NEW YORK CITY — President Barack Obama did not reverse course and endorse the right of gay couples to marry during a high-profile LGBT fundraising event Thursday night. He expressed support for the idea that the state of New York should have the power to codify marriage for same-sex couples. But he did not personally endorse the pending New York bill — which is nearing passage in the statehouse — or same-sex marriage itself. The crowd of 600-plus attendees didn’t jeer Obama’s caution … that much. Rather, cordial applause and a shared sense of accomplishment seemed to be the order of the night at the Sheraton Hotel in midtown Manhattan. Obama is, objectively, the most influential president LGBT citizens have ever had. And while his administration has experienced no shortage of LGBT-related tensions — whether in private meetings or from activists handcuffed to the White House gates — Thursday night was spent discussing past accomplishments and hinting at future breakthroughs. “Yes we have more work today. Yes we have more progress to make. Yes I expect continued impatience with me on occasion,” said the president. “With your help, if you keep up the fight, if you will devote your time and your energies to this campaign one more time, I promise you we will write another chapter in that story.” “We are going to lead a new generation to a brighter future,” he concluded. “And I will be standing there right there with you.” In a 25-minute address before both grey-bearded and baby-faced donors and activists, Obama praised vocal LGBT activism and offered his ear in return. He ran through his list of achievements — extending hospital visitation rights to gay couples, a comprehensive national AIDS strategy, the ending of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, to name a few — and pledged a commitment to a ” simple American value, the notion that “we are all created equal.” But when it came to the pressing substantive matter of the day — marriage equality — Obama’s speech wasn’t simple at all. Instead, it veered into the vagaries of federalism, the frustrations of democracies and the pulls and pushes of the public debate. “Right now, I understand, there is a little debate going on here in New York,” he said, as the crowd muted their cheers and chatter in anticipation. “Under the leadership of Governor [Andrew] Cuomo, with the support of Democrats and Republicans, New York is doing exactly what democracies are supposed to do. There is debate and deliberation about what it means here in New York to treat people fairly in the eyes of the law. That is the power of our democratic system. It is not always pretty there are setbacks there are frustrations. But in grappling with tough and at time emotional issues in the legislatures and the courts and the ballot box and, yes, around the dinner table and the office hallways — sometimes even in the Oval Office — slowly but surely we find a way forward. That is how we will achieve change that is lasting. Change that just a few years ago would have seemed impossible.” It was not a deviation from the usual script. Nor was it the “fierce urgency of now” that Obama had often blared on the 2008 campaign trail. But, save a few hecklers, it would suffice for the night. “Everyone in the room would have been thrilled if he had come out for marriage equality,” said Sarah Holland, an attendee. “I think for some people it rang hollow for him to be talking about equality and not going the full distance. “At the same time,” she added, “people in that room are politically astute.” Holland said Obama was the president who had made the most impact in her lifetime. “I think he really believes in equality,” she said. That the president could earn plaudits even while falling short on the issue was not a surprise. The crowd at the Sheraton may have included a few vocal, disappointed activists, but the vast majority of attendees didn’t pay top dollar (tickets started at $1,250) to heckle. “He has done a lot,” said Andrew Rabenstein, another attendee. “A lot of it is a matter of illustrating what he has done in good messaging. … As every constituent group, we want 100 percent of what we can get. But getting 70 to 80 percent is better than anyone else has gotten. Look at the Hispanic groups, which are still waiting for a breakthrough on immigration reform.” It is the notion that his foot-dragging on marriage is explained by political and not personal motivations that has allowed Obama to keep his relationship with the LGBT crowd from fraying. Virtually everyone in Thursday’s crowd assumed the president privately embraces the notion that same-sex couples deserve federal benefits. The reoccurring prediction is that he will act on that supposition in his second term. “I don’t think he will stick his neck out this close to the election,” said Lauree Feldman, another gala attendee. “Once he gets re-elected, he will drive that train as fast as he wants.”
