Thriving After a Breakup (A Lesbian Review)

By Judy Kinney


How to Deliberately Create Your Life After Your Relationship Changes


The Law of Attraction is a phenomenally powerful resource that is available to ALL of us! You may have seen the movies, “The Secret”, and “What the Bleep”, that helped popularize the Law of Attraction concepts that, our thoughts create our reality. This article explores how your answers to three questions can guide you to increased sense of peace and freedom after your relationship with a lover or partner changes.


Let’s start with a quick review of how the Law of Attraction works.


Everything within the universe is comprised of energy.


Energy interacts dynamically with itself, and like a magnet, attracts that which is similar. In practical terms, the universe is always agreeing with you and the thoughts and feelings you radiate. The formula for deliberate creation is simple:

Your Desire + Your Energy Alignment = The Life You Desire

Your ongoing answers to three essential questions can tap into your desires and support your energy alignment after your break up.

• What do I want?

A key point of the Law of Attraction is that whatever you focus on expands. Since focusing on what you like brings more of it to your life, feel free to dive into your desires.Yes, begin with what you want.
It is our nature to continually notice and evolve toward our desires. So, please, don’t be shy!!! Let your self be clear about what you like AND thankful for what you have. Learn to welcome the notion that your approach to life, break up, love, romance, and dating is uniquely yours.
To tap your desires, simply make a list of what you want. What do you want this very second, and in the future? Write it ALL down, and update it regularly. Remember, this is a list of what you want, not a list of what you don’t want. How will you feel when you have what you want? Integrate these feelings into your daily life through activities, visioning, and journaling.

• What will bring relief?

The universe responds well to relief because it is free of resistance. As mentioned above, whatever you focus on expands, so resistance will only bring your more resistance.Additionally, your soul knows that you are a naturally happy, joyous, generous, and expanding being who also knows how to heal. As you take steps that feel good and bring relief, you are also tapping into your true self. This means that you get to trust what feels good to you, especially during tender and challenging times!

• What if this is the most perfect place and time in my life?

I love this question! Asking yourself this question can support, or inspire you to become the protagonist in your own life. Look around and really notice what’s going well and what you’re enjoying. The universe can only agree and give you more of what’s going well. Yes, you will also notice a few things that you want to be different. But, the adjustments are much easier to make from the relaxed and inspired place this question arouses.


How to use these questions.
These questions are simple, yet profound guides toward your ever expanding self. The first question is all about desire, while the second and third questions relate to your alignment with your desires. Since transitioning out of a relationship is a journey, your answers to these questions at one time in your life might take you to one level of insight. As you continue to take action that supports your answers to these questions, you’ll tap deeper into the peace and freedom found in your core self.


Ask these questions often, especially at the beginning and end of your day. At the beginning of your day, you’ll be setting your intentions for how you want the day to be. At the end of the day, notice and appreciate how well you integrated the answers to these questions in your life.


Enjoy, and may you always flourish. . ..


Judy Kinney is the creator of Dream and Flourish LLC, a coaching resource for lesbian, bi and queer women who are ready for love, like they know it can be.

http://lesbiansanddating.blogspot.com/ for other interesting posts

Gays in Cameroon, and we thought we had it bad

By Eric Beauchemin

In Cameroon, homosexual acts are punishable by up to five years in prison and/or a fine. Over 30 people have been arrested in Cameroon over the past two years on charges of homosexuality. The number may sound small for a country of 16 million people, but the arrests have created tremendous fear among the Central African nation's gays.

logo for the LGBT group in Cameroon who helped to secure his release

One of the men who recently served time for being gay is 22-year-old Lorenzo. In September of last year, two policemen arrested him at the beauty salon where he worked and told him he was being charged with embezzlement.

He recounts:
"They took me to the police station, and it was there that I discovered that I hadn't been arrested for embezzlement but for statutory rape and homosexuality. I was dumbfounded. I didn't know what to do. And then they threw me and five other guys who were also gay in prison. We weren't tried and I was never sentenced. We were just put in prison as if we were wild animals."
Prison lifeLorenzo and the other five men spent a total of seven months in jail. They were all in the same cell and were rarely allowed out. Everyone in the prison, both the guards and the inmates, knew they were gay.

