Dr Pauline Williams Green on Premature Ejaculation

Problems of ejaculation are common occurrences in the sexual life of men. This week we will discuss premature ejaculation. It occurs when a man ejaculates shortly after intercourse begins.
At least a third of men surveyed in the United States in a 1999 report at least one incidence of premature ejaculation in the previous year. It may well be the most common male sexual problem. It occurs in men who are sexually inexperienced and also among those in sexual partnerships for many years.

Orgasm and ejaculation
Ejaculation is distinct from orgasm in men. While ejaculation describes the release of semen, orgasm is the subjective, pleasurable sensations which occur before ejaculation.
Before a boy reaches puberty, he can experience orgasm but does not ejaculate because the male organs are still immature. After several ejaculations, young men can experience orgasms without ejaculations during intercourse.
So, premature ejaculation becomes a non-issue for men who are concerned only with their own orgasms. In fact, in some cultures, it is considered very masculine to ejaculate very quickly.

Why does premature ejaculation occur?
Men are capable of orgasm within two minutes of initial stimulation while women usually require about eight minutes. It is, therefore, 'normal' for young, inexperienced men to ejaculate before their partners have reached orgasm. To achieve mutual satisfaction, men have to be able to time their ejaculation. Overanxiety will cause premature ejaculation in any relationship. Afterwards, the penis goes down and will not respond immediately to stimulation during the normal refractory period.
Premature ejaculation becomes a problem only when there is the persistent and recurrent absence of reasonable voluntary control of ejaculation. It is generally believed to be caused by psychological factors. Men may have had early sexual experiences where they hurried through intercourse. Sometimes, premature ejaculation presents many years into a relationship and may represent interpersonal problems in the relationship. Premature ejaculation results in disappointment, frustration and ultimately loss of self-esteem.

Medical therapy
Treatment is twofold - medications that delay ejaculation and counselling. Pharmacological agents that may be used to delay ejaculation include antidepressants and benzodiazepine anxiolytics. These are useful in the short term.

Sexual therapy
Open discussion between partners with or without the help of a therapist may resolve the problem. They can be taught simple behavioural techniques to help them manage the problem. First, the frustration of the couple is reduced by teaching them sensate-focus exercises.
These exercises teach the man not to hurry during sexual relations. Then the couple is taught to manually stimulate the penis until the man is close to orgasm. They cease stimulation whenever the man feels ejaculation is imminent. This stop-start technique is repeated several times. In another technique, the man can ask his partner to squeeze his penis firmly behind the glans whenever ejaculation seems close at hand.
Both stop-start and squeeze techniques teach the man to delay ejaculation. Eventually, the man learns to change his thoughts and mental pictures when ejaculation is imminent and thus prolong intercourse.

Dr Pauline Williams-Green is a family physician and president of the Caribbean College of Family Physicians; email yourhealth@gleanerjm.com

Prevention guidelines for BREAST CANCER

Breast cancer awareness takes centre stage in October. Most women are interested in preventing breast cancer.

Rosalee M. Brown

The evidence is not clear, but there are drug trials which have been shown to reduce the risk of recurrent breast cancer in women. The results from the Breast Cancer Prevention Trial have also shown that women at high risk for breast cancer, who take the drug tamoxifen, lowered their risk by 45 per cent.
There are other available prevention measures which include preventative mastectomy and early detection through breast self-examination and routine mammograms.

What of nutrition
There are inconclusive studies and sometimes even conflicting ones regarding the role of nutrition in breast cancer prevention. The Women's Healthy Eating and Living study states that a "diet high in fruits, vegetables and fibre and somewhat lower in fat did not protect early-stage breast cancer survivors from further breast cancer, nor did it help them live longer than women in a comparison group'.
These findings contradict at least one other large study of diet and breast cancer risk. JAMA 2007 Jul 18;298(3): 289-98). Results from the Women's Intervention Nutrition study, a large randomised clinical trial reported in 2005, suggested that a low-fat diet helps prevent breast cancer recurrence in postmenopausal women, especially those whose cancers don't respond to oestrogen.
Another study, Low-fat Diet May Reduce Risk of Recurrence by Chlebowski et al, concluded that a low-fat diet may reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence in postmenopausal women. However, in the Women's Health Initiative, completed in 2006, researchers found only a slight, statistically insignificant reduction in breast cancer risk among women 50 to 79 who lowered their total fat intake.

Factors at play
It is very difficult to study people's diet because, for example, someone who reduces his or her fat intake may also reduce his or her animal protein intake. The same individual may also increase his or her fruit and vegetable intake. So, there are many factors at play which make it difficult to isolate positive or negative effect.
Although particular foods and nutrients have not been identified as preventative weapons in the fight against breast cancer, there is evidence for the role of diet and a healthy lifestyle in other cancer prevention. The American Cancer Society advises people to reduce cancer risk through exercising, limiting alcohol use, maintaining a healthy weight (as overweight in postmenopausal women has been linked to breast cancer), breastfeeding and avoiding postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy.
Standard nutritional guidelines holds - food has a synergistic effect on health; consume a diet from the six food groups; consume more whole plant-based foods and less processed foods; consume a little animal fat and consume large amounts of fruits and vegetables of all colours.