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CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — Archaeologists have begun excavating a 4,500-year-old wooden boat found next to the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of Egypt’s main tourist attractions, Egypt’s top antiquities official said Thursday. (Scroll down for photos) The boat is one of two buried next to the pharaoh Khufu in what appeared to be a religious custom to carry him in the afterlife. Khufu, also known as Cheops, is credited with building the Great Pyramid of Giza. Sakuji Yoshimura, a Waseda University professor who is leading the restoration project with Egypt’s Antiquities Council, said scientists discovered that the second ship is inscribed with Khufu’s name. Khufu founded the 4th Dynasty around 2680 B.C. and ruled Egypt for 23 years. Take a look at photos of the boat from AP and Getty, and then scroll down to keep reading. Zahi Hawass, Minister of State for Antiquities, called the excavation “one of the most important archaeological and conservation projects in the world.” He hoped its display would boost tourism in Egypt, which has fallen sharply since the country’s popular revolution that deposed President Hosni Mubarak in February. The boat was originally found in 1954 along with another ship, which was restored and is regarded as one of the most significant discoveries on the Giza plateau for its age, size and condition. Experts say the ships are the oldest surviving vessels from antiquity. The second boat is thought to be smaller than its sister ship, which is about 140 feet (43 meters) long. Using a pulley system, a team of scientists lifted the first of 41 limestone slabs, each weighing about 16 tons, to uncover fragments of the ancient ship. Over the next two months, experts expect to unearth about 600 pieces from the boat’s underground resting place. Restoration is expected to take about four years, and then it will be displayed at the Solar Boat Museum near the huge pyramid, which routinely attracts millions of tourists, boosting one of Egypt’s most important industries. Both boats were made from Lebanese cedar and Egyptian acacia trees. The experts hope to restore the second ship as successfully as the first. Hawass said the boat’s condition was better than he expected. “I was really afraid when I first saw the wood,” he said. “I am very optimistic that in four years there will be another boat.” The entombed boat remained untouched until 1987, when a team from the National Geographic Society threaded a tiny camera under the site’s limestone surface to see what lay beneath and found it. Other similar cavities nearby were empty. After receiving a $10 million grant from Waseda University, Egyptian and Japanese scientists in 2008 began preparing for the ship’s excavation process, conducting environmental surveys and building a temperature and humidity controlled structure around the site. After the excavation process is complete, scientists will devise a computerized schematic of the boat to aid in its reconstruction.
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Scratch Spin on Snow White II blades :3 With a Smile and a Song from Snow White Fleischer Bros Festival : # 50 – Snow White -Cab Calloway & Betty Boop (1933) CursedSnowWhite says: _Snow White_ and The Huntsman. Lily Cole is set to portray Greta, while Sam Spruell plays Finn, an accomplice to the… http://dlvr.it/XnXG8
Continue reading …Moammar Gadhafi has reportedly lost top military officials to defection, and now he’ll have to do without his star soccer goalie. Juma Gtat and 17 other players from the national team have switched allegiance to the rebels, reports the BBC . “I am telling (Ghadafi) leave us alone and allow us…
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I went to a dinner party at a friend’s home last weekend, and met her five-year-old daughter for the first time. Little Maya was all curly brown hair, doe-like dark eyes, and adorable in her shiny pink nightgown. I wanted to squeal, “Maya, you’re so cute! Look at you! Turn around and model that pretty ruffled gown, you gorgeous thing!” But I didn’t. I squelched myself. As I always bite my tongue when I meet little girls, restraining myself from my first impulse, which is to tell them how darn cute/ pretty/ beautiful/ well-dressed/ well-manicured/ well-coiffed they are. What’s wrong with that? It’s our culture’s standard talking-to-little-girls