TIME TO RELAX

TIME TO RELAX...???

Source By Aroeira (O Globo) (Thanks a Tony Goes)

Gordon Brown promises gay people they 'will not have to walk alone'

Gordon Brown hosted an LGBT reception












Prime minister Gordon Brown paid tribute last night to gay and lesbian members of the armed forces at a reception to mark the contribution of the LGBT community for Britain.

He told guests at 10 Downing Street, including a number of gay servicemembers, that there was a "debt of gratitude we can never fully repay".

He said that the pride they felt was "nothing compared to the pride we feel in them".

Mr Brown cited the current struggle in the US to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell, which bans gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, saying he knew debate on the issue continued.

In 2009, for the first LGBT reception at Downing Street, Mr Brown said that the ban on gay marriage in California was "unacceptable".

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the British military allowing out gay soldiers.

Mr Brown said: "I promise you that no one need walk the road to equality alone again."

He also listed the achievements made for gay equality in the last ten years, such as gay adoption and fertility rights for lesbians, saying people had warned these things could not be done.

In the short speech, Mr Brown mentioned Liverpool policeman James Parkes, who was seriously injured last year in a homophobic attack.

Mr Parkes, who has recovered, was at the event with his new husband Tom.

Mr Brown's wife Sarah spent several hours speaking to guests.

Others there included Paul O'Grady, Dr Christian Jessen and artist Maggi Hambling.

Author Jeanette Winterson also turned up with partner Susie Orbach.

Source By Jessica Geen • Pink News

Brazil's ruling party endorses female sucessor to Lula

Brazil's ruling left-wing party has endorsed chief minister Dilma Rousseff as its candidate for presidential elections in October. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva cannot run for a third term under the country's constitution.
REUTERS - President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's chief of staff on Saturday vowed to continue Brazil's investor-friendly economic policies if she won the Oct. 3 presidential race as the ruling Workers' Party candidate.

Speaking to the party's national convention in Brasilia after it formally endorsed her candidacy, Dilma Rousseff, 62, said she would maintain fiscal discipline, a free-floating exchange rate, and inflation targets -- the pillars of Lula's economic strategy.

"We will ensure macro-economic stability," Rousseff, a trained economist, told the party's delegates in the capital Brasilia. She added that she felt "totally prepared" to govern the country.

She would become the country's first female president, though two opinion polls released this month show her trailing conservative Sao Paulo state Governor Jose Serra of the opposition PSDB party by between 5 percent and 11 percent.

Lula, the most popular president in Brazil's recent history but prevented by law from running for a third consecutive term, said Rousseff's candidacy was not designed to hold his place for a possible return in 2014.

"I want her to win a second mandate," said Lula, a former union leader who virtually imposed Rousseff's candidacy on the Workers' Party that he founded 30 years ago. He said he chose her for her rigor, ethics and determination.

Brazil has during Lula's rule consolidated its position as one of the world's leading economies. It bounced back quickly from a brief recession last year and its economy is expected to grow by more than 5 percent this year.

The Workers' Party on Friday approved a campaign platform that proposes extending Lula's economic policies. But it also included proposals to expand the role of state enterprises, tax big wealth and expand social welfare programs.

Rousseff told chanting supporters that, as president, she would continue to expand the civil service despite warnings by opposition parties of the rising costs of maintaining a bloated and inefficient state bureaucracy.

Women vote

Lula, a union leader who rose from humble, working-class roots to the presidency, urged Brazilian women to support Rousseff in the election in an effort to battle deep-seated gender inequality in a country where few women have risen to high political office.

"Women are still treated like second-class citizens," Lula said.

His appeal resonated with some of the 3,000 delegates and others in attendance at the convention.

"It's high time for a woman president," said Cibele Figuereido, a 50-year old teacher and Rousseff supporter.

While an all-female percussion group gyrated its way through the flag-waving audience after Rousseff's speech, a small group of tattooed natives in traditional headdress protested against the government's Indian policy.

Rousseff must step down from her current post by April 3 in compliance with electoral law and will then have to negotiate with as many as 10 potential allied parties to forge a common campaign platform.

