Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods has been at the centre of a new storm in the last few weeks because of claims he had unprotected sex with porn stars and a string of party girls.
Health campaigners blasted the randy golf ace for putting his wife Elin at risk of HIV and other sexually-transmitted diseases.
Several of his alleged lovers - including GBP 5-an-hour cocktail waitress Mindy Lawton - claim he never wore condoms.
Sports and condoms
From the Toronto Star (December 3):
Reactions to the curling command "Hurry hard!" might never be the same now that USA Curling is using the name on a line of condoms.
Curling and condoms, on the surface, might appear to be the least likely of bedfellows. But such unlikely trysts make for catchy marketing.
Curling is mainstream in Canada - Olympic trials get underway this weekend in Calgary - but the sport is a minor, frozen tributary in the U.S.
Clearly, the sport's skips there are hoping to attract the attention of the media, including comedian/pundit Stephen Colbert, who has made a practice of bashing Canadians while also using his show The Colbert Report to help fund the American speed skating team leading up to the Vancouver Games.
The writing on the condom packaging says "Hurry Hard" and the logo is a smiling curling rock.
"The platform that USA Curling can leverage is the Olympic exposure and excitement around the Olympics," Rick Patzke of USA Curling tells the Associated Press. "I'm sure it will bring more fodder for talk shows and things like that. But it will bring attention to the central message, which is safety and education and awareness for safer sex and HIV prevention."
Patzke added his group is not promoting or advocating sex.
The curling demographic tips decidedly toward more mature participants than most sports. What goes on in and around and after what used to be known as "the Briar patch" is mostly among consenting adults.
USA Curling points out HIV/AIDS infections are increasing in people over age 50, who now make up 15 per cent of all infected individuals, and 11 per cent of all new AIDS cases today are in people over age 50.
Public awareness spiked in 1991 when NBA star Earvin (Magic) Johnson was diagnosed with HIV, announcing it on Nov. 7, 1991.
"It's almost as if we're back to where things started pre-Magic," says the USA Curling website.
"It could never happen to me."
Angels of mercy
Thirteen Street Angels hit the streets at peak drinking times to advise people who were in trouble, and to hand out goodie bags containing safety alarms, condoms and bottles of water to reduce dehydration.
The Angels were mainly from the congregations of local churches in Rhyl and the Salvation Army.
They wore a uniform of a winter jacket and fleece hat and were trained in basic first aid and methods to calm down aggressive behaviour.
They were not, it was emphasized, expected to intervene in brawls or other dangerous situations.
Red faced Irish boys
"RED-FACED Irish teens are too embarrassed to buy contraceptives, a shock survey reveals.
A worrying 84 per cent of 16 to 19-year-old lads find it NERVE-WRACKING to purchase condoms from chemists.
The findings from Irish condom brand Fusion show less than ten per cent would regularly carry rubbers with them on nights out.
But despite this, more than one-third of randy young males say they WOULD have sex - even if they were caught out at the crucial moment.
Heidi Kavanagh of Fusion Ireland said: "Unfortunately in Ireland there's still a perception that condoms are birth control devices.
"Whilst they are that, they should be viewed much more seriously - in fighting the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
"Our survey shows we have a long way to go to get the safe sex message across."
Aussie billboards
The sign above the Darrell Lea chocolate shop in Rundle Mall says ``Australia's thinnest condom'' and shows a packet of Ansell's Zero condoms.
Given that these and even more alluring ads, like the one shown here, which is on a main thoroughfare in Melbourne, it seems pretty unlikely Ansell will feel
obliged to remove their ad.
Veggie Condoms
The Vegan Society-approved Fusion condom is the nation's most ethical contraceptive, aimed at the UK's 3million non-meat eaters.
Fusion has been created by chemist brothers Shandip, Ketan and Virendra Shah.
Shandip, of West London, said: "Vegetarians and vegans might not have realised that condoms can be made with milk extract. Fusion Condoms want to help this group make an informed choice."
Prize for a new wrapper
The health department is inviting the public to submit suggestions for a special limited-edition design. Winning art will be featured on several hundred thousand official condom wrappers. Officials say the artwork must not be raunchy and can't include copyrighted or trademarked images. No Empire State Building images, please. Entries are due by Jan. 22. The winning design will be selected by online voting. See nyc.gov/condoms for details.
The mayor's office gives away more than 40 million of the free condoms a year.
Hip attire
Keith Haring is world renowned as one of the most prominent New York pop and street artists of the 1980s. Equally recognized for his activism, which included efforts to bring greater awareness of AIDS to the public, Haring said he was happy to know that his work is now being showcased to provide a safer-sex message with a smart platform that partners his work with Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The psa's sent out by the groups said that "Together, they have created a limited-edition condom that now makes it creative and chic to use protection."
Thai activists honored
Meanwhile, the Prince Mahidol Award 2009 in the field of medicine was given to Anne Mills, a professor of health economics and policy at the University of London's School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
The Prince Mahidol Awards have been given annually since 1992 to individuals or institutions demonstrating "outstanding and exemplary contributions to the advancement of medicine and public health for humanity".
Dr Vicharn Panich, chairman of the foundation's award committee, said this was the first year that awards had gone to outstanding individuals not biomedical research but whose work contributed to improving global public health.
An African Herdboy
His name is Motlalepula Mohapinyane, 16, of Ha Khoabane, Thaba Bosiu, some 40 kilometres east of the capital Maseru. He has been herding his father's cattle since 2007 after he dropped out of Form B (Grade 8) at Letsie High in Thaba Bosiu. He knows a little about HIV/AIDS, as well as voluntary counselling and testing (VCT). But he has not had an opportunity to go to the village clinic to get tested.
"I haven't had time to go because of the animals, and my father will not allow me to leave the herd. Maybe I will go when I am a grown-up," he quickly adds. He says he has briefly been to one or two HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns organised by the clinic, and learned a little about condom usage as a means of prevention against HIV infection. "I only use a condom if I am lucky to possess one," he chuckles shyly.
Herdboys in Lesotho are one of a few groups of society that have been marginalised by the speeding wheels of the democratic progress. Their understanding of HIV/AIDS is quite limited, and to them it is like any other virus. Their lack of education about the disease places them at a greater risk of contracting HIV.
According to the United Nations Children's Fund data, over 90 percent of Basotho know about AIDS, yet out of that only 25 percent know comprehensively about the virus. The severity of young people's vulnerability to HIV infection is evidenced by the upsetting data. Sexual activity starts as early as 12 and 14 years for males and females respectively. Only 10 percent of males and six percent of females use condoms when they have sex for the first time.
Chinese Fakes
An underground workshop in central Hunan province was found to have produced 2.16 million unsterilised contraceptives since March. During a police raid, bare-chested employees were found using vegetable oil to lubricate condoms before packaging them without sterilisation. The workshop had earned about 80,000 yuan (£8,000) from the fakes, which were passed off as leading brands. State media said that the cheap fakes offered little or no protection, and might be a health risk. Four people have been arrested in what was described as a well-organised operation. The contraceptives had been distributed nationwide, and many people may have already used them, risking unwanted pregnancy and disease.
It is estimated that up to a third of the contraceptives used in parts of China are fakes.
High costs for Irish Romeos
Romeos in Ireland are charged an average of !8.99 for a ten-pack - the third highest price on the planet.
Only Italian stallions and the Portuguese pay more for, at !14.15 and !10.35 respectively, according to a new study. Those getting lucky in Mumbai pay the least to practice safe sex - where packs cost just !1.43 - making India the cheapest country for condoms. One condom manufacturer said: "It's been a good year for sales.
"Though people are indeed poorer, they always need condoms!"
Putting on the elite
Now, even condom maker Durex is joining the advertising fad. After its Ultima and Fetherlite series, it is putting out the latest "Fetherlite Elite Ultima" condoms, made with "micro-layer technology", whatever that means, and designed to be "ultra thin for ultimate sensitivity". Okay, so it's ultra-light and feather-like. I get that. But how is it elite? Perhaps the ad associates the new condom for its user with being able to splash out tens of millions to sweep up several luxury flats in one go or to send the kids to expensive schools without a thought.
Or maybe just using the condom makes you part of a minority who actually have sex. Annual global survey after survey by Durex has found that Hongkongers and Singaporeans are consistently among those who have the least sex. So maybe just by putting on a condom and going through the motions, you are already part of an elite.
CONDOMS MAY make for safe sex, but a city teacher says they made for unsafe conditions at a Manhattan high school.
The teacher is suing the Department of Education over injuries she says she suffered following a nasty spill on garbage and "slippery foreign substances" that included condoms discarded by students at the High School of Art & Design.
"The suit," as the news papers have dubbed her, says school officials failed to maintain safety in the cafeteria by allowing trash that included condoms to pile up on the floor.
"They caused, allowed and permitted condoms to be distributed by school personnel to the students, many of which were opened during the school lunch period and thrown on the floor," says the suit.
Bizarre!
Only in New York
The teacher is suing the Department of Education over injuries she says she suffered following a nasty spill on garbage and "slippery foreign substances" that included condoms discarded by students at the High School of Art & Design.
"The suit," as the news papers have dubbed her, says school officials failed to maintain safety in the cafeteria by allowing trash that included condoms to pile up on the floor.
"They caused, allowed and permitted condoms to be distributed by school personnel to the students, many of which were opened during the school lunch period and thrown on the floor," says the suit.
Bizarre!
Sabotaged c's?
A third-year student from Newnham College raised the alarm after she discovered a tiny hole in a condom obtained from her college welfare officer.
After checking the remaining condoms in the box she found that half had been pierced with a needle. The student, who asked to remain anonymous, said the consequences were potentially serious.
"I only noticed the hole when I threw the condom wrapper away. You could actually see daylight through it.
"Who would do such a thing?
And how would they feel if their actions led to someone contracting HIV? It doesn't bear thinking about."
The condoms had been stored in unsealed boxes in an unlocked cupboard in the student union's office.
Some students were quick to blame religious fanatics for the sabotage.
But Sam Corio, president of the Cambridge Pro-Life Society, condemned the attacks, saying:
"Damaged condoms potentially contribute to the loss of unborn human lives."
Philipines, AIDS, and condoms
On 1 December, World AIDS Day, activists in the Philippines wore nothing but the red AIDS ribbon in a campaign to raise awareness about the growing threat of HIV.
Some of the activists are HIV-positive, but they all hope the daring photographs will serve as a wake-up call while HIV prevalence in their country is still below one percent. UNAIDS estimated that 8,300 people were living with the virus in 2008, but the population is almost 90 million.
The "Dare to Bare Campaign" will be featured in a leading national daily newspaper and several online magazines until 5 December 2009. Every picture is accompanied by a personal story, because either that individual or someone they care about is living with the virus.
Shame and silence
Carlos Celdran, a performing artist and one of the "models" in the campaign said that his youth was marked by living a carefree life in New York. "We may have been a bit promiscuous back then, but we were careful and always used condoms. Now, there is a whole new generation of young people who no longer see HIV/AIDS as a death sentence, and are more reckless."
According to the National AIDS Registry of the Filipino Department of Health, HIV cases among young people have been increasing at an unprecedented rate: newly reported cases in the 15-24 age group tripled from 41 in 2007 to 110 in 2008.
Health experts in the Philippines have warned that the low level of testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, combined with limited access to accurate information, could be masking higher HIV figures.
Even worse, the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) Bill, which would standardize access to sexual health services and information, has been languishing in legislative debate for 20 years.
About 80 percent of the population is Roman Catholic, giving the Church a key role in shaping public opinion and influencing government policy. It has sought to block passage of the Bill, saying the legislation would promote abortion and promiscuity. The Church is particularly opposed to a provision promoting condom use and other family-planning methods, describing condoms as "abortifacients".
Condoms have only recently become available in convenience stores, groceries and filling stations. Previously, people would have to buy condoms abroad - an option not readily available because most of the population live below the poverty line.
Activist Veronica took part in the campaign to prove that HIV/AIDS is not a "gay" disease.
Condoms may be easier to get but buying them is still stigmatized. "The man in front of me bought five packs of condoms and when he left, the cashier openly made vulgar comments about the man being promiscuous and sex-crazed," said Rain Naldoza, 22, who appears in the campaign.
"The benefits of using condoms are completely overlooked. The worst thing is, it sent the wrong message to others who heard the comments that buying condoms is a bad thing."
Australia's new condom...it's supposed to be FUN!
The Gold Coast business, although in its early stages, is eager to take industry frontrunners Ansell and Durex head on, aiming to become the Commonwealth's condom of choice.
Slide will begin to export to Commonwealth countries after its November shipment of half a million packets from product manufacturers in China.
But brand manager David Madigan acknowledges it has a long way to go, with only minimal sales recorded during its pre-launch phase.
``We're really pushing online at the moment and a few Action Sports stores,'' he says.
``We want it to be as accessible as possible, so we're planning to go through different channels, convenience stores, service stations, grocers.''
He says that once these plans are in place the brand will hold a national presence.
``We're expecting exponential growth once we're into the fast-moving consumer market,'' Mr Madigan says.
And despite hard economic times, it seems it may be the perfect time to introduce a new condom range into the market.
``We did some research and found that condom usage actually went up during the global financial crisis,'' Mr Madigan says.
``There were a number of theories why, one was that people were being more cautious . . . or more people spent more time at home.''
Slide, backed by a leading action sports brand, is focusing its efforts on the under-targeted youth market. ``We're targeting a gap in the market as condoms go, because no one is marketing towards young people,'' he says. He adds the ``clinical'' nature of existing brands copped a lot of resistance from young people, spurring his company on to take advantage of their oversight.
``Sponsoring athletes hasn't been done in Australia yet,'' he said.
``These guys are the opinion leaders.
``They're young, good looking, healthy and successful people.''
Freestyle motocross champion Kain Saul, drag racing champion Shane Tucker and big wave rider Alex Carter are among the athletes sponsored by Slide, justifying Slide's self-proclaimed label as Australia's first extreme sports condom.
The company hopes the athletes can utilise their star power to drive the sexual health message home to the youth market.
``The message we're trying to get across is: Sex is great fun. That's why we do it, but it's important to stay healthy,'' Mr Madigan says.
Seven out of Twenty?
In its latest tests of 20 latex condoms, Consumer Reports Health found that all of the condoms, with one exception, are a fine choice. Consumer Reports Health tested the condoms for strength, reliability, leakage, and package integrity.
Seven condoms achieved a perfect score of 100, a somewhat rare occurrence for Consumer Reports' stringent lab tests. Those condoms include the following models: Durex Performax; Lifestyles Ultra Sensitive Lubricated; Lifestyles Warming Pleasure; Trojan Her Pleasure Ecstasy; Trojan Magnum Lubricated; Trojan Ultra Ribbed Ecstasy; and Trojan Ultra Thin.
Consumer Reports Health purchased more than 15,500 condoms in order to test between five hundred and six hundred samples of each model. Consumer Reports Health tests for reliability and strength by inflating condoms with air until they burst. Performance is assessed against two criteria: how many samples meet or exceed the specified requirements for pressure and volume at burst, and in its more stringent criterion, counting the number of samples that can hold 25 liters or more of air, a measure that's been correlated with lower rates of condom failure in actual use.
Consumer Reports Health also performed two submersion tests to look for possible leaks in the condom and its packaging. Consumer Reports Health notes that the Night Light Glow in the Dark condom exceeded the organization's criterion for the number of samples with holes; however, this model did live up to its illumination claim.
China's dangerous fakes
State media reported a police raid on a factory in Hunan this week that could have produced more than two million fake condoms, half of which have already been distributed across the province and even the mainland. Police confiscated about a million of the fake prophylactics and said they were working with health departments to track down those already shipped off. But a police spokesman was honest enough to admit the chances of retrieving them were not great.
The raid uncovered an illegal factory that made knock-off condoms with such brand names as Okamoto, Durex and its mainland Chinese-language brand Jissbon, which deliberately sounds like James Bond, the womanising spy, in Putonghua. If memory serves, Bond in the movies never used a condom.
The news reported shirtless men who spent all day lubricating fake condoms with vegetable oil and sealing them in packs without bothering to sterilise them. It is the largest case of its kind uncovered in the province. Authorities said the knock-offs offered no protection during sex and infact the vegetable oil may be spoiled and smell awful when mixed with the rubber.
US backed homophobia
From the Los Angeles Times, November 20, 2009
Since its inception in 2003, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief -- PEPFAR -- has become the largest public health program in history. Created by President George W. Bush,
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it has distributed nearly $50 billion worldwide, mostly in Africa, to prevent the spread of HIV and to treat its victims. Over the last five years, the fund has provided care for 3 million people and prevented an estimated 12 million new infections. Even Bush's harshest critics do not deny that PEPFAR has been a huge success in combating the AIDS epidemic.
In spite of all that the program has accomplished, however, a persistent problem remains: the promotion of homophobia by African governments receiving American aid money. In no nation is this problem more acute than in Uganda, one of 15 PEPFAR "focus" countries that collectively account for half of the world's HIV infections. Homosexuality is considered a taboo in most of Africa, yet few governments have gone to the lengths of Uganda's in punishing it. The consequences are devastating not only for the people directly affected by these adverse policies but for the fight against AIDS in general.
Uganda's campaign against homosexuality took a disturbing turn last month when a member of parliament in the nation's governing majority introduced legislation that would stiffen penalties for actual or perceived homosexual activity, which is already illegal under Ugandan law. According to the proposed law, "repeat offenders" could be sentenced to death, as would anyone engaging in a same-sex relationship in which one of the members is under the age of 18 or HIV-positive. Gay-rights advocacy would be illegal, and citizens would be compelled to report suspected homosexuals or those "promoting" homosexuality to police; if they failed to do so within 24 hours, they could also be punished.
International human rights groups have protested the bill, but their complaints have only made the government more defiant. "It is with joy we see that everyone is interested in what Uganda is doing, and it is an opportunity for Uganda to provide leadership where it matters most," the country's ethics and integrity minister has said.
Aside from its evident inhumanity, such draconian legislation will only do massive harm to HIV-prevention efforts. Gay men are an at-risk community, and they already face severe repression in most African countries. Because of conservative social mores and government repression, many are hesitant to come forward to get information regarding safe sexual practices. This bill could make the very discussion of condom use and HIV prevention for gay men illegal. By driving gays even further underground, such governmental homophobia only ensures that HIV will continue to spread unabated.
When a government actively encourages homophobia, the effect reverberates throughout society. Uganda's president, Yoweri Museveni, has accused European gays of coming to his country to "recruit" people into homosexuality. Ugandan newspapers and bloggers have seized on the proposed law to launch their own broadsides against gays, posting the names and photographs of individuals in Wild West-style "wanted" posters in print and online. A major tabloid, the Red Pepper, trumpeted an expose headlined "Top Homos in Uganda Named" as "a killer dossier, a heat-pounding and sensational masterpiece that largely exposes Uganda's shameless men and unabashed women that have deliberately exported the Western evils to our dear and sacred society."
From 2004 through 2008, Uganda received a total of $1.2 billion in PEPFAR money, and this year it is receiving $285 million more. Clearly, the United States has a great deal of leverage over the Ugandan government, and the American taxpayer should not be expected to fund a regime that targets a vulnerable minority for attack -- an attack that will only render the vast amount of money that we have donated moot.
Earlier this month, members of Congress led by the House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, Howard L. Berman (D-Valley Village), and its ranking minority member, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton calling on the U.S. "to convey to Ugandan leaders that this bill is appalling, reckless and should be withdrawn immediately."
The World Cup and South Africa's secret shame
From The Sun (London/November 14thO
FOR millions of football fans across the globe, next year's World Cup will be the time of their lives.
But for Winnie Khumalo, it will bring only more pain to her miserable existence.
Just 14, she is one of around 10,000 child prostitutes working in the shadow of Johannesburg's awesome, Soccer City stadium.
Last night the final nations qualified for the tournament - with the hope of reaching the final at the amazing arena, which seats 95,000 fans and cost a staggering £120million.
In stark contrast, punters pay Winnie £2.40 for sex with her.
Shockingly, she has been a prostitute since she was 11, and now sleeps with up to 20 men a day.
And she knows just what next year's influx of tens of thousands of World Cup tourists to the city will mean for her - and other poor young girls lured to the city with the hopes of finding a job and a better life.
Speaking in her native Zulu through a translator, Winnie says: "Other girls from villages like mine think the World Cup will give them jobs as waitresses or cleaners. But they will be caught by men who promise them a nice life."
Winnie, who is too scared of her brothel bosses to escape, adds: "I did not choose to do this. I wish I could get out but it's no use."
Her ordeal began when she left her home in a township near Port Shepstone three years ago and travelled the 600 miles to Johannesburg in search of work as a housemaid.
A brothel owner's henchman spotted her on the street, befriended her and lured her to a house, promising to take care of her.
Winnie says: "On my third day in the city the guy I met showed me upstairs and said, 'This is your room'. Then he gave me alcohol and wanted to come to bed with me.
Beer
"I didn't know what was going on but when he was on top of me it hurt so much. Then he brought another man to my room and when I protested, he hit me. So I started drinking more beer."
Our investigators find Winnie after entering the brothel in the dark streets of Hillbrow, an inner-city district so dangerous that even the police fear to patrol there.
She is wearing a clingy silver dress that is meant to be sexy, but it is draped on the body of an adolescent.
She says poignantly: "Men like me because I am young and do what they ask. When I began this work my chest was flat - my breasts have grown since then.
"Now I'm getting a bit older they probably won't be so interested for much longer."
Winnie's warning to other young girls was this week echoed by organisations in South Africa who believe the World Cup will put children in host cities such as Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town in danger of being sexually exploited.
World Cup head of security Linda Mti says she is working with intelligence agencies to identify "unsavoury elements".
The Department of Social Development has announced that a Child Protection Action Plan will be operational by March.
All Winnie can hope is that these measures will prevent others falling into the same dismal life as hers.
She shares her room with three other girls, taking turns to service men behind the bars of her door on a ten-cell corridor filled with the stale stench of crack cocaine.
Her legs are scarred from rough sex and beatings and she operates with a knife under her pillow.
She says: "I am less frightened these days, but when a man puts a gun to my head I want to scream.
"That happens quite often, especially when they want to do it without a condom. At times like that, I decide I will run away. It's like I have a flash of light or something. It makes me want to go back to school, I want to have a good life. But if I go out into the street, the boss follows me and brings me back. He has people everywhere. I'm scared to break his rules."
To get through her daily ordeal, Winnie drinks, morning and night. She says: "They tried to make me do drugs but I always say no. My brain is the last power I'll give up.
"I beg the police and the teachers in schools to tell girls what this place is really like."
Statistics released by the South African Professional Society On The Abuse of Children indicate around 530 child rapes occur every day across the country, though fewer than 60 are reported to police. Officials believe children are the victims in 45 per cent of all rape cases nationwide.
Domestic crimes contribute to the alarming figures, but child prostitution is responsible for a large proportion. Many victims are traf-ficked and the vast majority become infected with HIV.
For teenagers such as Winnie things can seem desperate yet there is a glimmer of hope - just a mile down the road, charity workers at the New Life Centre offer vulnerable sex workers a second chance.
They visit the 100-odd brothels operating above bars in the rundown district, giving health advice and urging young girls to break free.
Manager Khopotso Nakin says wealthy gang lords are grooming underage girls as upmarket hookers aimed at fans including the 25,000 England supporters set to descend on South Africa.
She says: "They persuade beautiful young girls that the World Cup will mean new jobs and a bright future. They put several at a time into homes they have bought here in the city.
"Victims come from Thailand, Eastern Europe and even China. They never see the light again. Many men who are offered their beautiful bodies will not realise how young they are.
"They appear clean and willing, but actually they are locked in squalid rooms most of the time.
"I hope very much that one day Winnie comes to us, but it is incredibly hard for someone like her to break the cycle and have the courage that she will escape unharmed."
Pimp
Another prostitute, 25-year-old Nolukhanyo Vasi, was infected with HIV as a teenager after her aunt sold her to a pimp at the age of 14. She now helps the desperate new arrivals at the New Life Centre come off drugs, get medical treatment and set about finding alternative work.