"Some of the prisoners called us ugly women and faggots all the time. They'd say you shouldn't be alive. They'd hit us and throw water at us. We were tortured. They tried to rape us. We couldn't leave our cell to get fresh air because we were afraid the big boys would threaten and hurt us. Some of the guards would make fun of us too. They thought we deserved to go to hell. We really couldn't leave our cell. It was like being in a prison within a prison."

A free man? When Lorenzo was released, he had no money and nowhere to go. He moved back in with his mother and brothers and sisters. They only discovered that he was gay when he was jailed. "My relationship with my family now is difficult.

They watch me closely. They don't accept it when my friends come to visit me at home. My mother says they're all gay, even though some of them aren't. She thinks I'm possessed. Every day she calls me a homosexual. I feel rejected. I don't know what to do anymore. I'm really at my wits end. I have to start my life again from zero. I have nothing and I have no one to help me."

Lorenzo, a gay man from Cameroon >>>>>>>>

Nations pledge to support gay rights at UN meeting (Jamaica Not Present it seems)

Gay rights were discussed at the UN Human Rights Council
(ppsssst you know what to do)

Several countries have responded positively to recommendations on gay rights at the 8th session of the UN Human Rights Council.
During the session Ireland and Slovenia expressed concern at the maintenance of the death penalty for homosexuality in Iran and criticised Nigeria for failing to follow up on recommendations to repeal the death penalty for consensual sexual conduct.
"In reply, Nigeria stated that no executions have taken place, and asserted that the maximum penalty for consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults is 14 years’ imprisonment," according to a recent report on the June session from LGBT rights group ARC International.
Ecuador, the Czech Republic and Japan were among nations that accepted recommendations to further address discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity,
However, the Ukraine said they would not apply the Yogyakarta Principles as a guide to assist in policy development.
The principles were adopted by a meeting of experts in international law in Yogyakarta, Indonesia in 2006.
They set out a legal standard for how governments and other agencies should end violence, abuse and discrimination against sexual minorities.
Switzerland rejected a proposals that federal legislation be introduced to prohibit discrimination, including on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, that the Yogyakarta Principles be applied to enhance the Government’s commitment to non-discrimination, and that the rights accorded to same-sex couples be equivalent to those accorded to opposite-sex couples.
Benin rejected calls to decriminalise homosexuality.
Zambia said it would not to decriminalise same-sex activity between consenting adults or develop HIV/AIDS programmes to respond to the needs of sexually-active gay men.
Egypt said killings based on sexual orientation do not warrant the same degree of attention or concern as killings based on race.
Pakistan rejected calls to decriminalise adultery and non-marital consensual sex, claiming the recommendations fall outside "universally recognised human rights."
However, there were positive commitments from some EU nations.
Romania agreed to develop awareness-raising programmes, including for law enforcement personnel, to promote respect for persons of minority sexual orientations or gender identities, to punish ill-treatment of sexual minorities in detention, to take additional measures to combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, and to protect the rights of LGBT activists to participate in peaceful public gatherings, such as the GayFest.
Poland accepted recommendations to adopt an anti-discrimination law, including on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, to withdraw any restrictions on addressing issues of homosexuality within educational establishments, and to ensure respect for the freedom of expression and association of those campaigning for equality on grounds of sexual orientation.
The UK agreed to follow the Council of the European Union Asylum Qualification Directive with regard to sexual orientation as grounds for seeking asylum.

Babi Watch

As you might have realised we have been following this asylum case closely in a bid to show you the rigors of asylum seeking that can occur, even a high profile case such as this proves that there are no guarantees as many of you here in Jamaica would like to believe, it is not as easy as it looks people!!

(Babi pictured on the left) was deported despite protests from various quarters.