She said she wanted to continue working with Lula's current coalition, a group of 11 parties ranging from the far left to the political center.

"I want to form a government coalition," said Rousseff, who was a left-wing guerrilla militant during the country's 1964-85 military dictatorship.

Some analysts, however, say she lacks Lula's political savvy to manage often volatile party interests.

Unlike the folksy Lula, Rousseff is generally seen as uncharismatic and prone to technocratic speech, which pollsters say could lose her votes in a country where a candidate's personality may outweigh campaign issues.

"I think the biggest obstacle Dilma will face is that she lacks the ability to communicate with the people," said Romulo Carneiro, town mayor in the northeastern Ceara state.

Source by News Wires (text)/France24-News

Obama's promise and Obama's action...

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

He's Smart, he's Educated,he's Intelligent...but a lot of people still furious at the gap between Obama's promise and Obama's action!

Source by MSNBC TV VIDEOS

Congresso do PT oficializa Dilma como pré-candidata à Presidência

Filiados e delegações do Partido dos Trabalhadores de todo país confirmaram neste sábado (20) a indicação da ministra-chefe da Casa Civil, Dilma Roussef, como pré-candidata única do PT ao Planalto nas eleições deste ano. O referendo aconteceu no terceiro dia do 4º Congresso do Partido dos Trabalhadores, que acontece em Brasília.



A chegada da ministra foi aplaudida de pé pelos mais de 1.300 pessoas. Na cerimônia, antes de Dilma ser convidada a subir no palco, foi realizada uma rápida apresentação musical, enquanto um grupo de mulheres montava um arranjo com flores do Cerrado, no estilo japonês, ikebana.

O presidente da Câmara dos Deputados e do PMDB, Michel Temer, participou do encontro. Ele chegou ao lado do presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva e da primeira-dama, Marisa Letícia. O presidente do PCdoB, Renato Rabelo, também estava presente.

"Foi me dada uma tarefa extremamente difícil: vir aqui para convencer vocês a votar na Dilma", disse Lula, irônico.

A mesa do evento foi composta pelo vice-presidente, José Alencar, ministros, senadores, governadores, representantes da Une (União Nacional dos Estudantes), Contag (Confederação Nacional dos Trabalhadores na Agricultura), CUT (Central Única dos Trabalhadores) e a Central dos Movimentos Populares.

A apresentação da candidatura sem concorrência interna repete a receita de 2006, quando não havia dúvidas de que o presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva sairia novamente pela legenda para apostar na reeleição.

No que se refere à rejeição do eleitorado à ideia de Dilma como candidata, a última pesquisa da CNT/Sensus identificou que este índice caiu: em novembro passado era de 34,4%, e em janeiro apontava 28,4%. Segundo o levantamento, houve uma redução pela metade na diferença entre ela e o possível pré-candidato do PSDB, o governador de São Paulo, José Serra: de 10,1% em novembro para 5,4% em janeiro. O tucano registrou 33,2% e a ministra teve 27,8% das intenções de votos na última pesquisa.

A candidata escolhida por Lula não terá de passar pelo mesmo que Lula viveu em 2002. Ele teve de ser submetido a uma prévia dentro do partido, em que concorreu com o senador por São Paulo, Eduardo Suplicy – que angariou cerca 15% dos votos.

Suplicy, que tem se envolvido em polêmicas nos últimos anos, foca no momento em uma outra briga: sair como pré-candidato ao governo de São Paulo. Podem fazer frente a ele nomes como o da ex-mulher e ex-prefeita de São Paulo, Marta Suplicy, do senador Aloizio Mercadante e do ex-ministro da Fazenda e deputado federal, Antônio Palocci. Também não estão descartados o ex-presidente da Câmara dos Deputados, Arlindo Chinaglia, o prefeito de Osasco, Emídio de Souza, e o ministro da Educação, Fernando Haddad.