But the charity can pay her just £48 a month. And with a £32 rent bill to pay and a young son to feed, she is forced to continue working the streets.
She says: "Life is hard and when I have no money to eat, I force myself to do it again. It's never been as hard as the first time.
"My aunt had brought me from my home village and I trusted her. She told me and my parents I could live at her house. But one day she took me to a bar in town.
"She pulled a mini-skirt, high heels and a backless white top out of her bag and told me to put them on.
"A guy came over to us and asked, 'How much?' I didn't understand what was going on. Then my aunt said to me, 'Look, if you want to have money here you must sleep with a man'.
"They took me upstairs to a room with a bed in it. The man handed my aunt some coins and before she left she put a condom on him. She knew I had no idea about things like that.
"It was very painful and I was crying, but the man told me to stop being selfish. I never saw my aunt again. The manager was good to me for a while but when I grew up a bit he got tired of me.
"If I refused to do what he said he would beat me with a leather whip."
Nolukhanyo dreads telling her nine-year-old son she has no idea who his father is.
She says: "How can I admit to him I was a prostitute? He is free of HIV, thank God, but we both will carry that shame for ever.
"I can no longer have a relationship with a man. I have never been treated as a woman, just a thing.
"When you are mistreated at such a young age you just expect to be damaged by everyone.
"If any young girl thinks coming to Johannesburg in 2010 will bring her happiness, she should think again."
If you would like to donate to the New Life Centre, email [email protected]
China's fight against AIDS
South China Morning Post
November 1, 2009
Aids Concern will again have a major presence at the Lan Kwai Fong Carnival, but this year the charity has planned something extra special - an attempt at setting a world record.
The group is aiming to create the largest two-dimensional mosaic made from condoms.
"We don't want to give too much away at this point," said Loretta Wong, chief executive of the charity.
"But visit us in front of the Lan Kwai Fong street sign outside the Lan Kwai Fong Beer Hall [the old California]. We will have a competition in which the public can guess how many condoms there are in the mosaic.
"As a hint, there are more than can be used in many people's lifetimes."
The condoms will be supplied by Okamoto, a Japanese condom producer, and Wong said the attempt at the world record was intended to be a talking point and a way of getting people together.
She said the plans strengthened the collaboration between the Lan Kwai Fong Association and Aids Concern.
Wong said much of Aids Concern's work centres on education - improving the public's knowledge about the prevention and transmission of the disease in order to protect themselves and others, and thereby changing people's behaviour in terms of sex or sharing needles.
But their efforts also focus on reducing the stigma many people associate with the disease.
"Knowledge of HIV and Aids is fairly high in Hong Kong," Wong said. "But people discriminate against those who have the disease. We are trying to build a positive attitude to the disease, and we try to do this through the messages of daily life. A subtle message has more of an impact." She said the latest figures showed 4,249 people in Hong Kong have HIV/Aids.
"This is quite low and we want to keep it this way," she said. "We promote prevention and acceptance in the public and private sectors."
Wong used the catch phrase of "fun and funds" to summarise their activities at the carnival. The charity will have five donation boxes on the street and other boxes in restaurants and bars. They will also set up three booths - in Kids Street, opposite Post 97 and the main booth in D'Aguilar Street.
At the booths, visitors can buy souvenirs, such as ribbons, donated Levi's T-shirts and mobile phone attachments, pick up free condoms and educational material and ask staff questions about HIV/Aids. At the booth in Kids Street there will be games with prizes sponsored by Toys 'R' Us. Wong said the charity was still seeking sponsors for the various booths.
The charity took in $160HK,000 at last year's carnival and Wong hopes to beat that figure this year, despite the lagging economy. "We are aiming for $200HK,000-$300HK,000," she said.
"We have held other fund-raising events recently and have seen that people are still generous. But they are more careful and ask more questions to make sure the donations will be used properly."
The funds raised at the carnival will support a variety of Aids Concern's prevention and care programmes.
The prevention programmes focus on female sex workers, young people at risk and the gay community, while the support services include delivering soup to sufferers of the disease, providing transport to patients for medical appointments and coaching HIV-positive people to become public speakers. The charity also runs an outreach programme in Shenzhen, particularly for Hong Kong men who visit entertainment venues there.
Thirty per cent of Aids Concern's annual budget is provided by the government, with the rest coming from fund raising. "The carnival is important to us," Wong said. "It gives us significant access to the public, and the fact that the Lan Kwai Fong Association is open-minded about HIV/Aids sends a good message.
"HIV/Aids isn't sexy but the association, which is a model in the business sector, is bold enough to take on the issue."
Promising new research projects
According to a study from the United States, "This study examines an intervention for heterosexual couples to prevent human immunodeficiency virus/sexually transmitted infections. It also evaluates the effect of the intervention, which is based on current models of health behavior change, on intermediate outcomes (individual and relationship factors) and consistency of condom use."
"Eligible couples were administered a baseline interview and randomized to either a 3-session theory-based intervention or a 1-session standard of care comparison condition. Men and women completed 3-month interviews; only women completed 6-month interviews. No significant intervention effect on condom use was found among couples at 3 months (n = 212) or among women (n = 178) at 6 months. However, condom use increased significantly between baseline and 3 months and baseline and 6 months for participants in both treatment conditions. effects on condom use self-efficacy were found at 3 months and 6 months and on health-protective communication at 3 months," wrote S.M. Harvey and colleagues, Oregon State University (see also HIV/AIDS).
The researchers concluded: "These findings provide valuable information for the design of future studies to help disentangle the effects of intervening with couples."
Harvey and colleagues published the results of their research in Health Education & Behavior (Effects of a Health Behavior Change Model-Based HIV/STI Prevention Intervention on Condom Use Among Heterosexual Couples: A Random
***
This project studied the effect of male circumcision on the prevention of HIV transmission to uninfected female sexual partners in Uganda, is noteworthy, although several ethical issues are of concern.
It is disturbing to allow, and to study passively, the spread of HIV to uninfected women in the name of clinical research, especially when increased risk behaviour-ie, a reduction in condom use or increased sexual promiscuity after circumcision-has been shown to increase transmission in women.
The premise that HIV-infected men would have continued to have intercourse and transmitted the virus anyway does not exonerate this study from being a (temporary) stimulant for increased risk behaviour and hence viral transmission.
Furthermore, providing "intensive" counselling to promote condoms, and yet expecting the couples not to use them, is not only confusing but self-contradicting. Although consistent use of condoms, presumably defined as 100% adherence, is difficult to measure and unreliable if self-reported, it would be interesting to see whether there was any consistency between the rates stated by men and by their female partners. It would also be interesting to know the rates of transmission in the consistent condom user group.
By contrast with this study, a previous report found that early sex after circumcision was not associated with increased HIV seroconversion among HIV-negative men;3 it will be interesting to interpret the results of the current trial in light of possible differential transmission in the two study groups.
Brave priests
Fr Enda McDonagh and Fr James Keenan said the HIV pandemic was currently responsible for a scale of death, per year, which was equivalent to 10 times the loss of life in the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004.
Addressing those with the political, economic, moral and religious power , they said such people must undergo a moral conversion of dearly held but now unfounded and unethical positions in regard to condoms, needle exchange and other means of (HIV) prevention .
They were blamed corporate policies that put profits ahead of people, something they feel must change in order to turn around the world wide suffering of those with HIV/AIDS. This they said would require drug companies in particular to end their greed and limit their profits from all of the suffering.
"These companies in their greed were not only assisting in the further dehumanising of the infected and their carers, but dehumanising themselves .They noted, that instead of supporting public health HIV preventative strategies such as condoms, needle exchange and preventive education, some leaders perceived that the better shields were those which kept the vulnerable and most-at-risk people away from the general population or those seen as protecting social mores and orthodoxy from contamination."
"Such a strategy was often backed by a deep moral judgmentalism , they said. Studies on the HIV pandemic had found a church leadership which stands aloof, righteous, and judgmental .
They had also found that religious beliefs strongly influence the way people think about HIV and AIDs . It was found, for instance, that a significant percentage of those surveyed believed HIV was a punishment from God ."
(Anti-) Sex Saudi style
Yami worked as a part-time co-ordinator on the show, but said she had nothing to do with the now infamous broadcast. The episode caused a huge stir in the conservative Saudi kingdom, a country in which dating and pre-marital sex are prohibited.
During the show, Mazen Abdel-Jawad, a 32-year-old Saudi divorcee, bragged about how he met women using his Bluetooth mobile phone. The programme also showed him in his Jeddah bedroom with a collection of sex aids and condoms.
'The Bold Red Line' is shown on the LBC channel, which broadcasts a range of western-style entertainment shows, and has a huge following in Saudi Arabia. The channel, which is owned by Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, had to close its offices in the country as a result of the furore over the broadcast.
King Abdullah ordered the referral of Yami's case to a government committee that oversees the media. She thanked the King for intervening in the case, telling Reuters: 'I had nothing to do with Mazen Abdel-Jawad's show.'
Abdel-Jawad was sentenced to five years in prison and 1,000 lashes earlier this year, while two friends of his who also appeared were each sent to jail for two years and given 300 lashes.
What's happening in Auz?
A few days ago, the Sydney Herald reported:
IT SEEMS that British backpackers could be taking home much more than sunburnt skin and a bag full of souvenirs for Mum.
A study by researchers at the University of NSW has found British travellers could be driving the spread of sexually transmitted infections in Australia, with a survey showing most of them have triple the number of partners than they have at home – and many are not using condoms.
A survey of 1008 backpackers at hostels in Sydney and Cairns found many were having sex with multiple partners – including those who were in a relationship when they arrived.
Of those who arrived in the country single, 41 per cent reported inconsistent condom use and 24 per cent had unprotected sex with multiple partners, the survey found. Even among those who arrived with a partner, almost one in five reported more than one sexual partner since arriving in Australia.
The survey also found that 60 per cent of males and 44 per cent of females were using illicit drugs in Australia. The vast majority of them were visiting bars and clubs and drinking alcohol regularly too.
The results of the study, a joint project between John Moores University in London and the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, were published in the latest edition of Sexually Transmitted Infections.
The authors said high alcohol consumption, illicit drug use and unsafe sex meant the backpackers were at high risk of getting sexually transmitted infections and other health problems.
"High rates of partner change, along with unsafe sexual practices, create an ideal environment for STIs [sexually transmitted infections] to rapidly spread," the authors said.
"High rates of partner change, along with unsafe sexual practices, create an ideal environment for STIs [sexually transmitted infections] to rapidly spread," the authors said.
Dr Stephen Davies, medical director at Northern Sydney Central Health Service, conducted a survey of 430 backpackers across Sydney earlier this year.
“[The rate of condom use was] not great among new partners. It's leaving them open to giving infections if we surmise that condoms are very good at preventing STIs, and they are,?he said.
Liam Ryan and Samantha Bartle met on Fraser Island three weeks ago and have been together since. Among other British tourists, they acknowledge that long-term relationships are not common. It is not suggested that either of them engage in improper behaviour or may have STIs.
“Back at home you go to work and you do your thing every day and you stay in your circles,?Ms Bartle, 26, said. “When you're over here, you meet more people.?/p
Mr Ryan, 27, agrees: “You're coming out here looking to meet new people and have new lives and you leave the girlfriend at home and meet liberal women,?he said.
Ms Bartle said she has had two partners in the eight months she has been in Australia, and has never had a sexually transmitted infection. She said some men do not take the same protections in Australia: “Boys don't buy condoms over here,?she said.
Mr Ryan, who has had three partners, said that “girls should carry the condoms as well?
"High rates of partner change, along with unsafe sexual practices, create an ideal environment for STIs [sexually transmitted infections] to rapidly spread," the authors said.
Dr Stephen Davies, medical director at Northern Sydney Central Health Service, conducted a survey of 430 backpackers across Sydney earlier this year.
“[The rate of condom use was] not great among new partners. It's leaving them open to giving infections if we surmise that condoms are very good at preventing STIs, and they are,?he said.
Liam Ryan and Samantha Bartle met on Fraser Island three weeks ago and have been together since. Among other British tourists, they acknowledge that long-term relationships are not common. It is not suggested that either of them engage in improper behaviour or may have STIs.
“Back at home you go to work and you do your thing every day and you stay in your circles,?Ms Bartle, 26, said. “When you're over here, you meet more people.?/p
Mr Ryan, 27, agrees: “You're coming out here looking to meet new people and have new lives and you leave the girlfriend at home and meet liberal women,?he said.
Ms Bartle said she has had two partners in the eight months she has been in Australia, and has never had a sexually transmitted infection. She said some men do not take the same protections in Australia: “Boys don't buy condoms over here,?she said.
Mr Ryan, who has had three partners, said that “girls should carry the condoms as well?
Also from the same paper a month ago:
GOOD sex should start with a mirror and some quiet time at home alone, says a Sydney gynaecologist who blames shyness for new statistics showing most people were still failing to discuss contraception before they had sex with a new partner for the first time.
A new national survey of more than 1000 people has revealed about 63 per cent of men and 52 per cent of women still refused to mention contraception in the heat of the moment, despite soaring rates of sexually transmitted diseases and millions of dollars spent on publicly-funded education campaigns.
Figures released last week by the National HIV Research Centres showed that cases of chlamydia had increased by 10 per cent last year, infectious syphilis was epidemic in homosexual men and almost 1000 new cases of HIV were diagnosed.
"Australia has one of the highest rates of chlamydia in the world, yet people are still not asking about contraception," said Andrew Zuchsmann, from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
A few minutes spent practising a role play conversation with a mirror could boost confidence, prevent unwanted pregnancies and protect future reproductive capacity, Dr Zuchsmann said.
"Often with these encounters it's a one-night stand where alcohol is involved so getting a repertoire rehearsed and being properly informed before you are in the moment is vital."
The survey, carried out in July by the RSVP dating site and the pharmaceutical company Schering-Plough, showed that more than 90 per cent of respondents were aware condoms could protect against sexually transmitted infections.
“Awareness needs to translate into action," Dr Zuchsmann said. Many single women in their late 30s or early 40s did not believe they could still become pregnant.
"They're searching for Mr Right and forget they could still be fertile. This may be a romantic concept for movies. The reality of being pregnant to a virtual stranger is far removed."
The study also found 16 per cent of men and 6 per cent of women felt their religion dictated their choice of contraception.
Women's issues...the "new" pill
Especially with younger women, it is likely that what is placing the condom in the forefront of bc of choice is the fact that companies like Durex are working to make c's thinner and thinner...more comfortable, in other words.
Also receiving greater acceptance amongst women is the new and improved female condom. Though getting more publicity and money spent on selling its use in Africa, manufacturers are trying to push them in the UK and Europe...again. But it is getting much more press in the US, where the makers of the F2 are targeting AFrican American and Hispanic women, hoping to help them protect themselves, especially when they are dealing with reluctant partners.
Washington DC's picky youth
D.C. public high school students who participated in focus groups on sexual health said they were unimpressed with the District's sex education curriculum, do not trust the school nurses who are charged with counseling them about disease prevention and disdain the brand of condoms distributed by schools.
The students, particularly girls, said they were too suspicious or embarrassed to talk to school nurses about sex or ask about condoms. "It's like talking to your mom," one student said.
Those were some of the findings of a survey conducted by the Youth Sexual Health Project, funded by the D.C. Council Committee on Health, whose chairman, council member David A. Catania (I-At Large), had a hearing on the issue Wednesday.
"This has never been done by a committee," but "it's been an elephant in the room, an unaddressed issue for years: What are we doing with respect to the sexual health of our children? No one wanted to tackle it," Catania said.
Sex education and condom distribution in high schools are key, health officials say, because 13 percent of students who were screened for sexually transmitted diseases last year tested positive, according to the health department. Sexually transmitted diseases increase the risk of contracting HIV.
Health officials said frank discussions about sexual relationships are the foundation of sex education. But students surveyed said the instruction they get doesn't address the real-life situations they encounter, such as how to talk to a partner who constantly pushes for unprotected sex.
Girls said they were unlikely to carry condoms for fear of being labeled promiscuous.
Students had another reason for passing up the free condoms available at school. Durex condoms, the brand widely distributed by the Health Department under a contract, are considered lame and more likely to pop or break, students said. They said they prefer Trojan or Magnum.
Youths "have very strong opinions about particular brands of condoms," the researchers wrote. "These opinions . . . factually correct or not, play an important role in a youth's decision to use a product."
Students in the survey also said that school nurses were "judgmental and untrustworthy," making it unlikely that teens would seek their advice.
Wilson High School students Folami Irby-Mottley, 18, and Leslie Cameron, 17, testified that the nurse at their school responded icily when they asked for condoms. "She didn't seem very positive," Irby-Mottley said. The students said they asked for the condoms to see whether student rumors about the nurse's cold behavior were true.
Researchers turned to a small focus group of six nurses to determine whether there was evidence of a disconnect. In spite of a contract that requires nurses to promote educational programs on STDs and health, the researchers said, "there is a lack of clarity as to the role of school nurses with respect to the delivery of sexual health information."
Nurses said that, with only 200 nurses in the school system -- about one for every 245 students -- they have little time to counsel students about anything. Researchers recommended that nurses and teachers work with student leaders to determine how to engage their peers. For example, text messages with sexual health information could be sent to students' cellphones and advice could be stored and downloaded from a Facebook page.
Given that DC compete"s with Baltimore with the highest HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancy, and infant mortality rate in the US, this is not a "small" finding.
Uganda's troubles
Twenty percent of people interviewed said they always used a condom with a new sexual partner; another 25% said they only used one when they had sex with people they did not trust. Although 60% of people have used a condom in the past, 28% of sexually active people said they seldom used one.
Women who had continued their education beyond high school were more likely to use condoms, but the survey found that in general, women who buy condoms are considered to be sexually promiscuous. This mirrors findings in countries like the US and the UK. Also like these countries, Ugandans also do not regard condoms as acceptable within marriage or other stable sexual relationships.
Experts say this attitude is especially dangerous, as recent research shows that older people in stable relationships are now most likely to become infected with the virus.
Needless to say, HIV/AIDs is on the rise in this country, like so many others.
No Condoms, thanks, we're a couple
A large number of unmarried, sexually active Canadian adults aren't using condoms because they think monogamy is as reliable a form of protection, an attitude that puts them at high risk of contracting and spreading sexually transmitted infections, says the study by the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada and Statistics Canada, which was nation wide and included almomst 20,000 people aged 20-34.
The study found that condom use declined steadily with age, despite the fact that the risk of infection did not. Among the respondents who had three, four or more partners in the past year, 40 per cent of women and 30 per cent of men did not use a condom the last time they had sex. The main reasons for going without protection pivot around a false sense of security, which is supported by the fact that many of the most common STDs have few or no symptoms,meaning people can be silent carriers. Approximately 70 per cent of sexually active Canadians will acquire HPV, up to 20 per cent carry genital herpes and up to 10 per cent of women have chlamydia.
"It's not necessarily that STIs are on the rise or on the decline. It's that they're at very high levels," he said.
As for why women are using condoms substantially less often than men, the report provides several clues.
The study shows women's condom use mirrors that of men a few years their senior, probably because women are having sex with older men. Older men use condoms less than younger men, and the behaviour may be imprinting on their young girlfriends.
The results varied provincially as well. Compared with the national average, single women living in New Brunswick and Quebec were less likely to use condoms, as were single men in Quebec.
The experts all agree that the answer is education, education, education!
******
By the numbers
A national study of sexually active, unmarried and non-common-law 20-to-34-yearolds looked at condom use and number of partners, finding that Canadians are using condoms less as they get older.
The proportion who reported having one, two, three, four or more sexual partners in the past year:
MEN
Age 20 to 24: 41.9%
Age 25 to 29: 41.4%
Age 30 to 34: 39.9%
WOMEN
Age 20 to 24: 30.8%
Age 25 to 29: 28.3%
Age 30 to 34: 24.8%
The proportion who used a condom the last time they had intercourse:
MEN
Age 20 to 24: 63.7%
Age 25 to 29: 56%
Age 30 to 34: 54.7%
WOMEN
Age 20 to 24: 53.8%
Age 25 to 29: 47.1%
Age 30 to 34: 42.2%
Should this be on every political party's to do list?
Taxpayer-funded condoms at supermarkets, dairies and service stations are on today's Labour Party agenda.
But its rainbow sector group says it should only be for "basic" condoms - meaning the subsidy would not extend to the flavoured and ribbed varieties.
The party's rank-and-file will today vote on the proposal, which its promoters say would help cut down on unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.
Condoms are presently subsidised only on prescription, but the suggestion that this be shifted to retail was put forward by both the health and rainbow sectors at the party's national conference in Rotorua yesterday.
Labour's health spokeswoman Ruth Dyson said the party wanted to look at innovative ways of stopping unwanted pregnancies.
She said it was obvious the type of person who had an unplanned pregnancy did not plan to go to the doctor for contraception either, "but they might whip into the supermarket on the way out".
Dyson said it was still a "long way off", and had not been costed yet.
It could actually reduce costs to the taxpayer, she said, as making the condoms available in shops would circumvent the need to go to a GP, which incurs a taxpayer subsidy.
The condoms could also help cut New Zealand's high rate of sexually transmitted diseases, she added.
About nine million condoms are prescribed in New Zealand each year, costing the taxpayer less than $1 million.
Carbon mating emissions?
Condoms have a new claim to fame! They are now said to be the cheapest way to fight climate change, a controversial new report claims.
It says putting the brake on global population growth is the most effective way to lower carbon emissions.
Contraception is 5x cheaper than any other method of tackling the world's greenhouse gases, claims the report for the UK's Optimum Population Trust.
The study - compiled by the London School of Economics - found every £4 extra spent on family planning for the next 40 years would reduce global CO2 emissions by a tonne. It would cost £19 to achieve the same result with lowcarbon technologies.
The Trust recommends giving free condoms to all women worldwide who want them. The United Nations estimates 40 per cent of all pregnancies are unintended.
OPT chairman Roger Martin said: "It's always been obvious that total emissions depend on the number of emitters - as well as their individual emissions.
"The taboo on mentioning this has made the whole climate change debate so far somewhat unreal."
The Trust claims its proposals would reduce unintended births worldwide by 72 per cent.
The projected world population in 2050 will be 8.64billion.
The Trust says contraception could reduce this to just over 8.1billion - with a potential saving of 34 gigatonnes of CO2.
***
Dovetailing on this report comes this from the Lancet:
LONDON: Experts have come up with a new plan to tackle climate change: free contraceptives for people in developing countries.
More than 200 million women worldwide want contraceptives but don't have access to them, according to an editorial published in the British medical journal, The Lancet. That results in 76 million unintended pregnancies every year.
If those women had access to free condoms or other birth-control methods, that could slow rates of population growth, easing the pressure on the environment, the editors say.
``There is now an emerging debate and interest about the links between population dynamics, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and climate change,'' The Lancet said.
In countries with access to condoms and other contraceptives, family sizes tend to fall within a generation. Until recently, many US-funded health programs didn't pay for or encourage condom use in poor countries, even to fight diseases such as AIDS.
The world's population is projected to jump to 9 billion by 2050, with more than 90 per cent of that growth coming from developing countries.
Carbon Mating?
Condoms have a new claim to fame! They are now said to be the cheapest way to fight climate change, a controversial new report claims.
It says putting the brake on global population growth is the most effective way to lower carbon emissions.
Contraception is 5x cheaper than any other method of tackling the world's greenhouse gases, claims the report for the UK's Optimum Population Trust.
The study - compiled by the London School of Economics - found every £4 extra spent on family planning for the next 40 years would reduce global CO2 emissions by a tonne. It would cost £19 to achieve the same result with lowcarbon technologies.
The Trust recommends giving free condoms to all women worldwide who want them. The United Nations estimates 40 per cent of all pregnancies are unintended.
OPT chairman Roger Martin said: "It's always been obvious that total emissions depend on the number of emitters - as well as their individual emissions.
"The taboo on mentioning this has made the whole climate change debate so far somewhat unreal."
The Trust claims its proposals would reduce unintended births worldwide by 72 per cent.
The projected world population in 2050 will be 8.64billion.
