Sunday, January 22, 2012

Re: [Peckers_Pics] Male/Gay Health-Discussion-PICS Muscle Wars-Jan 20, 2012-Boycott Salvation Army-TARGET-Trump-FOX NEWS



I like No. 17 and the one on the right in No. 25.

From: Jake West <jakewest_tn@yahoo.com>
To: Peckers_Pics@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2012 9:28 PM
Subject: [Peckers_Pics] Male/Gay Health-Discussion-PICS Muscle Wars-Jan 20, 2012-Boycott Salvation Army-TARGET-Trump-FOX NEWS

 
Muscle Wars-Jan 20, 2012- / Health-News-PICS
Safe PICS For All Ages / "NO" Religious Discussion
Boycott Salvation Army-TARGET-Trump-FOX NEWS/Murdoch

Sign Petition For Redress:
https://www.change.org/petitions/the-proposed-petition-for-redress-and-pledge-of-action
Consider joining:
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:
Can Money Buy Self-Esteem?

1/18/12 / American Scientific - Huffington Post / By Ingrid Wickelgren

Sellers have long charged a premium for objects that confer some kind of social status, even if they offer few, if any, functional benefits over cheaper products. Designer sunglasses, $200,000 Swiss watches, and many high-end cars often seem to fall into this category. If a marketer can make a mundane item seem like a status symbol--maybe by wrapping it in a fancy package or associating it with wealth, success or beauty--they can charge more for it.
 
Although this practice may seem like a way to trick consumers out of their hard-earned cash, studies show that people do reap real psychological benefits from the purchase of high status items. Still, some people may gain more than others do, and studies also suggest that buying fancy stuff for yourself is unlikely to be the best way to boost your happiness or self-esteem.
 
In 2008, two research teams demonstrated that people process social values in the brain's reward center: the striatum, which also responds to monetary gains. That these two values share a cerebral home suggests we may weigh our reputation in cash terms. Whether we like it or not, attaching a monetary value to social status makes good scientific sense.
 
Much of what revs up this reward center--food and recreational drugs, for example--is associated with a temporary rush of pleasure or good feeling, rather than long-lasting satisfaction. But when we literally pay for that good feeling, by buying a high-status car or watch, say, the effect may last long enough to unleash profitable behaviors. In a study published last year, researchers at National Sun Yat-Sen University in Taiwan found that the mere use of brand name products seemed to make people feel they deserved higher salaries, in one case, and in the other, would be more attractive to a potential date, reports Roger Dooley in his Neuromarketing blog. Thus, even if the boost of good feeling--and self-worth--is short-lived, it might spawn actions that yield lasting benefits.
 
Other data suggest that owning fancy things might have more direct psychological benefits. In a study published in 2010, psychologist Ed Deiner at the University of Illinois and his colleagues found that standard of living, as measured by household income and ownership of luxury goods, predicted a person's overall satisfaction with life--although it did not seem to enhance positive emotions. (See "The Many Faces of Happiness," by Suzann Pileggi Pawelski, Scientific American Mind, September/October 2011.) That rush of pleasure you get from the purchase probably does fade, but a type of self-esteem effect seems to last.
 
Still there may be some drawbacks to trying to boost your self-confidence by opening up your wallet. People who feel that they are lacking in status, power or influence are willing to pay the biggest premium for social status. The result can be discrimination--that is, disadvantaged groups end up paying more, starting a vicious cycle that brings these groups further down the social ladder (see "When You Try to Buy Status, It Can Backfire"). Still, people in these studies paid the higher prices only after being reminded of their low ranking, suggesting that trying not to shop when feeling insecure could buffer folks from this effect.

Additionally, this work seems to imply that not everyone accrues equal benefits from buying name brands. People who generally feel fine about their place in society may not get the same rush from luxury, and thus may own fewer expensive or ostentatious items than others of similar means. The asking price for status may simply be too high for some.
 
