Penis Burned -- Hospital To Be Sued

A Mr Kang who went to a private hospital to have foreskin resection has lost more than he expected, the Xinmin Evening News reported Friday.
Kang, a middle-aged man, read an advertisement and went to a private hospital in Jinshan District on September 8. He followed doctor's instruction to take a course of microwave "heliotherapy". After one hour, Kang noticed that his penis had been burned black and was painful. He had difficulty passing water but the doctor had gone off work and he could find nobody to help him.
On the following day, the doctor tried to treat the inflammation and advised Kang to try other hospitals.
Urologists found that Kang's penis had been so severely "cooked" that the burned parts had to be excised reducing the size of the penis.
The president of the private hospital admitted an "accident" had occurred but asserted that the "operation" had been performed according to the instructions set out on the "heliotherapy" manual and it was the first time that such an accident had occurred, Xinmin said.
An official with the Jinshan health bureau, the local regulator of hospitals, said the incident may have been avoided had the hospital followed the operation procedure strictly.
Through negotiations hosted by the bureau, the hospital has paid part of Kang's medical costs. Both parties have agreed to take the case to court when a medical negligence appraisal has been carried out by health authorities.
From ShanghaiDaily.com

Marley Explains Reggae's 'Gay Burning' References

Damian Marley has defended reggae songs which advocate "burning" gays, because the lyrics are metaphorical and spiritual.
The "Welcome To Jamrock" hitmaker insists no reggae stars incite violence against the homosexual community - the lyrics simply refer to damnation in the afterlife.
He says, "When they speak of fire, part of it comes from the deejay battling culture and trying to get an immediate crowd response at the dance. But another part comes from faith.
"The churches all speak against homosexuality. But you don't walk around Jamaica and see homosexuals hanging from the lampposts. It's a spiritual burning."
from ContactMusic.com

Government To Ask Scots If They're Gay In Trial Census

A Trial run for the next official census will ask Scots to reveal if they are gay.
Officials from the General Register Office are to carry out a sample survey, asking individuals to tick a box to show if they are heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual or other.
They will then decide whether to include a question on sexual orientation in the next official census in 2011.
But the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which runs the census in England and Wales, has indicated it is unlikely to ask such a question south of the Border.
So it could end up that Scots are asked if they are gay, while people in England and Wales are not.
Other new questions which are being considered include asking people about their income, whether households eat meals together and how safe people feel going out at night.
Although it is compulsory to complete the census form, the sexual orientation question would be optional. But officials are worried it might deter people from filling in the form, so a sample survey will be carried out to check whether it affects response rates.
Tim Hopkins, of the National Equality Network, said including the question could provide information to make sure gay people were not discriminated against.
He said: "We have had local authorities and health boards contact us asking how many gay people there are in their area. They need to know because of the services they provide, but at the moment there is no reliable information.
"There is evidence that around four to five per cent of the population as a whole are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, but a lot of gay people move to big cities like Edinburgh or Glasgow so we would expect there to be more there."
He said by 2011 it would be even more important to have clear information on numbers of gay people because by then laws against discrimination and a duty to promote equality will have been extended to cover homosexuals.
Mr Hopkins said a survey among gay people earlier this year showed 85 per cent supported including a census question on sexual orientation. And another online survey showed well over 90 per cent of gays would answer such a question.
Parliament is not expected to make a final decision on the questions to be included until 2009.
Mike Parker, general secretary of the Evangelical Alliance in Scotland, said someone's sexuality was a private affair. But he added: "The advantage of this type of question might be that it will give a realistic picture of how many people have that type of lifestyle and it may show the figures are a lot less than people expect."
Alan Wardle, parliamentary director for gay rights group Stonewall in London, said it would be "crazy" if the sexual orientation question was asked in Scotland, but not in England and Wales.
"It's good that Scotland is ahead of the game on this."
In a consultation document, the ONS said the census was not seen as an appropriate vehicle for collecting information on sexual orientation.
from News.Scotsman.com

