Wednesday, December 17, 2014
rocker elliott living it large
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russia plunges into the red
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pantoat-ThBe Hleilisx sis Cinderella e 17 pure fabulous, Pag
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slaughtered in the classrooms 132 pupils shot dead in Taliban massacre by aidan radnedge
PUPILS were forced to watch friends and teachers being shot through the eyes, beheaded and burned to death as Taliban gunmen killed more than 141 people in a school massacre yesterday. Children who moments earlier had been sitting in lessons were herded together and mown down in Pakistan’s deadliest terror attack. At least 132 youngsters and nine teachers were killed and another 121 pupils and three staff members were wounded, on what UK prime minister David Cameron called a ‘dark day for
Target: An injured boy is lifted to safety PicTure: rex
« Gay veterans to march in Boston Paddy’s Day parade The organisers of Boston’s annual St Patrick’s Day parade have voted to allow a group representing gay veterans to march next year, a dramatic turnaround for an organisation that has long resisted the inclusion of gays. The South Boston Allied War Veterans Council, which won a US Supreme Court decision in 1995 upholding their right to ban gay groups from the annual parade that draws hundreds of thousands of spectators, voted 5-4 on Monday to allow the group OutVets to march in the
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parade scheduled for March 15. They will be allowed to carry a blue banner with five white stars representing the branches of the military, and six vertical rainbow stripes.
‘Ensuring inclusivity is important for us’ OutVets represents lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender veterans. Bryan Bishop, OutVets founder and a US Air Force veteran, called the decision ‘awesome’.
‘I think it’s very significant,’ said Mr Bishop, who works as chief of staff in Boston’s Veterans Services department. ‘ensuring that there is 100 per cent inclusivity is important.’ The group has about 50 to 60 members, but has no political or social agenda, he said. ‘OutVets is being allowed to march because of their military service, not sexual orientation,’ said the veterans’ council’s commander Brian Mahoney. ‘This conforms to the tenets of the parade,’ Mr Mahoney said. ‘The parade is devoted to
Victim: An injured girl is carried to hospital PicTure: aP
honoring the service of veterans. It’s is our aim to honour that service and the history of the Irish Catholics in Boston.’ The parade organisers have long resisted the inclusion of gay groups, saying the parade is meant to honor veterans and Irish-American heritage, not promote any political or social agenda. The parade was in negotiations last year to allow the LGBT group Massequality to march, but things fell apart at the last moment and Boston mayor Martin Walsh boycotted the parade.
Sláinte! St Patrick’s Day in Boston just got better
Keep Dublin tidy – Please recycle this Metro Herald when you are finished with it