tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88248899097726983152024-02-07T00:23:41.328-05:00Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender & Queer JamaicaGay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Str8 Friendly, Pansexual, Intersex & Queer Landscape here in "homophobic" Jamaica from the ground up...enriching posts and other media for your consideration. Project News, Crisis reviews, Releases & Advocacy concerns lgbtevent@gmail.com, glbtqjamaica@live.com Tel: 1-876-841-2923Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17155799011043584557noreply@blogger.comBlogger1851125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post-72151201951196445092017-05-31T13:12:00.001-05:002017-05-31T13:12:54.795-05:00Men demand ‘Equal Rights’ branded caps in pink .......<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<br />In a follow up of sorts <a href="http://glbtqjamaica.blogspot.com/2017/05/effemophobia-romphim-sagging-leggings.html">Effemophobia, RompHim, Sagging, Leggings & Men in Pink </a>concerning the Ishawna matter, I had attempted to address pink, the fear of the feminine I said in part, Bearing in mind we are coming from the days of strong opposition to males wearing, pink & earrings at all to some acceptability to one ear having a knob and it must by the left one to both ears now and even to top parts. Wearing earrings in the right ear was seen as the wearer seen being gay.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Then there is the business of strident opposition to tight pants, jeggings or leggings wearing by men especially from the older generation of dancehall acts to in their minds legitimise their masculinity, now those very same acts such as Bounty Killa, Beenieman and even Ninjaman (the one who rejected his gay son) all have fallen in line to stay current with trends competing in an ever changing space of dancehall as younger artist rewrite the rules. Please do not leave out the powerful influence by Vybz Kartel who almost single handed changed how male artists are presented in dancehall from the cake soap phenomenon to the Michael Jackson look.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One group of entrepreneurs who have sought to capitalise on the popularity of Ishawna's controversial single; 'Equal Rights,' says even men have demanded the branded caps sporting the song's title above the peak.<br /><br />At a price of US$20 or J$2,200, a representative who spoke with THE STAR says the hats are in high demand, with a great number of Jamaican females living locally and abroad wanting them.<br /><br />But they stressed that orders have been coming in from both genders.<br /><br />Despite offering promotional services and the creation of visuals (including, music videos and video ads), a representative of the group (Lus TV) responsible for advertising the headwear, says that they decided to dabble in the production of the branded caps because of the slang's popularity.<br /><br />"You know say this a Jamaica and slang kinda run Jamaica and supm weh people a ketch on to so as a yute inna the street weh no have a nine to five and me see say me can grab on pon something fi mek a income, me try it," he said.<br /><br />The caps are manufactured in the US and shipped to Jamaica with a merchant based in Westmoreland. But customers who order the product can have them delivered islandwide.<br /><br />Notwithstanding the division of opinion on the songs, the representative is confident they will generate a profit from the sale of the caps.<br /><br />"It's a gamble; you don't know if you ago mek back yu money or not," the representative said. And for those who are against the message of Equal Rights, they also have 'counteraction caps'.<br /><br />"We have 'No Eating Rights' hats fi the man dem," the representative said. "Me give a person who work inna a franchise some to sell and fi har own dem finish."<br /><br />With the success of the caps, the proprietors of Lus TV plan to delve further into the manufacturing apparel.<br /><br />"Yea, we intend to produce skirts for females and different styles of hats with Equal Rights. We'll also be premiering our Summer 17 skirts in a few weeks along with His Queen, Her King, Yardie and Stressfree shirts and blouse for males and females," he said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Frankly this entire episode is just showing sheer ignorance and a failurse of our education systems over the year, it is a wonder I have seen no backlash on the pink of the hat, that was once vilified.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17155799011043584557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post-1545055742193154922017-05-29T13:51:00.004-05:002017-05-29T13:54:52.769-05:00 Disgusting, why are so many parents pimping their children? part 2<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So here we are again this old familiar space, as Child's Month draws to a close the stories come flying out, in part one from 2015 posted on Gay Jamaica Watch see: <a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2015/04/disgusting-why-are-so-many-parents.html">HERE</a>, it read in part, </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><br />As Sexual Assault Awareness Month continues I was again deeply disturbed by recent revelations of some serious infractions and abuse of children by of all people their own parents. I have known that the problem exists having worked with other child agencies and nongovernmental organizations in the past but it seems a lot has changed and for the worst. <br /><br />Trouble is that such paedophile and abuse matters are often used a fodder for anti gay groups to obfuscate the debate around the buggery law’s decriminalization or removal as the suggestion is sexual grooming by adults, more buggery cases with boys as victims and other sexually based crimes involving children. Paedophilia is whole different issue and in fact designated a disorder by the Diagnostic Statistical Manual, DSM the bible for psychologists by the American Psychiatric Association and other related bodies.<br /><br />The ICD 10 also speaks to the deviance (homosexuality is not seen as such) and frankly it is common sense once one is an adult and is sexually aroused by a prepubescent individual then that cannot be seen as regular behaviour; that is worlds apart however from innate same sex attraction to other adults but groups such as Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society, Jamaica CAUSE, Love March Movement, Betty Ann Blaine (of Hear The Children’s Cry), Rev Al Miller (now in court for 2 matters) and the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship would have Jamaicans believe otherwise to the effect that homosexuals have predatory paedophile intent to catch little boys before their time or when their bodies are ready for sex.<br /><br />here is one of the latest deliberate conflation of same gender sex, abuse and over simplification of other sexual practices with church imperative(just the title says it all) by Dr Wayne West relying on a call by the PM for kids to go to church: <a href="https://testifyingtotruth.wordpress.com/2015/04/21/pm-rejects-moral-nihilism-and-sexual-anarchy-no-to-lgbtttiq-pzism-no-to-fisting-felching-farming-scat-chariot-racing-etc/">PM rejects moral nihilism and sexual anarchy : No to LGBTTTIQ….PZism ! No to fisting, felching, farming, scat, chariot racing etc !</a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Yesterday's Gleaner had as a headline similar sentiments, I am taking the liberty to share that article which question pimping of children by parents. see also <a href="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20170528/rent-girl-worries-waterhouse-monster-moms-make-money-pimping-out-their">Rent-A-Girl - Worries In Waterhouse As Monster Moms Pimp Out </a></span><br />
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<span style="color: orange; font-family: trebuchet ms, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Supt Arthur Brown: “We are infested with gangs in St Andrew South, and gangs members from time to time take advantage of situations where youngsters are not being parented in a particular way.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: cyan; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Corporate Area community of Waterhouse has been red-flagged as a hotspot for child sexual abuse in Jamaica, and it appears that several mothers in the community have been making money by prostituting their daughters to adult men.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: cyan;"><br />"If I was to sit here and say I haven't heard that mothers [are] pimping out their children to get money, I would be lying," president of the Waterhouse Community Development Benevolent Society, Christopher Constantine, told The Sunday Gleaner during a visit to the community last week.<br /><br />"Those things happen in a concentrated pocket of the community, and as residents of the community, we can say, yes, we are cognisant of that," he added.<br /><br />According to Constantine, the problem is a long-standing one, with fear and poverty being the driving forces.<br /><br />He pointed to one section of the community where he claimed that in the past, there was a systematic rape of women and girls, with gangsters using fear and intimidation.<br /><br />"So even if it seemed like the women went to the men or sent their daughters, it is still rape because it was out of fear and intimidation," said Constantine, as he claimed that the police came in and stemmed the situation in 2014 after a young girl was raped, killed and thrown into a gully, causing uproar.<br /><br />ROBBED OF CHILDHOOD<br /><br />In the meantime, Pastor Winston Jackson, who heads the Penwood Church of Christ, thinks many of the children in the area are being robbed of their childhood as they have to be fending for themselves and their families from an early age.<br /><br />"What happens is that some of the children - even by their own parents - are sold off to these perverts who just want to abuse them sexually," said Jackson.<br /><br />"There are also those parents who have just abdicated their role and the street is parenting the children for the most part. So these little children learn sexual behaviour early because of what they see on the streets, as the parents are not taking control of them and their sexual habits," added Jackson.<br /><br />A 60-year-old shopkeeper on White Lane in Waterhouse, who gave her name as 'Manda', described as heart-rending the number of instances that have come to her attention of children being sexually assaulted.<br /><br />"Some things going on in the lane that I don't like - even fathers doing it to their daughters. It's like the norm," said Manda.<br /><br />"You will just hear an underage girl a pass and a talk say three men 'sexed' her last night. There was this young girl whose mother wasn't sending her to school and men just came and used her, and when the police intervened, the mother told lies to cover it up, so it just dropped," added Manda.<br /><br />The St Andrew South Police Division, in which Waterhouse falls, was identified as a potential hotspot for child sexual assault based on data compiled by the Jamaica Crime Observatory Integrated Crime and Violence Information System (JCO-ICVIS) between 2011 and 2015.<br /><br />CHILD RAPES<br /><br />The JCO-ICVIS identified the Three Miles Developmental Area as having the highest frequency of child rape during the 2011-2015 period, with 60 reported victims. Waterhouse, Delacree Pen and Seaview Gardens were the communities within the Three Miles area which recorded the most child rapes across 2011-2015.<br /><br />In 2011 and between 2013 and 2015, Waterhouse consistently had two to three child-rape victims per year. However, in 2012, 10 children were raped, with seven of them reportedly raped at home and the remainder on a major or minor road in the community.<br /><br />Head of the St Andrew South Police, Superintendent Arthur Brown, said while the cops hear talk of children being sexually assaulted in the division, persons are not coming forward to make official reports and help bring the perpetrators to justice.<br /><br />"We have been going at the gang members within our space with alacrity. However, we have heard the reports and we have gone in, but the residents have not come to us to say, 'My daughter was sent for by this gang member'," said Brown.<br /><br />"We are infested with gangs in St Andrew South, and gang members from time to time take advantage of situations where youngsters are not being parented in a particular way."<br /><br />Brown also pointed to bad parenting as being at the heart of the problems within the division.<br /><br />"Parents allowing their kids to be on the streets at varying hours, that is one of our biggest concerns. We also have unplanned communities in the division, which lends itself to this kind of situation happening," added Brown.</span></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17155799011043584557noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post-85238754582034747372017-05-24T15:56:00.000-05:002017-05-24T16:03:44.063-05:00Effemophobia, RompHim, Sagging, Leggings & Men in Pink <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of Vybz Kartel's early sojourn in his image change after the 'cake soap' and skin bleaching journey where he literally changed right before our eyes to much backlash. now he is the most worshipped DJ</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So here we are again and nonsensically so this old familiar place with effemophobia, the fear of the unknown. There are other more important issues that require outrage but get very little or none. We have come a good way yet still from the days of the strong abhorrence to wearing pink especially in the dancehall space where it was seen as an anathema to men called gays or ‘fish,’ and men who wore earrings now earrings are now the norm, I remember an incident just in front the infamous Pernel Charles arcade in 1989 (an arcade often accused of having down-low men and cougarism), after coming from school I witnessed a man was literally mobbed after wearing a knob in his right ear. His American accent was what saved him in part but he was warned about it by men who play dominoes at the entrance. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Bearing in mind we are coming from the days of strong opposition to males wearing, pink & earrings at all to some acceptability to one ear having a knob and it must by the left one to both ears now and even to top parts. Wearing earrings in the right ear was seen as the wearer seen being gay.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Then there is the business of strident opposition to tight pants, jeggings or leggings wearing by men especially from the older generation of dancehall acts to in their minds legitimise their masculinity, now those very same acts such as Bounty Killa, Beenieman and even Ninjaman (the one who rejected his gay son) all have fallen in line to stay current with trends competing in an ever changing space of dancehall as younger artist rewrite the rules. Please do not leave out the powerful influence by Vybz Kartel who almost single handed changed how male artists are presented in dancehall from the cake soap phenomenon to the Michael Jackson look.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Vybz Kartel when he finally revealed new look after retreating from the public domain and 'bleaching' see: <a href="http://glbtqjamaica.blogspot.com/2011/05/gay-look-for-kartel.html">Gay look for Kartel </a> the tight clothes says it all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Kartel in the FAG shirt, here is a comment from one of the more cynical dancehall forums as he was slowly changing his image, he looks when darker than the photo above </span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i> Jamaica's top Controversial DJ vibes Kartel was seen in the weird piece of attire recently at Sebas birthday bash in the Bahamas held at Club "Luna". The words FAG were clearly seen on the purple shirt he was wearing on stage. This latest piece of episode is having people wondering if the DJ is coming out of the closet, is pulling off another publicity stunt (however subtle), whether it is a mistake in not looking at the shirt before wearing it or was it photo-chopped. Whatever the case maybe it should be interesting to see what unfolds from this one.. but Bwoy... i dont know rasta .. I dont know!!.. how come the man guh wear a shirt weh clearly seh something bout battyman knowing the phobia and culture of his homeland... anything for a Visa?.. I just dont know rasta... Gaza gone luu... again. LoL</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Whatever you call it, the one-piece clothing item preferred by babies and women at outdoor concerts has officially hit the male fashion mainstream</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Backward reactions</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Damion Crawford, former MP, and who was accused himself of being gay and a divisive contrarian writing on Facebook, said </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">".........if u are a man and own/owned or intend to own a romper unfriend me NOW ... not only on social media unfriend me in real life". </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">I wonder if he only did that to get more attention to himself especially after the discontinuation of his talk show on Nationwide radio? Although he lectures at the University of the West Indies. I still think it is some closet queens who are the problem people in a form of internalised homophobia This is the same Damian Crawford by the way how shot down the so called promised or suggested conscience vote made by then opposition leader of the PNP Portia Simpson Miller just two months after it was made, which made it clear to me that no such vote would have occurred. If Mr Crawford was so squeaky clean and purely heterosexual why would an accusation thrown at him questioning his sexuality come about? see: <a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2016/07/former-pnp-mp-damion-crawford-dismisses.html">Former PNP MP Damion Crawford dismisses gay rumours</a> and </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; white-space: pre;"> </span><a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2012/02/pnps-damion-crawford-on-homosexualitys.html" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">PNP's Damion Crawford on Homosexuality's legality .........................</a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> 2012 </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">and </span><a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2012/03/pnps-damion-crawford-says-its-highly.html" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">PNP's Damion Crawford says it's highly unlikely buggery review will happen ........ it's not important now</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There has been a huge wave of memes about the idea of male rompers, called Romphim, becoming a new fashion trend.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: start;">when it </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: start;">was in October 2009 that the Elephant<a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2009/10/elephant-man-called-fish-in-dancehall.html"> was called a "Fish" by another artist</a>. </span></span></div>
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Clearly not amused about the fashion, Jesus Alarcon, a Facebook user, said that </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><br />"With every year that passes man get gayer and gayer." <br /><br />Reginald C Mcgee, another Facebook user, said the wearing of male rompers is a sure telltale sign of homosexuality. <br /><br />"Ladies if your man wears one of these ... he has a boyfriend," he wrote. The backwardness is disturbing in a sense to watch was one would have thought in this social media age and access to a wealth of information we still have stigmatization as this despite the previous waves as hinted to above.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">bear in mind they are not as tight as jeggins and such, it looks more like a sleepwear item.</span></div>
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ACED Design, which has placed the product on crowdfunding website <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/106904571/the-romphimtm-your-new-favorite-summer-outfit">Kickstarter</a>, said the RompHim as "pretty damn comfortable, and it may just be the start of a fashion revolution."<br /><br />So far so 2,054 backers have pledged US$234,742, far surpassing the US$10,000 that was targeted. Well at least someone sees a major opportunity and has acted but when our education systems over years do not properly teach sexual orientation matters we are bound to have nonsense like this continue.<br /><br />However, if the strong sentiments being expressed on social media are anything to go by, the Romphim will die of suffocation. "Weh romper a go??? Not here," (Where is romper going, not here) user Jerome West wrote on Facebook. I say let us what happens when the dust settles, there was opposition to pink worn by men but when some realise the world was not going to end pink became OK, let us see. As far as I am concerned the Rompers or influenced by or are an extension of the braces worn short pant often worn on golf courses or by the upper classes at brunches, tea at high noon or picnics.<br /><br />Women were also indignant at the idea. Millicent Needham posted: "Real man nuh play romper, leave it to the ladies".<br /><br />Aneisha Smith wrote on her Facebook page that: "If I ever have a man and him wear this kmt".</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qNsGPpopgLo/WSXcxyqUJdI/AAAAAAAAQC0/wdgeRaIF9NEdBgbPtC83Vlg92w7dBVACQCLcB/s1600/suspenders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="295" data-original-width="236" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qNsGPpopgLo/WSXcxyqUJdI/AAAAAAAAQC0/wdgeRaIF9NEdBgbPtC83Vlg92w7dBVACQCLcB/s1600/suspenders.jpg" /></a><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KDssQxthduI/WSXdUYQnrNI/AAAAAAAAQC8/-7tBc6GHuW8gGeg0DI5Ir0XkNuB0ZYIMwCLcB/s1600/romphim%2B3_red_front_530x%25402x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1484" data-original-width="1060" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KDssQxthduI/WSXdUYQnrNI/AAAAAAAAQC8/-7tBc6GHuW8gGeg0DI5Ir0XkNuB0ZYIMwCLcB/s320/romphim%2B3_red_front_530x%25402x.jpg" width="228" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">a comparison with short pants with suspenders and a version of Romphim it is clear to me some influence of the shape</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />I remember for example Beenieman’s song on fashion designers where he said in part:<br />............ Versace ah bugga man but yet still it wear by big badman (Versace is a gay man but yet its gansgters who rock the brand) listen the song HERE:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">here are the two at a lyrical clash in 2004, Beenieman was ridiculed about his pink hat and dancehall forums had a field day questioning his sexuality</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Yet although these artists promote murder music in their repertoire they wear the designs and also have songs about the brands as a form of legitimizing affordability and wealth associated with being a star. Monster Shack Crew had a song called <a href="http://www.soulrebels.org/dancehall/u_lyrics_badman3.htm">‘Bad Man Nuh Dress like Girl’</a> which spoke to some anti gay tight pants but shows clear hypocrisy as the fashion designers praised in the song are foreign gay men, it reads in part ...... <span style="color: magenta;">(translation attempts)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: magenta;"> the lead singer at the time, pay attention to the look</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Verse 1:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mi look bush and bashy</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Inna mi Moschino and mi latest Versace</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We nuh bore nose an wi nuh too Jheri</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Natural as mi born a so mi gal dem tell mi</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hey yow,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Some bwoy get drawn out</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Face guh bleach out, deh pan a wrong route <span style="color: magenta;">(face bleached out as they seem to go the wrong route)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Look like a gal when him a guh out</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Dem mistake him tek him fi gal inna crowd <span style="color: magenta;">(Looks like a girl & mistaken as a girl in the crowd)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Chorus:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Badman nuh dress like girl</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We nuh bore nose an wi nuh bleach face an</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We nuh wear drop curl</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Some freaky freaky bwoy fi stop dress like girl</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Verse 2:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Nuh man nuh look suh</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">See dem up suh, see dem dung suh</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Know say Monster Shack dem naah dress suh</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Yes yes, di wrong song him guh sing</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Him nose guh bore him a wear belly skin <span style="color: magenta;">(a man's nose of pierced and wears belly skin)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Fi lef dat to Cicilyn and Jacqueline <span style="color: magenta;">(leave that to Cicilyn & Jacqueline)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Scare Dem knock him out with a cold Heineken .. <span style="color: magenta;">(knock him out cold with a Heineken)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Male skin bleaching which was strongly frowned upon and drop curls of long hair for men outside of Rastafarism. Men now are putting in extensions and sitting in hair dressing parlours (which could explain why so many barber shops converge with hairdressers) as men get shaved and the traditional lining up services but simply walk over to the mostly female hairdresser and put in or touch up the rope twists. Male skin bleaching is now the rage alongside near full body tattooing but with stiff competition out there acts some without any serious creativity gifts have to do all kinds of gimmickry to gain a following, going to ever more extremes. But most of those elements are near normative, the aging members of that group all have dyed hair even from in their heyday and at one point wore bubbles, all bleach their skin and as for tight pants and sagging they have to keep up toe to toe with the current crop. <br /><br />A video had surfaced on Youtube with Ninjaman and Beenieman in a verbal altercation, the same Ninjaman who years ago was in strong opposition on a murder music trajectory offered death threats in song for men who violate, he was wearing a very skin hugging pants that he once abhorred:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />The matter of Romp(him) (er) came up discussion on Nationwide radio, the Miss Kitty show and misguidedly so, as nearly all her guests we exuding fear, subtle homophobia of a simple outfit in its original form which is not even as close fitting as the RompHim version of it. According to the gospel of Miss Kitty, she was not into those ‘Aquarium ting deh’ and other similar comments obviously thrown a homophobic barb, for someone pursuing law that is not the kind of behaviour that should be coming from her; for my international readers the concept of an aquarium is homophobic speak for a ‘fish’, one of the ever changing stigmatizing terms used to compartmentalise homosexuals, we have moved from She-Fu man that originated mostly in the rural parts through to ‘number two’ to ‘funny man’ to ‘chi-chi man a term not so used anymore as before to ‘Shim’ but the traditional ‘battyman or batteyman’ still reigns. <br /><br />Of note Nationwide radio has since apologised only this morning at around 8:20am during the ‘This Morning’ show when co-host Dennis Brooxs (actual spelling) without naming Miss Kitty’s show said that they were sorry of the offensive content broadcast on May 23(Labour Day) during 3:20 pm to 5pm. By the Broadcasting Commission’s guidelines radio stations have to run apologies after questionable content. Apparently some music played on air with rather was not so pleasing to the air. At least some sense has prevailed in reigning in some seemingly wayward DJs who apparently should not be even behind a microphone. <br /><br />Meanwhile to think it is not even a month since I did a post on </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2017/04/battyman-bashing-while-cakes-are-out.html">Gay Jamaica Watch of an incident in Spanish Town that I witnessed just outside the Tastee Patties store on Burke Road, a tight pants sagging character clashed with another man</a> and was for all intents and purposes was humiliated to much laughter by others and labelled as gay (battyman).