Sunday, 26 June 2011
Saturday, 25 June 2011
New York governor signs same-sex marriage bill into law
[Source]
Albany, New York (CNN) -- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the state's marriage equality bill hours after it passed the Republican-controlled Senate on Friday night, making it the sixth state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage.
Cuomo signed the bill into law after the legislature cleared the way to legalize same-sex marriage with a 33-to-29 vote, the first time a state Senate with a Republican majority has approved such a bill.
The new law, which will allow same-sex couples in New York to marry within 30 days, drew a sharp rebuke from opponents, who spent millions to try to defeat the measure.
"We worry that both marriage and the family will be undermined by this tragic presumption of government in passing this legislation that attempts to redefine these cornerstones of civilization," the state's Catholic bishops said in a joint statement released late Friday. It was signed by Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan and seven other bishops.
Opponents of the marriage equality law have vowed to take political action against any Republican who voted for the bill.
The Senate vote came after days of delays that included last-minute negotiations, passing by a slim margin with the support of four Republicans.
Cuomo credited four Republican senators who joined the majority of the state's Senate Democrats for the passage of the bill, saying they were "people of courage."
"I think it was politically more dangerous for a Republican," Cuomo told reporters late Friday. "The conservative party was threatening them with consequences ... and they did it anyway."
A vote on the measure, which the Assembly passed June 15, has been stalled in the Senate until Friday. But it turned a corner late Friday, according to Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, after lawmakers agreed on an amendment to protect religious groups from litigation that had been pushed by Republicans.
Earlier in the day, the Assembly passed a new version of the bill that included the amendment about religious institutions.
Cuomo said it would grant same-sex couples equal rights to marry "as well as hundreds of rights, benefits and protections that are currently limited to married couples of the opposite sex."
New York, which gave birth to the gay rights movement in the 1960s, will become the sixth state to allow same-sex marriages. Currently, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont and New Hampshire and the District of Columbia grant same-sex marriage licenses.
Activists on both sides of the issue gathered in the state capitol, Albany. They chanted opposing slogans -- petitioning for either "marriage equality" or yelling "one man, one woman" in defense of the institution's traditional definition -- though they could also be seen occasionally mingling and even singing religious songs together.
Republicans, led by Skelos, had expressed concerns over the "unintended consequences" of a bill that redefines the legal parameters of marriage. The measure needed three Republicans' votes to pass the bill, which had the support of 31 Senators -- just one short of the number required for passage -- earlier this week.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who courted Republicans to approve the bill, called the vote a "historic triumph for equality and freedom."
[Source]
Albany, New York (CNN) -- The number of Americans living in states covered by same-sex marriage laws has more than doubled after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill into law that gave gay and lesbian couples the right to marry.
Cuomo signed the measure after it passed a Republican-controlled Senate on Friday night, raising questions as to whether the move reflects new momentum in the gay rights movement.
Cuomo said the law will grant same-sex couples equal rights to marry "as well as hundreds of rights, benefits and protections that are currently limited to married couples of the opposite sex."
A few of those are the right of inheritance, employer health benefits and a host of state tax benefits.
That will not include Social Security benefits through a spouse, because that is a federal benefit.
The controversial law passed by a narrow 33-to-29 vote -- a first for a GOP-led state Senate -- making New York the sixth state in the union to legalize same-sex marriage.
But the decision also drew a sharp rebuke from opponents, who spent millions to try to defeat the measure.
"We worry that both marriage and the family will be undermined by this tragic presumption of government in passing this legislation that attempts to redefine these cornerstones of civilization," the state's Catholic bishops said in a joint statement released late Friday. It was signed by Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan and seven other bishops.
Opponents of the marriage equality law have vowed to take political action against any Republican who voted for the bill.
New York, which gave birth to the gay rights movement in the 1960s, will become the sixth state to allow same-sex marriages. Currently, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont and New Hampshire and the District of Columbia grant same-sex marriage licenses.
New York state's population is 19,378,102, according to the 2010 U.S Census. The population of the other five states plus Washington equals 15,671,450: Massachusetts has 6,547,629 residents,
Connecticut has 3,574,097, Iowa has 3,007,856, New Hampshire has 1,316,470, Vermont has 625,741 and Washington has 599,657.
The Senate vote came after days of delays that included last-minute negotiations, passing by a slim margin with the support of four Republicans.
Cuomo credited four Republican senators who joined the majority of the state's Senate Democrats for the passage of the bill -- which is to take effect in 30 days -- saying they were "people of courage."
"I think it was politically more dangerous for a Republican," Cuomo told reporters late Friday. "The conservative party was threatening them with consequences ... and they did it anyway."
A vote on the measure, which the Assembly passed June 15, had been stalled in the Senate. But it turned a corner late Friday, according to Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, after lawmakers agreed on an amendment to protect religious groups from litigation that had been pushed by Republicans.
