Gareth Thomas: How the truth has set me free

It takes a lot to stop Gareth Thomas smiling these days. From the moment the 6ft 3in Welsh rugby legend walks into the room, his Cheshire cat grin seems to be permanently propping up his ears. In December, the 36-year-old became the first professional rugby player to come out as gay.

"I'm beaming. I'm constantly beaming," he admits, flashing a toothy grin, reconstructed after rugby took away his real incisors. "I always thought the world was a horrible place and that justified me lying. But what I found is the world isn't a dark place... The truth has set me free."

Unlike the Welsh rugby referee Nigel Owens, who came out in 2007 ahead of the World Cup, Thomas chose to come out after he had retired as the captain of Wales and his career in rugby union was almost over. But his coach and team-mates knew the truth years before. "They were great. That was the start of realising that the people who I thought might boot me out actually closed ranks with me."

Thomas, who topped The IoS's Pink List last week, knows that what he did would be impossible for the probably hundreds of professional sports men and women who are still in the closet. Since coming out, Thomas, who now plays rugby league for the aptly named Crusaders, has been inundated with letters from high-profile athletes too scared to take the step he has.

"Other athletes all over the world have contacted me since, asking about the processes of coming out. I've spoken to maybe about 10 people, from various sports. A lot of them can't come out – literally – because their culture or religion or society doesn't allow them to. For me, the comforting thing is knowing that there are other athletes out there, but it is a shame that they don't feel they can come out."

Thomas, who is Wales's most capped international, keeps all his letters of support in three overflowing shoe boxes under his bed. "I would honestly give up every rugby achievement I've got for just one of those letters," he says. In one of the boxes is a letter from a retired professional rugby player in his eighties who kept his sexuality a secret. "It was a really touching letter. He said that he lived his whole life as a lie and never felt he could come out, because he thought that the wider world of rugby wouldn't accept him. He said that what I did gave him so much happiness because, although he didn't do it, he was so proud that someone actually did."

Despite all that support, as the only high-profile openly gay man in British sport, he admits it can be lonely. In football, Justin Fashanu is still the only well-known player to admit to being gay, and he ended up taking his own life. "The experience of Justin Fashanu doesn't promote coming out because it's a terrible story. Nobody wants to follow that, so another footballer now would have to walk in the dark like I had to, and make their own path."

Yet Thomas himself was close to following a similar journey. After coming out to his wife, Jemma, in 2006, he wanted to end his life. "I can remember sitting by the pool when Jemma had left me in France, and we'd split, and I was drinking vodka and trying my best to find the strength to just plop my head under the water. I was questioning who I was then, because I was thinking, 'I'm so pathetic, I haven't even got the guts to kill myself.' I had just lost the best thing that ever happened to me, and I thought I was going to lose rugby because people would start finding out I was gay."

Since his very public emergence from the closet, he has stayed in touch with his ex-wife, who he says has been "incredible". Their latest text exchange was after Jemma heard that Thomas was to be the subject of a Mickey Rourke biopic. Like many of his friends, her first question was about which actress would play her. "Even my binman thinks he's going to be in it."

No film of Thomas's life would be complete without the low points he has had since December. The worst came in his second match for the Crusaders, in March, when opposition Castleford fans screamed homophobic chants. "It was really tough. I remember being on the field and hearing the chanting, and my first thought was: 'Why did I do it?' I thought, I'm just standing here in the rugby field in a really lonely place." But what happened afterwards showed a real change in sport. Castleford was fined £40,000, which sent a clear message to the fans.

As for boyfriends, "there's not someone at the minute," he says, looking away shyly. "It'd be a barrier for me to knock down. I'm not sure if I'd be comfortable introducing someone as my boyfriend, because I never have before." But the issue is not just one of apprehensiveness – it is also a matter of practicality. "It's impossible for me to meet men. I play weekends, and that's when people go out and meet each other. I also live in Wrexham, which isn't exactly the gay capital of the world."

Before coming out, Thomas had always dreamt of living in London, but now he's not so sure. "I realised when I came out that, when we went out in London, I wanted to be in Wales because that's my home. At the pub back home, though there's no other gay men there, I'm accepted. I love to have a quiet pint and socialise with friends."

