CC™ VideoScope
Sunday
Priest describes ‘horrifying’ new attack on Catholics in Nigeria that leaves at least 11 dead
Close to 500,000 Nigerians have been either killed or displaced since Buhari took office
CC™ Global News
By Jude Atemanke
At least 11 people, most of them Catholics, were killed Jan. 19 when alleged Fulani herdsmen attacked a village near a refugee camp in Nigeria’s Makurdi Diocese, a diocesan official has reported.
In an interview with ACI Africa, CNA’s sister news partner, Father Moses Aondover Iorapuu, the diocese’s vicar general, recounted the “horrifying” persecution that Catholics were subjected to during the attack.
“The images of the attack are horrifying, and I keep saying that not even ISIS is capable of such brutality,” he said. “After killing, these guys decapitated some and took the parts away as proof to whoever is the sponsor.”
Aondover said the attacks took place Thursday about 9 p.m. in a village near Makurdi, the Benue State capital, where there is a displaced persons camp.
“As of this evening 11 people were killed, including women and children, and many with life-threatening wounds in the hospital,” he reported.
“Almost all the victims” of the attack were Catholics, he said, adding: “The attackers, according to the survivors, were Fulani, who occupied some of the villages they had abandoned in earlier raids.”
Aondover criticized the delayed response from security agents, saying: “The response from the police and the military as always: normal late arrival at the scene, and the attackers remain unidentified.”
Nigeria has been experiencing insecurity since 2009 when Boko Haram’s insurgency began with the aim of turning the country into an Islamic state.
Since then, the group, one of largest Islamist groups in Africa, has been orchestrating indiscriminate terrorist attacks on various targets, including religious and political groups as well as civilians.
The situation of insecurity in the West African nation has further been complicated by the involvement of the predominantly Muslim Fulani herdsmen, also referred to as the Fulani Militia, who have been clashing frequently with Christian farmers over grazing land.
The Jan. 19 attack on the village saw the inhabitants “forcefully driven from their homes by these herdsmen,” Aondover said, lamenting “the incessant attacks without a single arrest and meaningful reaction from the government.”
“We feel terribly frustrated and abandoned by our government and the international community,” he said.
This story originally was published by ACI Africa, CNA's sister news partner.
Source: Catholic News Agency
Saturday
Liverpool’s Premier League struggles continue with draw at Anfield against Chelsea
CC™ Soccernet
By the Editor-in-Chief
--- Boyejo A. Coker
Another Premier League game, and once again, another lackluster and listless performance from Liverpool, this time at Anfield against fellow strugglers, Chelsea FC.
While many thought the team had turned the proverbial corner with the mid-week victory over Wolves (at the Molineux) in the FA Cup replay, the reds once again showed no bite, as they were lacking in both verve and spirit against a struggling Chelsea side that was there for the taking. The largely forgettable match ended goalless.
Thus, the narrative of the 7th-year-itch as it relates to Klopp’s documented struggles after 7 years in charge at previous clubs, is bound to continue, and perhaps escalate. And why not? One might be tempted to ask. After all, it is a fact that Klopp has never turned around the fortunes of any of the previous clubs he has managed after being at the helm of those clubs for 7 years.
In fact, at least one of those clubs (Dortmund) flirted with relegation, and the panacea for each of those past struggles was for Klopp to leave as manager.
One therefore must wonder if FSG and Liverpool fans are essentially asking the German to do what he has never done before as a manager; turn around the fortunes of a struggling team, and in this case, one that looks like a tired and utterly spent force! The difference between LFC and those other teams though lies in the pedigree of the latter. Liverpool are ‘European royalty’ where football is concerned at club level, and allowing this obviously evolving train wreck to continue might be debilitatingly detrimental to the future of the club, in the long run.
Klopp frankly looks tired and short on ideas as to how to fix the rut. His carefully curated press conferences not withstanding, his demeanor and overall disposition smacks of someone who has lost the plot and would like to be put out of his misery.
As drastic as it may sound, the ownership at FSG might want to consider helping him in the latter regard.
It is glaringly obvious that the players have stopped listening to him. Perhaps, a new face and a different voice might just do the magic.
Friday
Thursday
Judge confirms Attorney General’s authority to investigate potential race discrimination by auto insurers PEMCO and Progressive
CC™ Legal News
“Auto insurance companies made investigation public by fighting to quash inquiry into use of credit history to choose customers and price car insurance.”
Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced that a Thurston County Superior Court judge rejected an attempt by PEMCO Mutual Insurance Company and subsidiaries of the Progressive Corporation to stop his office’s investigation of potential race discrimination against Washington drivers. The companies both use consumer credit histories — or “credit-based insurance scores” derived from a consumer’s credit history — to decide whether to sell, and at what price to sell, their auto insurance products, despite evidence that this practice disproportionately harms people of color.
PEMCO and Progressive have a significant presence in Washington state. PEMCO has issued approximately 160,000 private passenger auto insurance policies to Washingtonians; Progressive likewise insures a significant portion of Washington drivers. Both companies openly use credit history and/or credit-based insurance scores to decide who they will provide coverage to, and at what price. Publicly available information indicates PEMCO charges people with low credit scores as much as triple those with high credit scores; Progressive likewise significantly increases premiums for individuals with negative credit histories.
The companies brought the matter to court to fight the office’s investigation, making the investigation public.
The office has a longstanding policy that it does not comment on investigations, including confirming whether they exist. However, in fighting to quash the Attorney General’s investigative demands, the insurance companies revealed the investigation. Given the significant importance of, and the public interest in, the practices under investigation, the office is offering comment.
“Washington law is clear: Unfair, deceptive or discriminatory business practices are illegal,” Ferguson said. “Significant evidence shows that using credit history to price insurance disproportionately affects people of color — even when their driving history is just as safe as white drivers. My office has a responsibility to investigate race discrimination against Washingtonians. I intend to do that."
Analyses show that the use of consumers’ credit history and/or credit-based insurance scores disproportionately affects drivers who are people of color, even if their driving records are just as safe as the driving records of white drivers. In 2020, the Consumer Federation of America, a consumer advocacy group, reported that when insurance companies rely on factors having nothing to do with driving, including credit scores, to price their insurance products, Black drivers “will pay more for auto insurance than white drivers, even when everything related to driving safety and vehicle type is held constant.”
One media report notes this stems from “a long history of discrimination” in lending, banking, and government programs that is well-understood to “affect the data that credit scoring models use today.”
According to the Consumer Federation of America, “[b]ecause insurance is required in every state but New Hampshire, the disparate pricing likely causes higher levels of uninsured driving among African Americans and higher incidence of state uninsured driving penalties for African Americans, which can include fines, car impoundment, and jail. It also means less access to vehicles and reduced access to jobs, as the nexus between car ownership and employment opportunity is well established.”
The Attorney General’s Office is seeking information about PEMCO and Progressive’s compliance with the Washington Consumer Protection Act and the Washington Law Against Discrimination as part of its investigation.
Any Washingtonians with information about PEMCO’s or Progressive’s use of credit history in pricing, or deciding whether to offer, auto insurance, including people who believe they have experienced discrimination as a result of those practices, should reach out to the Wing Luke Civil Rights Division at 1-833-660-4877, and choose option 9 from the main menu. Individuals can also contact the Attorney General’s Office by email at AutoInsurance@atg.wa.gov.
Assistant Attorneys General Yesica Hernandez and Patricio Marquez, and Legal Assistants Anna Alfonso and Allie Lard, handled the Attorney General’s Office’s motion to enforce its investigation demands.
The Washington Law Against Discrimination prohibits discrimination in insurance transactions on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, citizenship or immigration status, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, or honorably discharged veteran or military status.
The Wing Luke Civil Rights Division was created in 2015 to protect the rights of all Washington residents by enforcing state and federal anti-discrimination laws. It is named for Wing Luke, who served as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Washington in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He went on to become the first person of color elected to the Seattle City Council and the first Asian-American elected to public office in the Pacific Northwest.
Individuals may file civil rights complaints here.
SOURCE: ATG.WA.GOV
Tuesday
A suit filed by the Center for Race, Inequality, and the Law takes a new approach to proving racial bias in the insurance industry
CC™ Matters Arising
“The study found that, compared to White homeowners, Black customers had to submit more paperwork to have their claims approved, were likely to have more conversations with a State Farm representative before having their claims approved, and experienced longer wait times to receive payouts.”
For Alexander Rose ’20, the highlight of his 2L year was participating in the Civil Rights Clinic taught by Professor of Clinical Law Deborah Archer. Over the course of the year, he worked on an employment discrimination dispute, advocated against the New York Police Department gang database, and co-drafted litigation strategies for advocates in the wake of the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. “Her course was the defining experience of law school and helped make me the type of advocate I am today,” Rose says.