The Assembly passed a new version of the bill that included the amendment about religious institutions.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who courted Republicans to approve the bill, called the vote a "historic triumph for equality and freedom."
Albany, New York (CNN) -- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the state's marriage equality bill hours after it passed the Republican-controlled Senate on Friday night, making it the sixth state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage.
Cuomo signed the bill into law after the legislature cleared the way to legalize same-sex marriage with a 33-to-29 vote, the first time a state Senate with a Republican majority has approved such a bill.
The new law, which will allow same-sex couples in New York to marry within 30 days, drew a sharp rebuke from opponents, who spent millions to try to defeat the measure.
"We worry that both marriage and the family will be undermined by this tragic presumption of government in passing this legislation that attempts to redefine these cornerstones of civilization," the state's Catholic bishops said in a joint statement released late Friday. It was signed by Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan and seven other bishops.
Opponents of the marriage equality law have vowed to take political action against any Republican who voted for the bill.
The Senate vote came after days of delays that included last-minute negotiations, passing by a slim margin with the support of four Republicans.
Cuomo credited four Republican senators who joined the majority of the state's Senate Democrats for the passage of the bill, saying they were "people of courage."
"I think it was politically more dangerous for a Republican," Cuomo told reporters late Friday. "The conservative party was threatening them with consequences ... and they did it anyway."
A vote on the measure, which the Assembly passed June 15, has been stalled in the Senate until Friday. But it turned a corner late Friday, according to Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, after lawmakers agreed on an amendment to protect religious groups from litigation that had been pushed by Republicans.
Earlier in the day, the Assembly passed a new version of the bill that included the amendment about religious institutions.
Cuomo said it would grant same-sex couples equal rights to marry "as well as hundreds of rights, benefits and protections that are currently limited to married couples of the opposite sex."
New York, which gave birth to the gay rights movement in the 1960s, will become the sixth state to allow same-sex marriages. Currently, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont and New Hampshire and the District of Columbia grant same-sex marriage licenses.
Activists on both sides of the issue gathered in the state capitol, Albany. They chanted opposing slogans -- petitioning for either "marriage equality" or yelling "one man, one woman" in defense of the institution's traditional definition -- though they could also be seen occasionally mingling and even singing religious songs together.
Republicans, led by Skelos, had expressed concerns over the "unintended consequences" of a bill that redefines the legal parameters of marriage. The measure needed three Republicans' votes to pass the bill, which had the support of 31 Senators -- just one short of the number required for passage -- earlier this week.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who courted Republicans to approve the bill, called the vote a "historic triumph for equality and freedom."
"In recent weeks, I have had many conversations with our state Senators. I emphasized that not only is marriage equality consistent with bedrock American principles, but it is also consistent with bedrock Republican Party principles of liberty and freedom -- and the Republicans who stood up today for those principles will long be remembered for their courage, foresight, and wisdom. In fact, 10 or 20 or 30 years from now, I believe they will look back at this vote as one of their finest, proudest moments," Bloomberg said in a statement released shortly after the vote.
BREAKING: NY Senate passes same-sex marriage bill
Editor's note: The Marriage Equality Act was approved in the New York State Senate Friday night by a vote of 33-29.
[Source]
Number of Americans in same-sex marriage states more than doubles
June 25, 2011 -- Updated 2050 GMT (0450 HKT)
Albany, New York (CNN) -- The number of Americans living in states covered by same-sex marriage laws has more than doubled after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill into law that gave gay and lesbian couples the right to marry.
Cuomo signed the measure after it passed a Republican-controlled Senate on Friday night, raising questions as to whether the move reflects new momentum in the gay rights movement.
Cuomo said the law will grant same-sex couples equal rights to marry "as well as hundreds of rights, benefits and protections that are currently limited to married couples of the opposite sex."
A few of those are the right of inheritance, employer health benefits and a host of state tax benefits.
That will not include Social Security benefits through a spouse, because that is a federal benefit.
The controversial law passed by a narrow 33-to-29 vote -- a first for a GOP-led state Senate -- making New York the sixth state in the union to legalize same-sex marriage.
But the decision also drew a sharp rebuke from opponents, who spent millions to try to defeat the measure.
"We worry that both marriage and the family will be undermined by this tragic presumption of government in passing this legislation that attempts to redefine these cornerstones of civilization," the state's Catholic bishops said in a joint statement released late Friday. It was signed by Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan and seven other bishops.
Opponents of the marriage equality law have vowed to take political action against any Republican who voted for the bill.
New York, which gave birth to the gay rights movement in the 1960s, will become the sixth state to allow same-sex marriages. Currently, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont and New Hampshire and the District of Columbia grant same-sex marriage licenses.