The Trust says contraception could reduce this to just over 8.1billion - with a potential saving of 34 gigatonnes of CO2.
***
Dovetailing on this report comes this from the Lancet:
LONDON: Experts have come up with a new plan to tackle climate change: free contraceptives for people in developing countries.
More than 200 million women worldwide want contraceptives but don't have access to them, according to an editorial published in the British medical journal, The Lancet. That results in 76 million unintended pregnancies every year.
If those women had access to free condoms or other birth-control methods, that could slow rates of population growth, easing the pressure on the environment, the editors say.
``There is now an emerging debate and interest about the links between population dynamics, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and climate change,'' The Lancet said.
In countries with access to condoms and other contraceptives, family sizes tend to fall within a generation. Until recently, many US-funded health programs didn't pay for or encourage condom use in poor countries, even to fight diseases such as AIDS.
The world's population is projected to jump to 9 billion by 2050, with more than 90 per cent of that growth coming from developing countries.
Africa's new porn industry
The concerns aren't theoretical - young fathers with HIV got it by virtue of the fact that their only sex education was from the porn they had watched; the village women, of course, are the true victims. One young villager wrote to a porn director in California, asking if he could star in a film. He's a virgin and his return address was the local church's.
The producers of the smut aren't trying to sell to Africa, but with black market DVDs so readily available now, all over the world in fact, it was perhaps inevitable that this would happen. The question is, what is the industry's responsibility for the results of thier "work"? Why aren't there condoms in porn films asks critics and health experts?
The BBC's series is called Hardcore Profits,by the way.
Bangladesh's failed policies
In July, it was reported by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics that if the birth rate continues to grow as it has been over the last few years, that the population will have doubled in 50 years. Bad news for the most overcrowded nation on Earth. This is being blamed on the failure of the Directorate General of Family Planning (DGFP) for its lack of succuss - or effort - to implement intelligent policies...a 29 year failure! Although around 55 per cent of married Bangladeshis of child bearing age are enrolled in some kind of family planning system, the drop out rate per year is at least 44 percent. This means that only about 5 percent of men are using any kind of protection - condoms - and only 5-8 percent of women are on birth control. But the most alarming news is that only 38 per cent girls aged between 15 and 19 are adopting the family planning system; given that they are the most at risk in this fragile population, that is very bad news. .
A study of National Institute of Population Research and Training (Niport) said Bangladesh is facing massive bureaucratic tangle for purchasing birth control products from the international market. It takes more than 18 months to purchase birth control products required for 2 years. Allegations are there against field level family planning officers that they are not skilled enough to convey the accurate information of family planning system and very often they fail to provide birth control products to the people in the remote areas.
Given the majority of Bengalis don't have access to clean water or a decent roof over their heads, none of this seems like a "big surprise."
Uganda's struggles (and some successes)
The director National AIDS Control Programme at the health ministry, says they will "use small efforts already in the country" to the integrate female condom into HIV prevention approaches.However major funders of anti-HIV/AIDS programmes in Uganda are not enthusiastic about the proposal with many deciding not to back the plan.
"They fear that by offering yet another choice, the Government's move may only distract from other drug and condom programmes," the news outlet says.
The US President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief, PEPFAR, is the biggest funder of HIV programmes in Uganda. The programme is hesitant to fund this strategy without evidence of its impact. This raises fears on whether the Government can sustain the initiative.
Many advocates' of the female condom, though, feel that the efforts to slow the HIV/AIDS epidemic down need multi-faceted approaches; those same activists say millions of women might be spared HIV/AIDS and unwanted pregnancies if they access this method.
The female condom, which is about 16cm long, is a polyurethane sheath that covers the vagina, cervix and external genitalia. It has two rings; one at the bottom to hold it in place and another at the opening and can be inserted just before intercourse.
In Uganda, the Government imported 1.5m female condoms in 1999 but halted their distribution due low demand with women complaining that it was expensive (sh3,.
One critique from the ministry says: "If they can heavily fund bird flu which has not even plagued us yet, why can't they help us with a lifelong epidemic.
If new interventions would distract us from distribution of the male condom and drugs, then we should not even be conducting research into effectiveness of microbicides or male circumcision in preventing HIV/AIDS infections."
Who are the biggest?
Edinburgh came seventh in the supermarket's nationwide top 10. Tesco put the super-sized condoms - 10mm longer and 1 wider than the standard version - on sale in 430 stores three weeks ago. A representative said in July that: "Demand for extralarge condoms has been a success, especially in Scotland.
"In the last year there has been a very strong demand for a largersized condom and the sales prove that there is a market for them."
And here is the list of "TOP TEN X-Large CONDOM SALES":
Glasgow
Cambridge
Manchester
Cardiff
New Malden
Bristol
Edinburgh
Hatfield
Chester
Sandhurst
Irish Debs and C's
It's claimed organisers of the St Vincent's Girls Catholic Secondary School bash at the four star Montenotte Hotel in Cork city (Ireland) are to place the contraceptives on the side plates of male students - with flavoured lubricant gel.
Girls will, however, get the more traditional gift of a box of chocolates at the event where more than 70 couples are to dine. The Director of the Sexual Violence Centre in the cityy said the contraceptive move was not a good idea: "I appreciate what the organisers are trying to do but I don't think throwing condoms on the table is the right approach. There is huge excitement at debs balls. People are having a great time, getting drunk and things happen.
"But this sounds like a bit of a knee-jerk reaction. And it might put pressure on young girls who don't want to be sexually active.
"Condoms on the table? It's the wrong time and wrong place." A spokeswoman for the committee organising the debs said: "It is a responsible thing to do. People are going to be drunk and things will happen."
The hotel catering for the school-leavers said they were not aware of the initiative but said it was a matter for the organisers.
Bono would be proud that the Irish have come so far!
Tesco's new c's
Tesco, the UK's biggest grocery chain,stood by its slogan that "every little helps" when it launchrf Britain's biggest-ever condom a few weeks ago. The supermarket giant will now stock XL Durex after their research revealed that men are responding to certain types of packaging.
The new condoms are an extra 10 millimetres longer than before and 1mm wider. Tesco was inundated with hundreds of calls from men complaining the current fit was "too snug".
The supermarket's healthcare buyer, Nicola Evans, said: "These new condoms are designed to allow larger men more comfort than ever before. In the last year there have been more than 200 calls from customers requesting the availability of an extra large condom."
"We're very pleased that Durex has decided to launch their new condom with us.
"True to the Tesco slogan we think that here is another example of 'every little helps'." The new condoms will cost GBP 9.53 for a pack of
This is all in line with the most recent scientific reports that state that men are getting "larger" and that by the year 3,000 (AD) men will be needing bigger and bigger sizes.
Uganda and the Church
The clergy made their stand on Thursday (August 31st) at the closure of a four-day conference on "The global race to save lives from HIV and AIDS" at Colline Hotel, Mukono.
The Rt. Rev. Wilson Mutebi said: "HIV/AIDS has continued to devastate our societies even as we preach abstinence and loyalty; it is time we advised those who cannot abstain to use condoms."
Mutebi, who was the chairman of the working group on Faith, Stigma, Shame, Denial, Discrimination, Inaction and Mis-action (SSDDIM) at the conference, observed that infecting others with HIV/AIDS is like committing murder and adultery before God.
He, however, said the use of condoms may reduce the two sins of adultery and murder to only adultery if the condom is used well and HIV is not passed on to others.
Most of the religious sects are opposed to the use of condom in the prevention of HIV on grounds that it promotes adultery.
The Rev. Can. Gideon Baguma Byamugisha, the first practicing religious leader in Africa to break the silence when he declared that he was HIV-positive in 1992, said there was no reason why people should die when their lives could be saved through the use of condoms.
The conference resolved to train about 15,000 religious leaders in each country to spearhead the anti-AIDS gospel in their countries.
The guest of honour, Alfath Mukhtar Muhammed, asked the participants to encourage the local congregations to participate in the anti-AIDS programmes.
'
the molecular condom
The distribution of this gel could greatly reduce the transmission of HIV in both developing and developed countries, while offering women a discreet way to take control of their sexual health.
As to the statement about intimate relationships, that is another story.
China's successes
The awareness campaign targeting migrant workers, which also attracts audiences with free bread and water, has paid off with increasing condom use and reducing high-risk behavior. About 73 percent of migrant workers said they used condoms, according to a recent survey by the International Labor Organization (ILO).
That's a dramatic rise from the 49 percent who gave the same answers during a survey in 2007.
The three-year campaign, launched in 2007 by ILO and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, aims to reduce HIV/AIDS risk behaviors and discrimination and improve uptake of HIV-related health services like free counseling and treatment among the country's 200 million migrant workers.
The joint efforts have reached at least 250,000 across three pilot provinces - Yunnan, Anhui, and Guangdong - with simple but important messages including "try to stay away from high risk behaviors," "always use condoms," and "go to CDC for free HIV/AIDS test and treatment," said Richard Howard, ILO's chief technical advisor for the program.
The high frequency of paid sex and low use of condoms has been constantly found among migrant workers who leave their hometowns and spouses for better job opportunities in cities, experts say.
"They are therefore at greater risk of HIV/AIDS themselves and more likely to spread the virus around, from city to countryside by sex with spouses at home and from one city to another by commercial sex," said Howard.
Twenty-seven percent of migrant workers polled said they visited prostitutes, a drop from 35 percent in 2007.
Of greater concern, about 19 percent of them had been found to have at least one kind of sexually transmitted disease (STD).
The national STD incidence remains about 0.05 percent, official figures show.
"The high STD prevalence among migrant worker shows that compared with the general public they are more involved in the high-risk behaviors which may lead to HIV/AIDS infection," Wu Rulin, Program Officer with IOL told China Daily yesterday.
Given the great mobility of migrant workers, controlling HIV/AIDS among them is crucial to the national war against the virus, Qiu Renzong, bioethicist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences told China Daily yesterday. For that, government and society need to do more in resourc
India's women
That was a disease of other people, other countries. Thenmozhi (who like many in her community uses only one name) had many problems - a drinking, philandering husband who once set her on fire when he got angry, and feeding her children with no job and a Grade 3 education - but AIDS was not one of them.
And then five years ago, a different kind of health worker dropped by her two-room flat - a woman Thenmozhi knew, who made about $50 a month selling sex like she did. She sat on the cement floor, helped Thenmozhi pick through some rice and told her there was AIDS in India - in fact, right there in their crowded fishermen's slum in the capital of the southern Tamil Nadu province. It had recently killed a man they both knew.
She invited Thenmozhi to a community centre, where she heard informal lectures about the virus and how sex workers must band together to insist clients use protection. When she left, her handbag was full of condoms and the results of her free HIV test: negative.
Thenmozhi went on to do a most remarkable thing: "After that, I always used a condom. With every man who paid." And when she passed the age of 40 last year and transitioned into the role of madam - renting her bedroom to younger women and their clients - she handed each of them a condom, too.
Although her actions may seem logical and obvious, AIDS-education programs around the world have found that people rarely do the logical, obvious thing and use condoms once they learn about the risk of HIV. They may use condoms sometimes, in some cases. They almost never use them with the zealousness of Thenmozhi.
And yet she is no aberration. She is simply one example of the way the country has cut its rate of AIDS infection in half in the last decade, moved away from the brink of catastrophe and quietly achieved a great but unheralded public-health victory.
In southern India, HIV incidence (the rate of new infections) was 2 per cent per year in 2000; by 2007 it was just below 1 per cent. In the north, where HIV is far less prevalent, there was no large decline, but also no increase.
Only much-smaller Thailand, which implemented a mandatory-condom campaign in its sex industry in the 1990s, has ever posted similar declines.
What has happened here is starting to draw global attention. Yet so much of this story is unique to India, with its strengths (such as pro-active governments) and its weaknesses (particularly the rigid control kept over its female citizens) that it's questionable how much its example can be applied anywhere else.
When India announced in 2007 that it had 2.3 million people living with HIV, rather than the 5.7 million reported the year before, the government first attributed much of the change to better data collection. Many in the AIDS field were skeptical.
One Indian official, a Mr. Vijayakumar believes that by using this kind of grass roots education, his AIDS control agency can drive new infections down to zero. It's a breathtakingly ambitious goal - it has never been done anywhere else - but he brandishes an impressive array of maps, charts and software programs to demonstrate just how he is going to do it.
His office collects data from every possible source - from blood banks to maternity hospitals to neighbourhood clinics for sex workers - and can pinpoint where each new infection comes from.
He has a three-pronged strategy based on continued prevention messages, better reach of the interventions that prevent parents from infecting children, and continued work with the high-risk groups.
"We should be able to do this," he says, working long past dark in an office where a steady flow of assistants ebbed in and out bearing yet more charts and data sets.
"I have a plan in place - my problem is my high-risk groups. If I can bring them into the health fold we'll certainly be able to do it."
But Mr. Vijayakumar is watching his budget shrink, and government, donor and public attention shift away from HIV, as success itself eases the sense of panic.
Many say the shift in government funds is justified, given how few people HIV kills in comparison with basic public-health problems such as water-borne diarrhea, child malnutrition, smoking or road accidents. The Gates Foundation is redirecting its funding to issues such as maternal and newborn care.
Yet HIV remains of critical concern here: With 2.3-million infected people, this country has the third-largest burden of HIV-AIDS in the world, and has succeeded in getting treatment to fewer than half of the people who need it.
The successes achieved have been mostly in the richer south of the country. The outstanding question is the north, with much weaker governments and health systems that have yet to embark on serious AIDS-control programs.
Other factors make the north vulnerable too, with large numbers of migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar a huge worry, as with the country's truck driving population, are a highly mobile group, and with that, a high risk.
Annie Lennex and the Pope
She said that the Pope's denunciation of condoms on his recent tour of Africa had caused "tremendous harm" and criticised the Roman Catholic Church for causing widespread confusion on the continent.
She also condemned the media's obessesion with "celebrity culture" for keeping the Aids pandemic off the front page.
In an emotional address, in which she was at times close to tears, the former Eurythmics singer said that churches could be a force for good. "They are directly connected with the community at large, so of course churches can do a tremendous amount. I know many do.
"Or then again they can do tremendous harm, because when the Pope goes to a country in Africa and tells them that they shouldn't use condoms, when we know that HIV is a sexually transmitted disease - I don't think that makes any sense at all. It is very confusing."
During his tour of Africa earlier this year Pope Benedict XVI said that Aids "cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems".
Lennox said that 22 million people in sub-Saharan Africa suffered from HIV/Aids while in South Africa alone one in ten people had the virus.
She said that she founded her antiAids group SING in 2003 after she heard the former South African president Nelson Mandela characterise the destructive power of the virus as "a genocide".
She contrasted Mr Mandela's words with the actions of his successor, Thabo Mbeki, under whose regime HIV/Aids was responsible for 71 per cent of deaths among South Africans aged 15 to 49. "In South Africa, with so many people infected, nothing seemed to be happening," she said. "I would have to say that during that time very little was done to respond to the emergency situation."
Lennox said that she had met Aaron Motsoaledi, South Africa's newly appointed Health Minister, at a SING event and persuaded him to visit Aids sufferers in his own constituency, but the visit was cancelled because of the swine flu scare.
Despite that disappointment, there remained a very small window of opportunity for South Africa's new Government under President Zuma to affect a change.
Lennox said that the media's view that Aids in Africa was not "sexy or sellable" had fuelled Western apathy to the pandemic.
"I would have to say that we are distracted by the celebrity culture we all live. Whether someone is going out with someone else, or their marriage is breaking down, or they have a new hairstyle, seems to be far more interesting and sellable in the press than actual human rights," she said.
"There are issues of babies dying, poverty, of diseases - these things are not sexy or sellable."
Lennox called on non-governmental organisations fighting the disease in Africa to unite in their efforts and at the end of her address, she announced her desire to become the Scottish government's ambassador on HIV/Aids, which, she said, would enable her to "up the ante" while campaigning on health issues in Africa. Jack McConnell, the former First Minister, was among several MSPs who backed her call.
A spokesman for the Catholic Church tried to defuse Lennox's criticisms by pointing out that its membership was only 8 per cent in the six African countries worst affected by HIV/Aids.
Catholic organisations were also the leading providers of care for Aids suf-fereraround the world, he said.
However, he re-iterated the papal view: "There is a clear correlation between the distribution of condoms and an increase in sexually transmitted infection rates. Condoms therefore are part of the problem not the solution."
DC's dealers
"The same rapport you had with people you were selling drugs to, that's the same skill set you use to sell HIV and AIDS prevention," Young said recently. "The people skills you developed from that apply here."
Young demonstrated his technique in the parking lot of a 24-hour convenience store, beckoning to a woman who was passing by. "Hey," he called out. "I got something for you. I got some condoms here if you need them." She walked away with a fistful.
In wards 7 and 8 -- where the HIV infection rates are among the highest in the District, where many of the city's ex-convicts live and where many of its arrests occur -- former drug dealers are being recruited as HIV counselors.
"We don't say in our job description that only drug dealers need apply, but the reality is that men and women who soldiered illegally on the streets have the skills for what we do," said A. Toni Young, executive director of the nonprofit Community Education Group. Young runs the 11-month-old program and helped conceive it.
The District has the highest HIV infection rate of any major city in the country and the two wards these men work have what HIV/AIDS workers call "hard-to-reach" populations, the people least likely to be tested for and informed about HIV/AIDS and most likely to spread it. They are the kind of people drug dealers come face to face with every day. And though critics claim these dealers will simply revert to their lives of crime, supporters they will in fact change both the dealers and the community's negative environment.
In the past year, at least two workers have stumbled, contributing to doubts about whether the program can succeed. Last month, a counselor was arrested for narcotics possession; earlier this year, a second worker failed a D.C. Corrections drug test, Young said.
"I had some hard choices to make," she said. "Do I say, 'You're fired'? Or do I let the justice system run its course? I'm trying to change people, but if you're being charged with a crime, that's a problem."
About 20 men and women, most of whom have criminal records, have completed the program's training courses since it began in October, Young said. "If I've managed to hold onto 18 out of those 20, I'll live with that. You have to consider that these workers have distributed more than 100,000 condoms east of the Anacostia River, they have tested more than 2,000 residents of wards 7 and 8, and they have referred more than 100 people to substance abuse care and treatment, and this area needs that."
The idea for the program started with a family member's fall from grace. Young's nephew Terrence was jailed for a drug conviction.
When he returned home in 2003, he was tired of a criminal life where rival dealers and police were gunning for him. With a new fianceé and a baby on the way, the 37-year-old broke down: "I don't know what I'm going to do."
Several years later, his aunt was planning to start a condom distribution campaign east of the Anacostia River and had an idea. "I saw something in him that he didn't see," she said. "I said I need someone who knows the streets."
As it turned out, Terrence Young was a sharp student, completing courses on HIV transmission and prevention and on how to help people change behaviors that lead to infection. He also learned how to give a rapid HIV test. Now he returns to his old haunts -- jails, halfway houses and probation offices -- to talk about HIV. He leaves fliers that offer jobs in HIV prevention for ex-convicts.
He tells them that he can't promise them the same money they made on the streets, but he can give them respect, decency and a positive role in their community.
Naive South African youths
Toxic condoms
Two British companies are being investigated over the discovery of 1,400 tons of hazardous waste from Britain found at Brazilian ports.
Worldwide Biorecyclables and UK Multiplas Recycling, which share a director and are both based in Swindon, were named by Brazil's environment inspectorate, Ibama, as being involved in the suspected illegal shipment of toxic hospital and household waste.
The Brazilian companies that received the waste claimed to have been expecting recyclable plastics. Ibama found syringes, condoms and nappies in the containers.
Worldwide Biorecyclables is a plastics recycling company that "compresses, bales and exports all types of plas-tito our partners in South America", according to its online biography.
The company was founded by Julio da Costa and Andre de Oliveira, who came to Britain from Brazil six years ago. Neither was available for comment yesterday.
Both Brazil and Britain are signatories of the Basel Convention, which entered into force in 1992 and was specifically aimed at preventing developed countries from dumping hazardous waste in developing countries.
Armed Rubbery!!
Terrified Kevin Harrison feared for his life as the robbers also demanded his cash.
And one of the gang was so desperate to remove his wedding ring he sucked it off his finger.
Kevin was spreading the safe sex message with a companion in Trinidad and Tobago when the raiders struck.
He said: "They didn't shout or get too violent, which allowed me to stay calm. That is until they made us get out in the middle of nowhere and told us to walk and not look back.
"I seriously thought they were going to kill us as we had seen their faces. They got money and sucked the wedding ring from my finger. But getting robbed for condoms is a fi rst."
Kevin is head of Flag Healthcare, which aims to promote safe sex and cut cases of HIV and AIDS in under-developed areas of the world.
As a former Professional Footballers' Association executive, he has enlisted the support of top players.
They include Trinidadborn Sunderland striker Kenwyne Jones and former stars such as ex-England defender Terry Fenwick.
He runs the company in conjunction with Trinidad and Tobago stars Kelvin Jack and Brent Sancho and the ex-Sheffield Wednesday player Craig Armstrong.
Despite having a population of just over a million, Trinidad is a dangerous place with more than 300 murders already this year.
Kevin said: "I never travel alone and was with a local girl. I guess we were just unlucky."
But he won't allow the incident to affect his mission. He added: "Tourists can be safe here if they follow the guidelines, just like any other place.
"But I'm not living as a tourist, so I have to learn to develop my own guidelines."
The advert that offended
Contributing to debate on a motion on HIV/Aids and maternal health programmes in the upper house recently, Senator Sithembile Mlotshwa of Matobo said the advert encouraged women to be promiscuous.
The advert is about the reliability of condoms.
"Some of the adverts affect us, the rural folk," she said.
"For example at a certain gathering in my constituency on Women's Day, a woman kept asking me about an advert that is screened on ZTV that says: 'Condoms can stretch to one metre and hold one litre of water.'
"She wanted to know whether there is a man that can go that far.
"Those kinds of adverts affect the women folk."
She said in a quest to find out if there were such men, women end up contracting HIV.
"My reply was that if there was such a man then it should appear in the Guinness Book of Records," Mlotshwa said.
"She continued to say that in the community she knows that there is no man like that."
Mlotshwa called for tight monitoring in the dissemination of information concerning the pandemic. She said most women affected and infected by HIV did not have access to information that could prolong their lives.
Although the HIV prevalence rate in the country has been declining from about 23% in 2001 to 15,6% as of January, the pandemic remains a major health challenge.
Other senators called for the promotion of male circumcision and a return to traditional ways of living as some of the ways to reduce the spread of HIV.
They also lashed out at non-governmental organizations involved in Aids work saying they were not interested in seeing the elimination of the virus because they saw an opportunity to make money.
an old argument put to rest?
In July, an idea that has been poo pooed for some years was finally embraced. The idea? Why not give all those who have HIV medicine in order to eliminate the epidemic? The naysayers were not for this idea, the brainchild of a Canadian scientist - Julio Montaner - because, they said, it would promote non-condom use, unsafe sex, in other words. Something akin to the old arguments against the condom and the pill...they were agents of sin, and simply encouraged people to do what they shouldn't! But, the idea has suddenly been embraced by the world's AIDs community and the International AIDS Society conference in Cape Town in July has given the thumbs up to this once-ridiculed idea.
Among the latest support for his proposal is a model by World Health Organization researchers that predicts a 95-per-cent reduction in new HIV cases within 10 years if his idea is adopted.
The proposed new strategy - universal voluntary testing for HIV, combined with immediate anti-retroviral drug treatment for those who have the virus, even in its earliest stages - could save more than seven million lives by 2050, the model says.
The WHO, which had resisted the treatment-as-prevention concept for years, is now organizing a special conference this November to discuss the "feasibility and acceptability" of the concept.
Willy Rozenbaum, one of the early discoverers of the AIDS virus and now the president of France's National AIDS Council, was another scientist who lent his support to Dr. Montaner. Providing proper treatment to those who have the AIDS virus "sharply reduces the chances that they will transmit the virus," he told the conference.
Dr. Rozenbaum acknowledged that researchers must study whether the use of medical treatment as a prevention strategy would encourage "risky" behaviour by those who think that the AIDS virus has been virtually eliminated from their bodies. But medical treatment and condom use can coexist, he said.