POZ Sex Parties Could Spawn Superbug

The desire to have unprotected sex and to avoid having to raise the subject of HIV status with a new partner have given rise to an increasingly popular activity: POZ parties -- gatherings exclusively for HIV-positive men to meet other HIV-positive men.
Although POZ parties could serve to reduce the spread of HIV infection, researchers worry that the mix of high rates of unprotected sex and the use of other environments for sex may help to spread treatment-resistant strains of HIV.
They fear that a "superinfection" may develop, according to an article published in Sexually Transmitted Infections.
Also, the risk of other sexually transmitted infections remains a concern, particularly because the immune system response is already compromised in HIV infection.
POZ parties first emerged during the mid-1990s in New York, initially as informal gatherings for HIV-positive gay men. People learned about the events primarily by word of mouth.
Now, information about party dates and locations is available on an Internet site, and email notifications are sent to a list of more than 5,000 people. Parties are held several times a month in several other major US cities, as well as in Canada, Australia and Western Europe, note the researchers.
The study involved a brief survey of a sample of 115 men attending one or more POZ parties in New York during 2003.
Researchers found that those attending the parties were predominantly white and over the age of 30. Respondents had lived with HIV infection from as little as 2 months to 20 years since diagnosis.
Three quarters of the men said they had been to a POZ party before, suggesting that a substantial number were regular attenders. The men surveyed said that they had also used other venues to find sexual partners.
Only one in eight said their primary reason for attending a POZ party was to avoid spreading HIV to others.
Unprotected sex with several partners over the course of an event was common. Almost two thirds said they had had receptive anal sex, while almost three quarters said they had had insertive anal sex.
Two thirds were taking antiretroviral drugs, and one third reported having had an additional sexually transmitted infection within the preceding year.
from Daily News Central

Gay Man Fights For His Rights

A St. Petersburg court has ruled that the Oktyabrskaya Railroad broke the law when it rejected a man’s application to work as a train conductor because he was gay, the plaintiff’s lawyer said.
The case is unusual because gays and lesbians usually find new jobs rather than challenge discrimination in court due to a social stigma attached to homosexuality. In addition, sexual discrimination in all forms is very difficult to prove in Russian courts.
The plaintiff, a 30-year-old man, appealed to the Frunzensky District Court after his application to take courses for train conductors with the Oktyabrskaya Railroad was rejected in 2003, the lawyer, Dmitry Bartenyev, said Wednesday.
The rejection came after doctors at the railroad’s clinic deemed him unfit due to a note on his military record that he suffered from a mental disorder. The mark was made in 1992, when homosexuality still retained its Soviet-era classification as a “perverse psychopathy.”
The court ruled on Sept. 20 that the clinic had violated the law and ordered the railroad to accept his application.
“The court ruled on two important issues,” said Bartenyev, who works for the Medical Disability Advocacy Center, an international nongovernmental organization.
“It declared the practice of using military data to restrict human rights is unlawful. The information on it should only be used for military registration, and not to establish someone’s health status with regard to employment.”
The court also confirmed that the plaintiff’s “perverse psychopathy” diagnosis was based exclusively on his homosexuality, and that homosexuality is not a mental disorder, Bartenyev said.
Bartenyev declined to identify his client, citing the sensitivity of sexual orientation, and said he did not wish to speak with a reporter.
Valentin Morozov, head doctor of Oktyabrskaya Railroad Clinic, said Thursday that the man was denied a job because of the mental disorder note, not his sexual orientation.
“We have instructions not to allow anyone with mental problems to do work that involves certain risks, such as being a train conductor,” Morozov said.
He said it wasn’t the clinic’s responsibility to investigate the reason behind the original diagnosis.
When the 1992 diagnosis was made, the man was registered at a local psychiatric clinic and required to undergo periodic psychiatric assessments. He was classified as being incapable of serving in the army and issued a military card with the mark “7b,” which indicated a psychopathic mental disorder.
In 2003, his name was dropped from the registry at the local psychiatric clinic, but the military refused to cancel his diagnosis and confirmed it still considered him unfit for service because of his homosexuality, which it had re-classified as “other disorders of a sexual identity,” a classification in the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseases, Bartenyev said.
The WHO has not classified homosexuality as a mental disorder since 1992, when it issued the 10th edition of the International Classification of Diseases, known as ICD-10.
from The St. Petersberg Times

