Tuesday, July 01, 2014
Fired employee suing company over racist paint names
A black worker named Clinton Tucker claims in court that Benjamin Moore paints fired him after his repeated complaints about their "despicable and racially insulting paint colours called 'Clinton Brown' and 'Tucker Chocolate.'"
Tucker, from Newark, New Jersey, is suing the company in Essex County Court.
Tucker, who identifies himself in the 16-page filing as an African-American homosexual male, claims that when he started working at Benjamin Moore in June 2011 in their Digital Marketing department, "it was clear to the plaintiff that he was not part of the traditional culture" of the company.
Tucker says that major problems started for him when he launched the online arm of the company's Main Street Matters campaign. In that campaign, he claims, "one of the colours launched in the Williamsburg colour collection was 'Tucker Chocolate.'" Tucker says that "being a black man named Clinton Tucker, the plaintiff found this to be extremely racially offensive" and that "when this was mentioned at a meeting with at least eight people including his supervisor, this was met with awkward silence." Tucker adds that "in addition, BM has a colour called 'Clinton Brown.'" He claims that "a BM employee pointed this out to the plaintiff and thought it was funny."
Tucker says that in another meeting, the topic of employees' favourite Benjamin Moore colours came up in conversation, at which point he claims he "turned to his supervisor, who at this point was well aware of his disdain, [and] stated, 'well you know my least favourite colours.'" Tucker claims that his supervisor then "turned to her Vice President, Nick Harris, and said,'Well you know about Clinton Brown and Tucker Chocolate.' " He adds that "Harris acted shocked even though it had long been the disgusting and distasteful joke of the group." Tucker says that after this exchange, a colleague asked, "If you think that is bad, what about Confederate Red?" which Tucker says is a colour of paint that is "offensively described by Benjamin [Moore] as a 'timeless and enduring classic.'"
Tucker says he "repeated his disdain and affront to these offensive colour names time and time again," but that "despite [his] repeated complaints and protestations to BM management about these appallingly racial colour names, no action was ever taken by Benjamin Moore to change the names of these colours and they remain on Benjamin Moore's web site and are still sold on the open market with these racially offensive names." Tucker claims that "despite his value, accomplishments and productivity for the company, the plaintiff was repeatedly denied opportunities for promotion and growth by BM due to his race" and that "despite spending countless hours in the office, the plaintiff was only getting paid for a 40-hour week." Tucker claims that Benjamin Moore eventually wrongfully terminated him in March 2014, but "retained Tucker's two white, blonde-haired and blue-eyed subordinates." Tucker is seeking damages for discrimination, retaliation and a hostile work environment. Benjamin Moore did not respond to a request for comment.
Tucker says that major problems started for him when he launched the online arm of the company's Main Street Matters campaign. In that campaign, he claims, "one of the colours launched in the Williamsburg colour collection was 'Tucker Chocolate.'" Tucker says that "being a black man named Clinton Tucker, the plaintiff found this to be extremely racially offensive" and that "when this was mentioned at a meeting with at least eight people including his supervisor, this was met with awkward silence." Tucker adds that "in addition, BM has a colour called 'Clinton Brown.'" He claims that "a BM employee pointed this out to the plaintiff and thought it was funny."
Tucker says that in another meeting, the topic of employees' favourite Benjamin Moore colours came up in conversation, at which point he claims he "turned to his supervisor, who at this point was well aware of his disdain, [and] stated, 'well you know my least favourite colours.'" Tucker claims that his supervisor then "turned to her Vice President, Nick Harris, and said,'Well you know about Clinton Brown and Tucker Chocolate.' " He adds that "Harris acted shocked even though it had long been the disgusting and distasteful joke of the group." Tucker says that after this exchange, a colleague asked, "If you think that is bad, what about Confederate Red?" which Tucker says is a colour of paint that is "offensively described by Benjamin [Moore] as a 'timeless and enduring classic.'"
Tucker says he "repeated his disdain and affront to these offensive colour names time and time again," but that "despite [his] repeated complaints and protestations to BM management about these appallingly racial colour names, no action was ever taken by Benjamin Moore to change the names of these colours and they remain on Benjamin Moore's web site and are still sold on the open market with these racially offensive names." Tucker claims that "despite his value, accomplishments and productivity for the company, the plaintiff was repeatedly denied opportunities for promotion and growth by BM due to his race" and that "despite spending countless hours in the office, the plaintiff was only getting paid for a 40-hour week." Tucker claims that Benjamin Moore eventually wrongfully terminated him in March 2014, but "retained Tucker's two white, blonde-haired and blue-eyed subordinates." Tucker is seeking damages for discrimination, retaliation and a hostile work environment. Benjamin Moore did not respond to a request for comment.