Click his image to see the latest update from NoBordersWales' blog, they even sited us as well, wonderful work guys!! and thanx for the recognition.

"Babi sought asylum in the UK in 2006 following years of persecution because of his sexuality. His brothers on finding out that he was gay had threatened to kill him, with one attack from his eldest brother leaving him with only eight teeth......" CONTINUE HERE

I am sure they, NoBorders will keep us abreast of his sujourns.

We are praying for him.

Peace.

Gay leader assassinated in Baghdad

A leading gay activist in Iraq has been assassinated. 27 year old Bashar was targeted by gunmen yesterday.
He was one of the organisers of safe houses for gay men in Baghdad and was co-ordinator of Iraqi LGBT in the city.
Peter Tatchell of LGBT human rights group OutRage! said:
"On 25th September, I received the sad news from Iraq that the coordinator of Iraqi LGBT in Baghdad, Bashar, aged 27, a university student, was assassinated in a barber shop.
"Militias burst in and sprayed his body with bullets at point blank range.
"He was the organiser of the safe houses for gays and lesbians in Baghdad. His efforts saved the lives of dozens of people.
"Bashar was a kind, generous and extremely brave young man – a true hero who put his life on the line to save the lives of others.
"My thoughts go out to his loved ones and to the other members of Iraqi LGBT.
"Their courage is an inspiration to all people everywhere fighting against tyranny and injustice," said Mr Tatchell.
A UN report in 2007 highlighted attacks on gays by militants and religious courts, supervised by clerics, where homosexuals allegedly would be 'tried,' 'sentenced' to death and then executed."Violence against gays has intensified sharply since late 2005, when Iraq's leading Shiite Muslim cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, issued a fatwa, or religious decree, which declared that gays and lesbians should be 'killed in the worst, most severe way possible," said Alli HIli of Iraqi LGBT.
"Since then, LGBT people have been specifically targeted by the Madhi Army, the militia of fundamentalist Shia cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, as well as by the Badr organisation and other Shia death squads.
"Badr is the military arm of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, which is one of the leading political forces in Baghdad's western-backed ruling coalition," said Mr Hili.
While homosexuality is in itself not illegal in Iraq, several laws are used to persecute gay people.
Laws against loitering, indecent exposure, spreading "dangerous diseases," committing and indecent act in public and making "indecent" advances are all used.
However, of much more pressing threat to gay Iraqis are the actions of militia groups.

Bosnia gay festival closes after attacks at opening event

The organisers of a Queer Festival in Sarajevo have decided to close after some participants were attacked by an angry mob last night.
"We cannot guarantee the safety of visitors," organiser Svetlana Djurkovic told Reuters.
"The festival is closing down."
It was the first gay festival in Bosnia and was due to end on Saturday.
At the opening event in a Sarajevo art gallery last night, attended by 250 people, a gang of 70 men threw stones and shouted homophobic slogans.
They were driven back by police, but returned as people were leaving and beat them. Some of the victims were dragged from their cars.
Five men will face charges.
Posters appeared on the streets of Sarajevo earlier this month proclaiming "Death To Gays" and imams have spoken out against the festival, claiming that homosexuality is immoral and contrary to the Koran.
Today MEPs criticised the violence in Bosnia and reminded the country that respect for LGBT rights is a requirement of countries seeking EU membership.