Catholic Priest Recruitment Poster

On the recruitment poster, a young Roman Catholic priest in full cassock stands before a black backdrop gripping a cross in one hand and a rosary in the other. A halo of light surrounds him, but his expression is far from angelic. He stares grimly at the ground, his eyes obscured by dark sunglasses.
The poster is a takeoff on ads for the movie "The Matrix" and was developed by a youth minister in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis to send a message about enrolling in seminary: Priests, like the Keanu Reeves character in the film, fight for good in a tough world.
Yet, over the last three years of the clergy sex abuse crisis, priests have come to be identified by some in the public with the dark side of human behavior. U.S. bishops have responded by transforming their child protection policies and removing accused clergy from church work.
Now what church leaders hope is another key step in their long march toward healing is getting underway: Vatican-directed evaluators have started visiting all 229 American seminaries, looking for lapses in teaching about celibacy that contributed to the scandal.
Already the effort has caused a stir in the church with revelations that the document from the Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education directing evaluators calls on them to look for "evidence of homosexuality" in seminaries. Meanwhile, the same Vatican office is expected to soon release a document signaling that gays are not welcome in seminaries.
That's triggered a heated debate over whether celibate, gay priests can or should serve the church and created more controversy at a time when the seminary visits are highlighting a question that has puzzled Catholic researchers for decades: How can the Church revive what looks like a dying profession?
"I'm continually amazed in these times when you're faced with the situation of the church in the United States and the problems the church has encountered in the last few years, that there are young men who are willing to step forward and respond to the Lord's call," said Monsignor Robert Coleman, rector of the Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. "God-willing, more will continue to respond to the call."
The statistics are sobering: Since 1965, the number of annual ordinations has dropped by more than half to 454 this year. Enrollment in graduate-level seminaries has dropped from 8,325 to 3,308 in the same period. Thousands more parishes are without a resident priest and the average age of Catholic clergy is climbing.
from Times Daily

Oral, Lesbian Sex On Top

The US government's largest-ever survey of the nation's sexual practices has found that US teenagers are increasingly engaging in oral sex as a strategy to avoid Aids and other sexually transmitted diseases.
The report also found a dramatic increase in the number of women who said they had engaged in a lesbian relationship.
About 11% of women aged between 18 and 44 said they have had a lesbian sexual experience, up from six percent in a previous poll in 1992. In the 18 to 29 age group, 14% of women said they had engaged in lesbian sex.
Taken together, the two findings suggest a shift in sexual practices, in which females are using oral and lesbian sex "as a safer alternative than (vaginal) sex with men", said epidemiologist William Mosher of the National Centre for Health Statistics, the study's lead author.
Researchers said that the rise in reported lesbian experiences might also be the result of greater female sexual freedom and increasing social acceptance of lesbianism, especially in college, where the phenomenon known as "LUG - lesbian until graduation" is increasingly widespread.
The number of adult males reporting homosexual relationships was around six percent - the same figure as in 1992.
Researchers found that men age 30 to 44 have had a median of six to eight sexual partners in their lifetimes; while women's median was about four.
Among people aged 25 to 44, 97% of men and 98% of women have had vaginal intercourse, while 90% of men and 88% of women have had oral sex with people of the opposite sex.
The survey found that among teens ages 15 to 19, 55% of males and 54% of females had engaged in oral sex, rising to nearly 70% for those who are 18 and 19. Some 53% of girls 15 to 19 and 49% of boys reported that they have had full intercourse. The parity between the sexes represented a significant evolution in social attitudes, according to James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth, a reproductive health organisation in Washington.
from News24.com

