Cuba hosts first transgender Mass .........

So or friends in Cuba are moving on quite nicely and making major strides in the realm of a tolerant church, I wish more of our local churches just get with it. This news is timely indeed as a previous post left me a bit down where a pastor is accused of committing buggery on a fifteen year old boy in Trelawny.

By Sarah Marsh and Anett Rios | MATANZAS, CUBA (Reuters)

For decades belonging to a religion and being anything but heterosexual was stigmatized in Communist-ruled, macho Cuba, making the Mass held by three transgender pastors in the western Cuban city of Matanzas all the more groundbreaking.

Trans pastors Cindy Bourgeois from Canada (C) and Alexya Salvador from Brazil listen to trans Baptist reverend Allyson Robinson from the U.S. during a mass in Matanzas, Cuba, May 5, 2017. Picture taken on May 5, 2017. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

Rainbow flags decorated the chapel, while the pastors, who had flown in from Brazil, Canada and the United States, wore stoles in the trans hues of light blue, pink and white and the congregation swayed to Caribbean beats.

Friday was the first time a trans pastor held a Holy Communion in Cuba, highlighting how much the island nation has changed since both religious believers and homosexuals went to "correctional" labor camps in the early years after the 1959 revolution.

"Tonight has been a night of celebration of equality between all people, marking a new era for Cuba," said Alexya Salvador, a Brazilian trans pastor, born Alexander, wearing a black dress with a white clerical collar and lacy sleeves she made herself.

"God's love is radically inclusive."

The Mass on Friday was the highlight of a three-day conference on transsexuality and theology organized by the Matanzas-based Cuban branch of the international Metropolitan Community Church.

"This is not only a first of its kind event for Cuba, but certainly one of the very first ever to be held anywhere in the world," said Allyson Robinson, a trans Baptist reverend from Washington.

The conference took place ahead of the 10th anniversary, next weekend, of Cuba celebrating the global day against homophobia, and included a raucous "transformist" party as well as a variety of panels on theology and personal experiences.

In one, Salvador argued God was transgender, given the Holy Trinity was made up of the Holy Spirit, which she views as feminine, the Father and the Son.

Elaine Saralegui, a lesbian pastor who founded the Cuban branch of the MCC nearly two years ago, said she hoped the conference would foster greater inclusion of trans people and prove that being trans and Christian were not incompatible.

"I leave with having learnt a lot of things I can share with other trans," said one participant, a 26-year-old Cuban trans woman called Malu Duardo, "in particular that there is a God for everyone."

Saralegui's congregation numbers around 35 but she said she also gets asked to hold Mass at lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans (LGBT) activist events around the rest of the island nation of 11 million inhabitants.

"Nearly always they ask me to hold a liturgy there, so we have to improvise wine, bread and hold a (Lord's) supper anywhere," she said.

The trans pastors said they were impressed by Cuba's progressiveness in some respects, for example providing state-financed sex reassignment.

The country was clearly lagging the rest of the Americas in other ways though, they said. Same-sex couples may not marry or adopt children and a promised update to Cuba's family code has been slow to materialize.

"Everyone should have the right to have a family," said Salvador, who has adopted two children, including a trans girl. "I believe this touch of God will also happen in the Cuban community."

Buggery accused pastor relieved of pastoral duties

A 27 year old pastor of the New Testament Church of God in Bonkers Hill Trelawny has been relieved of duties after he was charged with sexual assault & buggery of a minor being a fifteen year old boy. Percy Smith has been slapped with buggery, gross indecency and grievous bodily harm, the acts allegedly occurred between 2016 to earlier this year. In a press release yesterday the Administrative Bishop of the church Reverend Wellesley Blair confirmed that Smith was removed from conducting anymore pastoral duties, he said the church disassociates itself from immoral, unlawful or reprehensible acts unbecoming of a pastor; he said the church is willing to cooperate with the investigators in whatever appropriate or is necessary and that the church is also expressing sympathy to the family affected, the accused pastor is to face the court sometime this week.

I hope that the youngster is being properly counselled and engaged towards some recovery, also I hope the court systems are taking into account the sensitivities involved and that the matter is tried ‘in camera’ (the accused and the victim) so as to avoid any unneeded exposure. The repeated mention dates and or preliminary hearings can be daunting for the victims in particular, to be asked to go to court to face the evil one or made to relive the matter. I can only imagine the state of affairs in that household and by extension the rest of the church community and the condemnation on their part of the accused pastor seeing it is same gender sex matter, I raise that because of the justification of an ongoing matter of the Moravian pastor who was accused of assault of a fifteen year old girl. Many commentated openly that nothing was wrong with ‘a little sex’ and after all she is a girl and the accused pastor in that matter should be forgiven; the efforts by some who ought to know better to seemingly protect that pastor only threw salt in the wound and has left me wondering what other dark secrets ad out there that church boards are aware of but cover them up so as not to ruffle feathers. Apparently hetero-paedophile appearing abuse cases can or should be allowed some leeway because it the accepted straight sex but mention a male and all hell break loose. Comments made by overly fanatically sympathetic congregants and others that the Moravian pastor blasting those who accused them shows up the kinds of control some have over those who are easily led.

Something seems off when it comes to the Moravian church in recent times as such clerical abuse is mostly linked to the Catholic Church but in this year alone we have seen Pentecostals, now this New Testament Church and even non traditional denominations. Priests continue to clothe themselves in piety but use their power and privilege over the weak. Simply put abuse is abuse no matter the gender of the victim or the perpetrator and a pastor is the last person one would expect to hear being accused of such issues, are pastors joining or hiding in the church just to gain access to the weak, the very weak Christ’s teachings encouraged that should be reached?

This is not the best time for awful news such as this given it is child’s month and the disturbing set of inappropriateness of pastors or persons purporting to be men of the cloth who abuse the weak psychologically and otherwise. On one hand it is good that such hidden actions are being exposed but on the other it sends a wrong message to persons in terms of the trust of the church and has indirect implications towards the national discourse or shouting match on the buggery law amendment or repeal depending on which side one is on. Some members of the public have been up in arms since the story broke suggesting that no change whatsoever must come to the law; it is cases like this one that makes it all the more relevant to amend the law as in the amendment it should take into account (non) consent for adults while also making it very clear the protection of children under the age of consent which is 16 years old. One also hopes that if and when there is some amendment that there is no hetero or homosexual buggery demarcation as was done in the UK before the ages of consent were equalized in the 1980s.

