Child Abuse Survivors Take Gay Sex Risks

Homosexual and bisexual men who were victims of childhood sexual abuse are more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors, says a U.S. study.
Those who reported regular childhood sexual abuse were at significantly greater risk for being HIV positive, were 7 times more likely to have ever exchanged sex for money and were 6.4 times more likely to be a current drug user than those who did not report abuse, according to the study published in American Journal of Public Health under "First Look."
Researchers at the Boston College, University of Minnesota, University of Texas School of Public Health and Boston University School of Public Health recommend further research to help determine how childhood sexual abuse contributes to sexual risk taking in homosexual and bisexual men and the types of interventions that may be most effective.
From UPI

'Gay' Filtered From Emails

NEW ZEALAND - Telecom has apologised to a woman after the company's email filter deemed her first name Gay to be "inappropriate for business-like communication".
The cyberspace saga began when web designer Gay Hamilton emailed Telecom's helpdesk, enquiring if Xtra broadband services were available in her Nelson suburb. The automated reply was not what she was expecting. "[Your email] was identified by our content filtering processes as containing language that may be considered inappropriate for business-like communication," the email said. The offensive word was the woman's name: "The content which caused this to happen was ... 'gay' eight times, at two points each, for an expression score of 16 points."
Herald on Sunday inquiries have revealed that the response was triggered by Telecom's internal email monitoring system, which exists to "prevent misuse of email technologies in the workplace and act as a deterrent to harassment," according to Lenska Papich, public relations manager for Telecom's broadband and online division. "Our systems internally detect a number of words, including both the words gay and heterosexual, that could be deemed as inappropriate for use at work."
Telecom claimed the telling-off was never intended for Hamilton, as the warning system that threatens "disciplinary action" is intended to reprimand employees, not clients.
But for Hamilton, who happens to be gay, the shock was not isolated to the reply she received but also to the fact that Telecom had spent time and resources deciding that the word "gay" should be audited from staff communications. "If they do have to put content filters on ... then maybe they should ensure that it only gets genuinely abusive words."
Papich apologised to Hamilton last week and said Hamilton had been "really good" about it. Telecom refused to supply a list of words its machine searched for.
from The New Zealand Herald

Boy George Arrested For Gay Sexual Assualt

Boy George has been arrested after allegedly imprisoning a male escort in his flat.
Auden Carlsen fled the singer's East London home in terror, claiming George and another man had grabbed him and chained him to a wall.
Carlsen - who claims he had agreed to pose for photos for the 'Do You Really Want To Hurt Me' singer and was not working as an escort - said: "I walked into the bedroom wearing my white underpants and a T-shirt and then I was jumped on by another man.
"George handcuffed me to a hook by the bed as they held me down." Carlsen then claims the other man left the room before the former Culture Club singer produced a box of sex toys and told him: "Now you'll get what you deserve."
The 28-year-old Norwegian - who met George on the gay dating website Gaydar - says he pulled the hook from the wall and fled in his underpants before phoning the police from a nearby newsagent's on Saturday (28.04.07) morning.
George was later arrested and taken to a police station. He was then bailed by detectives probing assault and false imprisonment allegations.
The 45-year-old singer - who was unavailable for comment - was given community service in New York last year after a sizable amount of cocaine was found in his apartment.
Officers had originally been called to George's home after he claimed a rent boy had tried to steal from him.
from The Post Chronicle

Just One Look...#78

Confessed Transvestite Killer Avoids Jail

As far as murders go, the death of Andrea Sanchez—fatally beaten in her Calama apartment by a man who had just bought her sexual services for 2,000 pesos (less than $4)—seemed to be a fairly cut and dry case.
The man who repeatedly hit Sanchez, smashed her head against a wall, and then mercilessly kicked her, was arrested at the scene of the crime.
Víctor Vicencio Marín, the attacker, spent the next three days in jail, but then went free after paying $1,000 in bail. "Turns out it's cheap to kill a faggot," he was quoted as telling reporters upon his release. At no time since the Nov. 12, 2004, attack has Vicencio ever denied what he did.
Despite the killer's admitted guilt, the case dragged on for nearly two-and-a-half years. Vicencio was able to hire a private lawyer. Ana Sanchez, the victim's mother, was not.
Then, late last month, the Calama criminal court finally reached a decision: Vicencio successfully plea-bargained for a four year suspended sentence. Unless he decides to commit another crime, the confessed murderer will not spend a single additional day in prison.
For Mrs. Sanchez, a resident of Santiago's impoverished La Granja district, the suspended sentence is simply unacceptable.
For the past two-and-a-half years she struggled against the dual burdens of extreme poverty and the prohibitive distance between Santiago and Calama to make several long bus trips north. While there she spoke with newspapers and television stations, trying to send out a message that her son—transvestite or not—deserves justice.
"I didn't want my son's case to end up in impunity, because I've fought so hard," Mrs. Sanchez told the Santiago Times.
Much of her efforts were spent trying to arrange for Andrea's body to be sent home to Santiago—something she was unable to accomplish until just this past December.
"I hope Chilean authorities put their hands on their hearts because, unfortunately sir, the justice system in this country is … I just find it to be horribly bad," she said. "This is a life that was taken. How can it be that a rapist or a common criminal is condemned to jail, while someone who takes the life of another person ends up practically absolved?"
Also objecting to the ruling is the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Freedom (MOVILH), Chile's leading sexual minorities' advocacy organization. MOVILH President Rolando Jiménez, who over the past few years has worked closely with Sanchez—trying to bring attention to the case—described his reaction simply as "disappointment."
"We thought that with the recent legal reforms, these types of crimes—where in this particular case the attacker was arrested at the scene of the crime, he confessed—would be punished," said Jiménez. "We're upset because we thought that the new penal system would change things, that it would improve access to justice, particularly for the most vulnerable groups. That hasn't been the case."
Andrea Sanchez' brutal murder, sadly, is hardly an isolated case in Chile. On March 16, exactly one week before the Calama criminal court closed the Sanchez case, a 54-year-old transgender prostitute named Michelle Carrasco—or "Chela," as her friends called her—was beaten to death in the outskirts of Santiago. Less than two weeks earlier another transgender person, Moira Donaire González, 30, was murdered in Viña del Mar, Region V. Two other transgender murders took place last year. Overall, according to MOVILH, 11 such crimes have taken place just since 2002.
"We're just indignant. To put it simply, today in Chile the state is not guaranteeing a basic human right for a certain sector of the population, and that's the right to life," said Jiménez.
"Ultimately, that right isn't guaranteed because the transgender population, in this society, is forced to support itself in the sex trade. For the people in that line of work, it's a context that is absolutely precarious and dangerous and in which they're vulnerable."
Something else that ties these cases together is impunity, said Jiménez. Víctor Vicencio Marín's four-year suspended sentence is simply a case in point.
"It's just not right that in exchange for taking someone's life, a guy gets three days in jail," the MOVILH president said.
Flipping through a photo album she rescued from among Andrea's belongings, Mrs. Sanchez remembers her son with a mix of smiles and tears. He loved animals, she recalls. He loved to travel.
"This picture, I love this picture. This one you can scan," she said, showing me a snapshot of her son in full drag, posing on a bed, his hair done just so, makeup perfectly applied. "She looks beautiful in that one. In this one she looks hot, hot, hot," she added, breaking into laughter.
In another photo Andrea (born Fernando Andrés) poses in a satiny gown in front of the Chilean flag. The picture was taken in 2000, in Arica, where Andrea had just won a "Miss Sympathy" pageant.
Mrs. Sanchez now plans to pursue the only legal recourse available to her—a civil suit. In order to accomplish that, however, she'll need to contract a lawyer, something that for financial reasons she wasn't able to do in the past.
"After she died, I was in bad shape, also in economically bad shape, just horrible. Because before, she was everything for me, always very concerned about her mother, in all senses," said Mrs. Sanchez, who switches constantly between "he" and "she" when talking about her child.
"She saw how much I suffered raising him, educating him, so … He was so understanding, so human. That's how I'll always remember her. I dream about her sometimes. A mother doesn't stop doing that, at least I haven't. And I think about her all the time, as if she's off traveling and is going to come home soon. Sometimes when my cell phone rings I think it's her."
from World Press