Priest Pulled From Mass After Refusing To Support Anti-Gay Marriage

A Catholic priest in this town was temporarily pulled from the pulpit after refusing to support the state bishops' drive against gay marriage.
The Rev. George Lange of St. Luke the Evangelist was replaced last weekend by Bishop Robert McManus of the Worcester Diocese, who led the Saturday evening Mass and the Sunday morning Mass at the church.
The move came after Lange and his associate pastor, the Rev. Stephen Labaire, posted an item in the Sept. 11 church bulletin stating their opposition to a proposed Constitutional amendment that would ban on gay marriage. The state's Catholic bishops are leading a signature drive to get the amendment on the 2008 ballot.
The bulletin item read: "The priests of this parish do not feel that they can support this amendment. They do not see any value to it and they see it as an attack upon certain people in our parish, namely those who are gay."
A spokesman for McManus, Raymond Delisle, told the MetroWest Daily News of Framingham that Lange and Labaire remain in place at the church.
Delisle said the bishop's intention was not to rebuke the priests, but to "present the church's teaching on the subject."
But parishioner Cindy Hodgdon said her church leaders' "hands were slapped very publicly."
"Bishop McManus told us that Father George 'made a mistake' and 'should not have done that,'" she said.
"Everybody was stunned," said parishioner Rob Wilson. "It was a rather stunning homily."
Labaire declined comment to the Daily News and Lange could not be reached for comment.
from The Boston Globe

LA Porn Industry Not Doing Enough To Prevent HIV

An investigation into four cases of heterosexual HIV transmission in the Los Angeles pornographic film industry in 2004 has revealed that the pornographic film makers involved did not comply with Californian State occupational health regulations. The investigation is reported in the September 23^rd edition of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Review. Condoms are not routinely used in heterosexual pornography produced in Los Angeles, and state and federal government investigators found that performers were relying on monthly HIV viral load tests (which they paid for themselves) to determine their HIV infection status.
“This investigation identified important and remedial gaps in the prevention of AIDS and other sexually transmitted [infections] in the adult film industry”, comment the report authors.
In early April 2004 a 40-year old male pornographic film performer was identified as being infected with HIV during routine monthly HIV monitoring using a PCR test which looks for HIV’s genetic material. Tests in February and March 2004 had been negative. In the period between the last two negative tests the man had been engaged in the production of a pornographic film in Brazil, where he had experienced a ‘flu-like illness'.
The man had unprotected sex with thirteen women in pornographic films after his return from Brazil and infection with HIV. Three of these women tested HIV-positive. The authors of the report note, “during film production all three of the infected female partners had engaged with the index patient in specific acts associated with increased possibility of mucosal tears.”
from Aids Map

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More Gay Men Having 'Risky Sex'

The number of gay men in Scotland having unprotected sex has almost doubled over six years, a study says.
At the same time, unfounded confidence in the HIV negative status of casual partners has also increased, Sexually Transmitted Infections journal says.
The findings, which reflect trends seen in other UK areas, are based on surveys of 6,500 men in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
In 1996, 11% of those surveyed said they had unprotected anal sex - in 2002 the figure was 19%. Levels of this "risky sex" with casual or multiple partners also increased. There was also a significant increase in men reporting they "knew" their casual partners' HIV status, despite no increase in HIV testing among the men who reported having unprotected anal intercourse with casual partners.
The likelihood of unprotected sex with casual partners was greater among those men who said they visited gay bars frequently and those who agreed with the statement: "I am less worried about HIV infection now that treatments have improved."
These trends are not limited to the two cities studied, said the report authors.
Professor Graham Hart and Lisa Williamson, of the MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit at Glasgow University, said gay men in other UK cities were similarly becoming more blase about practising safe sex.
Professor Hart said: "The concern is that whilst there has been marvellous news about the impact of antiretroviral treatments in keeping people alive, there has perhaps become a sense that safe sex is not as important as it was."
from BBC News