Uma possibilidade ainda não rejeitada para ter apoio do partido em São Paulo é a do deputado da base aliada, Ciro Gomes (PSB-CE) que, em caso de apoiar a candidatura de Dilma em nível nacional, poderia ser o candidato do PSB para o governo paulista.
“Todos aceitaram a Dilma em consenso e, eu, em especial”, revelou o senador Eduardo Suplicy (SP). “Da minha parte, eu disse a Dilma Rousseff que compreendo os méritos que a fizeram ser a escolhida. E ela compreendeu a minha parte e o meu programa renda cidadã foi aprovado como emenda de aperfeiçoamento ao programa Bolsa-Família, pelo programa do PT”, completou.

O deputado federal José Genoíno, no entanto, ressaltou que “o programa do PT não é o programa de Dilma”, e sim parte dele.

Sobre a candidatura única, o deputado federal Ricardo Berzoini alegou que não houve inscritos e o consenso do partido fechou com o nome da ministra.

"Ela [Dilma] tem histórico de militância de esquerda, participou dos principais feitos do governo Lula. A candidatura única é uma mostra expressiva da unidade do PT”, defendeu Genoino.

Biografia
Mineira de Belo Horizonte, Dilma Vana Rousseff, ocupou a cadeira de ministra-chefe da Casa Civil desde a demissão de José Dirceu, em 2005, acusado de envolvimento no suposto mensalão pago por dirigentes do PT a parlamentares da base aliada do governo.

Ainda no governo Lula, foi ministra de Minas e Energia de 2003 a junho de 2005. Antes de filiar-se ao Partido dos Trabalhadores, em 2001, Dilma era do PDT. Nas décadas de 1980 e 1990 atuou no governo do Rio Grande do Sul, nas secretarias da Fazenda e de Energia, Minas e Comunicações, e nos governos de Alceu Collares (PDT) e Olívio Dutra (PT).

Na juventude, participou da luta armada contra a ditadura militar. Teve atuações como militante no Polop (Política Operária), no Colina (Comando de Libertação Nacional), e no VAR-Palmares (Vanguarda Armada Revolucionária Palmares). Foi torturada e ficou presa por quase três anos.

Source by Camila Campanerut Do UOL Notícias Em Brasíli

Government accused of U-turn over faith schools' teaching on homosexuality

The government has been accused of performing a U-turn over an amendment allowing faith schools to teach about homosexuality in line with their "religious character".

Last week, schools secretary Ed Balls tabled an amendment to the Children, Schools and Families Bill that would allow faith schools to teach sex education "in a way that reflects the school’s religious character".

The amendment was designed to make clear that equality requirements do not force governing bodies or heads to teach about issues such as homosexuality and contraception in a particular way.

The Catholic Education Service claims to have successfully lobbied for the amendment on its website.

Campaigners say this means faith schools will be permitted to teach that homosexuality is wrong and that contraception and abortion are sinful. Around a third of schools in England are faith schools.

Some have gone as far as to describe it as "the new Section 28′, in reference to the 1988 law which banned the "promotion" of homosexuality. It was repealed in 2003.

Chairman of the Accord Coalition, a group for inclusive education, Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain said: "It is astonishing that the government plans to deny young people of their right to accurate, balanced PSHE [personal, social and health education] and sex and relationships education, and allow state funded schools to teach the subject from a particular religious viewpoint.”

“By taking this position, Ed Balls is implicitly condoning homophobia in schools and undermining attempts to tackle homophobic bullying. After Labour has done so much for equality, this looks like a 21st century Section 28 .”

The Pink Triangle Trust's secretary George Broadhead agreed, saying: "By taking this position, [the government] is implicitly condoning homophobia in schools and undermining attempts to tackle homophobic bullying. This looks like another Section 28.”

Andrew Copson, the chief executive of the British Humanist Association, added: "The government has U-turned on their commitment to young people, trading children's rights for the support of a minority religious lobby.

"We are deeply concerned that the government’s amendment effectively gives licence to faith schools to teach SRE [sex and relationships education] in ways that are homophobic, gender discriminatory and otherwise violate principles of human rights."

Liberal Democrat shadow schools secretary David Laws said the U-turn was "serious and undesirable".

Mr Laws added: “State-funded schools should not be free to put their own spin on sex and relationship education.

“The government should not pander in any way either to homophobia or to those who want young people kept in the dark when they are already exposed to these issues through the media well before the age of 16.”