Man finds Jesus holding lamb on apple
A man in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has found what he claims to be a miracle in his mother's kitchen. An apple with an image of Jesus on it.
David Duran said: "This is the first time I've ever seen this on a piece of fruit or any type of vegetable."
The image Duran sees is Jesus holding a lamb. Duran is certainly not the only one transfixed by this piece of fruit, saying that a priest at a local Albuquerque church has blessed and anointed the apple and that neighbours have been coming to see it.
“There’s the hair,” David said, tracing shades and shadows of red and orange and yellow on the apple’s skin. “There’s like the face and then his robe around here and then right in the middle you can see like a figure of a lamb, see – like he’s holding a lamb.”
YouTube link.
“Maybe it’s a sign from the Lord that maybe we need to change our ways and maybe look at things to be more positive in this world,” David says. “Like helping our fellow neighbours and being good to people.”
The image Duran sees is Jesus holding a lamb. Duran is certainly not the only one transfixed by this piece of fruit, saying that a priest at a local Albuquerque church has blessed and anointed the apple and that neighbours have been coming to see it.
“There’s the hair,” David said, tracing shades and shadows of red and orange and yellow on the apple’s skin. “There’s like the face and then his robe around here and then right in the middle you can see like a figure of a lamb, see – like he’s holding a lamb.”
YouTube link.
“Maybe it’s a sign from the Lord that maybe we need to change our ways and maybe look at things to be more positive in this world,” David says. “Like helping our fellow neighbours and being good to people.”
Academic suggests that homeless people should be considered as being tourists
Towns in Australia's Northern Territory should consider homeless indigenous people as tourists, which could help create business and soften people’s attitudes towards them, a population and tourism researcher has said.
Charles Darwin University’s Dr Andrew Taylor has studied the mobility and migration of indigenous people in Australia and said there could be up to 12,000 indigenous people travelling at any one time across the Outback. He said there was no quality data to say how many people were homeless every day in Darwin but he had seen “estimates” ranging from 5500 to a few hundred. He said focusing on this marginalised group’s contributions to society as tourists could improve relationships between the visitors and locals.
Dr Taylor said there was not the capacity in society to quantify the Aboriginal homeless population. “(But) what we can say from my baseline analysis is that indigenous people who are on the move from remote areas have higher incomes than indigenous people who are not on the move,” he said. “Both groups however are relatively poor. The other thing is, the frequency of travel and the growing size of the population of the people moving leads me to think there is tourism potential.
“Whereas we label the non-indigenous people as tourists, pretty much when we look at indigenous people we apply negative labels. The general community attitude to rough sleepers is negative. “I hope people start to think in a bit more depth about what they see around when they are driving around Darwin and how that situation came to be.” Dr Taylor said it was a complex area but about a third of the Aboriginal visitors to Darwin fitted the official tourist category, in that they were more than 30km from home and they spent one night.
Charles Darwin University’s Dr Andrew Taylor has studied the mobility and migration of indigenous people in Australia and said there could be up to 12,000 indigenous people travelling at any one time across the Outback. He said there was no quality data to say how many people were homeless every day in Darwin but he had seen “estimates” ranging from 5500 to a few hundred. He said focusing on this marginalised group’s contributions to society as tourists could improve relationships between the visitors and locals.
Dr Taylor said there was not the capacity in society to quantify the Aboriginal homeless population. “(But) what we can say from my baseline analysis is that indigenous people who are on the move from remote areas have higher incomes than indigenous people who are not on the move,” he said. “Both groups however are relatively poor. The other thing is, the frequency of travel and the growing size of the population of the people moving leads me to think there is tourism potential.
“Whereas we label the non-indigenous people as tourists, pretty much when we look at indigenous people we apply negative labels. The general community attitude to rough sleepers is negative. “I hope people start to think in a bit more depth about what they see around when they are driving around Darwin and how that situation came to be.” Dr Taylor said it was a complex area but about a third of the Aboriginal visitors to Darwin fitted the official tourist category, in that they were more than 30km from home and they spent one night.
Lifeboat rescued Mickey Mouse from Irish sea
A lifeboat crew has rescued Mickey Mouse from the Irish Sea after they received a series of 999 emergency calls.