No More Tighty Whities

Friends and family were blunt, rude even, when Steven Lien told them about his small-business venture last year.
"Everyone was like, `There's no way that will work,'" recalled Lien a onetime ski-shop proprietor and information technology specialist in Portland, Ore.
Now, almost five months since Under U 4 Men opened its doors, Lien could open a restaurant just to serve humble pie. Instead, he is planning two more branches. His small specialty store, which sells only novel or little-known brands of men's underwear, has outperformed even his own forecast.
"The store was profitable within 30 days," he said. "And I didn't open on Gay Street, U.S.A. I opened on Main Street, U.S.A.''
Novelty underwear, for decades the butt of jokes, has, in the last two to three years, turned into a serious business, capturing a significant share of the $1.1 billion (U.S.) men's knit-underwear market. Briefs in bright colours, zany prints, new materials and daring cuts are undermining classic white briefs which, last year, dipped below 50 per cent for the first time in decades – if not ever.
The selections are offbeat and atypically masculine: the cheery rainbow of 20 colours of American Apparel. Bamboo fabric from C-IN2 and soy-based fabric from 2(x)ist. graphics in Andrew Christian's new line. And, unlikeliest of all, the little-boy, Underoos-inspired fire trucks, motorcycles and hot dogs all over Ginch Gonch underwear – they're fairly crying out to be called underpants.
Not since men stepped out of drab, dark suits during the 1960s Peacock Revolution has there been such variety. It disproves a cherished maxim of men's wear: that a man is most loyal to his brand of underwear than to any other article of clothing. Now connoisseurship trumps loyalty. Once-tentative customers now log on to sites like InternationalJock.com, one of the most comprehensive men's underwear Web sites, selling brands like Justus Boyz, Wax, Play, Kyle, Artificial Flavor and AussieBum.
"There's been an explosion in printed underwear, low-rise underwear and different kinds of boxer briefs," says John Sievers, an owner of InternationalJock.com, who said that his business has doubled in three years. Underwear by C-IN2 and Andrew Christian, artfully constructed with seams or straps to make the most of a man's profile, has done extremely well, he adds. "All the Wonderbra sort of technology for men – we sell tons of stuff like that.''
As they say, it's all about packaging. For American Apparel, a clash of squeaky clean and slightly raunchy – showing an unshowered, unshaven guy in pink briefs with white piping – has helped sell more than a million pairs of its briefs in the two years since they were introduced, according to Dov Charney, the line's founder. And the wacky website for Canadian company Ginch Gonch (slang for underwear) offers a YouTube-style wedgie contest and scads of naughty double entendres. The racy-goofy approach is working: Ginch Gonch sold 1.8 million pairs of underwear last year at about $30 (Cdn.) each, according to Jason Sutherland, the line's owner, who said he expects to double that volume this year.
"They're getting away from the old pasty colours," said Maurice Webb, an infrastructure contractor and an Army veteran based in Iraq, who stumbled onto the Justus Boyz site when searching for new underwear. "They've got a lot of fun stuff now."
At first the site – and name – made him nervous, but the desert camo briefs he bought were a hit. "I got a lot of compliments," he said. "They're more form-fitting, and they're also more comfortable.''
He's not alone in his reaction. From 2004-06, U.S. sales of men's knit underwear rose 5.3 per cent, to 397 million pairs, according to NPD Group, which tracks clothing trends. The gains were from styles in patterns (up 23 per cent, to 48 million pairs) and solid colours (also up 23 percent, to 156 million), including the blacks and greys that mainstream makers like Calvin Klein and Hanes added to their lines.
Similarly, sales of traditional briefs fell 9.4 per cent while non-traditional styles – boxer briefs, bikinis and thong styles – were all up.
"It's becoming very exciting," said Marshal Cohen, the chief analyst at NPD. "For a long time it seemed like, if you wanted to wear briefs, you couldn't have any personality.''
And because underwear is one of the few forms of men's wear that women buy more of (for men) than men do, Cohen said the trend would likely continue as the boyfriends and husbands start to replacement-shop for themselves.
Briefs, introduced in 1934 and called jock-style, Y-front or bathing-suit underwear – because they were styled after a French swimsuit – got an indelible endorsement four years later as the (blue) underwear of choice of a nerdy yet steel-built reporter named Clark Kent.
Meanwhile, old-school white Y-fronts recently got a more dubious superhero plug as the costume of Captain Underpants, the chubby middle-aged title character in a children's books series.
Just 25 years ago, Calvin Klein took aim at the underwear industry when he turned an Olympic pole-vaulter into his own sexed-up version of Michelangelo's David, this time in white cotton briefs. Klein, who sold the company in 2002, secured a spot for his Calvins among the top five best-selling underwear brands, where they remain. Now Calvin Klein is the Goliath, and if the slingshots wielded today are more in the spirit of spitballs and water balloons, that's the idea. This youthful version of masculinity is, while still sexy, far from the ripped and buffed torsos that became a cliché of men's underwear packaging "is the man I am not, and the man I cannot be," said Charney of American Apparel. "You know, nerdy is in.''
Department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue have heeded the trend, selling designer underwear from D&G and Dsquared alongside the collections, not in the underwear department. In the last two years Saks has doubled the brands of underwear it carries. Though sales of specialty underwear were once driven by gay men, that has changed, even if they are still more-daring consumers of new styles. "It's absolutely not a gay thing," said Michael Macko, the men's fashion director at Saks. "Straight guys want to be sexy, too.''
Countering another preconception, he added: "It's not necessarily a young guy buying them. Who doesn't want to dress younger?
"No one wants to think, `I want to look old and grumpy.' They think, `I want to look younger and better.' ''
Indeed, Cohen of NPD suggested that Viagra was helping to fuel the trend, putting guys who had been benched back in the underwear game.
"It's for young guys as well as the boomer consumer," he said.
In other words, you are only as old as your underwear.
from The Toronto Star