Although he's grateful for the welcome he has had from London's gay community, it is as if now he has been accepted he can return to being the rugby-mad boy from Bridgend. "I always want to stay the same Gareth Thomas: I'm a mammy's boy, I love my roots, and I don't want to stray from that. It's tough because now that I'm going off in different directions my feet are lifting off the ground a bit and I don't want to do that – I want to stay on the ground. It's scary, but it's also kind of exciting."

The Pink List 2010: Readers' reactions

Looking forward to your grey or beige list to "celebrate" heterosexuals... in the interest of equality.

Rob48

Martin Luther King dreamt of a day where people will be judged "by the content of their character, not the colour of their skin". I hope we can get to a day where sexual orientation is as newsworthy as foot size.

brazierdv

I'm sure those included in the list are pleased someone remembered them. For others, it is a discussion point for the next pregnant pause.

Shelairone

So, Louis Spence is a stereotype and ends up on the naff list, while Alan Carr is lauded for an "Eva Peron" moment? What are you saying to gay kids who are not yet out – the gay community hates you as much as the guys bullying you at school!?

MattJB24

Well, at least Mandelson is no longer No 1. That he once was makes me very suspicious of lists such as this.

Junkets

I rather enjoyed the Pink List. As I read it I found myself saying "I do love The Independent on Sunday". I am gay, yet found it inoffensive, fun and informative. Great stuff!

Jacob

Gareth Thomas, great choice. Good to see Peter Tatchell get the recognition he deserves. Nice to see Julie Bindel in the Top 101 too. All in all, a pretty well-balanced Pink List.

Martyn Richard Jones

An extension of the gay stereotype of shouting "look at me – I'm gay!"

Stuart

I hope for the day when there is no IoS Pink List because gay people are so much an accepted part of society that no one would read it. Until then, long may it demonstrate how much we benefit from all minority groups.

Mike Hewlett

Only two women judges? And how come a 101-strong list has only 30 women? Like hell do I struggle for equality as a lesbian to quietly accept second place as a woman.

Elena G

Next week can we have a list of the 101 influential ginger people and then 101 influential fat people?

rabwallace

Thoroughly entertaining. If I were a teenager again, I would be inspired at the freedom and openness these people deserve and enjoy.

roamingcat

Photo Credit By ANDY PARADISE and The Independent

Marilyn Monroe and her literary loves

She was the original blonde; her platinum curls inspiring millions of women to reach for the bottle. But Marilyn Monroe was no stereotypical intellectual lightweight, according to a collection of her own private writings that will paint an alternative picture of the cinematic icon when it is published this autumn.


The film star reveals her passion for literary giants including James Joyce, Walt Whitman and Samuel Beckett in previously unseen diary entries, musings and poems, challenging the popular myth that blondes are supposed to be dumb.

Although existing images of the starlet have shown Monroe posing with copies of Joyce's seminal novel Ulysses and Whitman's Leaves of Grass, the new book will mark the first time she has expanded on her literary tastes.

Bernard Comment, who is editing Fragments, which will be published jointly by the Editions du Seuil in France and Farrar, Straus & Giroux in the United States in October, revealed last week that Whitman, one of the most influential American poets, had "fascinated" Monroe. "In these very personal texts we come across James Joyce, who she discovered aged 26, performing extracts from Molly's famous soliloquy. She also admired Samuel Beckett, who was in his first flush of success when she was a regular at the Actors Studio after her arrival in New York. More surprising still is her fascination with Walt Whitman, the founder of modern American poetry," he said.

Her writings, which span just over half her life to the eve of her death in 1962, suggest that Monroe had a flair for writing words as well as speaking them. "There is a certain melancholy in the tone of the book, and what is very beautiful is the way the ideas interlink even if they are scattered through the page," Mr Comment said.

Monroe, whose death at the age of 36 remains a mystery, was an avid reader and something of a culture vulture while she lived in New York, frequently visiting museums and attending plays. Not that she got any credit for her intellect. Michelle Morgan, who wrote Marilyn Monroe: Private and Undisclosed, said: "She played ditzy blondes and for some reason people believed that was the person she was, but that couldn't have been further from the truth. It's intriguing that she seems to be one of the only actresses who people confuse with her parts. People believed she was a joke but she was always trying to better herself."

She had a vast library, which included works by George Bernard Shaw, Tennessee Williams, Ernest Hemingway, D H Lawrence, F Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinbeck, as well as Joyce, which she took with her whenever she moved house, something she did many times over her short lifetime. Her copy of Ulysses fetched $9,200 (£5,800) at an auction of her possessions by Christie's in 1999. While in Hollywood, she briefly took evening courses in art appreciation and literature at UCLA before withdrawing after her presence proved too distracting for the other students.

