Saturday, June 1, 2013

Puerto Ricans Find Coors' Toast In Poor Taste - NPR

CURRENT NEWS REVIEWS 

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CURRENT NEWS REVIEWS

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Gobernador @agarciapadilla hace nombramientos a juntas de gobierno 

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El gobernador, Alejandro García Padilla, envió para consideración del Senado de Puerto Rico los nombramientos del Lcdo. Javier Rúa Jovet y la Lcda.  María M. Reyes Guevara como presidente y miembro asociada, respectivamente, de la Junta Reglamentadora de Telecomunicaciones (JRT). De igual forma, envió para evaluación de la cámara alta, la designación del Dr. Jeovhanni [...]

Will President Obama Use His Upcoming Trip To Africa As A “Teachable Moment” On LGBT Rights? - News Reviews

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viaQueertyby Lester Brathwaite on 5/31/13
gay-for-obamaPresident Obama’s visit to Africa will coincide with the Supreme Court’s scheduled rulings on two cases determining the future of same-sex marriage, prompting hope that the Commander-in-Chief will address the oppression of those nations’ LGBT citizens.
Obama will visit Senegal, Tanzania and South Africa in late June and early July, as the Supreme Court prepares to issue its decision on the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act. Whereas those cases could expand the rights of LGBT Americans, just being gay is considered a criminal offense in two of the countries on the President’s itinerary.
Indian Expressreports:
According to the State Department’s 2012 human rights report on Tanzania, consensual same-sex sexual conduct is illegal and carries a prison sentence of 30 years to life. The report also concluded that gays and lesbians face “societal discrimination that restricted their access to health care, housing, and employment” and that there were no government efforts to combat such discrimination.
Conditions are similar in Senegal, according to the State Department. The agency’s 2012 human rights report on the West African nation says that consensual same-sex activity, referred to in the law as an “act against nature,” is a criminal offense.
South Africa has broad protections for homosexuals and is the only country on the entire continent that has legalizedsame-sex marriage. Even there, however, there have been instances ofcrueltyandviolence, including “corrective rape” of lesbians.
The White House was mum on what role, if any, the issue of gay rights would have during Obama’s trip, but gay rights activist and White House adviser under Bill Clinton, Richard Socarides, said the President could use his trip as a “teachable moment.”
“If the timing works out so that he’s there, it may provide a perfect opportunity for him to speak out about the principles we value in our democracy and how we would hope that others follow it,” said Socarides.
Besides the two Supreme Court cases, recent developments such as Nigeria’srecently passed billthat would imprison anyone for public displays of same-sex affection and Uganda’s anti-homosexuality bill, which Obama has himself called “odious,” would provide ample reason for the President to address LGBT rights, while also reaffirming the United Nations’pledge of solidarity.


PolicyMic



Gay Marriage2013Puerto RicoMakes Anti LGBT Discrimination Illegal
PolicyMic
The future forLGBTindividuals inPuerto Ricofinally looks more promising after Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla signed a bill that bans employment discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation. On Wednesday, Gov. Padilla said that by signing...
Puerto RicoGovernor Signs TwoGay RightsBillsOn Top Magazine
Puerto RicoSigns Law ProtectingLGBTCommunity From Employment...Hispanically Speaking News

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Puerto Ricogovernor signsLGBTcivilrightsbill
Wisconsin Gazette
Puerto RicoGov. Alejandro García Padilla on May 29 signed into law civilrightslegislation that prohibits discrimination againstLGBTpeople and their families and protects same-sex couples underPuerto Rico'sdomestic violence law. The NationalGay...

viaGay Puerto Rico Links's Facebook Wallby Gay Puerto Rico Links on 5/31/13
1:47 PM 5/31/2013 - Oscar López Rivera: After 32 Years in Prison, Calls Grow for Release of Puerto Rican Activist by democracynow

Oscar López Rivera: After 32 Years in Prison, Calls Grow for Release of Puerto Rican Activist by democracynow

Friday …


1:47 PM 5/31/2013 - Oscar López Rivera: After 32 Years in Prison, Calls Grow for Release of Puerto R

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Coming Out As Bisexual: 'Real L Word' Star Whitney, Bree Essrig Join 'The ... - Huffington Post

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Coming Out As Bisexual: 'Real L Word' Star Whitney, Bree Essrig Join 'The ...
Huffington Post
History was made in October when active professional featherweight boxer <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/04/orlando-cruz-comes-out-gay_n_1939204.html">Orlando Cruz of Puerto Rico came out</a>. He said in a USA Today article, "I've ...

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Puerto Ricans Find Coors' Toast In Poor Taste - NPR

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NPR

Puerto Ricans Find Coors' Toast In Poor Taste
NPR
Community activists in New York are angry after MillerCoors placed a Puerto Rican flag on a special edition, 24-ounce beer can. The can was designed to promote the annual Puerto RicanDay parade. Parade organizers approved a commemorative Coors ...
Promotional Beer Can Sparks Brew-Haha Ahead Of Puerto Rican Day ParadeCBS Local 
MillerCoors un-shleves Puerto Rican flag-draped beer cansAmsterdam News
Brew-haha: Coors Light pulls Puerto Rican flag cansMSN News

New York Daily News - Fox News Latino -BeverageDaily.com
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PUERTO RICO NEWS: Will President Obama Use His Upcoming Trip To Afri... 