Walt Disney Would Be Horrified At Gay Marriages In His Parks

An anonymous blogger summed up the reaction best when Disney announced recently its Fairy Tale Weddings would allow for same-sex unions: "It's the home of Goofy. 'Nuff said.
Disney, apparently, has put the "fairy" back in "fairy tale," I might add. The packaged pageantry covers both Disney World in nearby Orlando, Disneyland in California and Disney cruise ships.
My suspicion is that Disney made the call for the same reasons NBC and CBS pulled the plug on "shock jock" Don Imus the other day. Money. Corporate greed, some might grumble. The first responsibility of any board of directors and company management is to maximize the profits of its shareholders. After all, the shareholders elected the board and selected the management they thought would best represent their financial stakes in a publicly-owned firm.
In Disney's case, it's an opportunity to sell more $8,000 to $45,000 wedding packages. At NBC and CBS, retaining the provocative Imus show would have threatened serious sponsorship revenue losses in an intensely competitive media field. Both instances illustrate what can happen when weak management fails to nip controversy in the bud.
Disney's "splicing" ceremony includes, at those prices, a wedding planner, flowers, music, food, a ride in a magic pumpkin and the attendance of a formally-clad Mickey and Minnie Mouse as guests of honor.
For Disney, the acceptance of same-sex commitment ceremonies is likely to be interpreted as an endorsement of gay marriage -- in keeping with the entertainment company's slogan, "Something for Everyone." What would old Walt Disney have thought?
I doubt Walt would have ever personally approved of gay marriage; he's probably rolling over in his grave at this very minute. Walt Disney would most likely have just turned the other cheek and shrugged, "Well, this is supposed to be a place where dreams come true." As with other fairy tales, however, reality strikes at midnight. The same-sex couple, in tiaras and tuxedos, would be returned to a world that still, largely, puts traditional family values first.
It's a world where Focus on the Family's head, Dr. James C. Dobson, a weekly columnist on this page, and the majority of us view gay marriage at the very least as "unproductive," a view shared by strong Southern Baptist churches. Dobson and the Southern Baptists are indelibly attached to any Disney scenario involving gays and challenging to the American religious community in general. Previously, both have recommended boycotting Disney World and Disneyland for hosting June's annual Gay Pride celebrations.
Any gay and lesbian demonstration, including marriages or parades, brings up the question of what we should tell our children about their $65 theme park experiences. How do we explain to our young innocents when a GLBT crowd is "in your face" and not particularly family-rated? Fairy tale weddings are part of show biz. Same-sex marriages are all about politics. An argument could contend that all politics is show bizness, or vice versa. I guess that's what Disney is trying to say.
A suggestion for all those politicos wrestling with same-sex marriages. Just make like other countries where joint ownership, medical decision-making, tax filing status and insurance are available to all couples, regardless of sex. That's really all anyone wants.
from Hernando Today / John Herbert

I've Just Been Cured From Being Gay: Video

From This Just In

One-Third Of Sexually Active Older Adults With HIV/AIDs Has Unprotected Sex

One out of three sexually active older adults infected with HIV has unprotected sex, according to a study by Ohio University researchers . A survey of 260 HIV-positive older adults found that of those having sex, most were male, took Viagra and were in a relationship.
AIDs cases among the over-50 crowd reached 90,000 in 2003. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they will account for half of all HIV/AIDS cases in the United States by 2015 because medical intervention has extended the lifespan of those infected with HIV. Additionally, drugs such as Viagra have made it possible for older adults to remain sexually active longer.
Past studies have shown that up to 65 percent of older adults ages 60 to 71 have sexual intercourse. Among older adults who are HIV-positive, according to the Ohio University findings, 38 percent are sexually active.
“Those who are more likely to engage in riskier behavior – for example, those who are using drugs – are more likely to have unprotected sex,” said graduate student Travis Lovejoy, who led the study along with Ohio University health psychologist Timothy Heckman. “What we don’t know yet is whether these individuals are in a monogamous relationship with someone else who is HIV positive and believe there is no risk of infection.”
The study also found that sexual activity was more prevalent among HIV-positive older adults who were not cognitively impaired, were younger and who considered their overall health to be good.
Because many older adults with HIV are not sexually active, those who do have unprotected sex account for just 13 percent of the overall number of infected people who are aged 50 or older. However, one-third of those who are sexually active have unprotected sex, which suggests that prevention efforts may need to be more highly targeted toward these individuals.
The behavioral information was pulled from a survey of 260 HIV-positive older adults who were participating in a study examining support groups. The study was funded by a three-year, $1.8 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute of Nursing Research.
from Media India

David Duchovny & Chad Allen To Develop Gay Movie

Former 'X-Files' star David Duchovny was so bowled over by the story about gay senior housing, that he's now planning to produce a flick about two old gay men who fall in love when they meet at such a home.
And the news comes from Chad Allen, the man who's developing the project with Duchvony.
"David saw a [newspaper] story about gay senior housing and he was fascinated by it," Femalefirst quoted him, as saying.
Allen also admits that though the two had no problem roping in men to play the gay part, they did have a little trouble when it came to convincing seniors that they were old.
"We have fantastic parts for older guys in the movie. The one trick we found was it's really tough to get an older actor to see themselves as old. That's the challenge-not the gay thing," he revealed.
Duchovny recently revealed to 'X-Files' faithful during an interview on April 13 that a new movie was "in the works", later confirming the announcement.
The movie will pick up four years after the 2002 finale that left agents Mulder and Scully on the run from the FBI.
While the actor will be returning as Fox Mulder, co-star Gillian Anderson will be reprising her role as Dana Scully.
from Daily India

Who Needs Jack, Janet, And Chrissy?

What would happen if Lance Armstrong, Jake Gyllanhaal and Matthew McConaughey shacked up (almost platonically) for a summer at Armstrong's Malibu pad? We checked out Three Companeros, a stage parody of the sitcom Three's Company, to find out out. Unbeknownst to his rommies, Armstrong is deciding which actor will play him in his biopic, and the tension continues to mount as the wacky landlord hosts a female visitor that all the companeros are hot for.
Actor Taran Killam nails the part of McConaughey, and the sexual energy sparks when he and "Lance" make fun of "Jake" with Brokeback Mountain scenes.
The performance is short and sweet (30 min.), but was unexpectedly prefaced with unfunny skits that actually lasted longer than the show.
Three Companeros, written/directed by Amy Rhodes. May 3 and May 17, 8:00pm, at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (Hollywood). Admission $5. Reservations at www.ucbtheatre.com
from LAist

Just One Look...#77

LA Times Sports Writer Coming Back As A New Girl

During my 23 years with The Times' sports department, I have held a wide variety of roles and titles. Tennis writer. Angels beat reporter. Olympics writer. Essayist. Sports media critic. NFL columnist. Recent keeper of the Morning Briefing flame.
Today I leave for a few weeks' vacation, and when I return, I will come back in yet another incarnation.
As Christine.
I am a transsexual sportswriter. It has taken more than 40 years, a million tears and hundreds of hours of soul-wrenching therapy for me to work up the courage to type those words. I realize many readers and colleagues and friends will be shocked to read them.
That's OK. I understand that I am not the only one in transition as I move from Mike to Christine. Everyone who knows me and my work will be transitioning as well. That will take time. And that's all right. To borrow a piece of well-worn sports parlance, we will take it one day at a time.
Transsexualism is a complicated and widely misunderstood medical condition. It is a natural occurrence — unusual, no question, but natural.
Recent studies have shown that such physiological factors as genetics and hormonal fluctuations during pregnancy can significantly affect how our brains are "wired" at birth.
As extensive therapy and testing have confirmed, my brain was wired female.
A transgender friend provided the best and simplest explanation I have heard: We are born with this, we fight it as long as we can, and in the end it wins.
I gave it as good a fight as I possibly could. I went more than 40 hard rounds with it. Eventually, though, you realize you are only fighting yourself and your happiness and your mental health — a no-win situation any way you look at it.
When you reach the point when one gender causes heartache and unbearable discomfort, and the other brings more joy and fulfillment than you ever imagined possible, it shouldn't take two tons of bricks to fall in order to know what to do.
It didn't with me.
With me, all it took was 1.99 tons.
For more years than I care to count, I was scared to death over the prospect of writing a story such as this one. It was the most frightening of all the towering mountains of fear I somehow had to confront and struggle to scale.
How do you go about sharing your most important truth, one you spent a lifetime trying to keep deeply buried, to a world that has grown familiar and comfortable with your façade?
To a world whose knowledge of transsexuals usually begins and ends with Jerry Springer's exploitation circus?
Painfully and reluctantly, I began the coming-out process a few months ago. To my everlasting amazement, friends and colleagues almost universally have been supportive and encouraging, often breaking the tension with good-natured doses of humor.
When I told my boss Randy Harvey, he leaned back in his chair, looked through his office window to scan the newsroom and mused, "Well, no one can ever say we don't have diversity on this staff."
When I told Robert, the soccer-loving lad from Wales who cuts my hair, why I wanted to start growing my hair out, he had to take a seat, blink hard a few times and ask, "Does this mean you don't like football anymore, Mike?"
No, I had to assure him, I still love soccer. I will continue to watch it. I hope to continue to coach it.
My days of playing in men's over-30 rec leagues, however, could be numbered.
When I told Eric, who has played sweeper behind my plodding stopper for more than a decade, he brightly suggested, "Well, you're still good for co-ed!"
I broke the news to Tim by beginning, "Are you familiar with the movie 'Transamerica'?" Tim nodded. "Well, welcome to my life," I said.
Tim seemed more perplexed than most as I nervously launched into my story.
Finally, he had to explain, "I thought you said 'Trainspotting.' I thought you were going to tell me you're a heroin addict."
People have asked if transitioning will affect my writing. And if so, how?
All I can say at this point is that I am now happier, more focused and more energized when I sit behind a keyboard. The wicked writer's block that used to reach up and torture me at some of the worst possible times imaginable has disappeared.
My therapist says this is what happens when a transsexual finally "integrates" and the ever-present white noise in the background dissipates.
That should come as good news to my editors: far fewer blown deadlines.
So now we all will take a short break between bylines. "Mike Penner" is out, "Christine Daniels" soon will be taking its place.
From here, it feels like a big improvement. I hope with time you will agree.
This could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship.
from The Los Angeles Times / Mike Penner - Christine Daniels