The book will also include notes from her readings about Renaissance art, letters and about 30 photos. Mr Comment has hinted that Fragments will include revelations about her love affairs. He has promised news of her lovers, who are rumoured to have included John F Kennedy as well as his brother Robert. There are also diary-style entries on Monroe's relationship with Arthur Miller, her third husband.


Source By Susie Mesure

Marines chief says US military gay ban ‘is working’

"The commandant of the Marine Corps said yesterday he did not agree with lifting the ban on gay US soldiers being open about their sexuality.

General James Conway told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that he believed that the “current policy works”.

He is the highest-ranking military officer to disagree with president Barack Obama’s stance that the 1993 law should be repealed.

Gen Conway is thought to be the only chief to have carried out a survey of his generals on their feelings about lifting the ban.

In November, it was reported that he had been more outspoken than other service chiefs in his opposition to out gay soldiers.

Yesterday, he said: “I think the current policy works. At this point. . . my best military advice to this committee, to the [defence] secretary, to the president would be to keep the law such as it is.”

He added that repealing the ban should not be a question of fairness. Instead, he said, the question was whether it would “enhance the war-fighting of the United States Marine Corps.”

President Barack Obama and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen support repeal of the law, which allows gay soldiers to serve as long as they kept their sexual orientation secret.

If they reveal it, or are outed, they can be fired. Around 13,000 soldiers are believed to have been discharged under the law. In addition, their partners are not informed if they are killed or injured in action.

Earlier this week, Army Chief of Staff General George Casey and Army Secretary John McHugh told the panel they did not support a temporary ban on discharges while a year-long review is carried out.

In the House of Representatives yesterday, Congressman Jim Moran read a letter on the floor from an active duty soldier in Iraq.

He said that the soldier had “learned that a fellow soldier was also gay, only after he was killed by an IED in Iraq. The partner of the deceased soldier wrote the unit to say how much the victim had loved the military; how they were the only family he had ever known.”

According to the University of California’s Palm Center, the unnamed soldier is the second publicly known case of a gay soldier killed in action during the current wars in the Middle East.

The first was US Army Major Alan Rogers, who died while on patrol in Iraq in January, 2008.

Statisticians have estimated that more than 200 gay and lesbian service members have died in action since the onset of the conflict."

Source By Jessica Geen. Pink News

FA's anti-homophobia video

ohnny Weir speaks out at press conference

Johnny Weir speaks out at press conference
Uploaded by 1dobiedc. - News videos hot off the press.

Yesterday, U.S. figure skater Johnny Weir held a press conference to respond to the offensive comments that some Quebecois TV sportscasters made about him this week.

Source by 1dobiedc and Dennis Ayers

Greens to launch LGBT general election manifesto

Green Party celebrates strongest UK policy on LGBT marriage – Peter Tatchell and Caroline Lucas to speak at launch

18.30, Friday 26th February The Brighton Tavern, 100 Gloucester Road, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 4AP



The Green Party is to launch what it claims is the best manifesto on offer for LGBTIQ people (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer) in the coming general election (1).

The launch will be held in Brighton, which has one of Britain’s biggest LGBTIQ communities, and is where the Greens hope to win their first parliamentary seat – Brighton Pavilion, where party leader Caroline Lucas has been tipped by bookies and most opinion polls to be on course for victory.

And the launch will be held during the Conservative Party’s Brighton conference – to draw attention to the Conservatives’ poor track record on LGBT issues.


Greens are the only party to officially support gay marriage

Phelim Mac Cafferty, national chair of the LGBTIQ Greens said today:

“Fresh from our Spring conference where the Green Party became the first and only political party to officially support gay marriage and an end to the ban on civil partnerships being conducted in places of worship, we are announcing our key campaigning policies for the General Election.

“There are 6 core areas which we view as key cornerstones of our LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans) General Election manifesto:

(1) Open up civil marriages and civil partnerships, without discrimination, to both same-sex and opposite sex couples.

(2) Require all police forces to have LGBT Liaison Officers with paid time allocated within their work schedules to tackle homophobic and transphobic hate crime.

(3) End the blanket, lifetime ban on gay and bisexual blood donors.

