InfoAnda - US Congress backs lifting military gay ban

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Broadway to dim lights for Elizabeth Taylor on Friday | | 25 March 2011
Analysis: Marines leave Iraq again _ for good? | 25 January 2010
Billy Elliot set to win big at Tony Awards | Entertainment | | 5 June 2009

Yahoo likes location services, mum on Foursquare | | 29 April 2010

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : US Congress backs lifting military gay ban

Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail More Yahoo! Services Account Options New User? Sign Up Sign In Help Yahoo! Search web search Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Weekend Edition World US Congress backs lifting military gay ban AFP - 2 hours 59 minutes ago Send IM Story Print WASHINGTON (AFP) - – The US Senate on Saturday backed President Barack Obama's drive to let gays serve openly in the military for the first time in history and was set to give final congressional approval to the policy. Lawmakers voted 63-33 to end debate on a bill to repeal the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" compromise of 1993 that requires gay troops to keep quiet about their sexual orientation or face dismissal, setting up final passage hours later. "It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed," Obama said in a statement urging the senate to complete its work. The final vote was essentially a formality after six Republicans sided with all but one of Obama's Democratic allies in the make-or-break procedural test, which deeply divided the already polarized Senate. "The first casualty in the war in Iraq was a gay soldier. The mine that took off his right leg didn't give a darn whether he was gay or straight. We shouldn't either," Democratic Senator Carl Levin said before the ballot. "We cannot let these patriots down. Their suffering should end. It will end with the passage of this bill. I urge its passage today," said Levin, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee. "It isn't broke, don't fix it," countered Senator John McCain, the top Republican on Levin's panel and Obama's defeated 2008 White House rival and a fierce foe of lifting the ban. "To somehow allege that it has harmed our military is not justified by the facts," McCain said. "Don't think that it won't be at great cost." The final vote would send the measure to Obama to sign into law, fulfilling his 2008 campaign promise and ushering in perhaps the biggest sea change in the US military since racial integration began in 1948. Those who want to scrap the policy had feared they would lose their best chance in years when a new US Congress musters in January with Republicans -- who largely oppose repeal -- in charge of the House of Representatives. Passage would trigger a time-consuming process that envisions lifting the ban only after the president, the secretary of defense, and the top US uniformed officer certify that doing so can be done without harming military readiness, effectiveness, unit cohesion, recruiting and retention. Republicans have scoffed that the leaders involved have already stated their support to ending the policy. "They have already made up their minds," said Republican Senator James Inhofe. The Pentagon issued a study this month that found a solid majority of troops were not bothered by the prospect of lifting the ban and that the military could implement the change without a major disruption or upheaval. The repeal effort enjoys broad support from the US public, as well as from Defense Secretary Robert Gates and US Joint Chiefs Chairman Mike Mullen. Gates has warned that, absent congressional action, US courts may force an end to the policy before the Pentagon is ready. In the years since the ban was enacted as a compromise, some 13,000 US troops have been ousted, and critics have pointed out that many were trained at great expense, like fighter pilots, or had hard-to-find skills, such as Arabic translators. But opponents of the legislation have cited testimony from US military service chiefs who warned against a quick repeal, citing concerns about unit cohesion. General James Amos, commandant of the Marine Corps and an opponent of lifting the ban, has warned repeal could jeopardize the lives of Marines in combat by undermining closely knit units. "I don't want to lose any Marines to distraction. I don't want to have any Marines that I'm visiting at Bethesda (hospital) with no legs," he told reporters. Newly minted Democratic Senator Joe Manchin and Republican Senators Jim Bunning, Judd Gregg, and Orrin Hatch did not vote on Saturday's procedural ballot. Recommend Send IM Story Print Related Articles Iraqi cinema makes a comeback at Greek film festival AFP - Sunday, December 19 Park plans Wallace and Gromit theme park ride AFP - Sunday, December 19 Perky Pamela takes on youngsters in Strictly final AFP - Sunday, December 19 Chinese singer He Jie emerges from hibernation ANN - Sunday, December 19 Blind dates are not for me: 'Seductress' of Chinese cinema ANN - Sunday, December 19 News Search Top Stories Spanish unions protest retirement reform Parents didn't want Sonia to wed Rajiv Gandhi: cables Britain, France, Germany demand EU budget freeze WikiLeaks chief Assange fears US charges California approves first broad US climate plan More Top Stories » ADVERTISEMENT Most Popular Most Viewed Most Recommended Parents didn't want Sonia to wed Rajiv Gandhi: cables WikiLeaks chief Assange fears US charges Madoff investor's estate forfeits 7.2 billion dollars NASA tests aging shuttle after failed launch US man is HIV-free after stem cell transplant More Most Viewed » NASA finds new form of life... on Earth Defiant Obama defends tax cuts, eyes 2012 More Most Recommended » Elsewhere on Yahoo! Financial news on Yahoo! Finance Stars and latest movies Best travel destinations More on Yahoo! News Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Weekend Edition Subscribe to our news feeds Top StoriesMy Yahoo!RSS » More news feeds | What are news feeds? Also on Yahoo! Answers Groups Mail Messenger Mobile Travel Finance Movies Sports Games » All Yahoo! Services Site Highlights Singapore Full Coverage Most Popular Entertainment Photos Yahoo! News Network Copyright © 2010 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte. Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved. Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Community | Intellectual Property Rights Policy | Help

