Brazil's President backs same-sex unions

By Tony Grew

Gay couples exist and we must give them legal recognition, the President of Brazil said yesterday.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also questioned why some politicians oppose gay rights but still take gay people's taxes and votes.
The President said he is in favour of civil unions.
"We must stop this hypocrisy because we know they exist," he said in an interview with a TV station.
"There are men living with men, women living with women, and many times they live extraordinarily well.
"They build a life together, they work together and I am favourable."
The President, universally known as Lula, attacked opponents of gay rights.
"One thing that amazes me is why politicians who are against do not refuse their votes, why Brazil does not refuse their income tax.
"The important thing is for them to be Brazilian citizens, for them to be committed to the nation. I support the civil union."
He said that Congress was working on the issue.
Homosexuality has been legal in Brazil since 1823 and civil unions are allowed in some areas.
However, homophobia and gay-bashing remain significant problems in the country of 184 million people.
In June Lula became the first nation leader to launch a conference with the sole purpose of promoting gay equality, where he announced his support for gay rights, and stated he will "do all that is possible so that the criminalisation of homophobia and the civil union may be approved."
A proposal granting same-sex couples the same rights as married heterosexuals has stalled in Brazil's Congress for more than 10 years, prompting some states to take their own action.
Southern Rio Grande do Sul state has permitted same-sex civil unions since 2004, and a Sao Paulo state court allowed a gay couple to adopt a 5-year-old girl in late 2006.
Rio de Janerio grants the same benefits to the same-sex partners of state employees.
The country's Constitution refers to marriage as between a man and a woman, and marriage is a federal issue, though states may choose to recognise civil unions or other de facto same-sex relationships.
A series of court rulings have given gay and lesbian couples some rights in areas such as immigration, welfare, pensions and inheritance.

Never judge a man by his feet

The Western Mirror.................http://www.westernmirror.com/
by Dr. C. Watson MRCOG FACOG MBA DFFP

One day a lady went into a bar. As she sat down she saw this cowboy sitting across from her with his feet up. She was astonished at the size of his shoes, so she said to him, “Is it true what they say about men with big feet?” He replied, “don’t you want to find out?” She said yes and after getting to know each other better she invited him to spend the night with her at the hotel she was staying in.The next morning the cowboy woke to see the lady dressing. On the bedside table was an hundred dollars. Grinning he looked at her and said, “Now do you believe what they say about men with big feet?”She replied, “I don’t know, but please take that money and buy a pair of shoes that fit.”
There is a current debate about men and their “size”. We think it is time that Health Reflections shed some “light” to this debate. It has long been held by women and men of different cultures that a man’s shoe size has a direct relationship to his penile size. Because of this men with small feet sometimes find themselves the victims of jokes questioning their penile size while men with large feet are proudly presented as representing the well-endowed male. Maybe thankfully the real facts seldom come to light. What does happen is that this bit of folklore has become more firmly established as a fact in many people’s minds. It is true to say that many persons do not actually know what the average penile length is. Most men at some time in their life will question their adequacy. Because of this they may consider purchasing products that are advertised to increase penile size.

In fact there is no shortage of websites and magazine ads promoting these products. Sadly most approaches advertised do not work and use of these items can lead to even more frustration and some of the pills advertised can actually be quite dangerous. One study in California has shown that the average length of the erect penis is 5.1 inches and its girth is 4.7 inches. Another study also done in the United States revealed that only about 0.1% of men have an erect penile length of greater than 9 inches.Suffice it to say, the true measure of a man may be complex. It now seems however that researchers have finally gotten around to clarifying the relationship between penile length and shoe size. These researchers say they’ve come up with at least one way to make it easier to judge a man’s penile length. Forget what you might have heard about judging a man’s member by the size of his shoes and consider taking note of his index finger if you’re looking to hedge your bets.
Two British urologists measured the stretched penile length of 104 men and attempted to relate it to their shoe size. Despite the widespread myth, however, they found there was no significant correlation between the men’s shoe size and penile length. 

But just as one myth about men’s manhood is put to rest, another one may now take its place. A group of Greek researchers has found a link between penis length and another part of the body -- the index finger. Some women I was having a conversation with first brought this fact to my attention. They did not know about this research but one of them was convinced that her experience was that she could better judge a man’s penile length by the length of his fingers.Researchers measured various aspects of the genitalia of 52 healthy men under 40 and matched those measurements to other characteristics of the men, including their age, height, weight, body mass index, waist/hip ratio, and index finger length. The only measurements that were significantly related to each other were penile length and index finger length.

The longer the index finger was, the longer the penis was likely to be and vice versa. And for men who might be wondering how they measure up, the studies also calculated the average penile length among the participants. Both studies found the average stretched penile length was about 5 inches, give or take about an inch. So men next time you see your lady friends intently examining your hands, don’t be deceived into thinking they are merely examining those strong beautiful hands. They may just be trying to get a measure of the man you are.
If you know what I mean…


Dr. C. Watson MRCOG FACOG MBA DFFP is Medical Director and Director of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at MoBay Hope Medical Centre, which is located at the Half Moon Shopping Village, Rose Hall, Montego Bay. Dr. Watson also consults at the Montego Bay Hospital, Mt. Salem.

