Brazil's health ministry on Wednesday pulled an outreach campaign urging sex workers to use condoms after coming under fire from conservative lawmakers.
"I'm happy being a prostitute" was the slogan on a web campaign for International Prostitute Day that also encouraged sex workers to not be ashamed to seek medical treatment for sexually transmitted diseases.
The campaign was published on the health ministry's website and social media sites last weekend, and has since provoked a wave of criticism, especially from evangelical legislators in Brazil's congress.
"We are fighting childhood prostitution and here comes a campaign encouraging it," federal deputy Liliam Sá said in a recent congressional committee meeting.
Health Minister Alexandre Padilha, a rising star in the ruling Workers' Party who is expected to run for governor of São Paulo state next year, said in a Twitter post late Tuesday that the campaign had gone ahead without his authorization.
In the tweet, Padilha said the decision to scrap the campaign "came before any protests for or against it."
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Israel's education minister gets the giggles in parliament
A reference to "penetration" in a speech to parliament caused Israel's education minister to burst into a laughing fit that went viral on Tuesday on Israeli websites.
Shai Piron, who is also a rabbi, could not get past the first sentence of his address, on a proposed law against smuggling cell phones into Israel's prisons, before beginning to chuckle. ( http://r.reuters.com/rac68t )
"Mr. Chairman, distinguished Parliament, the aim of this legislation is to deal with a serious phenomenon - the penetration of prohibited objects into prisons," he said during a late night session on Monday broadcast on the official Knesset TV channel.
He briefly recovered but broke down again over the perceived sexual innuendo when the word "penetration" came up in the text for a second time. Legislators in the hall joined in the giggling.
Struggling to continue, Piron wiped tears from his eyes, took a sip of water - and finally went back to his seat, unable to read on.
He later explained to reporters that he had been caught off-guard by the phrasing in the speech, which he delivered at the last minute after a cabinet colleague was called away.
Shai Piron, who is also a rabbi, could not get past the first sentence of his address, on a proposed law against smuggling cell phones into Israel's prisons, before beginning to chuckle. ( http://r.reuters.com/rac68t )
"Mr. Chairman, distinguished Parliament, the aim of this legislation is to deal with a serious phenomenon - the penetration of prohibited objects into prisons," he said during a late night session on Monday broadcast on the official Knesset TV channel.
He briefly recovered but broke down again over the perceived sexual innuendo when the word "penetration" came up in the text for a second time. Legislators in the hall joined in the giggling.
Struggling to continue, Piron wiped tears from his eyes, took a sip of water - and finally went back to his seat, unable to read on.
He later explained to reporters that he had been caught off-guard by the phrasing in the speech, which he delivered at the last minute after a cabinet colleague was called away.
Italian businessmen drop pants in tax protest
Five Italian businessmen stripped off their trousers and protested outside parliament on Tuesday, demanding the abolition of a tax collection agency they blame for the suicides of scores of their peers.
The men posed for the cameras in their shirts and underwear, carrying signs that read "You are killing thousands of jobs".
Their business lobby, Cobas Imprese, is one of two groups demanding a referendum to abolish Equitalia, an agency that collects back-taxes and fines. They accuse it of exacerbating the economic crisis by hounding the indebted owners of failing businesses.
"In the past 18 months, 162 businessmen have committed suicide because they have ended up in the teeth of this agency," Giuseppe Graziani, president of Cobas Imprese, told reporters.
Italy's economy, the euro zone's third biggest, is mired in a recession that has been dragging on since mid-2011, driving up unemployment and forcing the closure of thousands of companies.
No political parties have yet joined the referendum campaign, Graziani said, although former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, whose party belongs to the left-right coalition led by Enrico Letta, has previously called for the agency to be closed.
Equitalia was the target of firebomb attacks last year, and an anarchist group sent a letter bomb at the end of 2011 that wounded one of the agency's directors.
The men posed for the cameras in their shirts and underwear, carrying signs that read "You are killing thousands of jobs".
Their business lobby, Cobas Imprese, is one of two groups demanding a referendum to abolish Equitalia, an agency that collects back-taxes and fines. They accuse it of exacerbating the economic crisis by hounding the indebted owners of failing businesses.