You Can Get Free Condoms Just About Anywhere

NEW ZEALAND - It's called a happy meal. But the grandparents of a Wellington girl are less than pleased that the trademark toy that came with her McDonald's meal was more suited to an adult: a condom.
Seven-year-old Maia Whitaker's grandparents, Suzanne and Rowan Hatch, made the discovery on Tuesday night when they dropped in to the Courtenay Central outlet of the fast food chain as a pre-theatre treat for the girl.
Mr Hatch said it was fortunate that his wife was first to look in the small sports bag which came with the meal.
She was aghast when she found the green Durex condom and its packet.
"I was pretty horrified really. The fact my granddaughter was going to look in the bag and find this thing. It would be difficult to explain, she's only seven."
Pressed for time, Mr Hatch rushed to the counter and demanded to see the manager.
The bag was swapped for a hamburger and a pencil case, and McDonald's is investigating the find.
Mr Hatch said the discovery was bizarre, though his daughter, Maia's mother, Louise Whitaker of Seatoun, found the incident more disturbing.
"I was disgusted. It was (in a gift) with a happy meal aimed at children, not something for adults."
McDonald's spokeswoman Joanna Redfern-Hardisty said she understood the family's unhappiness.
Inquiries had revealed that, because of the popularity of the previous happy meal gift which had sold out at that outlet, pre-packaged sports bags were substituted as children's gifts.
One was left unsealed for display purposes and "somehow" it had ended up with the customer.
The bag was being sent to McDonald's head office for further investigations, while the area manager, Courtenay Central McDonald's outlet owner and the restaurant manager were "looking into" how the condom ended up in the bag.
from Stuff

Sanjaya's Not Gay He Just Understands Women

As one of American Idol's most polarizing figures, fans either love or hate Sanjaya Malakar – but he says he's always been popular with women.
"I've always gotten along with girls better because I was raised by women," Malakar tells PEOPLE in its new issue.
Malakar, whose parents divorced when he was 3, says his ease with women comes from being close to his mom and his sister, Shyamali, who were his biggest influence growing up in Seattle. But getting along with girls didn't always work to his benefit.
"I got teased in school because people figured I must be gay because I understand women," the phenomenally popular American Idol castoff says. "I think that's why guys didn't like me – because I got along with girls so well. When I went up to girls they would give me a hug and a kiss on the cheek like I was their gay friend. But I was the straight guy that understood them."
As for his dating past, Malakar, who is now 17, says: "I had a girlfriend but she became clingy, and I didn't want to get into a really serious relationship because I was 16. Before his arrival on the hit FOX show, "I just wanted to date and have fun," he says.
from People Magazine

Anderson Cooper Showers in His Boxers

The high price of fame! Anderson Cooper is the talk of the Equinox gym where he works out in the Time Warner Center in New York city. Naturally the sexually ambiguous "silver fox" attracts a lot of attention from both sexes so he takes precautions. Everyone knows camera phones are easy to smuggle anywhere, so sensible Anderson reportedly showers In His Underware. Boxer briefs, to be exact.
from Janet Charltons Hollywood

Gay Tolerance Billboards Vandalized

Two local billboards that are part of a broad ad campaign aimed at showing Biblical support for homosexuality were hit over the weekend by spray-paint-wielding vandals.
Starting last week, the national gay advocacy group Faith in America leased space on 22 billboards around Indianapolis to spread messages like “Jesus affirmed a gay couple” and “Jesus said some people are born gay.” It corresponds with 1,000 yard signs carrying similar messages that were sponsored by the Jesus Metropolitan Community Church, an Indianapolis church that teaches God’s acceptance of homosexuality.
Rev. Jeff Miner, the church’s pastor, said the two billboards were defaced over the weekend.
A billboard on Kentucky Avenue carried the original message “The early church welcomed a gay man” but had the word “man” sprayed with black paint, Miner said. It has been repaired. Another at 10th Street and Mitthoeffer Road had the words “Lie, lie, lie” spray painted in red over the original message “Jesus affirmed a gay couple.”
“I think it shows the lengths some people will go to suppress ideas rather than have a dialogue,” Miner said.
Several church leaders in the city say the ad campaign is built on false statements and distorted readings of scripture. But Rev. Andy Hunt of Body of Christ Community Church said vandalism is always a wrong response.
“It ignites passions whenever someone brings a lie against the god you worship,” Hunt said. “But we can’t go down to their level.”
from The Indy Star

It's The Closest She'll Ever Come To A Condom

UNITED KINGDOM - Horrified Michelle Lewis was violently ill after she bit into a Tesco cheese sandwich and found a condom inside.
The single office worker from Milton Keynes, Bucks, has contacted her doctor for tests after fearing she may have contracted a sexually transmitted disease.
The 28-year-old said she was disgusted when she bit into the £1.30 ploughman's sandwich and chomped down onto the unwrapped prophylactic which was hidden between the lettuce and tomato.
She was instantly sick and concerned colleagues contacted Tesco to complain.
Michelle said last night: "I bought the sandwich from the petrol station shop for my lunch while I was filling up my car.
I started to eat it while sitting at my desk. I had taken one bite out of the corner, which was fine.
When I took the second bite I felt something rubbery in my mouth. I ran to the sink and the condom was hanging out of the sandwich. I threw up in the toilet straight away.
"It is a disgusting and vile thing to put in a sandwich. If this was somebody's idea of a practical joke at the factory they are clearly very sick minded. This is the most disgusting thing that has ever happened to me.
"This has put me off buying prepacked sandwiches for life. I shall bring my own in from on." The vegetarian sandwich, which claims to contain 'no artificial flavours', was in a sealed package when Michelle purchased it at the Tesco store Buckingham.
The condom, which did not appear to be used, was unwrapped from its foil covering and covered in Branston pickle.
Michelle, who works as a training assessor for Protocol Skills in Milton Keynes, contacted Environmental Services to take away the soiled sandwich.
She said: "My complaint to Tesco has been ignored. I just want someone to take it seriously but instead I had a manager telling me there was nothing they could do and it was just something that happened.
I was outraged by their attitude.
"Tesco is the largest grocery store in Britain and this sort of thing shouldn't happen." A spokesman for Tesco's store said: "We can't imagine how something like this would happen, but we will be carrying out an investigation with our supplier. We would like to apologise."
from MK News