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Lil Wayne (from the internet)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />The African American influences from such as Little Wayne and newer acts where leggings and sagging are markers of a legitimate but fashion forward thug as usual has had an impact on cultures in the Caribbean. Our dancehall acts look up and follow very closely the trends and copy or adjust their image to match as close as possible ‘the look’. Sagging was last thing I expected to in Jamaica especially how low the jeans, leggings hang as the buttocks covered of course in the brand name boxers shorts to show the affordability of the brand; now more and more men despite that fear cycle seem quite proud to show their covered cakes and it also shows some legitimacy of a fashion forward thug as well.<br /><br />For god’s sake when are we as a nation in greater numbers; just get over some of the nonsense. <br /><br />Mek we see nuh<br /><br />Peace & tolerance<br /><br />H </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">also see:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2011/05/vybz-kartel-lashes-back-with-woman-wi.html">Vybz Kartel lashes back with "Woman Wi Love" song, has he forgotten it is he who blurred the lines of his own sexuality?</a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2011/01/vybz-kartel-from-anti-bleaching.html">Vybz Kartel from Anti Bleaching advocate to The King of "The Rub</a>" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2017/04/battyman-bashing-while-cakes-are-out.html">Battyman bashing while ‘cakes’ are out ..</a> </span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17155799011043584557noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post-69407635560077731392017-05-24T13:49:00.001-05:002017-05-24T13:49:10.455-05:00Taiwan High Court rules Gay Marriage Ban Unconstitutional <br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">veteran gay rights advocate Chi Chia-wei (祁家威) in 2015 after his registration of marriage with his male partner was rejected by the household registration office in Wanhua District in Taipei in 2013 and subsequent court appeals failed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As more good news continue to come in the gay marriage front many world wide are celebrating for our Asian friends in Taiwan. It was only a short time ago Bermudan LGBT persons won the right too same sex marriage after their constitutional challenge. Please see my previous post: <a href="http://glbtqjamaica.blogspot.com/2017/05/victory-same-sex-marriage-is-now-legal.html">VICTORY - SAME SEX MARRIAGE is now legal in Bermuda</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">According to the CNN in part </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><br />The panel of judges has given the island's parliament, known as the Legislative Yuan, two years to amend or enact new laws, which could potentially make Taiwan the first place in Asia to allow same-sex marriage.<br /><br />The island has a large gay community and its annual gay pride parade is the biggest in Asia but the issue of marriage equality has divided Taiwanese society, with<a href="http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aipl/201611170017.aspx"> thousands turning out in recent months to protest for and against marriage equality</a>.<br /><br />"This explanation is a step forward in the history of Taiwan's same-sex marriage," said Yu Mei-nu, a Taiwanese legislator.<br /><br />Yu said the court's explanation means that even if lawmakers do not pass legislation allowing same-sex marriage in the next two years, gay couples will still be able to marry by this time in 2019.<br /><br />"I hope that the legislators will have the moral courage to pass same-sex marriage into law, however it is hard to predict how long it will take, at this moment," she said. "The opposition toward gay marriage in Taiwan won't just gladly accept it and give up the debate, so the debate will continue."<br /><br />Draft legislation is already making its way through Taiwan's Parliament but it has stalled.<br /><br />"We feel that this is a huge success for the LGBT and marriage equality movement in Taiwan," said Wayne Lin, an activist who runs an LGBT hotline on the island.<br /><br />"We want to amend the Civil Code so same-sex couples can get married... our target is to complete this whole process within this year."<br /><br />Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan's first female president, expressed support for gay marriage before her election in 2016.<br /><br />"In the face of love, everyone is equal," she said in a Facebook video during 2015's gay pride parade.<br /><br />"I support marriage equality. Every person should be able to look for love freely, and freely seek their own happiness."<br /><br /> The case<br /><br />The decision came in response to two requests for a Constitutional Court ruling on article 972 of Taiwan's civil code, which states that marriage is between a man and a woman.<br /><br />One of the requests was filed in 2015 by Chi Chia-wei, a veteran gay rights activist who has spent more than half his life fighting for marriage equality in Taiwan, according to the island's official Central News Agency (CNA).<br /><br />The other request was filed by the Taipei city government the same year after three same-sex couples lodged an administrative lawsuit against the government when their marriage registrations were rejected, <a href="http://focustaiwan.tw/search/201705210013.aspx?q=same%20sex%20marriage">CNA reported.</a><br /><br />Elsewhere in Asia, the LGBT community has been facing increased persecution. South Korea has<a href="http://cnn.com/2017/05/01/opinions/south-korea-military-sodomy-law/"> been cracking down on gay armed service members</a>, while in Indonesia gay men have been facing more restrictions, with a recent raid <a href="http://cnn.com/2017/05/22/asia/jakarta-sex-party-lgbt/">on a gay sauna</a> party and <a href="http://cnn.com/2017/05/23/asia/indonesia-caning-homosexuality/">two men being caned for having homosexual sex in the conservative province of Aceh.</a><br />Japan does not recognize same-sex marriage, although a handful of cities and wards have legalized same-sex partnerships. However, LGBT people are not protected from discrimination under Japanese law.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Homosexuality is not illegal in China and the Communist government removed it from the official list of mental disorders 16 years ago, but activists and experts say that prejudice and discrimination persist.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Last year, <a href="http://cnn.com/2016/04/13/asia/china-gay-marriage-lawsuit/">a court in central China ruled against a gay couple </a>in the country's first same-sex marriage lawsuit, dealing a blow to a nascent but increasingly visible campaign for LGBT equality.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />No Asian nations are on the 23-strong list of countries that have legalized same-sex marriage, <a href="http://www.pewforum.org/2015/06/26/gay-marriage-around-the-world-2013/">according to Pew Research</a>, although it was permitted in New Zealand in 2013.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Meanwhile antigay activists are up in arms, they cry foul cry foul over Constitutional Court ruling, Pastor Deborah Hsing said the Taipei City government had crossed the line on family values when it filed a request for a constitutional interpretation on the issue without holding any public hearings beforehand.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In similar vein, Andrew Chang (張守一), secretary-general of the Family Guardian Coalition of Taiwan Religions, said Wednesday's ruling was nothing but a farce and a blot on Taiwan's judicial history.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Chang said his group will not rule out the possibility of seeking another constitutional interpretation on same-sex marriage.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Shih Chun-yu (施俊宇), a Fu Jen Catholic University student and head of the Protection of Family Value Students Organization, said the justices had abused their rights by tampering with the definition of marriage.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The ruling is a huge setback for democracy, Shih said, likening it to the 911 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York in 2001. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Blah Blah Blah, get over it the court has spoken and CONGRATULATIONS to our friends in Taiwan</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Peace & tolerance</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">H</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17155799011043584557noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post-8631007302080864912017-05-19T15:06:00.000-05:002017-05-19T15:06:20.234-05:00Livin’ in a world they did not make part 2<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As child’s month is observed in May I am deeply concerned more so than before as to the numerous reports of children being abused especially egregiously so as the abusers are in a position of trust. In <a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2011/05/livin-in-world-they-did-not-make-second.html">part one originally posted on Gay Jamaica Watch</a> some years ago I used as in this case the lyrics of a Janet Jackson 1989 Rhythm Nation a song called ‘Livin’ in a World They did not make, I hope you’ll see why; it says in part:</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Children are called the future of an adult world</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">They are born with spirits so innocent</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Til we teach them how to hate</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Add to the world's confusion</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We teach our kids rules</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">That we don't adhere to ourselves</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Right or wrong</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What example can they take</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The people we learn from</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Forge the ideas we become</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Living in a world they didn't make</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Living in a world that's filled with hate</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Living in a world where grown-ups break the rules</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Living in a world they didn't make</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Paying for a lot of adult mistakes</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">How much of this madness can they take</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Our children"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://glbtqjamaica.blogspot.com/2017/05/buggery-accused-pastor-relieved-of.html">Another previous post on this blog</a> of that pastor and even previous posts of pastors, guardians and so on it is just too easy to go for the point of least resistance, even as the Sexual Offences Bill is being debated in the house the sense of urgency by parliamentarians seems very low. What could drive someone to sexually assault of harm even murder a child is the question of the age. In part one I took a look at LGBT and sexual orientation from a case then and my layman’s’ view of experimentation sex by teens and guidance. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">the latest data is so old but trends are clear, see more <a href="http://www.ocr.gov.jm/images/Docu/ocr%20statistical%20report,%202007-2011.pdf">HERE</a>, the CDA seems to be behind schedule </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;">The OCR is just as culpable in up to date data.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">a screenshot from their website, I am not supposed to have to write for this not when they have such a <a href="http://www.ocr.gov.jm/">nice website</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;">In trying to ascertain the latest figures I could find from the data is dated, <a href="http://jis.gov.jm/report-sexual-abuse-children-cisoca/">as for the Jamaica Information Service, JIS is a joke</a>, meanwhile from the </span><a href="http://www.cda.gov.jm/" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">Child Development Agency, CDA </a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;">or the Office of the Children’s Registry, OCR the numbers appear not so encouraging </span><a href="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20170113/ocr-urges-jamaicans-report-child-abuse" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">(Gleaner article OCR encouraging reporting)</a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;"> but what is the pressing matter to me why are so many pastors turning up as perpetrators and some cases so old they suggest that something is rather off. This abuse business has been festering all along; clerical/pastoral abuse reports usually are associated the Catholic Church for centuries and accusations of church authorities covering up the accusations and alleged victims re-victimised when they try to take action.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Non traditional denominations never factored so much anecdotally but since this year alone there have been multiple cases from branched such as the <a href="http://glbtqjamaica.blogspot.com/2017/03/moravian-ministers-case-transfer.html">Moravians with three ongoing matters in court</a>, a Pentecostal, a Seventh Day Baptist and a Revivalist all in less than twelve months; these are some of the church groups who are vehemently opposed to any sensible discussion on homosexuality and or the decriminalization of buggery, yet the near silence on this matter is telling to me. It seems some of these governing bodies know of the dark secrets and those evil ones clothed in piety within their midst. Then there are the secular perpetrators as well which can be so awful and are a distraction towards healing. The church groups for example have mastered the art of the homo-paedophile construct to back up their opposition to any buggery law amendment will somehow legitimise the abuse of children, boys in particular yet all this time as the evidence anecdotally and factually show us a totally different state of affairs. Persons such as Betty Ann Blaine of Hear The Children’s Cry and Dr Wayne West have also used the gift of gab to suggest gay men are grooming boys so no change must come in the law even without checking what is actually grooming, check out this previous post I had attempted after a simple two minute Google search and subsequent engagement with a clinical sexologist.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ananda Dean </div>
<br />While I concur with Miss Blaine's advocacy predicated on the <a href="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20160526/she-would-have-been-20-nov-ananda-deans-mom-grieves-afresh-monument">awful case of Ananda Dean</a> (Gleaner) and the fact that she has not been found after all these years and the subsequent Ananda alerts on television and the Facebook collaboration which are commendable but Miss Blaine needs to stop the conflation of homosexuality and paedophilia. Also see: <a href="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20170406/ananda-alert-partners-facebook-find-missing-jamaican-children">Ananda Alert Partners With Facebook To Find Missing Jamaican Children</a> (Gleaner)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Little Ananda whose remains were found on September 29, 2008 <span style="color: magenta;">SCREAMS of anguish bellowed throughout the community of Belvedere in Red Hills, St Andrew yesterday as firefighters removed a heavily decomposed body believed to be that of 11-year-old Ananda Dean from a steep precipice along Cypress Drive - miles away from where she was last seen after she went missing almost two weeks ago.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"A she, a she.. Oh God," Ananda's aunt, Tamika Campbell bawled, after viewing the headless remains and then falling to the ground seconds later. Upon hearing the news, Nordia Campbell, Ananda's mother, also fainted at the thought that her daughter may have been brutally murdered.</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Because of the advanced state of decomposition, no one was able to positively identify the body as that of Ananda. However, some family members, including Campbell, are convinced that it is in fact the little girl, mainly because a black size two school shoes and a navy blue uniform, similar to ones owned by the seventh-grade student of Swallowfield All-Age School, were found at the scene.</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The day before, Deputy Superintendent Carol McKenzie of the police's St Andrew North Division told the Observer that DNA tests would have to be done to determine the identity of the body.</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ananda, who lived with her family on Whitehall Avenue in Kingston, was last seen on September 17 boarding a bus en route to Half-Way-Tree after school. Several of her school books were found a day after she went missing strewn along a pathway in the community of Pembroke Hall, miles away from where she was last seen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It is in the unpacking of why a paedophile outside of physical abuse would find a child arousing, there is something we are not seeing. It is personally disturbing to me that I try not to watch too much news these days, as one case shocks the nation sometimes less than twenty four hours after another story slaps us from the news cycle in our faces. </span></div>
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There are various courses that can be employed to address such issues and challenges such as pharmacological interventions to reduce libido and sexual interest in pre-pubescent individuals which is the challenge here, the orientation of the perpetrator or victim is not important as we get caught up in who is who more so than addressing the deviant interest in kids.</div>
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Then there is isolation intervention as is practiced in Florida where a sex offenders residency exists and they are monitored via ankle bracelets linked to the global GPRS systems and restriction via court order does not allow said accused to be or go near schools, parks where children socialize or even the victim’s home within a designated number of feet or yards relative to them.</div>
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<span style="color: cyan;">Parliamentary Committee Requests Clarification From CISOCA On Rape Stats</span></div>
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<span style="color: cyan;">Published:Tuesday | May 9, 2017 on the <a href="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20170509/parliamentary-committee-requests-clarification-cisoca-rape-stats">Gleaner</a> they carried:</span></div>
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<span style="color: cyan;"><i>"Members of a parliamentary committee have requested clarification of figures from the Centre for the Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (CISOCA) showing that 140 rape cases were sent to the High Court for the first three months of this year.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: cyan;"><i>The figure, given by Justice Minister Delroy Chuck as he convened this morning’s third meeting of a committee of Parliament that's reviewing Jamaica's sexual offence laws, exceeds the numbers recorded for all of 2015 and 2016.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: cyan;"><i>He said for 2015, CISOCA placed 138 cases before the Circuit Courts.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: cyan;"><i>Of that number, 21 cases were disposed of.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: cyan;"><i>That includes 10 convictions and 11 acquittals.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: cyan;"><i>For last year, there were 122 cases of which 21 were disposed of.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: cyan;"><i>Five were convictions and 16 ended in acquittals.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: cyan;"><i>Of the 140 cases up to April 6 this year, CISOCA says there have been five acquittals and one conviction.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: cyan;"><i>However, committee members, including Floyd Green, said a more detailed analysis was needed to, among, other things, determine the number of new cases per year and those being carried over.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: cyan;"><i>Green said the data presented does not show when the reports were made and that limits understanding of how long a case spends in the court system hobbled by a slow pace.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: cyan;"><i>Chuck agreed and said he will ask CISOCA for more details, which he said are needed to influence policy making."</i></span></div>
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More anon</div>
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Peace & tolerance</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2017/05/pastor-on-buggery-charge-stumbles-at.html">Pastor on buggery charge stumbles at courthouse door</a> 2017</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2016/02/is-pope-serious-about-confronting-child.html">Is the pope serious about confronting child abuse? .... the question of the age</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2015/04/disgusting-why-are-so-many-parents.html">Disgusting, why are so many parents pimping their children?</a></div>
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<a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2015/04/judge-warns-cop-who-allegedly-molested.html">Judge warns cop who allegedly molested boy to leave witnesses in case</a></div>
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</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">See more:<a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2015/04/disgusting-why-are-so-many-parents.html">Disgusting, why are so many parents pimping their children?</a><br /><br /><a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2015/04/healthy-coalition-nonsense-indeed.html">Healthy coalition nonsense! indeed</a> <br /><br /><a href="http://glbtqjamaica.blogspot.com/2015/04/cisoca-head-buggery-cases-for-boys.html">CISOCA Head: buggery cases for boys decreasing, interventions less successful in abused</a> <br /><br /><a href="http://glbtqjamaica.blogspot.com/2014/07/betty-ann-blaine-deliberately-conflates.html">Betty Ann Blaine Deliberately Conflates Same Gender Attraction & Child Abuse at Christian</a>......<br /><br /><a href="http://glbtqjamaica.blogspot.com/2015/04/studies-suggest-children-taught-about.html">Studies suggest children taught about sexual abuse more likely to report it</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2015/03/disturbing-paedophile-case-conflation.html">Disturbing Paedophile Case & Conflation of Same Gender Sex with Abuse</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2014/07/another-st-thomas-pastor-accused-of.html"><br /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2014/07/another-st-thomas-pastor-accused-of.html">Another St Thomas Pastor Accused of Rape ........... Where are Anti Gay Religious Group?</a></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17155799011043584557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post-24189079444267841992017-05-17T01:30:00.000-05:002017-05-17T01:30:25.148-05:00On International Family Equality Day #IFED2017<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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May 1, 2017, marks the fifth celebration of<a href="http://www.familyequality.org/get_involved/events/annual_events/international_family_equality_day/"> International Family Equality Day</a>, a day to celebrate families all over the world where one or both parents identify as LGBTQ. It usually runs for sixteen days and culminates on IDAHO day. Last year, 67 cities across 32 countries had celebrations to honor their local “Rainbow Families” and this year, hopefully more do so.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Jamaica parents as guardians or as persons with children from a previous relationships anecdotally have been doing pretty well, a couple cases over the year parents coming out to their children sometimes while disucssing the 'birds and the beez' have worked out well as the children seem to understand.<br /><br />Though each community can throw its own<a href="http://www.familyequality.org/get_involved/events/annual_events/international_family_equality_day/"> event or party</a>, some LGBTQ families celebrate on a smaller scale with a private family dinner. Regardless of how International Family Equality Day is celebrated across the world, LGBTQ families deserve recognition and a day to be proud of their families and the progress we have made.<br /><br />Here’s why:</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Only<a href="http://www.lgbtqnation.com/tag/gay-marriage/"> 24 countries</a> allow for same-sex marriage with <a href="http://www.washingtonblade.com/2016/04/07/colombia-high-court-rules-in-favor-of-same-sex-marriage/">Colombia </a>being the most recent to legalize gay marriage. With 195 countries in the world – 24 is not a significant number. Though LGBTQ couples don’t necessarily have to be married to have children in all countries, marriage allows for certain rights and protections for their family and kids. By celebrating International Family Equality, it’s bringing awareness to the many countries across the world who don’t recognize LGBTQ families or provide them with basic rights, such as marriage, that their straight counterparts receive. Rights include the ability to marry, adopt, equal healthcare access, birth certificate recognition, access to fertility treatments or surrogacy, and many more.</span><div>
