by bgetch.

As the Wall Street Journal reports, a number of journalists operating in Russia have been killed and assaulted with little response from the government. Suppressing a free and open media reeks of the old Soviet empire and suspicions about Vladimir Putin, now prime minister, and his successor as president, Dmitry Medvedev, looking the other way (or worse) when dissenting journalists are harmed are widely held in the international community. A number of Russian and international Mafia and/or KGB-style hits are being met with outrage from Glasnost Defense Foundation, Reporters Without Borders, Center for Political Technologies and other groups focused on violence against journalists, Assaulted journalist Mikhail Beketov and murdered investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya are two better known cases. What makes this effort powerful is the combination of the violence of the assaults; the specificity of the cause; the visual power of people protesting in Putin’s Russia; and the coalition of NGOs focused on very specific, finite events: the government’s investigation of these assaults.  Wall Street Journal story follows. Read the rest of this entry »

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by bgetch.

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by bgetch.

Wal-Mart is in a bad spot in the case of an employee trampled by stampeding customers.  Several reasons — beyond the obvious tragedy of a young person’s death:

1. Credible criticism from locals: When local Nassau County police say they showed up on their own because store didn’t do enough crowd control and its not their job to be security for Wal-Mart, they’ve got big problems. They have exonerated themselves by saying they went “above and beyond the call of duty” to assist.
2. Better behaving peers: Best Buy has detailed processes and training to deal with crowds, which the media notes.
3. Precedence: It’s happened before (injuries from stampeding customers ).  At Wal-Mart - 10 years ago. Perhaps the most damning.

None of the commentary seems to place any of the blame on people recklessly charging through glass doors.  No one, not even the world’s largest company, can completely control reckless behavior.   It would be grossly inappropriate to show store video of the employee being trampled but images of broken glass doors and people poring through may put some of the shared blame where it belongs: with the stampeding shoppers.

Side note: it’s important to look at web postings and to really hear the people being interviewed on TV.  They are most perplexed by people’s behavior to, as one man said, “save $5 on a TV.”  Another posting off the AP story: “Blaming Walmart is intellectually lazy and dishonest.”  Another perspective: Wal-Mart IS responsible for the behavior of its customers. 

DECEMBER 1, 2008, 9:11 P.M. ET

Wal-Mart Assailed on Death

By ANN ZIMMERMAN

 

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. should have had better crowd control to prevent the death of a worker who was trampled the day after Thanksgiving amid the bargain-hunting frenzy whipped up by the sales known as door-busters, according to local police and a lawyer for the worker’s family.

Police say Jdimytai Damour, a 34-year-old temporary maintenance worker, was pushed to the ground and asphyxiated when an estimated 2,000 shoppers broke through the glass doors at a Wal-Mart store on Long Island, N.Y., as they raced to buy a limited assortment of sharply discounted television sets, computers and other gifts in the predawn hours early Friday.

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by bgetch.

The power of humility.

Frank Blake, the new CEO of Home Depot, understands it.

Here’s a few quick takes following a story on how he’s quickly winning valuable credibility points in all corners of Home Depot — customers, managers, Wall Street, and more than 355,000 employees. (Home Depot boss takes page from founders’ book, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/25/07) Read the rest of this entry »

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by bgetch.

Ted McKenna, Nicole Zerillo PR Week

November 26 2008

WASHINGTON: While President-elect Barack Obama’s team transitions to the White House, a number of groups are using the interim to build campaigns directed at the new administration and Congress.

One effort aiming to give Obama’s millions of grassroots supporters post-election input into the 2009 leadership in DC is “Ideas for Change in America” from Change.org and MySpace. The effort launched November 24.

Visitors to either Change.org or MySpace can submit ideas on specific public policy areas, such as energy, the environment, and gay rights, as well as vote on their favorite ideas. The initiative will create a list of top 10 and top 100 ideas, which will be presented to an Obama administration representative prior to inauguration day, January 20, 2009, and supported by grassroots lobbying efforts by various partners, including Public Citizen and People for the American Way. Read the rest of this entry »

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by bgetch.