Rosalee M. Brown is a registered dietitian/nutritionist who operates Integrated Nutrition and Health Services; email yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.

Early Jamaican LGBT History

1976: Meeting point in New Kingston: The Closet

It seems that the first gay club, named The Closet, was established in New Kingston around 1976.

1976: The first Jamaican gay association is founded

Chinese-Jamaican gay man and political organizer, Larry Chang, organized a gay group in Jamaica, called the Gay Freedom Movement (GFM) as early as 1976 in a fiercely hostile climate. He held the position of General Secretary and was Publisher and Editor of its newsletter: Jamaica Gaily News. The newsletter was first named The Toilet Paper. As of issue No.3, Larry decided that the name was no longer relevant and changed it to The Jamaica Gaily News, which was a take-off on the Jamaican daily newspaper The Jamaica Daily News. .

Songs Of Freedom documentary – Interview with Larry Chang

Songs Of Freedom: Compelling Stories of Courage and Hope by Jamaican Gays and Lesbians 

Excerpt taken from an interview recorded in 2002, available in the documentary Songs Of Freedom.'When I graduated, and it was time for me to think about coming back to Jamaica, I made a conscious decision that I would come back here to contribute to nation building and all of that sort of stuff but on my own terms. /// Having met more and more people, I sort of know my way around gay Kingston, at least what there was at the time. And after I got my own apartment, of course, it became open house for a lot of gay people. If those walls could talk, if my dining room table could talk. These stories it would produce. A lot of people would have come out in my house. There has been all kind of revelations, breakdowns, emotional trauma and everything that you can think of that happen at my house. /// Sometimes after, there happen to be a club called The Closet, which was actually in the heart of New Kingston. I was going on well for quite a while and then we had the eternal problem of gay on gay violence, we had a lot of who we now refer as downtown people who would come there, would pick fights, break bottles, try to stab each other all that kind of wonderful behavior.

And the viability of the club therefore would be threaten by this type of behavior.As a response to this problem of violence, a few of us decided to get together and call a meeting to see if we could develop some sense of community among gay people where by we could turn to each other, just to find out what was on gay people’s mind: why all this violence, why all this self hatred, because that what it was down to: self hatred. What could we, as a population, do to address this. So we called a meeting at The Closet. There was a fairly good turn out and a very good participation. And out of that came a comity of six people, who came together to form the Gay Freedom Movement. At the end of the first meeting, I remember that I pull together (a none page mimeograph - sorry - a one-sheet mimeograph), a one-sheet newsletter, just reporting on what the proceedings were. I irreverently called this The Toilet Paper, because after all, the meeting has taken place in a closet.

It was Toilet Paper No.1 and we went to issue No.2. And by the time the third issue was come out, I said “no, I can’t keep calling this ‘The Toilet Paper’ has it is no longer appropriate”, so I change the name to The Jamaica Gaily News, which was a take-off on the Jamaican daily newspaper The Jamaica Daily News. At about the same time too, a letter had come out in The Daily Gleaner from a Helen Sommers Overcan, on the subject of population control. She was basically giving an historical overview of all the different methods of population control that have been attempted by different people. Among these she listed infanticide, and fracticise all the other things that you can think of.

I found myself to write a letter back to the Gleaner, responding to this letter that it was a very good letter, but she had a gearing ommition that she had not listed homosexuality as a time honored and natural means of population control. I suppose the Gleaner couldn’t believe that anybody would have written a letter like this to them. So they called me to confirmed: “did you really write this letter and signed your named to it and blah, blah, blah”. And I said “yes”. Except that I didn’t just signed my name, but I put under it: Gay Freedom Movement. At that time, the Gay Freedom Movement did not exist, the meeting at The Closet has not yet been held, but I felt that if I put the name of an organization behind my name, that the letter would have a little bit more impact, a little more clout, and that I was not just a voice crying for inunamist. Those two things kind of came together at a point in time, to give us that historical event, which we now referred as the Gay Freedom Movement, which I think happen in the mid to late 70’s.It was at the height of Michael Manley’s area and democratic socialism where the political climate, emphasis durable values, participation, co-operation, sharing, rights and all of these things. It was a very fertile time for ideals, movements, concepts, people-based initiatives. I think the Gay Freedom Movement was born at the right time. There is nothing that happen before its time. It was time for it than. ///The GFM had basically two objectives, one was to educate ourself has who we were. We are talking about consciousness raising, self awareness, that type of thing. An the other objective was to educate others, meaning the public. /// We had connection with almost every gay group right across the world, from Scandinavia to South Africa, to Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Israel, you name it.

We had this change arrangement with these groups, we would send them Jamaica Gaily News and they would sent us their publications. Because of the breath of our international connections, when the whole AIDS epidemic broke out, we were able to have up-to-date information on AIDS, long before anybody in Jamaica knew about it. We were fairly well prepared, at least in terms of being armed with information. I think that is one of the things to witch I attribute the fairly low incidence of HIV among the homosexual population in Jamaica. /// 

We started a Pen Pal club because we would have letters from all over Jamaica and all over the world, requesting Pen Pals. That was one of the most popular features that we carried in The Gaily News. I remember in particular one letter from this guy who signed his name and his address was Cornpiece District, Hayes, Clarendon. I was very trilled to know that we were reaching isolated rural people who otherwise would have no kind of contact with anything or anyone gay. And the fact that we were reaching these people, to me it prove that we were doing something worthwhile.