icebreaker, isn’t it? And why not give them a sincere complement to boost their self-esteem? Because they are so darling I just want to burst when I meet them, honestly. Hold that thought for just a moment. This week ABC news reported that nearly half of all three- to six-year-old girls worry about being fat. In my book, Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed-Down World, I reveal that fifteen to eighteen percent of girls under twelve now wear mascara, eyeliner and lipstick regularly; eating disorders are up and self-esteem is down; and twenty-five percent of young American women would rather win America’s Next Top Model than the Nobel Peace Prize. Even bright, successful college women say they’d rather be hot than smart. A Miami mom just died from cosmetic surgery, leaving behind two teenagers. This keeps happening, and it breaks my heart. Teaching girls that their appearance is the first thing you notice tells them that looks are more important than anything. It sets them up for dieting at age 5 and foundation at age 11 and boob jobs at 17 and Botox at 23. As our cultural imperative for girls to be hot 24/7 has become the new normal, American women have become increasingly unhappy. What’s missing? A life of meaning, a life of ideas and reading books and being valued for our thoughts and accomplishments. That’s why I force myself to talk to little girls as follows. “Maya,” I said, crouching down at her level, looking into her eyes, “very nice to meet you.” “Nice to meet you too,” she said, in that trained, polite, talking-to-adults good girl voice. “Hey, what are you reading?” I asked, a twinkle in my eyes. I love books. I’m nuts for them. I let that show. Her eyes got bigger, and the practiced, polite facial expression gave way to genuine excitement over this topic. She paused, though, a little shy of me, a stranger. “I LOVE books,” I said. “Do you?” Most kids do. “YES,” she said. “And I can read them all by myself now!” “Wow, amazing!” I said. And it is, for a five-year-old. You go on with your bad self, Maya. “What’s your favorite book?” I asked. “I’ll go get it! Can I read it to you?” Purplicious was Maya’s pick and a new one to me, as Maya snuggled next to me on the sofa and proudly read aloud every word, about our heroine who loves pink but is tormented by a group of girls at school who only wear black. Alas, it was about girls and what they wore, and how their wardrobe choices defined their identities. But after Maya closed the final page, I steered the conversation to the deeper issues in the book: mean girls and peer pressure and not going along with the group. I told her my favorite color in the world is green, because I love nature, and she was down with that. Not once did we discuss clothes or hair or bodies or who was pretty. It’s surprising how hard it is to stay away from those topics with little girls, but I’m stubborn. I told her that I’d just written a book, and that I hoped she’d write one too one day. She was fairly psyched about that idea. We were both sad when Maya had to go to bed, but I told her next time to choose another book and we’d read it and talk about it. Oops. That got her too amped up to sleep, and she came down from her bedroom a few times, all jazzed up. So, one tiny bit of opposition to a culture that sends all the wrong messages to our girls. One tiny nudge towards valuing female brains. One brief moment of intentional role modeling. Will my few minutes with Maya change our multibillion dollar beauty industry, reality shows that demean women, our celebrity-manic culture? No. But I did change Maya’s perspective for at least that evening. Try this the next time you meet a little girl. She may be surprised and unsure at first, because few ask her about her mind, but be patient and stick with it. Ask her what she’s reading. What does she like and dislike, and why? There are no wrong answers. You’re just generating an intelligent conversation that respects her brain. For older girls, ask her about current events issues: pollution, wars, school budgets slashed. What bothers her out there in the world? How would she fix it if she had a magic wand? You may get some intriguing answers. Tell her about your ideas and accomplishments and your favorite books. Model for her what a thinking woman says and does. And let me know the response you get at www.Twitter.com/lisabloom. Here’s to changing the world, one little girl at a time.