The World Toilet Summit

If as some claim, a nation can truly be judged by its public toilets, then where does that leave the UK?
Critics say they are neglected, dirty, unsafe and dwindling in numbers, which makes them a subject as whinge-worthy as the weather. For them, this is where community life and a civilised society meets anti-social behaviour and embarrassment.
But the tide could be turning. The World Toilet Summit in Belfast this week hopes to press governments from around the globe into action, and British campaigners hope the momentum will continue when they meet ministers in October.
It appears there is much to do. Two thirds of 2,000 adults recently polled by the National Consumer Council said they were disgusted by the state of public toilets.
"It's affecting people's quality of life everywhere," says Richard Chisnall, director of the British Toilet Association (BTA), who is attending the summit. "People are very angry out there. We're supposed to be a developed country, yet many High Street stores have to wash down their doorways to remove the urine."
Local councils have a discretionary responsibility for providing public toilets but many have closed them down, blaming costs, vandalism and cottaging by gay men. Councils are not allowed to charge for providing urinals so some toilets have been leased to private firms who can demand a fee.
A survey by the BTA suggests 20% of the UK's toilets have closed in the past five years.
from BBC News

Pelvic Exercises Useful For Erectile Dysfunction

Exercises that focus on strengthening the muscles at the base of the penis, known as the pelvic floor, appear to be a useful treatment for erection difficulties, according to a small study.
"This study suggests that pelvic floor exercises should be considered as a first-line approach for men seeking long-term resolution of their erectile dysfunction," lead author Dr. Grace Dorey, from The Somerset Nuffield Hospital in Taunton, UK, and colleagues note.
The findings, which appear in the medical journal BJU International, are based on a study of 55 men with erection difficulties who were randomly selected to receive lifestyle advice, such as quitting smoking, with or without training in pelvic floor exercises. After three months, subjects in the non-exercise group who showed no response were treated with the exercise intervention.
The exercise training was provided by a physiotherapist who instructed the men to tighten their pelvic floor muscles as if they were trying to prevent gas passing. In addition, emphasis was placed on the ability to retract the penis and lift the scrotum using pelvic muscles.
After three months of training, the men were encouraged to continue the exercises at home for three additional months.
At that point, erectile function, based on a standard scoring system, was significantly better in the pelvic exercise group than in comparison subjects. The men who crossed over to the intervention displayed a significant improvement in function three months later.
At six months, evaluation by an independent assessor showed that 40 percent of the men had normal erectile function, 35.5 percent had improved function, and 24.5 percent saw no improvement.
Besides being a first-line treatment for erectile dysfunction, pelvic floor exercises could serve as an additional aid for men receiving other types of therapy, the researchers suggest.
from World Now

California Inmates To Get Orange Undies

The Sheriff's Department came up with a bright idea to stop male inmates from leaving the jailhouse with county-issued underwear: socks, skivvies and shirts are now dyed orange. Some $50,000 is spent each year for inmate underwear.
"We just keep losing horrendous amounts of that property," said Kathy Kemp, chief deputy of the Sheriff's Department's detention services division. The division's tight budget led to the orange undies plan.
"We think we'll be able to reduce the amount of clothes that inmates take with them," Cmdr. Brent Morris said.
About 1,400 male inmates will get orange undergarments.
Inmates who change from their jail jumpsuits to their street clothes will stand out in bright orange and they'll have to hand over their drawers before they leave, the department said.
The estimated 200 female inmates will keep using white underwear. There hasn't been a significant amount of underwear lost from the women's side, officials said.
from Tallahassee Democrat