"In the past 18 months, 162 businessmen have committed suicide because they have ended up in the teeth of this agency," Giuseppe Graziani, president of Cobas Imprese, told reporters.
Italy's economy, the euro zone's third biggest, is mired in a recession that has been dragging on since mid-2011, driving up unemployment and forcing the closure of thousands of companies.
No political parties have yet joined the referendum campaign, Graziani said, although former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, whose party belongs to the left-right coalition led by Enrico Letta, has previously called for the agency to be closed.
Equitalia was the target of firebomb attacks last year, and an anarchist group sent a letter bomb at the end of 2011 that wounded one of the agency's directors.
Noah's Ark theme park wants to show the Flood was "plausible"
The Biblical account of Noah and his Ark poses a lot of questions, even for believers like the creators of the controversial Creation Museum in Kentucky.
What is "gopher wood"? How did Noah fit all those animals on the boat? And how did he stand the smell?
In an office park in Hebron, Kentucky, the designers of the proposed "Ark Encounter" theme park are trying to answer questions like these in order to build faith in the Bible's literal accuracy. The project has run into delays because of lack of financing, which could cost it millions in potential tax breaks. Despite the uncertainty, a recent Reuters preview of the project showed that plans for the ark are continuing.
"We're basically presenting what the Bible has to say and showing how plausible it was," said Patrick Marsh, design director for the park, which will feature a 500-foot-long wooden ark and other Old Testament attractions, including a Tower of Babel and a "Ten Plagues" ride. "This was a real piece of history - not just a story, not just a legend."
The project is currently in the design phase. Not enough private donations have come in to start construction, and building permits will not be ready until November, according to Ark Encounter co-founder and Senior Vice President Michael Zovath.
The project has $12.3 million in hand and $12.7 million more in committed donations; it needs $23 million more to start building the ark alone. Zovath does not know when that will happen.
Like Noah before the Flood, the builders are in a bit of a time crunch, since Kentucky tourism tax incentives for the project are set to expire in May 2014.
The longer it takes to start building the $150 million park, originally planned to open in spring 2014, the less the project stands to gain from the rebates, which allow it to receive up to 25 percent of project costs over 10 years from sales taxes generated by the business.
Zovath said the project may refile for the incentives, which critics argue are a violation of the constitutional divide between church and state. If the rebates applied to the full project cost, they could amount to $37.5 million.
SPECULATING ON THE ARK SPECS
Ark Encounter is a project of Answers in Genesis, the ministry founded by creationism proponent Ken Ham. The ministry built the Creation Museum in nearby Petersburg.
The museum, which has been harshly criticized by educators and scientists, argues that the earth is around 6,000 years old and was created by God in six 24-hour days with dinosaurs existing at the same time as humans. It rejects the theory of evolution and explains phenomena like the Grand Canyon as a consequence of the Flood.
Attendance at the Creation Museum has declined since it attracted 400,000 visitors in the first year after its 2007 opening, said Zovath. He attributes this to the poor economy and believes some visitors may be delaying their visits until the ark exhibit opens.
The Biblical account of the ark does not provide much detail on how it was made, so the designers have had to speculate.
The Bible calls for gopher wood, for instance, although it is unclear if this is a now-extinct type of wood or if the term refers to the way the wood was cut, said Marsh, who has done work for Universal Studios. Ark Encounter will go with a mix of woods.
Another big question is how Noah got mating pairs of all the animals of the earth, including dinosaurs, onto a boat half the length of a cruise ship.
Scientists have cataloged 1.3 million species of animals, but Ark Encounter protagonists figure Noah could have brought on just 1,000 to 2,000 pairs to represent every animal "kind," as the Bible puts it.
"If you start with a wolf, you can basically generate all of these dog-like kinds," said Marsh. As for large animals like dinosaurs, Marsh said Noah could have brought them on as eggs or juveniles, to save room.
Though the park is meant to teach that the Noah story is true, it is also for profit, and Marsh takes inspiration from secular theme parks. In the exhibit depicting the wicked pre-Flood society that God wanted to destroy, for example, Marsh plans a pagan temple with pagan ceremonies done in a "Disneyesque" way.