According to the bill, schools should ensure that sex education “[is] appropriate to the ages of the pupils concerned and to their religious and cultural backgrounds”, “reflects a reasonable range of religious, cultural and other perspectives” and “emphasises the importance of both rights and responsibilities.”

A spokesman from the Department for Children, Schools and Families said that all schools would have to teach sex education when the new requirements came into law next year.

He told the Guardian: "All maintained schools will be required to teach full programmes of study in line with the principles outlined in the bill, including promoting equality and encouraging acceptance of diversity.

"Schools with a religious character will be free to express their faith and reflect the ethos of their school, but what they cannot do is suggest that their views are the only ones."

Source by Jessica Geen • February 19, 2010 - Pink News - UK

NEW JERSEY: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN POUR LE MARIAGE GAY ET LESBIEN

Alors que le Sénat et le Parlement du New Jersey (USA) sont sur le point d'examiner une proposition de loi visant à régulariser le mariage des personnes du même sexe, le chanteur Bruce SPRINGSTEEN est intervenu dans le débat pour rappeler son engagement en faveur de l'égalité des droits civiques et du mariage gay. Voici ce qu'on peut lire sur son site:

Like many of you who live in New Jersey, I've been following the progress of the marriage-equality legislation currently being considered in Trenton. I've long believed in and have always spoken out for the rights of same sex couples and fully agree with Governor Corzine when he writes that, "The marriage-equality issue should be recognized for what it truly is -- a civil rights issue that must be approved to assure that every citizen is treated equally under the law." I couldn't agree more with that statement and urge those who support equal treatment for our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters to let their voices be heard now

Comme beaucoup d'entre vous qui vivent au New Jersey, j'ai suivi l'évolution de la législation sur le mariage des personnes du même sexe qui est actuellement pris en considération à Trenton. J'en suis depuis longtemps partisan et j'ai toujours pris position pour les droits dse couples du même sexe, et je suis tout fait d'accord avec le gouverneur Corzine quand il écrit que "La question de l'égalité du mariage devrait être reconnue pour ce qu'elle est vraiment--une question de droits civiques qui doit être approuvée afin que chaque citoyen soit véritablement traité de manière égalitaire au regard de la loi." Je suis entièrement d'accord avec cette prise de position et presse ceux qui sont en faveur de l'égalité de traitement pour nos frères gays et nos soeurs lesbiennes pour faire en sorte que leurs voix soient entendues maintenant.

L'actuel gouverneur du New Jersey, Corzine, est démocrate et favorable aux unions des personnes du même sexe. Il y a urgence que le Parlement du New Jersey vote la loi, car le gouverneur Corzine est sortant et sera remplacé par un gouverneur républicain, Chris Christie, dans le courant du mois de janvier, et le gouverneur entrant a déjà fait savoir qu'il opposerait son veto à une loi autorisant le mariage gay et lesbien.

A noter cependant que le gouverneur Christie est un grand admirateur de Springsteen, comme la plupart des habitants du New Jersey d'ailleurs. Bruce Springsteen, surnommé The Boss, est , on le sait, un enfant du pays. Le gouverneur Christie aurait assisté à 122 concerts du chanteur. Bruce Springsteen a par contre décliné l'invitation à participer aux cérémonies d'intronisation du nouveau gouverneur. Springsteen est, faut-il le souligner, un démocrate convaincu.

Rappelons qu'en 1994, Bruce Springsteen avait reçu un Oscar pour sa chanson Streets of Philadelphia, extrait de la bande originale du film Philadelphia avec Tom Hanks, l'un des premiers films à aborder avec talent le thème du sida. Voici une video tournée au moment de la remise de l'Oscar.