Yet even if you are someone who really relishes fancy wares, buying stuff for yourself is not the most effective way to increase your feelings of self-worth. A far bigger benefit can come from giving to others. The effort you make to support another person often spawns a strong friendship, which has lasting gains for self-esteem, reported psychologist Jennifer Crocker, now at The Ohio State University, last year at the convention of the Association for Psychological Science (see "Give and You Shall Receive--A Boost to Your Self-Esteem"). And in a study that came out a few years ago, scientists determined that people got the biggest boost in happiness from money when they gave it to someone else (see "Money Can Buy Happiness").
Take Action:
  • 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! Further, Boycott Fox's Owner "Rupert Murcoch" and get him thrown in jail for illegal - Take Action:
    political donations, corruption, greed, bribery, hacking!
  • 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 its case to stop the LGBT from canvassing 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 base. 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 a LGBT friendly 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 money to anti-gay 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 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.
  • "Tune Out Trump", Boycott all Trump Hotel, casinos, holdings, 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? After making racist remarks about Obama and recv'g public backlash, Trump decided not to run for president after NBC renewed his awful TV Show. How can NBC re-new the clown's show after he pulled such hateful shenanigans?
  • Boycott Georgia for Execution of Troy Davis @ 11:08 EST, Sep 21, 2011:
    Former US President and Former GA Gov. Jimmy Carter felt that TROY DAVIS should not be executed and deserved a re-trial. The Former Director of the FBI felt that TROY DAVIS Was Not Guilty! Do not drive through Goergia as it is dangerous. Do not fly via Atlanta. For your safety -Do not travel to GA. TELL YOUR COMPANY NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN A CONVENTION IN GA! "Georgia Executes Innocent People!"
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 "Male Athlete" 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
 
1a
 
2
 
3
 
4
 
5
 
6
 
7
 
8
 
9
 
10
 
11
 
12
 
13
 
14
 
15
 
16
 
17
 
18
 
19
 
20
 
21
 
22
 
23
 
24
 
25
Tel-Aviv
 
26
Sam Kneen
 
27
Leandro Maeder
 
28
Kris Evans
 
29
Eric Turner
 
30
DEAN MICHAEL
 
31
 
32
 
33
Henry Cavill
 
You Decide!
The Cafe - Sunday Funday - San Francisco; Jan 8, 2012
Stoked?
World AIDS Day Ball, University of Chicago Medical Center, Dec. 2, 2011
HIV Testing: Gay Couples Encouraged To Get Tested, Hear Results Together Under New Program
Huffington Post - AP - 1-19-2012 - By CARLA K. JOHNSON

CHICAGO -- Newly dating and slightly anxious, two men bared their arms for blood tests and pondered the possibility that one of them, or both, could be infected with HIV. An innovative program – called Testing Together – would allow them to hear their test results minutes later, while sitting side by side.

Eric Zemanovic, a dental hygienist, and Dominic Poteste, a restaurant server, had been dating two months after a yearlong friendship. In the past, they'd both practiced safe sex and got regular HIV tests. Both are in their early 30s. They'd grown up when AIDS meant an early, horrible death. So, whenever they heard about friends testing positive, they felt pangs of fear.

Poteste explained: "There's always an anxiety that comes with getting tested, even though 99 percent of the time I've been safe and been careful, there still is always ..." His voice trailed off.

"A slight possibility," Zemanovic completed the sentence.

"A slight possibility," Poteste agreed.

---

Testing Together, now under way in Chicago and Atlanta, takes an unusual approach: It encourages gay male couples to get tested together and hear their results together. After delivering the results, a counselor talks with the couple about what to do next, including agreements they may want to make with each other about sex and health.

Are we agreeing to be monogamous? Is any sexual activity outside the relationship OK? How are we going to protect each other from infection? Couples address these questions and more.

The idea is to bring honesty to sexual relationships, said one of the researchers behind the program, Rob Stephenson of the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta.

Relationships offer only "mythical protection" from HIV, Stephenson said. Some couples may have avoided talking about each other's HIV status, thinking, "If he were HIV positive he would have told me," or "If he wanted to know, he would have asked."

Poteste and Zemanovic, the newly dating Chicago couple, differed in their past approaches. Zemanovic was in the habit of asking his sex partners about their HIV status; he was "neurotic" about it, he said. Poteste hadn't been as sexually active as his new boyfriend, but he hadn't always asked the questions: Have you been tested? What's your status?

"You have an assumption that if there's something this person could do to potentially hurt me, they would tell me," he said.

Zemanovic hoped getting tested together and discussing results with a counselor would build trust between them.

Poteste hoped the counselor could help them start a conversation so they could ask and answer difficult questions.