In an interview, Dr. Rozenbaum said the notion of treatment as prevention is being resisted by many governments because they are afraid of the cost and reluctant to admit the failure of the traditional prescription of condoms and monogamy.
Condoms and mental health?
The claims were immediately criticised by sexual health campaigners, who warned that unsafe sex leads to unwanted pregnancies and diseases. He believes that are human beings are biologically programmed to enjoy unprotected sex because it gives couples an evolutionary advantage and maximizes the chances of reproducing.
His conclusions, which are to be published in the academic journal Archives of Sexual Behaviour, angered groups anxious to promote the safe sex message and the role played by condoms in preventing unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.
Mr Brody said: "Evolution is not politically correct, so of the very broad range of potential sexual behaviour, there is actually only one that is consistently associated with better physical and mental health and that is the one sexual behaviour that would be favoured by evolution. That is not accidental." He based his conclusions on a study of the sexual behaviour of 99 women and 111 men in Portugal. They filled in questionnaires about the pleasure they derived from their sex lives and contraception use.
Using a measure of psychological health developed in Canada, Mr Brody concluded that condom use was associated with members of the sample who exhibited problems dealing with stress.
Those that had unprotected sex appeared to be able to deal with stress in a more mature way by taking effective action. They also had better mental health.
"The more often people are using condoms independent of age, independent of the nature of their relationship, the greater use of immature defence mechanisms against stress. In contrast, the more often they have sex without condoms, the better their mental health and the more mature their mechanisms."
His conclusions were attacked by family planning organizations and those promoting the safe sex message, like Marie Stopes International, the leading sexual health and reproductive health organisation, said: "I would have thought that the mental health of anyone would be tested if they found out they had a sexually transmitted disease or that there was an unwanted pregnancy. Particularly in the case of casual relationships where there is no desire to get pregnant, advice should always be that condoms should be used.
"It really is a no-brainer as far as we are concerned. We are seeing some of the most rapidly increasing rates of HIV among heterosexual couples in Europe."
ipods? NO!
Famine's new slang
Imans, tea ladies, and condoms
On top of Sudan's myriad other problems, such as the bloody war in Darfur, the country also has a full-blown epidemic of HIV on its hands. Reliable figures on any subject are hard to come by in Sudan, let alone one as sensitive as this. Nonetheless, enough research has been done to confirm some of the worst fears about the spread of HIV in the country. The last big study in 2003 revealed a prevalence rate of 1.6%, but experts say that is probably now approaching 3%. The rate in neighbouring Egypt, by contrast, is just 0.1%; anything over 1% is counted by the World Health Organisation as an epidemic.
In 2007, 31,600 people died of AIDS in the Arab region; of those 80% died in Sudan. For now, Sudan has a lower rate of infection than several other countries in sub-Saharan Africa but, given the right conditions, HIV can suddenly spread out of control. And doctors worry that Sudan has those conditions in abundance: it has a high rate of sexually-transmitted diseases caused by poverty and internal migration, as well as displacement caused by war.
But it is sheer ignorance that contributes most to the spread of HIV and AIDS. In a study of policemen in Khartoum state in 2005, only 1.9% of those interviewed knew that a condom could protect them against HIV. In a survey of the country's imams, 27.5% thought that mosquitoes could transmit HIV. While many of them had heard of condoms, only 8.5% "mentioned them as a tool of prevention".
To its credit, despite a widespread public desire to ignore or downplay the epidemic, the Islamist government of President Omar Bashir has committed itself to an anti-AIDS campaign, setting up the Sudan National Aids Control Programme. However, the government has put almost no money into the effort; it does, after all, spend over 70% of the national budget just on soldiers and weapons.
Instead, the government relies on international agencies such as the United Nations Development Programme and the Global Fund. Together, they are doing innovative work in the Muslim north of the country, enlisting the help of imams and even of women religious leaders, the daias. The hope is that they can persuade conservative-minded Muslims to change their lifestyles and attitudes.
Take the state of Kassala, on the border with Ethiopia and Eritrea. Partly because Kassala is a trans-shipment point between those two countries and Sudan, the state has one of the biggest HIV problems in the country. So the state health ministry has recruited 13 daias to educate women about the cause and spread of AIDS during the female equivalent of the all-male Friday prayers. One of these daias, Alawiya Libeb Othman, concedes that AIDS carries a huge "stigma", but she argues that it is her job to "get people to accept that people with AIDS should not be ostracised and that AIDS sufferers have equal rights". She quotes a verse from the Koran: "Never despair of God's mercy."
Several imams in Kassala issue messages about HIV in their Friday sermons, noting that the virus is spread not just by immoral sexual conduct but also by tainted blood. Bravely, they will also discuss issues such as prostitution—not least the "tea ladies" that sell drinks (and other services) to lorry drivers—and homosexuality. This apparent tolerance, a consequence of Sudan's strain of Sufism, has its limits. The imamsdiscourage easy access to condoms for fear of promoting promiscuity.
Despite the anti-AIDS campaign, ignorance remains profound. At a training course for imams, one confessed that he had assumed that there were just one or two cases of the disease in Sudan and that it was not fatal. It might take a generation, and a lot more government money, to shift such perceptions. But without a more concerted effort, HIV and AIDS could end up threatening more lives than the country's calamitous wars.
"Other" methods ignored?
The vast majority of women in the UK spend more than 30 years of their lives trying to avoid becoming pregnant. Contraception has been available free from the NHS since 1974 and today there is a choice of 15 methods, so it would seem that avoiding pregnancy should be straightforward. Yet the evidence demonstrates otherwise, with about one in five conceptions ending in abortion.
An understandable preoccupation with the UK's high levels of teenage pregnancy has had the unfortunate consequence of diverting attention from the importance of contraceptive services for women throughout their reproductive years. Yet women in their 20s have the highest abortion rates and perimenopausal women are among those who are most likely to choose an abortion if they become pregnant.
Public health campaigns at national and local level have inadvertently given the message that condoms and emergency hormonal contraception alongside the pill are the main answers: EHC and the pill to prevent pregnancy, condoms to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections and to prevent pregnancy.
The information provided has often been simplistic and inadequate. EHC is a valuable fallback when continuing contraception has not been used or has failed, but it is much less effective than other methods of contraception. Similarly, the increase in STIs has led to an emphasis on the use of condoms to the exclusion of other much more effective contraceptive methods.
The lack of comprehensive national awareness-raising campaigns about contraception is compounded by the fragmented nature of the services that women are offered. Very few primary care trusts have undertaken a review of their services or made any assessment of hidden needs. The majority of women obtain their contraception from their doctor, and GPs mostly prescribe the combined pill, which again is not the most effective method. In 2005, guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence recommended that long-acting reversible contraception - the implant, injection and inter-uterine methods, (LARC) - were more cost-effective, and since then LARC use has increased slowly. However, provision is still patchy, and many women are being denied these very effective methods.
Sadly, there is a complete lack of research evidence about women's contraceptive preferences and many women are unable to exercise an informed choice because they do not know what is available and where.
From 2001 women have been able to buy EHC in community pharmacies, and today they are the main source of this method. This provision has greatly increased access but it is not known whether women actually prefer to pay £25, or whether difficulty in accessing free NHS provision is forcing them to do so.
Last year the government announced three years' funding for PCTs to improve services. Unfortunately, the additional funding to trusts is not ring-fenced and at the end of the first year, little progress had been seen at local level.
While most of the money is to be spent by PCTs, there will be a national campaign aimed at young people to raise awareness of LARC. Alas, the vital needs of the majority of women are again being ignored, which is not only bad for them but very shortsighted. Young people get much of their information from their mothers, sisters, aunts and friends. If older women are ignored by the campaign, enduring myths about contraception may prove more powerful than the national campaign's messages.
Another significant change is that, since April this year, doctors receive payment for telling women seeking advice about contraception about all the methods. Some are already seeing an increased take-up of LARC.
This is a complex area and women need comprehensive and sophisticated information so that they can make the right choice for them, taking into account the pros and cons of different methods of contraception, their relative effectiveness and how best to reduce the risk of pregnancy and of contracting an STI. Strategic health authorities and PCTs must recognise that contraception is central to public health and wellbeing, and give it priority. The government needs to put in place a national workforce plan to ensure that the professionals are in place to provide the service when and where it is needed. Women in 2009 should expect no less.
Stockouts and shortages
South Africa was beginning to show progress in its war against AIDs, but there are new problems on the safe sex horizon. Part of the problem is no doubt a recent recall of millions of defective condoms that had been distributed throughout the state. Health activists contacted 41 clinics to find out if they were suppled and and 11 stated that they had no condoms at all. Another four reported shortages. Some reported that they were experiencing "stockouts" and that they did not know when to expect delivery, which means that 37% of South African free clinics have nothing to hand out to those who have been educated about condom use.
California's prison woes
The Los Angeles Times last week reported that though there has been a condom giveaway program in place in CA prisons for eight years, HIV/AIDs rates keep climbing.
A gentleman who arrives at one of the county's jails every Friday with a bag filled with 300 Lifestyle condoms works for a nonprofit called Center for Health Justice, and has been visiting the jail almost weekly since 2001, when Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca approved a small but groundbreaking program that allowed the health group to pass out prophylactics to inmates in a segregated unit for gay men.
"We go to the dorms and a guy hands out the bagged lunches. There's another guy that hands out the juice. . . . and I stand between those two as they go through the line. They get their lunch, they get a condom, and they get their juice," Osorio said.
Not all inmates take condoms, but Osorio talks to those who do about the risks of HIV/AIDS.
He tells them that, despite what he's handing them, it's forbidden to have sex in jail.
Osorio has distributed more than 43,655 condoms to inmates since the project began, but said that is not nearly enough.
The transfer rate of HIV/AIDS in jail continues to be high, he said, and the public is at risk because once released, inmates carry the diseases back to their communities.
Eight years after Baca first approved the program, the sheriff is pondering whether to expand it by doubling the number of condoms distributed to the 300 inmates within the segregated unit.
His decision comes as a yearlong pilot condom distribution program at the California State Prison at Solano enters its eighth month.
Health advocates say that a successful review of that program could lead to widespread distribution of condoms in prisons throughout the state.
It would be one of the most aggressive measures in the nation's jails and prisons to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS, experts say.
Sheriff's officials acknowledge that the virus is a prominent problem in the jails.
They spend about $2 million each year in federally refundable money on HIV/AIDS medication and identify about 65 new cases each month.
The German advertisement that has the Chinese upset
No one seems to be concerned about the Hilter or Osama images!
Mobile (cell) phone messages that didn't work
Aimed at reaching teenagers through their mobile phones, it pushed the message: "Want Respect? Use a Condom." It cost £ 250,000 to make, but only 5576 people have signed up to watch the dramatised stories, which works out at pounds 45 per subscriber.
The series consists of 22 one-minute episodes with six teenagers talking about relationships and contraception issues.
The project was billed as the UK's first interactive mobile drama, but it was really the UK's most expensive safe sex mistake to date..
Learn the language of love
English Do you have a condom?
Spanish Tiene usted un condòn?
Italian Avete un preservativo?
French Est ce que tu as un préservatif?
No condom, no sex
Spanish No practico sexo sin condon
Italian Senza preservativo, niente raporti
French Pas de préservatif, pas de relations sexuelles Sorry, love, you're not my type
Spanish Lo siento, tu no eres mi tipo!
Italian Mi dispiace caro, ma lei non e mio tipo!
French Désolé, mais tu n'es pas mon type!
Naked Condoms
Trademarks for condoms (in the US and UK) were disallowed before the 1920s, when the Trojan brand was the first to successfully gain the right to a trademark. Judges and other officials prior to that always felt that nothing so rude should be legitimized in such a way.
In Hong Kong, it is not so much about legitimacy, but in the name itself. But, if Shakespeare was right and "a rose by any other name" can be applied to condoms, then the argument against a brand to be called Naked (in Hong Kong) seems a bit silly. It is already a trademark in the US, Japan, and Europe and sells very well. But a high court judge argued against allowing it because "one would need ... a mind of a puzzle enthusiast or [possibly] a poet to perceive the relationship between 'nakedness' and the characteristic of a condom." Huh?
Nigeria's 'matter of national security'
Nigeria's Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has declared that availability of condoms is a matter of national security considering the large number of people who die from HIV and AIDS in that country. He made the comment at the launching ceremony of the country's newest condom brand, the Masculan (made in German by Koepccke Chemicals); this brand is meant to meet stringent safety requirements, as there have been concerns about the quality of some of those being sold or given away.
The Director General took that opportunity to encourage the production of this new and improved variety to state that he also wanted them to be produced in Nigeria, rather than in another country, because: "We cannot leave a very important product and our country in the hands of benevolent donors from other countries. That is why we are very happy that private-for-profit investors are coming into the business of making condoms available in Nigeria"
Sleepwalking
Sleepwalking has had more than its fair share of headlines recently thanks to a string of bizarre cases, the most recent of which was the acquittal last week of a woman who had been charged with attempting to smother her mother. Donna Sheppard-Saunders, 33, held a pillow over her sleeping mother's face for 30 seconds before she woke up and realised what she was doing. The court accepted her defence that she was sleepwalking and unaware of her actions.
The problem is not well understoof, but Brain electroencephalography (EEG) wave patterns have shown that sleepwalkers are in a state of incomplete awakening, where parts of the brain are functioning normally while others remain "asleep". There is a genetic component - it often runs in families - and possible triggers include stress, lack of sleep and alcohol.
Although there have been some strange cases with sleepwalkers trying to kill, jump out of windows, etc., perhaps the most "interesting" cases are like the one where a middle-aged woman was in deep trouble with her husband because he kept finding used condoms around the house - they weren't his -eventually finding out that his wife was leaving the house the house at night and having sex with strangers while asleep. She had no recollection of this and it was only the condoms which helped them figure out what the real problem was.
pee and see
This is a male only campaign, as women clubbers miss out on the interactive component. They will see only a normal ad posted on the back of the toilet door.
The campaign slogans have also been stencilled in chalk on Melbourne footpaths, but recent rain quickly washed them away. So far, this somewhat questionable progam has cost 1.5 million dollars - in just its first month.
The national campaign also includes the more traditional radio, print and billboard ads as well as the stickers and stencils, but a Coalition Waste Watch spokesman said that while ``It is a worthwhile message they are trying to send, about an important issue... it appears a poor use of taxpayers' money if it's literally going down the drain.''
From the Economist, June 13
IN EERIE, deserted silence on the outskirts of Phnom Penh sits the Prey Speu detention centre. Barely legible on its grimy walls a few weeks ago were cries for help and whispers of despair from the tormented souls once crammed into its grimy cells. "This is to mark that I lived in terror under oppression," read one message.
It recalls a Khmer Rouge torture centre from the genocidal 1970s. But in fact the building was used just last year as a "rehabilitation" centre, where detained sex-workers, along with beggars and the homeless, learnt sewing and cooking. They were rounded up in a crackdown on trafficking for the sex industry. At first an attempt to clean up Phnom Penh, it soon escalated into a violent campaign by the police against prostitutes and those living on the street. According to Licadho, a local human-rights group, guards at the centre beat three people to death, and at least five detainees killed themselves. Sreymoa, a trafficked sex-worker, detained in May 2008 with her four-year-old daughter, recalls daily beatings, rapes and one death.
Partly to allay the previous American administration's concerns about trafficking, Cambodia in February 2008 outlawed prostitution. Three months later the State Department took Cambodia off its annual "watch-list" of human-trafficking countries. But the police read the law as entitling them to lock up all sex-workers, not help victims of trafficking.
Reports of abuses soon surfaced, at first denied by the government. But in August it halted the raids as the United Nations and NGOs expressed mounting concern. One worry was that they would endanger Hiv/AIDS-prevention programmes. The prevalence of HIV in Cambodia had fallen to 0.8% of the population since the government adopted a campaign in 2001 for "100% condom" use. Now, however, fearing the brothels where they worked would be raided, many sex-workers had started plying their trade on the streets or in karaoke bars, where health-care workers could not find them to distribute condoms.
Tony Lisle, of the UN's AIDS organisation, says that since the raids stopped, HIV-prevention efforts have resumed with more success. Sex-workers in bars as well as brothels are to be covered, and the police to be encouraged to teach sex-workers about condom use. But those campaigning for sex-workers' rights have objected, fearing that this might give the police a pretext to renew the raids. Jason Barber of Licadho says that for years the government has stopped arbitrary detentions when a fuss has been made, only to restart them as soon as attention has shifted.
Indeed, just before a regional summit in Phnom Penh in late May, the police again herded up beggars, sex-workers and drug-users, and sent them back to Prey Speu, newly reopened (with the graffiti painted over). Detaining sex-workers is much easier than arresting the traffickers. But the global slowdown is adding to the ranks of the unemployed. The World Bank forecasts that 200,000 Cambodians will fall below the poverty line this year. Many will fall into prostitution or beggary, whatever the law says and high-minded donors hope.
'Tis a pity, but she won't go away
IN EERIE, deserted silence on the outskirts of Phnom Penh sits the Prey Speu detention centre. Barely legible on its grimy walls a few weeks ago were cries for help and whispers of despair from the tormented souls once crammed into its grimy cells. "This is to mark that I lived in terror under oppression," read one message.
It recalls a Khmer Rouge torture centre from the genocidal 1970s. But in fact the building was used just last year as a "rehabilitation" centre, where detained sex-workers, along with beggars and the homeless, learnt sewing and cooking. They were rounded up in a crackdown on trafficking for the sex industry. At first an attempt to clean up Phnom Penh, it soon escalated into a violent campaign by the police against prostitutes and those living on the street. According to Licadho, a local human-rights group, guards at the centre beat three people to death, and at least five detainees killed themselves. Sreymoa, a trafficked sex-worker, detained in May 2008 with her four-year-old daughter, recalls daily beatings, rapes and one death.
Partly to allay the previous American administration's concerns about trafficking, Cambodia in February 2008 outlawed prostitution. Three months later the State Department took Cambodia off its annual "watch-list" of human-trafficking countries. But the police read the law as entitling them to lock up all sex-workers, not help victims of trafficking.
Reports of abuses soon surfaced, at first denied by the government. But in August it halted the raids as the United Nations and NGOs expressed mounting concern. One worry was that they would endanger Hiv/AIDS-prevention programmes. The prevalence of HIV in Cambodia had fallen to 0.8% of the population since the government adopted a campaign in 2001 for "100% condom" use. Now, however, fearing the brothels where they worked would be raided, many sex-workers had started plying their trade on the streets or in karaoke bars, where health-care workers could not find them to distribute condoms.
Tony Lisle, of the UN's AIDS organisation, says that since the raids stopped, HIV-prevention efforts have resumed with more success. Sex-workers in bars as well as brothels are to be covered, and the police to be encouraged to teach sex-workers about condom use. But those campaigning for sex-workers' rights have objected, fearing that this might give the police a pretext to renew the raids. Jason Barber of Licadho says that for years the government has stopped arbitrary detentions when a fuss has been made, only to restart them as soon as attention has shifted.
Indeed, just before a regional summit in Phnom Penh in late May, the police again herded up beggars, sex-workers and drug-users, and sent them back to Prey Speu, newly reopened (with the graffiti painted over). Detaining sex-workers is much easier than arresting the traffickers. But the global slowdown is adding to the ranks of the unemployed. The World Bank forecasts that 200,000 Cambodians will fall below the poverty line this year. Many will fall into prostitution or beggary, whatever the law says and high-minded donors hope.
Porn's problem
An actress who works in Southern California's pornography industry has tested positive for HIV, renewing county and state health officials' concerns that the adult entertainment industry lacks sufficient safety measures to prevent the spread of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Public health officials cited their ongoing battle with the porn industry over the use of condoms during filming. The two sides have been at odds for years, and despite the intense scrutiny, the industry is still forcing its workers to film without "protection." A state health worker put it like this:
"You wouldn't send someone to work on a high-rise building without a hard-hat, so why are we allowing these performers to perform without condoms?"
South Africa's success
SOUTH AFRICA could be about to turn the corner in its long and politically disastrous fight against AIDs.
The number of new HIV infections among the country' s teenagers has dropped significantly due to condom use, giving rare hope to the country with the world' s biggest HIV-positive population.
New infections among 18-year-olds halved between 2005 and 2008 to 0.8 per cent, according to a survey by South Africa' s Human Sciences Research Council. In 20-year-olds it fell from 2.2 per cent to 1.7 per cent.
The findings also show that young SouthAfrican's are having more not less sex, but they are doing it with a condom.
The report also said that HIV prevalence in children between two and 14 fell from 5.6 per cent in 2002 to 2.5 per cent last year, mainly thanks to the spread of drugs to prevent women passing on the virus to their children.
But the overall level of HIV infection in those aged two and over, at 10.9 per cent, had changed little. In 2002 it was 10.8 per cent and in 2005 it was 11.4 per cent.
Figures published in 2007 suggested almost 1,000 people were dying from Aids every day.
Wrap it up!
An innovative campaign by the Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention went over well with young Canadian South Asians, it appears.
The "Wrap It Right" campaign was designed to promote condom use among South Asians, in an attempt to reach mostly young students, who were not responding to the standard one-size-fits-all type of campaigns of the past. .
The commercials state: "We wrap it right. Do you? Being Desi will not protect you, condoms will," and has gone over really well with that group of often disaffected youths.
Who is Desi? No idea!!
Cruel ironies
From the Observer, June 3
JUST how "pro-life" do you have to be to gun down a doctor in cold blood? To shoot him dead on a Sunday morning in his own church where he's performing his regular duties as an usher?
There is, of course, a technical term for the extremist branch of the antiabortion movement. They are crazy.
Scott Roeder, the man held in custody on suspicion of killing 67-yearold Dr George Tiller in Kansas this past weekend, apparently grafted his homicidal hatred of abortion clinics on to an erratic CV which includes membership of a group called the Freemen who, inter alia, believe their opposition to assorted federal legislation absolves them from the tedious business of paying their taxes.
Roeder, if found guilty, will enter a hall of infamy which includes the murderers of six more people involved in either working for or seeking to protect women's clinics in north America in the past two decades. And these deaths tell a small part of a litany of terror which includes bombs, arson, anthrax, violent demonstrations and death threats to families and suppliers.
With no apparent grasp of irony, the founder of anti-abortion movement Operation Mercy described Tiller as "a mass murderer who reaped what he sowed". His killer, said Randall Terry, would be "a hero to thousands of babies who would not now be slain". Blessed are the merciful? Not if Operation Mercy gets its retaliation in first.
Abortion is an issue which continues to provoke a visceral response with whole swathes of the US voting public.
Last month, the prestigious Catholic college Notre Dame was the subject of coruscating criticism for the sin of inviting the President of the United States to address its student body. Mr Obama had failed to condemn abortion during his campaign and was, therefore, tacitly engaged in the devil's work. In the event, the President made a typically thoughtful speech acknowledging the deep divisions, but suggesting all people of goodwill and intent could coalesce around the aim of trying to reduce the need for terminations.
And that sentiment should be at the heart of the debate. It would be heartening if the people who inveigh against abortion could be similarly motivated to help stop the lives scarred and wasted by being born to people who cared so little about the act of procreation that they remained clueless or uncaring about using contraception.
Instead, those who regard abortion as legalised murder are often found energetically campaigning against sex education, thereby perpetuating the very ignorance that contributes to the rise in young people seeking terminations. And, by sex education, I'm not meaning merely handing out condoms or morning-after pills, but placing contraceptive advice in the context of learning about relationships, sexually transmitted disease, risks, respect and the penalties of inadvertent early parenthood.
The women who went to Dr Tiller's clinic tended not to be young. They went because it was one of only three in the US which would sanction later abortions. Not infrequently, according to the testimonies which decorate the walls within, they were women for whom pre-natal testing had revealed grotesque foetal abnormalities which the baby would not have long survived, and wanted released from the agony of continuing a pregnancy destined to end in heartbreak.