Iranian President attacks US acceptance of homosexuality

The President of Iran has admitted in an interview that there may be "a few" gay people in his country, but attacked homosexuality as destructive to society.
In an interview with US current affairs TV programme Democracy Now, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also rejected criticism of the execution of children in Iran.
During his last visit to the US a year ago he said in reply to a question posed about homosexuality during his speech at New York's Columbia University:
"In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country… In Iran we do not have this phenomenon, I don't know who has told you that we have it."
In his TV interview yesterday he condemned American acceptance of gay people.
"It should be of no pride to American society to say they defend something like this," President Ahmadinejad said.
"Just because some people want to get votes, they are willing to overlook every morality."
Iranian human rights campaigners estimate that 4,000 gay men have been executed since the Islamic revolution in 1979.
Under Sharia law gay sex illegal, with penalty of death for offenders as young as 14 years old.
The vast majority of executions of juvenile offenders worldwide take place in Iran, where judges can impose the death penalty in capital cases if the defendant has attained "majority," defined in Iranian law as 9 years for girls and 15 years for boys, says Human Rights Watch.
Iran is known to have executed six juvenile offenders so far in 2008. More than130 other juvenile offenders are currently sentenced to death.
In 2005 Iran sparked international outrage when it publicly executed two teenage boys.
Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni were hanged because according to the regime they were rapists, however gay campaigners insist the boys were killed under Sharia law for the crime of homosexuality.
At first it was claimed by Iranian officials that they were aged 18 and 19.
The best evidence is that both youths were aged 17 when they were executed and therefore minors, aged 15 or 16, at the time of their alleged crimes.
"The legal age in Iran is different from yours," the President told Democracy Now when asked about executions of juveniles.
"If a person who happens to be 17 years old and 9 months kills one of your relatives, would you just overlook that?"
Mr Ahmadinejad was also unbowed by speculation that the US may take action against his country's nuclear weapons programme.
"Mr. Bush is very interested to start a new war," he said, but claimed Iran is "very capable of defending itself.
"We think there are enough wise people in this country to prevent unreasonable actions by the administration."
Mr Ahmadinejad is in New York to attend the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Out of the closet - Ulla (South Africa)

I was about 21-ish, I think. I’d left South Africa for the UK with a long list of questions I needed answers for, including, since I was pretty sure I was gay - how the hell was I going to go about getting confirmation? Since everyday life never seemed to bring me an opportunity to sleep with a woman, I decided that a personal ad in London’s Time Out magazine was the way to go. I kept that ad for ages, wish I still had it. I said something about red wine and good conversation and intelligence and humour. It was a good investment, that ad … kept me in friends, lovers, admirers and stalkers for years. But that, as they say, is another story; quite a few other stories in fact. It brought me my first four month relationship with a woman. She was a few years younger than me, 6′ tall and a biker, with a pierced nose and an interesting hairstyle. I never told her I was a virgin.
A little while into the relationship and with the zeal of the newly-converted, I decided it was Time To Tell My Mother. Considering I pride myself on my honestly, I have to wonder why, at that stage, I needed to phone mother, 6000 miles away, but not tell anyone in the actual geographical area around me, when I’d already been there a year or so. Anyway, at the time I was also quite an accomplished drinker, so I travelled rather far down a bottle of Stolichnaya (they’re not sponsoring this story) fresh from the freezer, and dialed South Africa. I was drunk. When I’m drunk I’m excessively cheerful and I merrily said to my poor mother, “I’ve got something to tell you!” She asked what and I sniggered and told her to guess. She got it in two. First she asked if I was pregnant and then, over the sound of my guffaws, whether I was a lesbian.

It was a sobering moment and I just said yes. We spoke for a a short while afterwards and she impressed me by asking whether I had my own closet and if it was pink.
Apparently she cried a bit and spoke to my stepsister, who reassured her that I was still me and so forth. Apparently she surprised herself by suddenly and for the first time ever, being sorry that I might not have children (at 38 I still don’t and am sure I won’t). She was cool though and remains fairly cool, although too much talk of sexuality irritates her badly and we’ve had some heated debates about just why gay people have to be so “in your face” about it.
After that, my boss sussed me out, told friends she thought I was gay and eventually the job became untenable and I resigned. I was young and outraged and marched and bought t-shirts and proceeded to wrestle myself into my new identity with mostly positive results and reactions. I think in many ways it made me; it certainly gave me confidence.
I was thrilled when TLQ emailed about this project, as I’ve been collecting coming out stories too.

GRENADA - Book suggests homosexuality will be accepted in Caribbean soon

Grenada (CMC):

A university lecturer is predicting that homosexuality could soon be accepted as a way of life in the Caribbean.