New York state's population is 19,378,102, according to the 2010 U.S Census. The population of the other five states plus Washington equals 15,671,450: Massachusetts has 6,547,629 residents,
Connecticut has 3,574,097, Iowa has 3,007,856, New Hampshire has 1,316,470, Vermont has 625,741 and Washington has 599,657.
The Senate vote came after days of delays that included last-minute negotiations, passing by a slim margin with the support of four Republicans.
Cuomo credited four Republican senators who joined the majority of the state's Senate Democrats for the passage of the bill -- which is to take effect in 30 days -- saying they were "people of courage."
"I think it was politically more dangerous for a Republican," Cuomo told reporters late Friday. "The conservative party was threatening them with consequences ... and they did it anyway."
A vote on the measure, which the Assembly passed June 15, had been stalled in the Senate. But it turned a corner late Friday, according to Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, after lawmakers agreed on an amendment to protect religious groups from litigation that had been pushed by Republicans.
The Assembly passed a new version of the bill that included the amendment about religious institutions.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who courted Republicans to approve the bill, called the vote a "historic triumph for equality and freedom."
"In recent weeks, I have had many conversations with our state senators. I emphasized that not only is marriage equality consistent with bedrock American principles, but it is also consistent with bedrock Republican Party principles of liberty and freedom -- and the Republicans who stood up today for those principles will long be remembered for their courage, foresight, and wisdom. In fact, 10 or 20 or 30 years from now, I believe they will look back at this vote as one of their finest, proudest moments," Bloomberg said in a statement released shortly after the vote.
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
My new album will be called 'Secret Codes And Battleships' from Darren Hayes Facebook
[Source]
My new album will be called 'Secret Codes And Battleships'
by Darren Hayes on Monday, 20 June 2011 at 22:09
Thanks to everyone who was playing along with the codes, riddles and puzzles because YOU worked out the title and you've revealed it for the rest of us. It's called 'Secret Codes And Battleships' from a lyric on the album that goes like this ..
'And I want to run away from this
but I'd never leave a sinking ship
Without you in it there's no point to our story.
And I can't believe it's come to this
All our secret codes and battleships
Without you in it there's no point to our story'
It's an album about how hard it is to hold on to love when the whole world is breaking up.
An album about feeling lost at a crossroads with only your heart to navigate the way.
On Friday the 24th the first single 'Talk Talk Talk' will make its way to you.
And it begins.
x
My new album will be called 'Secret Codes And Battleships'
by Darren Hayes on Monday, 20 June 2011 at 22:09
Thanks to everyone who was playing along with the codes, riddles and puzzles because YOU worked out the title and you've revealed it for the rest of us. It's called 'Secret Codes And Battleships' from a lyric on the album that goes like this ..
'And I want to run away from this
but I'd never leave a sinking ship
Without you in it there's no point to our story.
And I can't believe it's come to this
All our secret codes and battleships
Without you in it there's no point to our story'
It's an album about how hard it is to hold on to love when the whole world is breaking up.
An album about feeling lost at a crossroads with only your heart to navigate the way.
On Friday the 24th the first single 'Talk Talk Talk' will make its way to you.
And it begins.
x
Monday, 20 June 2011
An article from deadline.com
[Source]
UPDATE: Five Testing For ‘SVU’ Male Lead – Danny Pino, Kevin Alejandro, David Conrad, Michael Raymond-James, Rhys Coiro
By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday June 20, 2011 @ 6:31pm PDT
EXCLUSIVE UPDATE 6:30 PM: And then there were five. I’ve just learned that a fifth actor, Rhys Coiro (Entourage) is also on a plane to New York to test tomorrow for the Law & Order: SVU male lead.
PREVIOUS EXCLUSIVE 5 PM: Law & Order: SVU is going younger with its new male lead. I hear that Dick Wolf and NBC have narrowed the search for an actor to replace departing Chris Meloni to four actors – Danny Pino (Cold Case), Kevin Alejandro (True Blood, Southland), David Conrad (Ghost Whisperer) and Michael Raymond-James (Terriers). The four are being flown to New York where they will test tomorrow opposite returning SVU star Mariska Hargitay. Of the four, Alejandro and Raymond-James recently did guest spots on SVU. New NBC boss Bob Greenblatt said in May that the network “wants to keep refreshing an old franchise” with its changes to the veteran crime procedural. Hargitay, who recently adopted a baby, had asked for a lighter work schedule, so her character Det. Olivia Benson will be less prominent in the second half of next season, prompting the network and creator/executive producer Wolf to also look for a possible new female lead. From their early choice, Jennifer Love Hewitt, who is not happening, it looks like NBC and Wolf will be going younger on both the male and female side as they try to extend the series’ lifespan by several more years.