---

It started in Africa more than 20 years ago. Researchers believe couples testing has successfully reduced the spread of AIDS among married, heterosexual couples in some African regions. One study that looked at couples where one spouse is HIV positive and the other is HIV negative estimated that couples testing was cutting the rate of transmission by more than half.

In Washington, D.C., where the rate of HIV infection rivals some African nations, some community agencies allow couples to test together. Family and Medical Counseling Service Inc. has been testing about 145 couples together annually since 2008. Most are heterosexual couples.

In Chicago and Atlanta, Testing Together, funded by the MAC AIDS Fund, hopes to test 400 couples by the end of the year.

---

Each participant in Testing Together signs a consent form that addresses receiving counseling, testing and results with a partner in the same room at the same time with a trained counselor: "I hereby consent to allow my partner to know the results of my HIV test," it begins.

The program challenges conventional practices in the United States, where HIV testing is usually private and for individuals only. At most other clinics, a man who asks if his partner can be there when he hears his test result is denied because of patient confidentiality concerns.

There are two trends fueling Testing Together. One, the number of gay Americans telling the U.S. Census they're living with same-sex partners nearly doubled in the past decade, to about 650,000 couples. About half those same-sex partnerships are gay men.

What's more, a new line of research suggests that up to 68 percent of new HIV infections in gay men come from a main sex partner, not from casual sex, in part because main sex partners are more likely to forgo condoms.

Counselors are trained on how to deliver test results, with particular emphasis on how to tell partners the most difficult news: one partner has the virus and the other doesn't. With these so-called "HIV discordant" couples, counselors have a great opportunity to reduce the spread of the virus by helping the couple learn ways to protect the uninfected partner, primarily through correct and consistent condom use.

Counselors are trained to dispel myths. If the couple thinks the test result means one partner has been unfaithful, the counselor might point out that the infected partner could have acquired HIV before the partner became a couple. If the couple believes the virus is "sleeping" and can't be transmitted, the counselor might explain that HIV can be transmitted even if there are no signs or symptoms. If the couple believes their status is proof that precautions aren't needed, the counselor might explain that HIV could be transmitted in the future as the infected partner's virus levels rise.

Sam Hoehnle is a counselor in the Chicago program. "It never becomes easier emotionally" to deliver the news to an HIV discordant couple, Hoehnle said. He tells the HIV negative partner his results first, then spends more time and attention on the HIV positive partner. He's seen partners support each other, but he acknowledges he can't read minds. A show of compassion could mask anger or fear.

"You don't know what's happening internally, in their heads, about how they're feeling about each other," he said.

---

Poteste and Zemanovic got the best news possible: They were both HIV negative.

They both laughed with the sheer relief of it. The counselor had been nonjudgmental and hadn't wanted to talk about the past, only the future, pressing them to talk specifically and directly about their agreement on sex outside the relationship.

Zemanovic: "We both agreed on monogamy. And if we do need to go outside the relationship (we agreed) to talk to each other and find out, `OK, what do we need to do here?'"

Poteste: "This was a full exploration of (monogamy), whereas before, it was a casual statement or a passing joke that was maybe passive-aggressive.... We need to be much more direct in communications than we have been."

As a thank-you gift for participating in the program, they received two movie passes and a gift certificate for drinks and popcorn.

After the other decisions they'd made that day, deciding on which movie to see would be a snap.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/19/hiv-testing-gay-male-couples_n_1217026.html
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 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 urgently recommended to join ObamaBiden2008 . We have the LGBT boycott list and discuss end of DADT, etc... There are 3 gay teen suicides in the USA - daily! There are Hate crimes against gay people. There are gay people who are fired over their sexual identity. There are gay people who died for our cause! These groups are focused towards Yahoo Members who sincerely care about LGBT rights and are interested in Gay Men's Health! Most important, we have a most critical election in 2012 that shall determine the future of LGBT rights and our health care (as many suffer from pre-existing illness)! Please Join Now!
 
Re-Elect President Barack Obama! - Occupy Wall Street!




__._,_.___


All members of "Peckers PICS" are requested to join our "Obama Biden 2008" group as it runs in conjunction to this group.  Both groups shall not repeat articles from one group to another.  However, to gain full knowledge of Gay rights, members must belong to the Obama group as well as this group.  Therefore, please accept your invitation to join. 

To join the Obama group please click (or copy and paste the link into your browser) @  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ObamaBiden2008/join

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)



Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)