Claude Douglas, a sociologist, has just released a new book titled, Homosexuality in the Caribbean: Crawling Out Of the Closet, which examines the rise of homosexuality in the region. The 60-page book covers issues ranging from biological origins and the gay tourist phenomenon, to the campaign to decriminalise homosexuality in the region.
"If we look at the evolutionary process of the society and see how the society evolves, we would see that yesterday's deviants become today's and tomorrow's norms," Douglas told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).

"Let us take, for example, the wearing of earrings by men. This was actually tabooed in Grenada many years ago. Today, there are men who appear almost feminine, based on their attire, and this is a growing acceptance now."
The book examines the libera-lism in Europe as it relates to homosexuality and how dependent territories in the Caribbean, such as Suriname, Martinique and Guadeloupe, have been affected as a result of the stance adopted by their former colonial masters.

More tolerant
For example, the author notes that in 2001, the United Kingdom was in the forefront of repealing laws in its overseas dependent territories, such as Turks and Caicos, Cayman Islands, Montserrat and Anguilla.
"As the society evolves, people become more tolerant of certain behaviour that was sanctioned in the past; people become more accepting of certain behaviour. But it's a reality that we would all have to deal with, whether we like it or not," said Douglas, a lecturer at the St George's University here. "It is coming. It is really coming and we have to brace ourselves to deal with this upsurge in homosexuality in the Caribbean, and Grenada, in particular.
"There is a whole tide of this rights movement throughout the world and it's really taking hold in the Caribbean as well," he added.
Decriminalisation of homosexuality has become a hotly debated topic in the English-speaking Caribbean and the issue of whether homosexual cruises should be allowed into Port St George was a major talking point for months in Grenada late last year.
Advocates include St Kitts and Nevis prime minister, Dr Denzil Douglas, and Guyana's Health Minister Leslie Ramsammy who both suggested that decrimina-lisation could help curb the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Attorneys general in the Eastern Caribbean are due to meet in Guyana in November to review the laws on homosexuality.

Favour women
Meanwhile, Pastor Gerard Keens Douglas says he is concerned that new legislation being developed to protect victims of sexual harass-ment could favour women against men because it is being spear-headed by a feminist group, the Grenada National Organisation for Women (GNOW).
"I believe there is no doubt it's going to be tipped towards the feminine position on the issue of harassment. I believe it's definitely going to be biased and prejudicial in favour of women against men," said the Pentecostal pastor.
GNOW has just completed a national consultation on sexual harassment to solicit feedback for inclusion in an initial draft bill.

Serious concern
While recognising the work of GNOW in the development of women here, Pastor Keens Douglas is calling on feminist organisations to abandon their old mantra that men are sexual aggressive predators while women are helpless victims.
"That would have been good in the 20th century and the 19th and going back, but from the 21st century, we have a new kind of female on the scene. The stakes have changed. What we have today are females who are thought to be aggressive, assertive, to get your way, don't take no for an answer.
"And whereas, in the past, men were always perceived as the sexual aggressors, today, it has become a cross gender issue and that has to be of concern. And so, in framing a legislative agenda that's biased against men, women are just as guilty. It really is of serious concern to me," the pastor added.

Another Vicious Anti-Trans Attack

One of the first ever formal transphobic attacks on record as Jamaica Forum for Lesbians Allsexuals and Gays never covered this area as widely then until we came across the phenomenon with this client, it was there I got fired up about transgender issues in depth and commenced my research on the associated issues.

At around 2:40am Sunday September 21, 2008 the above photographed victim was befriended by two males at a park in New Kingston, pretending to help "her" out. New Kingston is widely known for open commercial sex work by mostly women and males as cross dressers servicing specific clients then who are aware of the demarcations. While sitting at a bus stop initially near the park, the two males who were passing by presented themselves as keeping her company, around some time after the men offered to keep her warm, as it turned out this was a front to launch their planned assault on the victim.

The victim who is a pre-operative transsexual presents as a woman so the men believing the victim was female attempted to rape her.

