Heavy Dringing Damages Sperm

Heavy drinking reduces the likelihood of a man's fatherhood (fertility), according to a new study in the Oct. issue of Fertility & Sterility.
In the study, Dr. K. R. Muthusami and colleagues from the Kovai Medical Center and Hospital in Coimbatore, India investigated the effect of heavy drinking on sperm, a male hormone, fertility and other reproductive functions in men.
The study involved 66 nonsmoking men, who sought treatment for alcoholism and 30 non-smoking men who never drank (as control).
The researchers found that the men treated for alcoholism had less testosterone (a male reproductive hormone) and more abnormal sperm compared with those who did not drink.
Alcohol drinking not only lowered the chances for a man to father children, but affected his s e x life as well. The study found that 71 percent of heavy drinkers had erectile dysfunction (ED), compared to seven percent among the non-drinkers.
Many previous studies had found heavy alcohol consumption reduces testosterone levels in the blood, impairs the function of testicle cells that play an important role in sperm maturation, and decreases the production, release and or activity of two critical reproductive hormones, according to Mary Ann Emanuele, M.D. and Nicholas V. Emanuele M.D., who published an article titled Alcohol's Effects on Male Reproduction in 1998 in the Vol. 22 No. 3 issue of AOD Thesaurus.
However, the new study also found that if a man impregnated his wife during a time that he drank ten or more drinks a week, his wife would have a high rate of miscarriage.
With the testosterone reduced, signs like shrunken testicles and enlarged breasts could be observed in male heavy drinkers or alcoholics.
Researchers suggested that low consumption of alcohol should have no significant effect on men’s fertility, Reuters reported.
The researchers explained direct damage to the testicles was caused by excessive alcohol, which can directly enter the testicles and reduce both testosterone levels and sperm quality.
from Food Consumer

Methodist Court Rules Against Lesbian Minister

GERMANTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA - In a ruling issued this morning, the supreme court of the United Methodist Church ordered Germantown minister Beth Stroud defrocked for violating the denomination's ban on actively gay clergy.
The ruling, which is final, reinstates the verdict that a jury of Methodist clergy imposed after a high-profile church trial in December. In April, an appellate panel had overturned the defrocking verdict on procedural grounds, prompting the appeal to the top court.
"I'm pretty sad," Stroud said in a phone interview. "This is hard news to absorb."
Stroud, 35, has become a figurehead in Protestantism's ongoing struggle over gay rights. She is the third gay United Methodist pastor to be tried, and the second to be defrocked, in 18 years. Hers was the only case to reach its top court.
The 6-2 decision by that court, the Judicial Council, rejected the appellate panel's ruling and held that Stroud "was accorded all fair and due process rights enumerated" in Methodist church law and governance.
The denomination's Book of Discipline prohibits the ordination and appointment of practicing gays and lesbians. Homosexuals can be ordained under that policy, but they must remain celibate.
Stroud challenged the policy when she gave a sermon in April 2003 at First United Methodist Church of Germantown, where she was associate pastor, announcing that she was living in a "covenant relationship" with another woman.
In December, after a two-day trial at a church retreat center near Pottstown, a jury of 13 ministers voted, 12-1, to convict Stroud of "engaging in practices declared by the United Methodist Church to be incompatible with Christian teachings." They then voted, 7-6, to strip her of her ordained ministry.
A regional appeals panel set aside the verdict. Its surprise ruling held that the trial court had improperly disallowed some constitutional arguments and that United Methodist governing bodies need to clarify several key concepts in the same-sex debate.
The Judicial Council ruled that the appellate panel had erred on all fronts. It rejected arguments that it had overstepped its authority in prior rulings on homosexuality issues, and that the definitions of key concepts were sufficiently vague to deprive Stroud of a fair trial.
While she awaited the final judgment from the Judicial Council, Stroud had remained as a lay minister at her gay-affirming Germantown church. Stroud said today that she will remain in that job and will continue to travel and speak out for a liberalization of the denomination's rules.
She also said she and her partner of four year, Chris Paige, have been approved to be foster parents and that she plans to begin a maternity leave next month.
"We're excited about that," Stroud said. "In some small way, it's a relief to be able to proceed forward and have this case be behind us."
Although homosexuality issues have divided the 8-million-member denomination for decades, its majority supports the traditional ban on non-celibate gay clergy. Observers had expected the Judicial Council to uphold policy and reinstate Stroud's defrocking.
Among the council's members is the Rev. Dennis L. Blackwell, a pastor in Merchantville, Camden County.
from The Philadelphia Inquirer

Penis Size Used As Defence In Trial

NEWMARKET -- A Superior Court judge must decide whether to believe a 21-year-old accused who says he could not have committed a sexual assault because his penis is too big.
Mischa Beutling, a second-year engineering student at McMaster University in Hamilton, has pleaded not guilty to sexual assault on a friend who spent the night with him after partying at a Barrie bar during study week in February 2004.
Earlier in the trial, which has been in and out of court for months, a urologist testified that Beutling's penis is in the top 5% range for size in comparison to the doctor's other patients.
The urologist showed the court a plastic model of a penis approximating the accused's member at a semi-relaxed state, which measured 8 1/2 inches in length and 6 1/2 inches in girth.
He said a woman who has not given birth might have discomfort or tearing if she had intercourse with a penis that size, especially if she was not sexually aroused.
But Crown attorney Bhavna Bhangu scoffed at the account, noting that Beutling's reference to his size as a "two-by-four" is an exaggeration compared to the size of the plastic model.
"It's hardly a two-by-four," she said. She also noted that he has never actually measured himself.
Bhangu also said the "size theory" was never put to the complainant on the witness stand for her account.
Bhangu said the woman was traumatized when Beutling, who is 6-foot-7 and 240 pounds and who she believed was her close friend, forced himself on her.
Justice Margaret Eberhard must weigh the evidence, including the plastic model. A verdict is expected next month.
from Toronto Sun

Melancholy Art

"Melancholy -- Genius and Insanity in the Western World," which has visitors lining up around the block at Paris' Grand Palais, is anything but depressing.

