Saturday, November 27, 2010

[Peckers_Pics] Model Wars; Nov 28, 2010; Safe PICS For All Ages, Rated G



 
Model Wars; Nov 28, 2010
Safe PICS For All Ages, Rated  G
 
Diet & Fitness:

  • Reminder: Did you complete your Diet Journal today?  Get it done!
  • Did you do any physical activity?  If not, make a point of it by tomorrow! Own a bike?  Ride it to lunch, work, park, lake!
  • It is our hope that our male fittness photos shall inspire you!

Today's Health - Wellness / Exercise / Reflections:
Anti-AIDS groups hail drug but worry over cost
 
Nov 28, 2010; SAN FRANCISCO (AP) --- AIDS prevention advocates are hailing a pill newly shown to protect against HIV as a great tool for disease prevention.
 

But they caution that no drug alone can address social factors blamed for the persistence of the epidemic. And they say concerns remain about who will pay for the costly treatment.

A study released last week showed that daily doses of a drug called Truvada, already used to treat HIV infection, cut the risk of new infections among healthy gay men.

Kyriell Noon of the San Francisco-based Stop AIDS Project said any addition to the HIV prevention safety net is good news. But he said factors, such as lack of access to education and health care that contribute to higher infection rates, do not evaporate when a promising drug comes along.

Truvada, which costs $5,000 to $14,000 a year in the United States, will do little to halt HIV's spread if the only way to get it is to pay out of pocket, Noon said.

"The history of the HIV epidemic in this country has been a story of disparities," he said. "I would hate to see this new exciting breakthrough enhance those disparities."

Noon's group was among those that helped recruit participants for the study in San Francisco, which has more than one new HIV infection every day, according to the city's Department of Public Health.

`Step forward'
 
The overall study involved about 2,500 men at high risk of HIV infection in Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, South Africa, Thailand and the United States (San Francisco and Boston).

Dr. Susan Buchbinder, director of the San Francisco health department's HIV research section, called the findings on the drug a "tremendous step forward."

But she took pains to point out that among the several HIV prevention studies she has overseen, this latest had especially strict requirements for making sure participants stayed on track.

Men taking Truvada had to commit to monthly medical visits and received extensive counseling, including reminders about the importance of condoms. Such reminders seemed to have worked: During the study, risky sex among men taking Truvada declined.

But concern exists that in the real world, some men will see Truvada as a license to be promiscuous and shed precautions such as condoms.

A follow-up study will track participants who remain on the drug to see if that happens.

Ronny Nolasco, 28, of San Francisco participated in the Truvada study and said he is looking forward to being part of the follow-up. While he was pleased to hear about the study's findings about the drug, the counseling he received was at least as important, he said.

"It helped me out a lot," Nolasco said. "It actually opened up my eyes to taking more care of myself."

Advocates say experiences like Nolasco's are why just handing out the drug will not be enough.

"Our goal is to try to combine prevention interventions," Buchbinder said. "It's not about just popping a pill every day."

Yet for many healthy gay men, the question of whether to take a daily dose of Truvada will likely become an important issue.

Who's at risk?
 
Public health officials say they are working on defining who falls into the highest risk groups who would benefit most from the drug.

Jason Meier, 32, has already made up his mind. The self-described single, sexually active gay man from Birmingham, Ala., said he would ask his doctor for the drug.

Meier, a student affairs staffer at The University of Alabama at Birmingham, said taking one pill a day before contracting HIV is better than taking multiple pills after becoming infected.

"Condoms aren't 100 percent safe," Meier said. "In this day and age, you can't trust a partner to be honest about their sexual activity or history. At some point, you have to take responsibility for safer sexual practices."

Meier said paying for the drug now makes financial sense compared to the expense of post-infection treatment. But broad government or insurance company funding for the drug for prevention rather than treatment would not come before U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval.

Even then, funding for the drug as a prevention measure could be divisive in the U.S. if such use is seen as encouraging sexual activity.

For now, the drug's maker, Gilead Sciences Inc., is still deciding whether to seek federal approval to market Truvada as a way to prevent HIV infection. In the meantime, doctors can prescribe the drug off-label for that use.

But advocates are holding off on recommending that gay men seek out their doctors for prescriptions.

"I think the bigger question will be, will the FDA decide that this study is enough?" said Judy Auerbach, vice president of research and evaluation for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

The foundation's message to those who ask about the drug will be not to experiment with the drug on your own, Auerbach said. She called the drug promising but said all the traditional ways of preventing infection should still be emphasized.