Just One Look...#76

Gay Brotherly Love

While some scientists search frantically for "gay" genes, a University of Toronto researcher has discovered a hitherto unsuspected contributor to male sexual orientation: having lots of older brothers.
According to psychologist Ray Blanchard, each older brother that a boy has raises his chances of being gay by a third over the rate in first-born sons. "It might go from a 3 percent probability of homosexuality with the first son to 4 percent for the second to 5 percent for the third," explains Blanchard.
There may be psychosocial reasons why a brother glut would increase the odds of being gay, but Blanchard thinks the immune system is to blame. Pregnant moms sometimes have immune reactions against male-only proteins on a boy fetus. If immune cells "remember" earlier pregnancies and react more strongly with each one, Blanchard posits, then they might attack and alter fetal brains cells that will later influence sexual behavior.
from Psychology Today

McGreevey's Gay Divorce Just Gets Better Everyday

The estranged wife of former New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey knew he was gay before they married, he claimed in court papers filed Monday.
McGreevey wrote that Dina Matos McGreevy "knew of my sexual orientation before our marriage, she chose to either ignore it or block it out of her mind, even when questioned by her friends."
The former governor doesn't detail how she knew he was gay, but objects to his wife's contention in recent court papers that he is bisexual.
"On the offhand chance she wasn't paying attention, I AM A GAY AMERICAN," he wrote, referencing the term he used to describe himself when he announced his resignation in August 2004. "She is in deep denial."
An after-hours telephone message left at Matos McGreevey's workplace was not immediately returned Monday. Her lawyer, John Post, did not immediately respond to an e-mail message seeking comment.
McGreevey resigned after saying he was gay and had an affair.
The former governor also defended his parenting skills in the filing. He said despite the demands of being governor he was never "indifferent" to their 5-year-old daughter, as his estranged wife claims.
Last week, Matos McGreevey claimed in court papers that he exposed their young daughter to erotic artwork at the home he now shares with partner Mark O'Donnell, an Australian money manager. She is seeking primary custody.
McGreevey, 49, countered in Monday's filing that his wife "HAS NEVER SEEN THE PHOTOGRAPH" of the nude male model.
Matos McGreevey's memoir is scheduled to reach bookstores May 1.
from The Associated Press

Hillary Wants Gays In The Military

Gay troops should be able to serve in the U.S. military without hiding their sexual identity, Sen. Hillary Clinton said here Sunday.
Clinton said it's time to drop the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which began when her husband, Bill Clinton, was president. The policy says that gays may serve in the military if they keep their homosexuality secret but that they can be tossed out if they don't.
"Right now, we are discharging soldiers - at a time when we don't have enough people to do the missions we need around the world - because they're gay. Not because they've done anything, but just because they're gay," she said.
Clinton, one of the Democrats' leading presidential candidates, quoted the late Sen. Barry Goldwater, a conservative Republican who supported the rights of gay troops: "I think the question should be not whether you are straight, but whether you shoot straight."
Clinton spoke about the issue in response to a question from the audience during a campaign visit to Luther College. She also said she supported the right of gay Americans to join in civil unions, though she did not mention the more controversial idea of gay marriage.
The New York senator touched on numerous topics during a "town hall" talk before about 1,000 people in northeast Iowa.
Clinton noted Sunday was Earth Day, and she said Americans need to move quickly to stop global warming.
"Some of the damage that has been done, we didn't know about. We didn't understand," she said. "But now we do, and we have no excuses left." She said she favors capping greenhouse-gas emissions and financing alternative-energy research with money now going to subsidize oil companies.
Clinton criticized the Bush administration on numerous fronts, including education, taxation and the Iraq war. She described "a heartbreaking development," in which former allies have turned away from the United States because of President Bush's overbearing approach to diplomacy.
She also spoke about the need for universal health care, noting that she led an effort to create such a system when her husband was president.
Audience member Rita Tejada brought her daughters - Lara, 9, and Rita Marie, 11 - to see someone who might become the nation's first female president. Tejada said Clinton should stress the health care issue more. The Luther College Spanish teacher said that the subject will be among the most crucial in the election and that Clinton has the best chance of achieving universal health care. "She has the experience from before," Tejada said.
Dick Guilgot of Decorah said he probably will support Clinton. "I think she's the best, common-sense, moderate Democrat," he said.
Guilgot believes Clinton could win both the nomination and the general election, although he acknowledged some Democrats' fears that she would turn off too many independents. "I think it's going to be a challenge," he said. "There's a negative factor she can't deny."
from The Demoines Register

Penis Questions Of The Day

Dear Dr. Shieh,
My question is about the male penis. It's a little embarrassing, but my boyfriend is not circumcised and I don't know whether I should tell him that he should get circumcised or not. It doesn't really bother me, but my girlfriends were telling me that uncircumcised penises looked weird and I can catch more diseases, and if I have sex with him, he'll have a hard time because he is not circumcised. Is this true? -- Wondering
Dear Wondering:
Don't be embarrassed. There are many men that are not circumcised and the reality is that there really is no medical indication for routine circumcision. Some insurance companies do not cover this procedure, citing that it is more of a cosmetic reason.
At birth, the foreskin is fused and will separate with time. Circumcision is a surgical procedure that removes the top or front part of the skin of the penis, better know as "foreskin."
Now, if you think about the natural development of the penis, the foreskin may serve as protection over the gland of the penis and some sex counselors theorize that the foreskin is there for sexual pleasure. In fact, the inner part of the foreskin is usually much thinner and contains more nerve endings than the skin of the shaft of the penis and is similar to the mucosa of the inner aspect of the mouth. During erection, the foreskin usually will pull back without any problems during intercourse.
For your boyfriend, if he does not already know this, he needs to make sure that he provides good hygiene for himself. Make sure that he pulls back the foreskin to properly clean his penis. Men who do not use good hygiene will experience an increased incidence of urinary tract infections.
Lastly, sexually transmitted diseases such as Chlamydia, Herpes, Syphilis, HIV, HPV, Hepatitis, Gonorrhea and others do not discriminate. These STDs can be transmitted whether a person is circumcised or uncircumcised.
To decrease the risk of STDs, use a latex condom and choose carefully who you have sex with.
from The Pacific Daily News


Q I am only 12 but I can't stop masturbating. I can do it up to three times a day.
Even though it sometimes hurts I can't stop doing it. I worry I have damaged my penis but I don't want to go to the doctor because it would be embarrassing.
I would also have to tell my dad. So I need to stop. I have tried methods on websites but nothing works for me.
A Let me repeat yet again that masturbation will not harm your penis. Nor is it abnormal, particularly at your age, to occasionally overdo it.
If you really want to cut down, you have to do something that will distract you.
A group activity such as football or even hanging out with your mates should work.
It will also keep you fitter than reaching for a snack.
from The Daily Record

Jim McGreevey's Gay Poster Boy

This is the full-frontal nude photograph that hung in the bedroom of New Jersey's disgraced love gov, Jim McGreevey, when his 5-year-old daughter came for sleepovers - and the source of his estranged wife's claims that he's an unfit parent.
The 50-by-60-inch print in the master bedroom of the Plainfield, N.J., home of McGreevey and partner Mark O'Donnell is part of a series called "Naked Gay Friends" by Manhattan photographer Richard Renaldi, and was featured in Blue, a gay men's magazine.
According to Renaldi, 38, and the Yossi Milo Gallery, which sells his work, O'Donnell purchased the print for $3,000 in 2004.
The shot was taken in 2000, on the shores of Lake Michigan, where Renaldi was vacationing with his partner of nine years, Seth Boyd.
"[Seth] had just gotten out of the water. It's a lovely portrait," Renaldi told The Post.
Last week, McGreevey's estranged wife, Dina Matos McGreevey, filed a motion seeking full custody of their daughter, Jacqueline. Her argument took specific issue with the "life-size photograph of a nude model" hanging in the bedroom.
The suit questioned whether it "was appropriate for his 'little girl' - to use his description of our child - to be viewing the photograph in question."
She also asked that Jacqueline be forbidden to share a bed with her dad and his boyfriend during sleepovers.
"It is one thing for children to sleep with a parent or parents," she said in a written response to McGreevey's divorce filing. "It is quite another for children to sleep with a parent and a third party."
The former governor, who has filed for joint custody of Jacqueline, claims in court papers that his wife has "seemingly irrational fears" about his sexuality.
Matos McGreevey - whose tell-all book about being a gay man's wife, "Silent Partner," comes out on May 1 - has blasted back at McGreevey's "insinuations" that she's homophobic.
McGreevey said last week he has taken down the photograph and that his daughter does not sleep in bed with him and his partner.
Renaldi believes Mrs. McGreevey's stance "is an overreaction." "It's a very natural portrait of a young man who happens to be naked. It's a piece of art, no different than a sculpture you would see of a naked man," he said.
O'Donnell, an Australian money manager and millionaire art collector, owns two other Renaldi prints, both images of bull riders in a series on the West, the photographer said. Said Renaldi of the cowboys: "No, no they're not naked."
from The New York Post