Sheryl Swoopes Gay Revelation Pays Off

It pays to be gay. Just ask Sheryl Swoopes.
The WNBA hoops star came out of the closet this week and stepped right into the money by announcing a high six-figure endorsement deal with San Francisco's lesbian travel company, Olivia.
Sadly, Swoopes' sexuality was major news around the country, triggering commentary from coast to coast. If America is still in the stone age of gender politics, the sports world is positively Pleistocene.
Personally, I couldn't care less who she's running the pick and roll with. To me, Olivia was the story.
How does a relatively small San Francisco travel outfit manage to be there, side by side, with a major sports star at such a momentous and personal moment?
Pretty simple, says Olivia's CEO, Amy Errett. The company helped set the whole thing up.
It all came together back in August, at a basketball game in L.A.
The Houston Comets were in town to play the Los Angeles Sparks in a WNBA matchup that featured some of the league's brightest stars. There was Lisa Leslie, the willowy star center for the Sparks. And Chamique Holdsclaw, L.A.'s high-scoring forward.
Houston countered with their All-World forward, Swoopes, a charter member of the league and three-time MVP who's made the Comets a force to be reckoned with since she got there in 1997.
Also on hand was Errett, who was there on a mission.
"Sheryl was actually booked on one of our trips," said Errett, talking a mile a minute on her cell phone from the Houston airport one day after Swoopes' big announcement.
"I looked into it and asked if Sheryl would want to talk to us. We had wanted to endorse a WNBA athlete for some time. But we didn't really have a vehicle to make that contact."
I guess it pays to check the manifest.
Sure enough, the 6-foot star agreed to meet with Errett and they had dinner after the game, a 55-50 loss in which Swoopes dropped 18 on the Sparks.
"I met her for dinner and that was it," said Errett. "We just had to work out some financial details, and what her role would be."
And just like that, Olivia had orchestrated a national media event that would give it huge visibility. But is that the only reason Swoopes was coming out? The New York Times reported this week that Swoopes had filed for bankruptcy last year.
If this was all about the money, some might find the whole thing a bit icky, no?
Not surprisingly, Errett was ready with an answer: "This is a personal decision that Sheryl made. We didn't convince her to do that. We've been in business for 33 years embedded in the lesbian community. I don't think this was an act of making money. This was an act of advocacy.
"The difference between Olivia and other companies is that everything we do is in the purpose of advocacy," Erret said.
"The last time I checked, a successful company that can give back to the community is a powerful asset. I don't view that as a hypocritical."
And one more thing, said Errett, firmly: "People don't come out unless they're ready."
I guess Olivia would know. It's been catering to lesbians for 33 years, offering cruises and adventure vacations that encourage patrons to "feel free." Things are going so well that Errett says the company is planning a retirement community for lesbians in Palm Springs.
Some of that success can be chalked up to its savvy use of endorsements to get attention. Even if you're not a lesbian cruiser, chances are you've heard of Olivia. It made national news when the company sponsored golfer Rosie Jones' coming out party two years ago. Shortly after that, Martina Navratilova signed on to pitch Olivia trips.
The company sends the celebrities on cruises, hoping to attract customers. Swoopes herself will join Navratilova and the Indigo Girls on a cruise to Mexico in a few weeks.
"For Olivia, it's really, really smart," said David Paisley of Community Marketing Inc., a San Francisco marketing firm that specializes in gay and lesbian clients and has done business with Olivia in the past. "They have a history of tying sponsorships into news that affects the lesbian community. It's smart."
Sounds like it. Errett says Swoopes has signed a one-year deal in the high six figures. That's peanuts in the endorsement world.
I suppose there will come a day when you don't have to call a news conference and explain to the world that you are who you are. Until then, Olivia will be there to capitalize.
from San Francisco Chronicle

Hellbent For Halloween !!

NOW Playing CO Denver NOW Playing MO St. Louis NOW Playing NV Las Vegas NOW Playing AK Anchorage NOW Playing GA Atlanta	HellBent is the terrifying original new feature from writer/director Paul Etheredge-Ouzts and Joseph Wolf, the co-creator of such horror classics as Halloween and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Taking place at the famed West Hollywood Halloween Carnival, there is a serial killer on the loose. A group of four gay friends will have to fight for their lives to make it through a night where flamboyant costumes, beautiful people, drugs, music, dancing and sex are everywhere. A wild, relentless ride that combines winning and appealing characters, unexpected surprises, and shocking scares, HellBent is a refreshing new classic for the horror genre.	10/28/05 NC Cary 10/28/05 UT Salt Lake City 11/04/05 CA Sacramento 11/18/05 FL Tampa 12/02/05 DC Washington DC

Gay Hip-Hop In Oakland

OAKLAND - Like many others in the hip-hop game, San Jose rapper Stuart Mahoney wants to be seen as an artist, first and foremost. He keeps his lyrics general to the point that any lines about relationships could apply to a woman and a man, or in his case, a man and a man.
"The way I write my songs is for a universal application, so . . . anybody can listen to it, and be like, `I can totally relate to that.' They don't have to be gay,'' says Mahoney, who will be performing as Mid-One on Sunday at the fifth annual PeaceOut World Homohop Festival in Oakland.
Gay hip-hop. The words aren't often seen together.
Although hip-hop has been around for more than 25 years, the gay hip-hop scene has been slowly developing as an underground phenomenon, networking through the community and on the Internet. In fact, Mahoney -- who was exposed to the hip-hop scene in his teens through some friends who were into graffiti -- was only clued in to this festival last year by a flier he picked up off the ground.
The festival, which started on Friday and continues today and Sunday, is a gathering of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender hip-hop artists and fans that was established as a component of the East Bay Pride festivities. Since then, it has become a safe-haven for performers to express ideas and opinions through a genre that is often associated with homophobic actions. Related festivals have started in New York, Atlanta, London and Portland, Ore.
"It was clear that people were hungry for a space to have this,'' said Juba Kalamka, the coordinator and founder of PeaceOut. "There needed to be a hub for the scene because there wasn't a scene to develop around.''
Even Kanye West, one of hip-hop's best-known voices, after recently realizing that his cousin was gay felt the need to admit he had spent his life stigmatizing homosexuals. Then, acknowledging rap's bent toward machismo, he made a plea to fellow rappers to just, "Yo, stop it.''
For West to even bother saying "something like that, regardless of the motivation -- still shines a spotlight on us as out/queer performers,'' says Kalamka, who is part of the "homohop'' group D/DC.
from Mercury News

New Palz Mayor Remains Banned From Marrying Gay Couples

ALBANY, NEW YORK — New Paltz Mayor Jason West clearly exceeded his authority when he snubbed the marriage laws of New York and performed same-sex marriages, a mid-level court has ruled.
But the case might not be over. The former Village Board member who sued West thinks the mayor will appeal to the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals.
"I'm sure he'll go as far as he can go with it," said Robert Hebel. "But when it gets there, I'm sure the ruling will be the same."
Late Friday, West's lawyer, E. Joshua Rosenkranz, said he expects to appeal.
A five-judge panel of the Appellate Division unanimously upheld a lower court determination preventing West from carrying out marriage ceremonies for couples without licenses. The New Paltz mayor presided over 24 same-sex marriages in February 2004, saying he was upholding the gay couples' constitutional rights to equal protection.
But the court disagreed.
"West robed himself with judicial powers and declared the marriage laws of this state unconstitutional," Judge John Lahtinen wrote for the court. "Having concluded that the Legislature violated the constitution, he then wrapped himself with that body's power and drafted his own set of documents for licensing marriages. In doing so, he clearly exceeded his role as a village mayor."
Further, the court also dismissed West's contention that he was upholding his constitutional oath of office.
"The argument that his acts fell within the scope of his constitutional oath of office ... is without merit," Lahtinen wrote.
Hebel said the ruling was expected.
"I'm not against gay marriage per se," he said, "but the present laws say you must have a marriage license. You can't decide which laws you want to uphold. ... (West) swore to uphold the laws of New York state, not to interpret them."
from Democrat & Chronicle