There is another ongoing matter for some years now in the St Andrew parish court involving a female victim who was also buggered by a pastor, sadly the creaking court systems and yet to be properly updated ways of doing business still escapes our justice systems overall. That case is being tracked but in the twenty first century why are some judges still taking notes by hand despite smartphones with voice recording capabilities, laptops with powerful microphone ranges and the promised video cameras in court to track hearings so judges can go back and review the materials. Only a few courthouses have been updated to meet the relevant changes and make them fully operational. Another challenge I have is the business of follow-up of older cases and their outcomes in terms of the victims, the system is so overwhelmed that it is next to impossible to keep up.

The sexual offences bill review is on and many like me are not so optimistic on any positive movements similar to reviews passed but hope remains while company is true.

Peace & tolerance

H

That oral sex debate again with Ishawna.......

I was not going to enter the whole Ishawna controversy on her song on ‘Human Rights’ power negotiations and oral sex in heterosexual relations. I was asked what I thought about it and frankly it just shows how backward we are yet still as a nation and have a long way to go on supposed taboo subjects including homosexuality despite major increased visibility and social media to boot. To easily measure the place in terms of changing hearts and minds I try to encourage persons to look at the oral sex debates when they occur and or reactions when it comes to public attention. The very Ishawna of which I speak is the very same and relatively a newcomer in dancehall female arena who had shot a lesbian themed video with another female dancehall female DJ which also caused a major firestorm, bearing in mind that the previous queen of dancehall Lady Saw now known as Marion Hall has converted to Christianity so the rawness of the sexually explicit and undiluted lyrics so I guess the gloves are off for beef manufactured or not is the way to stay in the marker or on the radar, attention span by the easily bored public these days is short so I guess any drama goes as entertainment. Lady Saw had made it clear of her songs in her heyday that she not ‘cleaning any rifle’ 

also see: We're not lesbians - Stylysh clarifies song with Ishawna .......... 2014 and "Rimming" promoting DJ gets blamed for freaky singjay's ostracism & death threats and Alkaline (Rimming DJ) gets a homophobic response from newcomer Dwayno's track 2014

Comments are still pouring in days later, 

Pamella Parks
"Ishawna, remember the kids them cause them a listen it behind the door so yah fi cut down pon it, but mi like yu music. Princess Street girls them love it. Bag juice and Pepsi...Wow!"

Christine Hall
"Mi a no a fan of but the song just nice and right on point. Mi honestly believe say she deserve a Grammy because she brave. Other [male] artiste a sing bout them thing deh and no body nah lick out pon them."

Audrey Crossman
"To each his own. When people inna dem bedroom a dem private thing. I don’t have a problem with it, she a make her honest bread. I would buy the song, I sent it to my boyfriend yesterday."

Javae Simms
"The song deh weh she do a fi man who freaky. A freaky man song dat. But true me know mi a straight foward man. A da thing deh we use fi wul the girl them, we nuh use we upright."

Keron Woods
"I think it is full time a female should actually step up to the plate and show the men in the industry that a nuh only them can come and talk about oral sex. I stand with Ishawna on that song. Equal Rights and Justice."

Ray Buchanan
"People do all sought a foolishness and a mek money offa it. Is just a musical thing and I feel like she just want attention."

Lest we forget another female veteran in the business Cecile had done her song on oral sex and it too had a major firestorm of a reaction from the public but was well accepted within the lesbian community especially when I was more active as a DJ, the drawback for her however there was no social media on a wider scale as know but online blogs and gossip sites and Yahoo groups had the Youtube videos had heavy rotation. In 2013 Female dancehall artistes Tiana, Angelina, Destiny and Cecile are poised to make oral sex a norm locally. Cecile effectively started the movement years ago with her song Do It To Me, however she received backlash from the dancehall community. Sting saw up-and-coming dancehall artiste Angelina performing a song called Head Mistress, in which she said "Mi deep throat it from the root to the stem and mi nuh hav gag reflex problem...mi roll mi tongue like a dice." According to the deejay Jamaica is becoming more liberal with sexuality.

Destiny recently released a song called FUCK, in which she states that she knows to work it on her knees. According to Destiny, Vybz kartel made oral sex a norm for females to speak about, however the males are still skeptic about the matter, even though they might be taking part in oral sex.

Outaroad recording artiste Tiana also toys with the topic of oral sex in her rendition of Vybz Kartel's Freaky Gyal. She says she loves a man that uses his mouth in bed.

Tiana's song then had over 20,000 views on YouTube.com in one hour and had mixed views from the dancehall fans. 

It’s a bit hypocritical to me however that the sex industry or aspects of it heavily encourage the performance in strip clubs and such and even to the point of the ‘Madames’ and in private relations it is strongly suspected that oral sex by way of a man ‘eating out’ his female partner or even going as far as rimming (oral/anal sex); dancehall artist Alkaline got himself into a rut some years ago as well when he was said to be promoting nastiness. Want more hypocrisy just visit the strip clubs in recent years and watch heavily tipping males who go crazy when lesbian themed live sex on stage is presented. Another male artist who openly promoted oral sex found himself the subject of adoration and backlash mostly by men and other DJs and his career has stalled as he has been unable to have a follow up hit. I just cannot wrap my head around what’s the big deal on oral sex made public at least, that’s a decision between the parties involved as consenting adults. Men feel that the woman must always play the subservient sexual role by cleaning the stick as it were; a recent motor vehicle crash where the driver died was said to have been caused by a woman performing oral sex from which he was distracted which led to the unfortunate end.

The Star had carried this: Not all rights are equal - selectors, deejays shun Ishawna's oral sex song. 

DIFFERENT VIEWS 

Artistes like Bounty Killer's protege Prince Pin, KipRrich, and Don Vital have begged to differ with Ishawna's position.

Their response songs have ranged from outright disrespecting Ishawna, to simply trying to steer her in the direction the artistes deem appropriate.

Carlington Wilmot, who produced KipRich's song No Eating Rights under his label Wilmot Records, told THE STAR that Ishawna is rightfully using controversy to regain attention in the dancehall.