The Ups and Downs of Asylum Seeking - Gay asylum seeker detained in Cardiff

An Azerbaijani artist who is claiming asylum in the UK was detained yesterday at his weekly sign-in at the UK Border Agency Offices in Cardiff.
Babakhan Badalov (Babi), who is gay, arrived in the UK in 2006 claiming he was repressed and persecuted in his home country.
His appeal against the refusal of asylum was rejected at the end of July and has been in the process of filing a fresh claim with new evidence of the danger he would face back in Azerbaijan.
"Alarming new witness statements detailing Babi's history of violent persecution have also recently came tolight, which would allow him to make a very strong fresh claim for asylum," said the campaign group No Borders Wales.
Azerbaijan legalised homosexuality in 2000.
However, the Muslim country is still a very conservative society and homosexuality remains an extremely taboo subject.
The 49 year-old internationally-renowned poet and artist said his work got him into trouble with the law.
He was often critical of the government and members of the regime.
He claims his sexual orientation also caused him both physical and mental grief and he endured years of bullying.
Babi's family's denial of his sexual orientation even led to one of his brothers threatening to kill him as he had shamed the family.
After fleeing to the UK, Babi was detained in four different detention centres for thirty-two days before being moved to Cardiff.
He is currently being held at a police station and will likely be moved to a detention centre.
Friend and activist Hywel Bishop, who visited him at the police station, said:
"I've never seen anyone so scared. If Babi gets sent home he faces persecution from the state for his radical art, beatings from the local community, as well as the threat of honour killing from his family because they can't live with the fact that he's gay."

New guidelines suggest gay men should have annual HIV test (UK)

By Tony Grew

Sexually active gay men should be tested every 12 months, new guidelines on HIV testing have recommended.
The UK National Guidelines for HIV Testing 2008 aim to increase HIV testing in a wider range of healthcare settings and reduce late diagnosis.
Recent figures show that more than 30% of gay or bisexual men living with HIV do not know they are infected.
47% of HIV infected gay men who visit a sexual health clinic leave without being tested for HIV.
The new guidelines state that "HIV is now a treatable medical condition and the majority of those living with the virus remain fit and well on treatment."
Late diagnosis is the most important factor associated with HIV-related morbidity and mortality in the UK, and it recommends that patients be "offered and encouraged to accept" HIV testing in a wider range of settings.
Other recommendations include routine HIV tests for patients with specific indicator conditions and doctors, nurses and midwives being able to obtain informed consent for an HIV test in the same way that they currently do for any other medical investigation.
National AIDS Trust, the UK’s leading independent policy and campaigning charity on HIV and AIDS, produced a report earlier this year showing the symptoms of early-stage HIV infection are routinely being misdiagnosed by doctors.
It found that in one Brighton study, almost half of those who sought medical advice for what eventually turned out to be HIV symptoms were not diagnosed correctly.
Symptoms of early-stage HIV include sore throat, fever and rash and will show within two to six weeks of infection in 70-90 per cent of cases.
The report also found that 30-50 per cent of new HIV infections are thought to be passed on by people in the early stage of infection, making the need to catch new cases early in order to prevent the spread of HIV a priority.
Deborah Jack, Chief Executive of NAT, said:
"Today in the UK people still become seriously ill or die HIV because they have not been diagnosed with HIV early enough. And many may be putting partners at risk of infection as they can live undiagnosed for a number of years.
"The new guidelines are a welcome step forward in encouraging doctors and health workers to prioritise diagnosing HIV and increase testing.
"Healthcare workers must be knowledgeable about the signs and symptoms of HIV and be prepared to carry out an HIV test.
"Gay men have a crucial part to play in breaking down stigma around HIV testing. One in 20 gay men in the UK are living with HIV.
"We strongly support the recommendation that all sexually active gay men have an HIV test at least once a year."
The new guidelines were published by the British HIV Association (BHIVA), British Association of Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) and British Infection Society (BIS).

Hellooo

Obama "blessed with many openly gay and lesbian friends"

The Democratic nominee for President of the United States has said that if elected he will work for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans rights.

In a written response to questions from US gay newspaper Washington Blade, Barack Obama said "LGBT Americans deserve real change, and they deserve it now."
He reiterated his opposition the the Defence of Marriage Act (DOMA) which bars the federal government from recognising same-sex marriages, and said that the US Armed Forces should allow gay people to serve openly.
"I’m running for President to build an America that lives up to our founding promise of equality for all — a promise that certainly extends to the LGBT community," he wrote.
"I do envision a time when we all enjoy that promise, but we have to work hard to get there. LGBT Americans deserve real change, and they deserve it now.
"Certainly as a nation we can all agree that discrimination has no place in our America.
"Same-sex couples face legal discrimination every day — that we can, and must, end — by repealing DOMA, providing federal rights and responsibilities to same-sex families, and supporting LGBT parents, to start.