Penis Photos Can Get You Arrested

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN- A Wisconsin man is in big trouble for photographing his penis, making copies and leaving them on women's windshields in at least four towns.
Jeffrey John Hein, 40, currently faces 30 charges of lewd and lascivious behavior for disseminating his private business throughout Hartford and West Bend, and police in Germantown and Menomonee Falls told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he violated their penal codes as well.
Two of the criminal complaints say Hein got his artistic inspiration from a Web site called "I Shot Myself," which advises readers to "pickle yourself in the adrenaline rush of public nudity," the Journal Sentinel said.
Hein allegedly dropped his photos on windshields, pushed them threw open windows and flipped them through cracked sunroofs.
He would then watch for the women's reactions as they found his missive.
Many women reported the crime to their local police stations, but at least one woman was spotted taking the photo from her car and passing it onto another car at a Wal-Mart parking lot.
from UPI

George Takei Discloses His Homosexuality

LOS ANGELES - George Takei, who as helmsman Sulu steered the Starship Enterprise through three television seasons and six movies, has come out as a homosexual in the current issue of Frontiers, a biweekly Los Angeles magazine covering the gay and lesbian community.
Takei told The Associated Press on Thursday that his new onstage role as psychologist Martin Dysart in "Equus," helped inspire him to publicly discuss his sexuality.
Takei described the character as a "very contained but turbulently frustrated man." The play opened Wednesday at the David Henry Hwang Theater in Los Angeles, the same day that Frontiers magazine featured a story on Takei's coming out.
The current social and political climate also motivated Takei's disclosure, he said.
"The world has changed from when I was a young teen feeling ashamed for being gay," he said. "The issue of gay marriage is now a political issue. That would have been unthinkable when I was young."
The 68-year-old actor said he and his partner, Brad Altman, have been together for 18 years.
Takei, a Japanese-American who lived in a U.S. internment camp from age 4 to 8, said he grew up feeling ashamed of his ethnicity and sexuality. He likened prejudice against gays to racial segregation.
"It's against basic decency and what American values stand for," he said.
Takei joined the "Star Trek" cast in 1966 as Hikaru Sulu, a character he played for three seasons on television and in six subsequent films. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1986.
A community activist, Takei ran for the Los Angeles City Council in 1973. He serves on the advisory committee of the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program and is chairman of East West Players, the theater company producing "Equus."
from East Valley Tribune

Trials Start On HIV Prevention Gel

CAPE TOWN – Researchers in Africa have started what they describe as the largest trials ever held of a vaginal gel that could help women protect themselves against HIV in countries where men are notoriously reluctant to use condoms.
About 10 000 women in South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia. are expected to take part in the trial of PRO 2000, which could provide a physical barrier that prevents HIV from reaching target cells during sexual intercourse. It is one of a number of microbicide products in various stages of clinical development around the world. The first nine volunteers were enrolled in Johannesburg this week, said Sibongile Walaza of the University of Witwatersrand Reproductive Health Research Unit.
HIV infection is rising more rapidly among women than men in many parts of the world. Half of all adults living with the virus that causes Aids are female, according to UN figures.
In sub-Saharan Africa, home to more than 25 million of the nearly 40 million people infected globally, the figure is nearly 60 percent, with most new infections acquired through heterosexual intercourse. Yet strong taboos exist on the continent against the use of condoms.
“If there is any other mechanism for women to protect themselves using their own power, then that is absolutely critical,” Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said at a news briefing Thursday.
Other microbicides under development enhance the natural vaginal defense mechanisms by maintaining an acidic pH, kill pathogens by stripping them of their outer covering, or prevent replication of the virus after it has entered the cell.
PRO 2000 has already been tested on small numbers of women to rule out serious side effects. Clinical trials funded by the British government and coordinated by the Clinical Trials Unit of the British Medical Research Council will take place over three to four years in South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia.
Researchers hope to enroll 50 new HIV-free participants a month and ensure that all receive proper counseling and clinical monitoring.
The women will be assigned at random to receive a placebo or the microbicide. They will be asked to use it for one year but can drop out at any time if they are unhappy, Walaza said.
The volunteers will all be counseled to continue using a condom during intercourse, she added. But past experience has shown this advice is frequently ignored, so the trial has been designed to determine whether the gel offers additional protection.
UNAIDS welcomed the microbicide trials, which officials said offer some of the best hope of curbing the deadly pandemic in the absence of a vaccine.
The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has calculated that a microbicide that is 60 percent effective against HIV and used by only 20 percent of women in 73 developing countries over three years could prevent 2,5 million infections.
“We are very much in favour of this research going forward and it is good to test the product in a real world setting where it is likely to have most application,” said UNAIDS’ chief scientific adviser, Catherine Hankins.
Researchers hope the first generation of microbicides with 50 percent to 60 percent effectiveness will be available over the counter in five years. By 2012, second generation microbicides that are between 70 percent to 90 percent effective could be on the market, the University of Witwatersrand Reproductive Health Unit said.
Male condoms, if used correctly, can reduce the risk of HIV infection to less than 1 percent.
from Citizen

Gay Web Site In Singapore Banned For Offensive Content

SINGAPORE - Singapore has banned an overseas-hosted gay Web site after receiving complaints it was recruiting underage boys for sex and nude pornography, and promoting a promiscuous homosexual lifestyle.
The city-state's media watchdog, the Media Development Authority (MDA), said on Friday that it had also slapped a S$5,000 fine on a local gay Web site, titled "Meet Gay Singapore Friends", and warned the operators to remove offensive content.
"The MDA has always adopted a light-touch approach and encourages the industry to practice self-regulation. But in this instance, we received several public complaints and we have to act on the feedback," MDA spokeswoman Casey Chang told Reuters.
The banned overseas site -- which saw its membership jump over five times to 330,000 this year from 60,000 a year ago -- contained pornographic pictures and videos, as well as substantial homosexual content focusing on Singapore.
It flashed explicit advertisements recruiting underage boys for sex, facilitated the trading and exchange of nude photos of underage boys, listed places to meet others for casual sex and provided information about organized mass orgies, the MDA said.
The local site had nude pictures and videos of gay men having sex which have since been removed. The MDA said both sites had violated the Internet Code of Practice which prohibits Web sites from depicting "nudity or genitalia in a manner calculated to titillate", and host materials advocating homosexuality or pedophilia.
Details of the overseas Web site have been referred to the police for investigations, the MDA said.
The legal age of consent for sex in Singapore is 16 and homosexuality is illegal in the wealthy Southeast Asian city-state known for its tough laws and strict social controls.
While the government has said that it does not discriminate against homosexuals, it has stated repeatedly that it would not tolerate an open gay culture, such as hosting gay parades or legalizing homosexual sex, saying that would offend conservative Singaporeans.
The MDA currently has a list of 100 banned Web sites -- of which 98 contain pornographic content and two which are deemed to promote religious extremism.
from Reuters