Source by GAY KOSMOPOL

Un communiqué sur le site du gouvernement québecois

Vers une société plus juste, plus tolérante et plus riche de sa diversité - La ministre de la Justice rend publique la Politique québécoise de lutte contre l'homophobie

QUÉBEC, le 11 déc. /CNW Telbec/ - «Par le geste qu'elle pose ce matin, la société québécoise démontre une fois de plus qu'elle est à l'avant-garde en matière de droits des personnes de minorités sexuelles.» C'est en ces termes que la ministre de la Justice, Procureure générale du Québec et ministre responsable de la lutte contre l'homophobie, Mme Kathleen Weil (photo), s'est exprimée ce matin en rendant publique la première Politique québécoise de lutte contre l'homophobie. La politique privilégie des orientations et des choix stratégiques qui ont pour objectif de favoriser l'atteinte de l'égalité sociale des personnes de minorités sexuelles et de faire en sorte que le Québec devienne véritablement une société affranchie de préjugés. Ces orientations visent à reconnaître les réalités des personnes de minorités sexuelles; à favoriser le respect de leurs droits; à favoriser leur mieux-être, notamment en leur offrant des services adaptés à leurs besoins; et enfin, à assurer une action concertée de tous les acteurs sociaux dans la lutte contre l'homophobie. Cette politique a été élaborée à la suite du rapport De l'égalité juridique à l'égalité sociale - Vers une stratégie nationale de lutte contre l'homophobie, produit par la Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse, en mars 2007. «Qu'elles se traduisent par des mesures à grande échelle ou par de simples gestes au quotidien, je suis convaincue que chacune de nos actions pour contrer l'homophobie fera évoluer le Québec vers une société plus juste, plus tolérante et plus riche de sa diversité, tant au bénéfice de ses citoyennes et citoyens qu'à celui des prochaines générations», a souligné la ministre. Pour Laurent McCutcheon, président de Gai Ecoute et de la Fondation Emergence, et porte-parole pour l'adoption d'une politique de lutte contre l'homophobie, il s'agit d'un grand jour pour les communautés de personnes gaies, lesbiennes, bisexuelles, transsexuelles ou transgenres, qui souhaitaient vivement une telle initiative, d'autant plus qu'elle est le fruit d'une collaboration entre le gouvernement et les représentants du milieu. «Avec sa Politique québécoise de lutte contre l'homophobie, le Québec innove de nouveau en matière de reconnaissance des personnes homosexuelles et LGBT. L'égalité juridique étant chose faite, nous sommes désormais en marche vers une véritable égalité sociale, et cette politique sera un levier exceptionnel pour y arriver», a conclu M. McCutcheon.

Source by GAY KOSMOPOL

Brazil takes off - The Economist

Now the risk for Latin America’s big success story is hubris

WHEN, back in 2001, economists at Goldman Sachs bracketed Brazil with Russia, India and China as the economies that would come to dominate the world, there was much sniping about the B in the BRIC acronym. Brazil? A country with a growth rate as skimpy as its swimsuits, prey to any financial crisis that was around, a place of chronic political instability, whose infinite capacity to squander its obvious potential was as legendary as its talent for football and carnivals, did not seem to belong with those emerging titans.

Now that scepticism looks misplaced. China may be leading the world economy out of recession but Brazil is also on a roll. It did not avoid the downturn, but was among the last in and the first out. Its economy is growing again at an annualised rate of 5%. It should pick up more speed over the next few years as big new deep-sea oilfields come on stream, and as Asian countries still hunger for food and minerals from Brazil’s vast and bountiful land. Forecasts vary, but sometime in the decade after 2014—rather sooner than Goldman Sachs envisaged—Brazil is likely to become the world’s fifth-largest economy, overtaking Britain and France. By 2025 São Paulo will be its fifth-wealthiest city, according to PwC, a consultancy.


And, in some ways, Brazil outclasses the other BRICs. Unlike China, it is a democracy. Unlike India, it has no insurgents, no ethnic and religious conflicts nor hostile neighbours. Unlike Russia, it exports more than oil and arms, and treats foreign investors with respect. Under the presidency of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a former trade-union leader born in poverty, its government has moved to reduce the searing inequalities that have long disfigured it. Indeed, when it comes to smart social policy and boosting consumption at home, the developing world has much more to learn from Brazil than from China. In short, Brazil suddenly seems to have made an entrance onto the world stage. Its arrival was symbolically marked last month by the award of the 2016 Olympics to Rio de Janeiro; two years earlier, Brazil will host football’s World Cup.

