Signal to Russia: US Olympics Delegation Includes Gay Athletes

In a move that sends a signal to Russia about its anti-gay laws, the White House announced Tuesday that the presidential delegation to the Winter Olympics in Sochi will include two gay athletes, tennis great Billie Jean King and ice hockey player Caitlin Cahow, The Hill reported.

The legendary tennis champ received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 in recognition of her work on behalf of the LGBT community.

Two-time Olympian Cahow came out as a lesbian earlier this year.

Civil rights groups pressured the White House to include gay leaders in the delegation as a symbol of its opposition to Russia’s laws banning ”gay propaganda,” which impose fines and imprisonment for those who stage gay-pride rallies or events.

Last week, Human Rights First sent a letter to Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett that “the selection of the members of the official U.S. delegations for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Sochi Olympics is an important opportunity to signal to Russia and the world the priority the Obama administration places on equality and human dignity.”

“We urge you to ensure that the U.S. delegation includes prominent LGBT people – athletes, government officials and others – as well as allies of the LGBT community who will carry a message of tolerance and respect for individual rights and human dignity,” the letter, obtained by McClatchy, continued.

Former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will lead the U.S. delegation to the Opening Ceremonies. U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, deputy chief of staff Rob Nabors, and gold-medal figure skater Brian Boitano will also appear.

The Closing Ceremonies delegation will be led by deputy Secretary of State William Burns, and will include McFaul, speed-skating gold medalists Bonnie Blair and Eric Heiden, and Cahow.

Neither the president nor first lady Michelle Obama will be in either delegation.

Earlier this summer, Obama said he did not “think it’s appropriate to boycott the Olympics” — but said he hoped gay U.S. athletes would win medals and in turn change attitudes.

“One of the things I’m really looking forward to is maybe some gay and lesbian athletes bringing home the gold or silver or bronze, which I think would go a long way in rejecting the kind of attitudes that we’re seeing there,” he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said gay athletes will be welcome at the games.

“We are doing everything, both the organizers and our athletes and fans, so that participants and guests feel comfortable in Sochi, regardless of nationality, race, or sexual orientation,” Putin told RIA Novosti.

Related stories:

• Greg Louganis: Protest Russia’s Anti-Gay Laws, Not Sochi Olympics
  


• Nick Symmonds: Russia Wrong on Anti-gay Law; US Runner Speaks Out

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Signal to Russia: US Olympics Delegation Includes Gay Athletes

Taliban Signal Readiness to Begin Peace Negotiations

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  Blast Likely Aimed at Afghan Politician Kills 3 in Kabul (June 19, 2013)

  
  


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  Afghan Forces Struggle as U.S. Weans Them Off Support (June 18, 2013)

  
  

KABUL, Afghanistan — In a potentially groundbreaking move, the Taliban announced on Tuesday they were prepared to take the first step towards peace negotiations with the Afghanistan government after 12 years of war.

The announcement came in Doha, the capital of Qatar, where negotiations have been underway for more than two years with a range of international participants to attempt start peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government.

It would be the first time that the antagonists in the Afghanistan war have undertaken peace negotiations to end a conflict that has encumbered the United States since 2001, when American forces entered the country to rout Al Qaeda.

NYT > Global Home

Taliban Signal Readiness to Begin Peace Negotiations

Data signal soft economy but not abrupt slowdown

A man pushes his shopping cart down an aisle at a Home Depot store in New York, July 29, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton

By Jason Lange

WASHINGTON | Thu May 30, 2013 9:14pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A drop in government spending dragged more on the U.S. economy than initially thought in the first three months of the year, although consumer spending looked relatively resilient to Washington’s austerity drive.

Other reports on Thursday showed the number of new jobless claims rose modestly last week while contracts on previously owned homes climbed to a three-year high in April.

Together, the reports pointed to an economy that has held up reasonably well despite government constraints, but nevertheless faced headwinds severe enough to dissuade the U.S. Federal Reserve from trimming its monetary stimulus in the immediate future.

“(The reports) paint the picture of an economy with strengthening fundamentals that is facing significant fiscal drag,” said Ellen Zentner, an economist at Nomura in New York.

Gross domestic product, a measure of the country’s total economic output, expanded at a 2.4 percent annual rate during the first quarter, down a tenth of a point from an initial estimate, the Commerce Department said.