Other News on Sunday, 19 December 2010
Merkel meets troops in surprise Afghanistan visit
Iraq to unveil new govt Monday, oil minister stays
Parents didn't want Sonia to wed Rajiv Gandhi: cables
Foreign troop death toll in Afghanistan in 2010 nears 700 |
Iraq to unveil new government Monday |
Iraq PM to unveil national unity cabinet
Fresh from India, Wen builds Pakistan trade ties |
Iran's new foreign minister reaches out to Europe
Sudan dismisses allegation Bashir has billions abroad
Iran's new FM to bolster ties with Saudi, Turkey
Moscow police arrest 500 to prevent ethnic violence |
Shahristani to stay as Iraq oil minister
French police break up international doping ring |
NATO kills 20 insurgents in eastern Afghanistan
U.N. council meeting on Koreas likely Sunday
Nigeria militants claim attacks on oil facilities |
Now for the win, says double centurion Kallis
Report: Gunmen attack Korean site in Afghanistan
Spain unions threaten strike over pension reform |
SKorea to hold firing drills amid NKorea threat
Woman boards bus naked in Singapore
Fear continues to keep Indonesia's sexual minorities in the closet
US Congress backs lifting military gay ban
Iraqi cinema makes a comeback at Greek film festival
FEATURE: Indonesian LGBTs face discrimination in workplace
Park plans Wallace and Gromit theme park ride
Suicide attacks kill seven Afghan military personnel
Snow hits flights, strands drivers in Europe
South Korea not scrapping drill despite threat |
Iraq to unveil new government Monday, oil minister stays
US Senate rejects bid to kill Russia nuclear treaty
Israeli air strike kills five Gaza militants
Foreign troop 2010 toll hits 700 in Afghanistan |
Spanish unions protest retirement reform
Suicide bombers kill 5 in northern Afghanistan
Obama vows to pursue US missile defense plans
Israeli air strike kills five Gaza militants |
Suicide bombers kill 4 in northern Afghanistan
Ivory Coast's Gbagbo tells U.N. to leave, Ban refuses |
Moscow police arrest hundreds ahead of nationalist rallies
NATO kills 20 insurgents in eastern Afghanistan
Belarus votes, Lukashenko to extend 16-year rule |
Ice set to bring more chaos to Britain |
Sri Lanka lifts ban on U.N. war crime panel visit |
Western Sahara foes still at odds but to speed up talks |
Survivors pray for 30 lost in Australia refugee wreck
Australia level Ashes series
Indonesia to attack Philippines frontally
A kungfu master's living legacy
Irish family man feeling the pinch this Christmas
A softer 'don't-ask, don't-tell' policy in Indonesia?
US Senate passes bill to lift military gay ban
Quake jolts Indonesia
Garment scraps head for Western living rooms
Japanese feelings for China at record low: poll
Cambodia's land-grab 'cancer' keeps spreading
S.Korea unveils plan to levy foreign debt at banks
S.Korea Nov biz start-up/failure ratio at 18-mth low
37 dead in Bangladesh boat sinking: police
Japan's low-cost space programme pushes the limits
SKorea plans levy on foreign currency bank debt
Iran fuel prices rocket as subsidies cut
Tourist stabbed to death in Israel |
Iran fuel prices soar as subsidies cut
Snow and ice ground flights in Europe |
U.S. tourist stabbed to death in Israel
Iran ex-foreign minister says sacking 'un-Islamic'
China counters U.S. criticism of Pakistan |
Fighting in Sudan's Darfur forces 12,000 to flee
Iraq's Allawi says will join Maliki government |
Taliban kill 10 Afghan soldiers, police
Fighting in Sudan's Darfur forces 12,000 to flee |
Taliban kill 10 Afghan soldiers in 2 attacks
Taiwan 'set to boost' Chinese tourists' quota
Israel deprives Palestinians in West Bank |
Militants kill 10 Afghan soldiers in 2 attacks
Philippines in uproar over error-filled peso bills
China PM vows to boost ties with Pakistan
North Korea raises alert before U.N. meeting
China counters U.S. criticism of Pakistan as PM ends visit
Young Spaniards adrift with 40 pct jobless rate
After Australia tour, Winfrey vacations in Fiji
Life sentence finalised for Tokyo man over Briton's death
UN to meet on Koreas amid soaring tensions
SKorea announces levy on bank foreign borrowing
Fifteen dead in Philippines hotel fire: police
Man sentenced to death for killing five in China
SKorea plans levy on foreign currency bank debt
Firefox backs "Do Not Track" with online stealth
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph	VPN on MacOSX	BlogMeter 1.01