Just One Look...#75

Doctors Want Pap Test For Gay Men

SAN FRANSISCO - Bay Area doctors are leading a campaign to bring gay men into their offices for a basic exam that women have been enduring for decades -- the Pap test.
The goal is to push back rising rates of anal cancer, a preventable disease that has increased 37 percent in the United States since a decade ago, when the total number of cancer cases increased only 1 percent.
Anal Pap smears would help doctors spot precancerous lesions and wipe them out before they have a chance to turn malignant, say supporters of widespread use of the exam among gay men. But nationwide, doctors have been reluctant to embrace the screening test, partly because there is disagreement over whether it's effective or even necessary.
Dr. Joel Palefsky, director of the Anal Neoplasia Clinic at UCSF, encourages anal Pap tests for gay men and other groups at high risk of developing anal cancer.
"We haven't proven it yet, but we believe that we are likely to be preventing anal cancer," said Palefsky, who hopes this summer to publish results from a study on anal cancer prevention. "Our approach is to move forward on the assumption that we are preventing cancer and working in parallel to the kind of research studies that will convince everyone else."
Anal cancer is one of the rarer and less deadly forms of cancer in the United States. In 2006, there were about 4,660 cases, and 660 deaths, accounting for less than 1 percent of all cancer cases, according to the American Cancer Society.
While rates of anal cancer are low in the general population -- and more women than men get anal cancer every year -- they're disproportionately high among gay men and people who are HIV-positive or have other immune-suppressive conditions. Part of the explanation for increased cases of anal cancer is better reporting of the disease, but Bay Area doctors say it also could be tied to HIV rates.
Studies have shown rates of anal cancer as high as 35 cases for every 100,000 people among gay men -- a figure comparable to rates of cervical cancer in women before Pap tests were introduced as a screening tool 60 years ago. Since then, rates of cervical cancer have fallen 70 percent.
"Anal cancer is a silent issue that's been building for at least 10 years," said Jason Riggs, a spokesman for the Stop AIDS Project. "You've got consumers who are for the most part completely unaware that there's a health issue going on until it hits the cancer stage. And it's sad because it's incredibly preventable."
Like cervical cancer, anal cancer is caused by the human papilloma virus, or HPV, a sexually transmitted disease that will infect the vast majority of adults in their lifetime. Most people are able to shake off HPV without ever knowing they have it. But a small group of men and women will get lesions that could turn into cancer in the cervix, vulva, anus or penis.
Last year, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first vaccine for certain strains of HPV that are most likely to cause cancer. But it was approved for use in women and girls only, with the most likely candidates for the vaccine being preteen girls who have not yet had sex. The vaccine is considered most effective when used before someone has become infected with
HPV.
Clinical studies are under way to determine whether the vaccine, called Gardisal, should be used by men and boys, too. In the meantime, gay men have started asking for the vaccine even without FDA approval.
Bay Area doctors who work with patients at risk for anal cancer say the Pap test appears to be an effective preventive tool. Pap tests, which use swabs to get samples of cells in the cervix or the anus, can show whether abnormal lesions have developed, a condition known as dysplasia.
Not all anal lesions will turn into cancer, but the same is true for dysplasia in the cervix and breast, and generally those lesions are removed without question, say doctors who support widespread anal Pap tests.
But some doctors say they can't support a standard policy on Pap testing until they see studies proving that screening really prevents cancer.
"Pending really definitive clinical trials, at this point we advocate for a physician's best judgment," said Dr. Michael Horberg, director of HIV-AIDS for Kaiser Permanente and an HIV specialist at Kaiser Santa Clara Medical Center. "It's up to the discretion of the clinician as to whether they'd want to do a formal Pap test or a visual inspection."
That said, if a patient requested an anal Pap test, "I'm sure it would be an honored request," he added. And Horberg said doctors and nurses who work with gay men are vigilant about checking for HPV and signs of anal dysplasia.
Technology for removing anal lesions has improved significantly in the past decade, so that a procedure that in the past was very painful and took months to recover from often is now an outpatient procedure with a week or two of recovery.
The UCSF clinic that specializes in removing anal lesions has a four-month waiting list, in part because of the increase in cases, and in part because patients and doctors are more comfortable with the new technology.
But outside the Bay Area, not many communities have the infrastructure to remove anal lesions, or even the expertise to read the results of an anal Pap test. And because anal cancer itself is very treatable with chemotherapy and radiation, doctors nationwide haven't seen much point in performing a Pap test when there's not much they can do about an abnormal result. Instead, they wait for the cancer to develop.
"Anal cancer does very well with chemotherapy and radiation. It's very effective treatment," said Dr. Mark Welton, a colorectal surgeon with the Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Center who treats patients with anal dysplasia. "But if you're given a choice between treating it and preventing it, I'd certainly choose the latter."
from The San Francisco Chronicle

My Teenage Son Is Surfing Gay Porn Sites

One mom seeks advice: "I am a single mom with a 13 year old son. Last year he was buying pay for view movies that were porn. I have since blocked it and after that issue, had a talk with him about sex. He claimed that he was just curious. I totally understood this and told him so. I advised him that he should talk to me, as porno movies were not the place to learn about sex. I have just found out that he is accessing porno sites on the internet, but they are gay porno sites. I am at a loss as what to do or how to approach this. Should i tell him i know that he was on these sites? Should i even be concerned that they were gay sites? Is this just normal curiousity? Many thanks to anyone who gives me some help."
Denise's thoughts: "I'm not too sure I would address the issue of the sites being gay porn, as the main issue is that he shouldn't be on any porn sites. Use fair and firm discipline, share your expectations for use of the computer and see if he has any ideas on how you both can work out this problem.
As for the sites being gay porn. It could be normal curiosity or it may not be. Either way, you'll need to continue to love your son for the person he is, therefore taking some time before bringing this up - or waiting for him to bring it up - is probably your best course of action."
from About

