Friday, April 8, 2011

[Peckers_Pics] Muscle Wars; PICS + Articles; Apr 9, 2011/Boycott Target -Trump - NBC



Muscle Wars; PICS + Articles; Apr 9, 2011
Boycott TARGET / Safe PICS For All Ages / We Support Keith Olbermann

Updates on Keith Olberman @ ObamaBiden2008  (Update: Keith began his FOK NEWS blog.)

Alert: Target + Minnesota Forward + Tom Emmer = Support for a rather dangerous and radical political philosophy that diminishes LGBT people to pests that should be murdered. And "Target" is cool with this?   in San Diego we peacefully demonstrated in front of their stores; In return, TARGET is suing the LGBT community for voicing our right of FREE SPEECH!  Return everything you bought to TARGET and tell them why!  ....Boycott TARGET!!!!!

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Diet & Fitness:

  • Reminder: Did you complete your Diet Journal today?
  • Did you do any physical activity?  If not, make a point of it by tomorrow! 
  • Perhaps our male fitness photos shall inspire you to get Fit!
Health - Wellness - Exercise - Reflections:
A Road Map to a New Day for LGBT Health
 
Huffington Post / Apr 7, 2011 / Judith Bradford, PhD

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans are as diverse as America itself. We are woven throughout the very fabric of our society -- all ages, races and ethnicities, rich and poor, urban and rural. That may not be the image we see in the media much of the time, but we truly are the rainbow so often used as a symbol of our communities. The one thing, however, that does connect us is that we are rarely treated as equals by our society and by the law.

And in this regard, the health care system is no exception. What we see when we look at the treatment of LGBT populations in health care is similar to the broader picture for other minorities: vast disparities in the quality of care. Yet for far too long, the federal government has not substantively researched LGBT health care, as it has done for other minority populations including African-American and Hispanic communities. Most of what we know about LGBT health comes from non-government studies of lesser quality. This is because, with few exceptions, federal surveys have not included measures of sexual orientation and gender identity. And because sample numbers are small, LGBT people are often lumped together. Differences among groups cannot be detected, and other characteristics like race or ethnicity cannot be teased out.

What a difference a week -- and a supportive administration in Washington, DC -- can make. Last Friday, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a set of recommendations calling for a major, well-funded effort to include LGBT people in its research, and address the health care disparities that exist throughout our population. The day before, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report, The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People, that finally provides a comprehensive picture of the state of our community's health, and of the challenges we face in pursuing comprehensive treatment and medical care of every portion of the LGBT population. It is about time -- because on multiple levels, those disparities are too significant to ignore.

Just a few of the IOM report's findings: LGB youth are at increased risk for suicidal thoughts, attempted suicide, and depression, and early indications are that the same is true for transgender youths. Compared to heterosexuals, LGB elders may have higher rates of tobacco and alcohol use; research on tobacco and alcohol use among transgender elders is largely lacking. And compared to heterosexual women, lesbians and bisexual women have reported higher rates of breast cancer and obesity, a factor associated with cardiovascular disease.

And the paradigm has changed -- the medical and health care communities are now focusing on the roots of so much of the stress for LGBT populations -- homophobia, prejudice, discrimination and stigma. As we tackle those we will see better mental and physical health outcomes for our community and as a result be a healthier nation.

When we look at this full range of health issues, vast disparities become apparent in multiple areas. First of all, as the statistics above show, there are significant disparities between the LGBT population and the population as a whole, including access to care, suicidality, mental health, tobacco, use of alcohol and other drugs.

These inequalities can largely be attributed to the discrimination that many LGBT people constantly face. Even when we are not confronted with homophobic rhetoric or violence, many of us, due to widespread cultural stigma, are afraid to tell medical professionals about the most important details of our lives. And many of us do not have accepting family members on whom we can rely when facing medical crises. Any approach to LGBT health care would be remiss in not accounting for these structural disadvantages faced by LGBT people -- all of which are heightened depending on individual factors such as income, education, age, and more.