Several people contacted the Irish Coast Guard co-ordination centre in Dublin on Sunday, reporting an object crashing into the sea 1,000 metres off the Bray seafront in County Wicklow. A RNLI lifeboat crew from Dun Laoghaire responded and recovered the large Mickey Mouse balloon.
The balloon, which had been carried out to sea by the wind, was found floating towards the cliffs at Shanganagh. In a statement, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) said people had been paragliding in the Bray area recently and there were fears that the object might have been one of these in difficulty.
Stephen Wynne, lifeboat operations manager at Dun Laoghaire, said: "We're happy that this was a call made with good intent and calling 999 and asking for Coast Rescue is always the best course of action. And in this case, we were particularly happy to assist Mickey Mouse, one of the all-time favourite cartoon characters."
Several people contacted the Irish Coast Guard co-ordination centre in Dublin on Sunday, reporting an object crashing into the sea 1,000 metres off the Bray seafront in County Wicklow. A RNLI lifeboat crew from Dun Laoghaire responded and recovered the large Mickey Mouse balloon.
The balloon, which had been carried out to sea by the wind, was found floating towards the cliffs at Shanganagh. In a statement, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) said people had been paragliding in the Bray area recently and there were fears that the object might have been one of these in difficulty.
Stephen Wynne, lifeboat operations manager at Dun Laoghaire, said: "We're happy that this was a call made with good intent and calling 999 and asking for Coast Rescue is always the best course of action. And in this case, we were particularly happy to assist Mickey Mouse, one of the all-time favourite cartoon characters."
Potatoes face fight for relevance as sales fall by more than 8% in a year
British consumers are going off potatoes, in part because of an increasing taste for rice dishes and fajitas, new figures show. Sales of fresh potatoes slumped by more than 8% during the past year as shoppers opted for alternatives.
The trend is worrying the Potato Council, which represents growers and has warned that their crop faces a "fight for relevance" as shoppers switch to other staples, or buy smaller retail packs and smaller salad potatoes.
It is urging retailers to take urgent steps to arrest the decline through recipes and in-store promotions that emphasise cooked meals rather than the raw ingredient. Caroline Evans, head of marketing and corporate affairs at the Potato Council, said: "It's good that people are not actively rejecting the category. People still like potatoes, but the challenge is that we need different approaches for the whole supply chain.
"Shoppers need distractions and better signposting. A lot of shoppers make an emotional connection when they see a potato in its prepared form, rather than as a raw vegetable." She said the growing popularity of curry and fajitas – and the national drive to reduce food waste – were also factors in the declining sales of fresh potatoes. The volume of fresh potatoes sold fell by 8% over the year to May, according to data from Kantar Worldpanel, yet 90% of consumers who were buying less were not aware that they had cut back.
Total annual potato sales are worth £2.3bn a year, excluding crisps and snacks, with fresh potatoes accounting for £1.4bn. The retail potato market is dominated by the supermarkets, with the top five accounting for more than 77% of sales. Fresh organic potatoes have fared particularly badly. Following a recovery in 2013, sales have declined again and in the last quarter reached one of the lowest volumes recorded since 2010. Tinned potatoes show continuing volume growth.
It is urging retailers to take urgent steps to arrest the decline through recipes and in-store promotions that emphasise cooked meals rather than the raw ingredient. Caroline Evans, head of marketing and corporate affairs at the Potato Council, said: "It's good that people are not actively rejecting the category. People still like potatoes, but the challenge is that we need different approaches for the whole supply chain.
"Shoppers need distractions and better signposting. A lot of shoppers make an emotional connection when they see a potato in its prepared form, rather than as a raw vegetable." She said the growing popularity of curry and fajitas – and the national drive to reduce food waste – were also factors in the declining sales of fresh potatoes. The volume of fresh potatoes sold fell by 8% over the year to May, according to data from Kantar Worldpanel, yet 90% of consumers who were buying less were not aware that they had cut back.
Total annual potato sales are worth £2.3bn a year, excluding crisps and snacks, with fresh potatoes accounting for £1.4bn. The retail potato market is dominated by the supermarkets, with the top five accounting for more than 77% of sales. Fresh organic potatoes have fared particularly badly. Following a recovery in 2013, sales have declined again and in the last quarter reached one of the lowest volumes recorded since 2010. Tinned potatoes show continuing volume growth.