Dr Tiller's take on this was that offering pre-natal testing without prenatal choice was a "medical fraud". He cut an unlikely dash as a villain. Training to be a dermatologist, he was stopped short by the death of many of his family, including his father, in a plane crash. Tiller senior was a gynaecologist and his son, reading his papers, realised that he had been performing illegal abortions in the age before the definitive Roe v Wade judgment. But he realised, too, that this was in response to the pleas of desperate women who might otherwise resort to desperate procedures. That's why he changed disciplines. That's why he worked on, despite being previously wounded by gunshot, despite sometimes going to his place of worship in a bullet-proof vest, despite daily vilification. He didn't need any of that. But women needed him. Women will continue to need medical practitioners like him.
The recession's real victims
Funding for reproductive health supplies, including condoms and contraceptives, in developing countries is increasingly fragile, according to a new 219 page report by Population Action International (PAI). The report calls for renewed attention to reproductive health supplies to avoid putting the health of millions of women at risk.
The countries most at risk - Bangladesh, Ghana, Mexico, Nicaragua, Tanzania, and Uganda - have what officials are referring to as "funding constraints,"but the worst of it is that developed countries are no longer making the huge contributions to the cause as they once did; the recession has hit the poor via condom distribution.
More than 200 million women in the developing world do not have access to contraceptives, but if the needs could be met, over 52 million abortions, and 140,000 pregnancy related deaths might be avoided...meaning over half a million (in a year) children would not lose their mothers
This of course is not just about giving women condoms and pills, it is about education. As usual.
Australian police conundrum
ADELAIDE'S sex workers say they are facing criminal charges because they carry condoms, making it more difficult for them to carry safe sex gear.
Sex Industry Network manager Ari Reid said yesterday that outdated laws allowed them to be targeted unfairly.
``Due to criminalisation, South Australian sex workers have safe-sex equipment such as condoms seized by police and used against them as evidence of prostitution regularly,'' she said.
``This contradicts public health messages regarding condom use and makes the distribution of condoms, lubricants, safe-sex material and other health services difficult.''
Prostitution laws in South Australia are confusing. It is legal to sell sex, but illegal to ``solicit'' and illegal to make money in a brothel.
Ms Reid says the laws are more than 55 years old and make sex workers more vulnerable to crime and to unsafe working environments.
Yesterday was International Whores Day, and sex workers marched in the city, calling for prostitution to be legalised. A spokesman for Attorney-General Michael Atkinson said any future changes to the law would be subject to a conscience vote.
Police declined to comment.
Past their sell by date
A new study released shows 69% of all the American chain CVS drugstores surveyed are selling expired products. In reaction to the news, a delegation of community and faith leaders held a demonstration outside a local CVS pharmacy last week to challenge CVS's practice of repeatedly selling products past their expiration dates and continuing their policy of locking up condoms usually in minority communities (over 95% of those items found to be out of date were in communities that were majority non-white.)
The CVS Goods Gone Bad campaign is fighting to get some kind of legal action against the pharmacy chain (The website www.CureCVSNow.org) and is asking customers to take pictures of packages they find in their local stores whenever they find something that is out of date. the campaign is linking their work to stop the sale of old products to their continued campaign to unlock condoms in those same stores (and it appears these are also out of date in some places), as they believe this combined problem puts a pall on the community effort to educate about safe sex and places the whole process - literally - back into the closet. The effort has been joined by a number of health organizations.
across the whole sex landscape
In an unremarkable office, little more than a hefty free kick from Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium, the marketing supremo of a substantial quoted company sets up a viewing of her latest advertising idea. Projected on to the screen, one after the other, are the faces of about 30 women - all captured at the precise moment of orgasm.
The soundtrack is pure Meg Ryan faking it in When Harry Met Sally, though these women are slightly less loud and have a light operatic accompaniment. The marketing chief is as satisfied with her new ad as its stars appear to be.
This is SSL International, owner of the Durex condom brand - a business that is "into the act of sex", explains Anna Valle, the marketing chief. She has a "roadmap to expand across the whole sex landscape" and she intends to use it. Her mission is to transform Durex from a straightforward form of contraception and protection into a brand that promises better sex.
To that end, SSL is now selling Durex Play, a label used on vibrators, penis rings, oils and lubricants which, in two years, has gone from a twinkle in chief executive Garry Watts' eye to a £40m brand. "Foreplay," declares Valle, "is a key occasion."
The latest Play offering is Play O - a warming gloop that promises more and better orgasms - which went on sale last year and has evidently been flying off the shelves.
"Our research shows that 40% of women are not satisfied with their orgasms," says Valle. "That is a missed opportunity. And 67% do not orgasm on a regular basis. That is a big need."
In the large open-plan office outside the screening room, there is a display of ideas for new products. There is a bright pink pyramid, with a base about 20cm square. Asking what it is, or where one might put it, seems too naive.
Alongside there is a contraption which plugs into an iPod, presumably for busy women on the move, who are determined not to miss any opportunity, even if it is on the tube or in a queue for a cash machine.
Recession-proof
In these recession-battered times, sex is not a bad business to be in. "We are very careful not to say 'recession-proof'," says Watts, "but people are not going to stop having sex. There is an element of resilience."
Ireland's safe sex journey
AS the most popular condom brand in the world celebrates its 80th birthday, it's easy to forget Ireland's chequered contraceptive history.
Durex accounts for a quarter of the world's condom sales - yet back in the early Eighties you needed a note from your doctor to buy them here.
In fact, prior to 1979, any form of contraception outside the rhythm method might see you end up in Mountjoy.
Here, HELEN MORROGH takes a look at sex and the revolutionary rubber in this country.
THE importation and sale of condoms was banned in Ireland from 1935.
Back then, lusty couples were forced to resort to using cling-film to avoid getting an unwelcome bun in the oven.
The bonkbuster Public Dance Halls Act was introduced in the same year.
The official excuse was that they were 'dens of illicit drink-ing'but in reality they were thought to be an immoral influence. A couple of decades later, publishers Faber and Faber held a four-hour meeting over Irish novelist John McGahern's use of the word 'f**k' in his 1965 novel The Dark.
They finally decided that it should be allowed, seeing as McGahern was a serious writer and wouldn't use the word without good reason.
Smuggling
In 1971, 47 members of The Irish Women's Liberation Movement - including author Nell McCafferty - went by train to Belfast to stock up on johnnies.
When they returned to Dublin they challenged customs officials to arrest them for smuggling illegal goods.
The officers were so embarrassed that they let them through and a major public debate began.
In 1974, Senator David Norris took the COUNTRY to court, arguing that the ban on homosexuality infringed his civil liberties.
The High Court eventually found against him because of Ireland's Catholic stance.
In 1979 The Family Planning Act became law. It said that condoms could only be sold by pharmacists if a patient presented a medical prescription - which could only be obtained for 'bona fide' family planning purposes.
In 1983 Dr Andrew Rynne from Kildare was fined IR£500 for supplying ten condoms to an unmarried patient. The fine was later dropped.
The Act - 'an Irish solution to an Irish problem' - was amended six years later.
From 1985 people older than 18 would be allowed to buy condoms without prescription.
Meanwhile homosexuality was illegal here until 1993.
Previously gays risked arrest for kissing in public.
Senator Norris eventually emerged triumphant after leading the Campaign for Homosexual Law Reform.
It was found that the criminalisation of gays conflicted with the European Convention on Human Rights.
[email protected]
From Russia with love
No, it isn't James Bond but the Russians, who are certainly not be known as the world's most fun-loving people, seem to be the newest and fastest growing condom users in the world. So much so that Durex believes that a serious sales drive in that country could pull in £110 million a year.
SSL, Durex's producers, believe this new market will increase their earnings per share by "at least 50 per cent" during the three years to March 2012. Their reasoning is based on two factors. The first is Russia, where SSL is taking control of Beleggingsmaatschappij, which makes Contex, Russia's top-selling condom brand.
A spokesman put it this way: "Russia should generate between 4p to 5p of the 14p extra earnings per share that we are looking for. It is a big market - we think it will add £110 million of sales to what we've got, the same as the UK, which is currently our biggest market. It should add £20 million to our operating profits, so it is pretty significant."
While Contex had 60 per cent of the Russian market, SSL expected to sell Durex more aggressively in the country in coming months, along with Mister Baby, one of its more popular brands in Southern Europe.
More from the Vatican
The Vatican goes online
The Vatican is seeking ways to embrace full online "interactivity" with all one billion members of the global Roman Catholic Church.
The Church wants to emulate and globalise President Obama's successful use of of the internet. The primary spokesman, Father Lombardi addressed, amongst other things, the Pope's comments about condoms on his Africa trip, when he said that they could even aggravate the Aids crisis, and the decision to remit the excommunication of a Holocaust-denying bishop. He said that the overall result of such publicity had been good for the Church and the wider world.
On Aids he added: "The debate over condoms is leading to greater understanding and awareness of what truly effective HIV/Aids prevention strategy is in Africa and elsewhere."
In an age where the internet surpassed all other media except television as the principal source of news, the Church could not ignore communications developments, or allow itself to fall out of touch, he said. "I do think however,in a world such as ours, we would be deluding ourselves if we thought that communication can always be carefully controlled, or that it can always be conducted smoothly and as a matter of course."
No institution or personality could ever avoid some criticism, he said."It is a mistake to think that we ought to avoid debate. We must always seek to conduct debate in a way that leads to a better understanding of the Church's position, and we must never get discouraged."
The Holy See has already opened its YouTube channel. At Easter it broadcast the Pope's message with subtitles in 27 languages - a YouTube record.
Charity shop blues
Big bucks and abstinence
Years ago, I talked with an abstinence educator named Molly Kelly. She made an unforgettable observation. "Nobody makes any money on abstinence."
In the ensuing sex-education debate, I have often heard ideological arguments. One side sees its opponents as radical, Kinsey-based, sexual libertines. The other side sees an army of religious zealots trying to force their sexual prudery on everyone. Besides ideology, there has also been a ferocious fight over money.
Frankly, this has puzzled me.
For starters, abstinence education represents "choice" - a sacred concept in Washington - in sex education, so it's odd to hear it bashed.
Second, abstinence funding has always been chump change by Washington standards. In fact, it's chump change compared with what Congress spends on its other reproductive health services to teens.
In 2008 alone, the Health and Human Services Department spent $785.8 million to prevent unwanted pregnancies and disease among teens, then-HHS Secretary Michael O. Levitt wrote in December to Rep. Mark Souder, Indiana Republican.
This included $309.1 million for teen family-planning services and $300.2 million for teen-pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease (STD) and HIV/AIDS prevention. The remaining $176.5 million went for abstinence education.
Thus, less than 23 cents out of every dollar spent on teen sexual health went for abstinence education, Mr. Leavitt wrote.
So why the caterwauling over pocket change for abstinence?
The usual answers I get from abstinence opponents are that it doesn't work, it leaves kids ignorant about how to use birth control, it doesn't serve gay kids, and (off the record) it's just a return to the bad old days when unenlightened, sex-hating harpies ran sex education.
What's never mentioned, though, is how sexually active youth are part of the market for certain commercial sex- and disease-related products, and abstinent behavior reduces that market share.
Even writing that sounds crass. Personally, I support family planning and condoms.
But let me repeat a comment that Pam Mullarkey, founder of Project SOS in Jacksonville, Fla., made recently on an abstinence e-list. She was furious that the Obama administration's 2010 budget defunds abstinence education and throws the money to other kinds of teen-pregnancy prevention programs.
"Giving them money is definitely a conflict of interest since they make money when teens have sex," Mrs. Mullarkey wrote. "I would love to see a breakdown of the profits they make for the following: Birth control monthly charge, approx. $30 per girl. STD Testing. STD medication for each of the STDs they contract. Abortion for when the forget their birth control or they don't work.
"No wonder they have spent so much money trying to destroy abstinence education - it directly costs them big bucks," she told me in a phone interview.
By defunding abstinence, the Obama administration has reignited America's sex-education debate. With the stakes so high, I expect advocates on both sides to take off the gloves.
I've already expressed dim hopes for the survival of abstinence education as we've known it. But should Congress decide to "follow the money," as Mrs. Mullarkey suggests, who knows what might turn up.
GIRL WHO SOLD HER VIRGINITY TO A TOTAL STRANGER ON THE NET FOR £9,000
BYLINE: BY DAILY MAIL REPORTER
LENGTH: 605 words
A TEENAGER has auctioned her virginity on the internet - to raise cash to go to university.
Alina Percea, 18, slept with the highest bidder, a 45-yearold businessman who paid her £9,000.
Last night she rejected suggestions that she had prostituted herself, saying: 'It's not like that because it was a one-off and I did this for good reasons.'
She added: 'I liked the man and got on with him well. He didn't look 45 and he seemed much younger.'
As part of the deal, Miss Percea had two medical examinations to prove her virginity.
The winning bidder, an unnamed Italian businessman from Bologna, paid for her to fly to Venice where they toured the sights before spending a night in a luxury hotel.
Miss Percea, from Romania, said: 'We spoke in English as I can't speak Italian and he can't speak Romanian.
'He paid me a lot of compliments throughout the day and he was very funny and charming.
'He told me he had a good job, but he didn't say if he was married or had a family, and I didn't ask him.'
Miss Percea left her home town of Caracal, Romania, in January to find work in Germany, but lost her job in a restaurant because her German was not good enough.
She decided to auction herself on a German website after reading how an American woman, Natalie Dylan, 22, from San Diego, had put her virginity up for sale for £2.5million.
Miss Percea said: 'It was all my own idea. No one put me up to it.
'I was pleased the bidding got up to 10,000 euros (£9,000). It is not so much money, but it means I can live at home with my parents while I go to university.
'It will help support us for the next two or three years.'
She declined to say whether she had told her parents about what she had done.
Writing on her web page before the auction, she said: 'My dream is for the auction to be won by a man who respects me, is gentle and generous and understands I am a virgin.
'It is completely my first time with a man and so I want it to be special and romantic.
'I would not like money to be a part of the evening, so a trust service has been organised. They will transfer the money to me.'
Within a week she was receiving offers of up to 5,000 euros, but the Italian man did not begin bidding until the final afternoon three weeks ago.
Miss Percea said she had sex with him just once in their hotel room before spending the night sleeping in the same bed.
She said: 'We had a lovely dinner in the hotel, then we went back to the room together.
'I thought he was very goodlooking for his age. He didn't have a beer belly or anything like that.
'We didn't use a condom but he showed me a certificate to say he was free of sexual infections, and I took the morning-after pill.
'The next day we went for breakfast like any other couple.'
She said she hoped to meet the man again in the future but insisted that no money would change hands.
'He told me he'd like to see me and I agreed,' she said.
'I don't know whether it will be possible once I am back in Romania, but I'd like to. He bought me a huge bouquet of flowers, a watch and some white gold earrings with a diamond in them.
'When we said goodbye at the airport he hugged and kissed me and said he'd miss me.
'The man has my telephone number, so I hope he stays in touch.'
Miss Percea will move back to Caracal to live with her mother, stepfather, sister and two brothers. She plans to take a degree in computing.
She added: 'I'm not interested in men at the moment. I want to concentrate on my studies.
'This is the reason I did this, I want to make a better life for myself.
'I don't know what my friends will think of me. But I don't care, I'm proud of what I did because now I can provide for my family.'
The Guardian (London) - Final Edition
May 23, 2009 Saturday
International: Female truckers brave the night shift in South Africa: With HIV taking its toll of male drivers, firms look to women to bring stability
BYLINE: David Smith, Johannesburg
The Nine Thousand Pound Virgin
Equality the hard way
From the Guardian, May 23
Female truckers brave the night shift in South Africa: With HIV taking its toll of male drivers, firms look to women to bring stability
Eunice Sikhunyane clocks on at 5.30pm for one of the loneliest jobs in the world. The single mother climbs into her cabin, turns on the ignition and spends the next nine hours driving a 16-wheel, 28-tonne truck through the African night.
Eunice is part of a growing occupational group in South Africa: the female trucker. Women are in demand for a job once synonymous with masculinity because of the devastating toll of HIV/Aids on male truck drivers.
About one in four truckers are estimated to be HIV positive. It is a transient lifestyle notorious for long stopovers far from home and easy access to prostitutes. About 3,000 truck drivers are lost annually to Aids as well as accidents, armed hijackings, alcoholism and other causes. The industry says it needs 15,000 new recruits each year. Women are often seen as more likely to take care of themselves and their vehicles.
Eunice, 36, used to drive tractors and fire tenders but joined the Rennies haulage company three years ago because it paid better: 4,700 rand (£350) a month. She has seen the culture of promiscuity among male drivers.
"Most of the guys sleep with prostitutes and don't know if she's sick or not sick," she said.
"Maybe he will buy a lady and the next day he'll go with his wife. Someone asked me: 'So, will you buy a man?' I said: 'No, I have a boyfriend'."
Truck driving can be dangerous for men and potentially more so for women on deserted, poorly lit roads. But Eunice prefers to work night shifts so she can care for her young son and two daughters during the day. "I've seen lots of hijacks and accidents but it hasn't happened to me," she said. "I once saw a driver who had been shot. I once saw a crash and it was terrible. On another day, it could have been me.
"There was a lady I used to see very often. One day I heard she had a breakdown and called for help. Before they could get to her, some guys came and raped her.
"Most of the guys know my truck is 'the lady's truck'. Maybe they'll try to rape me, but I'm keeping my truck . . . I'm not afraid, I know God is with me, guiding my truck. I don't think anyone can touch me."
Long-distance truck drivers were widely seen as unwitting agents in accelerating the spread of HIV/Aids. After becoming established in the Great Lakes region in the 70s, the virus rapidly moved outwards on transport and trade routes, with truckers and prostitutes among the biggest victims.
An industry initiative called Trucking Wellness is aimed at South Africa's 70,000 truck drivers. It runs 15 wellness centres on major routes, including two border crossings, and four mobile clinics offering advice, condoms and free anti-retroviral treatments. Trucking Wellness estimates that between 19% and 28% of male truck drivers are HIV positive.
The problem is the subject of research by academics Clara Rubincam and Scott Naysmith for KwaZulu-Natal University. One employer told the study: "There are a lot of drivers dying from Aids. One driver is at home. He is paper thin."
Some employers resist hiring women, claiming pregnancy would interfere with the job. But companies that did employ women gave positive responses, saying they were less likely to engage in risky behaviour. "Ladies don't pick up ladies and ladies don't pick up men."
Concerns about safety remain. Rubincam said: "A lot of women prefer to be out at night so they can look after their kids, but it's risky to be on the road in the middle of the night. Surprisingly, most of the women we spoke to admitted not having any weapons in the cab. They lock the doors and hope for the best."
Happiness Sibisi, 27, became a truck driver after leaving school. She is one of two women drivers, alongside 58 men, employed by Unitrans in Durban. "They treat me like a kid because all of them are very old," she said.
She had one terrifying experience when she was being followed. She called her depot and was told to return. "I went faster but they kept following me.
"I do worry but a job is a job. My husband wonders whether I'll come back in the morning. When someone wants to steal a truck you give it to them, because a truck can be replaced and you can't."
The male contraceptive jab
Vietnam's condom boutique
In Vietnam's fast-growing commercial capital Ho Chi Minh City, most people buy cheap condoms from no-frills roadside kiosks, at the drug store or in supermarkets.
But two brothers have opened an upmarket condom boutique here, saying customers want more choice and more sophisticated options - even in a country known for being conservative.
"Doing this business is good for the public and the society," says Nguyen Khanh Phong, 28.
"We went to the authorities and asked for permission and they allowed us," adds his 21-year-old brother Nguyen Hoang Long.
"Now things come easier," he adds, noting that the business - open for more than two months now - is thriving.
The shop, called Volcano, makes no attempt to hide what it's selling. Condom boxes are stuck to the glass doors of the tiny store, the walls are painted pink and shelves are stacked with condoms from across Asia.
"We spent a lot of money," Phong says. "It looks friendly." The Fuji Shock brand from Japan is currently popular amongst Volcano's customers, even though it costs about five times as much as the 5,000-dong (29-cent) box of three locally made VIP condoms.
"When they take this out, it's like some chocolate candy," Phong says, showing off the shiny wrapper.
Another Japanese condom on display has a light that illuminates when the man ejaculates.
"Our customers really like the design of the Japanese condoms," Long adds.
Long and Phong say they want to offer their customers the widest variety of condoms available. They even stock the locally-made brands, although Phong says they lack "special features".
The brothers say their customers are willing to pay for quality and service. Frequent buyers receive a discount. For their more shy customers, they offer delivery service.
"To open this shop we spent more than 20 million dong," but first-week sales reached around 1.5 million dong and revenue now exceeds 10 million dong per week, Long says. AFP
Pizza, condoms and hell
A very special theme park
It is a controversial project which has already got some people hot under the collar. "Love Land" will open in October in the entertainment zone near the Yangtze River in Chongqing. Lu Xiaoqing, park manager, said Love Land would be useful for sex education and help adults "enjoy a harmonious sex life".
It will contain an exhibition about sex, including its history and practice in other countries, anti-AIDS measures and the proper use of condoms.
"We are building the park for the good of the public," Lu said.
"Sex is a taboo subject in China but people really need to have more access to information about it." However, some people have criticized Love Land as vulgar and said that Chinese people were not ready to accept open discussions on sex.
"These things are too exposed" Liu Daiwei, a policewoman in Chongqing, said. "I will feel uncomfortable to look at them when other people are around." Yu said the idea of building Love Land came up to him during a visit to South Korea's sex park in Jeju, a popular destination on the island.
"We hope our Love Land can also become a landmark in Chonqing when it finishes," he said.
A netizen from Shandong on popular news portal sina.com.cn wrote that Chinese people do not treat sex as boldly as foreigners.
"These vulgar sex installments will only make people sick," the person wrote.
Other disagreed and think the park will be a raging success.
Obama's choice
Interestingly, he is following in the foot steps of other controversial nominees - he is not a favorite with the Republican party - who were especially disliked because of theire public stance on teaching young people about sex and, specifically, how to use condoms. Obama does not agree.
An eco car with a difference
More than 200 teams from universities around the world - including three from the UK - were challenged to design and build cars fuelled by solar power, hydrogen, petrol, diesel or gas. The rules are pretty strict...the driver can't actually sit up straight...but perhaps the most interesting vehicle was designed after a condom, which must be more aerodynamic than one would think. The condom car did not win the Whacky Races, but it was certainly a unique entry.
Footballer's new career
Vieri's fashion label Sweet Years last week launched a new range of limited edition Akuel Blues condoms.
The striker no doubt helped in the market research after dating a string of glamour girls, but he never said whether or not he used his own product!
watch the priest prez's video
Paragraph.
Priest, playboy, prez
Recent politics in Paraguay have become very "interesting," and the political situation is perfect for the political pundits and opposition parties alike.
Fernando Lugo, the former priest who is now the country's president, shocked the nation last month by admitting to fathering one child -- and possibly more -- before the Vatican had returned him to layman status.
Now the Internet here is buzzing with an irreverent video showing him in a baby carriage, magically impregnating each woman he passes on the street. A popular television show in neighboring Argentina has dedicated a tango to him and recommended that he use contraception. A local cumbia song is even mocking his campaign slogan.
''The playboy has heart, but he doesn't use a condom,'' goes the refrain, playing on the slogan that helped get him elected, ''Lugo has heart.''
Even his closest advisers say they were stunned and dismayed by the revelations -- and cannot rule out the possibility of more secret babies turning up.
Teens' Risky business
From the think tank, the Rand Corporation:
School-based drug education programs for adolescents can have a long-term positive impact on sexual behavior in addition to curbing substance abuse, according to a new RAND Corporation
Researchers found that young adults who had been exposed to a popular drug abuse prevention program as adolescents were less likely to engage in risky sexual behavior five to seven years later, according to the findings published online by the Journal of Adolescent Health. The study provides the strongest evidence to date that drug abuse prevention programs can also curb risky sexual practices in young adulthood.
"The lessons these young people learned about how to avoid drug and alcohol abuse appears to have had a positive impact on their sexual behavior as well," said Phyllis Ellickson, the lead author of the study and a researcher at RAND, a nonprofit research organization.
