Word: civilizations
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...state constitution to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Another question on the ballot - Referendum I - would allow gays and lesbians to form legally protected domestic partnerships. While Haggard is not seen as a firebreather on the issue, and insists he supports the civil rights of all groups, he has expressed no interest in supporting Referendum I. At this point, one poll shows that Amendment 43 has 53% support; while Referendum...
...Leading in the polls is former President Daniel Ortega - the leftist Sandinista whom Nicaraguans tossed out in 1990 after he presided over a civil war-torn decade of Marxist authoritarianism and economic disaster. Ortega was a bona fide guerrilla hero who had helped lead the Sandinista insurrection that overthrew the tyrant Anastasio Somoza Debayle in 1979. But Ortega proved to be a clueless and corrupt head of state, and after his 1990 electoral humiliation, he had looked set for the Cold War scrap heap. He failed in presidential bids in 1996 and 2001, and in 1998 his stepdaughter, Zoilamerica Narvaez...
...Siniora supporters see the national unity government call as a pretext for a Hizballah power-grab. "The Taif Accord [which brokered an end to Lebanon's civil war] divides power among religious groups, regardless of demographic changes," said Rami Rayess, a spokesman for the Progressive Socialist Party, the leading Druze faction of Siniora's coalition. According to Rayess, Shi'ite parties, who represent the fastest growing part of Lebanon's population, want to flex their muscles after what they see as Hizballah's "Divine Victory" over Israel this summer. "We have the fear that national unity is a cover...
...With the next election still three years away, the Siniora government is in no danger of losing its majority in parliament. But it will face extra-parliamentary challenges such as demonstrations, strikes and civil strife, according to Moussalli. "The government can sustain itself legally, but its parliamentary majority doesn't represent opinion on the street. [Without a compromise] it's going to collapse...
...implications of calling off the march under threat of violence worry civil rights advocates. Says Elena Canetti, a spokeswoman at Jerusalem Open House, which sponsors the parade: "This is bigger than gay rights. It's now about whether we respect the rule of law in Israel, or give in to threats of violence." Cannetti says that human rights activists and some leftist parties have signed on to the parade, which is expected to draw several thousand gay marchers. "Many people aren't coming because they're scared," she says...