"Some artistes have to realise that when controversy got you out then you have to keep being controversial, so I guess she is going that route now. KipRich's song is representing for the man dem weh know that they stay healthy by working out so they know how to satisfy their women without having to do certain things. It's not every woman want oral sex," Wilmot said. 

GOING TOO EASY 

Prince Pin, however, held no punches. He believes KipRich and other artistes were going too easy on Ishawna and only counteracted her song for attention.

"You have to send a clear message, we can't mek dem mash up wi music, suh mi a fight fire wid fire. Some things yu see in the world, don't bring it in dancehall. We can't allow her to mislead the kids and I have a daughter so no bumpa inna face. Mi nah fake nothing, mi a be real and buss it for rights. " he said.

Ishawna couldn't be reached for comment. However, she did post a video on Instagram claiming the song was rising despite backlash.

"When dem seh your song nah go ever play in parties. Who vex? I love my fans," she captioned.

Her ex-boyfriend, selector Foota Hype, who was drawn into the mix by Prince Pin, who mentioned his name on his record, declined to comment.

"No comment bout certain people," he said.

The ‘dem bow’ or ‘nyam under two foot table’ resistance towards a man performing oral sex on a woman is so real and dated that men feel they will be reduced in terms of the power dynamics play out in the liaison. This is outside of the cougar phenomenon (older more financially stable woman with a younger male as a stud); this latest episode is showing me at least the more things change the more they stay the same given the exposure to matters of sexuality on social media but sheeesh we are right back at the 1980s. I can remember the Shabba Ranks massive hit anti oral sex anthem “Dem Bow” and then subsequent younger DJs who made sure that in their repertoire there must be songs blasting oral sex (openly that it) and of course murder music to be considered a legitimate star, art imitating life or what? Then there is the blackmail component of all of this, if word hits the streets that Tom or George is an eater it can literally lead to ostracism from social circles combined with merciless ridicule. It is easy to say one does not condone oral sex but privately you just never know.

Strangely in the face of the anti oral sex wave a short lived imported billboard dancemusic #1 hit in the 1990s from a group called 20 Fingers ft Roula entitled ‘Lick It’ which goes straight to the point and was heavily rotated on the club and ironically street dance circuit however but that could have been the aftermath from their massive hit prior “Short Dick Man” with Gillete on vocals; which also influenced the role play emphasis but the female in the song is emphasizing power in the penis. Roula’s demand prior to her partner penetrating her is quite clear, the lyrics says it all:

“You gotta lick it so we can kick it, you gotta get it soft and wet so we can kick it ................ give my cat a taste you gotta face it so that I can get high...........”

There is a clearly defined prerequisite before any penetration which if we are to go by local standards my turn off many men on the face of it, then again we are not in the room when the act if about to unfold; the intervening factor must not be there in the eyes of some Jamaican men. The demand by Roula also could be a function by some women of feeling unsatisfied by men who do not engage in foreplay which makes the session just a walk through on the woman’s part as arousal is low. Porn globally definitely has helped to set that timetable for sex, oral action comes first then penetration follows thereafter. Sex is seen more as a violent act more than that of pleasure and even in lesbian relationships in some sense that thinking comes through; the concept of sex toys by way of strap-ons and effectively mimicking heterosexual sex and harder the wearer of the device goes during the act then more legitimate she will be seen. 

A fight at a strip club in Kingston some time ago involving a butch identified woman (yet again) and the comments made during the melee was enough to give a picture of who is the ‘boss’ in the bigger scheme of things despite the butch woman allows her partner to dance on stage but complains when a male patron tipped her and openly engaged the stripper when sent the butch woman into a rage. The aggressor repeatedly reminded those in earshot who was ‘pushing wood’ (penis) and she was proud of doing so but no woman is going to perform oral sex on her but she will proudly perform it on another woman; that seems to be the near opposite of the current Ishawna hetero-normative power differentials. It gets further complicated when the demarcations of studs and butches as the former is not considered legitimate enough as a bonafide lesbian but can be flexible in terms of oral sex, dominant role play, femme aesthetics and community acceptance in some sense. 

meanwhile Nationwide radio did this discussion:

and the so called Messiah of freak J Amsterdam on his pro-oral sex song

Let us see where this goes as change is so slow when it comes to enlightenment.

Peace & tolerance

H

VICTORY - SAME SEX MARRIAGE is now legal in Bermuda.

Yes indeed, our friends in Bermuda have done it. Lord knows this is go news given the closing walls via Trump et al elsewhere a nice victory in law, fair square. 

A gay couple have won their legal challenge against the Registrar-General’s decision to reject their application to marry in Bermuda.

the loving couple

Winston Godwin and his Canadian fiancé, Greg DeRoche, took their case to the Supreme Court, arguing that the Human Rights Act took primacy in Bermuda and protected their right to marry.  The Royal Gazette also featured the development.

This morning, Puisne Judge Charles Etta-Simmons delivered her ruling that stated: “On the facts, the applicants were discriminated against on the basis of their sexual orientation when the Registrar refused to process their notice of intended marriage.”

The judgment continues: “The applicants are entitled to an Order of Mandamus compelling the Registrar to act in accordance with the requirements of the Marriage Act and a declaration that same-sex couples are entitled to be married under the Marriage Act.”

Mr Godwin and Mr DeRoche, represented by lawyer Mark Pettingill, sought an order from the Supreme Court to compel the Registrar to post their marriage banns, in accordance with the Marriage Act. They also want a declaration that same-sex couples are entitled to be married under that law.

When the civil case was heard over three days in January and February, Mr Pettingill urged the court to write the final chapter in the protection of gay rights in Bermuda.

He said the couple’s case encapsulates “the right to happiness, the right of all people to seek love and happiness”. Mr Pettingill added: “The applicants say that religious arguments bear no relevance on civil contractual marriage. This is a matter of statutory interpretation.

“It is time for the courts fully armed with the legal protection of the Human Rights Act to write the final chapter in the protection of the rights of gay people of secular orientation and all the rights that everyone enjoys to be the same.”