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There is a robust discussion in our society today about religion and LGBT issues. Since it’s Pride Month, I’m eager to weigh in on the conversation. My journey began in the fall of 1970. Being born in Kansas City, Missouri and raised in the very rural parts of Kansas led me to believe that everything was simple, everything made sense and that anything was possible. In the first decade of my life, I came to know and love God, as I was raised in a Christian home and community. My basket of dreams was overflowing. But the older I got, the more I began to understand that not everything was simple, not everything made sense and the things that once seemed possible, began to feel impossible. I started to take inventory of that basket of dreams and I felt forced to throw some of those dreams away. As a young girl, there were the obvious messages about what girls could and couldn’t achieve. And to compound the limitations I felt being leveled upon me, I realized at the age of nine, that I was gay. I was truly experiencing a chasm of discord and struggle within myself as I walked the halls of the Wellsville Public Schools. I was a young, gay, Christian, farm girl from Kansas with dreams of becoming a Country Music Star. Can you wrap your head around that? I really couldn’t. So began the most difficult chapter of my life which would last more than 25 years; and the storyline was me, committing repeated crimes against myself — against my emotional, physical and spiritual self. Those crimes would take their toll. My struggle was well hidden beneath the many accomplishments I was able to enjoy. And yes, I did enjoy them. I viewed my successes — my good grades in school, my being elected President of my Class of the High School Band, my position on the Sub-State Championship Basketball team, my jobs in music which led me to Nashville and ultimately led to my landing a contract with a major record label as … well, I viewed those things as concession prizes to some degree. I knew that I would never get to have what everyone else gets to have — love, real love — so my resolve was that these “door prizes” would have to be enough. I wanted them to be enough, I really did. And then I fell in love. I had to change my strategy a little bit. I went from “I’ll go without love” to “I’ll hide my love”. That’s pretty tough to do when, at the very root of who I am and at the core of what Country Music seems to be about — is honesty, openness and accessibility. But I had to close myself off in order to survive. I kept going, working hard in my career, reaching those milestones of success — tours, hit records, hit videos, TV, radio, nominations and awards. Still, I hid. More and more people in the world were knowing my name, yet no one really knew me. Some of you reading this might know my story, as I’ve had the chance to share it with the world for little over a year now. For those of you who don’t know my story, well … my life took a scary turn in early 2006. My life had fallen apart. Not that anyone would have been able to notice the predicament in which I found myself. Remember, I’d created this existence where no one really knew me and my skills of hiding my true emotions were finely tuned. As far as anyone could see … I was always “a-okay”. But I wasn’t — I was in trouble. I could no longer make sense of these crimes against myself. I had lost the relationship that had once meant so much to me — the secrecy had torn us apart. When one hides such a critical part of one’s self, everything becomes hidden. It’s not like I could have real and meaningful friendships, but just leave out the “gay thing”. Imagine your straight, married friends having a substantive friendship with you while never mentioning their spouse — ever. You just can’t pick and choose parts of yourself to share and expect any real degree of validity. I was alone, I was tired, I was hopeless and I was done. Early one cold winter morning in Nashville, I nearly took my life with a gun. Let me be clear, my decision to take my life was not because I am gay. I had long understood, since my late teenage years, that God had made me exactly as I was supposed to be. And may I add what a huge comfort that has always been to me. The reason I was ready to end it all was because I didn’t know how to be me in this life that I’d carved out — this gay, Christian, farm girl from Kansas who sang Country Music. I just didn’t know how to make those pieces fit. I didn’t pull the trigger. “When I finally got out of bed, days after holding a gun in my mouth, I didn’t make it much farther