Coca-Cola pauses controversial diversity plan after abrupt departure of company's top lawyer

Coca-Cola has temporarily abandoned its diversity plan after general counsel Bradley Gayton, the architect of the company’s diversity policy, abruptly resigned last month. "When there is a leadership change, it takes time for the new leader to review the current status of the team, organization, and initiatives," said Coke spokesman Scott Leith, who said incoming general counsel Monica Howard Douglas will be reviewing the plan. "Monica is fully committed to the notions of equity and diversity in the legal profession, and we fully expect she will take the time necessary to thoughtfully review any plans going forward." Gayton announced a plan in January to punish outside law firms that did not meet Coca-Cola's diversity standards, threatening to slash their fees or stop doing business with the firms completely. The plan required outside law firms to have at least 30% of their bill time come from “diverse attorneys,” half of whom had to be black.

But the plan was controversial among many, including critics who questioned whether such a policy may violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. "The hard truth is that our profession is not treating the issue of diversity and inclusion as a business imperative," Gayton said at the time. "We have a crisis on our hands, and we need to commit ourselves to specific actions that will accelerate the diversity of the legal profession." The plan was just the start of a string of controversies for the company, including the February leak of company diversity training that urged employees to be “less white.” "In the U.S. and other Western nations, white people are socialized to feel that they are inherently superior because they are white," read one of the slides in the training. A different slide urged employees to "try to be less white" and "be less oppressive," "listen," "believe," and "break with white solidarity."

The following month, the company caused more controversy when its CEO came out in strong opposition to Georgia’s new election security law. "Let me be crystal clear and unequivocal — this legislation is unacceptable, it is a step backward, and it does not promote principles that we have stood for here in Georgia, around broad access to voting, around voter convenience, about ensuring election integrity, and this is frankly just a step backwards," CEO James Quincey said of the legislation. But shortly after voicing that opposition, the company seemingly began walking back its new embrace of social justice causes. “We believe the best way to make progress now is for everyone to come together to listen, respectfully share concerns and collaborate on a path forward. We remain open to productive conversations with advocacy groups and lawmakers who may have differing views," the company told the Washington Examiner. "It’s time to find common ground. In the end, we all want the same thing — free and fair elections, the cornerstone of our democracy.” That change of heart may have come about because the company was facing increasingly bitter backlash from conservative customers, with the majority of Republican voters polled indicating they planned to buy less of the company’s products in response to its activism. Gayton is said to be with the company still in an advisory role, though how much of his diversity plan will be carried over under his replacement is unclear.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/coca-cola-pause-activism-diversity-policy

>>13583867

Temporarily, being the operative word. They have to change the strategy in pushing it forward, before they lose capital with employees and citizens of the world..

Derek Chauvin's lawyer files motion requesting new trial

A lawyer for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin filed a motion on Tuesday to request a new trial for his client. Eric Nelson argued in the document to the Hennepin County District Court that it "abused its discretion" on a number of matters, depriving Chauvin of a "fair trial." Last month, Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in connection with the May 2020 death of George Floyd. Chauvin's legal team took issue with the court's denial of their request to have a change of venue, its decision to not sequester the jury, and the fact that it reportedly "failed to accurately reflect the law" when it instructed the jury on the meanings of "second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and authorized use of force."

Adding to questions about the trial's legitimacy, a photo has surfaced of one of the jurors wearing a Black Lives Matter T-shirt while attending a protest in Washington, D.C. The juror, Brandon Mitchell, acknowledged attending the Aug. 28 march in a Monday conversation with multiple news outlets. The shirt says the words "GET YOUR KNEE OFF OUR NECKS" and "BLM," along with a photo of Martin Luther King Jr. "I'd never been to D.C.," Mitchell said. "The opportunity to go to D.C., the opportunity to be around thousands and thousands of black people, I just thought it was a good opportunity to be a part of something." Mitchell also said that he answered "no" to these two questions used to screen potential members of the jury: "Did you, or someone close to you, participate in any of the demonstrations or marches against police brutality that took place in Minneapolis after George Floyd’s death?" "Other than what you have already described above, have you, or anyone close to you, participated in protests about police use of force or police brutality?" Mitchell explained that the protest was "100% not" about Floyd. "It was directly related to MLK’s March on Washington from the ’60s … The date of the March on Washington is the date … It was literally called the anniversary of the March on Washington."

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/derek-chauvin-lawyer-motion-new-trial

>>13583991

Living in the land of the dividers. They really don't intend to change anything, how would they ever ask for moar money…

>>13584050

This is what I mean about dividing..there are plenty of both to go around. Ask yourself what/who has been made better by any of them. Haiti had an earthquake complete and total devastation billions were collected on their behalf by many organizations, end result: One business built too far away for Haitians to get to, and 10 homes…Who benefited? Who won? The vast majority of these non profits collect from you for their own personal gain and not much else.

Alleged CIA headquarters intruder shot dead by FBI agents

A suspected intruder who purportedly attempted to breach an entrance to the Central Intelligence Agency's Fairfax, Virginia, headquarters died after being shot by FBI agents on Monday. Roy Gordon Cole, who was known to the CIA as someone who may have been mentally unstable and attempted to drive into the facility before, approached the gate to the government compound and refused to move before negotiations ensued between him and law enforcement at the scene, NBC News reported. He then exited his car, claimed he was holding a bomb, and agents opened fire at about 6 p.m. Cole was declared dead at a local hospital, and no explosive device was recovered. “The FBI reviews every shooting incident involving an FBI special agent,” the bureau wrote in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “The review will carefully examine the circumstances of the shooting and collect all relevant evidence from the scene. As the review remains ongoing, we cannot provide any additional details at this time.”

Prior to the shootout, the CIA alerted the public that there was a "security incident" at the facility. "In coordination with our local law enforcement partners, we are addressing a security situation just outside the secure perimeter of CIA headquarters by our main gate on Route 123," a spokesperson said. "Our compound remains secured, and our security protective officers working the incident are the only agency personnel directly involved.” A temporary flight restriction was placed in the area at the time. Neither the CIA nor the FBI immediately responded to requests for comment from the Washington Examiner.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/cia-intruder-shot-dead-fbi-virginia

>>13584196

Thinking both of these agencies collaborated a story..there's a reason they needed this showdown.