But the Government’s lawyer, Deputy Solicitor-General Shakira Dill-Francois, told the court that the Registrar-General could not post marriage banns for gay couples because such unions are null and void under Bermuda’s existing laws

She said that under section 33 of the Marriage Act 1944, it was an offence for the Registrar to authorise a marriage, knowing it was void.

She added the Matrimonial Causes Act 1974, in section 15, clearly set out the grounds on which a marriage was void, including if “the parties are not respectively male and female”.

Adding that the two pieces of legislation had to be read and understood together, Ms Dill-Francois asked: “Why would the Registrar proceed to register a marriage that is, in fact, void?”

Preserve Marriage, which has campaigned to maintain marriage as between a man and a woman, and the Human Rights Commission were allowed to join the proceedings as “interveners”.

Preserve Marriage was represented by lawyer Delroy Duncan, who argued that changing the law on same-sex marriage could open the door for “multiple-partner marriages” on the island.

“We have to ask ourselves whether this legislation is permissive of such marriages or whether or not what you are being asked to do could open the door to multiple-partner marriages,” he said.

Mr Duncan maintained that Parliament must decide on the issue of same-sex marriage “through the ballot box”.

Reacting this morning, Mr Godwin told The Royal Gazette: “I feel a huge sense of relief. It’s been a long road to get to this stage for me and Greg, and for Mark and also for Bermuda.

“It has been a long time coming. This ruling, although it was in our favour ... there is still so much more to do in Bermuda.

“This is a big step in the right direction. I cannot thank my legal team and my supporters enough.”

Lawyer Rod Attride-Stirling, who acted for the Human Rights Commission during the case, said in a prepared statement: “It is a matter of great shame that the legislature did not act in this matter to put the issue beyond doubt.

“It is also a matter of great shame that the Attorney-General fought the case in the manner in which it was fought, ignoring the Bermudian cases on the proper interpretation of the human rights act. This should not have been so.

“I am glad to see that the Bermuda court has followed the courts, first of South Africa, which decided this issue in 2005, and then the United States which followed suit in 2015.

“The message of hate and exclusion has been rejected. Human rights means human rights for all humans. Equally. No one is excluded.

“Gays who want to marry can now do so.

“Bermuda owes a huge debt of gratitude to the two brave young men who brought this action, Winston Godwin and Greg DeRoche. They will always be remembered as heroes of the human rights movement.”

meanwhile more from .....

The Rainbow Alliance has declared today’s landmark gay marriage ruling a victory for all same-gender loving people in Bermuda.

Saluting Winston Godwin and Greg DeRoche for their courage in taking on the Bermuda Government at the risk of being ostracised by the community, the Alliance issued a statement saying “love always wins”.

The organisation also released a comment from Mr Godwin, a Bermudian, and his Canadian fiancé Mr DeRoche, saying they hope the result gives more people courage to speak up or come out.

Earlier today, Puisne Judge Charles Etta-Simmons had delivered a ruling in favour of the couple, who had challenged the Registrar-General’s decision to reject their application to marry in Bermuda.

The Alliance said it was “overwhelmed with joy at the conclusion of today’s historic ruling”.

It continued: “We applaud the landmark decision by Justice Charles Etta-Simmons. Today, history has been made and love has won.

“This ruling is not only a victory for a brave young couple willing to fight for their love, Winston Godwin and his fiance Greg DeRoche, this ruling is a victory for all same-gender loving people in Bermuda.

“In this decision, the courts have affirmed that the love between two consenting adults is worth protecting with law, regardless of gender.

“This outcome ensures that same-gender couples can enjoy the same legal protections as heterosexual spouses do. This outcome preserves the notion that love is the greatest force of all.”

It quoted Mr Godwin and Mr DeRoche as saying: “We appreciate all the positive affirmations and support. This has been a long process, but well worth the fight.

“Hopefully this brings forward hope and courage for those who were/are afraid to speak up or come out. This is a moment we are proud of and will never forget.”

The Alliance release continued: “This outcome could not be possible if it were not for the courageous decision of Winston to take on the government of his home and risk being ostracised by his community for the sake of love.

“We applaud Winston and Greg, the legal team that supported this challenge, and the many campaigners that have over the years fought for increased human rights, dignity, and respect of LGBTQ people.

“There is so much more work to be done, but today, we celebrate that love always wins.”

Jamaica's buggery law not among the most severe in the Caribbean region .............

A letter appeared in the Gleaner earlier today on a study conducted by JFLAG on the Buggery Law in the Caribbean making comparisons to other states as to severity. Here is the letter firstly, meanwhile the antigay spin doctors try to twist the narrative that of Jamaica being mislabeled as the most homophobic place on earth. 

The letter:

THE EDITOR, Sir:

Research around the application of Jamaica's buggery law reveals it is not among the most severe in the Caribbean region. The findings, which are contained in a study conducted by J-FLAG titled 'Criminalizing Private Consensual Intimacy II', help to challenge the decades-old belief that Jamaica is the most homophobic place on earth.

The study found that when compared to similar laws in other Commonwealth Caribbean countries, Jamaica is neither the best nor the worst as it relates to the criminalisation of private, consensual same-sex conduct. Six Caribbean countries criminalise both male-to-male and female-to-female consensual sexual activity. They are Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad & Tobago. In Jamaica, only male-to-male consensual sexual activity is criminalised, in addition to the criminalisation of anal sex regardless of gender.

J-FLAG undertook the study to review statistics on the use of the buggery law in the justice system, explore the treatment of similar laws internationally, and compare the severity of the local buggery law to others in the Commonwealth Caribbean.

Sentences vary across the Caribbean. In Barbados, for example, the offence of buggery can attract a maximum sentence of life in prison, while in Trinidad and Tobago, a maximum sentence of 25 years. This is significantly more severe than the maximum 10 years in Jamaica.

NOT AS HARSH

The fact that Jamaica's punishment for buggery is not as harsh as some Caribbean neighbours does not mean the law must not be amended.

This is by no means an indication that the law does not affect LGBT people across the country. The buggery law continues to be a locally and internationally recognised symbol of state-sanctioned discrimination against LGBT Jamaicans. Reform of this unjust law remains urgent, since the provisions do not align with the fundamental rights to privacy and equality before the law as secured in the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms.