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It is often harder for LGBTQ parents to create their families.</div>
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As an LGBTQ parent, you understand the time, commitment, and financial struggle it took to create your family. LGBTQ parents have to go through countless fertility treatments, rigorous adoption or surrogacy processes, step parent and second parent adoptions, and much more to have a child. Because of this, LGBTQ parents deserve a day in which they can be reminded how all that time, possible stress, and hard work was totally worth it.</div>
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Visibility can bring positive results.</div>
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Though the numbers of LGBTQ families are increasing, there are still many communities and aspects of the media in which LGBTQ families are not represented. With International Family Equality Day, there’s a focus on LGBTQ families on social media, in the media, and out in public during public events. Visibility fosters so many positive results such as acceptance and education, as well as making it clear to the world: LGBTQ families are here.</div>
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Children deserve a day to celebrate their parents and their family.</div>
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The great thing about the events surrounding International Family Equality Day is that these events usually involve fun, interactive activities for children. When children are taken to these events by their LGBTQ parents, they are able to see other families like theirs being celebrated, thus creating a sense of pride for their family.</div>
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A chance to meet other LGBTQ families.</div>
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In some communities, it may be difficult to connect with other LGBTQ families. International Family Equality Day brings together a number of LGBTQ families at their celebratory events allowing for families to mix and mingle and hopefully, form new friendships.</div>
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Enjoy your Family Equality Day</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17155799011043584557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post-38773903668910221162017-05-17T00:30:00.001-05:002017-05-17T00:30:20.517-05:00#IDAHOT2017 ...............<div style="text-align: center;">
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International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT)</div>
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International Family Equality Day (IFED) 2017</div>
<br />“LOVE MAKES A FAMILY”<br /><br />Families are at the heart of all of our lives. Whether it’s the family we grew up with or the families we have built as adults. Whether they are families of biology or families of choice. We are all part of “families”, and those families; however we define them, influence all aspects of our lives.<br /><br />In 2017, the focus on “families” will particularly spotlight<br />- The role of families in the physical and emotional well-being of LGBTIQ people<br />- The social and legal recognition of Rainbow Families, the families where at least one parent is LGBTQI<br /><br />Families of LGBTQI people<br /><br />The situation<br /><br />The family constitutes the very first environment of any person, including members of the LGBTQI community. This is the place where values are shaped and transmitted, where security and safety is provided, and the place where self-esteem and confidence are constructed. Families, therefore, have great powers … and great responsibilities in the moral and physical well being of their members.<br /><br />Family is especially critical in environments where members face rejection, stigmatisation and sometimes bullying in the “outside” world, in which cases the family constitutes the only available “safe haven”.<br /><br />This sense of family happens “naturally” when the cause of stigma is shared by all members, such as in instances of race or other ethnic identity and economic status. Unfortunately, when the sexual orientation and/or the gender identity of a family member differs from the rest of the family and/or their perceived “social norms”, the overall family experiences a conflict between the loyalty to the family member and the compliance of the norm.<br /><br />When the balance strikes in favour of the norm, the family might become the first perpetrator of rejection and violence where members meet non-conformant gender expression or sexual orientation with rejection. Children are of course the prime victims of this violence. All too often parents become their children’s first bully, allow or even support bullying by siblings, and even expel young people from the family home, exposing them to homelessness and all the dangers a young person is confronted to on the streets.<br /><br />In Canada for example, the association of Parents and Friends of LGBTQI people P-Flag reveals that 26% of LGBTQI youth were told to leave home. Locally the evidence of forcibly evicted persons especially youths aged as low as 14 is as clear as crystal. Groups such as JFLAG, Colour Pink, Dwayne’s House and others still cannot seem to get their act together or make themselves one to begin to properly address this growing problem.<br /><br />Families, especially those under the influence of radical religious movements, might chose to impose so called ‘conversion therapies’, which not only constitute a human rights violation in themselves as they constitute forced treatment, but often include degrading and harmful practices, both psychologically (aversion therapies, humiliations, etc.) and physically (deprivation of food and sleep, electroshocks, etc.) Considerations for coming out so to speak to children of bisexual parents as well is crucial geared towards understanding, bearing in mind that many persons had relationships for varying reasons; persons entered in arrangements to normalise themselves in the eyes of other family members and siblings.<br /><br />While children are of course the main targets of this family violence, exclusion also hits other members, for example when family members who come out are being excluded from family gatherings, denied contacts with other family members like nephews and nieces or grandchildren, expelled from family property, etc.<br /><br />Elders who are LGBT are also particularly vulnerable to abandonment, mistreatment, isolation and abuse, a phenomenon I used to see oversees but as life expectancy in Jamaica continue to extend in the post HIV epidemic era boosted by sustained ARV/HAART/CHART treatment. Other lifestyle diseases are showing a slowing down of mortality rates such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease to name a few are a good sign as the choked health systems struggle to meet overwhelming demand based on the supposed ‘free’ healthcare systems and drugs as dispensed by outlets such as Drug-Serv. Families with progressive social values, while they will not display hostile attitudes directly, often lack the necessary tools to discuss sexual and gender diversity. The silence surrounding the issue contributes to creating a climate of exclusion and, in any case, does nothing to alleviate stigma and discrimination endured outside of the family setting.<br /><br />Like anybody confronted with unknown or unusual circumstances, families who include members with non-conformant sexual orientation and/or gender identity need support, education and resources. Attention to the needs of families must be given by social and educational authorities, by LGBTQI organisations and their supporters, and by mainstream family organisations. Re-integration programs are so essential but seem not to be happening at the speed and urgency that are required. Families must be able to access correct and unbiased information, psychological support and adequate resources to help them deal with the situation in the respect of all their members.<br /><br />The actions<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For May 17 and definitely onwards, possible actions include:<br /><br />For LGBTQI organisations to ensure that<br />· Voices of parents, friends and allies are given special attention<br />· Specific resources for parents, friends and allies are developed<br />For parents, friends and allies of LGBTQI people to<br />· Join an existing organisation<br />· Form an organisation of parents, friends and allies of sexual and gender minorities<br /><br />For educational authorities to<br /><br />· Develop a specific educational pamphlet on sexual and gender diversity for parents, or to include sexual and gender diversity in existing resources<br /><br />· Provide adequate support to families in dealing with sexual and gender diversities.<br /><br />For legislators, to<br />· Introduce bills that respond to the specific needs of families, friends, and allies of LGBTQI people.<br /><br />Rainbow Families<br />The situation<br /><br />In many countries, Rainbow Families, that is families where members are LGBTIQ, are faced with unsuitable domestic laws, if not a total legal void.<br /><br />This lack of proper recognition of Rainbow Families exposes their members and especially their children to all sorts of legal risks. These families live with the thought that if a tragedy touches their life, for instance, the death or accident of the legal parent, the bond of the social parent to the child may not be recognised by the Law and basically their family life can be severely disrupted.<br /><br />Children being raised in LGBTIQ families are denied legal ties to their parents, putting them at risk. For example, when LGBTIQ parents are prevented by law from creating legal ties to their children, these parents may be unable to pick up their children at day care, may be unable to advocate for their children at school, and can be denied the ability to make critical healthcare decisions for their children.<br /><br />The lack of legal ties also creates undue financial burdens for LGBTIQ families, and can place children at economic risk when parents’ relationships dissolve, when a parent dies or becomes disabled or when seeking access to government safety net programs during times of economic crisis.<br /><br />Formal recognition of same-sex relationships gives couples the tools and the security they need to build a life together. For committed same-sex couples with children, relationship recognition provides both legal and economic security for the entire family. Denying this recognition robs children of crucial support and stability, and ultimately leaves families unprotected, which makes creating and raising a family even more difficult.<br /><br />Adoption is one of the primary ways that parents who are LGBTQI create families, whether through the public foster care system, a private agency, or simply a second-parent adoption of a partner or spouse’s child. However, in many countries LGBTQI individuals and couples still face barriers to adoption, making it difficult or sometimes impossible for these loving, qualified people to create families.<br /><br />Studies show that alarming numbers of students with parents who are LGBTQI report experiencing bullying, harassment, and discrimination at school because of who their parents are and how their families were formed. As a result, these students are deprived of equal educational opportunities and are too often left with few or no avenues for recourse. Research shows that unchecked bullying and harassment negatively impact student achievement by decreasing interest in school, increasing absenteeism, and decreasing concentration levels for students. Leaders in the fields of education and child welfare agree that positive school climate and culture is a critical condition for promoting students’ academic success.<br /><br />In addition, lack of recognition of LGBTIQ families leads to second parents often having to conceal their parenthood at work, creating untenable tensions between their careers and their parental life. In case of professional moving of a person in an LGBTIQ family, the needs of their family members will not be taken into account. Uniting LGBTIQ families is even more of a challenge when these families have been formed across borders. The lack of recognition leads to families being unable to unite, or having to leave existing homes, which means uprooting children from their schools, friends, communities, and extended families.<br /><br />The non-recognition of LGBTIQ families also means that their housing needs cannot be properly addressed, especially in the case of families who are on welfare programmes. In the private sector, LGBTIQ families are prone to discrimination in access to rental or property, with hardly any protective measures effectively in place worldwide<br /><br />Social stigmatization and legal discrimination of LGBTQ families forces children to stay in a closet that is not even their own. One of the greatest challenges reported by youth with LGBTQ parents is a sense of isolation, loneliness, or feeling that “they are the only one”. Furthermore, for Trans people, the family encompasses also other issues, like forced divorce that Trans people have to undergo to gain legal gender recognition in many countries. Another crucial issue is of course the forced sterilization still imposed by almost all countries in the world for legal gender recognition that takes away opportunity and choice to have biological children and family.<br /><br />· Ensure that children with a same-sex parent have the same protections as children with married heterosexual parents, including the security of legal ties to both parents. The Child Care & Protection Act however limits what can be said indeed done for LGBT youth in Jamaica and fearmongering fanatics once such work is attempted go screaming claims of ‘grooming’ as if to suggest activists and organizations are trying to ‘homosexualise’ children in the ‘lifestyle’<br /><br />· To remove existing barriers by defeating legislation, policies, and practices that restrict parenting by those who identify as LGBTQI; promoting and passing new laws that promote LGBTQI parenting such as second parent adoption; and promoting policies and practices that are inclusive of LGBTQI parents.<br /><br />· To gain recognition of same-sex relationships and to fight off attempts to deny recognition to families who are LGBTQI.<br /><br />· To ensure that all children have the same opportunity to thrive – which requires that they feel safe, supported and valued in school and are able to attend without fear of bullying, violence, harassment, and discrimination because of who their parents are or how their families were created. <br /><br />May is also child’s month and the abuse of children is so frightening it boggles the mind while in the same breath children who are not gender conforming continue to find themselves the brunt or stigma, merciless teasing at school, forced evictions and feeling lost as to which way to turn.<br /><br />Other reports continue to surface such as:<br /><br />2 cases of forced evictions due to social media (mis)use<br /><ul>
<li>Death threats in one of the inner city spaces of a young gender non-confirming male</li>
<li>Man booted from church after sustained profiling church officials for not having a woman as a potential wife</li>
<li>Parents continue to try to change their suspected gender conforming children in a bid to reshape their orientation</li>
<li>Fallouts from poor or mistakes made from social media usage </li>
<li>Sex tapes gone viral which leads to verbal and physical abuse of the suspected parties involved</li>
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The struggle continues and it may feel a bit daunting sometimes but not pressing on is not an option.<br /><br />Peace & tolerance</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17155799011043584557noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post-50521394748760591432017-05-08T15:31:00.000-05:002017-05-08T15:31:28.752-05:00Cuba hosts first transgender Mass .........<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />So or friends in Cuba are moving on quite nicely and making major strides in the realm of a tolerant church, I wish more of our local churches just get with it. This news is timely indeed as a previous post left me a bit down where a pastor is accused of <a href="http://glbtqjamaica.blogspot.com/2017/05/buggery-accused-pastor-relieved-of.html">committing buggery on a fifteen year old boy</a> in Trelawny.<br /><br />By <a href="http://www.reuters.com/journalists/sarah-marsh">Sarah Marsh</a> and <a href="http://www.reuters.com/journalists/anett-rios">Anett Rios</a> | MATANZAS, CUBA (Reuters)<br /><br />For decades belonging to a religion and being anything but heterosexual was stigmatized in Communist-ruled, macho Cuba, making the Mass held by three transgender pastors in the western Cuban city of Matanzas all the more groundbreaking.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Trans pastors Cindy Bourgeois from Canada (C) and Alexya Salvador from Brazil listen to trans Baptist reverend Allyson Robinson from the U.S. during a mass in Matanzas, Cuba, May 5, 2017. Picture taken on May 5, 2017. </span>REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini</div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Rainbow flags decorated the chapel, while the pastors, who had flown in from Brazil, Canada and the United States, wore stoles in the trans hues of light blue, pink and white and the congregation swayed to Caribbean beats.<br /><br />Friday was the first time a trans pastor held a Holy Communion in Cuba, highlighting how much the island nation has changed since both religious believers and homosexuals went to "correctional" labor camps in the early years after the 1959 revolution.<br /><br />"Tonight has been a night of celebration of equality between all people, marking a new era for Cuba," said Alexya Salvador, a Brazilian trans pastor, born Alexander, wearing a black dress with a white clerical collar and lacy sleeves she made herself.<br /><br />"God's love is radically inclusive."<br /><br />The Mass on Friday was the highlight of a three-day conference on transsexuality and theology organized by the Matanzas-based Cuban branch of the international Metropolitan Community Church.<br /><br />"This is not only a first of its kind event for Cuba, but certainly one of the very first ever to be held anywhere in the world," said Allyson Robinson, a trans Baptist reverend from Washington.<br /><br />The conference took place ahead of the 10th anniversary, next weekend, of Cuba celebrating the global day against homophobia, and included a raucous "transformist" party as well as a variety of panels on theology and personal experiences.<br /><br />In one, Salvador argued God was transgender, given the Holy Trinity was made up of the Holy Spirit, which she views as feminine, the Father and the Son.<br /><br />Elaine Saralegui, a lesbian pastor who founded the Cuban branch of the MCC nearly two years ago, said she hoped the conference would foster greater inclusion of trans people and prove that being trans and Christian were not incompatible.<br /><br />"I leave with having learnt a lot of things I can share with other trans," said one participant, a 26-year-old Cuban trans woman called Malu Duardo, "in particular that there is a God for everyone."<br /><br />Saralegui's congregation numbers around 35 but she said she also gets asked to hold Mass at lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans (LGBT) activist events around the rest of the island nation of 11 million inhabitants.<br /><br />"Nearly always they ask me to hold a liturgy there, so we have to improvise wine, bread and hold a (Lord's) supper anywhere," she said.<br /><br />The trans pastors said they were impressed by Cuba's progressiveness in some respects, for example providing state-financed sex reassignment.<br /><br />The country was clearly lagging the rest of the Americas in other ways though, they said. Same-sex couples may not marry or adopt children and a promised update to Cuba's family code has been slow to materialize.<br /><br />"Everyone should have the right to have a family," said Salvador, who has adopted two children, including a trans girl. "I believe this touch of God will also happen in the Cuban community."</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17155799011043584557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post-18931045380029506372017-05-08T14:40:00.000-05:002017-05-10T15:27:49.143-05:00Buggery accused pastor relieved of pastoral duties<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
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A 27 year old pastor of the New Testament Church of God in Bonkers Hill Trelawny has been relieved of duties after he was charged with sexual assault & buggery of a minor being a fifteen year old boy. Percy Smith has been slapped with buggery, gross indecency and grievous bodily harm, the acts allegedly occurred between 2016 to earlier this year. In a press release yesterday the Administrative Bishop of the church Reverend Wellesley Blair confirmed that Smith was removed from conducting anymore pastoral duties, he said the church disassociates itself from immoral, unlawful or reprehensible acts unbecoming of a pastor; he said the church is willing to cooperate with the investigators in whatever appropriate or is necessary and that the church is also expressing sympathy to the family affected, the accused pastor is to face the court sometime this week.<br /><br />I hope that the youngster is being properly counselled and engaged towards some recovery, also I hope the court systems are taking into account the sensitivities involved and that the matter is tried ‘in camera’ (the accused and the victim) so as to avoid any unneeded exposure. The repeated mention dates and or preliminary hearings can be daunting for the victims in particular, to be asked to go to court to face the evil one or made to relive the matter. I can only imagine the state of affairs in that household and by extension the rest of the church community and the condemnation on their part of the accused pastor seeing it is same gender sex matter, I raise that because of the justification of an ongoing matter of the Moravian pastor who was accused of assault of a fifteen year old girl. Many commentated openly that nothing was wrong with ‘a little sex’ and after all she is a girl and the accused pastor in that matter should be forgiven; the efforts by some who ought to know better to seemingly protect that pastor only threw salt in the wound and has left me wondering what other dark secrets ad out there that church boards are aware of but cover them up so as not to ruffle feathers. Apparently hetero-paedophile appearing abuse cases can or should be allowed some leeway because it the accepted straight sex but mention a male and all hell break loose. Comments made by overly fanatically sympathetic congregants and others that the Moravian pastor blasting those who accused them shows up the kinds of control some have over those who are easily led. <br /><br />Something seems off when it comes to the Moravian church in recent times as such clerical abuse is mostly linked to the Catholic Church but in this year alone we have seen Pentecostals, now this New Testament Church and even non traditional denominations. Priests continue to clothe themselves in piety but use their power and privilege over the weak. Simply put abuse is abuse no matter the gender of the victim or the perpetrator and a pastor is the last person one would expect to hear being accused of such issues, are pastors joining or hiding in the church just to gain access to the weak, the very weak Christ’s teachings encouraged that should be reached? <br /><br />This is not the best time for awful news such as this given it is child’s month and the disturbing set of inappropriateness of pastors or persons purporting to be men of the cloth who abuse the weak psychologically and otherwise. On one hand it is good that such hidden actions are being exposed but on the other it sends a wrong message to persons in terms of the trust of the church and has indirect implications towards the national discourse or shouting match on the buggery law amendment or repeal depending on which side one is on. Some members of the public have been up in arms since the story broke suggesting that no change whatsoever must come to the law; it is cases like this one that makes it all the more relevant to amend the law as in the amendment it should take into account (non) consent for adults while also making it very clear the protection of children under the age of consent which is 16 years old. One also hopes that if and when there is some amendment that there is no hetero or homosexual buggery demarcation as was done in the UK before the ages of consent were equalized in the 1980s.<br /><br />There is another ongoing matter for some years now in the St Andrew parish court involving a female victim who was also buggered by a pastor, sadly the creaking court systems and yet to be properly updated ways of doing business still escapes our justice systems overall. That case is being tracked but in the twenty first century why are some judges still taking notes by hand despite smartphones with voice recording capabilities, laptops with powerful microphone ranges and the promised video cameras in court to track hearings so judges can go back and review the materials. Only a few courthouses have been updated to meet the relevant changes and make them fully operational. Another challenge I have is the business of follow-up of older cases and their outcomes in terms of the victims, the system is so overwhelmed that it is next to impossible to keep up. <br /><br />The sexual offences bill review is on and many like me are not so optimistic on any positive movements similar to reviews passed but hope remains while company is true.<br /><br />Peace & tolerance<br /><br />H</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17155799011043584557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post-19186327224460397492017-05-07T14:01:00.000-05:002017-05-10T15:00:50.590-05:00That oral sex debate again with Ishawna.......