Gay Porn Biz In Czech Said To Employ High Number Of Heterosexual Men

Czech Republic - Trim, tanned, and well-proportioned where it counts: those are some of the pre-requisites for making it in the gay porn business in the Czech Republic, which enjoyed a massive boom in recent years. The 'biz' has come under the spotlight recently in the country's edition of the Big Brother reality show, in which Filip Trojovsky - known professionally as Tommy Hansen - admitted to acting in gay porn films though he insisted he was heterosexual. Strike you as unusual? Apparently in the Czech Republic it is often the case that actors in gay porn are 'staight'.
Jaroslav Tysl is a photographer for Amigo and MAXXX magazines:
"I'd say the number of heterosexuals [in Czech gay porn films] is close to 80 percent. Of course money plays a role, a lot of people have dreams they'd like to fulfil but lack the funds. Others perhaps want to experiment. But, of course, money is the most important factor.
Gay men will usually recognise whether or not the actor is gay. But in a certain sense all porn is fake: it is always a sort of 'fantasy'."
Actors can earn anything between 5,000 crowns for just a few minutes to up to 60, 000 crowns (the equivalent of about 2,500 US dollars) for some scenes. Many of those who get involved in the business do so because of where they're from: smaller towns or poorer regions; they want a quick and easier route to supposed riches. But, says Jaroslav Tysl, sometimes the experience - especially for those the first time in this business, comes at a high price.
"For all actors in porn - gay or straight - it isn't easy. It's about the lights and the cameras and people and it can be very stressful. If you're gay at least you know what to expect, but for some of the first timers, heterosexuals, it can be pretty rough on the nerves. The setting is a bit different than they expect."
It has been remarked that Czechs - forming a highly secular society - are very liberal and easy-going about sexuality and its easy to see that fewer in the public now than ever are ruffled by revelations in the tabloid media that this or that pop star or reality show contestant - have appeared in porn scenes. In terms of heterosexual porn, Czech celebrities, including model Diana Kobzanova, actually boosted waning careers through hardcore centrefolds. The same has not been true in gay pornography - but perhaps that too will change.
From Radio Prague

Gays And Disabled People: Who Cares?

NEW ZEALAND - Homophobic author and Books In Homes project founder Alan Duff has lashed out at gays and disabled people, saying he’s sick of hearing about the rights of minorities.
“Is someone going to finally stand up and say: who bloody well cares about the rights of minorities? How about the rights of the majority? How about the rights of the children? Who cares about gays? Who cares?” he told National Radio.
Duff, celebrated for his book "Once Were Warriors" says those in minority groups, such as disabled people, should get used to the idea that life is unfair. He defines political correctness as a power trip carried out by those who believe in social engineering.
Duff's outburst comes hard on the heels of the National Party's announcement that Wayne Mapp is to be its "spokesperson on political correctness."
Duff was one of several signatories to a letter to MPs last year which urged them to dump the Civil Union Bill, because gay parents were more likely to abuse and murder their children. No evidence was provided in the letter to back up the claims.
GayNZ.com asked Duff via email earlier in the year how he came to sign the letter. He responded by saying that gays hate democracy and that it was “patently obvious” that raising children in a gay household was not good. “So pissoff with your bullying and find someone who'll lie down and let you stick it to them - I won't," he ranted at us, adding: "And broadcast this to the country, the whole queer world for all I care. I cannot stand your pc, morally superior bullying.”
from GayNZ.com

Expulsion For Gay Comments? Duquesne Student Resists Punishment

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - A Duquesne University sophomore will risk being kicked out of school rather than write an essay as punishment for expressing his view that homosexuality is "subhuman."
Ryan Miner, 19, of Hagerstown, Md., was sanctioned by Duquesne after posting his view in The Facebook, an online directory that is not related to the university.
Miner opposed an effort by other students to form a Gay-Straight Alliance group, an issue that is still being debated by the university.
"I believe as a student that my First Amendment rights in the Constitution were subverted and attacked," said Miner.
After Miner's comments appeared online, some students complained to the school.
After a hearing, the Office of Judicial Affairs found Miner guilty of violating the University Code, which prohibits harassment or discrimination based on sexual orientation, among other groups.
A 10-page paper was assigned as punishment. Miner said he refuses to write it and will file an appeal.
from ThePittsburghChannel.com

Gay Man's Death Being Investigated By Police

San Francisco police are investigating the death of a 48-year-old gay man as a possible homicide but investigators stress they have no firm evidence that the victim was murdered. They are asking that anyone with information contact police.
Barry Nielsen, an artist and longtime city resident, was found unconscious and in a pool of blood on Bryant Street, near Mariposa Street, about 7:39 p.m. last Friday, October 21 while volunteering as a greeter outside an art event. He was rushed to nearby San Francisco General Hospital. Doctors were unable to revive him. Scans indicated a lack of brain activity and he was put on life support.
A decision was made to disconnect life support, which took place Tuesday, October 25. His former partner, and the person designated as his durable power of attorney, Eric Hallquist, told the Bay Area Reporter that doctors said there was no hope. Family members, including Nielsen's parents and sister and younger brother, arrived in San Francisco earlier this week.
Nielsen suffered from AIDS and was hospitalized in February and March of this year and almost died, Hallquist said. But Hallquist added that Nielsen had been in good health recently.
"He was the love of my life for 13 years," Hallquist tearfully said. "It's awful that a fter he overcame such a terrible illness that he is now taken away."
Hallquist said two doctors and several nurses who treated Nielsen at SFGH told him that they all believe that Nielsen was assaulted.
Investigators, however, said that none of Nielsen's possessions had been taken. That led to speculation by Nielsen's friends that if he was assaulted, he may have been the victim of a hate crime rather than a robbery.
San Francisco Police LGBT liaison Sergeant Chuck Limbert said a neurologist who treated Nielsen also told him that his injuries were not consistent with a fall. But the neurologist added that she was very distressed that she had been quoted in e-mails sent by Nielsen's friends saying definitively that he was assaulted.
Hallquist told the B.A.R. that the neurologist was upset that she was quoted saying Nielsen was "definitely" assaulted. Hallquist reiterated that the neurologist said that she believed he was assaulted but was unable to definitively say so.
Friends say Nielsen had lacerations to the front of his head, a fractured neck, and injuries to his spine. An SFGH spokeswoman said she could not release details of his injuries.
"How do you get those kinds of injuries from a fall? It doesn't make sense," longtime friend of Nielsen's and Names Project founder Cleve Jones told the B.A.R. Jones's opinion was echoed by several of Nielsen's friends who were convinced that foul play was involved in his death.
Limbert said that after talking with the neurologist on Saturday, October 22, he made sure that the case was referred to the San Francisco Police General Works department where it would be investigated as a possible assault rather than simply dismissed as an accident.
The General Works department did not return calls from the B.A.R. seeking comment.
Limbert said that several people were in the area at the time of the incident, including two SFPD officers who were in a coffee shop across the street. None reported seeing or hearing any possible attack.
Limbert is urging anyone with information to call the police LGBT hotline at (415) 558-5411.
Nielsen was found at the entrance to the gallery of his friend, Michael Schoenig. He was volunteering as a greeter for an Open Studios art event. He is believed to have fallen, whether by accident or after being assaulted, sometime between 7:25 and 7:39 p.m., according to Hallquist.
Originally from Racine, Wisconsin, Nielsen moved to San Francisco in 1985. He has been combating HIV for several years, Hallquist said.
from Bay Area Reporter