"You want everyone to have fun and buy souvenirs and have a good time, but you also want to tell everybody how terrible everything (was)," Marsh said.
He also plans exhibits within the three-level ark on how animal waste could have been taken away by mechanical devices and how fresh air could have been brought in.
CONSTITUTIONAL VIOLATION?
Explanations about the origins of the earth from Answers in Genesis are contrary to scientific consensus, which says that the planet formed about 4.5 billion years ago.
The Creation Museum was condemned by the National Center for Science Education, which said that students who accept material presented at the museum as valid are "unlikely to succeed in science courses at the college level."
Many Biblical scholars interpret the Creation and Flood stories as poetic myths and not history.
About one out of three Americans accepts the Bible literally, a percentage that has declined over time, according to a 2011 Gallup poll. Nevertheless, creationism has in recent years re-entered public debate over how to teach science in schools.
Marsh said that while you can be a Christian without believing in creationism, you are on a "slippery slope."
"So many people have gotten hooked with the concept of evolution that it really makes their faith very delicate," he said.
Barry Lynn, a United Church of Christ minister who heads Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said the planned park promotes "junk science."
"You don't pay for the ministry of people out of the taxpayer's collected dollars," said Lynn, who said his group will consider a lawsuit if the tax breaks for the ark ever kick in.
Zovath argues that the tax breaks do not violate the Constitution, since the state is not giving the park money up-front, but is only returning some of the tourism money the park will bring to the state.
"If somebody wants to come into Kentucky and build a Harry Potter park and teach all the fun things about witchcraft, nobody would say a word about it - they'd just think it was so cool," Zovath said. "But if we want to come in ... and build a Biblical theme park, everybody goes crazy."
What is "gopher wood"? How did Noah fit all those animals on the boat? And how did he stand the smell?
In an office park in Hebron, Kentucky, the designers of the proposed "Ark Encounter" theme park are trying to answer questions like these in order to build faith in the Bible's literal accuracy. The project has run into delays because of lack of financing, which could cost it millions in potential tax breaks. Despite the uncertainty, a recent Reuters preview of the project showed that plans for the ark are continuing.
"We're basically presenting what the Bible has to say and showing how plausible it was," said Patrick Marsh, design director for the park, which will feature a 500-foot-long wooden ark and other Old Testament attractions, including a Tower of Babel and a "Ten Plagues" ride. "This was a real piece of history - not just a story, not just a legend."
The project is currently in the design phase. Not enough private donations have come in to start construction, and building permits will not be ready until November, according to Ark Encounter co-founder and Senior Vice President Michael Zovath.
The project has $12.3 million in hand and $12.7 million more in committed donations; it needs $23 million more to start building the ark alone. Zovath does not know when that will happen.
Like Noah before the Flood, the builders are in a bit of a time crunch, since Kentucky tourism tax incentives for the project are set to expire in May 2014.
The longer it takes to start building the $150 million park, originally planned to open in spring 2014, the less the project stands to gain from the rebates, which allow it to receive up to 25 percent of project costs over 10 years from sales taxes generated by the business.
Zovath said the project may refile for the incentives, which critics argue are a violation of the constitutional divide between church and state. If the rebates applied to the full project cost, they could amount to $37.5 million.
SPECULATING ON THE ARK SPECS
Ark Encounter is a project of Answers in Genesis, the ministry founded by creationism proponent Ken Ham. The ministry built the Creation Museum in nearby Petersburg.
The museum, which has been harshly criticized by educators and scientists, argues that the earth is around 6,000 years old and was created by God in six 24-hour days with dinosaurs existing at the same time as humans. It rejects the theory of evolution and explains phenomena like the Grand Canyon as a consequence of the Flood.
Attendance at the Creation Museum has declined since it attracted 400,000 visitors in the first year after its 2007 opening, said Zovath. He attributes this to the poor economy and believes some visitors may be delaying their visits until the ark exhibit opens.
The Biblical account of the ark does not provide much detail on how it was made, so the designers have had to speculate.