"And we need to remember that it’s not just couples that need protection — we need to pass long overdue legislation that ends employment discrimination, enhances hate crimes protections, and repeals 'Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.'"
However, the candidate did not answer a question on organisations such as the Boy Scouts barring gay people and another that got to the heart of his stance on gay marriage:
"If the full repeal of DOMA forces all states to recognise same-sex marriages passed by just a few states, aren't you, in effect, supporting same-sex marriage in the United States?"
Senator Obama does not support gay marriage.
"I support the notion that all people — gay or straight — deserve the same rights and responsibilities to assist their loved ones in times of emergency, deserve equal health insurance and other employment benefits currently extended to heterosexual married couples, and deserve the same property rights as anyone else," he wrote.
"If elected, I would call on Congress to enact legislation that would repeal DOMA and ensure that the over 1,100 federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally recognised unions."
On a more personal note, the 47-year-old, who faces Republican Senator John McCain in November's Presidential election, spoke about he and his wife's gay, lesbian and trans friends.
"Michelle and I have been blessed with many openly gay and lesbian friends and colleagues whom we have been close to for many years," he wrote.
"While that fact has made the issue facing the LGBT community more personal, the fundamental reasons I have for supporting equality are greater than any individual.
"I am running for President because I believe that we as a nation need change. We need to end the divisive politics of George W Bush and pursue policies that treat all of us, regardless of identity or background, with dignity, equality and respect."
Senator Obama said that one of his professors at college helped him to understand the concerns of the LGBT community.
"He was the first openly gay professor that I had ever come in contact with, or openly gay person of authority that I had come in contact with," he wrote.
"And he was just a terrific guy. His comfort in his own skin and the friendship we developed helped to educate me on a number of these issues."
Senator McCain opposes gay adoption and has said of marriage:
"Union - a union between a man and a woman, between one man and one woman. That's my definition of marriage."
He does not back a constitutional amendment on the matter.
However, during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in May he told the host, who was about to marry her girlfriend Portia De Rossi:
"I think that people should be able to enter into legal arrangements.
"I think that is something we should encourage, particularly in the case of insurance and other areas, decisions that have to be made.
"I just believe in the unique status between man and woman, and I know that we have a respectful disagreement on that issue."

Click here to read the full Barack Obama Q&A.

So Movado/Mavado has joined the murder music line....

Artist: Movado or Mavado
Song: Dem A Fag (THEY ARE GAYS/FAGS)

Chat dem a chat like gal, hey! scatta! i warn to dem!
Hey! mi nuh tust dem! rifle shot a buss dem!di bwoy dem a fag! (fag!) dem a fag! (fag!)
A battyman alone nuh waan know god
Mi see seh dem a fag! (fag!) dem a fag! (fag!)
Well bleached out and full a tattoo like drag
Di bwoy dem a fag! (fag!) dem a fag! (fag!)
A battyman alone nuh waan know god

Mi see seh dem a fag! (fag!) dem a fag! (fag!)
Well bleached out and full a tattoo like draghey hey! see deh!
Him mek him fren dem press press him like button
See deh! nuh rifle shot a chop chop him like button
See deh! mi keep my gun mi smif and wesson neva heavy
See deh! why yuh a chase like gal scatta wah tek dat freak deh? !
45 shot scatter, cau di xxxxx dem a trace like macker
Curl up inna yuh gal like dagger, see, gi di bumbohole copper!cau dem a fag! (fag!) dem a fag! (fag!)

Mek dem know, a battyman nuh waan know god
Cau di bwoy dem a fag! (fag!) dem a fag! (fag!)
Bleached out face, tattoo dem neck like drag
Di bwoy dem a fag! (fag!) dem a fag! (fag!)
Mi realize seh dem a big gun gab
Yo di bwoy dem a fag! (dem a fag!) dem a fag! (dem a fag!)
Hey wait deh wait deh wait deh wait deh wait deh wait deh wait deh!a him nuh waan know god and god nuh waan know him

Righteous way inna life him muma neva show him
A bare sodemite and battyman a seh dem know him
A him a blow di gal before mek di gal blow him
Ever him tell man carry gun
But my gun dem organized and centralized just like di calico
A nuh threat fi go borrow gun
Check di gully side which part mi live

Mi cousin cross fi come and borrow gunbad! (bad!) dem nuh bad! (dem nuh bad!)
Mi know di pussyhole him a fag
Di bwoy dem a fag! (dem a fag!) dem a fag! (dem a fag!)
Scatta! at last bwoy dem nuh waan know god
Di bwoy dem a fag! (dem a fag!) dem a fag!
Send fi gun cau dem a big gun bag
Because dem a fag! (dem a fag!) dem a fag! (dem a fag!)
Hey yuh nah hear mi scatta!