She fought vigorously to be free of her attackers, however not before sustaining the injuries photographed where a knife was used to slash her throat, they tried to strangle her and ripped her blouse and pants off, It was at this juncture that upon realising she was a "he" they inflicted the slashing.

The security guards on the premises nearby were not very helpful, when she tried to seek help partially nude, after escaping her attackers, who by this time made off with her cash amounting to $JA9000.00, a cell phone and other personal effects, one guard apparently attempted to pull his firearm and told her to get away.

It was a commercial sex worker on the strip who saw her and assisted her by calling the police. They arrived and took her to the hospital and instructed her to file a report after getting medical attention.

She subsequently contacted JFLAG representatives who arrived at the hospital to her aid where she remained for some days before being released, she recuperated and was having trouble finding a permanent shelter at the time of her displacement.

August 2011

Since all that she has had to endure some problems resettling and so on and at one point was homeless for a short period with just some assistance from Jamaica AIDS Support where she was allowed to occupy an area for a short time. She has since then recovered and is self employed while presenting as a woman as she is pre-operative Male to Female.

Peace and tolerance

H

Breast milk purged of HIV virus

Cotton wool soaked in sodium dodecyl sulphate deactivates HIV virus

A simple nipple shield that prevents HIV transmission from a breast-feeding mother to her child has been devised by a Cambridge University engineer.
Stephen Gerrard, a chemical engineer, has helped devise the shield that can disinfect milk as it leaves the breast.
The device uses a detergent used by biochemists to denature proteins for analysis.
A layer of cotton-wool soaked in the chemical is added to a conventional shield and this deactivates the virus.
The layer deals with the virus without having to go through heat treatment which is the normal treatment to deactivate the HIV virus.
The International Design Development Summit (IDDS) in the United States brought together engineers and field workers to work on research projects aimed at developing prototype designs.
Non-toxic solution
Mr Gerrard, together with a team of five others, was assigned the task of creating a practical design for heating breast milk to deactivate the virus.
"We quickly established this may be too lengthy a process for many women in developing countries so they might not have the time for it," he said.
"Research has shown that copper and copper compounds can work but another approach, carried out by a group at Drexel University seemed more promising.
"Their research has focused on sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), which can kill the HIV virus quickly and in fairly non-toxic concentrations."
Their project could also have benefits beyond prevention of HIV.
"We were concerned that using our nipple shield could be stigmatizing, since it would identify a mother as HIV infected," said Mr Gerrard.
"We're considering marketing it as a way to deliver medicines or micronutrient supplements to aid breast feeding. For example, they can also be used for iron or iodine deficiency."

Two gay asylum seekers deported from UK

In the past two days two gay men who claimed their lives would be in danger if they were returned to their home countries have been forcibly repatriated.
Ugandan John Nyombi was deported on a flight in Entebbe on Friday evening. His supporters in the UK say he is now in hiding from police.
The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission issued an action alert on Thursday because of the escalating violence against LGBT people in Uganda.
Mr Nyombi's solicitors believe that the deportation was "an illegal act of the UK Border Agency."
Babakhan Badalov, known as Babi, was deported from Heathrow yesterday afternoon on a British Midlands Airways (BMI) flight to Baku.
A reknowned artist, he claimed his sexual orientation and his public opposition to the Azerbaijani government put his life in risk.
His supporters say his removal contradicts UK Border Agency rules as they changed the details of his forced removal at the last minute and did so on a Saturday.
They also claim a border agent said to Mr Badalov before he was deported: "You make us sick, you're going back where you belong."
Despite a campaign that successfully persusaded Azerbaijan Airlines not to transport Mr Badalov, BMI agreed to repatriate him.
Gay rights acitivst Peter Tatchell said he recently met Deputy Prime Minister Harriet Harman and she and Barbara Follett, Equalities Minister, agreed to "examine and assist in the correction of any unfair treatment of LGBT asylum applicants."