<div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was not going to enter the whole Ishawna controversy on her song on ‘Human Rights’ power negotiations and oral sex in heterosexual relations. I was asked what I thought about it and frankly it just shows how backward we are yet still as a nation and have a long way to go on supposed taboo subjects including homosexuality despite major increased visibility and social media to boot. To easily measure the place in terms of changing hearts and minds I try to encourage persons to look at the oral sex debates when they occur and or reactions when it comes to public attention. The <a href="http://glbtqjamaica.blogspot.com/2014/08/were-not-lesbians-stylysh-clarifies.html">very Ishawna</a> of which I speak is the very same and relatively a newcomer in dancehall female arena who had shot a lesbian themed video with another female dancehall female DJ which also caused a major firestorm, bearing in mind that the previous queen of dancehall Lady Saw now known as Marion Hall has converted to Christianity so the rawness of the sexually explicit and undiluted lyrics so I guess the gloves are off for beef manufactured or not is the way to stay in the marker or on the radar, attention span by the easily bored public these days is short so I guess any drama goes as entertainment. Lady Saw had made it clear of her songs in her heyday that she not ‘cleaning any rifle’ </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">also see: <a href="http://glbtqjamaica.blogspot.com/2014/08/were-not-lesbians-stylysh-clarifies.html">We're not lesbians - Stylysh clarifies song with Ishawna ..........</a> 2014 and </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2014/03/rimming-promoting-dj-gets-blamed-for.html">"Rimming" promoting DJ gets blamed for freaky singjay's ostracism & death threats</a> and </span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2014/04/alkaline-rimming-dj-gets-homophobic.html">Alkaline (Rimming DJ) gets a homophobic response from newcomer Dwayno's track</a> 2014</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Comments are still pouring in days later, </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Pamella Parks</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Ishawna, remember the kids them cause them a listen it behind the door so yah fi cut down pon it, but mi like yu music. Princess Street girls them love it. Bag juice and Pepsi...Wow!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Christine Hall</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Mi a no a fan of but the song just nice and right on point. Mi honestly believe say she deserve a Grammy because she brave. Other [male] artiste a sing bout them thing deh and no body nah lick out pon them."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Audrey Crossman</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"To each his own. When people inna dem bedroom a dem private thing. I don’t have a problem with it, she a make her honest bread. I would buy the song, I sent it to my boyfriend yesterday."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Javae Simms</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"The song deh weh she do a fi man who freaky. A freaky man song dat. But true me know mi a straight foward man. A da thing deh we use fi wul the girl them, we nuh use we upright."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Keron Woods</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"I think it is full time a female should actually step up to the plate and show the men in the industry that a nuh only them can come and talk about oral sex. I stand with Ishawna on that song. Equal Rights and Justice."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ray Buchanan</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"People do all sought a foolishness and a mek money offa it. Is just a musical thing and I feel like she just want attention."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Lest we forget another female veteran in the business Cecile had done her song on oral sex and it too had a major firestorm of a reaction from the public but was well accepted within the lesbian community especially when I was more active as a DJ, the drawback for her however there was no social media on a wider scale as know but online blogs and gossip sites and Yahoo groups had the Youtube videos had heavy rotation. In 2013 </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Female dancehall artistes Tiana, Angelina, Destiny and Cecile are poised to make oral sex a norm locally. Cecile effectively started the movement years ago with her song Do It To Me, however she received backlash from the dancehall community. Sting saw up-and-coming dancehall artiste Angelina performing a song called Head Mistress, in which she said "Mi deep throat it from the root to the stem and mi nuh hav gag reflex problem...mi roll mi tongue like a dice." According to the deejay Jamaica is becoming more liberal with sexuality.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Destiny recently released a song called FUCK, in which she states that she knows to work it on her knees. According to Destiny, Vybz kartel made oral sex a norm for females to speak about, however the males are still skeptic about the matter, even though they might be taking part in oral sex.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Outaroad recording artiste Tiana also toys with the topic of oral sex in her rendition of Vybz Kartel's Freaky Gyal. She says she loves a man that uses his mouth in bed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Tiana's song then had over 20,000 views on YouTube.com in one hour and had mixed views from the dancehall fans. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It’s a bit hypocritical to me however that the sex industry or aspects of it heavily encourage the performance in strip clubs and such and even to the point of the ‘Madames’ and in private relations it is strongly suspected that oral sex by way of a man ‘eating out’ his female partner or even going as far as rimming (oral/anal sex); dancehall artist Alkaline got himself into a rut some years ago as well when he was said to be promoting nastiness. Want more hypocrisy just visit the strip clubs in recent years and watch heavily tipping males who go crazy when lesbian themed live sex on stage is presented. Another male artist who openly promoted oral sex found himself the subject of adoration and backlash mostly by men and other DJs and his career has stalled as he has been unable to have a follow up hit. I just cannot wrap my head around what’s the big deal on oral sex made public at least, that’s a decision between the parties involved as consenting adults. Men feel that the woman must always play the subservient sexual role by cleaning the stick as it were; a recent motor vehicle crash where the driver died was said to have been caused by a woman performing oral sex from which he was distracted which led to the unfortunate end.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Star had carried this: <a href="http://jamaica-star.com/article/entertainment/20170502/not-all-rights-are-equal-selectors-deejays-shun-ishawnas-oral-sex">Not all rights are equal - selectors, deejays shun Ishawna's oral sex song</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Artistes like Bounty Killer's protege Prince Pin, KipRrich, and Don Vital have begged to differ with Ishawna's position.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Their response songs have ranged from outright disrespecting Ishawna, to simply trying to steer her in the direction the artistes deem appropriate.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Some artistes have to realise that when controversy got you out then you have to keep being controversial, so I guess she is going that route now. KipRich's song is representing for the man dem weh know that they stay healthy by working out so they know how to satisfy their women without having to do certain things. It's not every woman want oral sex," Wilmot said. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Prince Pin, however, held no punches. He believes KipRich and other artistes were going too easy on Ishawna and only counteracted her song for attention.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"You have to send a clear message, we can't mek dem mash up wi music, suh mi a fight fire wid fire. Some things yu see in the world, don't bring it in dancehall. We can't allow her to mislead the kids and I have a daughter so no bumpa inna face. Mi nah fake nothing, mi a be real and buss it for rights. " he said.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ishawna couldn't be reached for comment. However, she did post a video on Instagram claiming the song was rising despite backlash.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"When dem seh your song nah go ever play in parties. Who vex? I love my fans," she captioned.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Her ex-boyfriend, selector Foota Hype, who was drawn into the mix by Prince Pin, who mentioned his name on his record, declined to comment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"No comment bout certain people," he said.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />The ‘dem bow’ or ‘nyam under two foot table’ resistance towards a man performing oral sex on a woman is so real and dated that men feel they will be reduced in terms of the power dynamics play out in the liaison. This is outside of the cougar phenomenon (older more financially stable woman with a younger male as a stud); this latest episode is showing me at least the more things change the more they stay the same given the exposure to matters of sexuality on social media but sheeesh we are right back at the 1980s. I can remember the Shabba Ranks massive hit anti oral sex anthem “Dem Bow” and then subsequent younger DJs who made sure that in their repertoire there must be songs blasting oral sex (openly that it) and of course murder music to be considered a legitimate star, art imitating life or what? Then there is the blackmail component of all of this, if word hits the streets that Tom or George is an eater it can literally lead to ostracism from social circles combined with merciless ridicule. It is easy to say one does not condone oral sex but privately you just never know. <br /><br />Strangely in the face of the anti oral sex wave a short lived imported billboard dancemusic #1 hit in the 1990s from a group called 20 Fingers ft Roula entitled ‘Lick It’ which goes straight to the point and was heavily rotated on the club and ironically street dance circuit however but that could have been the aftermath from their massive hit prior “Short Dick Man” with Gillete on vocals; which also influenced the role play emphasis but the female in the song is emphasizing power in the penis. Roula’s demand prior to her partner penetrating her is quite clear, the lyrics says it all:<br /><br /><i><span style="color: magenta;">“You gotta lick it so we can kick it, you gotta get it soft and wet so we can kick it ................ give my cat a taste you gotta face it so that I can get high...........”</span></i><br /><br />There is a clearly defined prerequisite before any penetration which if we are to go by local standards my turn off many men on the face of it, then again we are not in the room when the act if about to unfold; the intervening factor must not be there in the eyes of some Jamaican men. The demand by Roula also could be a function by some women of feeling unsatisfied by men who do not engage in foreplay which makes the session just a walk through on the woman’s part as arousal is low. Porn globally definitely has helped to set that timetable for sex, oral action comes first then penetration follows thereafter. Sex is seen more as a violent act more than that of pleasure and even in lesbian relationships in some sense that thinking comes through; the concept of sex toys by way of strap-ons and effectively mimicking heterosexual sex and harder the wearer of the device goes during the act then more legitimate she will be seen. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A fight at a strip club in Kingston some time ago involving a butch identified woman (yet again) and the comments made during the melee was enough to give a picture of who is the ‘boss’ in the bigger scheme of things despite the butch woman allows her partner to dance on stage but complains when a male patron tipped her and openly engaged the stripper when sent the butch woman into a rage. The aggressor repeatedly reminded those in earshot who was ‘pushing wood’ (penis) and she was proud of doing so but no woman is going to perform oral sex on her but she will proudly perform it on another woman; that seems to be the near opposite of the current Ishawna hetero-normative power differentials. It gets further complicated when the demarcations of studs and butches as the former is not considered legitimate enough as a bonafide lesbian but can be flexible in terms of oral sex, dominant role play, femme aesthetics and community acceptance in some sense. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">and the so called Messiah of freak J Amsterdam on his pro-oral sex song</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Let us see where this goes as change is so slow when it comes to enlightenment.<br /><br />Peace & tolerance<br /><br />H</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17155799011043584557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post-10497050783110067342017-05-05T14:26:00.000-05:002017-05-05T14:26:12.927-05:00VICTORY - SAME SEX MARRIAGE is now legal in Bermuda.<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Yes indeed, our friends in Bermuda have done it. Lord knows this is go news given the closing walls via Trump et al elsewhere a nice victory in law, fair square. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A gay couple have <a href="https://www.gov.bm/sites/default/files/Godwin-Deroche.pdf">won their legal challenge </a>against the Registrar-General’s decision to reject their application to marry in Bermuda.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Winston Godwin and his Canadian fiancé, Greg DeRoche, took their case to the Supreme Court, arguing that the Human Rights Act took primacy in Bermuda and protected their right to marry. The </span><a href="http://www.royalgazette.com/news/article/20170505/gay-couple-win-right-to-marry" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Royal Gazette</a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> also featured the development.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />This morning, Puisne Judge Charles Etta-Simmons delivered her ruling that stated: “On the facts, the applicants were discriminated against on the basis of their sexual orientation when the Registrar refused to process their notice of intended marriage.”<br /><br />The judgment continues: “The applicants are entitled to an Order of Mandamus compelling the Registrar to act in accordance with the requirements of the Marriage Act and a declaration that same-sex couples are entitled to be married under the Marriage Act.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mr Godwin and Mr DeRoche, represented by lawyer Mark Pettingill, sought an order from the Supreme Court to compel the Registrar to post their marriage banns, in accordance with the Marriage Act. They also want a declaration that same-sex couples are entitled to be married under that law.</span></div>
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When the civil case was heard over three days in January and February, Mr Pettingill urged the court to write the final chapter in the protection of gay rights in Bermuda.</div>
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He said the couple’s case encapsulates “the right to happiness, the right of all people to seek love and happiness”. Mr Pettingill added: “The applicants say that religious arguments bear no relevance on civil contractual marriage. This is a matter of statutory interpretation.</div>
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“It is time for the courts fully armed with the legal protection of the Human Rights Act to write the final chapter in the protection of the rights of gay people of secular orientation and all the rights that everyone enjoys to be the same.”</div>
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But the Government’s lawyer, Deputy Solicitor-General Shakira Dill-Francois, told the court that the Registrar-General could not post marriage banns for gay couples because such unions are null and void under Bermuda’s existing laws</div>
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She said that under section 33 of the Marriage Act 1944, it was an offence for the Registrar to authorise a marriage, knowing it was void.</div>
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She added the Matrimonial Causes Act 1974, in section 15, clearly set out the grounds on which a marriage was void, including if “the parties are not respectively male and female”.</div>
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Adding that the two pieces of legislation had to be read and understood together, Ms Dill-Francois asked: “Why would the Registrar proceed to register a marriage that is, in fact, void?”</div>
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Preserve Marriage, which has campaigned to maintain marriage as between a man and a woman, and the Human Rights Commission were allowed to join the proceedings as “interveners”.</div>
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Preserve Marriage was represented by lawyer Delroy Duncan, who argued that changing the law on same-sex marriage could open the door for “multiple-partner marriages” on the island.</div>
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“We have to ask ourselves whether this legislation is permissive of such marriages or whether or not what you are being asked to do could open the door to multiple-partner marriages,” he said.</div>
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Mr Duncan maintained that Parliament must decide on the issue of same-sex marriage “through the ballot box”.</div>
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Reacting this morning, Mr Godwin told The Royal Gazette: “I feel a huge sense of relief. It’s been a long road to get to this stage for me and Greg, and for Mark and also for Bermuda.</div>
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“It has been a long time coming. This ruling, although it was in our favour ... there is still so much more to do in Bermuda.</div>
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“This is a big step in the right direction. I cannot thank my legal team and my supporters enough.”</div>
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Lawyer Rod Attride-Stirling, who acted for the Human Rights Commission during the case, said in a prepared statement: “It is a matter of great shame that the legislature did not act in this matter to put the issue beyond doubt.</div>
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“It is also a matter of great shame that the Attorney-General fought the case in the manner in which it was fought, ignoring the Bermudian cases on the proper interpretation of the human rights act. This should not have been so.</div>
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“I am glad to see that the Bermuda court has followed the courts, first of South Africa, which decided this issue in 2005, and then the United States which followed suit in 2015.</div>
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“The message of hate and exclusion has been rejected. Human rights means human rights for all humans. Equally. No one is excluded.</div>
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“Gays who want to marry can now do so.</div>
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“Bermuda owes a huge debt of gratitude to the two brave young men who brought this action, Winston Godwin and Greg DeRoche. They will always be remembered as heroes of the human rights movement.”</div>
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meanwhile more from .....</div>
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The <a href="http://rainbowbermuda.org/about-us/">Rainbow Alliance </a>has declared today’s landmark gay marriage ruling a victory for all same-gender loving people in Bermuda.</div>
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Saluting Winston Godwin and Greg DeRoche for their courage in taking on the Bermuda Government at the risk of being ostracised by the community, the Alliance issued a statement saying “love always wins”.</div>
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The organisation also released a comment from Mr Godwin, a Bermudian, and his Canadian fiancé Mr DeRoche, saying they hope the result gives more people courage to speak up or come out.</div>
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Earlier today, Puisne Judge Charles Etta-Simmons had delivered a ruling in favour of the couple, who had challenged the Registrar-General’s decision to reject their application to marry in Bermuda.</div>
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The Alliance said it was “overwhelmed with joy at the conclusion of today’s historic ruling”.</div>
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It continued: “We applaud the landmark decision by Justice Charles Etta-Simmons. Today, history has been made and love has won.</div>
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“This ruling is not only a victory for a brave young couple willing to fight for their love, Winston Godwin and his fiance Greg DeRoche, this ruling is a victory for all same-gender loving people in Bermuda.</div>
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“In this decision, the courts have affirmed that the love between two consenting adults is worth protecting with law, regardless of gender.</div>
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“This outcome ensures that same-gender couples can enjoy the same legal protections as heterosexual spouses do. This outcome preserves the notion that love is the greatest force of all.”</div>
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It quoted Mr Godwin and Mr DeRoche as saying: “We appreciate all the positive affirmations and support. This has been a long process, but well worth the fight.</div>
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“Hopefully this brings forward hope and courage for those who were/are afraid to speak up or come out. This is a moment we are proud of and will never forget.”</div>
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The Alliance release continued: “This outcome could not be possible if it were not for the courageous decision of Winston to take on the government of his home and risk being ostracised by his community for the sake of love.</div>
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“We applaud Winston and Greg, the legal team that supported this challenge, and the many campaigners that have over the years fought for increased human rights, dignity, and respect of LGBTQ people.</div>
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“There is so much more work to be done, but today, we celebrate that love always wins.”</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17155799011043584557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post-11107378993368867332017-05-03T14:28:00.000-05:002017-05-03T14:28:19.761-05:00Jamaica's buggery law not among the most severe in the Caribbean region .............<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />A letter appeared in the Gleaner earlier today on a study conducted by JFLAG on the Buggery Law in the Caribbean making comparisons to other states as to severity. Here is the letter firstly, meanwhile the antigay spin doctors try to twist the narrative that of Jamaica being mislabeled as the most homophobic place on earth. </span><div>
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<span style="color: #ea9999;">THE EDITOR, Sir:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #ea9999;">Research around the application of Jamaica's buggery law reveals it is not among the most severe in the Caribbean region. The findings, which are contained in a study conducted by J-FLAG titled 'Criminalizing Private Consensual Intimacy II', help to challenge the decades-old belief that Jamaica is the most homophobic place on earth.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #ea9999;">The study found that when compared to similar laws in other Commonwealth Caribbean countries, Jamaica is neither the best nor the worst as it relates to the criminalisation of private, consensual same-sex conduct. Six Caribbean countries criminalise both male-to-male and female-to-female consensual sexual activity. They are Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad & Tobago. In Jamaica, only male-to-male consensual sexual activity is criminalised, in addition to the criminalisation of anal sex regardless of gender.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #ea9999;">J-FLAG undertook the study to review statistics on the use of the buggery law in the justice system, explore the treatment of similar laws internationally, and compare the severity of the local buggery law to others in the Commonwealth Caribbean.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #ea9999;">Sentences vary across the Caribbean. In Barbados, for example, the offence of buggery can attract a maximum sentence of life in prison, while in Trinidad and Tobago, a maximum sentence of 25 years. This is significantly more severe than the maximum 10 years in Jamaica.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #ea9999;">NOT AS HARSH</span></div>
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<span style="color: #ea9999;">The fact that Jamaica's punishment for buggery is not as harsh as some Caribbean neighbours does not mean the law must not be amended.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #ea9999;">This is by no means an indication that the law does not affect LGBT people across the country. The buggery law continues to be a locally and internationally recognised symbol of state-sanctioned discrimination against LGBT Jamaicans. Reform of this unjust law remains urgent, since the provisions do not align with the fundamental rights to privacy and equality before the law as secured in the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #ea9999;">This is particularly true of Section 80 of the Offences Against the Person Act, which legalises wanton arrests of gay men and trans women. Fixing this and other laws, and creating a welcoming legal and policy environment for LGBT Jamaicans, are steps in the right direction.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #ea9999;">DANE LEWIS</span></div>
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<span style="color: #ea9999;">GLENROY MURRAY</span></div>
