An unusually large bunch of really handsome guys! A great way to start off the new year!
Hair Wars; Jan 1, 2011Safe PICS For All Ages, Rated GDiet & Fitness:
Alcohol consumption triggers the release of cortisol, a stress-related hormone that heavily contributes to abdominal fat storage and muscle loss. It decreases insulin sensitivity, leading to increased fat storage and decreased fat burning. It's also associated with lower leptin levels, a hormone fundamental to metabolism, especially when you're trying to lose weight. And lastly, even moderate alcohol consumption raises estrogen levels, which may increase your breast cancer risk.
Bottom line: If you regularly enjoy alcoholic beverages, you may want to consider its effects on your waistline and your health.Consider Joining:
Take Action:
- Boycott advertisers of Glenn Beck - Fox News. Glenn Beck is anti-gay rights.
- Update: DADT has been repealed. President Obama has kept his promise!
- Boycott Bill O'Reilly and FOX News and their advertisers. Bill discussed a French commercial by McDonalds that was meant to show that McDonalds is Gay Friendly. Bill said what is next? Is McDonalds going to be Al-Qaida friendly as well? Imagine - Bill O'Reilly compares Gays to Al-Qaida!
- Boycott Arizona the home of "hater" - U.S. Senator John McCain. Arizona's Hateful anti-Immigration Law - encourages racial profiling and increases hatred towards minorities. A remedy: Demand Republicans to support Immigration Reform. Further, Senator McCain voted against ending DADT and Blocked Immigration reform!
- Boycott Target, Best Buy, Gold's Gym - for donating money towards anti-gay political candidates/organizations. Update: (12/26/2010): Target is continuing to donate to anti-gay groups/causes/politicians.
- End DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act). Prevents Federal employees and Gays in the Military from gaining equal benefits. Prevents Gay Partners from gaining equal benefits.
- Pass ENDA (Employee Non-Discrimination Act). ENDA would prevent employment discrimination of LGBT workforce.
- Boycott Salvation Army as they will not hire Gays! "DO NOT DONATE TO THEM."
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!Remember your participation in discussion of health / news articles - appearing in this message is greatly appreciated.4
RJ; Age 19Click Me5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
21a
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
You Decide!Wilton Manors (Near Ft Lauderdale), Fl. - Gay Pride; June 20, 2010Stoked?Toronto Gay Pride; July 25, 2010National LGBT youth suicide prevention task force and grants announcedBy Dana Rudolph on December 31, 2010 / Keen News ServiceThe federally supported National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention (NAASP) on December 30 officially announced a task force dedicated to suicide prevention among LGBT youth.
Pamela Hyde, the openly gay head of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) revealed plans in November to form such a task force. And, on the same day as the Alliance officially announced the task force, SAMHSA separately announced the availability of up to $5.5 million for campus suicide prevention programs that meet the needs of youth the Alliance has identified as being at particular risk, including LGBT youth.
Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are from 1.5 to seven times more likely to report having attempted suicide than their non-LGBT peers, according to the Alliance. Transgender youth, although less well studied, are believed to have higher rates of suicidal behavior as well.
The task force will be led by Charles Robbins, head of The Trevor Project, which operates an LGBT youth suicide prevention program nationwide, and Kevin Jennings, the Department of Education's Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools. Jennings, an openly gay appointee, founded the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).
The Alliance, launched by Secretary of Health Kathleen Sebelius and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in September, is a public-private partnership supported by SAMHSA, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is designed to advance and update the 2001 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention.
Robbins said in an interview that he believes the task force will be able to inform government agencies as well as private non-profits about "appropriate, evidence-based suicide prevention programming that works for this community"
He noted that many different government agencies -- including the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Defense -- are involved in suicide prevention, and the task force will be able to "provide some linkages" among the efforts.
He also hopes the task force will be able to share with and learn from the other Alliance task forces addressing high-risk populations, including American Indians/Alaska Natives and military service members and veterans.
He said he and Jennings are still in the process of naming members to the task force and would be convening in January to identify specific goals for the group.
A string of suicides by teens bullied for being gay or perceived to be gay captured nationwide media attention last fall and prompted calls for action from LGBT organizations, celebrities, and the U.S. Department of Education, among others. Robbins said, however, that these incidents "are a fraction of what occurs on a regular basis."
In fact, the federal government has known about suicide as a health risk for gay and lesbian youth for over 20 years. The Report of the Secretary's Task Force on Youth Suicide, published by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 1989, noted the higher risk of suicides and suicide attempts among that population.
Some questioned the report's methodology, but subsequent studies have upheld the general conclusion that gay and lesbian youth are a group at high risk for suicide. But pressure from the right wing led the administration of George H.W. Bush to suppress the information in that report, according to a 1994 piece by Chris Bull in the Advocate.
In December 1994, under President Clinton, the federal government held its first conference on the primary care needs of lesbian and gay youth. One of the outcomes was a 1997 book by the event coordinators, Dr. Caitlin Ryan, Director of the Family Acceptance Project at San Francisco State University, and Dr. Donna Futterman, director of the Adolescent AIDS Program at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The book included a section on higher suicide risk among gay and lesbian youth.
And the 2001 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, published under Surgeon General David Satcher just as President George W. Bush took over from President Clinton, also noted studies with the same conclusions. It recommended that "prevention programs for sexual minority populations" should consider "issues of stigma, labeling, privacy, and appropriateness of referrals" so they are "safe and effective."
In 2008, the Suicide Resource Prevention Center, created by HHS to help states and communities "implement and evaluate suicide prevention programs," released a 63-page white paper, Suicide Risk and Prevention for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth.
The paper said lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth often lack "important protective factors such as family support and safe schools."
"It would be difficult to overstate the impact of stigma and discrimination against LGBT individuals in the United States," said the white paper. "Stigma and discrimination are directly tied to risk factors for suicide."
Robbins said that work among government entities on suicide prevention among LGBT youth "has been happening over a significant period of time." He has been a member of the Consumer Subcommittee of SAMHSA's National Suicide Prevention Lifeline for three years, and said that SAMHSA has been "deeply committed" to addressing LGBT youth suicide prevention.
In government, however, "it takes a long time for things to happen," he said.
The task force was conceived before the media attention around the LGBT suicides last fall, he noted. The attention last fall, however, "helped align the government with ways they can address the problem," and reaffirmed that "this is a public health issue."
1
2
3
__._,_.___
No comments:
Post a Comment