Gay Men Sought For Viagra Study

In the world of erectile dysfunction, gay men have traditionally been left out in the cold. Past studies on the condition have investigated the effects of drugs such as Viagra, Levitra and Cialis on only the heterosexual population, and more recent attempts to address the overlooked gay community were met with resistance from pharmaceutical companies.
"Companies initially said that gays use (erectile dysfunction) drugs strictly for recreation and that's why they're taking them," says Dr. Evan Goldfischer of Hudson Valley Urology, which just launched a pilot study to investigate erectile dysfunction in gays.
The prevailing belief seemed to be that this segment of society just wanted more opportunities to have sex.
"And that just didn't make sense," says Goldfischer, principal investigator for the study.
Goldfischer says the three big risk factors for erectile dysfunction are diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol – conditions that can strike anyone, no matter what their sexual orientation.
"Of course gay men are going to get these conditions," he says.
Viagra manufacturer Pfizer finally caught on to this and gave Hudson Valley Urology a grant to fund the study.
Besides looking at whether the pills currently out there are working for gays and in what dosages, Goldfischer says the study will set out to dispel the recreational drug myth and find another "measure of success."
Past trials, which used vaginal penetration as the success standard, had some obvious drawbacks.
"Even in the heterosexual population, vaginal penetration is not necessarily the best measure of success," Goldfischer says.
Some people are doing things like oral sex, which may not require as firm an erection. On the other hand, anal sex "may require the erection to be a little harder," he says.
What happens when the results are in remains to be seen.
The risk of a boycott by conservatives could result in Pfizer nipping any large-scale trial in the bud, Goldfischer says. Or the results could persuade the drug maker to follow the study up with a major clinical trial.
"We'll see what the data shows and what the reaction is – and frankly we expect it to be a fairly controversial study," Goldfischer says.

Study information

Hudson Valley Urology is looking for a few good men to participate in the erectile dysfunction study. They expect recruitment to last from now through February.
Volunteers must be gay with a steady partner and be willing to make the necessary five visits to the group's Poughkeepsie or Kingston offices over the three-month trial.
Free dosages of Viagra and a small stipend for items such as travel costs and time off from work will be provided.
Most reasonably healthy gay men will be accepted, although participants cannot be taking any nitrate medications.
For more information or to volunteer, call Hudson Valley Urology at 452-8730 and ask for Lorraine O'Donnell.
from Record Online

Sheryl Swoopes, WNBA Player Comes Out Of Closet

NEW YORK - Houston Comets forward Sheryl Swoopes is opening up about being a homosexual, telling a magazine that she's "tired of having to hide my feelings about the person I care about."
Swoopes, honored last month as the WNBA's Most Valuable Player, told ESPN The Magazine for a story on newsstands Wednesday that she didn't always know she was gay and fears that coming out could jeopardize her status as a role model.
"Do I think I was born this way? No," Swoopes said. "And that's probably confusing to some, because I know a lot of people believe that you are."
Swoopes, who was married and has an 8-year-old son, said that being with a man was what she wanted at the time. But her 1999 divorce "wasn't because I'm gay," she said.
She said her reason for coming out now is merely because she wants to be honest.
"It's not something that I want to throw in people's faces. I'm just at a point in my life where I'm tired of having to pretend to be somebody I'm not," Swoopes said. "I'm tired of having to hide my feelings about the person I care about. About the person I love."
A release from ESPN The Magazine about the story did not disclose the identity of Swoopes' partner.
A five-time All-Star and three-time Olympic gold medalist, Swoopes is the WNBA's only three-time MVP. She played for the Comets during their run of four championships from 1997-2000, but missed the 2001 season with a knee injury.
She said her biggest worry about her revelation is that people will be afraid to look up to her.
"I don't want that to happen," she said. "Being gay has nothing to do with the three gold medals or the three MVPs or the four championships I've won. I'm still the same person. I'm Sheryl."
Swoopes led the WNBA in scoring last year, averaging 18.6 points. She also averaged 4.3 assists and 2.65 steals while making 85 percent of her free throws and playing a league-high 37.1 minutes a game.
She said it "irritates" her that no one talks about gays playing in men's sports, but that it's become an issue in the WNBA.
"Sexuality and gender don't change anyone's performance on the court," she said. "Women play just as hard as guys do. We're just as competitive."
from AZ Central

Maine Won't Discriminate Airs First TV Ad Against Discrimination

Television stations throughout the state began airing the first paid ad for Maine Won’t Discriminate, which highlights the importance of Maine’s Anti-Discrimination law. The law prohibits discrimination based upon sexual orientation in employment, housing, public accommodations, credit and education. The ad features excerpts from public testimony at the Legislature last spring documenting the experiences of real people hurt by discrimination in Maine.
“What we learned from those who testified at the public hearing and from many other people who have spoken out during this campaign is that discrimination happens in Maine and that there is a very real human cost,” began Ted O’Meara, Senior Consultant for Maine Won’t Discriminate. “Maine people need to know the truth about the anti-discrimination law, and why it is necessary. The men and women that stood courageously before the Judiciary Committee, sharing their experiences, deserve to be heard. Brad Nadeau, Martin Ripley, and Hall Wilkie, upon whose testimony the ad is based, are just a few of the many men and women that have spoken out about the discrimination they faced in Maine. What happened to them, the discrimination they faced, should never happen again. No one should be fired from their job or endure harassment and threats simply because they are gay.”
More than thirty organizations including the Maine Council of Churches, the Maine Chamber of Commerce, the Maine Education Association and the NAACP Maine Chapter have joined the Maine Won’t Discriminate campaign. “We wanted to make sure Maine voters knew about the overwhelming show of support from among others, faith-based groups, local businesses, state-based employee associations, medical organizations, and educators. These groups may not agree on many issues, but they all agree that discrimination is wrong and it should be illegal, which is why they oppose Question 1,” continued O’Meara.
“We believe this ad reinforces what this referendum is about for Maine voters. It also reminds voters that a No vote keeps Maine’s Anti-Discrimination Law on the books and a Yes vote will take those protections away- nothing more, nothing less,” concluded O’Meara.
from MaineToday.com