A bit of comedic relief: Attractive Girls Union Refuses To Enter Into Talks With Mike Greenman

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by bgetch.

EHarmony Settles Dispute Over Gay Matches

WSJ: By NATHAN KOPPEL and SHIRA OVIDE

A settlement Wednesday between eHarmony Inc. and the New Jersey attorney general requires the online heterosexual dating service to also cater to homosexuals, raising questions about whether other services that target a niche clientele could be forced to expand their business models.

The settlement stemmed from a complaint, filed with the New Jersey attorney general’s office by a gay match seeker in 2005, that eHarmony had violated his rights under the state’s discrimination law by not offering a same-sex dating service. In 2007, the attorney general found probable cause that eHarmony had violated the state’s Law Against Discrimination.

As part of the agreement, the Pasadena, Calif.-based company will develop and market Compatible Partners, a Web dating service for same-sex couples, and will allow the site’s first 10,000 users to register free. EHarmony will also pay $50,000 to the attorney general’s office and $5,000 to the man who first brought the case.

In a statement Wednesday, eHarmony denied violating discrimination law and said its business had been based on years of researching opposite-sex marriages to understand what makes such couples compatible. Read the rest of this entry »

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by bgetch.

WSJ: November 19, 2008, 11:53 am

eHarmony Settles With NJ AG; Will Offer Matching Service for Gays

Posted by Nathan Koppel

eHarmony, Inc., which runs an online dating service for heterosexual couples, must now cater to a gay clientele. That is the upshot of a settlement the California company reached today with the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.

In what seems like a novel claim to our ears, the Garden State asserted that eHarmony violated the state’s Law Against Discrimination by not offering a same-sex matching service. New Jersey got involved following a complaint by Eric McKinley, a gay match-seeker in the state.

eHarmony has denied violating the law, claiming that its business model has been based on its expertise to date. The company says it has researched thousands of opposite-sex marriages to understand what makes opposite-sex couples compatible.

But, as a result of the settlement, eHarmony next year will launch a same sex matching service called Compatible Partners, which will be marketed in gay and lesbian media outlets, according to a FAQ that the company released today. The document makes clear that users of eHarmony.com will not be matched with users of the new site, compatiblepartners.net.

“I applaud the decision of eHarmony to settle this case and extend its matching services to those seeking same-sex relationships,” said J. Frank Vespa-Papaleo, director of the New Jersey AG’s Division on Civil Rights.

Here’s a statement from the AG’s office and here’s a copy of the settlement.

eHarmony faces a similar discrimination claim in California. It’s unclear how this settlement will affect that case. “Now that we’re entering the same-sex matching market, we fail to see what the [California] plaintiffs could achieve through further litigation,” says Antone Johnson, a vice president of legal affairs at eHarmony.

(Permalink: http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/11/19/eharmony-settles-with-nj-ag-will-offer-matching-service-for-gays/)  Read the rest of this entry »

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by bgetch.

HOUSES OF WORSHIP
WSJ: NOVEMBER 27, 2008, 10:29 P.M. ET

Discordant Voices Among eHarmony’s Customers

Amanda Brophy and J.P. Duffy met on eHarmony.com in 2006. Each appreciated the dating site’s dedication to facilitating long-term relationships — and the Christian background of the founders. Mr. Duffy, media director at the Family Research Council in Washington, and Ms. Brophy, an art teacher from Annapolis, Md., married last fall.

But now the Duffys are disappointed with eHarmony.com because the Pasadena, Calif.-based company just capitulated to an anti-discrimination lawsuit and agreed to launch a separate site aimed at matching homosexuals with suitable partners. A gay match-seeker in New Jersey filed a complaint, and the state’s attorney general found probable cause that eHarmony had violated New Jersey’s nondiscrimination statute. Read the rest of this entry »

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