HIV rebounds rapidly without drugs

Zurich University Hospital scientists have discovered that the HIV virus survives antiretroviral medicine and can spread from a single infected cell.
Antiretroviral medication suppressed HIV so well that no traces of it appeared in laboratory tests, researchers said. But scientists Beda Joos and Huldrych Guenthard found that the virus that causes Aids resurfaced with astounding rapidity as soon as patients stopped taking the drugs.

That led them to two debateable theories about the virus's ability to survive medical treatment: either it remained in the blood at extremely low levels of infection, or it built itself into a cell's DNA and waited.

The study looked at 20 patients who had been using anti-HIV medication for a long time. Researchers stopped giving the medicines for two-week periods, followed by two-months of steady treatment.

Numerous variations of the virus rapidly resurfaced between treatments. That meant anti-AIDS medication was so effective because it completely paralysed the virus, researchers said.

Interesting Letter to the Gleaner's Editor - Misreading Human Behaviour

A letter published in your Saturday Gleaner, on October 18, edition signed by S. Richards, took issue with the suggestion by a United Kingdom government minister that discrimination against gays should be halted as part of the efforts to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.

The writer, I believe, is correct to suggest that a false "health link" argument is being used as the plank to end "discrimi-nation". The writer went off the rails, however, with two other subsequent points.

Higher health risks

First, the health authorities do suggest and have emphasised that anal sexual activity carries higher health risks and so should be avoided or mitigated by the use of condoms.

I don't know if reader S. Richards is so naive as to believe, however, that this kind of activity is exclusively male/male. The influence of pornography has presented this as an acceptable activity for men and women to engage in and anecdotal stories suggest that it does take place among heterosexual couples and may even be increasing as a practice.

Usefulness of the buggery law

Therefore, the second point made in the writer's letter about the usefulness of the buggery law is irrelevant. Does the buggery law apply to a man engaging in anal sex with his female partner? If so, when has this ever been enforced? And if not, then there is discrimination against men and is, therefore, gender-biased. Also, the existence of the law, by itself, has not stopped people from engaging in their 'kinky' activities, whatever the law says.

People often know or suspect their behaviour and, apart from snide comments or the some-times derogatory remarks, for the most part, let them be. And that is how it should be. People should not be excluded from jobs or denied access to health care (if that is happening) because of what they do in the privacy of their homes as consenting adults. Where they are violating moral laws, God will deal with them in His own way, as He does with others who violate His many other strictures.

I am, etc.,

CHAD BARNSWELL

barnswellc@yahoo.co.uk

Kingston

SEE THE ORIGINAL LETTER HERE

Also SEE 'Stop discriminating against gays'

Peace.

Jamaica - Homophobia, Murder Music and Free Speech

Since the recording of this interview there have been some efforts that have borne fruit.

1). The Reggae Compassionate Act
2). The changing attitudes of the police (still needing improvements)
3). The slowly evolving public discourse on LGBT issues
We still have a long way to go.

A point of interest is that Brian Williamson was not the first openly gay individual to go public...Gay Freedom Movement (GFM), founded around 1974 by five Jamaicans and an American Jesuit then working in the island. It focused on consciousness-raising within the LGBT community and professional organizations, issued a newsletter, Jamaica Gaily News, and ran a Gay Youth Program, Prison Outreach Program and a free STD clinic.

General Secretary, Larry Chang, who was also publisher and editor of JGN, was the first Jamaican to come out publicly, being interviewed on radio and JBC-TV and through his letters to the press. Before he fled to the US in 2000 where he was granted political asylum in 2004, he had helped found JFLAG.

Thanks however to Peter and others for highlighting the issues though.

Peace.

LGBT History Month - Stop Murder Music

Stop Murder Music is a campaign is jointly run by Outrage!, the Black Gay Men's Advisory Group and JFLAG in the early years.

The term 'Murder Music' was coined by British gay rights activist Peter Tatchell in the mid-1990s to describe the homophobic work of certain Jamaican musicians, primarily dancehall and ragga artists who called for and encouraged physical violence and murder of homosexuals
The Murder Music Campaign have accused Beenie Man, Elephant Man, Sizzla, Bounty Killer, Vybz Kartel, Capleton, T.O.K., Buju Banton and others of promoting anti-gay violence, harassment, and bigotry through their music.

Tatchell has called for laws against homophobic music and the Campaign participated in protests outside concerts. The Campaign has especially objected to lyrics which seem to support violence, including murder, towards gay men. Tatchell's campaign began in the early 1990s when Buju Banton's song "Boom Bye-Bye" was released and has continued to date. Dennis Carney, chair of the Black Gay Men's Advisory Group, argued that the MOBO Awards had a responsibility to exclude anti-gay artists because, "homophobic lyrics in music normalise hatred towards black gay men.

"Tatchell picketed the MOBO Awards ceremony to protest at their inviting performers of murder music. Tatchell received death threats and was labelled a racist. Tatchell defended himself by pointing to a life's work campaigning against racism, and stated that his statements on Jamaica were in support of terrorized black groups within Jamaica.