First Transsexual Priest To Be Ordained

Assistant curate Sarah Jones, 44, from Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire, spent the first 29 years of her life living as a man.
Evangelical group Evangelical Alliance said there was no "Christian acknowledgement" of gender realignment.
But the Right Reverend Anthony Priddis said Ms Jones - being ordained on Saturday - was "made and loved by God".
Ms Jones was a "superb candidate" who had the gender realignment surgery "many years ago - long before she explored the possibility of being ordained", Bishop Priddis said.
The issue of gender dysphoria was "understood a lot more clearly in this 21st Century as we understand lots of things more clearly", he said.
"Gender realignment surgery helps address that issue and it's about bringing mind and body into wholeness.
"I see this as something restorative and healing.
"What's important is that she's a person made by God, loved by God and given gifts by God who feels that she's called to be a priest and that's a call that's been checked out by the church rigorously."
But Don Horrocks, of the Evangelical Alliance, said the Bible made it "absolutely clear that God created human beings as male and female".
"Therefore there is absolutely no Christian acknowledgement of the 21st Century human idea that it's possible somehow for a person to take charge of their own destiny and to decide what their own sexuality is," he added.
"Someone who does that... is therefore actually perpetuating an illusion or masquerading and any Christian is clearly not going to be supportive of someone who purports to be what they're not."
Bishop Priddis said the condition of gender dysphoria was recognised in the NHS and in law.
"Those who suffer from it need help in order to be able to move to that wholeness which we, as Christians, want for everyone."
from BBC News

Fugitive Targeting Gay Men

Columbus Police say that a fugitive on the run Monday night could be walking the streets and should be considered dangerous.
Police say Byrol Pierce has been running from the law for more than a year. He's accused of stabbing a man two years ago and stealing another man's identity. Detectives say Pierce is targeting gay men in particular, connecting with them through Internet dating websites.
Pierce escaped from a work release program in June of 2004 after being charged with attempted murder. Since then, Columbus Police say Pierce stole a man's identity to help maintain his freedom.
"He's going around befriending people and stealing their identity and then uses that to open checking accounts, obtain identification and then commit fraud with other people's writing bad checks," Detective Jimmy Day explained.
The major concern police have is that they believe Pierce was willing to kill someone once before, and he is still roaming the streets of Columbus targeting unsuspecting victims.
"He's wanted for attempted murder. That shows that if the conditions are right, he could possibly commit a crime of violence against another person,” Det. Day said.
Police think it's a good possibility there are more than just two victims. Columbus Police are asking anyone with information about Pierce or crimes he may have committed to call them.
from Ohio News Network

Professor Criticized For Anti-Gay Writings

Many universities encourage an open exchange of ideas by their professors. But some wonder if the line between free speech and discriminatory thoughts has been crossed at Washington University.
When you visit the Washington University Physics Department Website, you can access Professor Jonathan Katz's articles on gamma ray bursts. There's also a link to Katz's personal Website.
Katz's ideas are available in several articles on his Website, including "In Defense Of Homophobia", an essay outlining Katz's opinions on homosexuality.
Katz wrote, referring to recipients of HIV contaminated transfusions, "Guilt for their deaths is on the hands of the homosexuals and intravenous drug abusers who poisoned the blood supply. These people died so the sodomites could feel good about themselves."
"I'm not a bigot. I come to a moral judgment. My moral judgment is that certain behavior is evil and immoral. It's immoral because it kills people," said Katz.
Washington University student Jeff Stepp says although he has no problem with Katz and his opinions, he does have a problem with Katz's articles being linked to the University Website, "As a public figure in the University, what he says in some small way, especially if it's on University Web space, stands for the university. And do we want this as part of our community?"
A spokesman says Washington University has a strict policy regarding discrimination, and in the school's opinion Professor Katz has not violated that policy, he has simply exercised his right to express an opinion.
Katz says his opinions have no bearing on his view of students, "I don't want to hear about their private life. It's none of my business. My opinions, if they don't like them, are none of their business."
Stepp still has some concerns, "I would like a discussion about tolerance. How do we work with faculty who we have disagreements with, and do we need to look at our computer use policy?"
Katz's Website includes a disclaimer from the University regarding his opinions. Stepp wrote an article about Katz's Website, which was published on the Student Life section of the Website. Stepp hopes he gets responses from the Washington University community.
from KSDK.com