At last, economic sense
In fact, Brazil’s emergence has been steady, not sudden. The first steps were taken in the 1990s when, having exhausted all other options, it settled on a sensible set of economic policies. Inflation was tamed, and spendthrift local and federal governments were required by law to rein in their debts. The Central Bank was granted autonomy, charged with keeping inflation low and ensuring that banks eschew the adventurism that has damaged Britain and America. The economy was thrown open to foreign trade and investment, and many state industries were privatised.

All this helped spawn a troupe of new and ambitious Brazilian multinationals (see our special report). Some are formerly state-owned companies that are flourishing as a result of being allowed to operate at arm’s length from the government. That goes for the national oil company, Petrobras, for Vale, a mining giant, and Embraer, an aircraft-maker. Others are private firms, like Gerdau, a steelmaker, or JBS, soon to be the world’s biggest meat producer. Below them stands a new cohort of nimble entrepreneurs, battle-hardened by that bad old past. Foreign investment is pouring in, attracted by a market boosted by falling poverty and a swelling lower-middle class. The country has established some strong political institutions. A free and vigorous press uncovers corruption—though there is plenty of it, and it mostly goes unpunished.

Just as it would be a mistake to underestimate the new Brazil, so it would be to gloss over its weaknesses. Some of these are depressingly familiar. Government spending is growing faster than the economy as a whole, but both private and public sectors still invest too little, planting a question-mark over those rosy growth forecasts. Too much public money is going on the wrong things. The federal government’s payroll has increased by 13% since September 2008. Social-security and pension spending rose by 7% over the same period although the population is relatively young. Despite recent improvements, education and infrastructure still lag behind China’s or South Korea’s (as a big power cut this week reminded Brazilians). In some parts of Brazil, violent crime is still rampant.

National champions and national handicaps
There are new problems on the horizon, just beyond those oil platforms offshore. The real has gained almost 50% against the dollar since early December. That boosts Brazilians’ living standards by making imports cheaper. But it makes life hard for exporters. The government last month imposed a tax on short-term capital inflows. But that is unlikely to stop the currency’s appreciation, especially once the oil starts pumping.

Lula’s instinctive response to this dilemma is industrial policy. The government will require oil-industry supplies—from pipes to ships—to be produced locally. It is bossing Vale into building a big new steelworks. It is true that public policy helped to create Brazil’s industrial base. But privatisation and openness whipped this into shape. Meanwhile, the government is doing nothing to dismantle many of the obstacles to doing business—notably the baroque rules on everything from paying taxes to employing people. Dilma Rousseff, Lula’s candidate in next October’s presidential election, insists that no reform of the archaic labour law is needed (see article).

And perhaps that is the biggest danger facing Brazil: hubris. Lula is right to say that his country deserves respect, just as he deserves much of the adulation he enjoys. But he has also been a lucky president, reaping the rewards of the commodity boom and operating from the solid platform for growth erected by his predecessor, Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Maintaining Brazil’s improved performance in a world suffering harder times means that Lula’s successor will have to tackle some of the problems that he has felt able to ignore. So the outcome of the election may determine the speed with which Brazil advances in the post-Lula era. Nevertheless, the country’s course seems to be set. Its take-off is all the more admirable because it has been achieved through reform and democratic consensus-building. If only China could say the same.

SOURCE BY.: The Economist print edition, NOV 12TH 2009

House Votes to Expand Hate Crimes Definition

By CARL HULSE
Published: October 8, 2009

"WASHINGTON — The House voted Thursday to expand the definition of violent federal hate crimes to those committed because of a victim’s sexual orientation, a step that would extend new protection to lesbian, gay and transgender people.

Democrats hailed the vote of 281 to 146, which brought the measure to the brink of becoming law, as the culmination of a long push to curb violent expressions of bias like the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming college student.

“Left unchecked, crimes of this kind threaten to ruin the very fabric of America,” said Representative Susan A. Davis, Democrat of California, a leading supporter of the legislation.

Under current federal law, hate crimes that fall under federal jurisdiction are defined as those motivated by the victim’s race, color, religion or national origin.