This is particularly true of Section 80 of the Offences Against the Person Act, which legalises wanton arrests of gay men and trans women. Fixing this and other laws, and creating a welcoming legal and policy environment for LGBT Jamaicans, are steps in the right direction.

DANE LEWIS

GLENROY MURRAY

J-FLAG

ENDS

 the article that got most persons in a bind

How the article was misrepresented is part and parcel of how the already existing homonegative feelings led to the deceptive narrative by ignorant religious fanatics (that make honest church fol look stupid) is why there is hardly any serious movement in changing hearts and minds. The social media firestorm is now sending a narrative that JFLAG et al were lying on Jamaica all along and further justification for no change to the buggery law, repeal or amendment.

JFLAG tried to clarify its agenda though somewhat late as the public and homophobic groups kept using the full repeal arguments instead of the change in position, the J took too long to adjust themselves in my view.

Also see: Is ‘The Most Homophobic Place on Earth’ Turning Around? (2015), Buggery law referendum baiting by JLP in #Javote2016 campaign and J-FLAG now advocating for decriminalisation of same-sex acts

The Star News still couldn't help themselves despite some slight forward thinking in recent years, they headlined the story, when it is the law that is being discussed and not the inherent multi-generational homophobia:

Jamaica not the most homophobic country

In the face of calls for Jamaica’s buggery laws to be repealed, one of the main organisations that supports homosexuality has discovered that Jamaica is not the most homophobic place on Earth.

Having conducted a study, titled, Criminalising Private Consensual Intimacy, J-FLAG found that in Barbados, the offence of buggery can attract a maximum sentence of life in prison. In Trinidad and Tobago, the maximum sentence for buggery is 25 years in prison, while in Jamaica the maximum penalty is 10 years imprisonment.

“This is by no means an indication that the law does not affect LGBT people across the country,” Dane Lewis, J-FLAG’s executive director said.

“The buggery law continues to be a locally and internationally recognised symbol of state-sanctioned discrimination against LGBT Jamaicans. Reform of this unjust law remains urgent since the provisions do not align with the fundamental rights to privacy and equality before the law as secured in the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms,” he said.

ENDS

Good to see the attempt by the goodly JFLAG to provide some figures and a more balanced comparison but the public's response despite way heightened visibility shows me we have a long road ahead.

Peace & tolerance

H 

Trans woman barred from entering Georgetown Magistrate’s Court ..............

Source

also see this previous entry: Previously denied transgender claimant in Guyanese court case allowed in court 

NICHOLAS Kissoon known as ‘Beyonce’ was slated to appear at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday to answer charges of abusive language and attempted suicide, however she could not make it pass the gate.

The transgender woman was wearing a polka dot, cap-sleeved dress but was told by a police officer at the gate that she cannot enter the compound after he searched her bag. Kissoon told Guyana Chronicle that she was scheduled to appear in Court 6 and alleged that the police rank “pushed” her out.

“When I entered the court yard, the officer asked me to search my bag. I allowed him to search my bag and then he told me that I can’t come into the court and he pushed me out of the court yard,” Kissoon related.

The charges stemmed from an incident which occurred on April 27, 2017 at the Georgetown Prison, following an altercation between Kissoon and a female prison officer. On that day, Kissoon said she visited the prison to take “support” for a family member and got into an argument with the female officer at the gate.

“She cuss me first so I cuss her back and they took me to Brickdam Police Station,” Kissoon said as she noted that while at the police station, she was beaten by police ranks.

“They took me to the [Brickdam Police] station to have a seat; they beat me and start discriminating my lifestyle I live…they are finding a lot of charge because they lash me to my head and bust it,” the trans woman related.

As it relates to the issue of attempted suicide, Kissoon said that it is a “trumped-up” charge and she has no knowledge as to why the police would charge her with such an offence.

“I have no knowledge about that, that’s a false allegation made against me by the police.”

CROSS-DRESSING RULE

THE Court of Appeal in February 2017, upheld a 2013 ruling by former Chief Justice, Ian Chang that cross-dressing is not a crime, once not done for “improper purposes”.

In 2010, a group of transgender women had asked the Supreme Court to strike down laws that left them open to arrest following a police crackdown the year before on male cross-dressers. While Chang’s subsequent ruling allowed for men to dress in women’s clothing, it did not say what constituted “improper purpose”, which led to concerns about interpretation. Subsequently, an appeal was filed by members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, seeking clarity on what constitutes “improper purpose”.

However, Chancellor of the Judiciary at the time, Carl Singh, Justice, Yvonne Cummings-Edwards, and High Court Judge, Justice Brassington Reynolds, unanimously upheld the decision made by Justice Chang in 2013. Singh reasoned that an improper purpose would be a man dressing as a woman, and using this female image to solicit services from a taxi driver, after which he robs the driver.

AMBIGUITY IN RULING

Meanwhile, when contacted by Guyana Chronicle on Tuesday for a comment on the Kissoon issue, Founder and Co-Chairperson of the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) in Guyana, Joel Simpson alluded to the ambiguity in the court’s ruling on the issue of cross-dressing.

“Cross dressing is not a crime unless it’s for improper purpose. The court’s security are taking upon themselves to bar transgender persons from entering the court’s compound.

“Up to now, although a few months has passed, there has not been a written decision why the cross dressing matter was dismissed at the Appeal Court,” Simpson lamented.

With “improper purposes” not being clearly defined, the then Chancellor had explained that it is not for the court to define what improper is, since Parliament has not done so. The Summary Jurisdiction Act, which criminalised men and women presenting themselves in attire of the opposite sex, came into effect in 1893.

This means, too, that when cases related to cross-dressing arise in the court, interpretation of the word “improper” will be determined by the magistrate hearing that case.

Ruth & Naomi ........

In the Sexual Awareness Month series this year you may have noticed I took a more biblical approach and the Ruth & Naomi story is the latest one I’ll try to tackle. Thanks to the bloggers who joined in the discussion which at times got rather vibrant. There had been some speculation about the closeness of the relationship between the two women suggestion there had some lesbian contact but the evidence of that is simply not there as some more persons where a more liberal reading still hold on to that thinking but it was more about women in their version of a support system given how women were treated. Chapter three of Ruth is where it is in this installment as two widows interact with each other in the patriarchal society in Jewish culture. Human relations and choices made either due to finding themselves in position of power and advantage or disadvantage who often end up in the line of abuse on many levels. Effectively Naomi an elderly widowed mother-in-law who encourages her widowed daughter-in-law to make herself available to a powerful rich man named Boaz to marry her. 