(4) Amend the Equality Bill/Act to provide explicit protection against harassment to LGBT people.

(5) Refuse visas and work permits to "murder music" singers and others who incite homophobic and transphobic violence.

(6) Ensure safe haven and refugee status for LGBT people fleeing persecution in violently homophobic and transphobic countries.

“Leading human rights activist, Peter Tatchell and Green Party Leader, Caroline Lucas MEP, along with local and national LGBT activists and supporters will address some of these key areas of the manifesto."



Conservatives’ "continuous failure to commit"

Phelim Mac Cafferty added:

“Our launch will coincide with the Conservatives’ Spring conference which is also in Brighton – we will highlight the Tories’ continuous failure to commit to LGBT equality, whether that’s over the Shadow Cabinet’s votes against access to fertility treatment for lesbian and bi women or David Cameron’s own vote against gay adoption. Some 85 per cent of those eligible in the Conservative Shadow Cabinet voted for the hated homophobic Section 28 while 90% voted against an equal age of consent and today Tories continue to oppose the Equalities Bill in the House of Lords.

“While the Conservatives voted against Clause 61 of the Coroners & Justice Bill, (outlawing homophobic hate speech), Greens are using the general election period and our specific LGBT manifesto to send out a clear call that homophobic and transphobic crimes need, urgently, to be dealt with on a par with racist crimes.

“On education policy, a core part of Conservative policy is to allow any group of parents who wish to set up a school to receive state funding. This despite figures from the National Secular Society who warn that there is a large rise in religious fundamentalist schools when this happens which in turn means a large increase in homophobic bullying – which is 10 per cent worse in faith schools. This stands in sharp contrast to the Green Party’s position in our manifesto to remove special treatment allowing faith schools to promote homophobia on the grounds of religion.

“The Conservative Party are distinctly quiet on what happens to the subject of law and order and LGBT people - despite a large increase of attacks on LGBTs in the last year. The Greens are using the general election period to call for all police forces to have equality and diversity liaison officers whose remit is to tackle, and take preventive action on crimes against LGBT people.



Peter Tatchell and Caroline Lucas

Leading campaigner and Green Party spokesperson on human rights Peter Tatchell commented on the launch:

“The Green Party will go into the general election as the only party campaigning for marriage and partnership equality. We are calling for civil marriages and civil partnerships to be open to both same-sex and opposite-sex couples, without discrimination. We reaffirm our opposition to the blanket, lifetime ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood. Our manifesto commitments show up the shortcomings of the other parties.”

Caroline Lucas, Leader of the Green Party, stated:

“We are delighted to be proudly launching a specific manifesto which will put on centre stage the Green Party’s firm commitment to LGBT equality. We will use the period up to the manifesto to promote re-writing of the Mental Health Act to remove trans people from the Psychiatric Disorder Register and lobby for training for head teachers to create safe environments for LGBT staff and students.”



The Green Party's LGBTIQ manifesto

The Green Party aims to treat everyone equally and fairly. We will work to ensure respect for everyone whatever their ethnicity, gender and gender identity, age, religious belief or non-belief, sexual orientation, class, size, disability or other status.

• Amend the Equalities Bill/Act to provide explicit protection against harassment of LGBTIQ people.

• Require all police forces to have equality and diversity liaison officers whose remit is to tackle, and take preventive action on crimes against LGBTI people, people from ethnic minorities including refugees and asylum seekers, disabled people and on the grounds of faith or belief.

• Legally target incitement of hatred on the grounds of gender identity and amend the Equality Bill/Act to provide explicit protection against harassment of LGBTI people.

• Open up civil marriages and civil partnerships, without discrimination, to both same-sex and opposite sex couples.

• End the blanket, lifetime ban on gay and bisexual blood donors.

• Campaign for homophobic, transphobic and crimes against disabled people, including people with learning difficulties, to be dealt with effectively and on a par with racist crimes.

• Ensure legal parity for parents and those wishing to become parents regardless of sexual orientation, and equality of provision of maternity services; lobby for widely available, affordable state-funded crèches.

• Push for the rewriting of the Mental Health Act to remove trans people from the Psychiatric Disorder Register.

• Campaign against any reduction in the AIDS/HIV budget and target health promotion work to prevent sexually transmitted infections.

• Ensure safe haven and refugee status for LGBTI people fleeing persecution in line with other social groups according to the Geneva Convention.

