Monday, January 17, 2011

[Peckers_Pics] Muscle Wars, PICS; Jan 18, 2011 - Safe PICS For All Ages, Rated G



Muscle Wars, PICS; Jan 18, 2011
Safe PICS For All Ages, Rated  G


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Health - Wellness - Exercise - Reflections:
Psychologists Who Believe Homosexuality Is a Mental Illness Should Lose Their Licenses
 
Change . org / by Michael A. Jones  / January 17, 2011
 
Last year, British gay rights activist Patrick Strudwick went undercover to expose a network of psychologists and mental health practitioners in Britain who practice what's known as "conversion therapy," the much-debunked and unethical practice of trying to cure patients of their sexual orientation. His findings were incredible: Strudwick documented that a number of British therapists, influenced by texts from Joseph Nicolosi (the founder of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality -- NARTH), not only worked with gay patients to turn them straight, but benefited from taxpayer money to help them do so.

One psychologist in Strudwick's research, Lesley Pilkington, was particularly aggressive with her support for the idea that homosexuality was a mental disorder in need of curing. Strudwick went undercover as a patient wrestling with his sexual orientation, and he turned to Pilkington for counseling. Her advice?

That homosexuality is an addiction and an anti-religious phenomenon.

"We say everybody is heterosexual, but some people have a homosexual problem. Nobody is born gay. It is in the upbringing," Pilkington told the Sunday Telegraph.

Ah, but therein lies a bit of a problem for Pilkington. That's because her position that homosexuality is a problem rightly runs counter to ethical standards and codes of conduct put forward by the British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy (BACP). This week, the BACP will determine whether or not to strip her of her psychotherapy credentials.

They should.

Pilkington is entitled to hold whatever religious beliefs and principles she wants. But by championing and practicing the destructive concept of "conversion therapy," she's violating in very clear terms the mission statement and objectives put forward by the BACP for its accredited psychologists.

The BACP's vision is to work "toward an emotionally healthy society," and one of its core principles is to "promote equality of opportunity." Counselors who view homosexuality as morally bankrupt and in need of conversion, however, contradict both of these platforms.

That's a fact not lost on Strudwick, who noted this weekend that every major psychological and mental health organization has condemned the practice of "conversion therapy" as harmful.

"Every major mental health organization in Britain and America is opposed to attempts to change someone's sexuality... because there is good evidence not only that it doesn't work but that it is harmful," Strudwick said. "If a black person goes to a [psychologist] and says, 'I want skin bleaching treatment,' that does not put the onus on the practitioner to deliver the demands of the patient. It puts the onus on the healthcare practitioner to behave responsibly."

The point Strudwick is trying to make is pretty simple. Mental health practitioners -- at least those officially sanctioned and licensed by a governing board like the BACP -- have an obligation to treat their patients in a responsible manner that doesn't lead to harm. Pilkington's support of "conversion therapy," however, fails this test. She views homosexuality as a disorder, and suggests that LGBT people can change. That's a dangerous position to take, and one the BACP shouldn't reward.

Interestingly enough, Pilkington notes in the Sunday Telegraph that she has a gay son. How does she view him?

"'He (my son) is heterosexual. He just has a homosexual problem," she said.

Huh. Something tells me the one with the problem is Pilkington, and not her son, and not Strudwick. It's time to get the BACP to take note, and pledge to discipline psychotherapists who think it's healthy to try and "cure" gay people of their sexual orientation.
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And Now, Our War of the Fittest!

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, you should select the guy that may inspire you to exercise and "get fit!"   Warning: This may stoke you!
 
Your participation in discussion of health / news articles - appearing in this message is greatly appreciated.
1
GERARD PIQUE'
 
1a
 
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Mimo M
 
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6a
 
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Click Me
 
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Josh Yajcaji
 
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Levi M
 
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Walter Derrig
 
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Tyler McPeak
 
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Scott Caan
Golen Globe Awards; Best supporting performance in a series, mini-series, or TV film - Hawaii Five-0 as Danny Williams.
 
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Aarón Díaz (born Aarón Díaz Spencer on March 7, 1982) /
Mexican actor, singer, and model from Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco.
 
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Mark Wahlberg - The Fighter as Micky Ward
Golden Globes - Best Performance in a Motion Picture - Drama
 
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Ryan Gosling - Blue Valentine as Dean
Golden Globes / Best Performance in a Motion Picture - Drama
 
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Todd Sanfield
 
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Dominique
 
You Decide!
Fort Lauderdale Pride; June 20, 2010
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Fort Lauderdale Pride; June 20, 2010
My Thoughts on MLK Day: When Will News Media Stop Enabling Anti-Gay Activists?
Huffington Post / Jan 17, 2011 / by Eric Deggans
 
The holiday celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.'s birth is always an occasion to think about issues of equality in American society.

So this morning, I find myself thinking about CNN and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

GLAAD, the activist group which advocates for equal treatment of gay people, released a petition earlier this month demanding CNN stop giving airtime during stories and debates on gay issues to experts whose only qualification is that they are opposed to homosexuality.

The group cites the Family Research Council's Peter Sprigg as an example of what they call the "anti-gay industry," a network of pundits whose primary goal is advancing the notion that gay people don't deserve the same rights as other Americans. By pairing them with people who have actual expertise when discussing issues such as the military's don't ask, don't tell policy, GLAAD says, CNN is elevating their hurtful rhetoric.

This idea brings up an important question when considering press coverage of such issues: When does a news organization exclude the haters?

Put another way, when should news organizations conclude that purely anti-gay sentiment is prejudice that they should no longer support?

Back in Dr. King's time, when debates over issues of civil rights were covered by the media, they also dutifully included those who favored segregation or denying black people the vote or banning interracial marriage. But eventually, the news media concluded that such views were prejudiced and stopped presenting them as equal arguments -- reasoning that treating racists like equal participants in such debates only granted them a power they should not have.

So when will media take similar action with anti-gay activists?

It seems a simple question. Either there's an open question about whether being gay is harmful or hurtful -- and no reputable psychologist or mental health professional says there is -- or there isn't. And if the act of being gay isn't harmful, then why are otherwise reputable news organizations giving voice to people whose only expertise is their continued resistance to the mainstream acceptance of homosexuals?

CNN doesn't bring on a member of the Ku Klux Klan for expert commentary when talking about the status of Black people in America. So why are they bringing on people from groups opposed to gay rights to debate gay rights issues?

Don't get me wrong; if there's someone with actual expertise on the other side of an issue -- say, a military commander who opposes the end of don't ask, don't tell -- interviewing that person makes sense. But I agree with GLAAD when they say that bringing in anti-gay activists simply reinforces the notion that the debate over the appropriateness of gay sexual orientation is still an open question.

And given the fact that homosexuality is legal, not classified as a mental illness or sexual dysfunction, and gay people are allowed to do things like marry and adopt kids in many states, I would say that question is pretty much answered.

Of course, I know why they won't do such a thing. Despite the logic of the situation, lots of people still oppose gay rights; which means such a decision could produce a serious backlash and may feel like taking a side during a still-contentious issue.

Still, perhaps CNN -- and other media outlets worldwide -- could consider honoring Dr. King today by changing its policies. Because, as I think about the history of America's civil rights struggles, I'm reminded of all the newspapers which had to apologize for how they gave into prejudice and racism while covering Dr. King's work more than 40 years ago.

CNN could avoid a similar apology by acting now. Maybe, just once, we could learn from our worst history instead of repeating it.
"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
 

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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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