Blitzy_UK

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Johanna Sigurdardottir, named as Iceland's prime minister on Sunday, is the first openly lesbian head of government in Europe, if not the world - at least in modern times.

The 66-year-old's appointment as an interim leader, until elections in May, is seen by many as a milestone for the gay and lesbian movement.

Up until now, if a gay man or woman has been prime minister, they have done their best to conceal the fact.

In Iceland itself, however, the new prime minister's sexual orientation appears to be causing less excitement than it is abroad.

What is really historic about this new cabinet, says Skuli Helgeson, the general secretary of Ms Sigurardottir's Social Democratic Alliance, is not the fact that its leader is a lesbian, but that for the first time in Icelandic history it boasts an equal number of men and women.

"I don't think her sexual orientation matters. Our voters are pretty liberal, they don't care about any of that," he told BBC News.

But not all European countries are as tolerant, says Juris Lavrikovs of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) in Brussels.

There is a huge divide between eastern and western Europe, he says.

"The countries of the former Soviet Union were cut off from some of the social developments which have brought us this far in the past 50 years.

"A pink curtain divides us. And it will probably take a long time for eastern European countries to reach the same level of tolerance," Mr Lavrikovs says.

However, even in these countries he notes signs of change.

"In Latvia, where I'm from, some of the political parties are approaching gay, lesbian and transgender groups and talking to them about including gay candidates in their party lists," he says.


No reason to hide

In most of western Europe the coming-out of a politician will still make headlines.

Only last week, Roger Karoutchi became the first French government minister to disclose his homosexuality.

A minister for parliamentary relations, he said he was happy with his male partner and saw no reason to hide it.

But friends of his have been quoted as saying that he came out with the revelation because "attacks by his enemies" left him no choice.

Matthew Parris, who served as a Conservative Member of Parliament in Britain from 1979 until 1986, says politicians are often more worried than they should be about making their sexual orientation public.

"Speaking from my own experience, I was sort of in the closet when I was an MP, and I always imagined that the world would fall in if people found out," he says.

"Well, when I finally did come clean, it turned out most of my constituents had guessed already and didn't give a damn!"

He believes gay politicians are often still frightened to come out.

"They tend to hear the reactionary minority that speaks out against homosexuality, not the majority who quietly approve.

"If they came out, they'd be pleasantly surprised by the public reaction!"

He sees no barrier to a gay or lesbian politician making it to the top job in British politics within the next decade.


Machismo

Despite the Spanish Socialist Party's strong backing for gay rights, there are currently no openly gay members in Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero's government.

Nevertheless, Silvia Jaen, secretary-general of the Spanish Federation of Gays, Lesbians, Transsexuals and Bisexuals says the country is ready for a gay prime minister.

"These days, homosexuality gives you neither an advantage nor a disadvantage in politics.

"There was a time when you would have received a lot of extra press coverage for being gay - these days it's a footnote."

She does however say that gay politicians in the conservative Popular Party still face opposition from some of their Catholic base.

"But we're miles away from the days of Franco. According to a recent poll, 72% of Spanish voters support equal rights for homosexuals," she says.

Ms Jaen does believe there is still a deeply ingrained machismo in Spanish society.

"Female ministers get a lot more stick from the press, be it because of what they're wearing or how they're behaving.

"I think we're more likely to see a gay man governing Spain before we ever see a straight woman as prime minister."


Sea change

Both Silvia Jaen and Juris Lavrikovs think Iceland's lesbian prime minister has changed history for ever.

Until now, Ms Sigurdardottir - who was joined in a civil partnership with Jonina Leosdottir in 2002 - has been a popular Social Affairs minister. In one recent Gallup poll, 73% of respondents said they were satisfied with her work.

"Here's a shining example of a country which has overcome its prejudices against those of a different sexual orientation," says Mr Lavrikovs.

"It won't cause any overnight changes, but it'll send a signal which can't be ignored."

And Silvia Jaen says that by simply turning up with her civil law partner at official ceremonies and state visits, Johanna Sigurdardottir will already force other European leaders to confront their prejudices.

"If I could, I would take the next plane to Reykjavik to celebrate with Ms Sigurdardottir.

"It's not only a victory for lesbians, it's a victory for women, actually make that a victory for all!"

Members

* Jeff Scheel — vocals
* Matt Dudenhoeffer — guitar
* Doug Firley — bass, keyboard
* Kurt Kerns — bass, drums
* Brad Booker — drums (Superstarved album)


Gravity Kills was an American industrial rock band from Jefferson City, Missouri.

The band was formed in 1994. They had their first hit single with "Guilty" from their album Gravity Kills. Appearances on the soundtracks for Mortal Kombat ("Goodbye"), Seven, and Test Drive Off-Road also helped bring exposure. They have toured with such bands as one-time TVT labelmates Sevendust and industrial powerhouse Pigface. Their only other successful singles afterwards were "Falling", from Perversion and "One Thing", from Superstarved, though both were only minor successes. Following a severe injury to keyboardist Doug Firley's hands, and lack of tour support from their record label, they were unable to complete a tour for Superstarved and broke up in 2003. On October 28, 2005, Gravity Kills reunited to perform for a self-created Halloween music festival in St. Louis, Missouri entitled "The Killoween Freakshow." This appears to be becoming an annual event, as another "Killoween" occurred on October 28, 2006, at Pop's nightclub and bar, featuring Gravity Kills and Fragile Porcelain Mice. Due to a scheduling conflict, Killoween was instead "The Nightmare Before Thanksgiving" on November 21, 2007.