than the carpeted floor by my bed. I’d been saying prayers to God since the day it all began, but on this day my approach to prayer was different. I actually knelt by my bed, put my elbows up on the edge of the mattress, clasped my hands together, and rested my forehead on my hands. I prayed a different kind of prayer. I began to speak to God out loud. As I forced the words to come out of my mouth, I realized that my voice was scratchy and weak. I knew God would hear me even if I didn’t speak the words, but I wanted God to know that I was committed to my plea. I didn’t ask Him to stop the crying or the pain for good. I simply asked for a moment’s peace. “Peace” I’d heard that word used my entire life in so many contexts — war and peace, a peaceful meadow, peace be with you — but I never really knew what it meant until that moment.” (From Chely Wright’s “Like Me: Confessions of a Heartland Country Singer”) When I finished my prayer, something happened. Peace washed over me and warmed me from the inside out. I immediately knew that I had been given a massive gift of mercy and an understanding of what I believe God had been whispering in my ear for a long time. “Stand up and speak”. I knew that if I could find myself in such a dark place, that surely there were others at such a critical crossroads. I was hopeful that in telling my story, I might be helpful to others. I have felt ripples and waves of progress from my declaration and have been moved to tears to learn of the ways my story has impacted others. I have found such joy lifting others up, in particular young people. Indeed, my basket of dreams is overflowing like it once was so many years ago. Anything and everything is possible because I am now entirely me. All of the pieces finally fit. Religion has been used to malign and condemn people like me for generations, we all know that. There is a rumor floating around out there about LGBT people and it’s not good. A lot of folks think that we’re Godless and that we’re “this way” because some of us don’t flock to houses of worship with the urgency and frequency that would satisfy those who judge us so harshly. I like analogies; perhaps it’s the songwriter in me, so if you’ll indulge me, I’ll offer this one. I liken the notion that we (the LGBT community) are a Godless people to a scenario on a grade school playground. Remember when you were in 3rd grade, when it was time to choose teams for a game of kickball during recess and all of the favored, obvious players were chosen first? This left the same players to be chosen last or to never even get a chance to kick or take the field — essentially giving a message to that kid, “You’re never going to get to play. You’re not good enough. You don’t belong.” Remember that happening to the same kid over and over? Well, eventually that kid would stop hoping to be chosen for either team. And eventually that kid would probably develop an aversion, perhaps even a life-long, deep loathing for the game of kickball. It’s a protective mechanism that humans employ to preserve the most tender parts of their psyche. That’s what it feels like for an LGBT kid in a place of worship. That kid is repeatedly given the message that he or she will never, ever fit in and be acceptable to God or to the congregation. Why would anyone subject themselves to that kind of spiritual rejection and spiritual violence on a weekly basis? Why would that LGBT kid grow up to seek out the same type of negative messaging as an adult? But there is something positive happening in communities of faith regarding LGBT issues and it’s exciting to witness. In addition to LGBT clergy, we have straight allies in the clergy who are championing our freedoms too; amazing leaders like Rev. Welton Gaddy, Rev. Jimmy Creech and Rev. Mark Tidd, among many others. Their efforts and the work of so many others is the very reason I’m so proud to be a board member for Faith In America, a non-profit dedicated to ending religion-based bigotry and the harm that bigotry does to LGBT people. Important and exciting work, indeed. We’re out there, you know? LGBT people of faith are strong in numbers; we want our houses of worship back and we would like to implore those who practice such acts of religious based bigotry to realize that God is not theirs — God is for all of us. It is my deep belief that someday I will meet my maker and I will be asked who I am and what I did for others. Everyday, I am working hard, preparing my answer to be, “I am a gay, Christian, farm girl from Kansas who sang Country Music and I did the very best I could do — to know God and to share God.”