(SIMPLY PUT IN ENGLISH GAY MEN ARE TO BE KILLED, BY THE GUN)

Gay man refuses deportation to Uganda

A gay Ugandan man has refused to board his flight back to his country of origin.
John “Bosco” Nyombi, 38, was due to be deported back to Uganda, where he fears he will be persecuted on the grounds of his sexuality.
Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda, and gays caught by the police can face a life sentence in prison.
Mr Nyombi, who has been employed in the UK as a mental health worker since 2002, refused to get on his plane at Gatwick Airport at 6.40am yesterday and remains with immigration services.
A group of his supporters had gathered at Gatwick to protest at his deportation.
Neil Pugmire, a spokesman from the Diocese of Portsmouth, told The Daily Echo:
“We received a telephone call from John on a landline in Gatwick Airport telling me he had refused to get on the plane and that they had accepted that decision.
“He’s still being held at Gatwick Airport. I imagine that the immigration services are looking for a detention centre that they can take him to.
“That, we hope, will buy us some time for his solicitor to take some legal action; an injunction or a judicial review.”

Whilst Mr Nyombi’s case goes on, anti-gay campaigns in Uganda continue to gather momentum.
Over the weekend, the Great Marriage Celebration organised by the National Association for Marriage Enhancement (NAME) took place at Nakivubo Stadium.
The event was held in conjunction with the National Fellowship of Born Again Pentecostal Churches (NFBAPC).
Overseer of NFBAPC Alex Mitala presented an award to Dr Martin Ssempa, a pastor at Makerere Community Church, for his “fight against homosexuality.”
Mr Mitala then spoke to the crowd of 26,000, stating that homosexuality was wrong and would lead to the extinction of the human race.

Bishop Michael Mugerwa, who organised the celebration, urged heterosexual married couples to continue in campaigning against homosexuality.

How to Break Up Gracefully (Lesbian Point of View)

By Denise Mann of WebMD
(Click Post Title for direct link)
courtesy of lesbian dating's blog

There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but some are better than others. Learn the dos and don'ts of ending a romantic relationship.It's not you, it's me…or is it?Just about all of us have heard—or even said—this line as a way of ending a romantic relationship. The problem is that it often leaves the dumpee thinking the exact opposite.But is there really a way to make a clean and honest break? Is it ever okay to lie when ending a romantic relationship? Can you IM her that it's over, or do you have to do it in person? Is it really possible to be friends with your ex after a breakup?

WebMD went to the experts to get the best breakup advice ever. Read this before you even think of uttering another clichéd breakup line or texting the bad news to your soon-to-be ex.All Relationships Are Not Created Equal"The nature of how to handle a breakup has to do with how you experience a relationship," says New York City-based psychoanalyst and psychotherapist Janice Lieberman, PhD, who specializes in relationship issues.For starters, she says, not every relationship deserves a dramatic breakup. There are no hard and fast rules about what constitutes a relationship. "There are people who think they have a relationship with two dates and people who don't think they are in a relationship after 20 dates," she says. "If you have gone on one or two or three dates, not calling is breaking up, but after some kind of romantic and sexual encounters, it is a courtesy to call,"

Lieberman tells WebMD.
"Sometimes it's easier not to call, and there are people who will just run away."The explosion of Internet dating has also muddied the waters in terms of when an actual breakup is necessary, she says."People have Internet relations for a long time and then elevate to phone calls. Sometimes it takes a long time for a face-to-face encounter. This can be problematic because people get very involved with each other, and then when they finally meet, there are so many other cues that indicate they're not suited for one another," she says.The warning signs that a breakup is imminent have also changed thanks to Internet dating, Lieberman says."People will go out with someone they met on Jdate.com or Match.com, and then you can see if they are surfing the Net and looking for someone else," she says.

This is far less subtle than, say, acting cold on a date or not calling when you said you would.Don't Break Up Over E-mailThe tabloids widely reported that pop star Britney Spears broke up with her now-ex-husband Kevin Federline via a text message. But text messages, e-mails or other high-tech message delivery systems are not the best medium for ending a romantic relationship.Social networking sites, including MySpace and Facebook, allow users to post comments on one another's pages, but they should never be used to end a romantic relationship. Nor should websites like Breakup Butler, which delivers several types of prerecorded breakup messages ranging from let-them-down-easy to downright mean."If it's a casual encounter, a text message is okay. But to my mind, it's better to call and speak or go out to dinner," Lieberman says."The news of a breakup should never be broken over text or e-mail," says Alison Arnold, PhD, a therapist in Phoenix who is also known as "Doc Ali," the life coach on the VH1 series Scott Baio Is 45…and Single. "Texting a breakup is the coward's way out," she says.Stick to the Relationship Facts"Face-to-face or phone contact is a must," Arnold says. "It's important to give the person with whom you are ending the relationship the chance to ask questions and feel the sentiment underneath the words."Be as direct and honest as you can, she advises. "Don't engage in tit-for-tat arguments. Stick to the facts: 'It's not working, it's no one's fault, we need to make a change.'"Can You Be Friends with Your Ex?Whether two people can remain friends after a breakup depends on the two people and their feelings about the end of the relationship."If someone is very much in love—and [then] broken up with—and forever trying to get back with that person, then having a platonic relationship does not work," Lieberman says. "If you are still in love with the person and want them back, the best thing to do is go cold turkey."While many a jilted lover claims to seek closure by going back just one more time after a breakup, such closure is a "fantasy or a hope,"