GayRights Activists Target Oregon Lawmaker

Gay rights activists are going to be looking for payback when Oregon House Speaker Karen Minnis comes up for re-election next year.
Over the summer, the Republican enraged gay rights supporters when she refused to let the House vote on a civil unions bill that had been passed by the state Senate with the blessing of the Democratic governor.
Now state and national gay rights groups are targeting Minnis for defeat in 2006 as part of an effort to elect more gay-friendly legislators. The effort could turn this tourism-oriented town east of Portland into a battleground.
A spokesman for a national gay rights group in Washington, D.C., said Oregon is one of several states where bills to provide more rights to gays have faltered and where activists will be working to defeat lawmakers who stood in the way.
"There are a handful of states where a change in a couple of seats could make a big difference," David Smith of the Human Rights Campaign said recently. "And you could choose no finer example of that than House Speaker Karen Minnis."
The civil unions controversy is the latest chapter in Oregon's gay marriage debate that began in 2004, when Multnomah County issued marriage licenses to 3,000 same-sex couples before a judge ordered the county to stop. Last fall Oregon voters approved a constitutional ban on gay marriage. It was one of 11 states to pass similar ballot measures.
Minnis knows she is in for a tough re-election fight in her Multnomah County district because of her stand against the civil unions bill, which would have allowed same-sex couples to gain most of the benefits of marriage.
"They're coming after me," she said in an interview in Troutdale. "I think they are going to attack me personally at every given turn."
Democrats hold an 8 percentage-point voter registration edge in Minnis' district. And Democrat Rob Brading, who lost to Minnis by 6 points in 2004, plans to run against her again next year. But Minnis has a big name advantage - she is in her fourth term and succeeded her husband, who served six House terms.
Troutdale Mayor Paul Thalhofer, a registered Democrat who supported Minnis' opponent in 2004, said he plans to back the Republican speaker next year, even though he favors civil unions. Thalhofer said Minnis has done a good job of representing the district's interests in the Legislature on most other issues.
"She is quite popular in the district," the mayor said. "It will be difficult for those groups to turn enough voters against her to make a difference."
A similar view comes from Terry Smoke, who owns the Troutdale General Store, a combination restaurant and gift shop in the city's historic district.
"Karen is very keyed in to what's going on in the community," Smoke said. "That will pull her through."
In refusing to let the civil unions bill come up for a House vote, Minnis argued that it would violate the spirit of the ban on gay marriage passed by Oregon voters last November.
The state's leading gay rights group, Basic Rights Oregon, argues that public opinion polls indicate growing support among Oregonians for civil unions and that Minnis thwarted the democratic process by not allowing the House to vote on the bill.
Basic Rights spokeswoman Rebekah Kassell said her group will become involved in various legislative races next year. She noted that in neighboring Washington state, a bill banning discrimination against gays in housing, employment and insurance failed by just one vote in the state Senate earlier this year.
In other gay-rights setbacks in state capitals this year: A House-approved measure prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation was left in limbo when the Delaware Legislature adjourned. And bills to ban discrimination against gays in Colorado and to legalize same-sex marriage in California were vetoed by the governors of those states.
from Tallahassee.com

Viagra Reduces Stress On Heart

The sex drug Viagra appears to cut the effects of stress on the heart by 50 percent, according to a report by researchers at Johns Hopkins University.
The drug, also called sildenafil citrate, is normally used to treat impotence.
The report, published online Monday by the journal Circulation, shows that Viagra blunts the strengthened heartbeat caused by chemically induced stress.
"Sildenafil effectively puts a brake on chemical stimulation of the heart," said Dr. David Kass, lead author of the study.
Kass added that the study also shows that Viagra helps control heart function only when the heart is under stress, and has little impact under normal conditions.
Earlier research by Dr. David Kass found that Viagra blocked the short-term effects of hormonal stress in the hearts of mice and also prevented the long-term cardiac effects of chronic high blood pressure in mice.
In the current study, 35 healthy men and women with no signs of heart disease received two separate injections of dobutamine over three hours. Dobutamine increases heart rate and pumping strength.
Between injections, the patients were given Viagra or a placebo. Then they all were given a second dobutamine injection.
After the first injection of dobutamine, the force of heart contraction increased 150 percent in all the patients. However, in the group treated with Viagra, the increased heartbeat was slowed by 50 percent.
"Viagra puts a brake on the effect of dobutamine," Kass said. "It reduces the stimulation of the heart so that the contraction of the heart was less strong."
Kass said the research sets the stage for more specific studies of its use to treat heart problems.
from China View

Finnish Tourist Charged After Bathing Nude In Indian Holy Lake

NEW DELHI - A female Finnish tourist was charged by police after bathing nude in a northwestern lake considered to be holy by Hindus, newspapers reported on Tuesday.
The tourist, who was not identified, swam in the lake and then walked to her hotel in the nude. Temple priests asked her to put her clothes on, but she ignored them, The Times of India newspaper reported. The woman appeared to be mentally unstable, it said.
Police in the Hindu holy town of Pushkar charged her with ``obscenity at a public place,'' Sugan Singh, a local police officer, was quoted as saying in The Statesman newspaper.
If convicted, the tourist could be jailed for three months or fined under India's obscenity laws.
Pushkar, located on the banks of Pushkar Lake, is a popular Hindu pilgrimage spot that is also frequented by foreign tourists who come for the town's annual cattle fair and camel races.
Last month an Israeli man and woman were fined 500 Indian rupees (US$11; euro9.20) each for embracing and kissing in a temple in Pushkar after getting married in a traditional Hindu ceremony.
from The Hindu

Austin To Permit KKK Rally Against Gay Marriage

AUSTIN, TEXAS - The city has given permission of the Ku Klux Klan to hold a rally on Saturday, November 5. The group says they want to have a pro-family values rally in front of City Hall that afternoon to get voters to vote against gay marriage.
The city has reserved the Austin City Hall's south plaza on Lavaca and Cesar Chavez from 1-3 pm on Saturday, November 5.
In an e-mail to the city for permission, a representative for the American White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan wrote: "Our speech will not be inflammatory, but we all know the reputation of the name of the KKK, so we expect anti-Klan demonstrators to be there who may become violent. We certainly don't want any of our people hurt nor any city officials. We just want to come and encourage people to vote for Christian Family Values and against legalized homosexual marriage in the state of Texas."
from KNAN