The Bible calls for gopher wood, for instance, although it is unclear if this is a now-extinct type of wood or if the term refers to the way the wood was cut, said Marsh, who has done work for Universal Studios. Ark Encounter will go with a mix of woods.
Another big question is how Noah got mating pairs of all the animals of the earth, including dinosaurs, onto a boat half the length of a cruise ship.
Scientists have cataloged 1.3 million species of animals, but Ark Encounter protagonists figure Noah could have brought on just 1,000 to 2,000 pairs to represent every animal "kind," as the Bible puts it.
"If you start with a wolf, you can basically generate all of these dog-like kinds," said Marsh. As for large animals like dinosaurs, Marsh said Noah could have brought them on as eggs or juveniles, to save room.
Though the park is meant to teach that the Noah story is true, it is also for profit, and Marsh takes inspiration from secular theme parks. In the exhibit depicting the wicked pre-Flood society that God wanted to destroy, for example, Marsh plans a pagan temple with pagan ceremonies done in a "Disneyesque" way.
"You want everyone to have fun and buy souvenirs and have a good time, but you also want to tell everybody how terrible everything (was)," Marsh said.
He also plans exhibits within the three-level ark on how animal waste could have been taken away by mechanical devices and how fresh air could have been brought in.
CONSTITUTIONAL VIOLATION?
Explanations about the origins of the earth from Answers in Genesis are contrary to scientific consensus, which says that the planet formed about 4.5 billion years ago.
The Creation Museum was condemned by the National Center for Science Education, which said that students who accept material presented at the museum as valid are "unlikely to succeed in science courses at the college level."
Many Biblical scholars interpret the Creation and Flood stories as poetic myths and not history.
About one out of three Americans accepts the Bible literally, a percentage that has declined over time, according to a 2011 Gallup poll. Nevertheless, creationism has in recent years re-entered public debate over how to teach science in schools.
Marsh said that while you can be a Christian without believing in creationism, you are on a "slippery slope."
"So many people have gotten hooked with the concept of evolution that it really makes their faith very delicate," he said.
Barry Lynn, a United Church of Christ minister who heads Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said the planned park promotes "junk science."
"You don't pay for the ministry of people out of the taxpayer's collected dollars," said Lynn, who said his group will consider a lawsuit if the tax breaks for the ark ever kick in.
Zovath argues that the tax breaks do not violate the Constitution, since the state is not giving the park money up-front, but is only returning some of the tourism money the park will bring to the state.
"If somebody wants to come into Kentucky and build a Harry Potter park and teach all the fun things about witchcraft, nobody would say a word about it - they'd just think it was so cool," Zovath said. "But if we want to come in ... and build a Biblical theme park, everybody goes crazy."
Ex-Microsoft manager plans to create first U.S. marijuana brand
A former Microsoft executive plans to create the first U.S. national marijuana brand, with cannabis he hopes to eventually import legally from Mexico, and said he was kicking off his business by acquiring medical pot dispensaries in three U.S. states.
Jamen Shively, a former Microsoft corporate strategy manager, said he envisions his Seattle-based enterprise becoming the leader in both recreational and medical cannabis - much like Starbucks is the dominant name in coffee, he said.
Shively, 45, whose six years at Microsoft ended in 2009, said he was soliciting investors for $10 million in start-up money.
The use, sale and possession of marijuana remains illegal in the United States under federal law. Two U.S. states have, however, legalized recreational marijuana use and are among 18 states that allow it for medical use.
"It's a giant market in search of a brand," Shively said of the marijuana industry. "We would be happy if we get 40 percent of it worldwide."
A 2005 United Nations report estimated the global marijuana trade to be valued at $142 billion. http://www.unodc.org/pdf/WDR_2005/volume_1_web.pdf
Washington state and Colorado became the first two U.S. states to legalize recreational marijuana when voters approved legalization in November.
Shively laid out his plans, along with his vision for a future in which marijuana will be imported from Mexico, at a Thursday news conference in downtown Seattle.
Joining him was former Mexican President Vicente Fox, a longtime Shively acquaintance who has been an advocate of decriminalizing marijuana. Fox said he was there to show his support for Shively's company but has no financial stake in it.