The study found that youth exposed to a drug abuse education program were significantly less likely as young adults to either engage in sex with multiple partners or to have unprotected sex because of drug and alcohol use than their peers who had not received the training.
However, researchers found that those who received drug prevention training were no more likely to use condoms consistently than their peers who did not receive the training.
The RAND Health study tracked the experiences of 1,901 unmarried 21-year-olds who took part in a randomized controlled trial of Project ALERT, a drug use prevention program for middle school students developed by RAND. Study participants were exposed to Project ALERT while they attended middle school in South Dakota.
Among the participants, 631 attended schools that received 14 Project ALERT lessons during middle school, 499 attended schools that received 10 additional lessons during high school and 771 attended schools that did not offer the Project ALERT program.
While risky sexual behavior was common among the study participants, such behavior was less prevalent among those exposed to Project ALERT.
Young adults exposed to Project ALERT were both less likely to have sex with multiple partners (44 percent versus 50 percent) and to have unprotected sex because of drug use (27 percent versus 32 percent) than their peers who had not been exposed to the program.
About 71 percent of study participants reported inconsistent use of condoms, regardless of whether they had been exposed to Project ALERT.
Researchers say that part of the differences between the two groups may be due to the lower use of drugs and alcohol among those exposed to Project ALERT since the behavior is linked to risky sexual practices. But the differences in sexual behavior between the two groups were not entirely explained by the lower substance use levels.
"Although the effects we found are somewhat modest, these findings show that the benefits of drug abuse prevention programs are not confined to drug use alone and can continue for many years after young people receive the instruction," Ellickson said.
The study found no significant difference in risky sexual behavior between study participants who received the basic Project ALERT lessons in middle school and those who also received extended Project ALERT lessons during ninth and 10th grades.
Ellickson said the study findings are particularly relevant for school officials across the nation who are facing significant budget cuts in the months ahead.
"The findings support the case for the cost-effectiveness of the basic Project ALERT program by showing it provides benefits for two different types of risky behaviors and by showing that those benefits are long lasting," Ellickson said.
Back in the driver's seat (?)
As mentioned in the section a few weeks ago, fertility experts in China have developed a monthly testosterone injection that blocks production of sperm and is as reliable as condoms. (And, I might mention, the Chinese have been using other methods similar to this for about 2000 years...where did that info go?)
In trials, only one couple in a 100 got pregnant, so for couples who can't or prefer not to use the condom or the pill, this is great news.
And, by stopping the monthly injections, the sterility factor reverses quickly. All to the good for the man who want to put men back in the driver's seat when it comes to sex.
But the question for women is whether they can trust their men. Or, as one male British journalist put it: ``Most men are unreliable, forgetful, lazy, conniving liars who will stop at nothing to get full sex.''
A recent survey of 100 men at Youngstown State University found 97 per cent were ignorant of male contraceptive research and all agreed they would not use any form of male hormonal contraceptive.
And that's the problem. The injections might be good for men, but are men good for the injections?
First of all, men are likely to be hesitant in signing up for something that tampers with their manly hormones. It's not a question of science, it's a question of self-image.
Then there's the problem with the needle itself. For every man who won't blink an eyelid at going to a doctor, there are a lot more men who put it off for as long as they can.
So, should women trust a man to get his monthly jab? If this is a man you've met for a quick fling, then ``I've had the jab'' is probably as reliable as ``I'll still respect you in the morning'' or ``My wife and I have an understanding''.
The jury is out!
Politicians do not censor the pope
Meeting in Strasbourg, on 7 May, the European Parliament failed to rally a sufficient majority to denounce the recent controversial comments by Pope Benedict XVI in Africa on condoms.
Two Liberal MEPs, Sophia in t Veld (Netherlands) and Marco Cappato (Italy), had tabled, in connection with the 2008 annual report on human rights, an amendment "strongly" condemning the statements in which the Pope "bans condoms" and "warns that the use of condoms could even lead to a higher risk of contagion" by the AIDS virus.
Under pressure from the Conservatives, the EP rejected the amendment by a slim majority (253 to 199 and 61 abstentions).
The authors of the amendment are concerned that the comments, which created a global controversy, "may strongly hamper the fight against AIDS".
This paragraph is "inadmissible," railed German Christian Democrat Hartmut Nassauer, speaking for the Conservatives, adding that it had no place in a report on human rights violations. "It compares the Pope's statements to the worst human rights violations" in the world, which constitutes "incredible discrimination against the Pope".
The plenary also rejected a watered-down amendment expressing the EP's "concerns".
On 17 March, as he flew to Cameroon, Benedict XVI stated that "the AIDS problem cannot be solved [...[ by distributing condoms" and that, "on the contrary," their "use could make the problem worse". In early April, the Belgian parliament adopted a resolution describing the comments as "unacceptable". The Vatican went on to denounce the use, for purposes of intimidation, of an "extract of an interview taken out of context".
The Unhappy Happy Meal
A seven-year-old girl found a condom in her McDonald's Happy Meal in Fribourg, Switzerland this week. Yum.
Kerosene and condoms
Ethiopia and DKT-Ethiopia on Saturday launched a first of its kind, sixty-day "Kerosene and Condom" pilot project to raise awareness of condom usage amongst housemaids, one of the country's most vulnerable women; they will be given free condoms when they purchase kerosene, the primary fuel for cooking in Ethiopia. These women are at risk both because they do not have any protection against men of the family or friends of the family when it comes to sexual advances AND they are so poor, they are out of the mainstream and the message of safety is unlikely or less likely to reach them. They do not know about condoms, how to use them, or how much at risk they really are. Hence, kerosene.
AIDS drugs, too little too late?
From Africa News, April 30th
"Rationing Antiretroviral Therapy in Africa: Treating Too Few, Too Late:" Although the international health community has achieved "striking advances" in increasing access to antiretroviral treatment in Africa, "too few people are receiving treatment" and health workers "are waiting until people are symptomatic" before administering antiretroviral therapy, Nathan Ford -- head of the medical unit of Medicines Sans Frontieres in Cape Town, South Africa, and research associate at the School of Public Health and Family Medicine at the University of Cape Town -- and colleagues write. They continue that although "delaying therapy may mean saving money on drugs," the "long-term cost of such delays is increased substantially by the need for more intensive clinical care, decreased income and likely regimen switches." In addition, later antiretroviral initiation "encourages the spread of tuberculosis" and could increase the risk of HIV transmission "by allowing patients to remain viremic longer," the authors write. They conclude, "The battle to start providing antiretroviral therapy in the developing world has been won. The battle to provide the best care we can is just beginning" (Ford et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 4/30).
Sx ed txt
An anonymous phone line has been set up so that teens can text questions about sex, and some of the questions are positively retro. From the New York Times, May 3rd:
''If you take a shower before you have sex, are you less likely to get pregnant?'' asks one.
Another: ''Does a normal penis have wrinkles?''
A young girl types: ''If my BF doesn't like me to be loud during sex but I can't help it, what am I supposed to do?''
Within 24 hours, each will receive a cautious, nonjudgmental reply, texted directly to their cellphones, from a nameless, faceless adult at the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Campaign of North Carolina, based in Durham.
There goes the phone again.
''Why do guys think it's cool to sleep with a girl and tell their friends?''
James Martin, the staff member who has text-line duty this week, is 31, married and the father of a toddling son. He hesitates. How to offer comfort, clarity and hope in just a few sentences? He texts back. ''Mostly it's because they believe that having sex makes them cool,'' he types, adding, ''Most guys outgrow that phase.''
The Birds and Bees Text Line, which the center started Feb. 1, directing its MySpace ads and fliers at North Carolinians ages 14 to 19, is among the latest efforts by health educators to reach teenagers through technology -- sex ed on their turf.
Sex education in the classroom, say many epidemiologists and public health experts, is often ineffective or just insufficient. In many areas of the country, rates of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases remain constant or are even rising. North Carolina -- where schools must teach an abstinence-only curriculum -- has the country's ninth-highest teenage pregnancy rate. Since 2003, when the state's pregnancy rate declined to a low of 61 per 1,000 girls ages 15 to 19, the rates have slowly been climbing. In 2007, that rate rose to 63 per 1,000 girls -- 19,615 pregnancies.
In the last 15 years, school officials and politicians in many states rancorously debated whether sex-ed curriculums should mention contraception. Meanwhile, public health officials became alarmed about the fallout of risky adolescent sexual behavior and grappled with how to educate teenagers beyond the classroom.
A few universities and hospitals set up blunt Web sites for young people, like Columbia's Go Ask Alice! and Atlantic Health's TeenHealthFX.com, allowing them to post questions online. More recently, researchers have explored how to reach teenagers through social networking sites like MySpace and YouTube.
Now, health experts say, intimate, private and crucial information can be delivered to teenagers on the device that holds millions captive: their cellphones.
Programs in Washington, D.C.; Chicago, Toronto and San Francisco allow young people to text a number, select from a menu of frequently asked questions (''What 2 do if the ##condom broke'') and receive automated replies, with addresses of free clinics. Last month, California started HookUp 365247, a statewide text-messaging service. The texter can type a ZIP code and get a local clinic referral, as well as weekly health tips.
''Technology reduces the shame and embarrassment,'' said Deb Levine, executive director of ISIS, a nonprofit organization that began many technology-based reproductive health programs. ''It's the perceived privacy that people have when they're typing into a computer or a cellphone. And it's culturally appropriate for young people: they don't learn about this from adults lecturing them.''
The North Carolina program, with a $5,000 grant for the cellphone line and ##advertising from the State Department of Health and Human services, takes these exchanges a step further. The Birds and Bees Text Line offers one-on-one exchanges that are private, personal and anonymous. And they can be conducted free of parental scrutiny.
That lack of oversight is what galls Bill Brooks, president of the North Carolina Family Policy Council. ''If I couldn't control access to this information, I'd turn off the texting service,'' he said. ''When it comes to the Internet, parents are advised to put blockers on their computer and keep it in a central place in the home. But kids can have access to this on their cellphones when they're away from parental influence -- and it can't be controlled.''
While some would argue that such programs augment what students learn in health class, Mr. Brooks believes that they circumvent an abstinence-until-marriage curriculum. ''It doesn't make sense to fund a program that is different than the state standards,'' he said. (The State Legislature is now considering a bill permitting comprehensive sex education.)
As Mr. Brooks suggested, parents who believe these conversations belong in the home could cancel their teenager's texting service (at possible grave risk to domestic tranquillity).
But they can't exactly cancel adolescent curiosity about sex. At the very least, said Professor Sheana Bull, an expert on sexually transmitted disease infection and technology at the University of Colorado School of Public Health, ''The technology can be used to connect young people to trusted, competent adults who have competent information.''
The Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Campaign of North Carolina, which runs the text line, has been helping to set up teenage parenting workshops and after-school programs around the state for 24 years, financed mostly by the state and by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The nine staff members who take shifts with the text line have graduate degrees in public health or social work, or years of experience working with teenagers.
Modeling their service on a similar city program in Alexandria, Va., the North Carolina staff members worked up guidelines: No medical advice -- urge questioners to speak with a doctor. Do not advocate abortion. When necessary, refer questioners to local clinics, Web sites or emergency hot lines. Give reasoned, kind advice. Read answers twice before sending. No sarcasm.
The North Carolina center permitted a New York Times reporter to read through some phone logs, after cellphone numbers and towns were redacted. The questions span the spectrum of adolescence itself, from the goofy to the ghastly. Many ask how to talk with parents about sexuality. Combining a teenager's capacity to cut to the chase with the terseness of texting, they are often brutally direct:
''Do I love her or do I love the sex?''
''What happens if you swallow a piece of ##condom?''
Some questions could have been written to teen magazines 50 years ago:
''Why don't girls like short guys?''
''how do u move yr tongue when u tongue kiss?'' (''Kissing is not a science,'' the reply notes. ''Go at your own pace and you will figure it out.'')
But many questions vault past the basic training manual: ''I like boys but I also like girls. What should I do?'' (''Some people just like who they like. ... Only you can know for sure and only you know what is right for you.'')
Scotland's Secret Shame
From the Herald (Glasgow Edition/April 30)
IT looks like an ordinary tenement close. Clean towels billow on the washing line in the neighbouring yard. A handwritten sign asks residents not to drop litter or cigarette butts. Holes in the wall have been skimmed with plaster and not re-painted. There is nothing to distinguish this care-worn flat, yet it harbours a hidden shame.
It is just one of a series of properties being targeted by police officers across Scotland in one of the country's biggest operations to tackle the blight of human trafficking.
Criticised by support agencies and charities for failing to prosecute a single perpetrator of trafficking for sexual exploitation, one of the smallest forces in the country is fighting back.
The International Labour Organisation estimates the value of the human trafficking market of women and children for sexual exploitation at GBP14.2bn, and for forced labour at GBP16.2bn annually.
Months of intelligence indicates that a Chinese gang suspected of organised crime has been moving women around private flats across Scotland. Polmont, where one of the flats is located, is suspected of being the hub of an operation with links across the UK.
It is surprising that such small and quiet towns could be the centre of such criminality. The group is thought to have spent tens of thousands of pounds advertising brothels and private flats across Britain.
The door is answered immediately. The battering ram lies on the ground unused. This is a flat accustomed to letting in strangers.
From the outside there is little to distinguish this flat from any other. From the inside its use is immediately apparent.
Sparse and cramped, there is no superfluous decoration and little room to move.
The curtain is pinned shut in the only bedroom where the items on display are purely functional: a large bag of open condoms, baby oil and talcum powder by the bed; a bucket by the radiator. There is no duvet or top sheet. The pillow is covered with a towel. Another towel lies at the bottom of the bed - fanned out like a napkin in a restaurant.
In the tiny lounge lie folded duvets, a mattress tucked behind the bed. This is where the suspected victims sleep. It smells of stale cigarette smoke and cooking oil.
A 30-year-old woman, thought to be from China, leaves under a coat. As a potential victim she will be offered secure accommodation and support if she wants it and agrees to assist with the investigation.
On April 1 this year the Council of Europe Convention Against Trafficking in Human Beings came into force in the UK. It should improve the care and protection provided to victims but there are concerns that the UK's implementation does not go far enough.
Previously, trafficked women could stay in supported accommodation or hotels for a 30-day period of "reflection". Under the convention they are allowed 45 days, with extensions of up to a year. However, the UK Borders Agency, the body responsible for deporting illegal immigrants, will be the final arbiter in identifying victims - a role support groups believe should be covered or supplemented by them.
An investigation by The Herald earlier this year revealed that there are up to 700 victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation living in Scotland at any one time and that the problem is increasing.
It also raised concerns that most of the victims "rescued" in previous raids have since disappeared and that women and children are being re-trafficked, in the UK and in their source countries Led by Central Scotland Police, Operation Vanguard involved three other police forces, an indication of how widespread different networks may be.
The nature of the crime makes it notoriously difficult to identify and prosecute, partly as a result of the complex threats to life and family members hanging over the victims and partly because it is so well hidden in anonymouslooking flats such as this one.
Officers want landlords to be more vigilant about how their properties are being used and for members of the public to report any suspicious activity. They are determined to ensure Scotland is not seen as a soft touch in future.
Tara: the facts . The Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (Tara), funded by the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council, has received 59 referrals since its creation in 2005.
. It is the only service providing support to women found in Scotland over the age of 18 who have been trafficked for sexual exploitation.
. Strathclyde Police, the Scottish Refugee Council, health visitors, solicitors and GPs can make referrals.
. The women referred have been trafficked from countries including Slovakia, Lithuania, Ghana, Nigeria, China, Kenya, Pakistan, Brazil, Russia, Gambia, Zimbabwe and Uganda.
Morning after pill will replace the condom?
Maybe not, but perhaps it will give the Pill a run for its money!
A recent UK survey indicated that as much as 50% of young women are using the morning after pill as their primary birth control; this is because they had not used any other protection. With all the attention the morning after pill has received lately - new advertisements are stirring plenty of controversy - critics have warned that online sales will encourage women to bulk buy, stockpiling the morning-after pill in the same way as they would aspirin.
They claim easy availability of emergency contraception will encourage women to have unprotected sex.
Another survey says that young people at a large English university had had more than one sexual partner in a week and one in ten of the men claimed to have slept with at least two women in one day.
A third said they did not regularly use condoms with new sexual partners, leaving them at risk of sexually transmitted infections as well as unplanned pregnancies.
Norman Wells, of the campaign group Family and Youth Concern, said the morning-after pill also encouraged promiscuity. 'When the morning-after pill was first approved for use in the UK, assurances were given that it would be used only in exceptional circumstances and would remain a prescription-only drug under the control of doctors,' he said.
'Marketing it as a "just in case" drug and making it as readily available as aspirin is proving to be a dangerous experiment with unknown long-term consequences.
'The morning-after pill is also having a damaging social effect by lulling young women into a false sense of security, encouraging a more casual attitude to sex, and exposing them to increased risk of sexually transmitted infections.'
The Pro-Life Alliance warned many young women will not realise that the drug prevents pregnancy by causing an early-stage abortion.
Spokesman Rachel von Goetz said that although the data came from only one university, similar attitudes were likely to apply at institutions across the country.
'When all is said and done, students are students,' she said.
'I don't think there is anything atypical in this. What is extraordinary-is that students seem to know how little about how their bodies work.
'You would imagine that getting into university requires a certain amount of savvy.
'The whole Government project to bombard the public, and especially young people, with sex education isn't getting through to people.'
Another kind of genocide
The defence of Pauline Nyiramasuhuko--the only woman indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) for genocide and crimes against humanity--declined that the accused distributed condoms to rampaging Interahamwe militiamen so that they could rape with impunity Tutsi women during the 1994 genocide as argued by the prosecution.
The prosecution has alleged that the former Rwandan Minister for Family and Women Affairs dished out generously condoms to Hutu men ostensibly to protect the Interahamwe militia from contracting viral diseases, but at the same time, ascertain that the serial rape against Tutsi young women continued undeterred.
"To argue that Pauline Nyiramasuhuko distributed condoms is an insult to her and to the victims and to argue that she even ordered her own son to rape young Tutsi women is an abomination," lamented the seemingly irritated Canadian lead counsel, Nicole Bergevin, in her closing arguments.
The 63-year-old Nyiramasuhuko is jointly charged alongside five other accused, including her son, Arsene Shalom Ntahobali, former alleged leader of Interahamwe. Her son was in the court-room quietly and attentively listening to the defence arguments.
Ms Bergevin, instead, pleaded that her client be acquitted of the heinous crimes allegedly committed during April-July, 1994, mass slaughter in Butare, southern Rwanda, one of the last areas to succumb to the worst human tragedy of modern century.
Kenya's rush to buy...
The Kenyan government has made an emergency request for more than 100 million condoms to plug a gap that has been created by an unexpected surge in their use. The figure comprises 100 million male and 1.8 million female condoms. The Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation says condom use in the country has recently increased from 10 million to 15 million per month. They have requested the United Nations Population Fund to utilize part of some 12 million dollars allocated by the World Bank for the procurement of condoms in the next four years to address the new demand The surge has been attributed to higher condom acceptance among unmarried youths and use of prostitutes' networks for distribution. Condom use by young Kenyan men who are the most likely to have sex with a casual partner has shown strong and steady progress, increasing from 52 per cent in 2003 to 69 per cent in 2007.
Very valuable c's...
Last week, the China Daily reported the capture of a man with some very valuable condoms.
He was arrested for attempting to smuggle 500 grams of heroin in 67 latex balloons that he either swallowed or inserted into his rectal area; the balloon "packets" were hidden in seven layers of condoms. The total street value was estimated to be about $300,000. This could not have been a very "comfortable" heist.
Implants for 16year olds...but what about the other kind of safe sex?
The following editorial from the Daily Times says a lot about a society that seems to be on the edge - like so many! - but it does leave the question of if we simply make pregnancy prevention easier, what about the other kind of "safe sex"?
"The best television of last week was undoubtedly the compelling Channel 4 documentary The Hospital, about teenage mothers in Birmingham.
It was full of staggering moments - such as a multiply pierced girl insisting on a general anaesthetic because she was scared of needles - but the most telling scene was when the consultant midwife asked teenager after teenager whether her pregnancy was planned, and then, in tones of quiet resignation, whether she had used contraception.
The answer to both questions was a mumbled "no". As this saintly woman said in a heartfelt aside to the camera: "D'oh!" These girls were not stupid: they all knew what contraception was and how it worked; they just didn't think anything untoward - such as a baby - would happen to them.
At the beginning of the programme, some of them welcomed the idea of becoming mothers. By the end, all of them (even the one who'd been given a council house) were saying, "It's just not worth the hassle." None was a bit bothered by the fact that teenage births, which are classified as high risk by most hospitals, are costing the taxpayer £10,000 a pop (more than a stay at the Portland private hospital in central London) and another £55,000 in care until the child reaches five.
The programme must have made depressing viewing for the government, which in the past 10 years has spent millions on tackling the problem of teenage pregnancy. There were only 1,000 fewer live births to teenagers last year than in 1998. Perhaps in recognition of the fact that the message isn't getting through, Edexcel - the biggest curriculum authority in the country - is now introducing a GCSEequivalent qualification in being a young parent. This will be designed for those who are "considering becoming pregnant, or are so already ... They will learn about caring for newborn babies, breastfeeding, family finances and how to deal with toddlers' tantrums".
I have nothing against teaching teens about being better parents - God knows, we could all do with advice in that area - but when the government raises the school-leaving age in 2015 to 18, I hope it will offer an A-level equivalent in the more advanced skills of interpreting the symbolism of In the Night Garden, the proper grooming routine for My Little Pony and the engineering skills required for assembling Bionicles.
If sex education since the age of five, freely available condoms and the morning-after pill don't work, what will? Having read the book Nudge, which shows how governments can "nudge" rather than force people into acting in their own best interests, I have a modest proposal. What if we were to offer all 16-year-old girls a contraceptive implant that lasted two to three years? Putting in an implant takes 10 minutes under local anaesthetic, which might deter the needle-phobic but is certainly a lot less unpleasant and painful than the morningafter pill, abortion or giving birth.
Implants give teenage girls the chance to make a crucial decision about the course their lives will take - but on a sober Monday morning in the school clinic rather than in an alley on a Saturday night after too many alcopops. I wonder how many of those girls in Birmingham who found themselves "surprisingly" pregnant would be in that position if they'd been offered contraceptive implants.
How many of them would say: "No, I don't want this free, effective way of making sure I don't get pregnant", if asked in the cold light of day? I think most teenagers would go for it - I don't believe that there are thousands of girls willingly impregnating themselves to get a leg-up on the council-housing list.
There would be some refuseniks, of course - these are teenagers, after all - but I think peer pressure could be put to work here. Getting teenage mothers to go into schools and urge girls to have the jab might do the trick.
Such a scheme would undoubtedly raise objections from people who think that teenagers shouldn't be having sex, as well as from those who worry that easy contraception will lead to a rise in sexually transmitted diseases. But the advantage of a voluntary scheme is that it's self-selecting: if you are a teen whose parents strongly disapprove of you having sex, you're pretty well motivated not to get pregnant in the first place; and if you're the kind of teen who worries about getting STDs, you're going to use a condom anyway.
There was a scheme mooted in January to offer these implants to children as young as 13 in Barnsley, which has one of the highest underage pregnancy rates in the country.
But there is a distinction to be made between children and 16-year-olds, who, after all, can get married with their parents' consent. I think we should do everything we can to protect children from having sex too young; at 16, though, some teenagers may feel ready for sex while not being remotely ready for parenthood. The message should be: don't have sex before 16, but if, at 16, you want to try it but don't want to get pregnant, maybe you should consider the implant, too.
The only valid objection, in my view, is safety. Do they have long-term effects on developing bodies? There doesn't seem to be any evidence to support that, although I am sure that some anti-teen-sexuality group will try to find some. Even if these implants suppress fertility for a bit longer than advertised, where's the harm in that? Gabrielle Downey, the goddess-like consultant midwife at Birmingham city hospital, points out: "Developing teenage bodies are simply not mature enough to deal with pregnancy; they face a much greater risk of complications for mother and baby than a 25-year-old woman." And if teen bodies aren't ready, neither are teen minds. Downey, who is astonishingly unjudgmental in her attitude to teenage mothers, says: "I worry at why they've chosen to become a mother ... I worry that they [don't] really know what they're letting themselves in for." Of course they don't. Most 25- and even 35-year-olds have no idea what they're letting themselves in for - but at least they've had a chance to develop some real skills, as opposed to passing GCSE-level parenting exams."