Lieberman says."If in your heart of hearts you really want to get back together, the best thing to do if the other person is not into it is to get out of it," she says.Arnold agrees. "Do take at least eight weeks with no contact. No phone. No 'let's get together for coffee.' No nothing," she says. "You need time to detox and get in touch with yourself again."Talking every day as "friends" is also a no-no. "That just keeps the wounds and hope open and working," Arnold says. "Don't keep calling to 'check in,' hear how his or her day was or if the dog ate his dinner. Cut the cord in all ways."Another no-no? Breakup sex, she says.Prescription for Healing After the Relationship Ends"Do learn from each relationship," Arnold says. "Write down five things you appreciated about this relationship that you would like to have in the next one and five things you would not like to create next time."Instead of stalking your ex or making up excuses to call or see him or her, "keep yourself busy with new activities, old friends and healthy distractions," Arnold says."Don't get right into a new relationship, she advises. "Don't medicate your sadness with a new person. It isn't fair to either of you."

Case Update - The August 10th Clarendon Firebombing Incident

See the original posts here: Photos from August 10th Firebombing in Clarendon.

The hospitalized victim has been released after spending 21 days at the facility, we must say a special thanks to our good friend G, he knows himself and others who intervened in this matter, financially and the giving of their time and risking life and limb to clear the home after the incident of the damaged furniture, regular hospital visits with food, juices and clothing and emotional support.

The hospital staff is to be thanked as well for being tolerant of the situation even though they were all well aware of what had happened, according to reports from our friend G, they were cooperative in accommodating visits even outside visiting hours and verbally expressing their displeasure at what had happened.

The police officers who took the men from the scene to the hospital also are to be acknowledged as well, the state in this case was not culpable.

If it were like that all the time!!!!.....wow

The burns are slowly healing as he has been advised to follow a strict diet and follow up treatment and maybe a light surgical procedure of skin grafting for his arm which is taking some time to heal. Albeit he is in good spirits. His friend has also moved on though very quiet on the matter but we assume it's his way of dealing with it.

We are making arrangements as soon as is possible for some counseling sessions for the two if they are willing and available.

Thanks to you our readers for your support and encouragement in their time of trouble, we are appreciative.

Any new developments you will be notified.

Peace & tolerance

H

Can a women's ability to orgasm be related to the way she walks?

Click post title above for a direct link to the story
courtesy of http://lesbiansanddating.blogspot.com/


A new study found that trained sexologists could infer a woman's history of vaginal orgasm by observing the way she walks. The study is published in the September 2008 issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine, the official journal of the International Society for Sexual Medicine and the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health.Led by Stuart Brody of the University of the West of Scotland in collaboration with colleagues in Belgium, the study involved 16 female Belgian university students. Subjects completed a questionnaire on their sexual behavior and were then videotaped from a distance while walking in a public place.

The videotapes were rated by two professors of sexology and two research assistants trained in the functional-sexological approach to sexology, who were not aware of the women's orgasmic history.The results showed that the appropriately trained sexologists were able to correctly infer vaginal orgasm through watching the way the women walked over 80 percent of the time. Further analysis revealed that the sum of stride length and vertebral rotation was greater for the vaginally orgasmic women. "This could reflect the free, unblocked energetic flow from the legs through the pelvis to the spine," the authors note.There are several plausible explanations for the results shown by this study.

One possibility is that a woman's anatomical features may predispose her to greater or lesser tendency to experience vaginal orgasm. According to Brody, "Blocked pelvic muscles, which might be associated with psychosexual impairments, could both impair vaginal orgasmic response and gait." In addition, vaginally orgasmic women may feel more confident about their sexuality, which might be reflected in their gait. "Such confidence might also be related to the relationship(s) that a woman has had, given the finding that specifically penile-vaginal orgasm is associated with indices of better relationship quality," the authors state. Research has linked vaginal orgasm to better mental health.

The study provides some support for assumptions of a link between muscle blocks and sexual function, according to the authors. They conclude that it may lend credibility to the idea of incorporating training in movement, breathing and muscle patterns into the treatment of sexual dysfunction."Women with orgasmic dysfunction should be treated in a multi-disciplinary manner" says Irwin Goldstein, Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Sexual Medicine."Although small, this study highlights the potential for multiple therapies such as expressive arts therapy incorporating movement and physical therapy focusing on the pelvic floor."
Source: Wiley-Blackwell

USAID puts $100 million toward AIDS gel research

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Agency for International Development has offered $100 million to the Eastern Virginia Medical School to work on a gel that might protect men and women from the AIDS virus, the school said on Monday.
The money, $20 million a year for five years, will be used to help pay for trials of several so-called microbicides -- gels or creams that could be applied vaginally or rectally to protect people from infection.
While several experimental microbicides have failed, the team at Eastern Virginia Medical School's CONRAD program is working on two using HIV drugs: Gilead Sciences Inc's tenofovir and an experimental drug called UC781.
An estimated 33 million people have HIV, mostly in Africa. More than 60 percent of Africans with HIV are women who were infected by their husbands or other male sexual partners.
Most of the 2 million people who get HIV every year globally are women. Condoms prevent infection but many men refuse to use them. Experts say women, and some men, need a private way to protect themselves.
The award means USAID has given the program $160 million so far to develop a microbicide.
The CONRAD program, formerly known as Contraceptive Research and Development, was set up in 1986 by federal agencies to develop inexpensive products to prevent sexually transmitted diseases.
A USAID spokeswoman said the agency gets about $40 million a year from Congress for microbicide development and funds many programs, including the Population Council, the International Partnership for Microbicides and others.