"What a difference it makes to have Jamen here sitting at my side instead of Chapo Guzman," said Fox, referring to the fact he would rather see Shively selling marijuana legally than the Mexican drug kingpin selling it illegally. "This is the story that has begun to be written here."
Shively told Reuters he hoped Fox would serve an advisory role in his enterprise, dubbed Diego Pellicer after Shively's hemp-producing great grandfather.
The sale of cannabis or marijuana remains illegal in much of the world although countries mainly in Europe and the Americas have decriminalized the possession of small quantities of it. A larger number of countries have decriminalized or legalized cannabis for medical use.
SKEPTICISM
Shively acknowledges that his business plans conflict with U.S. federal law and are complicated by regulations in both Washington state and Colorado. He said he is interested in buying dispensaries that comply with local and state rules and are less likely to attract the scrutiny of authorities.
"If they want to come talk to me, I'll be delighted to meet with them," he said of federal officials. "I'll tell them everything that we're doing and show them all our books."
Washington state's marijuana consultant, Mark Kleiman, said he was skeptical of Shively's plans, and feared that the businessman is seeking to profit off others' addiction.
"It's very hard for me to understand why anybody seriously interested in being in the marijuana business, which after all is against the federal law, would so publicly announce his conspiracy to break that law," said Kleiman, a professor of public policy at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Emily Langlie, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle, referred questions to the Department of Justice headquarters. Department officials did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Washington state Representative Reuven Carlyle, a Seattle Democrat, sees promise in Shively's initiative. Any industry emerging from the shadows will inevitably undergo consolidation - and thereby simplify the task of regulators, he said.
"The fact that an entrepreneur is publicly pushing the envelope around a branding and value-based pricing opportunity, I would say that's in the water in Seattle," said Carlyle, chairman of the House Finance Committee. "That's in our DNA ... We could have predicted that as much as the rain."
Shively said he has already acquired the rights to the Northwest Patient Resource Center, a medical marijuana operation that includes two Seattle store fronts. He added that he was close to acquiring another dispensary in Colorado, as well as two more each in Washington state and California, with the owners given the option to retain a stake in their businesses.
"We've created the first risk-mitigated vehicles for investing directly in this business opportunity," he said.
Shively said he ultimately plans to create separate medical and recreational-use marijuana brands. Shively said he also plans to launch a study of the effectiveness of concentrated cannabis oil in the treatment of cancer and other illnesses.
Jamen Shively, a former Microsoft corporate strategy manager, said he envisions his Seattle-based enterprise becoming the leader in both recreational and medical cannabis - much like Starbucks is the dominant name in coffee, he said.
Shively, 45, whose six years at Microsoft ended in 2009, said he was soliciting investors for $10 million in start-up money.
The use, sale and possession of marijuana remains illegal in the United States under federal law. Two U.S. states have, however, legalized recreational marijuana use and are among 18 states that allow it for medical use.
"It's a giant market in search of a brand," Shively said of the marijuana industry. "We would be happy if we get 40 percent of it worldwide."
A 2005 United Nations report estimated the global marijuana trade to be valued at $142 billion. http://www.unodc.org/pdf/WDR_2005/volume_1_web.pdf
Washington state and Colorado became the first two U.S. states to legalize recreational marijuana when voters approved legalization in November.
Shively laid out his plans, along with his vision for a future in which marijuana will be imported from Mexico, at a Thursday news conference in downtown Seattle.
Joining him was former Mexican President Vicente Fox, a longtime Shively acquaintance who has been an advocate of decriminalizing marijuana. Fox said he was there to show his support for Shively's company but has no financial stake in it.
"What a difference it makes to have Jamen here sitting at my side instead of Chapo Guzman," said Fox, referring to the fact he would rather see Shively selling marijuana legally than the Mexican drug kingpin selling it illegally. "This is the story that has begun to be written here."
Shively told Reuters he hoped Fox would serve an advisory role in his enterprise, dubbed Diego Pellicer after Shively's hemp-producing great grandfather.
The sale of cannabis or marijuana remains illegal in much of the world although countries mainly in Europe and the Americas have decriminalized the possession of small quantities of it. A larger number of countries have decriminalized or legalized cannabis for medical use.