And that point leads to the reality of significant disparities amongst different LGBT subgroups. Lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender men and women suffer from different medical problems at different rates. LGBT people who are also members of other minorities already tend to face multiple forms of discrimination -- including structural income and employment inequities, which impede or prevent their access to insurance and proper health care. Among the report's findings: LGBT individuals face financial barriers, limitations on access to health insurance, and widespread ignorance and insensitivity on the part of medical providers. Lesbian and bisexual women are less likely to have regular checkups than heterosexual counterparts, reporting negative experiences of their own and what they have heard from others. Although very little research has been conducted on the quality of care experienced by sexual and gender minorities, limited data suggest that when transgender-specific services are accessible from knowledgeable providers, transgender patients report high satisfaction rates. A recent data fact sheet from the CDC reports that black gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) are at greater risk of HIV infection than Caucasian counterparts; among young MSM, young black MSM bear the greatest HIV/AIDS burden -- twice that of white or Hispanic counterparts.

As these figures indicate, while LGBT people are all adversely affected to one degree or another by the same structural problem -- discrimination - the differences within our own community are vast. There is no one-size-fits-all approach that can possibly work. Medical providers to the LGBT community, and medical researchers as well, must tailor their approaches to take into account age, gender, race, and economic status, rather than putting us all under a standardized "LGBT" umbrella. This is not a task that can be accomplished overnight. But it must be done.

That is why it is so crucial that the HHS has recognized both the size of the gaps in research, and the need to fill them. As its document notes, "LGBT people have been denied the compassionate services they deserve," and that in treating LGBT people, we must "recogniz[e] that diverse populations have distinctive needs." And they have outlined some smart steps toward achieving this goal: an overall increase in the number of federally funded health surveys that track sexual orientation and gender identity; a new effort from the CDC to ensure that questions about sexual orientation and gender identity are asked; and crucially, a goal of addressing LGBT health care disparities through the Healthy People 2020 initiative, driven by both existing data and the input of the LGBT community.

The significance of the HHS calling for these steps is enormous, as it has never before called for LGBT inclusion or conducted disparity research on anything resembling this scale -- or for the funding that such an effort requires. And as for the IOM report, no government-affiliated organization has ever produced a report that documents the state of LGBT health this comprehensively, and its release would have been unimaginable during any prior administration.

The picture of LGBT health is far from complete, and without it, policy makers still cannot draft health care policies that account for the full range of challenges we face. Yet taken together, these two documents constitute an excellent road map for the future of LGBT health. Our challenge is now to ensure that their recommendations are heeded -- so that all LGBT Americans can have a better, healthier future.
Take Action:
  • Boycott advertisers of Glenn Beck - Fox News.  Glenn Beck is anti-gay rights. Update: Boycott Successful: Update 4/7/2011: Beck has been fired by FOX NEWS!  Radio stations dropping Beck as well in several locations. 
  • 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 (The Dream Act). 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.  Update 03/08/11 - Lady Gaga Ends Target Partnership, Reportedly Over Target's Poor LGBT Stance. Update 3/25/2010 - Target displays their hypocrisy and Sues California Gay Rights Group for Lobbying Outside Stores.  Target is attempting to block the LGBT right of free speech!  STOP SHOPPING AT TARGET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Update 4/8/2011: Target lost it's case to stop the LGBT from canvasasing in front of their stores.  A huge PR Disaster for TARGET!  Perhaps Target should go out of business as they betrayed their investers and customer. Target contributed massive funds to a politician who would like to exterminate gays.  Now, Target can not stop us from Boycotting them, nor picketing, nor talking to customers near their stores; although Target allows a anti-gay company such as the Salvation Army to stand outside their door and speak with customers and raise money. Isn't this a double standard?  
  • 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."
  • BOYCOTT "Chick-fil-a" for donating to anti-gay marriage groups.
  • BOYCOTT KOCH INDUSTRIES PRODUCTS- to include their products: Angel Soft toilet paper / Brawny paper towels / Dixie plates, bowls, napkins & cups / Mardi Gras napkins and towels / Quilted Northern toilet paper / Soft 'n Gentle toilet paper / Sparkle napkins / Vanity fair napkins / Zee napkins / Georgia-Pacific paper products & envelopes / All Georgia-Pacific lumber & building products (INVISTA Products) / Lycra / Stainmaster Carpet.   The billionaire - Koch brothers are ultra republican - tea bag founders/supporters that do not support causes of the LGBT community. 
  • Boycott WALMART - The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, force criticized Wal-Mart for denying employee benefits to same-s-x partners and for failing to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. By comparison, the group said two other chain stores with a strong presence in New York, Costco and Walgreens, did much better.
  • Remember David Kato, Gay activist - Uganda, who was slain because he is gay!
  • NEW: Boycott Donald Trump, The Apprentice and NBC Network! At CPAC, Trump said he is considering a run for president as a Republican. In a interview with the Des Moines Register, Trump added that he opposes all forms of legal recognition for gay couples, not just marriage. "They should not be able to marry," he said. So why does NBC keep the Apprentice when Donald Trump has stated he may run for president? Boycott NBC, CNBC! Boycott advertisers of The Apprentice and his other business's. Don't shop at any bullding with Donald Trump's name to include Trump Hotels, Casionos, Condo's, Offices, Shops!  The Donald has expressed extreme Hatred.  Remember how poorly he treated Rosie O'Donnel?  Now we know why he did that!  It was hate against a lesbian as we now know he is hater.  Unforgiveable!  Ready to dump NBC because they air Donald Trump's "The Apprentice"?  Start Watching CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.
  • NEW: Boycott "APPLE." For the current owners and the aspiring owners of the I-phone,  Apple allows an application, "The Gay App", which is supposed to help gay individuals turn straight.  This is a step in the wrong direction.
  • Apple needs to know that the decision to allow this App on their products is a fallacious idea! Update: March 23, 2011:  Apple removed this app from USA stores; but, rumored to have them remain in some foreign stores.  This is offensive not just towards the LGBT community in the USA; but, offensive to  the entire LGBT community around the world.  How does anyone approve such a hateful, despicable app towards the LGBT community? Especially when Gay Teens are killing themselves after being harrassed by their church, parents, as well as  by bully's and teachers at school. The idea that this app was used, solicited is disgusting.