The book of Ruth is a short story recording an incident during the period of the Judges. An Israelite family moved from Judah to the land of Moab during a famine, the husband died, the two sons married foreign women but also die and she (Ruth) accompanied her mother-in-law and adopted Israelite faith as her own. Ruth eventually marry Boaz but not after a series of seductions as instructed or groomed by Naomi and she ended becoming the grandmother of David. The book of Ruth also shows the absorption of foreigners into Israelite culture thus pre-configuring the Christian gospel by which Gentiles are brought into God’s church. Ruth is a Gentile (Moabitess) in the ancestry of Jesus.

Ruth 3 King James Version (KJV)

3 Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?

2 And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor.

3 Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.

4 And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.

5 And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do.

6 And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade her.

7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.

8 And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet.

9 And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.

10 And he said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.

11 And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman.

12 And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I.

13 Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman's part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the Lord liveth: lie down until the morning.

14 And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor.

15 Also he said, Bring the vail that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and she went into the city.

16 And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her.

17 And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law.

18 Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.

Naomi has been effective being seen as a ‘pimp’ by grooming and encouraging Ruth towards Boaz but bearing in mind that a kind of permitted incest was the order of the day despite the laws that protected strangers and widows but with all that her body was still the route to access. To again access to Boaz did not come as easy as today it came by women availing themselves sexually; sex used as transactionally some have said and although Boaz ended up marrying Ruth the assault in my eyes is an older woman pushing a younger woman on a rich man to secure. Naomi knew how to work the system even though laws then offered some protection to widows and strangers coming from the Sodom & Gomorrah days.

(Un)intended seduction may be the challenge here of the benefactor, the search specific nature of the grooming exercise by Naomi pushing on Ruth using femininity; unlike the Lot story of the ‘rape’ of him by his own daughters for purposes of continuing the bloodline here in this episode is about gaining wealth and security on the pretext of a seductress or in supplication, to bring it forward to today for a moment how many times have we seen mothers or guardians literally pimping out those in their charge to gain or take in income for the household. Ruth may have not even wanted to go to Boaz but in obedience to the older woman (Naomi) she obeyed the instructions, consent is another layer in this while she may have ‘offered’ herself to Boaz to eventually seduce him and the outcome showed no outright abuse.

The continuation of the bloodline so to speak and or to provide the kind of security similar to the Lot and his daughters case comes into play, the oldest male or closest male in the family has the responsibility even in a kind of permitted incest to interact with female, Naomi therefore understood the cultural nuances and encouraged Ruth albeit a foreigner into the culture. Naomi obviously was no fool in as far as the grooming of Ruth was concerned, she was looking out for what was supposedly best for her daughter in law; Ruth had done so much for Naomi prior that Naomi may have felt obligated in a sense and also knowing full well that she would get some spin-offs from the arrangement, Boaz was not the first choice so to speak but Naomi seemed sure that arrangement would have worked; I don’t think she was malicious but to instruct Ruth as to the very actions ought to do when she encouraged her to effectively seduce her; Boaz had already found some favour in Ruth as outlined in Chapter 2 of Ruth. How does someone who does not have access directly to their rights via a decision making process.

The business of survival comes into play and that women effectively had to do what they had to do; bearing in mind that the very translators of the bible wrote the thing from a patriarchal perspective.

The levirate marriage concept comes into play, a practice outlined in Deuteronomy 25 v 5 – 10 if a woman is childless after a previous marriage or with children and the husband dies the brothers of the dead husband is obligated to marry her and carry on the heritage and the children as products if that marriage legitimises the respect in the community.

Deuteronomy 25:5-10 New International Version (NIV)

5 If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her. 

6 The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.

7 However, if a man does not want to marry his brother’s wife, she shall go to the elders at the town gate and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to carry on his brother’s name in Israel. He will not fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to me.” 

8 Then the elders of his town shall summon him and talk to him. If he persists in saying, “I do not want to marry her,” 

9 his brother’s widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, take off one of his sandals, spit in his face and say, “This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother’s family line.” 

10 That man’s line shall be known in Israel as The Family of the Unsandaled.

Boaz in a sense realised he got caught or ‘ketch’ and he tried to worm his way out of it by differing Ruth to the other choice as he was closer in the lineage to the bloodline’ even after Ruth spends the night with Boaz he asks her not to let the other women in the circle know as if to suggest that at risk will be some compromised integrity or ethics, despite the cultural customs called for the powerful man to ensure his heritage. His strategy however was not an aggressive one and he seem to have tried to play it cool even though he knew that there was someone else with a superior claim. While Ruth did not end up in an abusive relationship how many times in contemporary reports we have heard of the pimping aspect of older women sending out their own daughters to bring in the bacon.

The rapid succession of disturbing reports of privileged pastors and church leaders who prey on vulnerable can easily be cited in this story hundreds of years old. The attachment to materialism is a major factor and some feel justified to lay themselves bare to ‘eat-a-food’ and easiest way to get to some wealth; this is not only limited to lower classes but professional persons as well for the most part to keep up appearances, the nice apartment must be maintained, the car must look a certain way or even the tertiary level fees have to be found somewhere, trouble is that sometimes the arrangement gets abusive and the privileged individual turns into a monster thinking he has a right so to do. In what are supposed to be legitimate marriages the power differentials play out, the wife may have married for some sort of security especially if she is expected to be a housewife or a stay at home mother and she must know her place; no talk of a job or continuing education under pain of losing certain benefits or gifts or how she in treated in the marriage, and sex by the way is a given whether or not she is in the mood.

More anon

Peace & tolerance

H

PEPFAR may pull HIV funding from hard-hit Caribbean countries ..........

The United States is terminating its funding to several of the Caribbean countries hardest hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Directors of the US President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), America’s global fund to fight AIDS around the world, said that they could no longer justify supporting the upper middle-income countries of the Caribbean, and have ordered fund terminations from as early as this year.