"If you really want to pursue this go talk to your medical provider, and they'll make an assessment. I think that's all we can say at this point."

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And Now, Model Wars!
This group is called "Peckers Pics."  The English -  slang definition of "pecker" is to pluck at the truth. Therefore, we peck at items such as Gay Men's Health, Male Fitness, Gay (LGBT) Politics & Issues.  In this section you may peck at each photo in order to decide the winner of the "war of the fittest!"  Whereas, who is the model that may inspire you to exercise and "get fit?"  Warning: This may stoke you!
 
Remember your participation in discussion of health and news articles in this message is greatly appreciated!
 
Eddie Cibrian
 
VS
Jared Prudoff Smith
 
You Decide!
Montreal Gay Pride; Aug 15, 2010
Stoked?
Montreal Gay Pride; Aug 15, 2010
Gay teens searching for help
Lack of support can lead to suicide, report says
 
By JOHN MANUEL ANDRIOTE For the Norwich Bulletin; Nov 27, 2010
 
Many Americans were shocked when five gay teenagers killed themselves in separate incidents across the country during two weeks this fall.

But for those who work with gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered youths, the only thing unusual was the level of attention the suicides received.

"It's something we deal with on a daily basis," said Leif Mitchell, co-chairman of the Connecticut chapter of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, a national organization focused on making schools safer for all students regardless of their sexual orientation or the way they choose to express their gender.

A 2009 survey of more than 7,000 gay lesbian, bisexual and transgendered high school students found that 84.6 percent said they were verbally harassed, 40.1 percent were physically harassed and 18.8 percent were physically assaulted at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation. In a 2010 study by the group Campus Pride, 25 percent of GLBT university students and employees reported being harassed because of their sexual orientation.

Caitlin Ryan, a Norwich-born clinical social worker and director of the Family Acceptance Project at San Francisco State University, reported that lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth who experienced high levels of rejection from their families were 8.4 times more likely to attempt suicide, 5.9 times more likely to report high levels of depression, 3.4 times more likely to use illegal drugs and 3.4 times more likely to engage in unprotected sexual intercourse compared with peers from families that didn't reject them.

Working with families and educators, Ryan said many parents were shocked to realize the impact of their rejection.

"We have had people in tears when they realize the harm they have done to their children," she said. "They actually don't want their children to die from suicide."

The most important thing parents can do, Ryan said, is "to give young people a sense that life is worth living."

Leading cause of suicide

When Rosey Serabian suspected her son was gay, she went to the book store and the library to find books that would help her understand.

"I'm looking through books and found that the number one cause of teenage suicide is a child thinking he's gay," she said. "I'm thinking, 'Oh, my God, I don't want my kid to kill himself because he thinks he's gay.' "

Despite his family's acceptance, Serabian's son still had a hard time.

"When my son was in high school," she said, "he was a closet gay and people bullied him. When he came out, kids would threaten to beat him up."

A note from his teacher about missed classes tipped her off that something was wrong.

"I found out he was sitting in his car or the movie theater because he was afraid he was going to get beat up," she said.

Serabian's daughter, Lindsay, 16, didn't know she was gay until she went to Norwich Free Academy. During her eight years at an all-girls Catholic school in Rhode Island, she said it was common for girls to date other girls. At NFA, she realized she wasn't interested in boys in the same way.  

At NFA, Lindsay joined the Gay-Straight Alliance, one of the largest clubs on campus. More than 4,000 such alliances have been organized on high school and college campuses nationwide since the first one was established in Concord, Mass., in 1988. In Eastern Connecticut, there are groups at Ledyard, New London, Waterford and Windham high schools and at E.O. Smith High School in Storrs.

"It creates a community they can be safe and secure in," said Chuck Lynch, NFA's Gay-Straight Alliance faculty adviser from 2005-09. "It doesn't solve all their problems. It's not going to change their parents' point of view, but it can change how they react to it and deal with it."

Each year, the group sponsors "Ally Week," which spotlights friends and other supporters of gay young people, and the "Day of Silence," when students nationwide take a vow of silence to bring attention to anti-gay rhetoric, bullying and harassment in their schools.

For Connecticut Gay-Straight Alliances, the most popular event is the True Colors conference at the University of Connecticut. Sponsored by Hartford-based True Colors Inc., the conference brings together about 2,000 young people and educators from across the state for workshops, entertainment and the chance to meet others like themselves.