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.
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William Kike
 
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You Decide!
Sao Paulo, Brazil; Gay Pride; Apr 9, 2011
Stoked?
Big Top; Club 8; San Francisco; March 26, 2011
Target, gay rights supporters at odds over how to settle dispute
A controversial political contribution by the retailer months ago led to a boycott by activists, and now the conflict threatens to derail Target's gay friendly reputation.

Andrea Chang, Los Angeles Times / April 9, 2011

John Duran likes shopping at Target, but he hasn't walked through its doors since last summer. As a gay public official, Duran believes he must support a boycott against the retailer by gay rights activists.

"I am one of those people now that no longer shops at Target," said Duran, West Hollywood's mayor pro tem. "I just can't in good conscience be seen there."

Real estate agent Tom Kraynak also stayed away from the retailer -- for a while. But he was among several gay shoppers at the West Hollywood Target recently who said it was time to move on.

"We boycotted for a while," said Kraynak, 47. "But that only lasted for so long because we had to go to Target. Gotta shop."

Months after Target Corp. angered gay rights supporters with a controversial political donation, both sides say they want to move past the issue. They just can't seem to agree on the terms.

For Target, the dispute threatens to derail its long-held reputation as a gay friendly company, one that supports gay causes and features same-sex couples in its advertising.

Its actions -- including a lawsuit last month against a gay marriage group that had been soliciting outside a San Diego area store -- have led opponents to form anti-Target groups on Facebook and to pressure gay rights organizations to reject donations from the company. Last month pop star Lady Gaga, an outspoken gay rights supporter, dropped an exclusive album deal with the retailer in a show of support.

"Target's biggest asset and vulnerability is they market so transparently to our community," said Fred Sainz, a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights organization. "If that retailer does not fulfill on what we believe to be their brand promise, there are consequences."

Hoping to prevent the feud from escalating, Target has lately gone on an offensive -- including meeting with gay rights groups and announcing to The Times its support for the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act, a long-stalled bill that would ban discrimination against employees on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

And last week, Target released a two-minute video promoting the company's diversity that it posted on Facebook and its website.

"We're left, right and everything in between," a narrator intones over images of Target employees, including a gay couple. "Whether we're gay, straight or identify ourselves any other way, we love whoever it is we love."

Target officials said they haven't ascertained whether the boycott has affected sales, but said the chain's mea culpa was about righting a serious misconception -- and not about money.

"It's important to set the record straight and provide some context," said Michael Francis, Target's executive vice president and chief marketing officer.