The Jamaican leg had JFLAG representatives such as Mark and myself translating the lyrics for the UK based advocates so they could understand our patois hence their knowledge and understanding of the ever changing descriptions that have been hurled at us in the name of opposing homosexuality.

Peace and tolerance

H

LGBT History Month - Forum on Gay Rights' Relevance

In September 2000 JFLAG hosted a forum on whether gay rights were necessary in Jamaica. Present were Jamaicans for Justice representatives, human rights advocates, members of the legal fraternity, Amnesty International Rep and interested allies.

The forum helped to highlight that gays and lesbians suffered discrimination as a sexual minority and that gay rights are not divisible from human rights. The overwhelming challenge, therefore, remained apparent, to educate Jamaicans on the importance of upholding human rights as set out in the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights. First and foremost this regards to the right of life.

Coincidentally, the same day JGLAG had its forum, the then Prime Minister was quoted in the national paper as saying that hanging and sodomy laws will remain on the books as long as he is in power. This declaration was made less than an hour after he was returned unopposed as President of the People's National Party (PNP), this solidified the necessity of human rights organizations to work together to uphold human rights in Jamaica.

H

LGBT History Month - The Work of The Women for Women Group

Women For Women (WFW)
A Non-Government Organization which focuses on issues as they relate to Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgendered women


OVERVIEW
Women For Women is the offspring of efforts by Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals & Gays (J-FLAG), in collaboration with Jamaica Aids Support (JAS), to support the needs of lesbian and bisexual women and other related group(s) of women.


They used to occasionally present at general LGBT meetings via GLABCOM, gay, lesbian, bisexual community meetings under Jamaica AIDS Support for Life's targeted interventions programs before it was discontinued in June 2009 in the Kingston chapter.


In September 1999, the JAS/J-FLAG initiative was born; a women’s group established for support and recreation named Lesbians In Action (LIA).


In October 2000, LIA participants went through a facilitated process to restructure the group. After two facilitated meetings, the name changed from LIA to

WOMEN FOR WOMEN (WFW)


A new identity was born with more succinct mission and vision, a new format a with renewed interest and commitment toward the group.


As with any other organization, WFW went through a breakdown in 2002, but despite the hiccup, a new Steering Committee was formed in March 2003, and we can safely say that some positive strides have been made to improve our organization and community.

ACTIVITIES
We have so far hosted and continue to host educational workshops on the following topics:-


Healthy Relationships II
Spirituality & Homosexuality
Lesbian Parenting


They have also been involved in Panel Presentation organized by J-FLAG such as:-


The Women's Crisis Centre
National AIDS Committee
Combined Volunteer Social Services
School For International Training
The Peace Corp
The Editor's Forum



WFW is a four-pronged organization which covers:
Education
Activism
Recreational/Social Intervention
General Outreach

We welcome volunteers to work in any of the above mentioned areas.


You can contact them through lgbtevent@gmail.com

Peace and tolerance


H

Immigration minister criticised for letting homophobic artist into Canada

Campaigners against anti-gay "murder music" artists have accused a government minister in Canada of giving Jamaican star Buju Banton "a platform to incite murder" after he was allowed into the country.
The Stop Murder Music (Canada) campaign is a coalition of more than 20 organisations that promote human rights.
The international Stop Murder Music campaign has targeted dancehall stars who perform songs advocatng violence against gay and lesbian people.
Last year a New York radio station cancelled a reggae concert as planned after the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation protested because homophobic performers Buju Banton and Bounty Killer were to perform.
Banton's notorious 1990s hit Boom Bye Bye appears to incite the burning, shooting in the head and pouring acid over the faces of gay people.
In October 2006 two of his concerts in the US were cancelled after pressure from gay activists.
In July 2007 he signed up to the Reggae Compassionate Act, promising not to perform songs that advocate homophobia, in a deal brokered by Stop Murder Music activists.
He later denied that he had made any such commitment.
Canada's immigration minister Diane Finley has been accused of being more concerned about getting re-elected than addressing the concerns of the LGBT community. The country is in the middle of a general election campaign.
“The Minister has abdicated her duties by allowing Buju Banton into the country and as a result has provided him with a platform to incite murder," said Akim Larcher, spokesperson for Stop Murder Music (Canada).
“Buju Banton has continued to perform ‘murder music’ whilst on tour in the Caribbean and has recently said that gays and lesbians are part of social decay.”
The group want him to be deported.
The Stop Murder Music campaign spearheaded by UK gay activist group OutRage! has brought about the cancellation of hundreds of concerts and sponsorship deals, causing income losses estimated in excess of $5m (£2.5m).

Review of The JFLAG Parliamentary Submission

As appearing in Parliament on June 5, 2001

"THE JAMAICA FORUM FOR LESBIANS ALL-SEXUALS AND GAYS (J-FLAG) WITH REGARD TO "AN ACT TO AMEND THE CONSTITUTION OF JAMAICA TO PROVIDE FOR A CHARTER OF RIGHTS AND FOR CONNECTED MATTERS"

A constitution should provide a foundation of principles upon which the laws of a society are built. It should ensure, for all its constituents, the rights to equality before the law, and to dignity of the person.
Rights such as these are integral to the very foundation of this country. The birth of Jamaica as a modern nation occurred out of a history of oppression and colonialism that necessitated the claiming, by the disadvantaged black majority, of a new rule of law that idealised these two rights.