Transgender Student Runs for Prom King

FRESNO, CALIFORNIA - When school officials announce the name of the Fresno High School prom king on Saturday, Cinthia Covarrubias will be wearing a tuxedo just like the six boys vying for the honor. Administrators agreed to reverse a district protocol this week that limited males to compete for the title after Covarrubias was nominated by her classmates.
"I would never have run for anything if I had to wear a dress," said Covarrubias, who considers herself transgender, an umbrella term that covers all people whose outward appearance and internal identity don't match their gender at birth.
Gay youth advocates called it a landmark victory for campus gender expression and said they believe it's the first time in the U.S. that an openly transgender student has run for prom royalty.
"We are growing as a society to accept much more diversity in gender expression, and that's a positive thing," said Carolyn Laub, director of the Gay-Straight Alliance Network.
Covarrubias, who wears black-and-white Vans, baggy shorts and close-cropped brown hair, sometimes identifies herself as Tony. Her date, a close female friend, plans to wear a black dress and red corsage to the prom at an outdoor reception hall surrounded by man-made waterfalls.
On Wednesday, officials at the school of 2,700 students shifted course, saying the district's lawyers had recommended adding Covarrubias' name to the ballot to comply with a 2000 state law protecting students' ability to express their gender identity on campus.
"We always want to do the right thing by our students," Vice Principal Sheila Uriarte said. "This is why we came to this decision."
Leanne Reyes, 16, said Covarrubias had her vote.
"It's not like the stereotype where the king has to be a jock and he's there with the cheerleaders anymore," said Reyes, a senior. "We live in a generation now where dudes are chicks and chicks are dudes."
Still, some students criticized the decision to put Covarrubias on the ballot.
"I like lesbians, but they shouldn't be allowed to run for king," said senior Erich Logan, 18, as he stood outside the stately high school building.
A native of Jalisco, Mexico, Covarrubias said she has bucked rigid expectations of how a girl in her culture should behave. Explaining the meaning of terms like "queer" and "transgender" to her parents and eight siblings has at times been painful, she said.
"My freshman year I just started feeling different," she said. "When I decided to change to be like this, all of a sudden I said, 'Wow, I feel OK. I feel like finally I'm being me.'"
She has no current plans, however, to permanently alter her gender through hormones or surgery.
Tiffani Sanchez, a science teacher who advises the school's Gay-Straight Alliance, said the decision would foster understanding of the broad spectrum of gender identities.
"Cinthia is still really learning who she is," she said. "We want her to know that there's a safe space for her here and we support her."
Covarrubias is giddily looking forward to the prom, but acknowledged being a little nervous.
"I'm happy I actually made a difference about changing the law and the policy so you can run for your choice," Covarrubias said.
from The Associated Press

Russian Gays Lose Case Against Moscow Mayor

MOSCOW - A Russian court on Friday threw out a lawsuit by two gay rights activists against Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov for publicly branding Gay Pride parades a "satanic act."
"The court has not found reasons to rule in favor of the suit," a spokesman for Moscow's Tverskoi district court said.
Luzhkov, who has run Moscow since 1992, has vowed to stop any attempt by homosexuals to march through Russia's capital this year.
The two gay rights activists, who organize such parades, filed a suit against Luzhkov in February demanding he retract his remark and pay them a symbolic 1,000 rubles ($39) each for moral damage.
"It was a joke of a process with violations of all the legal procedures of a civil case," one of the complainants, Nikolai Alexeyev, told Reuters after the court ruling.
He said the judge had not examined their arguments, made no comment on the tone of Luzhkov's remark and was overly casual.
"I have never seen anything like this in my life: the judge came out of her room and announced the decision not from the judge's seat but from the doorway.
"All she lacked was a muffin and a cup of tea."
Alexeyev quoted Luzhkov's spokeswoman in court as saying the mayor had violated no laws but simply exercised his right to free speech.
Last year Moscow authorities banned gay activists from holding a parade. When the march went ahead despite the ban, the activists were detained by police, abused by militant Christians and attacked by neo-Nazis.
In January Alexeyev, who was one of the parade's organizers, filed a suit at the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights against Russia for banning the march, demanding 20$26,340 compensation.
Russia decriminalized homosexuality in 1993. Tolerance is slowly rising, with a handful of gay clubs opening in large cities since the Soviet Union collapsed. But the country has no high-profile homosexual politicians or business leaders.
Alexeyev said he would appeal against Friday's ruling.
from MSNBC

No Gays In My Neighborhood

Australians are less bigoted on the subject than people in Northern Ireland, said John Mangan, professor of economics at the University of Queensland.
Prof Mangan is co-author of a paper interpreting statistics from the Human Beliefs and Values Survey, conducted in 24 Western countries between 1999 and 2002.
He said the results showed anti-gay prejudice was by no means confined to Australia.
"The conclusion is the most prevalent form of bigotry is homophobia," he said.
"It's everybody except Scandinavians, so it's not a particularly Australian thing."
Of the 2048 people sampled by phone in Australia, 24.7 per cent said they did not want homosexuals living next door.
But the figure was exceeded by survey respondents in Austria (26.7 per cent), Greece (26.8), the Republic of Ireland (27.5) Italy (28.7) and Portugal (25.6).
And Northern Ireland came out on top, with 36 per cent saying they did not want gay neighbours.
The least prejudiced nationality in the survey was Sweden, where only six per cent said they would object.
Australia fared relatively well in other categories, with only 4.6 per cent of people saying they would not like people of a different race as neighbours and 4.5 per cent objecting to immigrants or foreign workers next door.
Italians, on 15.6 per cent, topped the list of those who didn't want a different race next door.
The Northern Irish held the strongest views on immigrants and foreign workers, with 19 per cent saying they were not desirable neighbours.
Prof Mangan said the reasons why the various national attitudes evolved would be the subject of further research.
Factors influencing bigotry included income levels, whether people were employed or not, education levels and political leanings.
"Tolerance seems to rise with education more than anything else," Prof Mangan said.
"But you can have quite wealthy people who are older and probably have less formal education who tend to have more fixed beliefs."
His research has been published recently in the international economics journal, Kyklos.
The paper, entitled Love Thy Neighbour: How Much Bigotry is there is Western Countries, was co-authored by Professor Vani Borooah (Vani Borooah) of the University of Ulster.
from The Sunday Times

Foley Paying Bills With Campaign Cash

FLORIDA - Former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley is using leftover campaign cash to pay for the huge legal bills he's racking up defending himself in the congressional page scandal that led to his resignation.
Foley spent $206,000 in campaign cash on attorneys from November to January, according to recent filings with the Federal Election Commission. That left about $1.7 million in the Florida Republican's campaign account March 31, even after he returned more than $110,000 from donors.
"Many congressmen, when they resign, they keep the money and do good things with it. But paying for your legal bills? I don't think so," said Robert Starr, chairman of the Charlotte County Republican Party.
The FEC has ruled in other cases that such expenditures generally are lawful.
"I got my 500 bucks back. ... I gave him money because I believed in him. It's not that way anymore," Starr said.
Foley's criminal defense attorney, David Roth, declined comment Thursday. A telephone message left with the Washington-based law firm that got all the legal payments from Foley's campaign account was not immediately returned.
Foley resigned from Congress in September after being confronted with sexually explicit Internet communications to male pages who had worked on Capitol Hill. Soon after, he checked himself into an Arizona facility for what his attorneys said was for treatment of "alcoholism and other behavioral problems."
His attorneys at the time announced Foley was gay and alleged he had been molested by a priest as a teenage altar boy. They maintain Foley never had inappropriate sexual contact with minors.
State and federal authorities continue to investigate whether Foley broke any laws through some explicit communications with minors.
from The Associated Press

Neil Patrick Harris Sensed Gay Witch Hunt

Gay actor Neil Patrick Harris decided to come clean about his sexuality last year because he feared he would be 'outed' by a witch hunt. The How I Met Your Mother actor sensed members of the media were preparing to out him, and was determined to let his fans know the truth from him first.
The 33-year-old actor tells talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, "There was a little of media scrutiny heading my way. People were starting to ask for stories of other people that may have fooled around with me, and the last thing you want to do is talk about your private life based on scandal. I'm not a very scandalous person and so I didn't want to have to respond to some story, whether it was lie or truth - so I just made a statement and sort squashed the fires."
And since his announcement, Harris has been delighted with the public response, revealing, "For me that is the greatest ending to the story so far - that nothing really has changed at all. I'm doing nothing different and people aren't behaving differently towards me. ... People heard and they're like 'Yeah, and?' That attitude, I think, was great."
from Starpulse