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<span style="color: #ea9999;">J-FLAG</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1182991,00.html">the article</a> that got most persons in a bind</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">How the article was misrepresented is part and parcel of how the already existing homonegative feelings led to the deceptive narrative by ignorant religious fanatics (that make honest church fol look stupid) is why there is hardly any serious movement in <a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2016/07/oh-to-change-hearts-and-minds_31.html">changing hearts and minds.</a> The social media firestorm is now sending a narrative that JFLAG et al were lying on Jamaica all along and further justification for no change to the buggery law, repeal or amendment.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2014/07/jflag-tries-to-clarify-its-agenda.html" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">JFLAG tried to clarify its agenda though somewhat late</a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> as the public and homophobic groups kept using the full repeal arguments instead of the change in position, the J took too long to adjust themselves in my view.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;">Also see: Is </span><a href="http://glbtqjamaica.blogspot.com/2015/06/is-most-homophobic-place-on-earth.html" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">‘The Most Homophobic Place on Earth’ Turning Around?</a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;"> (2015), </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;"><a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2016/02/buggery-law-referendum-baiting-by-jlp.html">Buggery law referendum baiting by JLP in #Javote2016 campaign</a></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;"> and </span><span style="background-color: black; color: red; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;"><a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2014/05/j-flag-now-advocating-for.html" style="color: red;">J-FLAG now advocating for decriminalisation of same-sex acts</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Star News still couldn't help themselves despite some slight forward thinking in recent years, they headlined the story, when it is the law that is being discussed and not the inherent multi-generational homophobia</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">:</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><u><b>Jamaica not the most homophobic country</b></u></span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta;"><i>In the face of calls for Jamaica’s buggery laws to be repealed, one of the main organisations that supports homosexuality has discovered that Jamaica is not the most homophobic place on Earth.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta;"><i>Having conducted a study, titled, Criminalising Private Consensual Intimacy, J-FLAG found that in Barbados, the offence of buggery can attract a maximum sentence of life in prison. In Trinidad and Tobago, the maximum sentence for buggery is 25 years in prison, while in Jamaica the maximum penalty is 10 years imprisonment.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta;"><i>“This is by no means an indication that the law does not affect LGBT people across the country,” Dane Lewis, J-FLAG’s executive director said.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta;"><i>“The buggery law continues to be a locally and internationally recognised symbol of state-sanctioned discrimination against LGBT Jamaicans. Reform of this unjust law remains urgent since the provisions do not align with the fundamental rights to privacy and equality before the law as secured in the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms,” he said.</i></span></div>
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Good to see the attempt by the goodly JFLAG to provide some figures and a more balanced comparison but the public's response despite way heightened visibility shows me we have a long road ahead.</div>
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Peace & tolerance</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17155799011043584557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post-76192520105639347922017-05-02T15:18:00.000-05:002017-05-03T15:44:29.823-05:00Trans woman barred from entering Georgetown Magistrate’s Court ..............<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><a href="http://guyanachronicle.com/2017/05/02/trans-woman-barred-from-entering-georgetown-magistrates-court">Source</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">also see this previous entry: </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://glbtqjamaica.blogspot.com/2017/02/previously-denied-transgender-claimant.html">Previously denied transgender claimant in Guyanese court case allowed in court</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;">NICHOLAS Kissoon known as ‘Beyonce’ was slated to appear at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday to answer charges of abusive language and attempted suicide, however she could not make it pass the gate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />The transgender woman was wearing a polka dot, cap-sleeved dress but was told by a police officer at the gate that she cannot enter the compound after he searched her bag. Kissoon told Guyana Chronicle that she was scheduled to appear in Court 6 and alleged that the police rank “pushed” her out.<br /><br />“When I entered the court yard, the officer asked me to search my bag. I allowed him to search my bag and then he told me that I can’t come into the court and he pushed me out of the court yard,” Kissoon related.<br /><br />The charges stemmed from an incident which occurred on April 27, 2017 at the Georgetown Prison, following an altercation between Kissoon and a female prison officer. On that day, Kissoon said she visited the prison to take “support” for a family member and got into an argument with the female officer at the gate.<br /><br />“She cuss me first so I cuss her back and they took me to Brickdam Police Station,” Kissoon said as she noted that while at the police station, she was beaten by police ranks.<br /><br />“They took me to the [Brickdam Police] station to have a seat; they beat me and start discriminating my lifestyle I live…they are finding a lot of charge because they lash me to my head and bust it,” the trans woman related.<br /><br />As it relates to the issue of attempted suicide, Kissoon said that it is a “trumped-up” charge and she has no knowledge as to why the police would charge her with such an offence.<br /><br />“I have no knowledge about that, that’s a false allegation made against me by the police.”<br /><br />CROSS-DRESSING RULE<br /><br />THE Court of Appeal in February 2017, upheld a 2013 ruling by former Chief Justice, Ian Chang that cross-dressing is not a crime, once not done for “improper purposes”.<br /><br />In 2010, a group of transgender women had asked the Supreme Court to strike down laws that left them open to arrest following a police crackdown the year before on male cross-dressers. While Chang’s subsequent ruling allowed for men to dress in women’s clothing, it did not say what constituted “improper purpose”, which led to concerns about interpretation. Subsequently, an appeal was filed by members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, seeking clarity on what constitutes “improper purpose”.<br /><br />However, Chancellor of the Judiciary at the time, Carl Singh, Justice, Yvonne Cummings-Edwards, and High Court Judge, Justice Brassington Reynolds, unanimously upheld the decision made by Justice Chang in 2013. Singh reasoned that an improper purpose would be a man dressing as a woman, and using this female image to solicit services from a taxi driver, after which he robs the driver. <br /><br />AMBIGUITY IN RULING<br /><br />Meanwhile, when contacted by Guyana Chronicle on Tuesday for a comment on the Kissoon issue, Founder and Co-Chairperson of the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) in Guyana, Joel Simpson alluded to the ambiguity in the court’s ruling on the issue of cross-dressing.<br /><br />“Cross dressing is not a crime unless it’s for improper purpose. The court’s security are taking upon themselves to bar transgender persons from entering the court’s compound.<br /><br />“Up to now, although a few months has passed, there has not been a written decision why the cross dressing matter was dismissed at the Appeal Court,” Simpson lamented.<br /><br />With “improper purposes” not being clearly defined, the then Chancellor had explained that it is not for the court to define what improper is, since Parliament has not done so. The Summary Jurisdiction Act, which criminalised men and women presenting themselves in attire of the opposite sex, came into effect in 1893.<br /><br />This means, too, that when cases related to cross-dressing arise in the court, interpretation of the word “improper” will be determined by the magistrate hearing that case.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17155799011043584557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post-56571680646553302852017-04-28T12:28:00.000-05:002017-04-28T12:28:04.622-05:00Ruth & Naomi ........<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
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<br />In the Sexual Awareness Month series this year you may have noticed I took a more biblical approach and the Ruth & Naomi story is the latest one I’ll try to tackle. Thanks to the bloggers who joined in the discussion which at times got rather vibrant. There had been some speculation about the closeness of the relationship between the two women suggestion there had some lesbian contact but the evidence of that is simply not there as some more persons where a more liberal reading still hold on to that thinking but it was more about women in their version of a support system given how women were treated. Chapter three of Ruth is where it is in this installment as two widows interact with each other in the patriarchal society in Jewish culture. Human relations and choices made either due to finding themselves in position of power and advantage or disadvantage who often end up in the line of abuse on many levels. Effectively Naomi an elderly widowed mother-in-law who encourages her widowed daughter-in-law to make herself available to a powerful rich man named Boaz to marry her. </span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The book of Ruth is a short story recording an incident during the period of the Judges. An Israelite family moved from Judah to the land of Moab during a famine, the husband died, the two sons married foreign women but also die and she (Ruth) accompanied her mother-in-law and adopted Israelite faith as her own. Ruth eventually marry Boaz but not after a series of seductions as instructed or groomed by Naomi and she ended becoming the grandmother of David. The book of Ruth also shows the absorption of foreigners into Israelite culture thus pre-configuring the Christian gospel by which Gentiles are brought into God’s church. Ruth is a Gentile (Moabitess) in the ancestry of Jesus.</span></div>
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<i><span style="color: magenta;">3 Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: magenta;">2 And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: magenta;">3 Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: magenta;">4 And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: magenta;">5 And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: magenta;">6 And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade her.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: magenta;">7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: magenta;">8 And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: magenta;">9 And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: magenta;">10 And he said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: magenta;">11 And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: magenta;">12 And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: magenta;">13 Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman's part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the Lord liveth: lie down until the morning.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: magenta;">14 And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: magenta;">15 Also he said, Bring the vail that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and she went into the city.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: magenta;">16 And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: magenta;">17 And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: magenta;">18 Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.</span></i></div>
<br />Naomi has been effective being seen as a ‘pimp’ by grooming and encouraging Ruth towards Boaz but bearing in mind that a kind of permitted incest was the order of the day despite the laws that protected strangers and widows but with all that her body was still the route to access. To again access to Boaz did not come as easy as today it came by women availing themselves sexually; sex used as transactionally some have said and although Boaz ended up marrying Ruth the assault in my eyes is an older woman pushing a younger woman on a rich man to secure. Naomi knew how to work the system even though laws then offered some protection to widows and strangers coming from the Sodom & Gomorrah days. <br /><br />(Un)intended seduction may be the challenge here of the benefactor, the search specific nature of the grooming exercise by Naomi pushing on Ruth using femininity; unlike the Lot story of the ‘rape’ of him by his own daughters for purposes of continuing the bloodline here in this episode is about gaining wealth and security on the pretext of a seductress or in supplication, to bring it forward to today for a moment how many times have we seen mothers or guardians literally pimping out those in their charge to gain or take in income for the household. Ruth may have not even wanted to go to Boaz but in obedience to the older woman (Naomi) she obeyed the instructions, consent is another layer in this while she may have ‘offered’ herself to Boaz to eventually seduce him and the outcome showed no outright abuse.<br /><br />The continuation of the bloodline so to speak and or to provide the kind of security similar to the Lot and his daughters case comes into play, the oldest male or closest male in the family has the responsibility even in a kind of permitted incest to interact with female, Naomi therefore understood the cultural nuances and encouraged Ruth albeit a foreigner into the culture. Naomi obviously was no fool in as far as the grooming of Ruth was concerned, she was looking out for what was supposedly best for her daughter in law; Ruth had done so much for Naomi prior that Naomi may have felt obligated in a sense and also knowing full well that she would get some spin-offs from the arrangement, Boaz was not the first choice so to speak but Naomi seemed sure that arrangement would have worked; I don’t think she was malicious but to instruct Ruth as to the very actions ought to do when she encouraged her to effectively seduce her; Boaz had already found some favour in Ruth as outlined in Chapter 2 of Ruth. How does someone who does not have access directly to their rights via a decision making process. <br /><br />The business of survival comes into play and that women effectively had to do what they had to do; bearing in mind that the very translators of the bible wrote the thing from a patriarchal perspective. <br /><br />The levirate marriage concept comes into play, a practice outlined in Deuteronomy 25 v 5 – 10 if a woman is childless after a previous marriage or with children and the husband dies the brothers of the dead husband is obligated to marry her and carry on the heritage and the children as products if that marriage legitimises the respect in the community.</span></div>
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<i><span style="color: magenta;">5 If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her. </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: magenta;">6 The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: magenta;">7 However, if a man does not want to marry his brother’s wife, she shall go to the elders at the town gate and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to carry on his brother’s name in Israel. He will not fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to me.” </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: magenta;">8 Then the elders of his town shall summon him and talk to him. If he persists in saying, “I do not want to marry her,” </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: magenta;">9 his brother’s widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, take off one of his sandals, spit in his face and say, “This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother’s family line.” </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: magenta;">10 That man’s line shall be known in Israel as The Family of the Unsandaled.</span></i></div>
<br />Boaz in a sense realised he got caught or ‘ketch’ and he tried to worm his way out of it by differing Ruth to the other choice as he was closer in the lineage to the bloodline’ even after Ruth spends the night with Boaz he asks her not to let the other women in the circle know as if to suggest that at risk will be some compromised integrity or ethics, despite the cultural customs called for the powerful man to ensure his heritage. His strategy however was not an aggressive one and he seem to have tried to play it cool even though he knew that there was someone else with a superior claim. While Ruth did not end up in an abusive relationship how many times in contemporary reports we have heard of the pimping aspect of older women sending out their own daughters to bring in the bacon.<br /><br />The rapid succession of disturbing reports of privileged pastors and church leaders who prey on vulnerable can easily be cited in this story hundreds of years old. The attachment to materialism is a major factor and some feel justified to lay themselves bare to ‘eat-a-food’ and easiest way to get to some wealth; this is not only limited to lower classes but professional persons as well for the most part to keep up appearances, the nice apartment must be maintained, the car must look a certain way or even the tertiary level fees have to be found somewhere, trouble is that sometimes the arrangement gets abusive and the privileged individual turns into a monster thinking he has a right so to do. In what are supposed to be legitimate marriages the power differentials play out, the wife may have married for some sort of security especially if she is expected to be a housewife or a stay at home mother and she must know her place; no talk of a job or continuing education under pain of losing certain benefits or gifts or how she in treated in the marriage, and sex by the way is a given whether or not she is in the mood.<br /><br />More anon<br /><br />Peace & tolerance<br /><br />H </span><br /> </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17155799011043584557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post-88377016041714751452017-04-15T12:07:00.000-05:002017-04-19T12:51:11.124-05:00PEPFAR may pull HIV funding from hard-hit Caribbean countries ..........<div>
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The United States is terminating its funding to several of the Caribbean countries hardest hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Directors of the US President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (<a href="https://www.pepfar.gov/">PEPFAR</a>), America’s global fund to fight AIDS around the world, said that they could no longer justify supporting the upper middle-income countries of the Caribbean, and have ordered fund terminations from as early as this year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I saw a series of reports out there recently on the decrease of PEPFAR to the Caribbean and it came to me that this is starting to feel like the US President Reagan years when the White House then simply ignored the calls for proper funding for research for a relatively new disease being HIV then known as SIDS and which was pegged as a gay disease or gay plague. </span></div>
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Thanks to the Act UP campaign and vigorous advocacy in those days.</div>
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Upon the rumours and fears expressed by mostly American AIDS experts that funding for HIV prevention work and treatment and care it has come home to action by the Trump administration, obviously playing to his base as he is the most unpopular president in years.</div>
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The Bahamas — which has the highest population prevalence of HIV in the English-speaking Caribbean, at just over 3% — will have its funding cut entirely in September 2017, followed by Barbados in 2018. Meanwhile, Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago will have their funding slashed to historic lows for two years, before their allocations end in 2019.<br /><br />Of the middle-income Caribbean countries, only Jamaica will be spared from cuts, but under strict conditions. Far fewer people living with HIV in Jamaica receive treatment than in the other upper-middle income Caribbean countries, and estimates are that more than 3 in 10 Jamaican men who have sex with men are HIV positive. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">To address this, PEPFAR will move 67-75% of its Caribbean regional budget to the island between 2017 and 2019. In exchange, Jamaica will have to meet ambitious targets to curb its epidemic, or PEPFAR will leave the English-speaking Caribbean region entirely, including the member countries of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In the Caribbean, PEPFAR contributes to the cost of HIV prevention programmes, drug procurement, and the treatment, care and psychosocial support of people living with HIV and AIDS. The Fund also works with community organisations to target HIV prevention and care to LGBT people and commercial sex workers who are on the periphery of direct government programmes. PEPFAR’s interventions are further supported by health experts at US diplomatic missions, where some vacant posts have already been frozen as a result of the clawback.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />PEPFAR’s moves now increase the burden on regional governments to bring their HIV/AIDS epidemics under control, even as public finances in several of the affected countries are already stretched. With the exception of Haiti, which will retain its PEPFAR funding entirely, a complete regional pullout would leave a US$9m gap¹ in financing for the Caribbean’s response to HIV and AIDS, based on PEPFAR’s 2014/15 expenditure levels.<br /><br />Despite some progress, the picture of the Caribbean’s HIV/AIDS response is mixed. Prevention messages that focus on abstinence and condom use are mainstays of national health campaigns, and costly interventions such as drug prophylaxis to prevent HIV infection are off the radar for most. Moralistic views and discrimination against the LGBT community are <a href="http://www.antillean.org/j-flag-talks-health-jamaicas-lgbt-community-response-human-rights-report/">effective barriers to healthcare</a>, and the prevalence of HIV among these marginalised groups can often run times higher than in the general population.<br /><br />Strong progress and adoption of international best practices, such as Barbados’ decision to treat all people living with HIV, regardless of the stage of their disease, have been largely supported by PEPFAR funds. Central governments will now have limited time to ensure sustainability of these gains and to finance gaps after the departure of US aid.<br /><br />While PEPFAR’s Directors made no explicit link between their decisions and President Trump’s dictates to <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/28/politics/trump-budget-foreign-aid/">cut America’s levels of foreign aid</a>, the repeal of PEPFAR’s reach in the Caribbean follows the administration’s decisions to <a href="http://time.com/4724227/unfpa-funding-trump-mexico-city-policy-abortion/">cut funding</a> to the United Nations Food and Population Fund, as well as its <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/13/politics/donald-trump-planned-parenthood-money/">removal of federal dollars</a> from Planned Parenthood and other international development programmes.<br /><br />The US Congress recently passed the US-Caribbean Strategic Engagement Act, which an <a href="http://www.antillean.org/us-caribbean-engagement-bill-202/">analysis</a> featured in this publication deemed to be an important opportunity for advancing the Caribbean’s interests to the Trump administration. As at press time, sources tell Antillean that health and social development imperatives were not among the priorities advanced by CARICOM for the shaping of the future US engagement policy, despite CARICOM’s ambassadors in Washington and New York being briefed on PEPFAR’s decisions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Thanks to the <a href="http://www.antillean.org/us-cuts-pepfar-caribbean-139414/">Antillean Media Outlet</a> for this one (photos added for this post), in a another related story see: <a href="https://www.devex.com/news/trump-administration-cuts-all-future-us-funding-to-unfpa-89986">Trump administration cuts all future US funding to UNFPA</a></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17155799011043584557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post-16860711154231842702017-04-14T11:18:00.000-05:002017-04-19T11:39:31.110-05:00AirBnB accounts hacked..............<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As news spread internationally that <a href="https://www.airbnb.com/?af=43720035&c=A_TC%3Dkh4sjf4fax%26G_MT%3Dp%26G_CR%3D77952670583%26G_N%3Dg%26G_K%3Dairbnb%27%26G_P%3D%26G_D%3Dc&atlastest5=true&gclid=Cj0KEQjwldzHBRCfg_aImKrf7N4BEiQABJTPKHBhdKtayveQsKjnUVtg5NP5oh3YGBe16lXEUEFLZbkaAlfz8P8HAQ">AirBnB</a> account holders in the North America and as far as Europe have had their profiles compromised by hackers there was no jitters at first. Since then it has been confirmed by email after I inquired, reports had surfaced that American customers have found their profiles compromised, they have also notified the codenamed ‘Pink Crab’ outfit for LGBT guests located in Portland in order to either delete the original one or simply set up new profiles and reengage, the verification process for current and newly approaching clients or inquiries is crucial so as not to have the ‘wrong crowd’. <br /><br />Access to the verification badges of users is also troubling and why oh why was not a two or three step verification system in place. The ‘Pink Crab’ was originally a private outfit that relied on word of mouth between prior or repeat guests who spread the word even as they do cater to non LGBT clientele. The place hosted as well workshops often times with very higher than market prices; a criticism I have had of them after DJing there at a LGBTQ event almost fifteen years ago and two times since and hosting a book fair when I was more active in the book industry. I also have witnessed one re-commitment ceremony there when a lesbian couple who resided in New York wanted to do so back home very privately. The staff was a bit taken aback at the time as they never saw the sealing of vows by a same gender couple but have seen parties and so on. <br /><br />Management says they want to keep the arrangement ultra private similarly to the Bubbles Bar even as stiff competition, slowly developing job markets in the US and fickle Canadian visitors’ numbers and refugee crisis intertwined with European economic challenges abound. Many ‘secret’ spaces have to be as in this case at the Crab literally and metaphorically crawl out of the sand hole more openly whilst engage disruptive technologies change traditions almost overnight. Other previously unknown guest houses have been getting bolder and clearly state via AirBnB that they accept LGBT guests and offer a secure environment by way of security companies for guests, much larger hotels are popping up all over the place which only adds more competition to smaller properties. A chaperone may be assigned (subject to the option if selected in booking) or armed guided tours are conducted as well. Some are concerned that if such hackings are not properly addressed by AirBnB soon trust might be lost, the entity seems to be moving slow on the hacking and based on their Facebook page the complaints were already coming in for some time now. </span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Airbnb today announced a <a href="https://www.airbnbcitizen.com/prevent-account-takeovers/">new set of mandatory security measures</a>, including multi-factor authentication, it’s implementing to prevent account takeovers. Now, for the first time, Airbnb will require both hosts and guests logging in from new devices to verify their identity with a second account, either via SMS or email. A vast majority of other social and communication apps use multi-factor </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />AIRBNB IS LATE TO THE MULTI-FACTOR PARTY say some lol</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">said among other things that, </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Trust is the fundamental currency of the sharing economy — it’s at the very heart of our Airbnb community. As our global community continues to grow, we remain vigilant of the ways bad actors are looking to take advantage of this trust. Online scammers in particular are constantly adapting and refining their attacks.</span></div>