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Irish research
Last week, Irish researchers may have turned some of the world of behaviorial science's assumptions upside down. They found that about 88% of Irish youngsters used condoms when having sex when they were on holiday, even when they had been drinking. This compares with about 30% when the same youngsters are having casual sex at home.
This has led the researchers to rethink the "fact" that drinking is a primary cause of poor sexual hygiene and when they asked more questions of the study participants, it turns out that those asked think that sex partners at home are likely to be "clean," because they all attend the same schools, know the same people, and so forth. Strangers in a strange land were a different story.
This could perhaps have quite an impact on just how sex education programs target the young when it comes to STD prevention and condom use.
HIV, C's and Prisons
Although it has taken years for the government to admit it, prisons in Mozambique are HIV/AIDS breeding grounds - something that is a common problem throughout the developing world. The good news is that because the problem is so acute - a very conservative estimate is that at least 30% of prisoners have one or both - the countryis finally distributing condoms, no questions asked. The reluctance came from the fact that officials did not want to admit men had sex with men, either in the prisons or at all, but since those prisoners with the disease are taking it home to villages and towns after being released, something had to be done.
Sales are up!
When President Obama changed US policies regarding funding for condom distribution in the developing world, and people are staying home more during this recession, sales soared - again. Last week, Durex announced a 30% rise in profits, to over 640 million UK pounds this year.
The C and the color divide
Last Month, Washington DC's department of health released its latest statistics on sexual health. It turns out three % of the city's residents have HIV or AIDS, twice New York City's and 5 times higher than Detroit. Almost 60% of the black women - the majority of sufferers are black - got the disease through heterosexual sex and the study also revealed that 70% of residents of the city do not use condoms. Nearly half of those who have sex regularly do so outside of a commited relationship; 30% do not know their HIV status (whether they have it or not); and half did not know their partners!
This indicates that the 3% number cannot possibly be correct; rather, it is an indication that testing is not happening as it should.
It seems that safety campaigns are not directed toward black women and many who do try to get their partners to use protection end up being beaten up or raped for their efforts. Add to this the fact that many if not most adult black women in DC are single mothers, very poor, did not finish school, and struggle with a very high mental health and other disease rate, and high drug usage is a big problem, it is not surprising that they are at such risk.
There are efforts which try for outreach, which offer free condoms, street to street campaigning to educate residents, and other services. But there seems to be little urgency on the part of anyone in particular regarding putting this terrible problem - and all the little victims who have lost their parents to AIDS - into the big picture and into the national agenda for health care and education about safe sex.
Could the C be replaced as BC?
A genetic abnormality has just been found, indicating that some men might be able to take a pill to prevent pregnancy. It is perhaps telling that though the female Pill has been around for over 40 years, nothing much has been done in regards to research for a like-Pill for men. Until now.
Surveys in the UK suggest that many men would be happy to use oral contraceptives; right now, all they can use is a condom or have a vasectomy.
The name of the gene is the CATSPER1. Interestingly, it was actually found by scientists in Iran, where there is an unusually high incidence of male infertility because it is also a place where common diseases cause this genetic malformation.
Polluting beautiful Scotland
The management of a posh hotel on the shores of Loch Lomand have been ordered to clean up all the sewage they have dumped along Scotland's most famous lake. The 5-star Cameron House Hotel has been dumping, amongst other things, tons of condoms, near the 7 million pound Carrick Golf Course, i
Television's naturalist David Bellamy was outraged by the scandal and branded the hotel's conduct as "total vandalism."
There is no word how all of those golfers who have probably sludged through this mess feel about it.
A hidden epidemic
A small study has uncoverd a veryhigh HIV rate among gay men in Johannesburg and Durban, with an over 40% HIV positive incidence, suggesting a "hidden epidemic" among this group.
The survey also found high levels of coerced sex, with over one in three of the men (36 %) surveyed reporting that they had been forced to have sex against their will and close on a third (30%) admitted forcing someone to have sex with them.
Unprotected anal sex, one of the riskiest sexual practices for transmitting HIV, was common with almost half (46%) of the men admitting to condom-less sex in the past year.
Sex for monetary purposes was very common - just under 50% - and 3/4 of the men said they were drunk when they had condom -free sex.
Health workers blame the lack of acceptance of gays in this society, even among sex health workers, which meant that these men were either not educated about condom use OR were afraid to ask for them - or both.
HIV resistance found in Uganda
A small number of Ugandans have been found to be able to "sluff off" the HIV infection, which scientists believe may be the first important step toward developing an HIV vaccine.
Those found with the resistance have "special" white blood cells that can only be produced when the virus attacks the body. However, even with the most sophisticated tests, HIV could not be found in these individuals, implying that the virus had tried to infect them but the immune system kicked it out.
The researcher who found this possible trend says it is too early to tell whether this is significant, but he is hopeful. The AIDS Information Center in Kampala is studying 70 couples to find resistance; they are cuoples who have had unprotected sex for at least a year, and one individual per couple has HIV.
The other has not become infected, the whole reason for the hope these findings seem to be pointing to.
The five-year research, expected to be completed in 2010, is sponsored by the US National Institutes of Health through the British Medical Research Council (MRC). It is part of a multi-country study coordinated by the US-based Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology (CHAVI) and involving Oxford University of UK.
Prof. Heiner Grosskurth, the Director of the MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit on AIDS, said: "A lack of ability to becoming HIV infected is extremely rare, but there is evidence meanwhile that people who have this characteristic exist worldwide, although in very small numbers."
New advertising rules
From "Campaign," April 3rd
What the new ad rules will mean for advertisers
A number of industries could be affected by the forthcoming consultation on ad regulations. Campaign asked leading figures from those concerned for their thoughts.
CONDOMS / ABORTION SERVICES
- Rt Rev John Arnold, Roman Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster
'It is questionable whether extending the reach of condom advertising will arrest the alarming increase of teenage pregnancies and the transmission of STDs among that age group.
'Contraceptives, sex education and advice on the avoidance of pregnancies and the transmission of STDs are already widely available to teenagers in this country and yet the UK continues to have the highest level of teenage pregnancies in Europe.
'The issue to address is not one of a lack of information; rather, it is an issue of culture and behaviour. The most effective way to change behaviour is to encourage a culture of family and fidelity in lifelong committed sexual relationships. Now there's a challenge for the advertising industry.'
- Fiorella Nash, research officer, Society for the Protection of Unborn Children
'It's giving a one-sided picture of the abortion issue. We don't have the money to retaliate, which gives us very little chance of airing our views and giving an alternative opinion.
'It's got nothing to do with helping people or raising awareness - it's an advertising technique, pure and simple. It's basically commercialising sexuality and commercialising abortion, in the same way that companies like Corn Flakes advertise their brand.
'As a parent, I don't feel I need to be provoked into talking to my kids about the dangers of having sex, so why the need for ads?'
- Spokeswoman, Marie Stopes International, provider of sexual and reproductive healthcare services
'As an organisation, we very much welcome the news that condoms are now being advertised on primetime TV. This will be especially beneficial for young people, who are bombarded with messages of underage sex in soaps and dramas on TV. So, any messages that can help them recognise that there is help out there can only be a good thing.
'Being realistic, we all know that people are going to engage in underage sex, so we need these messages to help teenagers be able to make educated decisions on how to cope with this.'
A different kind of protest
While protesters were demonstrating against the G2 conference in London last week, a quieter, though very red, protest was going on down the road. It was sex workers angry about the new Policing and Crime Bill, which seeks to better "police" the "business" of prostitution. In doing so it will criminalise sex workers and their clients as part of the move to made the industry a safer environment to work in. The problem, as these legitimate prostitutes see it, is that it is meant to make life better for sex slaves, but bunches together those who claim to choose prostitution as their way of earning a living with those "slaves."
The plan is to transfer the burden of blame from the prostitutes onto the clients, making the clients so afraid of punishment they will always ask a prostitute his or her provenance before getting down to business. If they are working under coercion, goes the theory, the client will walk away, making trafficing in sex workers a no go as far as profit is concerned.
The argument against this approach was stated in the Independent on Friday:
"There are more than a few dropped stitches in Ms Smith's woolly argument. Sex workers are insulted at being grouped together with slaves, and the Bill could penalise anyone involved in the sex-for-sale market, be it on celluloid, in print or in person, via a lap dance or penetration.
Ava Caradonna, a spokesperson for x:talk, the organisation behind the red umbrella protest, is keen to highlight the Home Secretary's hypocrisy. "The Bill will make it less, not more, safe for us to work," she says, "whether as strippers, escorts, working girls, maids or models. Purchases from our industry can find their way into her expenses, while she attacks us as workers."
Apart from the embarrassment factor for Ms Smith and her husband - it was he, we are told, who watched the two adult movies charged to the public purse - this matter emphasises the lack of understanding of the sex industry by those who are trying to repress and contain it.
There is nothing to be celebrated when women feel the best way to make money is by selling sex. Punishing them for doing so is inexplicable and inexcusable. Yet Ms Smith has gone about further criminalisation of the industry with the assumption that she exists above and beyond its enclave. This has been shown to be untrue, certainly on one level. At least everyone else pays for their own porn."
What makes this whole thing is the minister's husband's apparent love of dirty movies...and charging it to the British tax payer, no less!
Sick or sexy?
From last week's Independent...an interesting and unemotional look at the UK government's new attempt to combat teen pregnancy...
"Have you seen the ad with the girl slurping up her own vomit. Twice. It begins at the end of the story and plays backwards. So instead of throwing up down the loo, our heroine hovers up her sick from the toilet bowl. It's enough to turn your stomach.She got pregnant because she had sex because she got drunk. It's an ad for condoms. Compare it to the new ad for Skyn condoms launching on MTV. Oh, it's sexy. Lots of beautiful young things getting beautifully sweaty and panty. If the first condom ad was more likely to persuade you to padlock your knickers than reach for a contraceptive, this one will have you tearing your Calvins off. Now if the advertising mandarins get their way, prophylactics could be popping up in ads breaks all over the place. You see our advertising codes are being revised and - please assume the brace position if you're sensitive -- there's a proposal to allow condom ads to air on TV before the 9pm watershed.You won't be surprised that the prospect of such a condom fest has excited passions. Nor that new proposals to allow ads for pregnancy advisory services on television have also got the media slavering. "As teenage pregnancies soar, the Government's answer? Commercials for abortion clinics and condoms on prime-time TV" fumed the Daily Mail last week.The new ad proposals are part of a wide-ranging review of the current advertising rules for broadcast and non-broadcast media. The official bodies that ensure the ads we see are honest and decent and true - the Committee of Advertising Practice and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice - have spent 18 months poring over 2,500 rules and guidance notes, examining more than 400 pieces of legislation, talking to a diverse mix of public, private and specialist organisations, to reshape the rules to reflect changes in media and changes in society. Finally last week the new proposals were unveiled??? to general hysteria.For the record, and despite the scaremongering headlines, ads for condoms would only be allowed around programmes when young children are unlikely to be watching. And, anyway, they would be carefully monitored and still have to comply with all the usual checks and balances on taste and decency.As for the idea of abortion clinics rattling the public's cage in the centre break of Corrie, well the new proposals talk about "post-conception pregnancy advice services", not abortion clinics per se; the services will be required to state whether or not they refer women for abortion. And let's remember that this proposal is just that: a suggestion, open for debate.Caught between the pressure groups who don't want to see condoms advertised and the pressure groups who don't want to see ads dealing with the consequences of not using a condom, the rule makers have a challenge on their hands.The question the CAP and the BCAP face is whether condom ads and pregnancy advice ads drive promiscuity and unwanted pregnancy. And the answer - of course - is that these problems are much wider and much deeper.Anyway, though contraception and pregnancy advice are the obvious tender points of the new advertising proposals, it's important to recognize the other suggestions that make less exciting headline fodder.There's a focus on enhanced protection for children, including new scheduling restrictions on age-restricted computer games and new rules to prevent marketers from collecting data from children under 12.Then there are new restrictions on environmental claims in ads to prevent marketers exaggerating their green credentials, new, stricter rules on nutrition and health, new measures to ensure consumer protection, including new rules on explicit terms and conditions.The very point of the 12 week consultation period is to invite debate about the new proposals. But anyone tempted to voice a view must take time to look at the wording of the proposals themselves. Opinions based on dramatic headlines and pressure group scaremongering will undermine adland's drive to be accountable and responsible while at the same time retaining advertising's power as a vital public information tool and driver of a free market economy."
An update on the wrinklies...
A spokesperson for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society said this about sex with the over 45's: "They don't discriminate on the basis of age." Between those who said that they "trusted" their partners and those who just didn't think they were at risk, over 45% of the over 45's who are either single or fooling around use no protection at all. These numbers are true for the US and the UK.
Perhaps New York's attempts to educate the wrinklies will work and become a model for the rest of the West.
Watch it if you dare...the 'raciest condom commercial ever!' www.brandrepublic.com/Discipline/Advertising/News/894012/Condom-TV-ad-rules-relaxed-raciest-commercial-ever-made-airs/
The raciest commercial ever
British newspapers and radio news were full last week of rather alarming stories of how new government guidelines, written to try to slow down the spiralling teenage pregnancy rates, have coincided with the launch of an ad for Skyn condoms, described as possibly the 'raciest commercial ever made'. The ad, created American ad agencies, is about to start airing on MTV after 8pm. It begins with a shot of a dimly-lit hallway in which a young couple, leaving an apartment party, can barely keep their hands off each other. The scene cuts to a parked SUV with a couple kissing passionately in the front seat, and then to a third couple on a bed in a messy bedroom with an open closet door partially obscuring the room. The action unfolds with a series of quick cuts from each couple as clothing is removed and tension builds. A female voice-over says: 'It's like nothing now and like nothing ever before because it's like nothing at all. The Skyn revolution is here and safe sex will never feel the same way again.' The ad airs as proposals by the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice will allow condoms to be advertised on all channels at any time. At present they are banned from advertising before the 9pm watershed except on Channel 4, where the cut-off is 7.30pm. Family campaigners have condemned the British Government's plans, claiming that TV ads for abortion clinics and condoms will inevitably lead to greater promiscuity among young people.
More condom protests
Continuing the argument against the giant American pharmacy company, CVS, a couple of dozen activists picketed one of their California stores. The problem is that the store, and others like it, are in deprived neighborhoods and condoms are a primary target for shoplifters, so the store's policy is to keep them locked away. Meaning buyers have to ask for them. What the activists may not know is that having condoms out on the shelves is a very - very! - new thing. In the bad ol' days, people, usually men, had to go into a pharmacy or chemists, and ask the pharmacist for his "packet of three," or "a little something for the weekend." Perhaps the good news is that these ARE such a popular item with thieves - after all, even they should practice safe sex.
Froggie went a'courtin'
Sixty five miles outside of Dhaka, Bangladesh, villagers - 240 of them - attended a wedding ceremony...for frogs. The village was parched from a long period of drought, and following on with the ancient beliefs that "marry" the fertility of people and the earth with literal marriage rites, they hoped that by bringing these two together - complete with a traditional wedding feast of rice and lentils - that rain would fall. It did, the next day.
The only thing no one was sure of, when the newlyweds were released into a local pond, was whether or not they would be getting a pad together :)
Texting safe sex
Tanzanian researchers will investigate whether mobile phone technology can be used to encourage safer sex among homosexual men.
The project aims to give homosexual men information about HIV/AIDS via their mobile phones' short message service in the dominant language, Kiswahili.
The project coordinator says she hopes that by giving these men the information they need to protect themselves and their partners via a popular technological device, the message may spread quite quickly.
About 10 million out of a population of 38 million in Tanzania are active mobile phone users, with another six million using mobile phones on an irregular basis.
According to figures released by the Tanzania Commission for Aids, about six of every 100 Tanzanians between the ages of 15 and 49 are infected with HIV/AIDS.
The project is also providing a mechanism for recipients to make free calls to HIV/AIDS councillors for advice;
the US-based Foundation for AIDS Research has announced a grant of $114,000 to help get the project started.
Reactions to the Pope's condemnation of the C...
The Pope has been blasted with criticism from around the world, as scientists, activists and whole countries, including his native Germany, called his opposition to condoms to stop the spread of AIDS unrealistic and dangerous.
Pope Benedict, after his arrival in Africa a few weeks ago, told an audience that condoms "increase the problem" of AIDS.
*The German government, which is already at odds with the pontiff because of his decision to lift the excommunication of a Holocaust-denying bishop, argued that the pope has it all wrong and that condoms play a decisive role in saving lives in the fight against AIDS.
"Modern development cooperation must give access to the means for family planning to the poorest of the poor. And the use of condoms is especially part of that," Germany's health and development ministers said in a joint statement.
"Anything else would be irresponsible," they added.
*The French also expressed "very strong concern," saying the remarks "put in danger public health policy."
*Belgium called the Pope's comments "dangerous doctrinaire vision," while the Dutch government said they were "extremely harmful."
*Spain, a very Catholic country, took a more interesting route and in defiance of the Pope's statement, announced they are going to send one million condoms to Africa.
This argument is not new, of course. In the 1960s, the Catholic Church took a direct stand against any form of birth control; the difference now is that the argument has shifted from birth control as wrong to condoms are wrong...period.
The Vatican backs down
Yesterday, the Vatican tried to clean up the mess that the Pope's statement has created.
From Africa News, March 20
"THE Pope has backed away slightly from his claim made in Africa that the distribution of condoms exacerbates the spread of AIDS.
Amid pointed attacks on the Pope's comments by the French Government, angry aid groups and much of the Western media, the Vatican yesterday released a text that watered down his assertion.
The Catholic Church has long opposed the use of condoms to fight the spread of HIV and AIDS but on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT) the Pope went further by asserting for the first time that the use of condoms could actually increase the epidemic, which has infected some 22 million people in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Pope initially told reporters flying with him to Cameroon that AIDS was ``a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, and that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems''.
But yesterday the Vatican website published an edited text changing his words to say that the use of condoms ``risks'' aggravating the problem.
Reporters who taped the Italian-language interview said the Pope, who speaks fluent Italian, did not say the word ``risks'' on Tuesday and he was unequivocal in saying that condoms aggravate the epidemic.
The Pope's spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, said the Pope stood by his belief that the distribution of condoms was ``not in reality the best way'' to tackle AIDS, and that the best answer was marital fidelity and sexual abstinence for the unmarried.
As aid workers said the comments would cost lives among African Catholics, the French Foreign Ministry's spokesman said his Government ``voices extremely sharp concern over the consequences of (the comments)''.
``While it is not up to us to pass judgment on church doctrine, we consider that such comments are a threat to public health policies and the duty to protect human life,'' he said.
The German Government issued a statement saying ``condoms save lives, as much in Europe as in other countries''.
Belgium's health minister Laureate Onkelinx called the Pope's comments ``astonishing (and) contrary to the unanimous recommendations of the scientific community''.
In a scathing editorial, The New York Times said the Pope ``deserves no credence when he distorts scientific findings about the value of condoms in slowing the spread of the AIDS virus''.
``The first half of his statement is clearly right. Condoms alone won't stop the spread of HIV ... but the second half of his statement is grievously wrong.
``There is no evidence that condom use is aggravating the epidemic and considerable evidence that condoms, though no panacea, can be helpful in many circumstances.''
The best research showed that ``condoms can reduce the transmission of the AIDS virus by 80 per cent'', the newspaper said.
The Times of London called the Pope's statement ``a threat to public health''. Urging young people to ignore medical advice on condoms ``is not a pro-life position'', The Times said. ``It is a guaranteed prescription for more funerals.
``The medical evidence is overwhelming: his claim is absurd and irresponsible.''
Outrage at the sexy condom campaign
Yesterday, English politicians were accused of encouraging promiscuity and casual sex because of the new campaign to persuade young women to carry condoms, something we covered here last month.
The campaign tells girls that 'men like nothing better than a woman who knows what she wants' and the Department of Health has labelled the campaign 'condom confidence boosts sex appeal'. This works in tandem - though not necessarily intentionally - with the recent AIDS Day campaign that targeted young women, advising them to take control over their own sexuality. If nothing else, the following certainly points out the total lack of leadership there is regarding sexuality and safe sex - and all that goes with it - in the UK.
The £5.2million campaign also provides young women advice on how to persuade men to use condoms.
Recommended phrases include 'if you make it clean, I'll make it dirty' and 'let's get you ready for the ride of your life'.
Women are told that they are no longer regarded as 'easy' for carrying a condom.
A Cosmopolitan magazine writer who was paid to speak for the campaign, is quoted as saying: 'Taking a condom on a night out should be as normal as taking a phone, keys and purse. There has never been a better time for women to be condom confident and enjoy a healthy, active sex life.'
But the campaign brought angry criticism from MPs and experts on teenage pregnancy.
Tory MP Julian Brazier said: 'I have always accepted that condoms have some role to play in fighting sexually-transmitted infections.
'But it is very sad that the authors of this document do not seem to understand that the problem starts with growing levels of sexual activity by people with multiple partners.
'This campaign is contributing to the further growth of the problem rather than to public health.'
Patricia Morgan, author of studies of teenage pregnancy, said: 'You could hardly do more to encourage promiscuity. It is close to asking girls to go about the place with notices on their foreheads saying they are available.
'It is crude and brutal, and it will lead to more STIs, more pregnancies, and greater unhappiness.'
A previous health minister, Caroline Flint, said in 2006 that carrying a condom should be as familiar to young women as using a mobile phone or lipstick.
The Department of Health has now opted to tell women that carrying a condom makes them attractive.
After commissioning a poll, it said in publicity material: 'Men like nothing better than a woman who knows what she wants, with the majority of men polled (68 per cent) believing that women who carry condoms are confident and in control.
'Female attitudes and behaviour in relation to sex, and roles and responsibilities, have changed significantly over the last 30 years.
'Double standards which used to exist for men and women around carrying condoms have disappeared.'
The campaign warns of high rates of sexually-transmitted diseases, in particular chlamydia, and quotes Miss Hedley as saying: 'Many young women who get treated for an STI have had unprotected sex because they didn't have a condom to hand.'
Young women are offered 'confidence tips', which include phrases to indicate 'you are up for some fun, but only if he wears a condom' and lines to persuade reluctant men.
Miss Primarolo's officials said Government policy is to ask young women to delay having sex, but to persuade those who do to use condoms.
The Health Department said: 'The Condom Essential Wear campaign reminds sexuallyctive people to be prepared with effective contraception, and raises awareness about sexually-transmitted infections. This is against the backdrop of 397,990 newlydiagnosed STIs in UK sexual health clinics in 2007.'
But Tory MP Graham Brady said: 'There is a fine line between advising those who are having sexual relationships to do so safely, and risking encouraging casual encounters. This campaign falls on the wrong side of that line.'
The Christian Institute thinktank warned that the campaign was at odds with efforts by ministers to protect women from sexual violence and rape.
Spokesman Mike Judge said: 'This will encourage promiscuity and encourage men to think of women as sex objects. It will do nothing to discourage rape.'
The latest from the Pope
From the National Press
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE -- Pope Benedict XVI headed to AIDS-ravaged Africa on Tuesday standing firm against the use of condoms, saying they were not a solution to combatting the disease.
AIDS "is a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems," the 81-year-old pontiff said.
The solution lies in a "spiritual and human awakening" and "friendship for those who suffer," said Pope Benedict, who will visit Cameroon and Angola during the weeklong trip.
The pope is scheduled to land in the Cameroon capital Yaounde at around 4:00 pm (1500 GMT).
Speaking to reporters aboard the papal plane, the pope also denied feeling alone in the controversy sparked when he lifted the excommunication of Holocaust-denying bishop Richard Williamson.
"In truth, this myth about solitude makes me laugh," the pope said, dismissing reports in the Italian media that the controversy had left him isolated. "I am surrounded by friends. Solitude does not exist," he said.
