31 defeats in a row for a gay marriage law

United States

Maine voters reject gay-marriage law - Voters in the northeastern state of Maine repealed a state law that would have allowed same-sex couples to wed, dealing the gay rights movement a heartbreaking defeat in the corner of the country most supportive of gay marriage. Gay marriage has now lost in every single state — 31 in all — in which it has been put to a popular vote - USA Today

G.O.P. Wins Two Key Governors’ Races; Bloomberg Prevails in a Close Contest - Republicans swept contests for governor in New Jersey and Virginia on Tuesday as voters went to the polls filled with economic uncertainty, dealing President Obama a setback and building momentum for a Republican comeback attempt in next year’s midterm Congressional elections. But in a closely watched Congressional race in upstate New York, a Democrat who received a late push from the White House triumphed over a conservative candidate who attracted national backers ranging from Rush Limbaugh to Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor – New York Times

A Year After Dousing, Republicans’ Hope Rekindled - The Republican victories in the races for New Jersey and Virginia governors put the party in a stronger position to turn back the political wave President Obama unleashed last year, setting the stage for Republicans to raise money, recruit candidates and ride the excitement of an energized base as the party heads into next year’s midterm elections – New York Times

No Longer Invincible - For the first time in years, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg finds himself governing New York City from a most unaccustomed vantage point: Vulnerability – New York Times

GOP reclaims Virginia - Virginians elected Republican Robert F. McDonnell the commonwealth's 71st governor Tuesday, sweeping the GOP to power and emphatically halting a decade of Democratic advances in the critical swing state – Washington Post

Contests serve as warning to Democrats: It's not 2008 anymore - Off-year elections can be notoriously unreliable as predictors of the future, but as a window on how the political landscape may have changed in the year since President Obama won the White House, Tuesday's Republican victories in Virginia and New Jersey delivered clear warnings for the Democrats – Washington Post

Blanchett fires 'Streetcar's' eternal combustion engine - By Peter Marks, Washington Post Staff Writer, Monday, November 2, 2009 - If Cate Blanchett's nerve-shattering turn as Blanche DuBois doesn't knock the wind out of you, then there is nothing on a stage that can blow you away. What Blanchett achieves in the Sydney Theatre Company's revelatory revival of "A Streetcar Named Desire" amounts to a truly great portrayal -- certainly the most heartbreaking Blanche I've ever experienced.

United Kingdom

Lisbon Treaty: power drains to European Union as treaty gets go-ahead - Britain’s power to govern itself is to be increasingly surrendered to Brussels after the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty was finally ratified. – London Daily Telegraph

Barack Obama praises EU's Lisbon treaty agreement - US President Barack Obama Tuesday welcomed the completion of the European Union's reform of the Lisbon Treaty, saying it would boost ties between the two partners. – London Daily Telegraph

Green beliefs win legal protection: Landmark ruling means employees can sue for unfair dismissal - Employees who raise concerns about their company's environmental practices won the right to legal redress yesterday after a judge ruled that green beliefs deserved the same protection in the workplace as religious convictions – The London Independent

MPs' expenses: Christopher Kelly announces reform proposals - MPs are to be banned from claiming mortgage interest on expenses after an "appropriate transitional" period, under the recommendations of Commons' watchdog Sir Christopher Kelly published today – London The Guardian

German Government blasts 'unacceptable' GM U-turn - Germany's Economic Minister today branded a decision by America's General Motors (GM) to scrap the sale of its European business as "totally unacceptable." – London Times

Nigeria

CBN cracks down on ‘politically exposed people’ as elections draw near - The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has ordered banks in the country to report suspicious cash transactions from people who are involved in politics, a move considered as veritable means of checkmating corrupt politicians and public office holders from vying for public positions of trust – Business Day, Nigeria