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One fraudulent tactic that is receiving increased attention is called an account takeover, or ATO for short. I want to take some time to explain to you how seriously we take this threat and to explain what we are doing here at Airbnb to confront it.</div>
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An ATO occurs when a bad actor gets access to a user’s account by stealing their password, usually through one of the following methods:</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;"><b>Password dumps</b></span>. You’ve probably heard about high-profile security breaches of personal information at a number of different companies over the last few years. When these breaches occur, bad actors often download massive lists of usernames and passwords that they sell on the black market. Scammers then use the usernames and passwords they’ve purchased to see if they are a match for any number of other accounts, as many people tend to use the same password across platforms. Thus, this could in turn put your Airbnb account information at risk, despite the fact that our platform was not compromised.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;"><b>Phishing.</b></span> Bad actors will email or SMS you a link that asks you to enter your account credentials into a website that looks like one you know and use — but is actually malicious. They then record the information you provide and can use it to access your account.</div>
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<b><span style="color: magenta;">Malware.</span></b> If your computer is compromised by malicious software, it can capture your keystrokes and record your usernames and passwords. Once a bad actor has collected your password this way, they can maliciously access your account.</div>
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Historically, we’ve defended against account takeovers by using a machine learning model that predicts the probability that each login or action on Airbnb is being performed by the true account owner. If the model predicts a high risk that the account has been taken over, we would require the user to provide an additional confirmation.</div>
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The model is trained by observing hundreds of millions of historical login events that have been labeled as “good” or “bad”. The model then evaluates hundreds of signals simultaneously to determine the risk level, looking for various patterns such as:</div>
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Login from an unexpected IP address, computer, or phone</div>
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An unexpectedly high number of logins from a particular IP address</div>
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Our model is effective at stopping most account takeovers, but unfortunately there have been some incidents where hosts and guests have suffered. This is not acceptable to us, therefore we’re working around the clock to do everything we can to improve our detection and prevention methods. While the machine learning approach is common for online platforms, the nature of Airbnb’s product and the critical importance of trust within and among our community requires an even higher bar for security.</div>
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Effective today, we have launched new defenses to further prevent bad actors from taking over an Airbnb account, including:</div>
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<b><span style="color: magenta;">Multi-factor authentication.</span></b> We’re requiring additional verification whenever a user logs in from a new device, such as a computer, phone, or tablet — as is often the case for other services such as online banking. When you sign up for Airbnb, we’ll remember the device you used and allow you to log in from that device, as long as you have the password. Any new device you use, however, will require an additional verification even if you have the password. This defense is typically referred to as multi-factor authentication. We’ll confirm that you are the true account owner by sending a one-time unique confirmation code to your account phone number or email. Once you’ve entered that code on our site through your new device, you won’t have to do it again on that machine.</div>
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<b><span style="color: magenta;">Improving account alerts.</span></b> We’ve added SMS in addition to email to the ways in which we alert you, as well as expanded the range of changes we’ll proactively notify you about. We do this in order to let you know these changes have taken place — and so that you can take action to recover your account in the event you were not the one who made those changes.</div>
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Fortunately, the vast majority of our hosts and guests never have to deal with account takeovers or any other scam. While the enhancements we’re announcing today will add yet another layer of security to our users’ accounts, we always want our community to continue to be vigilant and exercise good security practices. We outline some recommended practices around strong passwords, safe payments and other measures on our site <a href="https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/501/how-can-i-keep-my-account-secure">here</a>.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The company says that one of the most common security breaches suffers is when a scammer or other bad actor takes control of someone’s account by obtaining the password. Normally, this would mean access to someone’s email or the ability to purchase stuff on their behalf. But in the case of Airbnb, it could mean giving a stranger access to private details about your home and the ability to rent it out to others. That arguably raises the stakes when it comes to account security.<br /><br />Airbnb says it already uses predictive models, trained using machine learning techniques, that look for uncharacteristic behavior to flag. For instance, if the account is seeing an abnormal number of login attempts or a login from a foreign country, Airbnb’s system might ask for an additional confirmation that the person logged in is truly the host. Unfortunately, the company says this isn’t enough and both guests and hosts have suffered lost funds and fraudulent bookings as a result.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It is becoming all too easy these days to hack unto sites or phones and with the AirBnB business model allowing profiles to be more open even as persons are using fake or unverified identity photos, one impacted individual an American said the hacker had a photo of Bruce Willis when it was abundantly clear is was not the celebrity. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The ability to change one’s personal information on the platform has also come into question, when a user over twenty hours can switch names, upload photos and or location is still too close a period for someone who is supposed to be an honest client. With allegations of an active hacking community in Russia for example especially before and after the United States elections has only sought to raise speculations that the hack is Russian based.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05043sm">Media reports</a> carried the discovery of the hacking:<br /><br /> <div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="color: cyan;">Airbnb is improving the security of its app and website after a BBC investigation found people’s homes had been burgled by scammers using stolen accounts.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: cyan;">The BBC spoke to three people who were targeted after they advertised their properties on the accommodation-booking service.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: cyan;">The scammers hijacked accounts with verified badges and changed some of personal details to pull off the thefts.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: cyan;">Airbnb said it had already been working on the changes – which include sending text warnings if profiles are altered – when the crimes were brought to its attention.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: cyan;">"Unfortunately there have been some incidents where hosts and guests have suffered," said Nate Blecharczyk, co-founder of Airbnb.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: cyan;">"This is not acceptable to us, therefore we’re working around the clock to do everything we can to improve our detection and prevention methods."</span></i></div>
<br />The Bubbles Bar outfit in south west Jamaica has not been impacted as the client is wide enough to carry word of mouth via social media platforms albeit in private groups but they still do engage via AirBnB. Many US interests are searching for smaller residencies as the newer millennials with disposable incomes while doing the five star properties also want a more earthy experience on the ground while having the basics such as internet access and other meeting or mini-conference space. Bubbles bar after some convincing hosted a webinar which went pretty well, the boss does not like working in the day for the most part. There is a rumour as well that an all female guest house as well in eastern Jamaica that occasionally host lymes and such with a tightly knit crew and they occasionally engage AirBnB as well while repeatedly using a new name at every cycle.<br /><br />Keeping my fingers crossed I hope that AirBnB can strengthen their security since they are the trusted outfits; newer rivals are not there yet. Given the ease of hacking it is incumbent for the ABnB folks to be far more stronger on the security front.<br /><br />Peace & tolerance<br /><br />H</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17155799011043584557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post-34847134479624935542017-04-13T13:13:00.000-05:002017-04-19T13:19:24.852-05:00Behaviour change interventions in HIV prevention: is there still a place for them?<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Face-to-face interventions work best says Gus Cairns<br /><br />Jump to<br /><a href="http://www.aidsmap.com/Behaviour-change-interventions-in-HIV-prevention-is-there-still-a-place-for-them/page/3130040/#item3130042">Background to the analysis</a><br /><a href="http://www.aidsmap.com/Behaviour-change-interventions-in-HIV-prevention-is-there-still-a-place-for-them/page/3130040/#item3130043">Results</a><br /><a href="http://www.aidsmap.com/Behaviour-change-interventions-in-HIV-prevention-is-there-still-a-place-for-them/page/3130040/#item3130044">Devising a modern behavioural intervention</a><br /><a href="http://www.aidsmap.com/Behaviour-change-interventions-in-HIV-prevention-is-there-still-a-place-for-them/page/3130040/#item3130045">Reference</a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A meta-analysis of studies of brief interventions to reduce HIV risk behaviour in HIV-negative gay men has concluded that there is evidence that such techniques did have a significant impact on the behaviours they were designed to change.<br /><br />It also found evidence that the best way to conduct such interventions was face-to-face, i.e. not via the internet, telephone or phone apps, and that immediately or shortly after HIV testing was an ideal “learning moment” to conduct them.<br /><br />Interventions that helped participants set goals for themselves, and ones that helped them understand and restructure self-justifying or contradictory thinking, were the ones most likely to result in behaviour change. Programmes worked better if they involved participants feeling differently about themselves and their behavioural risk, rather than receiving new information. Interventions worked better if they were based explicitly on a theory of behaviour change.<br /><br />However, while the analysis did find positive evidence for such interventions producing behaviour change, the writers also conclude that the HIV prevention “landscape” has changed radically in the last few years. The studies were published between 2002 and 2014 and probably gathered their data at least two years before their publication date. None included as measurable outcomes serosorting or seropositioning (i.e. basing condom use or sex role on a partner’s perceived status), pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use, decisions based on partners’ viral load, or the use of negotiated safety arrangements, even though the authors tried to find studies that measured these.<br /><br />There was just one outcome measure that was sufficiently universal across the studies for the authors to make a statistical generalisation about study effectiveness: whether the interventions reduced condomless anal sex. Even though this was measured in various ways (number of condomless acts, number of condomless sex partners, whether they occurred with primary or casual partners, the HIV status or assumed status of the partner, and so on) and was measured over different time periods, the general reduction in condomless sex acts after the eleven interventions was 25%.<br /><br />Background to the analysis<br /><br />Compared with the comprehensive effectiveness of both PrEP and immediate HIV treatment as prevention, this may sound like a small reduction in HIV risk. But, as lead author Paul Flowers of Glasgow Caledonian University told aidsmap.com: “Behaviour change interventions boost and complement biomedical technologies rather than competing with them. Getting people on to PrEP and getting people to test regularly is what behaviour change interventions can and should be doing.”<br /><br />He explained that the impetus behind this meta-analysis of behaviour-change interventions was that he and other academics were involved in writing two sets of new prevention guidelines, for the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) and for Health Protection Scotland.<br /><br />They were confronted with the lack of an up-to-date evidence base that would indicate how and when to use such interventions to help people at risk of HIV reduce their risk. As well as much of the research being out of date, the field suffers from the fact that most of the research has been done in the US, where effective behavioural interventions are collated at <a href="https://effectiveinterventions.cdc.gov/en/HighImpactPrevention/Interventions/PCC.aspx">a site run by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)</a>.<br /><br />Because of this, they were commissioned by the UK’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to investigate the evidence for what worked and then devise an intervention based on that evidence, which could be 'transferable' enough to produce positive effects on other behaviours such as PrEP use or testing. <br /><br />There have been a fair number of meta-analyses of behaviour change interventions published. Flowers and colleagues counted 19 published since 2000. These vary by the publication date of the studies they included, by whether they only included specific populations, and by whether they only used certain methods. Because of this, they vary enormously in size, from a systematic review of three studies using cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) in US gay men who inject drugs, to a huge 2005 synthesis of 354 studies that were published between 1988 and 2003. <br /><br />Results<br /><br />Flowers and colleagues drew tight criteria for inclusion in their meta-analysis. They only included studies in which at least 60% of participants were HIV-negative men who have sex with men; they only included studies published since 2000, as they wanted to exclude studies conducted in the days before effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) became available; and they only included studies of brief interventions, which meant five sessions or fewer. The latter was because the commissioning call from NIHR required the evidence for brief interventions.<br /><br />They found eleven studies in all, which varied greatly in their methodology. Some were online and/or used novel intervention strategies: a graphic novel, a telephone intervention, or an informational video added to counselling sessions. Others were face-to-face. Six out of the eleven studies used a version of <a href="https://effectiveinterventions.cdc.gov/en/HighImpactPrevention/Interventions/PCC.aspx">Personalised Cognitive Counselling (PCC)</a>, an adaptation of CBT for single or brief interventions, designed to be used at the time of or close to HIV testing. In addition to the six PCC-based interventions, there were two peer-delivered interventions where the basis of the intervention is not stated. Four were delivered at an HIV testing appointment (three after the negative result was given, one while waiting for the result); two were given during or after testing to both HIV-positive and negative test recipients; and four, primarily the online interventions, were given to people who recorded themselves as being HIV-negative and not at a testing appointment. The follow-up period over which the effect of the intervention was measured varied from two to ten months, with six studies using six months.<br /><br />As we said above, the eleven studies produced an overall reduction in condomless sex (measured in various ways) of 25% (95% confidence interval, 9% to 38%). Six out of the eleven produced statistically significant reductions.<br /><br />This agrees well with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22774763">the second-largest meta-analysis of behavioural interventions</a>, which included 102 studies and was published in 2013: this found a 27-30% reduction in condomless sex among its study recipients, which included HIV-positive and HIV-negative gay and heterosexual men. <a href="http://www.aidsmap.com/Dolores-Albarracins-meta-analysis/page/1768217/">The largest meta-analysis, the 354-study one mentioned above</a>, found a 38% reduction in condomless sex among recipients of ‘active’ prevention methods, i.e. ones with a counselling component, and 19% in ones without a counselling component such as videos and information sessions.<br /><br />Flowers’ findings were therefore broadly in line with these. The problem is, however, that the behaviours that interventions may wish to change are now different. The crucial question then, is whether the skills and rethinks taught by the studies involve the kind of learning that might also encourage people to seek and adhere to PrEP, test for HIV regularly, and so on.<br /><br />As clues to devising an intervention that could reinforce these behaviours as well as condom use, Flowers’ team did some sub-analyses of factors associated with significant reductions in condomless sex.<br /><br />They found that two methods were associated with significant reductions. The first was using goal-setting and action-planning as part of the method, to get recipients to set behavioural targets. The second was using methods that drew attention to contradictions and justifications in participants’ thinking and thus helped them to feel more understanding, positive and capable about their ability to change. Taken together, these methods were 34% effective. Other methods such as information-giving, social support and an emphasis on threat or danger were not associated with effectiveness.<br /><br />Interventions delivered via telephone or online were not effective. In contrast interventions delivered face-to-face were 34% effective. If the intervention was delivered immediately after receiving a test result, the average effectiveness was 36%; delivered longer after the result, interventions were not effective.<br /><br />Although these factors were not quantified, the study found also that interventions were effective if they were delivered by professionals, but ones with clear and contemporary knowledge of the gay scene and MSM sex.<br /><br />Devising a modern behavioural intervention<br /><br />As a result, Flowers and colleagues drew up a specification for a suggested modern behavioural intervention for gay men.<br /><br />It would include:<br />An initial ‘peer-oriented visual aid’ which would not just talk about health risk but also address the complexity of modern HIV risk and talk about emotions and feelings, serosorting, condomless sex, PrEP, treatment as prevention and drug and alcohol use.<br /><br />This would segue into a one-to-one counselling session that would:<br />Focus initially on a single event seen by the client as risky or unhelpful (not using a condom, missing a PrEP dose, etc)<br />Refer back to the visual aid to put the client’s actual risk and the processes that led to taking a risk (emotional need, intoxication, being too busy, etc) in perspective<br />Invite the client to think about weighing up the pros and cons of different behaviours/strategies and how they might do things differently<br />Help the client draw up an action plan to help reduce risk or encourage health-seeking behaviours for the future.<br /><br />Paul Flowers and colleagues are hopeful that this intervention could be the subject of a study of a behavioural intervention truly adapted to the new world of HIV prevention.<br /><br />“We definitely think it is time for studies to embrace diverse outcome measures – it’s long overdue. We can’t speak for NIHR but we think it’s worth considering post-test interventions to increase frequent testing among those who need it and to encourage the consideration of PrEP. There will be challenges as HIV testing diversifies into self-testing and so on and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28080947">we’ve written another paper on that</a>.<br /><br />But an HIV test represents a ‘teachable moment’ for some people and we want to help them sustain positive changes they might be motivated to make at that moment.”<br /><br />Reference<br /><br />Flowers P et al. The clinical effectiveness of individual behaviour change interventions to reduce risky sexual behaviour after a negative human immunodeficiency virus test in men who have sex with men: systematic and realist reviews and intervention development. Health Technology Assessment 21(5): DOI 10.3310/hta21050. <a href="https://njl-admin.nihr.ac.uk/document/download/2009617">See full report here</a>.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17155799011043584557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post-87067599340904118062017-04-13T11:41:00.000-05:002017-04-19T12:16:53.335-05:00Consent! Because you’re mine ........<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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There is a school of thought especially in Christian relationship circles or some cultures that wives ought to consent in the home overall and especially when sex is demanded without any rebuff or resistance. The act of marriage supposedly allows the husband to control his wife on many fronts and she is nothing more than a subservient being or an incubator for sperm as all of nascent life, a carryover from African and Hebrew cultures arguably; a wife must not question the authority of her husband in certain respects especially the bedroom as the procreation imperative must be the marker of the marriage to impress or prove that the marriage is consummated. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It gets worse if the wife is not gainfully employed, totally dependent on her husband for support, told not to work but remain as a housewife and rear children or can earn her own keep and attempts to live the women’s lib philosophies in the marriage, she may be told to cool it at least or physically and sexually abused at best while she is forced to cover the wounds in time for Saturday or Sunday morning service as the public must not see signs of trouble in the union. Then there is the cheating element as the husband is free to flirt or have a mistress on the side even as a Christian male but the wife dares not protest and must ‘give it up’ when needed.<br /><br />The marriage liturgy for example for centuries is designed to make the one with the lesser power basically victimized and sets up some of the present skewed power differentials. Who ‘gives’ the wife away as if she is some piece or property? or we talk about pregnant teenage mothers but what if the name for the men who got them pregnant? I guess ‘normal’; we talk about nymphomaniacs but what about the men who can’t get enough? They are praised as bed killers or strong; the problematic business of tops and bottoms in terms of questions of control and how we buy into it to legitimize hetero-normative confirmation to feel accepted. Unlearning some of that role play reliance is so critical in solving some of the intimate partner issues.<br /><br />The impacted person may not be even aroused, interested or seeing certain body functions at work yet she is forced to lay there as a log and put up with the torture with all kinds of thoughts in her head, including whether or not to report the matter to the police or tell other family members and in-laws; she might just be re-victimised all over again or called a liar in order to make her way out of the union or for money in a victimhood shakedown. The reliance on biblical texts such of those of apostle Paul where on one hand he equate men and women as equal where he encourages marriages seeing that he thought the second coming of Christ was near but by the time he gets to other letters to the saints he elevates the role of men and effectively makes women in relationships second fiddle whilst also suggesting women also have no role in the church leadership. Male privilege I suppose.<br /><br />Secular heterosexual relationships are the same thing as recent news stories and public awareness programs suggest, some of that is influenced by dancehall in large part as in a kind of art imitating life women are just sex objects that when seen women in bag-a-woman thinking and ‘produce a yute’ as a marker of virility, single men or men without children to a certain extent as still suspected to be gay or a ‘fish’. Similarly the woman or common law wife has to ‘give it up’ when the man needs it and it gets worse when there is alcoholism involved. If ever a condom is discovered by the man in possession of the woman things can turn for the worst as she will be accused of cheating on the man and he launches the ‘consent! Because you’re mine’ and trying to escape can be problematic as a recent case showed and the woman was killed by the man who then in turn tried to commit suicide. Obviously there are other psychologies at work which the experts have been trying to simply for the public’ awareness but the rapid succession of cases suggests that there is a lot of work that is to be done. The family unit is the main corner that religious minded and conservatives tend to focus on but often nicely overlook abuse in the church as recent rapid succession of court cases shows. <br /><br />Same gender component </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Substitute the above to make it a gay or lesbian union and the similarities are clear outside of having no gay marriage rights and benefits as yet. It gets more complicated when hetero-normative role play worms its way into the union; butch versus stud or so called thuggy types/heaviots versus a bottom or queen. The lesser powered individual in the union of liaison is expected to perform the assigned role or expected activity similar to a heterosexual arrangement. Disobedience of any sorts sometimes are not tolerated especially with lesbians, the butch identified women in some unions tend to mimic the role of a gangster or a man so much so that the abuse can get really physically damaging through beating or over use of sex toys to show dominance. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Homeless component <br /><br />While in this part of the equation long term relationships might not be the norm power differentials play out for purposes of control more so than sex but the lesser powered person is expected to consent or raped if they resist often done bareback which raises the STI and HIV transmission problems, the intended target is usually the physically weaker individual as part of the group dynamics overall. A similar challenge occurs in the prison systems, and other types of correctional residences the prison wife phenomenon or downlow activity can spill over into all out abuse in a single sexed febrile environments. A hierarchy of sorts already in existence in the homeless group only plays over in the point of least resistance on the part of the perpetrator and adolescent victim in particular are impacted by aggressive older men, the abuse may include forcing persons to go out and earn usually via commercial sex or robbery as well (the unusually high phone robberies in recent times) and can also have a promotional benefit in terms of the hierarchy or pecking order of the unofficial leadership of the group.<br /><br />With <a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2016/02/tops-bottoms-power-differentials.html">power differentials</a> in many of these unions there is often time no option to say; violence often associated with sex in music for example seems to be a driver of this, so the ‘wuk’ is not done until there cries of pain as evidence of good sex is complete. Sadly femme types in some unions are either forced into submission, or subscribe to the she beats me because she loves me thinking which is given credence by popular singers or ruff sex makes me legitimate in my partner’s eyes. <a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2017/02/rihannas-love-on-brain-he-beats-me.html">Rihanna’s “Love on The Brain” & the ‘He beats me ‘cause he loves me’ issue</a> was dealt with in a previous post on Gay Jamaica Watch, I looked at the lyrical content especially the refrain which said in part:<br /><br />“</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;">Baby, you got me like ah, woo, ah</span><br />