Analysts had forecast a 2.5 percent gain.

Government spending tumbled at a 4.9 percent annual rate, which was faster than the 4.1 percent rate initially estimated. Also holding back growth during the quarter, businesses outside the farm sector stocked their shelves at a slower pace.

Washington has been tightening its belt for several years but ramped up austerity measures in 2013, hiking taxes in January and slashing the federal budget in March.

“We are dramatically under-spending in Washington,” said Michael Strauss, a market strategist at Commonfund in Wilton, Connecticut.

U.S. stocks rose and the dollar weakened as some investors bet the data could dissuade the Fed from rushing to taper a bond buying program that has acted as a bulwark against government belt tightening. Prices for U.S. government debt pared losses.

Despite the signs of a substantial fiscal drag, the GDP report also highlighted a resilience that has surprised many economists.

Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity. rose at a 3.4 percent annual rate, up two tenths of a point from the government’s previous estimate.

Excluding the volatile inventories component, GDP rose at an upwardly revised 1.8 percent rate, slightly higher than analysts had forecast. This suggests that an improvement in hiring and incomes over the last year has helped keep economic momentum intact.

“(It’s) steady as she goes,” said Stephen Stanley, an economist at Pierpont Securities in Stamford, Connecticut

HOUSING RECOVERY

Most economists still expect economic growth will slow around the middle of 2013 as budget cuts are enacted. But growth is seen picking up by year end, propelled by consumer spending and an apparently entrenched housing market recovery.

In April, the National Association of Realtors’ index of signed contracts for home resales rose 0.3 percent to 106.0, the highest reading since April 2010.

The housing market recovery is being driven by the Fed’s very easy monetary policy stance, which has kept mortgage rates low. Although speculation the Fed could begin to curtail its bond buying within a few months has driven mortgage rates sharply higher in recent days, economists say the fundamentals of the housing recovery still appear strong.

A separate report showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week, but not enough to suggest a shift in the recent pattern of steady job gains.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 354,000, above analysts’ expectations, Labor Department data showed.

(Additional reporting by Lucia Mutikani in Washington and Richard Leong in New York; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

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Reuters: Top News

Data signal soft economy but not abrupt slowdown

Data signal soft economy but not abrupt slowdown

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A woman goes down an escalator at a Toys R Us store in New York, December 14, 2010.


Credit: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton








WASHINGTON | Fri May 31, 2013 8:38am EDT





WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Consumer spending fell in April for the first time in almost a year and inflation pressures were subdued, pointing to a slowdown in economic activity that should see the Federal Reserve maintaining its monetary stimulus for a while.




The Commerce Department said on Friday consumer spending fell 0.2 percent, the weakest reading since May last year, after edging up 0.1 percent in March. Economists had expected a 0.1 percent gain.




Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, was held down by weak demand for utilities and weak receipts at gasoline stations on the back of a drop in gasoline prices at the pump.




When adjusted for inflation, spending nudged up 0.1 percent last month after rising 0.2 percent. The sixth straight month of gains in the so-called real consumer spending came as a key inflation gauge fell in April by the most since July last year, pushed down by declining gasoline prices.




The economy has been hit by higher taxes and deep government spending cuts as the government tries to slash its budget deficit.




It grew at a 2.4 percent pace in the January-March period, but is expected to slow to a rate of between 1.5 percent and 2.2 percent this quarter because of the government budget cuts, which are already putting a strain on manufacturing.




A price index for consumer spending fell 0.3 percent last month after dipping 0.1 percent in March. A core reading that strips out food and energy costs was flat after rising 0.1 percent the prior month.




Over the past 12 months, inflation has risen just 0.7 percent, the smallest gain since October 2009 and pushing further below the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target. The index had increased 1.0 percent in the period through March.




Core prices are up 1.1 percent, the smallest rise since March 2011 and slowing from 1.2 percent in March.




The weak spending and the lack of inflation pressures could dampen market speculation the U.S. central bank might start scaling back monetary easing later this year.




Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said last week a decision to start tapering the $ 85 billion in bonds the Fed is buying each month could come at one of its “next few meetings” if the economy appeared set to maintain momentum.




(Reporting By Lucia Mutikani)





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Reuters: Business News

Data signal soft economy but not abrupt slowdown