• Ensure safe haven and refugee status from women fleeing domestic violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation where there is no adequate protection by the authorities in their own country.

• Refuse visas and work permits to "murder music" singers and others who incite homophobic and transphobic violence.

• Oppose all opt-outs from equality and anti-discrimination laws by religious organisations and remove special treatment allowing faith schools to promote homophobia on the grounds of religion.

• Comprehensive training for teachers and educational staff on all diversity and inclusion issues; schools to promote equal opportunities in their anti-bullying procedures; equalities issues to be monitored in teaching recruitment.

• Implement a UK-wide strategy to tackle violence against women including domestic violence, rape and sexual abuse and trafficking. • Ensure that effective action is taken to prevent discrimination against disabled people.

• Work towards ending stigma against people with mental health problems including discrimination in employment.

• Enforce penalties against employers who continue to implement unequal pay

• Work vigorously towards ensuring that all levels of government are representative of the diversity of the populations for whom they work.

• Support human rights and democracy struggles including those of LGBTI and women's movements in oppressive states, such as Saudi Arabia, Jamaica, Iran.

Source by http://www.greenparty.org.uk

Bishops call for gay civil partnerships in church

Senior clergy in the Church of England called today to lift the ban on gay couples having civil partnerships in church.

In a letter to The Times, faith leaders including the Bishop of Salisbury, the Dean of Southwark and five retired bishops said that it was inconsistent and discriminatory to ban gay couples having their ceremonies in churches willing to accommodate them.

They cited three faiths – Liberal Judaism, the Quakers and the Unitarians – who wish to hold civil partnership ceremonies.

The Civil Partnerships Act 2004 explicitly bans any faith from holding civil partnership ceremonies. They must be held in approved premises which are not used for religious ceremonies and cannot contain religious language.

Last month, out gay peer Lord Waheed Alli tabled an amendment to the Equality Bill to remove these restrictions. It was debated and gained the support of peers, although the Bishops of Winchester and Chichester opposed it.

The letter said: "It is inconsistent to affirm the spiritual independence of the Church of England and simultaneously to deny the spiritual independence of the three small communities who seek this change for themselves (and not for anybody else)."

It continued: "Straight couples have the choice between civil marriage and religious marriage. Gay couples are denied a similar choice. To deny people of faith the opportunity of registering the most important promise of their lives in their willing church or synagogue, according to its liturgy, is plainly discriminatory."

Lord Alli is to present the amendment again on March 2nd and the letter called for bishops in the House of Lords to support it.

The letter said: "We urge every peer who believes in spiritual independence, or in non-discrimination, to support it."

By Jessica Geen - Pink News -

Top U.S. General: Let Gays Serve Openly

Gen. Raymond Odierno, the top U.S. general in Iraq (Source:AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)







The top U.S. general in Iraq said Monday he could slow the exit of U.S. combat forces this year if Iraq’s politics are chaotic following elections this spring. Gen. Ray Odierno said there are no signs that will be necessary, but he says he has a Plan B and told his superiors about it during Washington meetings over the past week.

The U.S. has about 96,000 troops in Iraq nearly seven years after the American-led invasion that overthrew dictator Saddam Hussein. That’s the lowest number of American forces in the country since the invasion.

Under an agreement negotiated under former President George W. Bush, all combat troops are to leave the country by Aug. 31 although some 50,000 will remain behind to help train Iraqi security forces.

The remaining support troops are to be gone by the end of 2011.

"If you ask me today, I’m fully committed and that’s the right course of action," Odierno told reporters at the Pentagon.

However, he noted earlier, "if something happens" between now and late spring - such as problems with the formation of the new Iraqi government following elections next month - the U.S. could slow down the rate of deployments. The U.S. also could speed up the withdrawal if necessary, he said.

When asked whether gays should be allowed to serve openly in the military, Odierno said yes, "as long as we are still able to fight our wars."

His comment was among the first to come from a senior military leader currently leading troops in battle since the Pentagon announced earlier this month that it will study the issue.

Odierno said he hadn’t had much time to think about the military’s "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy and said it has been a "non-issue" to him.

"That doesn’t mean it’s right," he said. "All I’m saying is as I’ve implemented this war now for seven-years, we’ve been able to get forces out that are ready and prepared to conduct operations.

"My opinion is everyone should be allowed to serve, as long as we’re able to fight our wars and we’re able to have forces that are capable of doing whatever they are asked to do," he said.