A Bill of Rights should seek to protect the inherent human identity from abuse. By this we mean that features which are inherently and innately a part of one's identity ought not to be allowed to form the basis for discrimination or exclusion by others. The Jamaican Constitution currently protects against discrimination based on race, and it is now proposed that gender be included as a head of non-discrimination. We believe that sexual orientation also ought properly to be brought under the protective umbrella of the anti-discrimination clause.

What, then, is "sexual orientation"? Professor Edwin Cameron (now a Judge of the South African Constitutional Court) writes, at pp. 450 of the 1993 volume of the South African Law Times ([1993] S.A.L.T. 450):

"Sexual orientation is defined by reference to erotic attraction: in the case of heterosexuals, to members of the opposite sex; in the case of gays and lesbians, to members of the same sex. Potentially, a homosexual or gay or lesbian person can therefore be anyone who is erotically attracted to members of his or her own sex".

Continue HERE for the full presentation or HERE for a summary

H

A Genetic Link to Fight HIV

Scientists from the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology (GIVI) and the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) have identified a gene that may influence the production of antibodies that neutralize HIV. This discovery is likely to lead to a new approach for making an HIV vaccine which enhances the production of neutralizing antibodies.

Since HIV became a worldwide problem scientists have been determined, yet unsuccessful, in creating strong protective antibodies. Antibodies are proteins that are found in blood or other bodily fluids, and are used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects, such as bacteria and viruses. Some scientists believe antibodies have a potential to control the HIV virus infection in humans if given enough help.
HIV is a type of virus named a “retrovirus,” which copies its RNA genetic material into DNA and incorporates it into the DNA of its host. Back in 1978, researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) studied a similar retrovirus in mice and found a gene named Rfv3 that influenced neutralizing antibodies construction. Once neutralizing antibodies are produced in the host, they can attack and destroy an infecting virus and allow the animal to recover.
By 1999, the search for the possible location of Rfv3 in the genome was narrowed down to a small region on chromosome 15, but that region contained 60 genes. Now, the laboratory of GIVI Director Warner C. Greene and a team of scientists from NIAID have shown that Rfv3 is actually Apobec3 - an innate immunity gene with antiretroviral activity. This discovery came as a surprise for the team.
The recent studies have been restricted to mice and a different retrovirus, yet the results of these studies may be extended to HIV as well. One of the HIV genes, Vif, specifically disables human Apobec3 proteins thus causing HIV patients not to produce broadly neutralizing antibodies against the virus. This new study suggests that drugs or vaccines that would interfere with Vif activity could allow humans to have better neutralizing antibody responses against HIV.

The research team conducted several experiments by mating mice with different Rfv3 and Apobec3 profiles. They demonstrated that Apobec3, similar to Rfv3, plays an important role in the early control of the retroviral infection in mice and also has an effect on specific retroviral antibody responses. Another discovery was that Rfv3 sensitive mouse strains that fail to make antibody responses have a natural defect in Apobec3. These results provide convincing evidence that Rfv3 and Apobec3 is the same gene.
This link between Apobec3 and neutralizing antibody responses is even more interesting when we come to consider studies that found people that somehow resist the HIV infection despite being exposed to the virus for years. These individuals were found to produce a special type of antibody recognizing the virus and genetic mapping studies of their resistance points to a chromosomal region where the human Apobec3 genes are clustered.
The next step for the research group would be to investigate Apobec3 differences in these individuals and currently they are screening for compounds that could improve the Apobec3 function during an HIV infection.
TFOT has recently covered several stories on different aspects of the HIV virus. One such story is of a natural protein which prevents the HIV virus from spreading, discovered by scientists at the Rockefeller University and the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center. Another story covered a new combination of antiretroviral therapy which effectively restores HIV patients’ immune function levels to levels similar to those found in healthy individuals, discovered by scientists by a European research group.
For more information on the Apobec3 research visit the Gladstone institute website.

Scientists Find First Immune Responses To HIV Infection Ineffective

Scientists have identified the very first antibodies to appear in the wake of HIV infection and have concluded that they are virtually impotent in mounting a meaningful defense against the invading virus.
The discovery is the latest finding in a growing body of work from scientists in Duke University's Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine and Immunology (CHAVI) focusing on better understanding the cascade of events occurring immediately after HIV infection.