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PUERTO RICO NEWS: Will President Obama Use His Upcoming Trip To Afri...: News Reviews | 4:23 PM 5/31/2013 | GAY PUERTO RICO - in Google Reader - Gay Puerto Rico Will President Obama Use His Upcoming...
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Governor May Join Pierluisi at U.N. Decolonization Hearing - The Star 

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Governor May Join Pierluisi at U.N. Decolonization Hearing - The Star 

Asteroid 1998 QE2 sails past Earth, leaving cosmic lessons behind - NBCNews.com (blog)

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Asteroid 1998 QE2 sails past Earth, leaving cosmic lessons behind
NBCNews.com (blog)
There was never any chance that QE2 could hurt us. The closest it ever got was 3.6 million miles... leading the radar observation campaign. The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico will join the campaign on June 6, when 1998 QE2 comes into its field of ...

American Flag Allegedly Lowered In Puerto Rico, Sparking Protest

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San Juan city Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz sits inside a mock cell during a protest demanding the freedom of jailed pro-independence activist Oscar Lopez Rivera in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, May 29, 2013.

Is Independence a Realistic Option for Puerto Rico?

Is Independence a Realistic Option for Puerto Rico? - by hadeninteractive

Is Independence a Realistic Option for Puerto Rico?

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Recent discussions on Puerto Rico’s status have focused on the choice between statehood and remaining a territory.
These are not really the only options available to Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico could become an independent nation.
In 1936, Senator Millard Tydings of Maryland presented a bill offering independence to Puerto Rico. Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes had, in 1935, written an open letter saying that, “the Department takes no official stand beyond affirming its belief that the wishes of the people of Puerto Rico should be respected… and in case of doubt as to what these wishes are they should be unmistakably established by referendum duly prepared by the fullest discussion.” He further said that “it might be useful for the Congress and the administration, as well as for the Puerto Rican people, to clarify their positions.”
In other words, things were in much the same position that they are in today.
The Tydings bill proposed a referendum with one yes-or-no question: “Should the people of Puerto Rico be sovereign and independent?” If the people of Puerto Rico agreed with this, there would be a four-year plan which would gradually do two things: make Puerto Rico self-governing and put the island in the same economic position with regard to trade as that of any other nation.
Puerto Rican leaders were aghast. They attempted to negotiate more favorable economic terms, but were not successful. “Plebescite or Ambush?” asked a San Juan newspaper.
Vito Marcantonio, a New York congressman representing many Puerto Rican constituents, offered an alternative bill, granting independence to Puerto Rico on their own timetable,  with no tariffs and no restrictions on immigration to the United States after Puerto Rico became independent. No Congressional action was taken on either bill, nor on later independence bills leading up to the 1952 constitution.
The first vote on Puerto Rico’s status took place in 1967, and independence– then and in all the referenda following – clearly lost. However, there continued to be, and still continues to be, a small independence movement in Puerto Rico. The movement holds that U.S. persecution of those fighting for independence kept the people of Puerto Rico from voting for this option. The Progressive expresses this view in a reprint of an essay from 1998:
Without an appreciation for the fear and despair caused by this century of repression, the small percentage of votes cast for independentista parties makes no sense.
If Puerto Rico were to become independent, there would be no guarantee that Puerto Ricans could keep their U.S. citizenship and ability to travel freely to and from the United States. U.S. tourism to Puerto Rico may also suffer. Puerto Rico would ultimately lose all Federal benefits, including Social Security, law enforcement support, school lunches, etc.  It is likely that arrangements with U.S. companies currently maintaining a presence in Puerto Rico would change, but it is not possible to predict the precise nature of those changes.  The exchange of goods would by subject to new international trade laws.
While a territory cannot strike deals with the United States government, or with any other nation, a sovereign nation can make trade agreements and treaties. Puerto Rico might try to broker deals before accepting independence, though it hasn’t worked before because a deal made with a territory would not be binding on Congress. Those who favor independence assume not only that the United States would work with the new nation of Puerto Rico, but that other countries would do so as well. They could be right; they could be wrong.
The Philippines can be considered as an example of a former territory of the United States which is now an independent nation. The Philippines became a territory of the United States along with Puerto Rico following the Spanish-American War, and has been an independent nation  since 1946. The United States helped the Philippines financially, but also set a number of conditions for that help, including the acceptance of U.S. military presence. The Philippines has experienced a great deal of political upheaval, but has also renegotiated its deals with the United States. While Puerto Rico would be the poorest state in the Union if it became a state, the average person there earns over 80% more than a resident of the Philippines, and the Philippines has more than double the rate of infant mortality.
Compare this with the economic position of Hawaii, another tropical territory, but one that chose statehood.
It seems likely that statehood would be a better deal economically for Puerto Rico than independence. This did not matter to the people of the Philippines, who were determined to be independent. With only a small percentage of Puerto Rican voters favoring independence in any of the plebescites on Puerto Rico’s status, it appears that independence is not as strongly supported in Puerto Rico. Would Puerto Rico be willing to accept the uncertainty and probably economic hardship associated with independence? History says not.
Unlike the various “enhanced commonwealth” options being discussed, independence is a real possibility, and one which the United States has shown itself willing to offer Puerto Rico. Since Puerto Rico has already rejected the territorial relationship, independence is the real alternative to statehood.