Source by Anne Flaherty Associated Press

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

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

Larry Kramer speaks out on Joy Behar Show

Source by CNN

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

Anti-Gay Protester Gets Dose Of Her Own Medicine

"An angry loser (right) came to Syracuse University to make a fool of herself by spreading pathetic hatred and was treated to a happy mutant style stunt by this smiling student, named Chris Pesto (left).

I decided that because this woman thought it was okay to make me feel uncomfortable in my home, I would retaliate and make her feel just as uncomfortable, if not more.
This woman was wearing a ankle-length corduroy skirt, which, as we all know, is a fashion nono. So, in order to make her feel uncomfortable, I stood next to her and held a sign that said Corduroy skirts are a sin! I don't think I have ever drawn so much attention in my life. SO many people asked to take a picture with me, I got laughs, high fives and there were the few that even cursed off the woman standing behind me.

As I drew interest to what was going on with myself and the woman with the hateful sign, I started to draw a crowd that stood with me in support. Before I knew it I had 100+ people holding signs for gay rights asking people to honk their horns to support. I was interviewed by a news station, and more than 5 student organization papers, and the post standard of syracuse.

I never expected anybody to come stand by me and support and I appreciate it so much that everyone came! It meant so much and it proved to those ignorant people that we aren't afraid, and we will put up a fight.

I'm proud that Syracuse has such a homosexual friendly community."


The West Wing - Biblical Quotes vs. Homosexuality

SOURCE BY JEZEBEL, MARK FRAUENFELDER-BOING BOING AND BLOG DO BHY

Escuta Essa! - Judas e Jesus juntos contra o chumbo quente?

Olha, todos os paises tem suas difuculdades, seja politica ou social. Aqui por exemplo, quantas pessoas morrem todos os dias nos paises vizinhos como Iraque ou Kabul e etc...? E em Londres em 2005? Nao quero e nao defendo ninguem, mais que este conflito entRe traficantes e policia e uma coisa cronica isso sempre foi e existiu. Mais colocar a vida de inocentes em risco isso nao se pode aceitar mesmo.
NUNCA OUVI TANTA BESTEIRA POR PARTE DE GOVERNO E POLITICOS.

Howard Stern: We Must Make Gay Marriage Acceptable 4.29.09

"Howard Stern issued a strong message of support for gay people on his show today, in only the way Howard can. I've edited out some of the dirty bits, but here is some of it:

Stern "My feeling about gay people is that we have a responsibility not only to make gay marriage acceptable and to make gays feel accepted as much as heterosexuals...Gay people are downtrodden They are beaten. They are abused for their sexuality, and it goes across race. In the white community and the black community gay people are the bastards of the world. And in order for things to change, because any one of you could have gay children, or gay relatives, or gay friends...we have a responsibility to make this acceptable, to get all this bullshit so that some gay kid going to high school doesn't get the shit beaten out of him just because he's gay...I'm as heterosexual as they come. What is this hang-up about gay marriage? Who cares? Get on with your life!"

Listen to the unedited clip (warning; some language NSFW), AFTER THE JUMP...

UNBELIEVABLE THE THINGS STILL HAPPENS

The Next Time You Hear "Ex-Gay" ...


WANTED - ATTEMPTED MURDER
“I continued to live as a homosexual for two years after I knew I was HIV-positive,” Johnston said in a 1998 speech to a California church, reported in POZ magazine. “And I am ashamed to say that in those two years not once did I ever tell any of my partners that I was carrying this deadly disease.”


The once higher than the rest former ex-gay Michael Johnston is the poster boy for "ex-gays" and their sullen movement to "convert gay men back on the straight and narrow path".

From BC Politics, As Southern Voice reports, Johnston, who is HIV-positive, admitted to having sex with men — allegedly without disclosing his seriopositive status. The news is also reported by Peter LaBarbera of the right-wing, anti-gay Concerned Women for America's department of Culture and Family, though Pete doesn't mention Michael by name. Ex-gay network Exodus International, however, does name names.

Why has Johnston never been prosecuted for willfull misconduct and possibly spreading HIV by having sex with men without their knowledge of his HIV status ?

Like this man in Texas as was reported back in May, McKinney, TX - A jury sentenced a man to 45 years in prison for knowingly infecting six women with the AIDS.