Gay Movie Characters Are Emerging As Cops, Athletes And Cowboys

You better not make any remarks about Gay Perry. He'll kick your butt into next week.
He may like your butt. But he'll still kick it.
"You think that's funny? I'm gonna break your nose now," says Perry (Val Kilmer) to his bumbling straight buddy Harry (Robert Downey Jr.) in "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang," a buddy-buddy detective movie with a double twist: Not only are the buddies gay and straight, but the gay guy is a two-fisted macho man, while his straight partner is a comic klutz.
And if you like gay detectives, how about gay cowboys ("Brokeback Mountain," opening Dec. 9)?
And if you like gay cowboys, how about gay soccer players ("Guys and Balls," opening in May)?
And if you like gay soccer players, how about a gay deaf white man and his African-American partner who are adopting a child ("The Family Stone," opening Nov. 4)?
Ready or not, here come the post-gay movies. And audiences do seem to be ready.
Ready for movies where the characters are not merely gay - which used to be as much reality as mainstream viewers could take. These new characters are gay-hyphen.
Such characters have turned up occasionally in supporting roles in the past (James Gandolfini as a gay gangster in "The Mexican," The Rock as a gay bodyguard in "Be Cool"). Now, they're center stage.
"Having a character be gay in a movie just isn't shocking anymore," says Shane Black, writer-director of "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang," which opened Friday and is in some ways a queer variation on his own buddy-buddy "Lethal Weapon" movies.
"Will and Grace" and "My Best Friend's Wedding" have softened us up with regards to the funny gay character," Black says. "Well, all right, he's gay, but they're so funny, those gays." And I thought, that doesn't really cut it. We still haven't seen the heroic gay character that, when the chips are down, kicks down the door, shoots everybody and saves your butt."
Whether these post-gay characters are also post-stereotype is open to question.
Gay Perry is a tough hombre who can slug his way out of a tight corner, but he's also got a cellphone that plays "I Will Survive" and a tiny Derringer pistol that he calls "my faggot gun."
And the soccer players in "Guys and Balls," a German film that has been described as a kind of queer "Full Monty," are a collection of gay "types": a leather guy, a flamboyant guy, a hunky guy, a nerdy guy.
But considered strictly as a barometer of audience attitudes, these films may be a kind of advance.
They suggest that mainstream viewers, by and large, no longer find gayness shocking or exotic enough to be of interest on its own. Like the coffee in your local convenience store, it has become humdrum. Hence the need for add-in flavors.
"People know gay people now, so it's not so much used for shock value," says Mark Reinhart, spokesman for Regent Releasing, which is distributing "Guys and Balls." "It's more like this makes for interesting textures, or layers."
Regent and its sister company here!, a gay TV network, have been pioneering a new market: gay genre films.
While some of the movies they make or distribute are more traditional pieces like "Summer Storm" (a gay coming-of-age film) and "April's Shower" (about a lesbian relationship), they have also released niche films like "Hellbent" (a gay slasher film), "Eternal" (a lesbian vampire flick), "Freshman Orientation" (a gay "Animal House") and the TV drama "Tides of War," about a gay submarine captain.
While these films are aimed at gay audiences, some have had surprising crossover success.
"Fangoria [the horror cinema magazine] did whole pieces on 'Eternal' and 'Hellbent,'Ÿ" Reinhart says. "They were reviewed in every single mainstream paper in the country. It tells you there is a wide variety of interest in the film-going audience."
TV may have something to do with this phenomenon.
Gay issues in the news and the gay characters in sitcoms have made mainstream audiences perceptibly more comfortable with homosexuals. Even those who disapprove for religious or other reasons and pursue an anti-gay agenda are more apt to adopt a "love the sinner" than "kill the monster" line while doing so.
And reality shows have introduced TV audiences to gays that don't fit any stereotypical mold: like Richard Hatch, who out-toughed everyone on the first "Survivor," and Karamo, the streetwise hip-hop guy from "Real World: Philadelphia."
"These representations on reality television have really broadened people's perceptions of gays and lesbians," says Damon Romine, entertainment media director for GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation).
In "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang," Black exploits this new audience savvy about gay life to turn the conventions of the detective story upside-down.
"There is a lot of reality versus fiction in this film," Black says. "Like in reality, the tough guy is gay. In reality, you try to be the hero, you're going to get clobbered. So much of this was trying to stand the clichés of the tough guy movie on their head."
Meanwhile, if the chemistry between Kilmer and Downey proves as winning as the chemistry between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in the "Lethal Weapon" films, Gay Perry may be back.
"Depending on how much you like these guys, you may want to take another trip with them," Black says. "It's certainly fun to write about these characters."
But Gay Perry, after all, is not meant to be taken very seriously.
The real breakthrough film that gay audiences are pinning their hopes on is "Brokeback Mountain," based on an E. Annie Proulx ("The Shipping News") short story about gay cowboys (Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger) in Wyoming in the early 1960s. This film, which has gotten excellent buzz on the film festival circuit, exploits neither the gay nor the cowboy element of its story as a "twist." Both things are natural to the story and the characters.
"What it really points to is the rural gay experience," Romine says. "When you look at television and film, it often seems like being gay is a big-city experience. But it's an international experience, no matter where you live."
As America is becoming increasingly aware, gay cowboys are out there. Just like gay detectives and gay soccer players. Expect to see more of them in the movies, Romine says.
"Gays and lesbians have compelling stories to tell," Romine says. "And I believe the vast majority of people are open to hearing those stories."
from NorthJersey.com

Gay Fraternity Expects To Gain Official Status At University Of Arizona

TUCSON, ARIZONA - Delta Lambda Phi has been around the University of Arizona campus since the early '90s.
But by the end of this year, it expects to gain official status from the UA's Interfraternity Council as the institution's first official gay fraternity.
The UA has 25 fraternities with about 1,200 members. Some are for specific minority groups such as Latinos or American Indians. But Delta Lambda Phi would be the first based around sexual orientation - it's for "gay, bisexual and progressive" men.
For Dan Churgin, Delta Lambda Phi means a chance to get back in the Greek system.
Churgin pledged a UA fraternity as a freshman, but by then, he already knew he was gay and had second thoughts about it. The 20-year-old junior ultimately decided not to go through with initiation.
"I didn't feel comfortable," he said. "I wasn't out and I knew it would be more difficult to come out being in the fraternity than if I wasn't there."
But now he's back in the UA Greek system as one of seven members of Delta Lambda Phi. The fraternity is gearing up this week for "rush" - where fraternities and sororities hold events to form a new pledge class.
Another rush is scheduled for February and Delta Lambda Phi expects to have 25 to 30 members by the end of the school year.
In July, Arizona State University's Sigma Phi Beta gay fraternity became the first national, collegiate-based organization of its kind in the country.
from AZ Central

Two In Court Over Gay Man's Murder

LONDON - Two men have appeared in court charged with murdering a gay bar manager on Clapham Common, south London.
Jody Dobrowski, 24, was beaten to death on 14 October while walking home from a friend's house. He was found unconscious but died later in hospital.
Thomas Pickford, 25, who is unemployed and homeless, and Scott Walker, 33, a decorator, also homeless, appeared at South Western Magistrates' Court.
Both have been remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on 31 January.
The men spoke only to confirm their names, date of birth and to tell the court they were of no fixed abode. There was no application for bail.
Mr Dobrowski, assistant manager at Bar Risa Jongleurs in Camden, north London, died from head, neck and facial injuries.
He had been beaten so badly his family did not recognise him.
from BBC News

African Cardinal Says Condoms In Marriage OK To Stop AIDS

Douala - Cardinal Christian Wiyghan Tumi of Cameroon said in an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa Saturday that the use of condoms should be possible as protection against AIDS within marriage.
"If a partner in a marriage is infected with HIV, the use of condoms makes sense," Tumi said.
Condom use would only be possible within marriage as the Catholic church considers sex between unmarried couples as immoral.
"Possibly there can be a rethink there," said the 75-year-old cardinal, who is considered one of the most important government critics in Cameroon.
But the cardinal considered a move by the Vatican from its traditional line against the use of condoms unlikely.
from Monsters and Critics

Palm Springs Hotel Porn An Issue For Candidate?