The new measure would broaden the definition to include those committed because of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. It was approved by the House right before a weekend when gay rights will be a focus in Washington, with a march to the Capitol and a speech by President Obama to the Human Rights Campaign.

Republicans criticized the legislation, saying violent attacks were already illegal regardless of motive. They said the measure was an effort to create a class of “thought crimes” whose prosecution would require ascribing motivation to the attacker.

Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the House Republican leader, called the legislation radical social policy.

“The idea that we’re going to pass a law that’s going to add further charges to someone based on what they may have been thinking, I think is wrong,” Mr. Boehner said.

Republicans were also furious that the measure was attached to an essential $681 billion military policy bill, and accused Democrats of legislative blackmail.

Even some Republican members of the usually collegial House Armed Services Committee who helped write the broader legislation, which authorizes military pay, weapons programs and other necessities for the armed forces, opposed the bill in the end, solely because of the hate crimes provision.

“We believe this is a poison pill, poisonous enough that we refuse to be blackmailed into voting for a piece of social agenda that has no place in this bill,” said Representative Todd Akin of Missouri, a senior Republican member of the committee.

On the final vote, 237 Democrats were joined by 44 Republicans in support of the bill; 131 Republicans and 15 Democrats opposed it. The Democratic opponents were a mix of conservatives who were against the hate crimes provision and liberals opposed to Pentagon provisions.

The military bill has yet to be approved by the Senate. But the hate crimes provision has solid support there, and Senator John McCain of Arizona, the senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the overall bill outweighed his own objections to including the hate crimes measure.

Mr. Obama supports the hate crimes provision, though the White House has raised objections to elements of the bill related to military acquisitions. If signed into law, the hate crimes legislation would reflect the ability of Democrats to enact difficult measures with their increased majorities in Congress and a Democrat in the White House.

“Elections have consequences,” Mr. McCain said.

Similar hate crime provisions have passed the House and the Senate in previous years but have never been able to clear their final hurdles. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that it was fitting that Congress was acting now, since next Monday is the 11th anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s killing. The hate crimes part of the bill is named for Mr. Shepard and James Byrd Jr., a black man killed in a race-based attack in Texas the same year.

The hate crimes legislation would give the federal government authority to prosecute violent crimes of antigay bias when local authorities failed to act. It would also allocate $5 million a year to the Justice Department to provide assistance to local communities in investigating hate crimes, a process that can sometimes strain police resources. And it would allow the department to assist in the inquiry and local prosecution if requested.

“The problem of crimes motivated by bias,” the measure says, “is sufficiently serious, widespread and interstate in nature as to warrant federal assistance to states, local jurisdictions and Indian tribes.”

Senator Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat who heads the Armed Services Committee, said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation recorded reports of more than 77,000 hate crimes from 1998 through 2007 and that crimes based on sexual orientation were on an upward trend.

“The hate crimes act will hopefully deter people from being targeted for violent attacks because of the color of their skin or their religion, their disability, their gender or their sexual orientation, regardless of where the crime takes place,” he said.

But Representative Mike Pence of Indiana, the No. 3 House Republican, said the measure could inhibit freedom of speech and deter religious leaders from discussing their views on homosexuality for fear that those publicly expressed views might be linked to later assaults.

“It is just simply wrong,” Mr. Pence said, “to use a bill designed to support our troops to reverse the very freedoms for which they fight.”

Democrats, however, noted that the bill would specifically bar prosecution based on an individual’s expression of “racial, religious, political or other beliefs.” It also states that nothing in the measure should be “construed to diminish any rights under the First Amendment to the Constitution.”

Source.: By CARL HULSE. Published: October 8, 2009 The New York Times

O HOMEM DO SENADO!

Middle East Open

Middle East Open from Spam Cartoon on Vimeo.

E falando em Middle East, varios amigos me perguntam se e seguro morar por aqui. Well, eu costumo nao viajar para determinadas partes aqui do Oriente Medio, o que e uma pena, pois dentro da historia, tem tantos lugares que eu adoraria ir visitar. Quem sabe um dia, este pessoal nao acorda para a vida!?