“I am ashamed of homophobia in the Church” – Archbishop Tutu

Archbishop Desmond Tutu has spoken out against the Anglican church for allowing its “obsession” with homosexuality to come before dealing with world poverty.
Archbishop Tutu was in London to address a conference organised by the Christian charity Tearfund.

“God is weeping to see such a focus on sexuality and the Church is quite rightly seen by many as irrelevant on the issue of poverty,” said Archbishop Tutu. “It may be good to accept that we agree to differ on the gay issue.”
Archbishop Tutu told the conference that the Anglican Church was ideally placed to tackle poverty because of its presence at the heart of communities in the UK and overseas.
However, he said he sometimes felt ashamed of his fellow Anglicans as they focussed obsessively on trying to resolve their disagreement about homosexuality, while 30,000 people died each day because of poverty.

“We really will not be able to win wars against so-called terror as long as there are conditions that make people desperate, and poverty, disease and ignorance are amongst the chief culprits,” he said.
Archbishop Tutu also accused some of his fellow Anglicans of going against the teaching of Jesus in their treatment of homosexual people by “persecuting the already persecuted”.

visit: http://www.lesbilicious.co.uk/ Largest Lesbian Magazine online for more stories

Also of interest How to: respond to anti-gay Christians
More Tutu News.....click here

Scientists Spot New Twist in HIV Infection

The virus that causes AIDS infects one form of immune T-cell by rearranging its inner skeleton,allowing it access to the cell, scientists have discovered.
The finding helps explain how HIV maintains pockets of dormant virus in these so-called “resting” T-cells, even when the virus is under attack by antiretroviral drugs. It also points to potential new targets for drug development, experts say.

“Whenever you identify a necessary step — a step which is absolutely required for infection of naive T-cells — of course then you have a new focus point, one that you can examine to see if there are options for new therapies. Certainly with HIV treatment, we need that,” said study co-author Jon Marsh, a researcher in the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Regulation at the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health.
Viruses are such primitive life forms that they must gain access toother organisms' genetic material, located deep in the nucleus of the cell, before they can replicate. Scientists have long known that HIV latches onto certain receptors on the surface of its main target — the immune system's T-cells — to gain entry into the cell.

Early in the disease process, HIV typically attacks “activated”T-cells — so named because they are already primed against a particularpathogen. But so-called “naive” T-cells also move throughout the blood stream. These cells are often resting — they haven't yet been activated to fight a particular threat.
When HIV seeks entry to the activated T-cell, it does so by latching on to a surface receptor called CCR5. But in more than 50 percent of patients, the virus begins to attack resting T-cells, too, via a receptor called CXCR4.
“We know that HIV prefers to infect activated T-cells — it's more difficult for HIV to infect resting T-cells,” noted Rowena Johnston, vice president of research at the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) in NewYork City. “So, the question for me and a lot of people has been: Whydoes the virus do it? What possible advantage could there be?”

In their new research, Marsh and study co-author Yuntao Wu, of George Mason University, believe they may have answered that question. They published the findings in the Sept. 5 issue of Cell.
According to the researchers, HIV binds with the CXCR4 receptor on resting T-cells, and that activates a protein called cofilin. Cofilin effectively rearranges the tiny filaments that make up the T-cells protective inner skeleton. One this is done, HIV is able to sneak past this barrier and into the cell's nucleus.
“So now HIV has a means of making these normally [highly] resistant cells susceptible to infection,” Marsh said.
For HIV, there's a decided plus to entering resting versus activatedT-cells, because resting cells provide a much safer hiding place, Johnstonnoted. “If it can get into the resting T-cell, it can just sit in that-cell forever,” she explained. “This induces latent infection.”

HIV is known to hide out in a number of cell types in the body, making a cure for AIDS elusive. “But if we are aiming to cure infection, we need to understand all of the ways in which latent infection can be established,” Johnston said.
HIV's entry into resting T-cells also marks more advanced disease, the experts said. “The emergence of CXCR4 [type virus] usually is late in the disease, and it's usually associated with a relatively severe decline in CD4 T-cells. So, it's not a good sign,” Marsh said.
Will this discovery inevitably lead to new, effective AIDS drugs? That remains uncertain, Marsh said.

“The thing about a virus is that it exploits normal processes ina cell,” he explained. “So, the clinical aspect always has to look for ways in which you can disturb only the virological component, or most of the virological component, and not hinder those things that are most absolute and necessary for life.”
Johnston agreed it may be years, if ever, before this discovery leads to effective therapies. Right now, she said, “this is very much in the arena of just understanding how HIV does what it does.”

