Community College to speak about black-on-white violence, a topic, he stated, which does not receive much press. The subject makes editors uncomfortable, Flaherty said. Liberals, he said, cringe at the idea of black-on-white violence and police underreport it. Flaherty documented cases in Chicago where Mayor Rahm...

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen admitted that it didn’t exercise much effort to track down emails cited in an investigation of IRS abuses involving harassment of conservative political organizations. “Look, we were between a rock and a hard place,” Koskinen contended. “On the one hand, we have Congress and the Courts demanding we produce these documents. On the other hand, some very powerful and dangerous people were very determined that these documents never be found.” “If we defy Congress and the Courts the worst case scenario is we get held in contempt,” Koskinen pointed out. “It’s embarrassing. We look like crooks...

A librarian who formerly worked at the Riverhead Free Library has filed a lawsuit saying that she was fired because she did not discriminate against white people. Riverhead Free Library is located in Long Island, New York. Diane Woodcheke says she was fired after she questioned her boss's decision to only hire minorities. Her boss told her that “my people have been kept down,” and, therefore, only minorities should be hired at the library. Woodcheke questioned this, telling her boss that "discrimination is illegal." Woodcheke claims that her boss then mocked her and then fired her soon after. “Discounting people...

A federal judge overturned the Obama administration’s “desperation” move to try to find more ways to prove discrimination in housing in a decision Monday that also delivered a searing rebuke to Thomas Perez, a Cabinet official whom liberals are pushing to be the next attorney general. Judge Richard J. Leon ruled that the administration cannot rely on “disparate impact” to judge discrimination, dealing a blow to civil rights groups that said the analytical tool gave them more room to file discrimination cases. Potentially just as important for President Obama’s postelection moves was the rebuke Judge Leon delivered to Mr. Perez,...