INNdulge. It’s not just the name of Palm Springs City Council candidate John Williams’ clothing optional gay resort. It’s also the name of a frisky gay pornographic flick shot at his hotel.
Williams, who has owned INNdulge Hotel for 10 years along with his partner Jean-Guy LaChance, is not a producer. But he has rented his award-winning hotel to studios such as Falcon and Catalina to use for adult films.
Films such as “Full Up!” “Desert Hart” and “INNdulge Palm Springs” were filmed in the mid to late 1990s. Williams, 54, said it was “a business decision” to allow the shoots.
“I have never made movies myself,” said Williams. “I’m in the business of renting hotel rooms to groups. I rent to all kinds of groups, for birthdays, ceremonies and special occasions. It’s strictly a business decision.”
Reports in the Bottom Line, a Palm Springs-based gay magazine, and several calls to The Desert Sun have brought a well –known, open secret into the campaign.
“Don’t be surprised if INNdulge seems familiar, it has served as the setting for a number of adult films, which are available in the hotel’s lending library,” The Weekly News, South Florida’s gay newspaper, wrote in September 2004.
As one of five candidates vying for two open positions on the Palm Springs City Council, Williams stresses his tourism background and hotel experience as reasons why he is qualified to run the city of more than 42,000 people. It shouldn’t matter that he has allowed pornography to be filmed, he said. Pornography is legal and it won’t affect how he runs the city if he is elected, he added.
And he is qualified to be a councilmember, said Melinda Tremaglio, president of the National Organization of Women Palm Springs Chapter.
“What he does in his business is not important,” said Tremaglio, who was on Arenas Road in Palm Springs Wednesday for a lunch meeting. “We endorsed him because of his attitude toward bringing changes to the community. I don’t care about his business practices.”
Business practice or not, voter and Human Rights Commission member Judith Doyle said allowing pornography to be filmed is “offensive.”
“I find it disheartening John hasn’t come forward about this,” said Doyle, a personal life coach in Palm Springs. She added this this “not behavior that is acceptable to me as a voter.”
The bottom line, she said is that allowing gay pornography to be filmed is part of his business world and must affect his decision making.
“I do not feel comfortable electing a City Council person who has these kinds of accusations,” she said.
from The Desert Sun

Love In Action Files Suit Against State

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE - Love In Action's plea in federal court Friday was a simple one.
"Please give us relief right now," reiterates LIA Attorney Nate Kellum.
But a judge denied the controversial group's request for an injunction. It's something that would have kept state regulators temporarily off their backs.
"It was troubling in a sense that it did not provide Love In Action the security it needed," says Kellum.
State law prohibits Love In Action from assisting more than one person with a diagnosed mental illness.
Attorneys for the state argued there is no present investigation into the group and that an injunction would be premature. However, the state can swoop back in if questions arise. In order to stay out of trouble with the state, LIA says it must now turn away anybody with potential mental illness. That includes those on Prozac or any other anti-depressant.
"The state has every right to check into something when the well-being of people is being risked," says Morgan Fox.
Fox has opposed Love In Action from the start. He has organized protests and even video-taped a documentary. He says every loss for the controversial program is, in a sense, a win.
"We would like to see them say being gay is alright," says Fox. "That you should not have to be ashamed of who you are," he adds.
Love In Action may have lost this latest legal battle. But leaders say their fight to help people curb homosexual desires will continue.
The injunction would have protected Love In Action until a larger legal question is resolved. It has to do with the group's to operate without any state regulation. That litigation is still pending in federal court.
from WMC TV

Sex Workers Demand Labor Rights

Meeting under the auspices of Italian deputy Vittorio Emanuele Agnoletto, some 120 sex workers from 23 countries held a conference to exchange personal experiences from the street and major issues concerning prostitution, including the public image of the profession and working conditions.
The participants -- both organized and individual sex workers -- demanded the same labor rights and social assistance as all other employees in Europe.
Legislation on prostitution currently varies from country to country within the EU. In the Netherlands and the Czech Republic, for example, prostitution is licensed and regulated by the state.
"We organized this conference in response to the increasingly repressive legislative policies and practices across Europe against sex workers and sex industry," said chief organizer Ruth Morgan Thomas.
Conference participants were to hold a rally in downtown Brussels later Monday to raise public awareness of the problem.
Agnolleto said he would initiate a debate on the issue at the EU assembly and draft a resolution.
"I believe this declaration is important not only for sexual workers, but it also could become very important for the European civil society. If they're recognized as workers, they can pay taxes and have the same duties and same rights as everyone else," Agnoletto said.
from CNN

You Can Have Oral Sex And Be A Virgin

Ten years after Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky's relationship made oral sex a mainstream topic, there's still plenty of debate over whether oral sex is really sex.
"There's not only confusion; there's fighting over it," says J. Dennis Fortenberry, a physician who specializes in adolescent medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine. "People disagree fairly vehemently."
The latest fuss is spurred by new federal data that found that more than half of 15- to 19-year-olds have received or given oral sex. Although the study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not ask the particulars of these encounters, research conducted in pre-Clinton times, along with more recent studies, suggests that teens largely fall on the "it's not sex" side.
"Some adults say it is a form of sex, but kids don't really see it that way," says Natalie Fuller, 19, a sophomore at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, Calif.
"For most teens, the only form of sex is penetration, and anything else doesn't count. You can have oral sex and be a virgin."
Fuller was 16 when she, her brother and her mother co-wrote the book Promise You Won't Freak Out, which includes discussion of teen oral sex.
The report released last month by the CDC shows that one-quarter of teens who have not had intercourse have had oral sex. The survey questions, administered via headphones and computer for maximum anonymity, clearly defined the actions to eliminate any ambiguity about the meaning of the term "oral sex."
"The implications are that teens who define themselves as abstinent may be engaging in oral sex," says Jennifer Manlove, a senior research associate with the non-profit group Child Trends, which analyzed the federal data.
Kyle Tarver, 17, a high school senior from Pikesville, Md., who was among an informal USA TODAY focus group of Maryland teenagers, says most teens who have had oral sex think of themselves as virgins.
"If you were to ask someone if they were a virgin, they wouldn't include that they had given or gotten oral sex," he says.
A study published in 1999 in the Journal of the American Medical Association examines the definition of sex based on a 1991 random sample of 599 college students from 29 states. Sixty percent said oral-genital contact did not constitute having sex. "That's the 'technical virginity' thing that's going on," says Stephanie Sanders, associate director of the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction at Indiana University and co-author of the study, which the researchers titled "Would You Say You 'Had Sex' If ...?"
"There is not nearly as much conversation between two people and as much thought put into engaging in oral sex. That, in my mind, makes it a lot different," says Michael Levy, 17, a senior from Owings Mills, Md.
What constitutes sex tends to be defined in a culture and varies with the times, Fortenberry says.
"In certain times in the history of the world, certain kinds of kissing would be considered sex," he says. "Not too many years ago, a woman would have been considered a 'loose woman' if she kissed a person before marriage."
from USA Today

Gay Teens Elected Homecoming King, Queen

It may not shock people that a jock and a cheerleader were chosen as homecoming king and queen at a Chicago high school, but some were surprised by which was which.
Jen Wohlner and Ryan Cooperman are popular leaders at Buffalo Grove High School. They're also openly gay.
Wohlner plays sports and went to prom with another girl last year. Cooperman is a cheerleader.
"I guess you could say this year it was kind of a jock and a cheerleader, but flip-flopped positions," Wohlner said.
Wohlner said it may show that her school, and her generation as a whole, is a little more progressive.
Time magazine made gay students subject its cover story last week, saying that students are coming out earlier and earlier.
And the number of gay clubs in high schools has exploded from 100 a few years ago to more than 3,000 nationwide today, the magazine reported.
"It's really kind of uncool to be anti-gay," said school psychologist Jennifer Zacharski.
Attitudes have shifted dramatically in one generation, said Zacharski, who sponsors Buffalo Grove's Gay-Straight Alliance.
But not everyone is cheering about the school's groundbreaking choices for homecoming royalty.
"For us, it's a sad thing," said Illinois Family Institute spokesman Pete LaBarbera. "Something that was once sort of universally regarded as a sin, is now becoming sort of cool in high school."
from NBC17