UPDATE: Five Testing For ‘SVU’ Male Lead – Danny Pino, Kevin Alejandro, David Conrad, Michael Raymond-James, Rhys Coiro
By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday June 20, 2011 @ 6:31pm PDT
EXCLUSIVE UPDATE 6:30 PM: And then there were five. I’ve just learned that a fifth actor, Rhys Coiro (Entourage) is also on a plane to New York to test tomorrow for the Law & Order: SVU male lead.Wednesday, 8 June 2011
An article from Digital Spy
[Source]
'Emmerdale' Jackson plot complaints assessed by Ofcom
Wednesday, June 8 2011, 14:56 BST
By Ryan Love, Entertainment Reporter
Ofcom is to assess complaints about Emmerdale's assisted suicide storyline after receiving overnight complaints.
Last night's episode of the ITV1 soap saw tetraplegic Jackson Walsh (Marc Silcock) take his own life after drinking a concoction of drugs, given to him by boyfriend Aaron Livesy (Danny Miller). A tetraplegic is somebody who has suffered a spinal cord injury and has then lost control of arms and legs.
The media regulator has received a handful of complaints about the controversial scenes, broadcast between 7pm and 7.30pm, reports PA. However, a decision on whether or not they breached rules will not be made until the plot and subsequent outcome have played out on screen.
Aspire - a group which works to help people in the UK who are living with a spinal cord injury - has voiced its criticism of the scenes.
"It is no secret that Aspire has been outspoken on this topic since we first had an inkling of where the storyline was heading. Peter Stanford, chairman of Aspire, voiced our concerns in The Daily Telegraph a couple of months back, which caught the attention of the producers of Emmerdale," a statement on the group's website read. "Subsequently we were invited to address our concerns with them at their offices in London.
"As is plain to see, our suggestions that they move away from the suicide storyline and to show his journey back to independence in a positive light fell on deaf ears. Perhaps ratings count for more than reality."
Expanding on its negative view of the plot, Aspire's director of services Alex Rankin continued: "This storyline had the potential to be ground-breaking in its approach to disability, and to challenge misguided opinions on spinal cord injury. Instead, too often, the script has opted for poor stereotypes or sensational misrepresentation.
"I sincerely hope that the 1,200 people who will be paralysed by spinal cord injuries this year, and their families, do not find themselves believing that Jackson's story represents their future."
Silcock had previously insisted that the scenes would be purposely "horrific" so that they did not "glorify" assisted suicide.
Meanwhile, an Emmerdale spokesperson said today: "We have always made clear that our motivation with this story is to drive constructive debate over this sensitive subject. We welcome feedback and 99% of the response we have had from viewers following last night's episode has been overwhelmingly positive."
'Emmerdale' Jackson plot complaints assessed by Ofcom
Wednesday, June 8 2011, 14:56 BST
By Ryan Love, Entertainment Reporter
 |
| © ITV |
Ofcom is to assess complaints about Emmerdale's assisted suicide storyline after receiving overnight complaints.
Last night's episode of the ITV1 soap saw tetraplegic Jackson Walsh (Marc Silcock) take his own life after drinking a concoction of drugs, given to him by boyfriend Aaron Livesy (Danny Miller). A tetraplegic is somebody who has suffered a spinal cord injury and has then lost control of arms and legs.
The media regulator has received a handful of complaints about the controversial scenes, broadcast between 7pm and 7.30pm, reports PA. However, a decision on whether or not they breached rules will not be made until the plot and subsequent outcome have played out on screen.
Aspire - a group which works to help people in the UK who are living with a spinal cord injury - has voiced its criticism of the scenes.
"It is no secret that Aspire has been outspoken on this topic since we first had an inkling of where the storyline was heading. Peter Stanford, chairman of Aspire, voiced our concerns in The Daily Telegraph a couple of months back, which caught the attention of the producers of Emmerdale," a statement on the group's website read. "Subsequently we were invited to address our concerns with them at their offices in London.
"As is plain to see, our suggestions that they move away from the suicide storyline and to show his journey back to independence in a positive light fell on deaf ears. Perhaps ratings count for more than reality."
Expanding on its negative view of the plot, Aspire's director of services Alex Rankin continued: "This storyline had the potential to be ground-breaking in its approach to disability, and to challenge misguided opinions on spinal cord injury. Instead, too often, the script has opted for poor stereotypes or sensational misrepresentation.
"I sincerely hope that the 1,200 people who will be paralysed by spinal cord injuries this year, and their families, do not find themselves believing that Jackson's story represents their future."
Silcock had previously insisted that the scenes would be purposely "horrific" so that they did not "glorify" assisted suicide.
Meanwhile, an Emmerdale spokesperson said today: "We have always made clear that our motivation with this story is to drive constructive debate over this sensitive subject. We welcome feedback and 99% of the response we have had from viewers following last night's episode has been overwhelmingly positive."
Sunday, 5 June 2011
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