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Don't you stop loving me, loving me</div>
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Don't quit loving me, loving me</div>
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Just start loving me, loving me, babe</div>
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Oh, and, babe, I'm fist fighting with fire</div>
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Just to get close to you</div>
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Can we burn something, babe?</div>
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And I run for miles just to get a taste</div>
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Must be love on the brain</div>
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That's got me feeling this way</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;"><i><b>It beats me black and blue but it fucks me so good</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta;"><i><b>And I can't get enough</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta;"><i><b>Must be love on the brain, yeah</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta;"><i><b>And it keeps cursing my name, cursing my name</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta;"><i><b>No matter what I do</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta;"><i><b>I'm no good without you</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta;"><i><b>And I can't get enough</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta;"><i><b>Must be love on the brain</b></i></span></div>
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Then you keep loving me</div>
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Just love me, yeah</div>
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Just love me</div>
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All you need to do is love me yeah</div>
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Got me like ah-ah-ah-ow</div>
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I'm tired of being played like a violin</div>
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What do I gotta do to get in your motherfuckin' heart?</div>
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ENDS</div>
<br />On the gay or bisexual side the same relationship abuse also occurred, by observation over the years it gets pretty peculiar when there is a bisexual man involved who is paranoid downlow and who may be married struggling with his sexual orientation, the partner is expected to keep the secret in order to keep up appearances elsewhere but when he needs some ass the consent! Because you’re mine slips in. Such men tend to take on less physically powered men that can be controlled and the point of least resistance is advantageous. In a previous post I looked at the legal implications in terms of reports to the police when it’s male lovers in an abusive setting; lesbians might have a better customer service experience literally in the precinct as opposed to one male accusing another; then there is the buggery law issue, the report non-consent involving anal penetration technically can land the accused or even the receptive partner depending on the details with a buggery charge or grievous sexual assault. Referrals to the requisite expert is one thing but what about the perpetrator; not many victims are willing to go all the way to a court case given the fear or exposure, retaliation and a sentencing that effectively re-victimized them all over again. The police engagement by way of reporting may only be limited to physical abuse or intimate partner violence without the sexual component which may be hard to do. The best solution is to try and leave the environment but barring any specific legislation for same gender couples especially men that may make the victim immune to a charge of buggery while going after the assault options are limited.<br /><br />Peace & tolerance<br /><br />H<br /><br />also see:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2016/11/when-power-differentials-of-car.html">When power differentials (of a car) attracts homophobia</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2015/11/living-dating-gay-bi-peter-pan-types.html">Living & dating gay & bi Peter Pan types</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2015/10/ugh-that-gay-thug-hustlers-entitlement.html">Ugh! That gay thug hustlers entitlement problem again!</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2016/11/dont-get-mad-if-your-top-got-fck.html">Don’t get mad if your ‘TOP’ got f@cK#*</a></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17155799011043584557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post-59421959842831684572017-04-11T14:56:00.000-05:002017-04-19T13:26:55.349-05:00Bermuda Supreme Court expected to rule on SAME SEX MARRIAGE in April ............<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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The latest update has come via the <a href="https://www.change.org/p/the-bermuda-government-legalize-same-sex-marriage-and-implement-complete-and-full-human-rights-for-all-bermuda-citizens-visitors/u/19982825?utm_medium=email&utm_source=56928&utm_campaign=petition_update&sfmc_tk=HJ%2biqGzvFVfpmJC8OoUMGlf2giZTKsSlq3f%2bWHvhPOjeQoJ1myeYAkzmlCFyQALZ">petition site</a> supporting this thrust. We understand that Supreme Court Justice Charles Etta-Simmons will rule on the recent court case where a Bermudian male is seeking to marry a Canadian male in Bermuda. The decision is scheduled on or before April 14th we understand.<br /><br />We are hopeful for a positive outcome and that equality will be the winner.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">You may recall in previous posts how the case came to be in <a href="http://glbtqjamaica.blogspot.com/2016/11/gay-marriage-court-case-in-bermuda.html">2016.</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The challenge read in part:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #e06666;">Same-sex couples want to marry for all the same reasons as their opposite-sex counterparts.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #e06666;">These reasons include: for legal security, to publicly celebrate their commitment, to provide greater legal protection for their children, or simply because they are in love.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">FIRST, we will look at the benefits that flow to same-sex couples who marry. This is followed by the wider social benefits that come from removing discrimination from the Marriage Act and ensuring equality for same-sex couples.</span></div>
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SECOND, married partners have immediate access to all relationship entitlements, protections and responsibilities.</div>
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This contrasts to de facto couples who must live together for a certain period before they are deemed to have legal rights.</div>
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A marriage certificate also allows married partners to easily prove their legal rights if challenged, for example in emergency situations. The capacity to quickly and easily prove one’s relationship status is particularly important for same-sex partners because prejudice against same-sex relationships can mean legal rights are denied.</div>
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THIRD, allowing same-sex couples to be included in such a universal and valued institution as marriage will provide them and their families with real social and cultural benefits.</div>
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Landmark research led by Lee Badgett, Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts, describes and quantifies some of these benefits in two different places that have allowed same-sex marriages for several years, the Netherlands and Massachusetts.</span></div>
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[ii] Badgett found that same-sex partners overwhelmingly,</div>
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• felt marriage had increased their commitment and their sense of responsibility, and had generally strengthened their relationships</div>
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• believed their children were better off after their marriage, chiefly through legal protection for those children and enhanced feelings of security, stability and acceptance in the children, and</div>
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• felt participation and acceptance in their extended families and communities had increased because of their marriage</div>
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Her conclusion was that,</div>
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“Overall, the experiences of same-sex couples in two countries, the United States and the Netherlands, suggests that same-sex couples and their families are strengthened by a policy of marriage equality for same-sex couples.”</div>
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There is also a growing body of research showing that married partners, including same-sex married partners, are, on average, healthier, happier and longer lived, than their cohabiting peers, or singles. According to the US Centre for Disease Control, even rates of heart disease, drug use and stress are lower among married partners.</div>
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References:</div>
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[ii] Badgett, M.V., N. Goldberg and C. Ramos, The Effects of Marriage Equality in Massachusetts: A survey of the experiences and impact of marriage on same-sex couples. UCLA School of Law, 2009. Also, When Gay People Get Married: What Happens When Societies Legalize Same-Sex Marriage. New York University Press, 2009.</div>
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FOUR, Bermuda's ban on same-sex marriage doesn’t only disadvantage those same-sex partners who seek to marry.</div>
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It disadvantages all same-sex attracted Bermudians, including those who are not in a relationship, or who would not marry, even if they could.</div>
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It does this by treating them as legally unequal to their heterosexual counterparts, and by not allowing them the same life choices.</div>
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Governments restrictions on who gay and lesbian Bermudians can marry violates their fundamental human rights in the same way the rights of Aboriginal Australians of African Americans were once violated by laws which prevented from marrying who they wished.</div>
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The association between the equality in marriage and freedom from second-class status is well understood in the context of the struggle for the civil rights of people of color.</div>
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In 1958, in the midst of the struggle for black civil rights in America, Martin Luther King Jr declared,</div>
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“When any society says that I cannot marry a certain person, that society has cut off a segment of my freedom.” </div>
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[iii] Consider all the other groups in society, along with people of color and same-sex attracted people, who at one time or another have been denied the right to marry the partner of their choice: women, people from differing faiths, people with disabilities.</div>
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What they all have in common is that they have been regarded as too immature or irresponsible to make what is arguably the most important decision any individual can ever make, the choice of a life-long partner.</div>
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In the same vein, the gradual acceptance that members of these groups are fully adult, fully citizens and fully human, has been accompanied by an acceptance of their right to marry whomever they wished.</div>
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References:</div>
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[iii] King (Jr), M. L., Carson, C., Luker, R., and Russell, P. A., (2000) The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr: Symbol of the movement, January 1957, University of California Press, Berkeley. Page 436.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Keeping our fingers crossed</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Peace & tolerance</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17155799011043584557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post-65424198604582400182017-04-09T10:00:00.000-05:002017-04-09T10:00:09.666-05:00Amnon rapes Tamar ....<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
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<br />In this year’s series of Sexual Assault Awareness Month let us continue to look at the matter of abuse of women mostly as shown in the bible. There are some texts known as ‘texts of terror’ that are sometimes rarely used in the liturgy as they are too controversial save and except Genesis 19 and the Sodom Story or Apostle Paul’s condemnation of male and female homosexuality. Given recent events of pastors accused and found guilty of sexual assault and internationally the whole ugly mess of clerical abuse the timing of this could not have been more opportune. First let us take a look at excerpts of the text in question from 2 Samuel 13 into 14:</span><div>
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<i><b><span style="color: magenta;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;">And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/2">2</a> And Amnon was so vexed, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin; and Amnon thought it hard for him to do any thing to her.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/3">3</a> But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother: and Jonadab was a very subtil man.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/4">4</a> And he said unto him, Why art thou, being the king’s son, lean from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/5">5</a> And Jonadab said unto him, Lay thee down on thy bed, and make thyself sick: and when thy father cometh to see thee, say unto him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come, and give me meat, and dress the meat in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it at her hand.<br /><br /><a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/6">6</a> So Amnon lay down, and made himself sick: and when the king was come to see him, Amnon said unto the king, I pray thee, let Tamar my sister come, and make me a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat at her hand.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/7">7</a> Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go now to thy brother Amnon’s house, and dress him meat.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/8">8</a> So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house; and he was laid down. And she took flour, and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and did bake the cakes.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/9">9</a> And she took a pan, and poured them out before him; but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Have out all men from me. And they went out every man from him.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/10">10</a> And Amnon said unto Tamar, Bring the meat into the chamber, that I may eat of thine hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/11">11</a> And when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold of her, and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/12">12</a> And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel: do not thou this folly.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/13">13</a> And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/14">14</a> Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her.<br /><br /><a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/15">15</a> Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/16">16</a> And she said unto him, There is no cause: this evil in sending me away is greater than the other that thou didst unto me. But he would not hearken unto her.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/17">17</a> Then he called his servant that ministered unto him, and said, Put now this woman out from me, and bolt the door after her.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/18">18</a> And she had a garment of divers colours upon her: for with such robes were the king’s daughters that were virgins apparelled. Then his servant brought her out, and bolted the door after her.<br /><br /><a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/19">19</a> And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colours that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on crying.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/20">20</a> And Absalom her brother said unto her, Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee? but hold now thy peace, my sister: he is thy brother; regard not this thing. So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom’s house.<br /><br /><a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/21">21</a> But when king David heard of all these things, he was very wroth.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/22">22</a> And Absalom spake unto his brother Amnon neither good nor bad: for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.<br /><br /><a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/23">23</a> And it came to pass after two full years, that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baal- hazor, which is beside Ephraim: and Absalom invited all the king’s sons.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/24">24</a> And Absalom came to the king, and said, Behold now, thy servant hath sheepshearers; let the king, I beseech thee, and his servants go with thy servant.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/25">25</a> And the king said to Absalom, Nay, my son, let us not all now go, lest we be chargeable unto thee. And he pressed him: howbeit he would not go, but blessed him.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/26">26</a> Then said Absalom, If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said unto him, Why should he go with thee?<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/27">27</a> But Absalom pressed him, that he let Amnon and all the king’s sons go with him.<br /><br /><a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/28">28</a> Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon; then kill him, fear not: have not I commanded you? be courageous and be valiant.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/29">29</a> And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons arose, and every man gat him up upon his mule, and fled.<br /><br /><a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/30">30</a> And it came to pass, while they were in the way, that tidings came to David, saying, Absalom hath slain all the king’s sons, and there is not one of them left.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/31">31</a> Then the king arose, and tare his garments, and lay on the earth; and all his servants stood by with their clothes rent.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/32">32</a> And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother, answered and said, Let not my lord suppose that they have slain all the young men the king’s sons; for Amnon only is dead: for by the appointment of Absalom this hath been determined from the day that he forced his sister Tamar.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/33">33</a> Now therefore let not my lord the king take the thing to his heart, to think that all the king’s sons are dead: for Amnon only is dead.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/34">34</a> But Absalom fled. And the young man that kept the watch lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came much people by the way of the hill side behind him.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/35">35</a> And Jonadab said unto the king, Behold, the king’s sons come: as thy servant said, so it is.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/36">36</a> And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of speaking, that, behold, the king’s sons came, and lifted up their voice and wept: and the king also and all his servants wept very sore.<br /><br /><a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/37">37</a> But Absalom fled, and went to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/38">38</a> So Absalom fled, and went to Geshur, and was there three years.<a href="https://mybible.com/bibles/kjv/books/2sa/chapters/13/verses/39">39</a> And the soul of king David longed to go forth unto Absalom: for he was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.</span></span></b></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The scheming issue is the main theme let alone incest and when compared to present day gang rape phenomenon but to think Amnon plotted to rape his own sister and the entitlement phenomenon in Hebrew culture and is very much alive today. Tamar is lured into a well crafted plot when Amnon portrays himself to be sick and it is in Tamar’s visit the abuse is exacted in cahoots with Jonadab his cousin. Interestingly Amnon sent out the servants deliberately so he could be alone with the victim. Then the business of victim blaming, ostracism and Amnon refers to her after the fact as ‘the woman’ even as she wore the traditional ashes on her face as is customary for women who lost their virginity whilst ditching the virginal veil. <br /><br />The matter was reported to David Tamar’s father although getting angry but he did nothing but then again he too had his own case to contend with Bathsheeba where he David had her and then arranged to have her husband killed. Bring it to present reality death threats are a tool to control abused persons or even exacted; a certain sexual slavery case here in Jamaica comes to mind where a teen was living in a house under duress. Then there is the business of the cover up or victim blaming comes into play similarly to present day challenges, women or abused persons are forced into silence or psychologically intimidated at the behest of the abuser, they are told to keep it quiet as in this case Tamar’s own brother Absalom when he learnt of the matter told her not to say a thing; he did eventually had Amnon murdered but what a gruesome way to end it. The recently concluded matter of the Pentecostal pastor who was taken to court after he was accused of raping a young girl with the girl’s brother as the eyewitness, the brother reported the abuse to the mother and she in turn did the right thing and had the man arrested, he got twenty years for the crime yet the mother of the children who was a member of the church has been blasted by other congregants that she is wicked and should have left it alone. The silence in the church is telling and the selectivity on issues is clear, since the recent back to back abuse matters involving pastors is glossed over or placed in a generalised context. Marches and public protests on gender based violence are admirable yet hypocritical, hardly any discourse at least publicly comes forth on a call to seek, find (not to abuse but public shame) and move towards some healing; there seems to be hardly any genuine and truthful introspection as it is just to embarrassing and the fear is the church will lose face when they already have by their self inflicted wounds hence control of people’s lives as the sex police, yet at this time when such policing is needed they dance around same. <br /><br />The mother has since had to relocate and find another church community just to get some peace. She was reported to have said that she was actually threatened by persons who were supposed to be Christians yet when pastors are found wanting they defend their privilege. The justification of the attack on the mother is that she has brought disgrace to the church and that the pastor is ‘lean’ no matter as if he is sinless. It is as if we are seeing a continuation of the aforementioned issues in present realities in gender based violence, incest, misuse power and many pastors do not touch such biblical texts as it diminishes the ‘fire’ element of the liturgy, similarly to the Lot & Sodom and Gomorrah story where the frame of reference ends with the destruction of the city supposedly for homosexuality yet the preachers hardly ever seem to go further about the incest allegedly blamed on his two daughters who took turns in ‘raping’ him and both got pregnant even as he was said to be drunk when it happened; evidently he was not too drunk to have an erection though only to be taken advantage by two young women being his own daughters.