Sean Paul Condemns Anti-Gay Music

Jamaican rapper Sean Paul has joined the ever growing band of hip-hop stars to speak out against homophobia in music.
Lyrics from artists such as Eminem have courted controversy and caused outrage amongst the gay community.
Only a few weeks ago outspoken hip-hopper Kanye West beseeched fellow artists to open their minds over the issue of sexuality.
Sean Paul singled out the notoriously anti-gay tune 'Chi Chi Man', by Jamaican rapper TOK, as an example of the type of music that is degrading the industry.
He said: "Right now my question to these dudes is, 'Why say it so many times?' It's really hurting the music on a monumental level."
Sean Paul shot to fame when he dueted with Blu Cantrell on the song 'Breathe' and has had numerous hits including 'Shake That Thing' and 'Dutty Rock'.
from Virgin.net

'Cool Mom' Who Held Teen Sex Parties Hurt In Wreck

A Colorado woman who admitted to giving drugs and sex to teenage boys because she wanted to be a "cool mom" was to find out Monday what her sentence would be, but her sentencing was delayed after she was in a serious car accident that involved four adolescents.
Silvia Johnson, 41, of Arvada, Colo., was the only adult and licensed driver in a car that crashed Sunday at 5:30 p.m. at Tomah Road, near Castle Rock, but she wasn't the one driving, the Colorado State Patrol said.
A 2005 Jeep Liberty was being driven by a 14-year-old girl when it slid across the eastern lanes during a lane change. The vehicle swerved across the frontage road and then rolled end over end, the CSP said. An 11-year-old boy who was ejected from the vehicle was airlifted to Swedish Hospital, and Johnson was also transported there. Both were in serious condition.
Two 14-year-old girls, including the driver, and a 12-year-old boy were transported to Skyridge Hospital. One of the 14-year-old girls and the 12-year-old boy were in serious condition. The 14-year-old driver has minor injuries.
The CSP is investigating the accident and deciding what, if any, charges to recommend to the district attorney.
Johnson had already pleaded guilty to charges of sexual abuse and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. She admitted to hosting weekly parties for teens and having sex with high school boys after she supplied them with alcohol and drugs.
She pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors and nine felonies and faces up to 58 years in prison.
Investigators said Johnson told them she wasn't popular when she was in high school and throwing the parties made her feel like one of the group.
The parties took place at her home between October 2003 and October 2004, and involved boys from Arvada West High School.
One 16-year-old boy told police that Johnson performed oral sex on him on two occasions and that they had sex once. Another 16-year-old also told police that Johnson performed oral sex on him when she was engaging in sexual intercourse with another teen, according to the arrest affidavit.
The investigation began when one of the boys told his mother about what happened. Johnson was arrested in December 2004. Johnson told Denver TV station KMGH earlier that she was going through a difficult period in her life and that she has apologized to the parents of the teens who are connected to the case.
from Click On Detroit

S. African AIDS Expert Urges Circumcision

A South African AIDS expert Saturday advocated male circumcision as the best available "vaccine" against the virus in his country, where an estimated 6 million people are infected and more than 600 people die every day.
Francois Venter told a congress of health activists in the Treatment Action Campaign that a recent survey in the Soweto township indicated that circumcised men were 65 percent less likely to contract AIDS than those who had not been circumcised.
"We dream of a vaccine which has this efficacy," said Venter, clinical director of the Reproductive Health and HIV Research at the University of Witwatersrand. "The results are phenomenal."
The association between circumcision and a reduced risk of HIV was noted as early as 1987, when Dr. William Cameron of the University of Manitoba in Canada reported findings from a study in Kenya. Some researchers in early studies have said they believe cells in the foreskin may be particularly susceptible to infection.
Venter urged the Treatment Action Campaign, an influential movement of 13,000 activists, to consider promoting circumcision as a vital prevention tool, given that existing methods were failing to slow the spread of the epidemic.
South Africa has the highest number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the world. Nearly 30 percent of pregnant women are infected, according to a health department survey published in July, and in the hardest hit province of KwaZuluNatal this rises to 41 percent. The disease is now one of the main causes of death among young adults and infants.
Some traditional communities in South Africa practice circumcision, but there are calls for tighter medical controls to limit health risks from blunt and contaminated instruments.
"We don't want our men to go to the chop shop but have medical circumcision," said Zackie Achmat, an AIDS activist who said the congress — which meets every two years — would debate whether to encourage mass circumcision.
from SFGate.com