Activists have called for a boycott of BMI.
gayasylumuk criticised the government today.
"Gay and lesbian Labour voters in particular consider changing their vote if the [LGBT asylum] policy isn't changed before the next election," the group said.
"This is one way to get the message through on their hypocrisy regarding lesbian and gay rights issues — when embassies in other countries are flying the rainbow flag they aren't doing this in Tehran, Kingston or Kampala."
Earlier this year the rainbow flag, a symbol of the LGBT community, flew during Pride in two eastern European nations from the British Embassy as a show of support.

No Borders South Wales

Click the image to go to No Borders South Wales to see the "Babi must stay protest" outside the UK borders offices on Wed the 17th September....since then however he has been deported despite the efforts by this wonderful group.

At least it has shown us here that we need to fight for what we want ourselves.

Good example to us from No Borders South Wales

their motto :

Organising against migration controls and for freedom of movement for all!

Peace.

Lesbians Take Over?

(as usual read the star news with a grain of salt as fear is the driver here than common sense; as if seeing or toucherism will make the contact viewer gay! ........ oh boi)

Men have been taking a back seat at strip clubs as women are being given all the attention, investigations by THE WEEKEND STAR have revealed.

Many men say they are being outdone and in some cases outnumbered by strip club-attending lesbians. To add insult to injury, they allege that exotic dancers now seem more fond of women.
"It look like wi haffi go ban di lesbian dem or gi dem one club fi dem self cause is like dem a tek ova ya now. Dem did always a come a club but now a dem a run di club dem an a dem nuff a di dancer girl dem interested inna. Dem naw pay wi nuh whole heap a attention again," an irate sounding Kirk Hewitt, a patron at a club explained. Hewitt, 39, claims he has been attending strip clubs for a long time, but, like this reporter, was quite surprised by the turn of events at a club recently.

Groups of women were seen gathered at various sections of the club dancing together. They were soon joined by the exotic dancers who would play with them, leaving the men by themselves.
The women would wine and grind on each other, touching and even kissing, much to the disgust of some men who openly showed their displeasure by shouting expletives and rude comments at them.

Similar situations were witnessed at several other strip clubs.
"Yu si dem my youth, if some woman nuh strong inna di earth none a dem naw go lef fi nuh man get," Andre Garrick, another strip club patron said. "A pure group a dem par eno and dem have up dem money suh di go-go dem nuh business cause dem a get fi dem ting."

Money is the reason

Other male patrons agreed that money was the reason for them being outdone by the women.

"Dem gal deh money tall eno, a pure big car dem drive and fi dem table always full a liquor, plus dem nah ramp fi all tip di go-go dem wid some big money...True we as some hardworking man now a try play tight wid our own, di go-go dem naw badda stress demself ova we," another said.

HAVE MORE FUN

But many of these women say they are just merely trying to have fun and are not trying to outdo the men.
"I go to strip clubs all the while, and it's not a case where we are trying to overthrow men so to speak, it's just a case where more and more of us are becoming more comfortable with our sexuality and want to have more fun," one woman said.

"Men like to party, we like to party, men love to see dancers and we love to see them too," another added.
When asked about her feelings on the issue, one dancer, who identified herself as Ginger, boldly replied, "Money talks bull... walks!"
Her views were echoed by other dancers. "A nuh seh wi naw pay di man dem nuh mind but a di woman dem a spend di money suh wi haffi go weh di money deh," one added.

Clinical psychologist Dr Asquith Reid, said while money may be a pulling factor for this 'girl on girl' indulgence, as some females have claimed, people are generally just doing what they want to, be it in their homes or the strip clubs.

Reid said that immoral practices of this sort was nothing new but has got more widespread in recent times due to technological advances. "It seems more prevalent today because of the exposure that people now have to cable," he said. "People are exploring these behaviours that they see, some may end up liking it while others may not."

He noted that despite the behaviour of some of these women who trod the lesbian path or act in such a way in the clubs, they actually have heterosexual relationships at home.

ENDS

Sad that people always tend to ascribe money for gay sex as a reason for homosexuality, when will we grow into some sense nationally?

Peace & tolerance

H

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