<br /><br />The usefulness of this and other such ‘texts of terror’ is that the business of abuse is as old as time itself and that male privilege is often wrapped up cultural practices but if it is healing that is the main thrust then truth will have to prevail. Theological avoidance is simply clear deception and such texts must be brought to the open much more that simply antigay condemnation given rise to power by often times misguided fanatical church folks and leaders, other more sensible folks need to also speak up and point out and report said abuses. Too many board members of churches know what is happening yet sweep them under the carpet so as to not upset the applecart or lose face.<br /><br />Peace & tolerance<br /><br />H</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">also see:<br /><a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2017/01/justified-underage-sexual-abuse-in-lieu.html">Justified underage sexual abuse in lieu of homosexual sex!</a><br /><br /><a href="http://glbtqjamaica.blogspot.com/2017/03/on-pastoral-abuse-celibacy-cover-ups.html">On pastoral abuse, celibacy, cover-ups & passing the buck</a></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17155799011043584557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post-7627563496630317802017-04-08T13:31:00.000-05:002017-04-10T14:24:05.450-05:00Melissa Etheridge for Peter Tosh's 'Legalize It' Remake<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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Long before it was relatively comfortable for entertainers to come out as gay or lesbian there were only a few who were able to ride the waves at the time, especially in the 1980s. Celebrities such as </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Boy George, George Michael, Elton John, Sylvester (long before Rupaul) and Melissa Etheridge helped to open the door, alonside Carl 'Born This Way' Bean with the Pet SHop Boys and do not leave out Sinead Oconnor the imagery alone of Boy George left the impression of many ignorant Jamaicans that were gay men were just persons wanting to be women without understanding androgyny and sexual orientation matters then came folks such as </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Angelique Kidjo, Tracy Chapman, KD 'Constant Craving' Lang and much later our very own Diana King or Frankie Ocean. A <a href="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/entertainment/20170402/big-names-onboard-legalize-it-remake-part-celebrating-intl-peter-tosh">media report recently</a> stated that Melissa Ethridge was confirmed for the upcoming Peter Tosh event and unfortunately I won’t be able to make it, darned I have to club to be at.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and activist. Her self-titled debut album Melissa Etheridge was released in 1988 and became an underground success. The album peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard 200, and its lead single, "Bring Me Some Water", garnered Etheridge her first Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female. In 1993, Etheridge won her first Grammy award for her single "Ain't It Heavy" from her third album, Never Enough. Later that year, she released what would become her mainstream breakthrough album, Yes I Am. Its tracks "I'm the Only One" and "Come to My Window" both reached the top 30 in the United States, and the latter earned Etheridge her second Grammy award. Yes I Am peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard 200, and spent 138 weeks on the chart, earning a RIAA certification of 6x Platinum, her largest to date.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In October 2004, Etheridge was diagnosed with breast cancer, and underwent surgery and chemotherapy. At the 2005 Grammy Awards, she made a return to the stage and, although bald from chemotherapy, performed a tribute to Janis Joplin with the song "Piece of My Heart". Etheridge's performance was widely lauded, with India.Arie writing "I Am Not My Hair" about Etheridge. Later that year, Etheridge released her first compilation album, Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled. The album was a success, peaking at No. 14 on the Billboard 200, and going Gold almost immediately. Her latest studio album is This Is M.E..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It was just over 40 years ago, in 1976, that Peter Tosh released his classic hit song Legalize It from the album of the same name. The song was written by Tosh as a response to his ongoing victimisation by the Jamaican police, but it was also a political statement pushing for the legalisation of marijuana. In ganja's pre-emancipation era, Legalize It became a unifying anthem that brought like-minded exponents of the herb together from diverse countries and cultures.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In recent years, the perception of marijuana has changed radically, with many jurisdictions now making allowances for research as well as for recreational and medicinal use of the herb. This year, to celebrate International Peter Tosh Day on April 20, the Peter Tosh Estate is releasing a 2017 remix of this powerful and prophetic canticle, which was from the first album Tosh released after leaving the Wailers.</span></div>
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The remix project will take the form of a collaboration among several artistes from various genres. Those confirmed so far are Melissa Etheridge, Angelo Moore of Fishbone, Tommy Chong, Denroy Morgan, Wanz, Septimius, Brett from Roots of Creation, Marlon the Ganja Farmer, Dre Tosh, and Tosh 1. Additional artistes are being invited to participate, especially those from Jamaica who share Tosh's vision of the utilisation of marijuana free from all forms of hostilities.</div>
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Chris 'C Rod' Rodriguez is producing the initial version, and there will be alternative versions remixed by other guest producers at a later date.</div>
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The Peter Tosh Estate told The Sunday Gleaner that with the legalisation movement finally gaining traction both in Jamaica and abroad, now seemed like the perfect time to bring together some of today's biggest talent and supporters to put their own spin on this timeless classic.</div>
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"Tosh fans and music lovers have come to realise that Peter's bold stance was one of the first real calls to action for the legalisation of ganja," Brian Latture, manager of the Peter Tosh Estate and Peter Tosh 420, said. "And with Peter's dream now becoming a reality in many parts of the world, he has continued to be seen as one of the first real champions of this movement."</div>
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<br />Her biggest hit “Come to My Window” with that haunting husky vocals is what I suspect everyone wants to hear among other hits from the ‘Road Less Travelled’ album, a recent show involving a popular lesbian rapper went off with very little hitch as comments suggest her sexuality was of least concern as she was seen a good at her rap but one wonders if we will ever see such acceptance as it were of an openly gay singer anytime soon. I can remember the uproar that occurred when the then Jazz Festival folks booked The Village People and antigay fearmongering fanatics namely one Shirley Richards of the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship opposed it to the hilt, the group was eventually removed from the bill, years later the same nonsense came up again when Elthon John was booked and he too was removed from the marquee. It was as if just the mere presence on stage was enough to supposedly homosexualise those in sight of the gay stars.<br /><br />I hope they make some videos of the performance of Miss Ethridge for us to enjoy in the meantime here is the big song. Meanwhile Melissa Ethridge has been a supporter of the weed for years for medical use as she stated on a CNN interview:</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17155799011043584557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post-52818720758423134312017-04-07T14:01:00.002-05:002017-04-07T14:01:22.306-05:00Trans activist wants to legally change status .........<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sPbY0NsHFR4/WOffoQ87lDI/AAAAAAAAP1w/XL05NKJrqiY-O1lfqvCKmUa-MOVmNz6kgCLcB/s1600/Neish2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sPbY0NsHFR4/WOffoQ87lDI/AAAAAAAAP1w/XL05NKJrqiY-O1lfqvCKmUa-MOVmNz6kgCLcB/s1600/Neish2016.jpg" /></a></div>
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Neish McLean, a Jamaican, who was born a woman but now identifies as a man, wants the Government to allow transgender persons to change the gender on their legal documents to match the one they have identified with.<br /><br />McLean, executive director of the transgender organisation, Transwave, wanted to be deemed a man despite being born with female genitalia.<br /><br />McLean told THE WEEKEND STAR that it is imperative that transgender individuals be given this opportunity to reduce the likelihood of them being exposed to violence.<br /><br />Violence and discrimination<br /><br />"I wish to navigate the world as I see myself, so if my ID does not match as I see myself, then that exposes me to violence and discrimination," McLean said. "For example, going through the airport, that can expose people of tran-experience with undue scrutiny and discrimination and when receiving services at different spaces because my ID is reflecting who I say I am."<br /><br />McLean competed at the Sagicor Sigma Corporate Run in February as a male.<br /><br />"I didn't identify with the gender I was assigned to. I just didn't feel as if I fit in. I didn't know how to term it," McLean said. "It is not a matter of changing, it's just a matter of internal feeling. I just felt fully accepted into my adulthood and felt comfortable expressing my gender as I do."<br /><br />Identifying myself<br /><br />Now 32, McLean told THE WEEKEND STAR that feelings about gender have never been an issue.<br /><br />"I was never afraid to share how I felt with my family. It was really more a matter of me accepting who I was and who I was comfortable being. For my family, it is more so of my safety that they were more concerned about than my gender identity," McLean said.<br /><br />McLean said that apart from wearing a tunic to school, pants and shorts were the preference.<br /><br />"I didn't grow up in an environment that was very strict in terms of me identifying myself as a girl. My gender wasn't policed. It was a few years back when I actually told them that I wanted to be identified as a man. They are not very expressive, so I don't know how they are truly feeling," he said.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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McLean said Transwave is currently arming itself with the necessary information to place a solid argument before the Government.<br /><br />McLean also said the group has had discussions about engaging medical professionals to provide a framework for transgenders to undergo medical transitions in Jamaica.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Outside of the Star News report older folks such as Laura Garcia of Aphrodite's PRIDE Jamaica already got her identity papers after much fight and trips to the Registrar General's Department RGD in order to change her birth papers and by extension her driver's license. The RGD has always had a reputation of Pentecostal</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"> nepotism in hiring staff so gender non-conforming persons with sometimes harsh transphobic language in the customer service experience was a problem. I hope the younger folks engage well experienced folks and resources to good use.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17155799011043584557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post-81139074826915699882017-04-03T14:03:00.003-05:002017-04-03T14:03:57.755-05:00Sexual Assault Awareness Month 2017.............<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month on this and sister blog <a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2017/02/clerical-abuse-ugliness-revealed-as.html">Gay Jamaica Watch</a>, after hearing a touching in depth interview on RJR's Beyond the Headlines with host Dionne Jackson Miller with a local survivor of abuse by her grandfather she named her blog and for the first post this year I decided to share her work. She, <a href="https://journey2free.com/about/">Larissa Rhone</a> spoke candidly of her ordeal from early as three years old and then the court system here in seeking redress to include stigmatizing comments from the attorney representing the now 80 plus year old accused right in the very court hallway. </span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Thankfully our jurisdiction has no statute of limitations so the matter could be brought forward. All this happening as other men on the cloth are being found out and exposed and even when accused are found guilty those who have done the right thing they are vilified for doing just that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Miss Rhone wrote also:</span></div>
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I’m from a tiny little island in the Caribbean name Jamaica. I’m a mother of two and the eldest of six. For years I tried to make sense of the cards in which I was dealt in my life. I found ways in which to cope. I focused on everyone around me, became a Ms. Fix it for all, as a way to deflect from what I needed to address. In my personal life, I did whatever was necessary to run away from my thoughts, I worked, school, participated in church and other social events, attended my siblings events, anything to avoid being alone with ME. I would face one set back after the other. My health was declining, but I never cared to stop, I had to keep moving. Then my siblings started leaving, having their own life’s. I tried countless hobbies, was never dedicated or disciplined enough to finish or half way complete anything I started. Just a few years ago I decided to retreat, I felt myself slipping into a state of depression. I needed to figure out the meaning of it all, what my purpose was?! I soon realized in order for me to do so I had to dig deep, I had to travel to some unpleasant places, journey to the corners of my mind and awaken things I had suppressed for years. I was slowly dying and I wasn’t doing much to help myself.</div>
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I started my autobiography, in fact, I decided to work on my memoirs simultaneously which are still sitting on my night table. I got to about two chapters in each, and, yup, you guessed it, I deflected! Writing my story proved too challenging, I would have to revisit some ugly places, which mentally I wasn’t prepared. I knew however I loved writing, I dabbled in speech writing, poetry, writing for friends, don’t know if I was any good but hey, I wrote, until yup! I stopped that too…funny!</div>
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Why now?! It’s rather freaking scary going this route, because a lot of my blogs will be on a personal note, I know I’m going to be judged, ostracized, get the backlash, the rude and insensitive comments with others taking offense and personalizing my choice and actions, the assumptions and judgement will come, the unwanted or never asked for opinions, the critics will come out … BUT</div>
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As you know, its taboo to speak about Childhood Sexual Abuse (CSA). Family and society tells us, it would be better for us to take our issues to your grave. Silently die inside, that’s much better! Well, I can’t keep dying anymore! This much I have proven, God sustained me through it all! There is a reason, there is something bigger than me, a destiny I must fulfill. This blog serves as my therapy, my recovery! A blog about my journey to acknowledgment, acceptance, personal growth, self discovery and my personal freedom.</div>
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This is my choice, recording the accounts of MY LIFE which entails years of sexual abuse, living with a chronic disease, betrayal, mistrust, resentment, emotional torment and mental anguish. For years I struggled with acceptance and love! I’m beginning to realize the love and acceptance I sought was there, by the way of my very siblings I so deeply loved, a few relatives, friends, last but surely not least God! I’m walking blindly by faith, blinders on walking into that which he has prepared for me, that which I was destined to become.</div>
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Here is to the past, the present, the future me. I’m shedding the veil of anger, resentment and mistrust, slowly but surely discarding the blanket of unforgiveness I safely wrapped myself in for years, coyly de-robing, emerging from a cocoon of fear that debilitated me and eagerly and anxiously stepping into the Me that God intended for Me to be.</div>
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I’m on way, I’m journeying to free!!! Join me as I/we Journey2Free!</div>
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ENDS</div>
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More to come</div>
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also see:</div>
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<a href="http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2017/01/justified-underage-sexual-abuse-in-lieu.html">Justified underage sexual abuse in lieu of homosexual sex!</a></div>
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<a href="http://glbtqjamaica.blogspot.com/2017/03/on-pastoral-abuse-celibacy-cover-ups.html">On pastoral abuse, celibacy, cover-ups & passing the buck</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17155799011043584557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post-65286467834468624852017-04-03T12:10:00.000-05:002017-04-03T12:10:53.225-05:00Anthony Gambrill | Back Story ...............<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Well deserved comic relief in the madness around.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Some controversial subjects like Trafigura, the missing Cuba light bulbs, and the prime minister's Beverly Hills fortress just keep floating to the surface for a while and disappearing again - for a while.<br /><br />This phenomenon occurred again recently when Mark Connolly from the UN country team read out a recommendation to a parliamentary committee that Jamaica's Parliament should approve a redefinition of sexual intercourse to add penetration of the anus in order to fairly protect men and women against sexual violence. To remind readers, only a woman can be raped under Jamaican law. This offence carries a penalty of up to life imprisonment. Buggery, however, attracts a maximum of seven years' incarceration only.<br /><br />Here's the significance of this to our back story. On December 10, 2011, the president of the People's National Party, Mama P, in a pre-election political debate, promised to review the country's buggery law. This, I would suspect, raised the ire of the Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society and the Associated Gospel Assemblies. After the JLP was re-elected yet once again, Justice Minister Delroy Chuck said that there would be a review that would run for up to six months, "after which a report on the recommendations will be done". The issue apparently sank like a stone in the Blue Hole.<br /><br />I decided to revive it, fictitiously, with the Jamaica Labour Party, now that they were in power, in order to find out what progress, if any, had been made.<br /><br />AG: So, how far has Jamaica got to changing its 1864 buggery law?<br /><br />JLP: I can assure you it's under active investigation. As you can imagine, it raises a lot of questions.<br /><br />AG: You mean, you need a definition of anal penetration?<br /><br />JLP: No, no, I think most Jamaicans know where an anus is.<br /><br />AG: Then, a definition of a penis?<br /><br />JLP: Perhaps, but not usually described by that physiological term.<br /><br />AG: Yes, I understand. But how is your Government going to proceed?<br /><br />JLP: Please understand, all options are on the table.<br /><br />AG: Such as?<br /><br />JLP: Naturally, an independent government-led committee will have to be set up to do a review over, say, the next 12 months.<br /><br />AG: At the taxpayers' expense, no doubt.<br /><br />JLP: No doubt. And then its recommendations will need to be discussed and analysed by government ministers.<br /><br />AG: Which ministers? Justice, I presume ... .<br /><br />JLP: ... Gender, sports, national security, economic growth, etc., covering all cohorts, including the transgender.<br /><br />JLP: Trans what?<br /><br />AG: Never mind. You realise that you will be challenging the status quo.<br /><br />JLP: You've put your finger on it. That's why we will have to hire a consultant, maybe several.<br /><br />AG: More taxpayer expense.<br /><br />JLP: You know, a go-to man or woman. A multi-tasker with facilitating skills and sustainable solutions. It will require a paradigm shift in our society's traditional point of view.<br /><br />AG: You mean from front to back?<br /><br />JLP: Eh?<br /><br />AG: I'm joking. What then?<br /><br />JLP: Well, of course, its standard procedure to have a memorandum of understanding. We don't do anything in Jamaica without a memorandum of understanding.<br /><br />AG: Between whom?<br /><br />JLP: That will have to be decided later.<br /><br />AG: But you realise that most Jamaicans know same-sex couples have been cohabiting in Jamaican hotels for years. I would think some anal penetration has been taking place by mutual consent, but nobody has been arrested yet.<br /><br />JLP: (laughs nervously) As the English say, it's the exception that proves the rule.<br /><br />AG:Whatever that means. I only hope that gays take part in the conversation. They are the ones objecting to their loss of rights under present conditions.<br /><br />JLP: Inevitably.<br /><br />AG: You aren't just kicking the can down the road?<br /><br />JLP: Certainly not.<br /><br />AG: It's not going to be the same-old, same-old?<br /><br />JLP: We're expecting a win-win outcome.<br /><br />AG: Not just a string of platitudes? You're not going to just promote celibacy for gays? Maybe they should take orders in the Catholic Church ... although that might not work, come to think of it.<br /><br />JLP: Certainly not. By the next election we will have a road map. It will be our signature achievement.<br /><br />AG: Then we will be able to replace this back story with a front story, no doubt.<br /><br />- <a href="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/focus/20170402/anthony-gambrill-back-story">Anthony Gambrill</a> is a playwright</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17155799011043584557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8824889909772698315.post-81269552272262205032017-03-29T16:35:00.000-05:002017-04-10T16:36:05.611-05:00Replace bisexual with Bi+ to ‘include’ people who aren’t sexually attracted to men and women<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />The debate of sorts on effectively ditching Bi from the LGBT call letters to Bi+ or so on is on in earnest and now has reached the <a href="http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/03/28/students-replace-bisexual-with-bi-to-include-people-who-arent-sexually-attracted-to-men-and-women/">UK</a>.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">LGBT students have voted to replace the word bisexual with ‘Bi+’ and redefined bisexuality to be inclusive of people who aren’t sexually attracted to both men and women.<br /><br />The news comes from the National Union of Students’ LGBT Conference, which took place earlier this month.<br /><br />The conference passed a motion to rename its Bi caucus and Bi students’ rep and rewrite all documentation about bisexual people to instead refer to ‘Bi+’.<br /><br />The motion explains that “if a person experiences any form of attraction to more than one gender identity, they fall under the Bi+ umbrella”.<br /><br />Controversially, the new definition of ‘Bi+’ includes people who are not sexually attracted to both men and women – for instance, people who are attracted to women as well as non-binary people.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It specifies: “If a person experiences any form of attraction to more than one gender identity, they fall under the Bi+ umbrella.<br /><br />“A person does not have to experience all forms of attraction (sexual Romantic, sensual, aesthetic or platonic) towards multiple gender identities to still fall under the Bi+ umbrella.”<br /><br />On its Twitter account, the NUS LGBT+ Campaign – which doesn’t seem in a hurry to rename itself the NUS LGB+T+ campaign – confirmed: “Motion 406: Bye Bi, Welcome Bi+ has passed.”<br /><br />As Heat Street <a href="https://heatst.com/world/lgbt-activists-claim-bi-isnt-inclusive-enough-must-be-replaced-with-bi/">notes</a>, students at the LGBT conference also tabled a motion to rename the black students’ caucus to the QTIPOC caucus, because “the current definition of Black [is not] inclusive”. The new acronym apparently stands for “Queer Trans Intersex People of Colour”.<br /><br />Students claimed that “the use of the term ‘black’ as an umbrella can present itself as a barrier and a silencing mechanism, to the voices of ethnically black individuals within the student movement.”<br /><br />The motion was “sent to Black caucus following a procedural motion”, but the national students’ body has already started using the new acronym.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Elsewhere, students accepted a motion to ban the word ‘Poly’ as an abbreviation for Polyamory, because it apparently “erases the identities and struggles of Polynesians”. Students will use ‘Ply’ instead.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Changes are a coming folks so we better get ready for identities as we know it. The upcoming Bisexual US conference I am sure will also be looking at this more inclusion matter as some activists and allies are tired of just being relegated to being just allies and want more visibility. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The bisexual umbrella may have to be changed I guess, let us see.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Peace & tolerance</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17155799011043584557noreply@blogger.com0