Now, two years after his graduation, Rose and Archer are working together again, this time on a potentially groundbreaking case of racial discrimination.
Filed on December 14 in federal court in Illinois, the suit, which is seeking class action status, alleges that insurance company State Farm discriminates against Black homeowners and makes it harder for them to receive pay outs for insurance claims. The case claims that State Farm utilizes fraud detection software that has a disparate impact on Black customers. Brought under the Fair Housing Act, the case is the first lawsuit of its kind to use data specific to an insurance company in making racial bias claims, according to an article on the litigation in the New York Times.
Representing the plaintiffs are NYU Law’s Center for Race, Inequality, and the Law (CRIL), where Archer is faculty co-director; and Fairmark Partners, a Washington, DC–based firm focused on civil rights and corporate accountability where Rose serves as chief of staff; and local counsel.
“This suit does not reflect the values we hold at State Farm,” Gina Morss-Fischer, a State Farm spokeswoman, told the New York Times. “State Farm is committed to a diverse and inclusive environment, where all customers and associates are treated with fairness, respect, and dignity. We are dedicated to paying what we owe, promptly and courteously.”
The case is built on a study which began when Archer, CRIL fellow David Jimenez ’23, Rose, and other members of Fairmark began discussing a 2020 story in the New York Times that reported Black homeowners often encounter difficulties when seeking payments for their property insurance claims. While these claims of bias are widespread, the Times reported, it was difficult to determine patterns of discrimination because insurance companies do not make information about claims publicly available.
“This question about wealth inequality and the links to home ownership and insurance kept coming up,” says Archer, who served as lead researcher for the study, “and CRIL has an interest in algorithmic bias, but also in thinking about community equity and the things and policies in place that make some communities less equitable and less hospitable for success,” says Archer. As many insurance companies use algorithms to handle a portion of claims, “it seemed like an important thing to explore,” she says. Archer says that CRIL and Fairmark worked with polling company YouGov to conduct a survey and analyze data from 800 State Farm claimants over several months in 2021.
The study found that, compared to White homeowners, Black customers had to submit more paperwork to have their claims approved, were likely to have more conversations with a State Farm representative before having their claims approved, and experienced longer wait times to receive payouts.
After analyzing the data, the Center and Fairmark spoke with individuals and community organizations to assess how impacted communities would like to file litigation, Archer says.
“In the past year, CRIL has become more sharply focused on challenging some of the modern tools of racial inequality, particularly with a sharper focus on economic justice issues, as well as diving deeper into exploring issues at the intersection of race and technology and algorithmic bias,” says Archer. She notes: “The practices of insurance companies and how they perpetuate racial bias and racial inequality is kind of a black box.”
SOURCE: NYU LAW NEWS
Monday
Sunday
Buhari’s Killing Fields: Catholic priest burnt to death and another shot in northern Nigeria
CC™ Breaking News
Gunmen burned a Catholic priest to death and shot and injured his colleague in northwest Nigeria on Sunday, police said, the latest violence raising concerns about security ahead of an election next month.
Nigerians will vote for a new president on Feb. 25 but kidnappings for ransom and killings by armed gangs in the north have lead to fears that polls may not be held in some areas.
The motive for the latest attack was not immediately clear but gunmen have previously targeted priests in the largely Muslim north.
Wasiu Abiodun, police spokesperson for Niger state, said in a statement that armed men torched the residence of Father Isaac Achi, of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, in Paikoro local government area, after failing to gain entry around 3:00 a.m.
Father Achi was burned to death while another priest identified as Father Collins, who was at the house, was shot and injured as he tried to escape.
He is recovering at a local hospital, Adiodun said.
Saturday
Friday
Breaking: More classified documents found in Biden's 'personal library'
By Zeke Miller and Michael Balsamo
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden acknowledged on Thursday that a document with classified markings from his time as vice president was found in his “personal library” at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, along with other documents found in his garage.
Biden told reporters at the White House that he is “cooperating fully and completely” with a Justice Department investigation into how classified information and government records made their way to his home and the office of his former institute in Washington.
Biden did not say when the latest series of documents were found, only that his lawyers' review of potential storage locations was completed Wednesday night. Lawyers found the first set on Nov. 2, days before the midterm elections, but only publicly revealed that development on Monday.
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