The Pendulum sound is typically heavy beats accompanied by low, buzzing basslines, overlaid with synthesized leads. When Pendulum started out as producers in Australia, their sound was considerably more Drum and Bass-influenced than the work they are known for today. Signature tunes such as "Vault", "Back to You", "Voyager" and "Toxic Shock" which were released on small labels such as Uprising Records, Renegade Hardware and Low Profile Records have a darker more melodic air to them which is substantially absent from their later, more dancefloor driven production. Early work such as "Another Planet" however, seems to indicate an early affinity with a more mainstream sound similar to other Breakbeat Kaos artists such as DJ Fresh and Adam F.

The group has produced various remixes of other artists, the most well-known being their remix of "Voodoo People" by The Prodigy. Pendulum have also remixed themselves. In 2006, "Painkiller" with the Freestylers was remixed by NOISIA and released on Against the Grain records.

Recently, however, Pendulum have begun shifting to a more mainstream sound, with elements of rock music and pop music, including electric guitar and authentic drums, overlaying the synthesized leads and basslines they are already known for.

the BUZZMOB is an elite group of BUZZNET users who are collectively devoted to promoting BUZZNET and BUZZNET content across the web.

General ..ly ... i consider myself easy going and i love meeting people... to learn new things all the time and to be open to people's opinions and beliefs love meeting and chatting to ppl
Music ..... is wot created me ... listen to pretty much anything ... from dance (being a hooligan) to easy listening - jus chilln (nice for just before bed)...
Movies ..... make me tick ... love watching movies ... love n e thing with psychological twist (eg. the hole, gossip, fracture ... u get my point)
Television ..... is addictive ... have my favorites ... incl. CSI (all of em - NY, LV, Miami), Law and Order (CI, SVU, etc) ... desperate hwives, heroes, l-word ... u get the picture lol
Books ..... preferably with pictures lol. at the moment my fad seems to be with author Richard Gross ... i like thrillers and he is also realistic ... cos not all stories have a happy ending ... its more about how you've survived
Heroes … Bridge McManus and Sarah Silverman … Inspiration as well as those who know to stand up for what they believe in

NET Act - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia -

The United States No Electronic Theft Act (NET Act), a federal law passed in 1997, provides for criminal prosecution of individuals who engage in copyright infringement, even when there is no monetary profit or commercial benefit from the infringement. Maximum penalties can be five years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines. The NET Act also raised statutory damages by 50%.

Prior to the enactment of the NET Act in 1997, copyright infringement for a non-commercial purpose was apparently not punishable by criminal prosecution, although non-commercial infringers could be sued in a civil action by the copyright holder to recover damages. At that time, criminal prosecutions under the copyright act were possible only when the infringer derived a commercial benefit from his or her actions. This state of affairs was underscored by the unsuccessful 1994 prosecution of David LaMacchia, then a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for allegedly facilitating massive copyright infringement as a hobby, without any commercial motive. The court's dismissal of United States v. LaMacchia suggested that then-existing criminal law simply did not apply to non-commercial infringements (a state of affairs which became known as the "LaMacchia Loophole"). The court suggested that Congress could act to make some non-commercial infringements a crime, and Congress acted on that suggestion in the NET Act.

The NET Act amends the definition of "commercial advantage or private financial gain" to include the exchange of copies of copyrighted works even if no money changes hands and specifies penalties of up to five years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines. It also creates a threshold for criminal liability even where the infringer neither obtained nor expected to obtain anything of value for the infringement.

The act raised the levels of statutory damages in civil cases to $750 - $30,000 per work (and up to $150,000 per work in case of willful infringement).

Sixty-six countries at the United Nations have called for homosexuality to be decriminalised.

The countries signed a declaration sponsored by France and the Netherlands demanding an end to legal punishment based on sexual orientation.

Sixty other countries of the UN's 192 member states, including a number of Arab and African states, rejected the non-binding declaration.

They said laws on homosexuality should be left to individual countries.

Gay men, lesbians and transsexuals worldwide face daily violations of their human rights.

Homosexuality is a criminal offence in more than 80 countries, while in at least seven nations, including Saudi Arabia, sex between men can be punished with the death penalty.

Considerable opposition

This month marks the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the French and Dutch governments are using this to highlight discrimination against homosexuals.

Their statement calls for an end to the execution, arrest and detention of homosexuals and transexuals.

The Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said it was a significant declaration.

Yet there is considerable opposition to this at the UN. Socially conservative countries in the Arab world and in Africa did not want anything to do with it.

Syria spoke on behalf of 60 countries, arguing that domestic laws should be respected, and claiming the declaration could legitimise deplorable acts including paedophilia.

The US was the only major Western nation not to sign the declaration.

Even though the US Supreme Court has ruled that states cannot make homosexuality a crime, diplomats claimed the declaration was not compatible with the division between between state and federal law.

France and the Netherlands hope more countries will sign up to the declaration in the future.