The current study was enabled by a valuable resource: a repository of plasma donor blood samples that were collected every three days - before, during and after HIV plasma viral load ramp-up in acute infection. Because the samples were held for weeks to complete HIV and hepatitis B and C testing, researchers were able to track the immune response from the moment of infection until several weeks after transmission.
Georgia Tomaras, PhD, the lead author of the study appearing online in the Journal of Virology, says the earliest immune response to HIV infection comes in the form of antibody-coated viruses (also known as immune complexes) arising eight days after the virus reaches measurable levels in plasma. In most infections, formation of antibody-coated virus particles is the first step in controlling infection. When it comes to HIV infection, however, that first step appears to be a feeble one.
"Mathematical modeling tells us these early antibodies do not slow the spread of the virus," says Tomaras. "We are conducting additional studies to determine if these early antibodies may actually be encouraging viral replication or if they could be useful in greater numbers to stop the infection."
Researchers say additional virus-fighting B cells, or antibodies, show up over time. For example, antibodies to the gp41 part of the outer coat of the virus appear five days after the first antibody-coated virus. In contrast, virus-specific antibodies that might be able to control infection if they were to appear in sufficient numbers do not arise until weeks after the infection - long after the virus has irreversibly inserted its code into host genes.
Scientists generally believe that antibodies against part of the outer coat of the virus, envelope, known as gp120, hold more promise against HIV infection. "But if they aren't activated until after HIV has already inserted itself into host genes, in essence, establishing a latent pool of infected cells, then it's too late for these antibodies to do much good," says Tomaras.
Understanding the time frame in which the right kind of immune response might have a chance to be effective in thwarting HIV infection is critical to designing an effective vaccine strategy, says Tomaras. "Most researchers now believe that the window of opportunity for an HIV vaccine to work is very narrow, and we are concerned that this window may close within a few days after transmission."

Coupling current findings with data from earlier studies, Barton Haynes, MD, Director of CHAVI and the senior author of the study, believes that a successful vaccine would have to create immunity that would precede the time of infection, a process that might also involve manipulating the earliest antibody response and then sparking the stronger, broadly neutralizing response that normally occurs at a much later time in natural infection.
"We are encouraged by these findings," says Haynes. "The pace of discovery is picking up and the pieces of the puzzle are coming together. Little by little we are learning more about the very earliest stages of HIV infection and a getting a clearer picture of what a successful vaccine will have to do."

By: Duke University Health System - Mon, 10/13/2008 - 05:18

Same Sex Couples in the Bible?

David & Jonathan
There is no real need to bring out a passage showing approval of homosexuality. After all, the Bible condemns only those actions it actually condemns, and homosexuality is not one of those things.
However, even though they are not strictly necessary, there *are* several passages that show approval of gay relationships.
To mention just one, there is the love affair between David and Jonathan.
1 Samuel 18:1,3
"And it came to pass, when he [David] had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul . . . And Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul."
And immediately afterward, Jonathan disrobed before David:
1 Samuel 18:4
"Jonathan divested himself of the mantle he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his military dress, and his sword, his bow and his belt.
Jonathan was not only disrobing, but was turning the symbols of his manhood over to David. This draws a very clear picture of what is happening here.
1 Samuel 20:30
"Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse [David] to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother's nakedness?"
Reference to the nakedness of one's parents is one of the methods used in the Bible to refer to a sexual relationship. Jonathan had chosen David as his lover. And in the same conversations Saul says:
1 Samuel 20:31
Why, as long as the son of Jesse lives upon the earth you cannot make good your claim to the kingship!
This clarifies Saul's problem. One of the most important duties of being a king was producing an heir. Obviously, Jonathan had no intention of producing an heir, and therefore could not provide the final step needed to make good his claim to the kingship. He loved David and *only* David.

CONTINUE HERE

Popular "Party Diva" Found Dead

Reports of the murder of a prominent drag queen and open transvestite were confirmed recently. The body was positively identified as that of a popular party goer and fun loving "Flex" or "Flexie" as "she" is known.

Unconfirmed reports however indicate that "she" had picked up two men recently from a popular night spot. The men were said to be known to her. She was and is usually dressed in partial or full drag and that night in particular she was in partial women's clothes.

She was notorious for picking up rough types and "Breaking so called str8 men into gay sexual activities," it is strongly believed that this led to her demise as she may have picked up the wrong kind this time around and was not lucky.

It is said that she has been seen in the company of the same men before so it was not expected that she would have been harmed in any way. It is believed that the car that she was in at the initial pick up point was driven to a hilly area and overturned physically by her attackers into a precipice with a view to covering up the incident

Her body was found on Tuesday October 7 with multiple stab wounds.

The Lesson:
Another sad tale in our LGBT community, please advise your friends who are transvestites or full drag queens to be very careful in going about publicly and engaging characters that you cannot verify their orientation or choice.

According to our sources the police have not established a motive for the killing and are said to be looking into the matter.

Peace.

Connecticut Supreme Court legalizes same-sex marriage

Connecticut became the third state to legalize same-sex marriage today in a 4-3 decision by the state Supreme Court.In an 85-page decision issued at 11:30 a.m., the court ruled that the state had "failed to establish adequate reason to justify the statutory ban on same sex marriage."The justices noted in the majority opinion that they recognized "as the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court did in Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health … that 'our decision marks a change in the history of our marriage law.'"The case, Kerrigan v. the state Commissioner of Public Health, was brought by eight same-sex couples who were denied marriages licenses by the Madison town clerk.
They argued that the state's civil union law was discriminatory and unconstitutional because it established a separate and therefore inherently unequal institution for a minority group. Citing the equal protection under the law, the state Supreme Court agreed."In accordance with these state constitutional requirements, same sex couples cannot be denied the freedom to marry," says the majority opinion, which was written by Justice Richard N. Palmer.Connecticut joins California and Massachusetts, which became the first state to allow same-sex marriage 2004.