SKEPTICISM
Shively acknowledges that his business plans conflict with U.S. federal law and are complicated by regulations in both Washington state and Colorado. He said he is interested in buying dispensaries that comply with local and state rules and are less likely to attract the scrutiny of authorities.
"If they want to come talk to me, I'll be delighted to meet with them," he said of federal officials. "I'll tell them everything that we're doing and show them all our books."
Washington state's marijuana consultant, Mark Kleiman, said he was skeptical of Shively's plans, and feared that the businessman is seeking to profit off others' addiction.
"It's very hard for me to understand why anybody seriously interested in being in the marijuana business, which after all is against the federal law, would so publicly announce his conspiracy to break that law," said Kleiman, a professor of public policy at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Emily Langlie, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle, referred questions to the Department of Justice headquarters. Department officials did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Washington state Representative Reuven Carlyle, a Seattle Democrat, sees promise in Shively's initiative. Any industry emerging from the shadows will inevitably undergo consolidation - and thereby simplify the task of regulators, he said.
"The fact that an entrepreneur is publicly pushing the envelope around a branding and value-based pricing opportunity, I would say that's in the water in Seattle," said Carlyle, chairman of the House Finance Committee. "That's in our DNA ... We could have predicted that as much as the rain."
Shively said he has already acquired the rights to the Northwest Patient Resource Center, a medical marijuana operation that includes two Seattle store fronts. He added that he was close to acquiring another dispensary in Colorado, as well as two more each in Washington state and California, with the owners given the option to retain a stake in their businesses.
"We've created the first risk-mitigated vehicles for investing directly in this business opportunity," he said.
Shively said he ultimately plans to create separate medical and recreational-use marijuana brands. Shively said he also plans to launch a study of the effectiveness of concentrated cannabis oil in the treatment of cancer and other illnesses.
Maryland boy suspended for gun-shaped pastry is now lifetime NRA member
An 8-year-old Maryland boy who was suspended from school for nibbling a pastry snack into the shape of a gun has been given a junior membership in the National Rifle Association.
After hearing about Josh Welch's suspension from Park Elementary School in Anne Arundel County, a state legislator paid $550 to buy him a Junior Life Membership in the NRA, Welch's lawyer said on Thursday.
"I was embarrassed that my county would do that to him," said Nicholaus Kipke, leader of the Republican minority in the lower house of the Maryland legislature. He presented the gift to the second-grader Wednesday night.
The boy's lawyer, Robin Ficker, said he is appealing the two-day school suspension that started on March 1 when Welch ate away part of his Pop-Tart during class snack time so that it resembled a gun shape.
In the appeal, Ficker included pictures of the U.S. states of Idaho and Florida because "they look more like guns than Josh's Pop-Tart."
The Anne Arundel County Public Schools spokesman, Bob Mosier, declined to comment on the status of the appeal.
Ficker said the NRA membership gift was a great idea for the boy, who "is a good kid, a little rambunctious," because it would teach him proper handling of firearms. He said the boy's family does not own guns and the boy has never handled a gun.
After hearing about Josh Welch's suspension from Park Elementary School in Anne Arundel County, a state legislator paid $550 to buy him a Junior Life Membership in the NRA, Welch's lawyer said on Thursday.
"I was embarrassed that my county would do that to him," said Nicholaus Kipke, leader of the Republican minority in the lower house of the Maryland legislature. He presented the gift to the second-grader Wednesday night.
The boy's lawyer, Robin Ficker, said he is appealing the two-day school suspension that started on March 1 when Welch ate away part of his Pop-Tart during class snack time so that it resembled a gun shape.
In the appeal, Ficker included pictures of the U.S. states of Idaho and Florida because "they look more like guns than Josh's Pop-Tart."
The Anne Arundel County Public Schools spokesman, Bob Mosier, declined to comment on the status of the appeal.
Ficker said the NRA membership gift was a great idea for the boy, who "is a good kid, a little rambunctious," because it would teach him proper handling of firearms. He said the boy's family does not own guns and the boy has never handled a gun.
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