 President Reagan AIDSGATE years

I saw a series of reports out there recently on the decrease of PEPFAR to the Caribbean and it came to me that this is starting to feel like the US President Reagan years when the White House then simply ignored the calls for proper funding for research for a relatively new disease being HIV then known as SIDS and which was pegged as a gay disease or gay plague. 

Thanks to the Act UP campaign and vigorous advocacy in those days.

Upon the rumours and fears expressed by mostly American AIDS experts that funding for HIV prevention work and treatment and care it has come home to action by the Trump administration, obviously playing to his base as he is the most unpopular president in years.

The Bahamas — which has the highest population prevalence of HIV in the English-speaking Caribbean, at just over 3% — will have its funding cut entirely in September 2017, followed by Barbados in 2018. Meanwhile, Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago will have their funding slashed to historic lows for two years, before their allocations end in 2019.

Of the middle-income Caribbean countries, only Jamaica will be spared from cuts, but under strict conditions. Far fewer people living with HIV in Jamaica receive treatment than in the other upper-middle income Caribbean countries, and estimates are that more than 3 in 10 Jamaican men who have sex with men are HIV positive. 

To address this, PEPFAR will move 67-75% of its Caribbean regional budget to the island between 2017 and 2019. In exchange, Jamaica will have to meet ambitious targets to curb its epidemic, or PEPFAR will leave the English-speaking Caribbean region entirely, including the member countries of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.

In the Caribbean, PEPFAR contributes to the cost of HIV prevention programmes, drug procurement, and the treatment, care and psychosocial support of people living with HIV and AIDS. The Fund also works with community organisations to target HIV prevention and care to LGBT people and commercial sex workers who are on the periphery of direct government programmes. PEPFAR’s interventions are further supported by health experts at US diplomatic missions, where some vacant posts have already been frozen as a result of the clawback.

PEPFAR’s moves now increase the burden on regional governments to bring their HIV/AIDS epidemics under control, even as public finances in several of the affected countries are already stretched. With the exception of Haiti, which will retain its PEPFAR funding entirely, a complete regional pullout would leave a US$9m gap¹ in financing for the Caribbean’s response to HIV and AIDS, based on PEPFAR’s 2014/15 expenditure levels.

Despite some progress, the picture of the Caribbean’s HIV/AIDS response is mixed. Prevention messages that focus on abstinence and condom use are mainstays of national health campaigns, and costly interventions such as drug prophylaxis to prevent HIV infection are off the radar for most. Moralistic views and discrimination against the LGBT community are effective barriers to healthcare, and the prevalence of HIV among these marginalised groups can often run times higher than in the general population.

Strong progress and adoption of international best practices, such as Barbados’ decision to treat all people living with HIV, regardless of the stage of their disease, have been largely supported by PEPFAR funds. Central governments will now have limited time to ensure sustainability of these gains and to finance gaps after the departure of US aid.

While PEPFAR’s Directors made no explicit link between their decisions and President Trump’s dictates to cut America’s levels of foreign aid, the repeal of PEPFAR’s reach in the Caribbean follows the administration’s decisions to cut funding to the United Nations Food and Population Fund, as well as its removal of federal dollars from Planned Parenthood and other international development programmes.

The US Congress recently passed the US-Caribbean Strategic Engagement Act, which an analysis featured in this publication deemed to be an important opportunity for advancing the Caribbean’s interests to the Trump administration. As at press time, sources tell Antillean that health and social development imperatives were not among the priorities advanced by CARICOM for the shaping of the future US engagement policy, despite CARICOM’s ambassadors in Washington and New York being briefed on PEPFAR’s decisions.

Thanks to the Antillean Media Outlet for this one (photos added for this post), in a another related story see: Trump administration cuts all future US funding to UNFPA

AirBnB accounts hacked..............

As news spread internationally that AirBnB account holders in the North America and as far as Europe have had their profiles compromised by hackers there was no jitters at first. Since then it has been confirmed by email after I inquired, reports had surfaced that American customers have found their profiles compromised, they have also notified the codenamed ‘Pink Crab’ outfit for LGBT guests located in Portland in order to either delete the original one or simply set up new profiles and reengage, the verification process for current and newly approaching clients or inquiries is crucial so as not to have the ‘wrong crowd’.

Access to the verification badges of users is also troubling and why oh why was not a two or three step verification system in place. The ‘Pink Crab’ was originally a private outfit that relied on word of mouth between prior or repeat guests who spread the word even as they do cater to non LGBT clientele. The place hosted as well workshops often times with very higher than market prices; a criticism I have had of them after DJing there at a LGBTQ event almost fifteen years ago and two times since and hosting a book fair when I was more active in the book industry. I also have witnessed one re-commitment ceremony there when a lesbian couple who resided in New York wanted to do so back home very privately. The staff was a bit taken aback at the time as they never saw the sealing of vows by a same gender couple but have seen parties and so on.

Management says they want to keep the arrangement ultra private similarly to the Bubbles Bar even as stiff competition, slowly developing job markets in the US and fickle Canadian visitors’ numbers and refugee crisis intertwined with European economic challenges abound. Many ‘secret’ spaces have to be as in this case at the Crab literally and metaphorically crawl out of the sand hole more openly whilst engage disruptive technologies change traditions almost overnight. Other previously unknown guest houses have been getting bolder and clearly state via AirBnB that they accept LGBT guests and offer a secure environment by way of security companies for guests, much larger hotels are popping up all over the place which only adds more competition to smaller properties. A chaperone may be assigned (subject to the option if selected in booking) or armed guided tours are conducted as well. Some are concerned that if such hackings are not properly addressed by AirBnB soon trust might be lost, the entity seems to be moving slow on the hacking and based on their Facebook page the complaints were already coming in for some time now. 

Airbnb today announced a new set of mandatory security measures, including multi-factor authentication, it’s implementing to prevent account takeovers. Now, for the first time, Airbnb will require both hosts and guests logging in from new devices to verify their identity with a second account, either via SMS or email. A vast majority of other social and communication apps use multi-factor 

authentication, including Facebook, Google, and Twitter, making Airbnb a bit of an outlier to have gone so long before enabling it by default.