In a scathing 25-page dissenting opinion, Justice Peter T. Zarella wrote that "there is no fundamental right to same sex marriage.""The ancient definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman has its basis in biology, not bigotry," Zarella wrote. "If the state no longer has an interest in the regulation of procreation, then that is a decision for the legislature or the people of the state and not this court."

MORE HERE

Homophobes = GAY in DENIAL??

Lesbians and Breast Cancer

October is Breast Cancer awareness month and since some researchers and health care professionals believe that lesbians may be at greater risk for breast cancer then heterosexual women, I thought it would be appropriate to get some facts out to the lesbian community.First of all, let me start by saying that just because your a lesbian does not mean that you are automatically at a higher risk for breast cancer. However, having one or more of the risk factors below might put you in that catagory. A lesbian without the risk factors is at no greater risk than a heterosexual woman for breast cancer.

Breast Cancer Risk Factors include:
Family History

Women whose mothers, grandmothers or sisters have had breast cancer are two to three times more likely to develop breast cancer. However, 85% of women with breast cancer have no family history of the disease.

First childbirth

The risks are higher among women who have never had (and breastfed) a baby or whose first childbirth occurred after the age of thirty. The risk is reduced by as much as 50 percent for women who have had one child.

Menstrual history

Early first period (before age 11) and late menopause (after age 52) both increase risk.
DietHigh-fat, low-fiber diet increases the risk of Breast Cancer. The risk also increases with women who are overweight. (Nearly 30 percent of lesbians are obese, compared to 20 percent for women overall.)

Age

Risk increases with age. This disease is rare in women under the age of thirty. Women over fifty make up 77% of breast cancer cases.

Alcohol

Women who consume two to five alcoholic drinks a day have a higher risk of breast cancer than do non-drinkers. (Research has not shown that lesbians drink more than the general population, however, they do have a greater history of problems with alcohol.)

Smoking

Research has shown that women who smoke have a 30% higher risk of developing breast cancer compared with women who have never smoked. Research has also shown that 25% of lesbians said they were smokers compared to 19% of heterosexual women in a 2007 Harris Interactive survey.

Genetic Alterations

Specific alterations in certain genes, such as those in the breast cancer genes (BRCA1 or BRCA2), make women more susceptible to breast cancer.

Hormone Replacement Therapy

Recent evidence suggests that menopausal women who have long-term exposure (greater than 10 years) to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may have a slightly increased risk of breast cancer.

Socioeconomic Factors

In the United States, white women from upper-socioeconomic classes living in urban areas are more at risk for breast cancer than other women, for reasons researchers do not yet understand.

Environmental Factors

Research has not yet proven whether there are breast cancer risk risks involved in a number of environmental exposures, including radiation, UV rays in sunlight, artificial sweeteners, pesticides and electromagnetic fields that surround electronic devices like microwave ovens and cell phones.

Health Care

Another issue that lead researchers to believe that Lesbians are at a higher risk is due to the fact that lesbians are less likely to seek routine health care because of the discomfort of coming out to their health care providers and less access to health insurance. With fewer doctor visits, lesbian are less likely to have mammograms and professional breast exams. Studies also show that lesbian women are less likely to perform breast self-exam regularly. For these reasons, lesbians women may be less likely to have cancers detected at earlier, more treatable, stages.

Click here for: How to reduce your risk for breast cancer:

http://www.breastcancer.org./

LGBT History Month - Violence Forces Gay Jamaican Men to Seek Asylum Overseas(Flashback)

The Black World Today, December 2, 2002

P.O. Box 328, Randallstown, MD 21133

Fax: 410-521-9993, Email: editors@tbwt.net
By Zadie Neufville, IPS

KINGSTON—When the United Kingdom (UK) granted asylum to three Jamaican men last month, it once again shone the international spotlight on the severe homophobia that have cost many here their homes, their jobs and even their lives.
The men were granted asylum on the grounds that “severe homophobia” in this northern Caribbean island, had endangered their lives, and that the Jamaican government failed to protect them from violence.
The three are among the first successful asylum claims for homosexuals since a 1999 House of Lords ruling that allowed “particular social groups”, including homosexuals, to qualify for refugee status.
Barry O’Leary of the London-based law firm Wesly Gryk says he was able to convince British officials that the Jamaican government “is unwilling to protect the rights of the men”.


O’Leary, also a spokesman for the Stonewall Immigration group, an organisation that lobbies for gays, says some of his Jamaican clients have suffered physical torture and have even seen their partners murdered.
Another seven Jamaican men are seeking refuge in the UK and one has been granted indefinite leave to remain there.
One of the refugees, Matthew (name withheld by request) describes being gay in Jamaica as being in “a hell house”.
“When I was walking down the streets, I didn’t know who was going to attack me. The police do nothing. I would be dead now in Jamaica,” he told reporters.


One 26-year-old, who wants to remain anonymous, told of constant verbal abuse while working as a security guard. At home, he suffered beatings that left him deaf in one ear and in one particularly brutal attack his throat was slashed and he was left to die.
“I was always looking over my shoulder, thinking someone was going to attack me or shoot me,” he said. “It is just not possible to live a normal life in Jamaica if you are gay,” the man said on British radio.