"We're all disappointed and saddened by this set of events," Francis said in an interview. "It doesn't align with the beliefs of our broader team; it doesn't align with our stated corporate goals."

The dispute began last summer, when Minneapolis-based Target gave $150,000 to MN Forward, a political group that was backing a conservative Minnesota gubernatorial candidate opposed to gay marriage.

Target said the donation was made because of MN Forward's pro-business stance and not because of the group's support of Republican Tom Emmer. Still, the company issued a public apology and vowed to rethink how it makes such contributions.

But those actions - and a subsequent pledge by Target to increase its donations to gay rights organizations to more than $500,000 this year, a 20% increase from its 2010 total - haven't appeased many gay rights supporters.

"Target's present commitment to gay equality doesn't measure up," Sainz said. "The re-integration of Target into the gay world has to be in a deep and meaningful way."

Activists say Target can settle the matter through several steps, including bolstering its donations to a wider range of gay causes and taking a public stance in favor of gay marriage or against the Defense of Marriage Act.

They are also bitter about a company lawsuit against Canvass for a Cause, a nonprofit that had been soliciting petitions advocating gay marriage outside a San Diego County Target store.

Target said it had nothing against the group or the petition, but that it prohibits all customer solicitations, as many retailers do. Since 2004, Target says it has brought legal action against 17 groups, including church and community organizations.

Tres Watson of Canvass for a Cause argued that the company was selectively enforcing that ban, noting that Target has not sued the Salvation Army when it sets up donation buckets during the holidays.

The discord worsened after Target filed court papers in which a company security official discussed the "controversial pro-gay marriage messaging" of Canvass for a Cause and the perception among customers that "Target promotes the same view."

"Target pulled the Band-Aid off the wound all over again," said Watson, the group's executive director. "If the true reason why you want to kick us off your property is because you don't allow any signature gatherers, then why do you even have to reference that issue?"

On Thursday, a San Diego judge denied Target's request to ban the solicitors from its property, saying the company didn't show that Canvass for a Cause volunteers had been harassing customers. The ruling said the group could continue to canvass but had to stay 30 feet away from store entrances.

Experts in corporate crisis management and brand marketing said it's in Target's best interest to settle the matter quickly. The public's opinion of a brand is often based on headlines rather than the nuances of a situation, noted Gene Grabowski, senior vice president of Levick Strategic Communications.

"It's right at the tipping point," he said. "What Target does next is what matters."

But while backing gay marriage would appease some customers, it could also turn off those who don't support same-sex unions or who believe companies should steer clear of social issues, said Brian Sozzi, a retail analyst at Wall Street Strategies.

"I don't know if it's their place," he said. "At the end of the day, they sell goods."

Gay activists also have an incentive: As boycotts drag on, they tend to lose steam.

Back at the West Hollywood Target, partners Jim Sullivan and Charles Borja said they long ago accepted Target's apology.

"They're going to alienate consumers if they take a hard-line stance one way or the other," said Sullivan, 30, a retail assistant manager. "I think it's enough that they've tried to right the wrongs."
 
"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
 
 
Important Notice: Our ObamaBiden2008 Group works hand - in - hand with Peckers PICS (Both groups were co-created to work with each-other).  To prevent duplication of articles and questions, all members of this group are expected  to join ObamaBiden2008. It is unfair for members that belong to both groups to hear members of just Peckers PICS (only) to make statements when the ObamaBiden2008 has covered such topics in detail.  Therefore, members need to join ObamaBiden2008  immediately.  This shall clear up communications and confusion.  The LGBT cause is too important and beyond 1 person's need to just look at pictures.   Therefore, please join ObamaBiden2008 now.  No you don't have to read every article! But, it covers the LGBT community and includes updates on Health insurance; LGBT boycott list; Westboro Church; and the end of DADT, etc...Also, updates with the multi - state gov't's war against unions and people with disabilities. The group is created for you!  There are gay teen suicides going on. There are Hate crimes against gay people. There are gays who are fired over their sexual identity.  There are gay people who died for our cause! You always reserve the right to remove yourself from all my groups if you do not appreciate this request.  I have done everything I can and now it is time for you to step up!  My Groups are for Yahoo members who sincerely care about LGBT rights and Gay Mens Health!   Please Join Now!
 
 
 
 
 
 


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Thank you!
 

"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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