Philippe Padieu, described by his own lawyer as a "modern-day Casanova," shook his head and looked down when the decision was read yesterday. Jurors sentenced him to 45 years on five counts and 25 years on the sixth, to be served concurrently. Padieu had faced up to 99 years.

The Collin County jury convicted 53-year-old Padieu on Wednesday on six counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Since HIV is the virus that causes AIDS, prosecutors contended Padieu's bodily fluids were a deadly weapon. Padieu is a former martial arts instructor who continued to have unprotected sex after he tested positive for HIV in 2005.

Assistant District Attorney Lisa King in Collin County told jurors earlier yesterday that Padieu deserved a life sentence. But defense attorney Bennie House said Padieu may have made mistakes as a "modern-day Casanova," but did not intentionally spread the virus. He said a 20-year sentence would be fair. Jurors heard testimony was on Thursday in the punishment phase, including from women who described the harm that the HIV diagnosis had done them.

Or this man, A judge in Chicago in the US has sentenced a man to prison for concealing that he was a HIV patient while donating blood to a plasma collection center at Hammond.

Michael Ivy, 46, of East Chicago, pleaded guilty to selling blood contaminated with the HIV in September last year.

Blood plasma is the liquid component of blood, in which the blood cells are suspended. Plasma is a yellow colored liquid. Plasma is the largest single component of blood, making up about 55% of total blood volume. Blood plasma contains many vital proteins including fibrinogen, globulins and human serum albumin.

Pro-Tem Lake County Criminal Court Judge Robert Lewis on Friday ordered Ivy to serve a two-year sentence in a state prison and imposed a one-year probation on him. Ivy admitted he had been diagnosed in August 2002 with HIV. A doctor at St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago confirmed the diagnosis in November 2002 and told Ivy he could never donate blood, plasma or tissue in the future.

Nevertheless, Ivy indicated to Bio-Blood, the Hammond collection center, last summer he wasn't infected with HIV. He checked the "no" box on a questionnaire that asked if he was HIV positive. Court records say Ivy donated blood three times last September before Bio-Blood tested the Sept. 13 specimen and found it HIV positive.

State law requires contaminated blood to be destroyed. According to researchers there is a 90% risk of HIV transmission through infected blood products which is higher than the risk from any other transmission means.

However there are those who object to criminalization of reckless transmission. They say that if there are many high-profile prosecutions, those who might be infected may be deterred from testing.

This may have serious public health implications.

Or this man in Canada, A Canadian man has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for knowingly exposing women to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Carl Leone, 32, was convicted of 15 counts of aggravated assault, each earning him two to five years in jail, to be served consecutively for a total of 49 years.

But the judge reduced his sentence to 18 years to better reflect sentencing guidelines.
Superior Court Justice Joseph Quinn said at sentencing that Leone had committed a "despicable and selfish crime for five to 10 minutes of sexual gratification."

Leone was told in 1997 that he was HIV-positive, seven years before his arrest in June 2004.

Five of his victims are now HIV-positive.


PS.: Extract from the blog LYNDON EVANS

La prostitution ne faiblit pas à Moscou-Reportage-FRANCE24

La prostitution ne faiblit pas à Moscou-Reportage-FRANCE24
Video sent by france24

Souvent venues de provinces, les prostituées seraient plus de 100 000 à Moscou. Que ce soit dans des allées sombres ou dans des maisons closes, leur quotidien est fait de brimades et de violences. (Reportage : R. Goguelin)

Gay Pride à Moscou dans GLOBAL RESISTANCE sur France 4

Gay Pride à Moscou dans GLOBAL RESISTANCE sur France 4
Video sent by sososogay

Gay Pride à Moscou dans GLOBAL RESISTANCE ; 30/06/09

Rá-Tim-Bum Senta Que Lá Vem A História

"14/02/2009

Los jugadores de la Premier League están preocupados por el contenido del libro que en breve publicará Danielle Lloyd, "el más revelador del fútbol" según Daily Star. Al parecer, en él la ex Miss Inglaterra y ex Miss Gran Bretaña dará cuenta de sus romances con afamados futbolistas de la liga inglesa.

Mala sombra. Tomás Guasch

Soriano: "Los jugadores del Valencia cobrarán en breve"

Preferirían en euros" Enfim toda vez que me perguntam sobre futebol por aqui, acho que isso a partir de agora vai ser muito mais facil para mim explicar sobre Futebol.