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When Nanosys CEO Jason Hartlove pulled two iPads out of his bag and turned them on one looked like when I first saw my first Kodachrome slide while the other looked muddy and crappy in comparison (I pulled out my own iPad and saw my screen looked muddy and crappy in comparison too). The new one was clear, beautiful, stunning, with richer colors than I had ever seen on a screen before. “Is that the… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : The Business Insider Discovery Date : 24/06/2011 00:02 Number of articles : 3
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Casey Anthony’s mother made another startling revelation on the witness stand Friday that the defense hoped strengthen their case: A ladder had been left leaning out of the pool on the day defense attorneys say her granddaughter drowned. For the second day in a row, the defense called Cindy Anthony, 52, to testify. Her daughter Casey faces multiple charges, including capital murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter of a child and misleading law enforcement in the death of her daughter, two-year-old Caylee. Defense attorney Jose Baez guided Cindy Anthony through her testimony, working hard to bolster the argument that Caylee had drowned and was not murdered as the prosecutors contend. Baez first mentioned the drowning during opening statements. “Caylee Anthony died on June 16, 2008, when she drowned in her family’s swimming pool,” Baez said at the start of the trial. Cindy Anthony later told jurors she discovered that the pool ladder had been left out when she returned home from work on June 16. “I thought it was strange … I called [my husband], George, at work to see if he had left the pool ladder up because I also noticed that the side gate was open,” Anthony testified. According to Baez, Casey Anthony and her father, George Anthony, were home alone on the day the alleged accident occurred. The attorney said that in the early hours of June 16, George noticed Caylee was missing and that he and his daughter began a frantic search — looking under beds and in the garage. Then George Anthony took the search outside, to the above ground pool, Baez said. “As Casey came around the corner [of the pool], she saw George Anthony holding Caylee in his arms,” the defense attorney told the jury. “She immediately grabbed Caylee and began to cry. Shortly thereafter, George began to yell at her: ‘Look what you’ve done. Your mother will never forgive you, and you will go to jail for child neglect for the rest of your frigging life.’” Casey Anthony later alleged that her daughter had been abducted by her babysitter. Multiple searches were conducted, and in December 2008, former Orange County meter reader Roy Kronk found Caylee’s remains near her family home. George Anthony has denied knowledge of Caylee’s death and testified that he did not dispose of his granddaughter’s body. In an effort to strengthen his theory, Baez showed Cindy Anthony several photos today of Caylee climbing a ladder into the above ground pool. Anthony said that when Caylee first started swimming in the pool, she would have to support her from behind as she climbed the ladder. However, when Caylee got older, she no longer needed help. “She could climb into the pool by herself,” Anthony testified, explaining that in 2008 they swam together “three to four times a week. “As she got older, she was a lot more anxious [to get in], because she was familiar with the pool,” she added. The defense also showed Cindy Anthony and the jury a photo of Caylee opening the sliding glass door that led to the backyard pool. “Could Caylee open the door?” Baez asked. Cindy Anthony replied, “Yes, she could do it herself.” During a brief cross-examination, state prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick questioned Anthony about Caylee’s clothes and the shorts that were found with her skeletal remains. “Those particular shorts. I hadn’t remembered Caylee wearing those shorts in some time,” Cindy Anthony testified. “Those weren’t shorts that I dressed Caylee in quite a bit. That wasn’t one of my favorite outfits [and] I don’t recall seeing Caylee in those shorts after 2007.” For the second day in a row, Cindy Anthony’s testimony has been important for the defense, which contests the prosecutor’s theory that Casey Anthony used chloroform to render Caylee unconscious and then put duct tape over her nose and mouth, suffocating her. On Thursday, Cindy Anthony said that she had conducted internet searches for “chloroform,” “chest injuries” and “head injuries.” Prosecutors have claimed that Casey Anthony had done the incriminating internet searches. When Cindy Anthony stepped down, her son Lee Anthony was called to the stand. Afterwards, court took a recess for lunch. SEE CASEY ANTHONY PERSONAL PHOTOS: Expanded Coverage: Trial Updates.
