Here's the correction of last week's translation...!

Barack Obama: A Symbol

As an African-American, Barack Obama’s rise to the presidency of the United States is a confirmation/the consecration of affirmative action, created in 1972 in order/which aims to facilitate minority access/bring greater access to minorities at universities, in administrations and in their integration in the private sector. 

 

Today’s job market is more representative of the American “melting pot.”  Does the fact that a black man has risen to the country’s most prestigious position signify/mean that job discrimination/in the workplace has disappeared in the United States?  Certainly not.  “There is no law that forces a private enterprise/company to apply/heed (the principles) of affirmative action,” underlines/stresses Judson Miner, co-founder of the law office of Miner, Barnhill & Galland, and one of Barack Obama’s former bosses.  Based in Chicago, his office is on the lookout for/searches for/keeps a watch on companies that practice/apply/use segregationist hiring policies.  “The government should be more active,” explains Jeffrey Cummings, one of the office’s Africain-American lawyers.  “A lot of people don’t believe in affirmative action, like Bush.”

 

Though at times its existence has been threatened by the Republicans, positive discrimination is probably going to take off again under a Democratic government/administration.  During the primaries, Barack Obama reaffirmed his intention to revise affirmative action, so that Whites and Blacks could benefit equally/Whites could also benefit.  

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The Revenge of the Twisted Vegetable/the Bent Veggie/Bent Vegetables

Business.  Brussels wants to do away with/get rid of regulations /the norms for certain early fruits and vegetables

By Julie MAJERCZAK, Brussels (EU) correspondent

Crooked carrots, lopsided melons or even croissant-shaped/horn-shaped cucumbers could soon be back on European supermarket shelves.  In the name of “less bureaucracy,” the European Commission has decided not to interfere any longer/more with the shape, the grade or other commercial norms previously imposed on fruits and vegetables.  To this end, the member States should give the proposal the green light tomorrow.  But will the consumer be the winner in this story?

At the moment, in the scathing/harsh world of European commercial norms, in order for fruits and vegetables (to have the right) to be sold in supermarkets and other stores/and elsewhere, they must meet/match certain criteria for color, shape, size or even grade, so they can be classified/organized into one of three categories based on differences/variations in quality.  Thus, those that are either too small, too big, not round enough or too long end up at best as/becoming/being turned into jam/jelly/preserves, mash or sauce, if not (going) straight into (the) trash.

“With the food price hikes/rise in food prices (we’ve seen/we’re seeing), it’s absurd/ridiculous to throw away/toss fruits and vegetables just because they don’t have the right look/the perfect look/look perfect,” complains/pleads Michael Mann, spokesperson for the Agriculture Commission/Committee.  Plus/What’s more, these canons of beauty don’t come cheap/aren’t free.  The Commission has (thus) proposed to do away with commercial norms/regulations for 26 fruits and vegetables out of the 36 total that are regulated….  For the remaining ten, such as apples, lemons, kiwis, strawberries and tomatoes, the Commission will maintain the common norms, but has suggested authorizing their sale to consumers with a label/tag that indicates their future transformation/plans to change them in the future.  Less waste and lower prices, who could ask for anything more/what more could we ask for?