Lesbian Student Reaches Deal On Yearbook Tux Pic

A lesbian student whose picture was yanked from her yearbook because she was dressed in a tuxedo has reached an out-of-court agreement with a South Florida school district.The dispute began earlier this year when Fleming Island principal Sam Ward pulled Davis' yearbook photo because it violated the dress code for senior portraits, which required dresses for women, or a fabric drape that looks like a dress for the yearbook photo.
Davis said she wore a tux because it made her feel more comfortable, a position supported by Cindy Davis, the student’s mother. "What is so offensive about this picture?" Cindy Davis asked, holding her tuxedo clad daughter's photo in her hand at a school board meeting in February. "Who would have ever noticed her attire?"
The school board, however, maintained its position, prompting Davis and her daughter to contact civil rights groups and the National Center for Lesbian Rights who sent a letter to the school threatening a federal lawsuit.
The Clay County School Board approved the mediated settlement Sept. 15.In the settlement agreement, the school board agreed to change its senior portrait policy; add sexual orientation to its non-discrimination policy for both students and teachers; distribute a copy of the new non-discrimination policy to all secondary school students; provide annual non-discrimination training that includes sexual orientation to all faculty and staff; and provide diversity training that includes sexual orientation to all junior high and high school students in the district.
Kelli Davis, now a freshman at the University of South Florida, told the media she hopes the settlement will prevent future discrimination against students.
“I’m just relieved it’s over and that no other student in Clay County will have to go through the embarrassment, humiliation and frustration I went through," she said.
from The Gay Financial Network

San Francisco Folsom Street Fair

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They came by the tens of thousands to San Francisco on Sunday, strutting in the annual homage to Indian summer and specialty leather goods known as the Folsom Street Fair.
The balmy weather was a good thing, considering all the naked people.
Many of those who opted for clothes did so not out of modesty or necessity, but because their raiments expressed an intense personal interest of one kind or another.
"My particular fetish is uniforms," said Robert Green, who was outfitted in a Los Angeles police officer's uniform that was true in every detail, except that it was fabricated from leather.
Green, a Los Angeles resident, described the event "as a combination freak show and simple excuse for people to just come together and enjoy their fetishes."
That more or less jibed with Todd Oliver's point of view. The fair is about "diversity, about everybody feeling free to be who they are," said the burly Seattle resident, who was clad in a leather harness, a cap and little else.
"I got sunburned, but I put on some sunblock," he said. "I'm drinking a beer -- I'm having a good time."
Also enjoying the spectacle were Phil and Toby Jones of Detroit. They stood plastered against a wall with their little dog, observing the passing parade of alternative lifestyle advocates with eyes roughly the size of poached eggs.
"We're looky-loos," said Phil Jones. "We're staying at the Ritz-Carlton, and we asked them what's the one thing we shouldn't miss while we're in town, and they said this is it. And they were right."
"It's not offensive, just strange," said Toby Jones, stroking the ears of her dog. "It kind of makes you wonder if one of these guys with his butt hanging out might be working in the office cubicle next to you on Monday."
Folsom Street was packed with people for several blocks and lined with booths offering everything from chicken satay to literature on gay-friendly evangelical churches. Fair monitor Chris Comis said the crowd was "about the same" size as last year's, which he pegged at 300,000.
Some of the stuff seemed too extreme for all but the most specialized tastes: The urethral vibrator, for example, purveyed by Lord Dimitri E. Ville. The name of the device adequately describes its function.
"Not a huge demand for those," acknowledged Lord Ville.
from SFGate.com