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UPDATE: SCROLL DOWN FOR RELIGION NEWS SERVICE EDITOR’S NOTE Religion News Service issued a follow-up to this story on Friday (June 24). By Michele Chabin Religion News Service JERUSALEM (RNS) Jews and Israelis, or passengers carrying any non-Islamic article of faith, will not be able to fly code-share flights from the U.S. to Saudi Arabia under Delta Air Line’s new partnership with Saudi Arabian Airlines that is set to begin in 2012. Although Delta announced in January that the Saudi airline would join its SkyTeam network next year, the implications of the deal only came to light recently, according to people who have scrutinized the details. Saudi Arabia, which is governed by strict Islamic law, requires citizens of almost every country to obtain a visa. People who wish to enter the country must have a sponsor; women, who must be dressed according to Saudi standards of modesty, must be met at the Saudi airport by a man who will act as a chaperone. Saudi Arabia bans anyone with an Israeli stamp in their passport from entering the country, even in transit. Many Jews believe the kingdom has also withheld visas from travelers with Jewish-sounding names. Religious items such as Bibles that are not related to Islam may be confiscated at the airport. Colby M. May, senior counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, a conservative legal group founded by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, said his office is trying to determine if the agreement runs afoul of U.S. law. “The very idea that there is a common carrier airline service that would deny an American citizen in America access to their services because they are Jewish or have religious items such as a yarmulke, a cross or a priestly collar, is deeply disturbing,” May said. May said he is “trying to get answers” from Delta. “They have not responded in a way that answers the question,” he said. “Hopefully they’ll do so.” In a statement to Religion News Service on Thursday (June 23), Delta said it “does not discriminate, nor do we condone discrimination against any protected class of passenger in regards to age, race, nationality, religion, or gender.” The airline, which did not deny the new policy, insisted that it has no control over who may fly to Saudi Arabia. “Delta must also comply with all applicable laws in every country it serves,” adding that passengers are responsible for obtaining the necessary travel documents required for entry. “If a passenger travels without proper documents, the passenger may be denied entry into that country and our airline may be fined,” the statement said. The Jan. 10 agreement allows Saudi Arabian Airlines to become a member of SkyTeam in 2012 after “fulfilling all membership requirements,” according to a SkyTeam statement. The Saudi airline is SkyTeam’s first member from the Middle East. The policy has deeply angered U.S. Jewish groups, especially since Delta is an American carrier. “Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally, should be strongly condemned for its despicable discrimination against Jews,” said Kenneth Bandler, a spokesman for the New York-based American Jewish Committee. “For an American company, our nation’s values should trump narrow business interests. Delta should be the first to reject Saudi airlines as a SkyTeam member.” Dan Diker, secretary general of the World Jewish Congress, said he hoped “Delta will not be complicit with what appears to be a demonstrably anti-Semitic and racist policy by Saudi Arabian Airlines.” Jack Jenkins contributed to this report. RELIGION NEWS SERVICE EDITOR’S NOTE: The RNS story on Delta Air Lines’ pending partnership with Saudi Arabian Airlines that was distributed on June 23 contained incomplete information about Saudi visa policies and U.S. Jews’ ability to fly Delta flights to Saudi Arabia. The story was not fully edited according to RNS standards: -While Saudi Arabia does not issue visas to citizens carrying Israeli passports, Saudi officials say an Israeli stamp in a U.S. passport is not a barrier to entry, even for a stop in transit. -While Saudi Arabia does not allow non-Islamic religious articles within its borders, religious identity and a passenger’s religious articles are not barriers to flights on either Delta or Saudi Arabian Airlines flights. -Airline alliance programs typically allow passengers on one airline to book tickets on another, or redeem frequent flyer points on partner airlines. On Friday, Delta said such “code-sharing” agreements will not be part of its alliance with Saudi Arabian Airlines, nor will Delta passengers be able to redeem Delta frequent flyer miles on the Saudi airline. RNS takes very seriously its commitment to accuracy, balance and thorough reporting, and the June 23 story failed to meet those expectations. Steps are being taken to correct and improve our internal editing process. We regret that the story was transmitted with incomplete information, as well as any unintended implication that Delta would be adopting policies of the Saudi government.
Continue reading …One of New York’s highest-profile gay couples celebrated last night’s passage of the gay marriage bill in appropriate fashion: Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka got engaged. “I’ve already purposed (sic), he said yes! Thank god!” tweeted Burtka, before adding, “he proposed to me as well. I said yes! Thank…
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