Outrage after Domino’s Pizza found to have been selling potato wedges bought at Aldi
Customers of Domino's Pizza in Linlithgow, West Lothian, are fuming after learning that they had been duped into buying potato wedges supplied by Aldi.
Patrons of the Domino’s branch at Stockbridge Retail Park have been buying the store’s potato wedges, priced at £3.49 per portion, unaware that the product had been sourced from the next door cut-price supermarket, Aldi, who sell a bag for 59 pence.
Initially, the pizza outlet claimed that Aldi’s own-brand wedges were being bought for personal use. However, after the store manager was confronted about the large quantity of bags being purchased, the company’s media office issued a statement.
A spokesman for Domino’s said: “Very occasionally stores are in an unfortunate situation where some products may run out. With big sporting events in full swing the Linlithgow store was faced with no wedges. We do not advocate this as a solution and we have spoken to them to ensure ordering has been adjusted to fully cover this busy period and our customers get Domino’s wedges”
Patrons of the Domino’s branch at Stockbridge Retail Park have been buying the store’s potato wedges, priced at £3.49 per portion, unaware that the product had been sourced from the next door cut-price supermarket, Aldi, who sell a bag for 59 pence.
Initially, the pizza outlet claimed that Aldi’s own-brand wedges were being bought for personal use. However, after the store manager was confronted about the large quantity of bags being purchased, the company’s media office issued a statement.
A spokesman for Domino’s said: “Very occasionally stores are in an unfortunate situation where some products may run out. With big sporting events in full swing the Linlithgow store was faced with no wedges. We do not advocate this as a solution and we have spoken to them to ensure ordering has been adjusted to fully cover this busy period and our customers get Domino’s wedges”
Man detained for carrying knives 'was circus act'
A man confronted by officers for carrying knives in public was practising a circus act, police have said.
Police had rushed to Throop Mill in Dorset after reports of a man seen with two knives.
A call was made to police at 2.27pm on Saturday afternoon from a member of the public.
A spokesperson for Dorset Police said a man had been detained. He was released and driven back to Throop Mill at around 4.30pm by a police officer.
His two knives, which he described as throwing knives, were kept by officers at Winton station.
The Bournemouth man, who did not want to be named, said he had nothing bad to say about the police, who were ‘just doing their job’. He said he had been sat by the river splitting sticks with the knives and hoped he would be able to have them returned to him. Visitors to the beauty spot say they saw around six police cars parked up at the Mill on Saturday. Kieran Selby said he went past around 3pm and saw all the police cars after hearing sirens.
He said people were still being allowed to walk down to the river and there were lots of visitors around at that time. Steve Johns, who was fishing by the river, said the man who had been quizzed had been speaking to him before the incident. “He seemed a proper gentleman. He was stood on the bridge talking to us; he obviously loved the countryside as he was quite knowledgeable. He left and then came back for his walking stick. Then we saw the police before he walked back over the bridge with them following him.
“He wasn’t cuffed or anything like that; just walking in front of them. He seemed like a lovely old gentleman.” A spokesperson for Dorset Police said that they had been called following a sighting of a male in possession of two knives in the area of the river by Throop. They located and spoke to a man in his 50s, in lawful possession of props used in a knife throwing act. The spokesperson said the man had been practising near the riverbank. They added: "No criminal offence was disclosed and no further action will be taken in this matter."
The Bournemouth man, who did not want to be named, said he had nothing bad to say about the police, who were ‘just doing their job’. He said he had been sat by the river splitting sticks with the knives and hoped he would be able to have them returned to him. Visitors to the beauty spot say they saw around six police cars parked up at the Mill on Saturday. Kieran Selby said he went past around 3pm and saw all the police cars after hearing sirens.
He said people were still being allowed to walk down to the river and there were lots of visitors around at that time. Steve Johns, who was fishing by the river, said the man who had been quizzed had been speaking to him before the incident. “He seemed a proper gentleman. He was stood on the bridge talking to us; he obviously loved the countryside as he was quite knowledgeable. He left and then came back for his walking stick. Then we saw the police before he walked back over the bridge with them following him.
“He wasn’t cuffed or anything like that; just walking in front of them. He seemed like a lovely old gentleman.” A spokesperson for Dorset Police said that they had been called following a sighting of a male in possession of two knives in the area of the river by Throop. They located and spoke to a man in his 50s, in lawful possession of props used in a knife throwing act. The spokesperson said the man had been practising near the riverbank. They added: "No criminal offence was disclosed and no further action will be taken in this matter."
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