The 18th annual conference is scheduled for March 11-12.

Johnny DeLong, 18, who participated in the Gay-Straight Alliance while he was at NFA, said that for a lot of young people who join it, the group "could save their lives." But he emphasized the "straight" aspect of the alliance, pointing out that many kids in the Gay-Straight Alliance aren't gay.

"They are going through a time in their lives when they're not sure," he said.

Sean Duggan, 19, didn't participate in the Gay-Straight Alliance while he was at NFA.

"The GSA at NFA wasn't like the GSA I'm in at college," he said. "They were people who didn't fit in anywhere else, with black fingernails, wearing rainbows. I had all the support I needed. I almost went to one meeting and looked in the door and thought 'None of these people are like me.' "

Although they were surprised when he first told them he was gay, Sean's parents, Tim and Kathy Duggan, accepted the news and adjusted their expectations.

"I had to give up the idea of Sean walking down the aisle of St. Patrick's Cathedral with his bride," his mother said. "As the mother of two sons, I never expected to have a son-in-law, or to see my son holding hands with another boy."

Tim and Kathy joined the local chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, which meets monthly in Noank.

"It's comforting to sit in that room with other parents with gay children, because you don't have to explain to them," Tim said.

Last year, they went as a family to the True Colors conference.

"What a great resource we in the state of Connecticut have," Kathy said, "especially for those kids who don't have any support."

Disfunctional family

Belinda Kwakye, 18, is a young person without a supportive family. She has come out to her mother as a lesbian multiple times, but she said "every time has been insane."

Now living in a group home, Belinda has been in foster care since her mother left her in the care of a man and his family when she returned to Ghana, where Belinda was born.

When the man also had to return to Ghana, Belinda said his brother raped her. When she could finally speak up about it, the Department of Children and Families removed her from the household and her assailant was arrested.

Belinda credits True Colors for helping with her own self-discovery. Through its mentoring program, the agency matched her with a lesbian couple who provide sympathetic support and a healthy image of adulthood that Belinda didn't have from the adults who were supposed to care for her.

"Many of the issues that our kids face are not so much issues around orientation or gender as they are about trauma, abuse and neglect," said Robin McHaelen, True Colors' founder and executive director.

She said youths today often come out at a much younger age, typically 11 to 13 years old, which can have dire consequences.

"If your family freaks out, you have nowhere to go," she said, "and you're also going to be home for five, six or eight more years, so you are going to be dealing with that potentially difficult relationship for a long time."

Children rejected

Some parents go so far as to throw their child out of the house.

Rosey Serabian recalled her son's friend Timmy.

"Timmy's parents put him out when he was 13 years old," she said. "Timmy got AIDS and died alone because his parents wouldn't accept him."

If they're lucky enough to come to the attention of someone willing to help, so-called "throwaway" children can find support in the foster care system.

Jean Fiorito, executive director of the Rocky Hill-based Connecticut Association of Foster and Adoptive Parents, said DCF is "very good" about trying to place youth in need with families who will accept them. She said her agency, which trains and advocates on behalf of foster, adoptive and relative care families, invites gay and lesbian families interested in fostering or adopting to call them at 1-888-KID-HERO.

Belinda is determined not to be like the majority of lesbian and gay youths who end up in foster care or in dangerous situations because their own families refuses to accept, love and protect them.

"I have big dreams," said the first-year Three Rivers Community College student. "I want to get places, see places. I think those dreams keep me going."
"Every gay and lesbian person who has been lucky enough to survive the turmoil of growing up is a survivor. Survivors always have an obligation to those who will face the same challenges."

....Jake

URGENT:  Boycott Gold's Gym, Target and Best Buy for donating money towards anti-gay political candidates/organizations and to Proposition 8 (California) to prevent gay marriage. I would not purchase "Blood Diamonds," nor should a person / organization be contributing funds to both Hitler / Nazi's and the Jews at the same time!   Obviously giving money to the Jews and not Hitler/Nazi's was the right thing to do.   Hence, these companies violated my trust and well-being.   They gave money to my enemy who would terminate me from my job, deny me housing and send me to a Internment camp.  Therefore, goodbye Gold's Gym, Target and Best Buy!  The CEO's of these companies have been insensitive to our reaction and do not even comprehend their actions!  What takes so long to "fire" these Neanderthals?



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"Every gay and lesbian person who has been lucky enough to survive the turmoil of growing up is a survivor. Survivors always have an obligation to those who will face the same challenges."

...Jake (Moderator)



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