The success of the asylum seekers is welcome news in the Jamaican gay community. The Jamaica Federation of Lesbians All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG) reports that 30 men are currently homeless after being forced out of their communities, while some have been driven to insanity.
Since 1980, about 40 gay men have been killed and hundreds of alleged homosexuals viciously beaten and driven from their homes. The threat of violence is so prevalent that the only known names and faces behind J-FLAG live overseas, the group’s telephone number is unlisted and its office location a secret.
In Jamaica, sympathising or associating with gays can be deadly, J-FLAG says.
The organisation has recorded dozens of incidents of violence against gay men, but says that many of those who suffer beatings or threats are simply too scared to report them to authorities.


O’Leary says many of his clients also report abuse from police, and in a 2001 report the international human rights group Amnesty International (AI) outlines police beatings, beatings supported by the police, arrests and malicious detention of gay men.
But Miguel Wynter, head of the Jamaican Constabulary’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), which investigates allegations of police misconduct, says he has had no complaints from gay men claiming to have been abused by police.
Wynter does admit that the Buggery Act could deter homosexuals from making complaints.
Gay women are verbally harassed but violence against them is reportedly rare.
AI and local activists blame a 135-year-old Jamaican law—the Offences of the Person Act, which includes the Buggery Act—for promoting discrimination against gay men. Under the act, homosexual intercourse is a criminal offence punishable by up to 10 years hard labour.
“Laws that treat homosexuals as criminals lend support to a climate of prejudice,” Amnesty said in its report.


“Although not all gay men engage in anal intercourse,” says J-FLAG spokesperson and attorney Donna Smith, “it is so much a part of the essence of the intimate interaction between gay men that a law against it is, in essence, a law against male homosexuality”.
Activists say local recording stars are also to be blamed for the violence because their lyrics often call for violence, including the murder of gays. One of the most popular recordings in recent years advocated “burning and shooting ‘Chi Chi Men’” (a local term for homosexuals), while others have called for battering them to death.
According to O’Leary, “I am representing one client who has lost his last two partners to fatal homophobic attacks, one of which took place in church”.
Smith believes that constitutional protection for homosexuals could provide a buffer against some violence and discrimination. Last year, J-FLAG lobbied the Constitutional Commission to include sexual preference in the law as a protected right.
Government refused to consider the proposition saying, “homosexuality was not on its agenda”.


Public Defender Howard Hamilton is now investigating whether the constitutional rights of 16 men killed and 40 others injured in 1997 prison riots were breached.
In what is said to be the country’s worst case of homophobic violence, prisoners attacked and killed or injured alleged homosexuals after prison officials announced they would distribute condoms to counter the spread of HIV.
A Jamaican government spokesperson denies any support for homophobia, but many like O’Leary continue to point to remarks made by Jamaica’s head of state and chief scout, Governor-General Howard Cooke, when he sanctioned the exclusion of gays from the Boys Scouts.


“Those are not the type of persons we wish to be part of the scout movement,” he told a newspaper nearly two years ago.
Gay rights activists say that the failure of government to address the situation is putting even non-homosexuals at risk. Bobby (name withheld by request) says he was targeted because he “was not living with a woman”.


He told reporters that community leaders ordered him to leave his home.
And while gays living in middle and upper-class communities may escape the vicious beatings that their less fortunate counterparts in the inner cities are exposed to, they still face discrimination. Many complain of having police smash into their homes on false reports and of searches designed to catch them in compromising situations.
So the abuse continues and those who can, seek refuge abroad. Those with enough money and power, protect themselves behind security fences. According to J-FLAG, those with no recourse end up dead, others wander the streets and some lose their minds.

New ID Cards for Immigrants and Asylum Seekers in UK

According to No Borders South Wales' blog

The first UK ID cards have been unveiled, and come into force from 25th November. The card will hold the holder’s photograph, name, date of birth, nationality, immigration status and an electronic chip with biometric details, including fingerprints and digital facial image. All indefinitely held on the UK Identity and Passport Service database.

Initially the ID cards will be issued to non-EU students and marriage visa holders then, foreign nationals wanting to enter the UK. From next year other foreign nationals living in the UK will begin to be issued with ID cards. These groups will be forced to enrol on the scheme and use the card, rather than their passport, for identification,
Once migrants have been used to test the scheme, in 2009 anyone, regardless of nationality, who works in an area the government deems “sensitive” such as airports will be required to have an ID card. From 2010, students will need ID cards to get a student loan and they will be available to the rest of us on a “voluntary” basis, with them being paired with passports in 2011.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will produce the physical plastic cards, and use IBM to provide the technology. Foreign nationals who boycott the card could lose their right to stay. Those who refuse to make or turn up to an appointment to scan their fingerprints and facial image will face a £250 fine, rising to £1,000 for persistent refusal. Those who fail to tell police if they lose their ID card will face a fine of £125. Employers and sponsors of foreign nationals will be forced to keep records on them, including a copy of the employee’s ID card. Businesses found employing workers who do not have valid ID cards will face fines of up to £10,000 per person.

Be warned, those of you who think that asylum is an easy get away from here.