AIRBNB IS LATE TO THE MULTI-FACTOR PARTY say some lol

meanwhile:

Nate Blecharczyk

Chief Strategy Officer / co-founder 

said among other things that, Trust is the fundamental currency of the sharing economy — it’s at the very heart of our Airbnb community. As our global community continues to grow, we remain vigilant of the ways bad actors are looking to take advantage of this trust. Online scammers in particular are constantly adapting and refining their attacks.

One fraudulent tactic that is receiving increased attention is called an account takeover, or ATO for short. I want to take some time to explain to you how seriously we take this threat and to explain what we are doing here at Airbnb to confront it.

An ATO occurs when a bad actor gets access to a user’s account by stealing their password, usually through one of the following methods:

Password dumps. You’ve probably heard about high-profile security breaches of personal information at a number of different companies over the last few years. When these breaches occur, bad actors often download massive lists of usernames and passwords that they sell on the black market. Scammers then use the usernames and passwords they’ve purchased to see if they are a match for any number of other accounts, as many people tend to use the same password across platforms. Thus, this could in turn put your Airbnb account information at risk, despite the fact that our platform was not compromised.

Phishing. Bad actors will email or SMS you a link that asks you to enter your account credentials into a website that looks like one you know and use — but is actually malicious. They then record the information you provide and can use it to access your account.

Malware. If your computer is compromised by malicious software, it can capture your keystrokes and record your usernames and passwords. Once a bad actor has collected your password this way, they can maliciously access your account.

Historically, we’ve defended against account takeovers by using a machine learning model that predicts the probability that each login or action on Airbnb is being performed by the true account owner. If the model predicts a high risk that the account has been taken over, we would require the user to provide an additional confirmation.

The model is trained by observing hundreds of millions of historical login events that have been labeled as “good” or “bad”. The model then evaluates hundreds of signals simultaneously to determine the risk level, looking for various patterns such as:

Login from an unexpected country

Login from an unexpected IP address, computer, or phone

An unexpectedly high number of logins from a particular IP address

Our model is effective at stopping most account takeovers, but unfortunately there have been some incidents where hosts and guests have suffered. This is not acceptable to us, therefore we’re working around the clock to do everything we can to improve our detection and prevention methods. While the machine learning approach is common for online platforms, the nature of Airbnb’s product and the critical importance of trust within and among our community requires an even higher bar for security.

Effective today, we have launched new defenses to further prevent bad actors from taking over an Airbnb account, including:

Multi-factor authentication. We’re requiring additional verification whenever a user logs in from a new device, such as a computer, phone, or tablet — as is often the case for other services such as online banking. When you sign up for Airbnb, we’ll remember the device you used and allow you to log in from that device, as long as you have the password. Any new device you use, however, will require an additional verification even if you have the password. This defense is typically referred to as multi-factor authentication. We’ll confirm that you are the true account owner by sending a one-time unique confirmation code to your account phone number or email. Once you’ve entered that code on our site through your new device, you won’t have to do it again on that machine.

Improving account alerts. We’ve added SMS in addition to email to the ways in which we alert you, as well as expanded the range of changes we’ll proactively notify you about. We do this in order to let you know these changes have taken place — and so that you can take action to recover your account in the event you were not the one who made those changes.

Fortunately, the vast majority of our hosts and guests never have to deal with account takeovers or any other scam. While the enhancements we’re announcing today will add yet another layer of security to our users’ accounts, we always want our community to continue to be vigilant and exercise good security practices. We outline some recommended practices around strong passwords, safe payments and other measures on our site here.

The company says that one of the most common security breaches suffers is when a scammer or other bad actor takes control of someone’s account by obtaining the password. Normally, this would mean access to someone’s email or the ability to purchase stuff on their behalf. But in the case of Airbnb, it could mean giving a stranger access to private details about your home and the ability to rent it out to others. That arguably raises the stakes when it comes to account security.

Airbnb says it already uses predictive models, trained using machine learning techniques, that look for uncharacteristic behavior to flag. For instance, if the account is seeing an abnormal number of login attempts or a login from a foreign country, Airbnb’s system might ask for an additional confirmation that the person logged in is truly the host. Unfortunately, the company says this isn’t enough and both guests and hosts have suffered lost funds and fraudulent bookings as a result.

It is becoming all too easy these days to hack unto sites or phones and with the AirBnB business model allowing profiles to be more open even as persons are using fake or unverified identity photos, one impacted individual an American said the hacker had a photo of Bruce Willis when it was abundantly clear is was not the celebrity. 

The ability to change one’s personal information on the platform has also come into question, when a user over twenty hours can switch names, upload photos and or location is still too close a period for someone who is supposed to be an honest client. With allegations of an active hacking community in Russia for example especially before and after the United States elections has only sought to raise speculations that the hack is Russian based.

Media reports carried the discovery of the hacking:

Airbnb is improving the security of its app and website after a BBC investigation found people’s homes had been burgled by scammers using stolen accounts.

The BBC spoke to three people who were targeted after they advertised their properties on the accommodation-booking service.

The scammers hijacked accounts with verified badges and changed some of personal details to pull off the thefts.

Airbnb said it had already been working on the changes – which include sending text warnings if profiles are altered – when the crimes were brought to its attention.

"Unfortunately there have been some incidents where hosts and guests have suffered," said Nate Blecharczyk, co-founder of Airbnb.

"This is not acceptable to us, therefore we’re working around the clock to do everything we can to improve our detection and prevention methods."

The Bubbles Bar outfit in south west Jamaica has not been impacted as the client is wide enough to carry word of mouth via social media platforms albeit in private groups but they still do engage via AirBnB. Many US interests are searching for smaller residencies as the newer millennials with disposable incomes while doing the five star properties also want a more earthy experience on the ground while having the basics such as internet access and other meeting or mini-conference space. Bubbles bar after some convincing hosted a webinar which went pretty well, the boss does not like working in the day for the most part. There is a rumour as well that an all female guest house as well in eastern Jamaica that occasionally host lymes and such with a tightly knit crew and they occasionally engage AirBnB as well while repeatedly using a new name at every cycle.

Keeping my fingers crossed I hope that AirBnB can strengthen their security since they are the trusted outfits; newer rivals are not there yet. Given the ease of hacking it is incumbent for the ABnB folks to be far more stronger on the security front.

Peace & tolerance

H