More information: Find out more on the fight against HIV/AIDS at amfAR.

New group to pressure US government on gay rights worldwide

By Tony Grew

An openly gay former US Ambassador is to work as an adviser to a new coalition of gay and straight human rights groups.
The Council for Global Equality wants the American government to defend the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people across the world.
"The Project demands that those who represent our country - in Congress, in the White House, in US embassies and in US corporations around the world - use the diplomatic, political and economic leverage available to them to oppose human rights abuses that are regularly directed against individuals because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression," the group states on its website.

Ambassador Michael E Guest retired from government service last December after more than 26 years as a form of protest against regulations that he considered as unfair to same-sex partners.
The 51-year-old, who is openly gay, served as US Ambassador to Romania when President Bush took office.
He will work as a paid consultant to the group, which will hold its first meeting in Washington DC on September 23rd.
Mr Guest was the first out gay person to be confirmed by the Senate to an ambassadorial post.
In May the British government adopted an official programme to support the human rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans people in other countries.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office issued an 'LGBT Toolkit' to its 261 embassies, high commissions and other diplomatic posts.
"The FCO fully supports equality in the enjoyment of human rights and the inadmissibility of discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation," the document states.
"This provides the focus of FCO work on this issue."
The kit contains information on the official British policy on gay rights and instructions in how to "provide added value to equality and non-discrimination work."
"Governments have an obligation to promote equality in the enjoyment of human rights, as well as not to discriminate in their application.
"Frequently there is discrimination in the enjoyment of key rights, even in countries where the criminal laws are neutral.
"Tackling this would require the building up of local coalitions of non-state actors to elaborate action plans for each country, as well as working locally with like-minded states.
"This would not just apply to issues like the state of the criminal law, but also to freedom of association and assembly, freedom of expression and privacy."
The 'toolkit' covers a wide range of issues, from decriminalisation, sexual health, reproductive rights and health education to bilateral work with other countries.
The UK and France both support the universal decriminalisation of homosexuality.
France, as President of the EU, has said it will present a declaration on the matter to the UN Security Council in December.

Oscar 2008 Party Report

Oscar 2008 Party Statuesque

Themed from the North American Oscar awards, the party of the year that almost never happened after being postponed last week due to the passage of Tropical storm Ivan's destruction of the road network, the organizers were hell bent on seeing it through and so it happened last night

Due to the no photo policy of the venue we couldn't capture the delightful dresses, wigs, ambiance and jewelry but we were able to get the pics, by phone, of some of the statuesque presented during the morning's proceedings, yes I said morning, the party commenced at 10pm as usual but I guess everyone wanted to make an entrance and so they did at minutes to 2am cars started to trickle in and we present were beginning to wonder what was up as most who exited their vehicles weren't "dressed" for an awards show. However by minutes to 3am the transformation begun, first an original Vera Wang gold dress that got every one's attention and by showtime, 4:38am it was apparent that a showdown of who would be the best dressed male and female was on in earnest.

The awards continued and the following categories were announced and presented after a dress parade of the nominees.

• Best Dressed Female




• Best Dressed Male




• Hype DJ of the Year




• Most Consistent Party Patron




• Best Fluffy Diva




• Best Couple




• Most Improved Diva




• Pop Dung Diva (lol a huge joke for patrons, the winner was not present)




• Lifetime Award - which Diva Nastasia Waugh walked away with
  

All in all it was a splendid surprise with glam, couture and street converging in one place and mingling to every one's enjoyment.
Thumbs up to the organizers and we hope next year would be even better.

Party Patron
Howie

Straight Pride attracts zero participants

Plans for a so-called "Straight Pride" in New York, promoted by a reggae music label, appear to have backfired.
The event, due to be held last weekend, was billed as "a chance for heterosexuals to gather together and proudly embrace their sexuality and celebrate reggae, dancehall and family in love and unity."
However, gay blogger Joe.My.God turned up at the advertised meeting point at 10am on Sunday to find he was the only one there.
"I did see a good number of cars whizzing by that were festooned with flags from Jamaica and other Caribbean nations, but those were probably just folks getting ready for tomorrow's massive West Indian Day Parade," he wrote.
"Just to make sure I hadn't missed the fun, I popped into a few shops to inquire if anybody had seen a parade this morning. The manager of Raquel Shoes told me, "I've been here since 8:30am. It's been totally quiet all morning.""
The "Straight Pride" was promoted by record label TCOOO, who claimed "the gay community went after artists … we decided that we must make a show of strength."
There is no mention of the event on their website.
Reggae performer Jango Fresh said in a press release at the height of the "Straight Pride" hype last month:
"The Straight Pride parade is a great idea because when a song like Hit Them Hard by my label mate Stapler can be banned just because it stresses the importance of a male and a female in every family, it is a sign that heterosexuals need to wake up."
The song in question contains the lyrics:
"Jah Jah gonna hit them hardAll the men who visit men backyard."
In the end Straight Pride turned out to be a non-event.