Just One Look...#74

At Least The Guy Saying Birkhead Is Gay Is Good Looking

A former male model has spoken out about his gay relationship with Larry Birkhead, who was recently revealed to be the father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby daughter Dannielynn.
Kerrick Ross has given an interview to the National Enquirer in which he makes the claims.
"We were together for about two months and had sex eight to 10 times, always at my apartment. He often spent the whole night with me." says Kerrick.
Lawyers for Birkhead deny the allegations, though the 32-year old adds:
"I had been 'out' for a long time, but Larry was not out of the closet - and he was terrified about his family, who were devout Southern Baptists, finding out he was having a gay relationship" claims Ross.
Whether this has any bearing on the custody hearing scheduled for Friday remains to be seen...
from Entertainment Wise

Phoenix Is Haggard's New Home

The Rev. Ted Haggard moved Wednesday from his longtime home in Colorado Springs to Phoenix, where the disgraced minister will join the same church that helped fallen televangelist Jim Bakker.
Haggard, 50, resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals last year, after a former male prostitute alleged a three-year cash-for-sex relationship. The man also said he saw Haggard use methamphetamine. Haggard confessed to undisclosed "sexual immorality" and said he bought meth but never used it.
As part of his severance package from New Life Church, a 14,000-member congregation he started in his basement, Haggard agreed to leave Colorado Springs, a city he helped make an evangelical center.
"When he moved out of town today, there was a kind of relief on the part of the church that life can get back to normal," said the Rev. H.B. London, one of three ministers overseeing what has been called Haggard's "restoration." "For the Haggards, it is the beginning of a huge new chapter. It's a brand new start for them, the beginning of a new beginning."
Before his fall, Haggard was an emerging voice in evangelical politics. He took part in White House conference calls and fought to broaden the movement's agenda to include environmental issues.
In Phoenix, Haggard plans to pursue a graduate degree in counseling at an area university, said London, who heads an outreach effort for pastors through Focus on the Family, the Colorado Springs-based conservative Christian group. London was not sure where Haggard would be studying. The Haggards and two of their children - another three are grown - are expected to live in a home made available by a supporter.
Ted and Gayle Haggard have ties to Phoenix. The couple spent three weeks at secular treatment center in the area after the scandal broke. And the Pentecostal church they will attend, Phoenix First Assembly of God, is led by the Rev. Tommy Barnett, another member of Haggard's restoration team.
Bakker, the televangelist, found refuge at Barnett's church after being released from federal prison for bilking supporters of $158 million. He volunteered at a Los Angeles church mission run by Barnett's son.
London said he believes Barnett told his congregation Sunday that Haggard would be joining them. Barnett and officials at his church did not return calls seeking comment.
Haggard faces a test in going from being on the pulpit to becoming just another face in the pews, London said.
"Once you were in charge of a megachurch and a mega-staff and making mega-decisions, now your main decision is where you're going to school, where to eat and what you're going to do on your day off," London said.
The Rev. Mike Ware, a member of a separate panel of pastors that investigated the claims against Haggard, said: "We've all been in agreement that Ted should have a fresh start, gain some fresh perspective, and it's very difficult for them to get the kind of healing they need staying in Colorado Springs."
Ware said Haggard is continuing to receive counseling, which officials said will include an exploration of his sexuality. Haggard has told his advisers he does not believe he's gay.
As part of a severance package that will pay Haggard through 2007, Haggard agreed not only to leave town but to refrain from discussing the scandal publicly. He did not return messages Wednesday. Haggard's most recent annual salary was about $138,000, benefits excluded.
His former congregation has felt the sting of the scandal. Since Haggard's fall, attendance has fallen 20 percent and giving has dropped 10 percent, said Rob Brendle, an associate pastor. As a result of the decline, the church laid off 44 employees, or 12 percent of its work force.
from The Associated Press

Three Gay Workers Sue For Bias

WASHINGTON - A lawsuit filed Tuesday against the city of Bellevue could force all public employers in Washington — from the largest university to the tiniest town — to extend the same employment benefits to partners of gay workers as they now provide to families of heterosexuals.
Two firefighters and an emergency dispatcher — all gay — claim in the suit that the city's policy of limiting benefits such as health care, bereavement and family leave to employees with spouses of the opposite sex is discriminatory.
Larry deGroen, a firefighter and paramedic, said he experienced it firsthand in December 2005, when he requested a bereavement day to attend the funeral of his partner's father in Detroit.
It was denied — "the same request that would have been granted to any of my married co-workers," said deGroen, a 12-plus-year employee of the fire department. "Tom was not considered a member of my family."
The suit, filed in King County Superior Court, accuses Bellevue of violating the privileges and immunities clause of the state constitution, which bans the granting of special privileges to one group that is not provided equally to everyone.
If that claim is upheld, all public employers across the state would be required to offer domestic-partner benefits, said Tara Borelli, a staff attorney with Lambda Legal.
Lambda Legal, which brought the suit on the employees' behalf, said the three plaintiffs "provide critical, life-saving services to the residents of Bellevue.
"But the city of Bellevue discriminates against them by denying them the basic protection they need to safeguard their own families in times of crisis."
Gay-rights advocates have been trying for years to get domestic-partner benefits for Bellevue city employees. The firefighters union, as recently as last fall, included them in bargaining with the city, but failed to get the issue passed.
Bellevue officials say it's a question of cost.
In recent years, the city has adopted a "no new benefits" position to address rapidly escalating health-insurance costs, said Tim Waters, a city spokesman.
Studies show that extending domestic-partner benefits would add between 1 percent and 2 percent to an employer's overall compensation costs.
"We're trying to be good financial stewards for taxpayers," Waters said.
In a state with an estimated 16,000 same-sex couples scattered in every county, many public employers already offer domestic-partner benefits, including the state of Washington; the cities of Seattle, Burien and Spokane; King and Snohomish counties; the University of Washington; and Seattle Public Schools.
Additionally, at least 645 private employers also provide such benefits.
Cheryl Haskins, executive director of Allies for Marriage and Children, calls the lawsuit another attack on traditional marriage.
Since the state Supreme Court last year upheld the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which limits marriage to one man and one woman, efforts to undermine traditional marriage are coming from every angle, she said.
"It's just a new group that has picked up this fight — same issue, new attack," Haskins said. "We all know what the end game is."
But Faun Patzer, a firefighter and paramedic with the city for 17 years, said she would simply like to get decent health care for her partner, Carrie Wurzburg.
The two met in 2003 and fell instantly in love, she said.
Wurzburg, a self-employed general contractor, suffers from heart irregularities, the costs of which are a huge financial burden on the couple.
Patzer said she would enroll Wurzburg on her health plan if she could. "I know what the guys get for their wives; we could get far better coverage for her on my plan," Patzer said. "We 're not asking for anything different than what any other committed couple has."
DeGroen, who met his partner, Thomas Dixon, 16 years ago, said he felt the sting of discrimination for the first time last year when he asked for the day off to attend the funeral for Dixon's father.
"They kept saying it was not part of the union contract." he said.
"It sounds so petty — after all, it was just a day. But it meant to me that they did not recognize me and my family."
It's not the first time gay-rights activists have sought to use the state constitution's equal-protection clause to win rights for gays, including the right to marry.
Last year, the State Supreme Court rejected that argument, saying that restricting marriage to one man and one woman was not a violation of the privileges and immunities clause.
Borelli of Lambda Legal said a lack of domestic-partner benefits is a pocketbook issue as well — about equal work for equal pay.
Family benefits constitute about 30 percent of an employee's total compensation, she pointed out. "By denying them these benefits, the city is paying them 30 percent less than heterosexual colleagues."
from The Seattle Times