Discrimination

Suddenly, los emos are the talk of the town here. For the uninitiated, emos are a category of black-clad teenagers known for their marked emotionalism -- thus, supposedly, the name -- and a sexually ambiguous style that combines the dark look of Goth with childlike touches of pink and other bright colors (think Tim Burton meets Hello Kitty). In Mexico, emos appear to have been singled out for attack by other groups of youths recently, though the motives are unclear.

For several hours, as he waited to get booked for petty theft at the Los Angeles County Jail in October, Peter Johnson told deputies he needed to go to the restroom. Although other inmates were free to use the facilities, Johnson -- a paraplegic -- was told there were none in the area equipped to accommodate the physically disabled. Guards, he said, seemed indifferent to his plight, telling him he simply had to wait.

Jessica Clark and Natalie Vacha started planning their wedding as soon as the state Supreme Court overturned the ban on gay marriage. The Lancaster couple decided to splurge on a bash for their summer nuptial, complete with handmade bridesmaid dresses from red to purple and a seven-layer rainbow cake. It was Clark's job to book a florist. She scanned the Lancaster yellow pages and put in an order for bouquets made from rainbow frosted roses. But the florist declined.

A new women's organization is setting out to get Chris Matthews fired from his job on MSNBC, calling his treatment of women on his cable TV show sexist. The nonpartisan group, called the New Agenda, held its first meeting this week and established as one of several goals getting Matthews yanked from his long-running show, "Hardball with Chris Matthews." Matthews' contract is up for renewal next year. His plans are unclear.

Britain will not exempt Catholic adoption agencies from new anti-discrimination laws that the church fears could force it to place children with gay couples, Prime Minister Tony Blair said. The adoption agencies will be granted a transition period, until the end of next year, to adjust to the new law, he said.

A sheriff's lieutenant filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona, alleging Carona retaliated against him for supporting a rival in last year's race to be the county's top lawman. In his 22 years in the department, Jeff Bardzik rose steadily, the lawsuit says, until he announced his support for sheriff's Lt. Bill Hunt's effort to unseat Carona.

More than 80 countries signed a United Nations convention protecting the rights of the world's 650 million disabled people. The convention will come into force 30 days after ratification by 20 nations, a milestone expected in 2008 or 2009. The measure requires ratifying nations to adopt laws banning discrimination on the basis of any form of disability, including blindness and mental illness.

Mothers, not only do you have your own day this Sunday, you also are the primary beneficiaries of a growing body of laws and court rulings that grant workplace protections to caregivers. California is among several states and cities that are passing or considering legislation banning job discrimination against workers with the responsibility of caring for children, aging parents or ill spouses.

A Northern California woman sued the operator of online dating service EHarmony, alleging the Pasadena company violated state law barring discrimination based on sexual orientation. Linda Carlson said she tried to use the website in February to meet a woman but couldn't because the site offers to find a compatible match only for men seeking women or women seeking men, according to her suit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

THE hem of my heavy Islamic cloak trailed over floors that glistened like ice. I walked faster, my eyes fixed on a familiar, green icon. I hadn't seen a Starbucks in months, but there it was, tucked into a corner of a fancy shopping mall in the Saudi capital. After all those bitter little cups of sludgy Arabic coffee, here at last was an improbable snippet of home -- caffeinated, comforting, American. I wandered into the shop, filling my lungs with the rich wafts of coffee.