Jail for two women in Emirates' first lesbian indecency case

A Bulgarian woman and her Lebanese partner have been sentenced to one month in jail after being found guilty by a Dubai court of indecent acts.
It is thought to be the first case of its kind in the United Arab Emirates.
Dubai's Court of Appeal upheld the convictions.
The 36-year-old Bulgarian and 30-year-old Lebanese woman will both be deported after they have served their sentences.

7Days newspaper reported that they were spotted kissing and petting on a public beach in April. They both pleaded not guilty to charges they had behaved indecently.
Dubai, one of the seven oil-rich United Arab Emirates, is a popular destination for UK tourists.
While the majority of its 5.6 million residents are foreigners, homosexual relations are still a crime and punishments range from jail to deportation and death penalty.

In July 40 men were arrested in a crackdown on transvestites.
"Any man or woman who dresses up and behaves like the opposite gender in public will be questioned and legal action will be taken against him or her," Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Dubai Police Chief, said in a statement on the Dubai Police website.
"The 40 transvestites were referred to the Public Prosecution, which issued an administrative deportation order against them. All of those arrested were visitors and tourists and not residents.
"This is against the UAE's traditions and social values," he said.

In May Dahi announced that transvestites caught in public would be arrested as part of a new campaign.
He said "transvestites have been seen of late in public places, including shopping malls."
He said the campaign under the slogan "Our social values are precious.. let's protect them", targets those who "do not respect social values and behave like the opposite sex."

Homosexuality and the Nazi Party

by Scott Lively
Scott Lively is co-author of The Pink Swastika: Homosexuals and the Nazi Party (Keizer, Oregon: Founders Publishing Company, 1995). The Pink Swastika is not available through Leadership U., but is available by calling Jeremiah Films at 1-800-828-2290.

The pink triangle, symbol of the "gay rights" movement, is familiar to many Americans. As the badge used by the Nazis to designate homosexuals in the concentration camps, the pink triangle perfectly expresses the message of "gay rights." That message is that homosexuals are currently and historically victims of irrational prejudice and that those who oppose homosexuality are hateful bigots. This all-important victim status engenders sympathy for the homosexual "cause" among well-meaning heterosexuals. Thus, millions of otherwise rational Americans support a movement whose sole unifying characteristic is a sexual lifestyle they personally find repugnant.
When homosexuals display the pink triangle, they are equating all opposition to homosexuality with Nazism and themselves with the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. As pro-homosexual Rabbi Bernard Mehlman puts it, "Homophobia and Anti-Semitism are part of the same disease." This quote appeared in an advertisement in a homosexual newspaper. It announced the dedication ceremony of the New England Holocaust Memorial in Boston last year. An accompanying article reported that New England homosexuals had pledged $1 million to help build the memorial, including $50,000 for an initial monument consisting of six steel and glass towers. Alongside the monument is an inscription honoring homosexual victims of the Nazis. Another Holocaust memorial being prepared in New York City is expected to similarly honor homosexuals.

Washington, D.C. is home to the official U.S. Holocaust Museum which not only maintains a pro-homosexual display, but also employs noted homosexual activist Klaus Mueller as a staff researcher. Other Holocaust related projects, such as the Anne Frank Exhibit now touring the United States, incorporate a similar message in their programs.

While some homosexuals were interned in Nazi work camps, the role of homosexuals in Nazi history cannot be accurately represented solely by a pink triangle. Our review of more than 200 history texts written since the 1930s suggests that a pink swastika is equally representative, if not more so. For, ironically, while many homosexuals were persecuted by the Nazi party, there is no doubt that the Nazi party itself had many homosexuals within its own ranks, even among its highest leadership.

go HERE for th rest of the article

continue to http://wankerman.blogspot.com/

The madness continues, group mistaken for gays, attacked by men

Imagine this, you and your family members and friends are returning to Kingston early this morning to make it for work when you encounter a flat tyre on the way in a rural community, you alight from your car and the other passengers, 2 females and a male and you as the male driver proceed to get your tools from the car's trunk.

(you as the driver is attired in nothing but an old jeans pants you had cut above the knees for a drive out you did the night before, you are not gay but your other male cousin is but its no big deal to you, he is not effeminate and isn't recognizable)

You proceed to start the tyre change when you hear voices from a way down the road, hurling expletives, you continue as you think it's not you there are being directed at. Then out of the blue four stick wielding, stone carrying men approach you and say you are gay by virtue of your short jeans pants that YOU cut to wear for your comfort.

This was exactly what happened at around 6:40am this morning, in retaliation the male occupants wasted no time in defending themselves, pulling machetes and a lug tool from the car and rendering several blows to the attackers who were hell bent on exacting their brand of justice .... "for battyman fi dead"

It was when the females however vented their anger at the attack and pronounced that their boyfriends were not gay that things cooled, the sad part there were no witnesses as it was early in the morning and that part of the road was not inhabited that much.

So the madness continues, if you look a certain way or of a predisposition you are likely to be attacked and maimed, it is sad that this is where we are as a country and here we are talking about unity after the Olympics success.

We have a loooooooooonnngggg way to go.