The trip is Benedict's first as pontiff to Africa, and during his Sunday Angelus blessing he said he wanted to wrap his arms around the entire continent, with "its painful wounds, its enormous potential and hopes."
The pope, who will turn 82 on April 16, last month said he wanted 2009 to be the "Year of Africa," which will also include a conference of African bishops in Rome in September and an African synod at the Vatican in October.
The stop in Yaounde, where Benedict will stay until Friday, will include a meeting with the representatives of 52 African states preparing the October synod.
Pope Benedict, who is due to celebrate an open-air mass in Yaounde on Thursday, will also meet with representatives of the Muslim community and associations serving the handicapped.
In Angola, which is still recovering from 27 years of civil war, Pope Benedict will meet with diplomats posted in Luanda and urge the international community not to abandon Africa.
The German pontiff will celebrate an open-air mass in Luanda on Sunday.
Sub-Saharan Africa is more heavily affected by AIDS than any other region of the world. Nearly two-thirds of all adults and children with HIV live in the region, according to a 2006 report by UNAIDS.
The prevalence of HIV infection is "creeping up" in west Africa, notably in Cameroon at 5.1% and Gabon at 5.9%, according to the AIDS charity AVERT on its website.
Southern Africa bears a disproportionate share of the global HIV burden, with 35 percent of the world's new HIV infections and 38% of AIDS deaths in 2007.
AIDS prevention is a subject that often puts the Vatican at odds with international health organisations, since the Roman Catholic Church advocates abstinence as the only effective way of preventing the spread of AIDS and opposes campaigns for the use of condoms.
Last year about 60 Catholic groups wrote an open letter to Benedict urging him to reverse the Vatican's opposition to contraception.
The ban on condoms "exposes millions of people to the risk of contracting the AIDS virus," they said.
The trip is Benedict's 11th outside Italy in his four years as the head of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics.
While it is his first trip to Africa as pope, Benedict has travelled to the continent once before, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 1987 when he visited the Democratic Republic of Congo [then Zaire].
South Africa's trials
Despite high rates of teen pregnancy and HIV, South African high schools are going to be prophylactic free because of confused government policies and just plain ignorance on the part of adminstrators who come up with these laws. For years, the battle over the rights and wrongs of safe sex teaching and its twin, condom use, has been a war zone, fought out in the places where the information is most needed, the schools. The issue is of course just as touchy in other countries, to include the US and UK, all of which makes it impossible to gather any real intelligence regarding just which countries and regions are using schools to educate about - and to distribute within - c usage.But with HIV-prevalence among young women aged 15 to 24 estimated at about 20 percent in South Africa, calls to introduce condoms in high schools are growing louder. The Department of Education's politically pragmatic solution since 1999 has been to leave the decision – like many others related to sex education – up to individual schools. This is meant to accomodate local norms and sensitivities, but like other places, it has simply led to confusion, ambivilence, and ignorance.When an official was asked as to whether any schools taught about safe sex and condoms, he responded: "We were told we should not do that, that the department of health did not allow condom distribution in schools." To make matters worse, the school-age pregnancy rate is soaring in South Africa, but the response by most school officials is that they do not want to be handing out condoms like "bubble gum."
The female C
Some of the worst affected African nations have been pushing female condom use really hard in the last year - this is driven by the belated understanding that women must have a say in c use, or it will never be "full proof" - but the West is way behind the times. Perhaps that will change soon, as the FDA has approved a lower-cost female condom, called the FC2 Female Condom, to help prevent pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, and other sexually transmitted diseases. Cost, as well as ease of use, has been a major part of the reason women have not taken to condom use. That news comes from Chicago-based Female Health Company, which makes the FC2 Female Condom and the original female condom, called the FC1 Female Condom, which the FDA approved in 1993. A female condom is a thin, flexible sheath worn by a woman inside her vagina. Like male condoms, female condoms are sold without a prescription and each female condom should only be used once. The FC1 and FC2 female condoms have the same design and work equally well. But the FC2 will cost up to 30% less than the FC1 because of less costly materials and manufacturing. About 35 million female condoms were distributed worldwide in 2008, compared to about 10 billion male condoms.
Wrinklies just won't learn
England's less-than-serious newspaper ran a story a few weeks ago about seniors and STDs, with the interesting starting lines: "RANDY wrinklies are being blamed for a worrying rise in sex diseases.For the passionate pensioners, often fired up with Viagra, are turning their backs on safe sex.Syphilis cases have risen by 139 per cent among the over- 45s in the past four years as giggling grannies get it on with groaning grandads. " Not very respectful, but this is a growing trend in both the UK and the US, one that has been discussed here before. But the interesting part is the way in which doctors are stating that they are "surprised" by the increase.
Well, it has been tracked for some time now, and given the meteoric climb in use of viagra, the explosion in sexually transmitted diseases amongst older people is not really a surprise. What is more surprising is the lack of advertising and other communication focused on this group, all about the how's, why's, and why nots, to include taking away the stigma of using condoms and seeking medical care when they think something has gone wrong. They also need to be educated as to just who is at risk, given a new study by Fusion condoms, which again tells us that wrinklies still don't understand that AIDS is no longer a threat after a certain age. The West's version of African males promises to child prostitutes - "AIDS goes away after the sun goes down." Sadly, AIDS no more goes away after our 30s than it does when the sun sets.
Goodie Bags!
The only people more shocked than the children when a New York middle school handed out goodie bags which included condoms were the parents. It is perhaps telling that one of the first questions asked by a 7th grade recipient was "What do I do with this?" The medical center which provides health care at the school was trying to raise awareness of AIDS and its prevention by handing out goodie bags with lollypops and key chains, but some of them also included condoms. Parents and administrators were shocked by it all and it was stated that this broke all the rules, as it is against New York's department of Education rules to hand out birth control. Given this was for educational purposes about STDs, it could be argued that no one was breaking the rules. Except perhaps the adults who chose to panic and make it all something "dirty" instead of a "teachable moment."
A look at Hong Kong
Is it that Hong Kong has reverted back to China? After all, that country has one of the fastest growing HIV/AIDs rates in the world. Whether it be the connection with China or not, the once metropolitan Hong Kong is suffering from a terrible epidemic of HIV, up 5% just this year. The Department of Health blames homosexuals who are not using condoms, but heterosexuals are not far behind in their lack of smart sex.
for whatever reason, there has also been a spike in prostitutes offering condom-free sex for a bit extra, and the safe-sex message there has also left gays out of the picture.
This all coincides with information that a Hong Kong based non-profit has just published:
A report by the group Action for Reach Out, based on a survey of 113 Hong Kong sex workers from March 2006 to March 2007, found that 41 per cent said customers have forced them to have sex without condoms. Another 18.6 per cent ran into customers who refused to pay, and 13.3 per cent said customers were violent.
Those polluting C's
Perhaps giving even more importance to the following news item - vegan condoms - it may be time to think a bit more about the negative environmental side of c's, as we also preach their use.
The two leading forms of nonpermanent birth control in the United States are the oral contraceptive pill and the male condom. Each takes its toll on our environment.
The contents of the pill can find their way into the environment and the hormones in these products -- either progestin or a combination of progestin and estrogen -- are known as endocrine disruptors, and women who take the pill end up passing some of them through their urine. If they make it through the wastewater systems, the hormones can flush into rivers and streams. These are the substances blamed ont he feminization of fish, but simply cutting out contraceptives won't solve the problem of intersex fish: What's really needed is better sewage treatment.
And condoms? Most sold in the US and UK are made of biodegradable latex. However, they also contain preservatives and hardening agents to make sure the rubber can withstand a fair amount of friction. Those additives also make it harder for the condoms to break down in the landfill. Lambskin condoms are biodegradable, but chemical additives may inhibit the process. Naturalamb, the only widely available animal-based brand in the West, does lubricate the lamb intestines they import from New Zealand, so it's unclear just how easily its product breaks down. Natural condoms, however, are still likely to be a greener choice than latex condoms, and are equally as effective at preventing pregnancy. (Polyurethane condoms, which make up about 3% to 4% of U. S. sales, won't break down at all.)
In the end, though, how much waste do discarded condoms actually represent? In 2008, 437 million rubbers were sold in the U. S. An official NYC condom weighs 0.1 ounces in the wrapper, so the total mass of used-condom garbage should be around 2.75 million pounds, or 1,365 tons. (Condom wrappers are typically made of plastic or some kind of treated foil.)
Given that the condoms represent only about 0.001% of the 152 million tons of trash American households produce annually -- and that we still need a lot of research into the precise effects that pharmaceuticals are having on our water supply -- condoms seem to be the greener choice than the pill. This is especially true when you factor in all the packaging that typically comes with North American pharmaceuticals -- the plastic dispensers, the printed instruction leaflets and so on.
Vegan condoms
Vegan condoms have gone on sale in the UK. They are made without milk-based casein used in other condoms, an ingredient few users would even know standard condoms contained. These veggie-friendly items are intended for the younger user and will be sold in fashion stores, health food shops and chemists.
There are about 180,000 vegans - who eat no meat, dairy, fish or eggs - in Britain.
Naked parents...
The dramatic rise in teen pregnancies has the UK government scratching its collective head, trying to figure out how to stem the tide. It has been suggested, though, that Instead of making chemistry teachers do things with bananas and condoms or showing kids PowerPoint presentations about sex in the context of a meaningful loving relationship, we should look at why teenagers from Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Holland are so much less likely to get knocked up than their British counterparts. Maybe it's because they have better education, less poverty and more exacting welfare systems. However, it might also be that in these countries sex really isn't such a big deal.
Take the British - and American - attitude towards nudity compared with that of the Europeans: you can spot the English tourist in the sauna because he or she is the one clutching their towel, worrying about his virtue, while all around, their continental neighbours are letting it all hang out, literally. The television programme How to Look Good Naked is not topping the ratings in Scandinavia because if you have seen your mother and all her friends naked on the beach or in the sauna, then the climax of the show, in which a woman takes her kit off in public, is hardly a revelation (if you're a Swedish teen you would rather see a middle-aged woman with her clothes on).
The only country that is even more squeamish about the human body than Britain is America (remember the national furore over the flash of Janet Jackson's nipple at the Super Bowl) and over there teens make up 10% of all live births.
The one thing we know for sure about teenagers is that they want to be different from their parents. So perhaps the government, instead of spending millions on sex education, should introduce free mixed saunas, or compulsory nude sunbathing on all British beaches (weather permitting).
One of the most traumatic moments in every childhood is the horror of realising that your parents must have had sex at least once. Instead of trying to teach teenagers about mature loving relationships, send them to nudist camps with their family and confront them with the reality of mature adult relationships, complete with stretchmarks and sagging scrotums, and see whether a fumble in the lift shaft still appeals. If every British family spent two weeks a year at Naked Center Parcs, we might see an increase in teenage golf or gardening or bowls.
If our teens grew up in a world where sex was considered a wrinkly activity, things would be very different. Think of the yuk factor if instead of a talk about the birds and the bees, your parents sat down with their well-thumbed version of the Kama Sutra and talked you through their favourite positions. Then make Sting the face of sex education and get him to explain the niceties of his tantric sex technique. Britain's declining monasteries and convents might see a surge of young recruits.
A few good men...
University of Windsor researchers are looking for a few good men to come forward with their used condoms as part of a landmark study probing the effectiveness of prophylactics. Lab tests conducted by manufacturers suggest condoms are durable and efficient at preventing diseases and pregnancies, but local researchers want to gauge the effects of real life "bedroom stresses" on their effectiveness. As many as 100 male test subjects - likely students and faculty, though anyone can volunteer their services - will be paid $50 to use 10 condoms.
David Beckham's red face...
David Beckham is reportedly the unwitting star of a Chinese television commercial promoting a range of impotence pills.
Old interview footage of the star - who has three sons with wife Victoria - has been dubbed over to promote USA Selikon, a Viagra-like medication.
In the clip, the dubbed voice says: "Want to know how I can keep being strong and running on the football field? USA Selikon capsules help me a
lot. It's also the secret weapon with which I can satisfy Victoria."
David is said to be furious over the advert, but his representative has declined to say whether he will be taking any action to stop the commercials.
Baby Hookers...
Well, she used condoms, but...
A 15 year old English school girl has been working as a high-class hooker - she makes about 7000£ a month, working on the weekends and going to school during the week. Claiming to be 18, she had no problem securing hotel rooms, where she met the grown men she serviced. Her shocking double life was uncovered when a teacher found condoms in her school bag. The police were called and officers took the girl home.
They searched the house she shared with her mum and stepdad and discovered £8,060 hidden in the loft.
Police at first suspected the parents were acting as her pimps and arrested them both. But it was later established that the girl was acting independently and the couple were released without charge.
The teenager was not arrested, and the police said she had been "treated as a victim throughout".
Her plight emerged at a Proceeds of Crime hearing at South Tyneside Magistrates' Court. The cash found at her house in South Tyneside was forfeited after JPs ruled it was obtained through crime.
Northumbria Police told the court: "The money was seized after police received a phone call from a school where a teacher found a pupil's bag containing certain items."
Officers said her earnings over two months were £14,000 - which would have netted a staggering £84,000 in a year if she had not been discovered.
The girl is not English and came to the UK with her mother - who is from Eastern Europe - around two years ago.
Shocked children's groups last night said she now urgently needs help.
Social services are working with the family. Michele Elliott, of children's charity Kidscape, said: "I feel desperately sorry for this young girl.
"You do have to wonder what gave her the idea to sell herself - was it to get nice things, was it to get enough money to leave home or was it because she was abused herself as many prostitutes have been?
"It is absolutely shocking. As a parent you would think you would know your daughter was working as a prostitute, but clearly this girl was able to hide it from her parents."
Wendy Shepherd, of Barnardo's, said: "Child sexual exploitation is an issue for a number of towns and cities.
It is not unusual young people are coerced and groomed into sexual exploitative relationships and don't always understand fully what is happening."
India tries to make the C sexy...
/www.moodsplanet.com/viral_campaign/images/2009/index.asp (a romantic ad for Indian condoms!)
A recent youth festival aimed at raising awareness about health issues and HIV in India did something unique to draw visitors. Amid all the sobering talk of at-risk communities, safe sex and health care, the festival invited bashful attendees to talk about pleasure.
At one booth, visitors were urged to leave tips in a drop box under a sign that asked, "Can safe sex be sexy?" In another booth nearby, the use of the female condom was demonstrated to curious onlookers.
But talking about sex can be an uphill task in India's traditional and patriarchal society. Even though India gave the world the "Kama Sutra," the ancient Sanskrit text about sexual behavior, open conversations about sex remain taboo in the country.
"The whole debate about safe sex has been conducted around fear, danger, disease and death. It is negative. We forgot the pursuit of pleasure. We have to put the sexy back into safer sex," said Anne Philpott, the British founder of the Pleasure Project, an international educational program that promotes safe sex that "feels good."
The program was born out of Philpott's experience promoting female condoms in India, Sri Lanka, Senegal and Zimbabwe as an "erotic accessory." In the past four years, she has pushed the pleasure principle at AIDS conferences in Bangkok, Sri Lanka and Mexico, and she is teaming up with Indian health groups to re-spin the safe-sex message.
"Health workers often address the issue of safe sex in a clinical manner or like a teacher wagging their finger. It is more effective when they find creative ways to incorporate pleasure and desire into the sexual-health dialogue," she said.
About 2.5 million Indians were living with HIV in 2006, according to a report by the United Nations, and one-third of them were ages 15 to 24. Fifteen years after India began a national anti-AIDS program, the government is still confronting the basic challenge of getting people to even utter the word "condom." An advertisement campaign called "Condom Bindaas Bol" or "Say Condom Freely" urges people to say the word without fear of stigma.
"In our culture, there are so many wedding songs that are full of playful sexual connotations. Women sing it, but when you ask them to talk, they go shy," said Rituparna Borah, project associate for Nirantar, a group that works on rural women's health issues in northern India. "But once they begin to speak, the walls come down."
One area in which Philpott's pleasure principle is being implemented successfully in India is the promotion of the female condom.
At the youth festival, held last month and dubbed Project 19, the volunteers led a game in which they asked amused visitors to describe their first impression of the female condom.
"We tell the sex workers to have fun with the female condom. We tell them, 'You spend money on makeup, jewelry, jasmine flowers for your hair. This female condom is another ornament for you,' " said Kavita Potturi, national program manager with Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust, a division of a company that sells the female condom.
Two years after a limited introduction, India will scale up the distribution of female condoms among 200,000 sex workers. According to a study by the governmental National Aids Control Organization, sex workers said they often persuaded their clients to use protection by citing enhanced pleasure from it. The number of nongovernmental groups using the pleasure rationale to promote safe sex is slowly growing in India.
"When we begin to talk about HIV and AIDS, people run away. They think we are preaching celibacy," said G. Krishna, a gay health worker with a group called Suraksha Society in the southern city of Hyderabad. "I have now begun conducting rapport-building exercises by asking people how and what they enjoy."
At the festival, a giggly group of college students who stopped at Philpott's stall excitedly wrote down tips, drew sketches and asked questions.
"We can totally relate to this. We are tired of moral lecturing about safe sex all the time," said Swedha Singh, 18, a mathematics undergraduate at Delhi University.
Health workers said they faced barriers in communicating with young people.
"Talking about disease and fear haven't worked very well. People believe they are in a safe relationship and that disease does not apply to them," said Arushi Singh, a resource officer for the International Planned Parenthood Federation, which trains health educators in South Asia.
"But pleasure," she said, "applies to everybody."
After thousands of years of service, could it be "The End" for the Humble C?
Well, not necessarily as birth control, but perhaps the condom is finally, after so many years, going to be displaced as the only thing between sexual health and not. Because it is believed in the scientific/medical community that a vaccine against HIV is decades away, this week, The Times newspaper announced that British scientists are being given a seed grant by the British government and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation of 90 million pounds in order to develop gels that can protect people against HIV. Work by British scientists suggests that it has the best chance yet of controlling the spread of Aids. World-leading British research teams, including those at Imperial College Lodon, St George's, University of London, and the Medical Research Council, are expected to be recipients.
The grant follows results from a preliminary trial, released this month, which suggest that a new gel, applied inside the vagina, may reduce the chances of women contracting HIV by a third. The findings raise the prospects of success for a second, larger, trial of the same drug, run by Imperial, which is due to finish in August.
Microbicides are formulated as gels or creams designed to destroy bacteria and viruses or to reduce their ability to establish an infection. The gel concept works by being applied to the vagina or rectum before sex to kill HIV, prevent the virus entering human cells and inhibiting HIV replication. It shares many of the advantages of a vaccine, including being undetectable when used by women, who might be unable to persuade their partners to use condoms.
A problem is that while many chemicals can kill HIV - undiluted household bleach included - their toxicity is such that they risk causing tissue damage that actually hastens any infection.
The findings released this month from the phase II/III clinical trial of PRO 2000 microbicide, which is being developed by the pharmaceutical company Indevus, suggest that this particular battle may be being won.
The preliminary study of 3,100 women whose husbands were HIVpositive showed a significant cut in transmission rates. While not conclusive - the difference was not great enough to make it statistically significant, meaning that it could still have been the result of chance - the findings have been welcomed with a confidence rarely seen of late in the Aids science community.
The second PRO 2000 trial involving 9,000 women, led by Imperial and involving teams in Uganda, Tanzania and South Africa, now offers the chance of definitive statistical data by November.
Sheena McCormack, clinical epidemiologist at the Medical Research Council's Clinical Trials Unit, which has coordinated the PRO 2000 trials, said that microbicide researchers were beginning to feel that the product is working.
"We have come together as an international community in a more coherent way [recently], and we are starting to see the results," she said. "These should now come in quick succession.
We are now going to get an answer in 2009. We have given PRO 2000 the best chance. If it works, it will be statistically significant in our trial and obviously a very, very exciting development."
The Canadian military's woes...
Since WWI, the Canadian military has been a model for other militaries in the way it has handled safe sex. Free and easily had condoms have been available, no questions asked, for almost a hundred years, but in the last few years, those smart soldiers seem to have lost their way, with a 71% rise in STDs since about 2005. Canadian officers blame "risky and reckless" behaviors, but it would seem that the root of the problem harks back to the 1960s, when gonorhea and syphilis were suddenly curable by taking a little pill. Soldiers are citing the same excuse for a lack of caution, believing that if they do contract something nasty, one tablet, and they will be fine. How can we have raised yet another such ignorant generation?
Ireland's new website...
A sad statement perhaps about Irish society, but a new website seems to be doing a land office business in selling sex. Gumtree.com has over a 1000 ads for "massage" services - read prostitutes - some of whom advertise that there is no extra charge for sex without a condom. When the sponsors were questioned about the lack of social consciousness in selling adverts like this on their site, they responded with:
"Gumtree.com is a local community notice board that facilitates face-to-face trade."
China's ongoing struggle...
Despite its all-out attempt at getting the word out about safe sex and condoms during the last Olympics, it seems the Chinese government is fighting a losing battle when it comes to teaching the man and woman on the street about how to protect themselves from AIDS.
The news that Aids has become China's deadliest infectious disease, killing nearly 7,000 people in the first nine months of last year, lends an air of urgency to a national sex-education campaign launched on the mainland last week.
HIV/Aids and other sexually transmitted diseases are most often the result of "ignorance or reckless behaviour", according to authorities, who say HIV/Aids on the mainland is now transmitted mainly through sexual intercourse rather than intravenous drug use - a new finding. Chinese experts say the rate of new infections is growing and that the worst is yet to come. Official figures show the number of confirmed cases at the end of September was 264,302, a rise of more than 40,000 over a year. But United Nations health authorities estimate a much higher number at 700,000 at the end of 2007. There has also been a 20 per cent rise in reported cases of another sexually transmitted disease, syphilis.
Ignorance is the reason, based on a cultural reticence to discuss sexual issues, which may not be an excuse, but it does contribute greatly to the problem. The new sex-education campaign just launched is intended to break down taboos and get more people to get treatment for sexually transmitted diseases and infertility. Campaign advisers say that only 7 per cent of women and 8 per cent of men seek immediate help for sexual problems, delaying treatment for some very serious diseases, and that more than one in three never seek help for them.
Once again, if only people would read their history! The yin-chia has been around since the 15th century!
A turnaround for the female C
Uganda has proved itself to be really resourceful when it has come to condoms and HIV/AIDS prevention, but they are perhaps the first to return to the much-maligned female version. On February 17th, their Ministry of Health reintroduced female condoms as part of its HIV/AIDS prevention program in response to increased demand, IRIN/PlusNews reports. According to IRIN/PlusNews, the government in 2007 halted distribution of the female condom because of insufficient demand and complaints that the condoms were not user-friendly. However, a recent health ministry analysis determined that women in the country sought an HIV prevention method that allowed them control over preventing sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, and unintended pregnancies.
The ministry will distribute about 100,000 female condoms, primarily in the eastern and central parts of Uganda. Some women in the western area of the country do not support the reintroduction of the female condom because they do not believe it is supportive of their culture, but the ministry will conduct an awareness campaign to promote acceptance of the female condom in all regions of the country.
The female c's will be available at government health centers for a small fee, condom advocates argue that some Ugandan women will not be able to afford the fee and therefore will not be able to use them; one member of the Ugandan parliament said that by charging, some women will be inclinded to reuse the condoms, which raises health and hygiene issues. In 1999 Uganda bought 1.5 million female condoms and distributed some at no cost. However, the remaining condoms are still on the shelves of the National Medical Stores.
Alexander Wang and Planned Parenthood
On Valentine's Day, Alexander Wang's fashion show unveiled the limited-edition condom he designed in collaboration with Planned Parenthood. These Proper Attire rubbers will be sold at Thompson Hotels in New York and Los Angeles, and online (properattirecondoms.com). All profits go to Planned Parenthood.
"When Planned Parenthood approached me to collaborate with them on a project that makes condoms more appealing to women, I loved the idea!" Wang said. "I used a spare design that felt sexy, modern and empowering; after all, women should always come first!"
And they come with this nifty little purse!!
No more credit crunch profits for the C??
As of last week, it would appear that the libidinous side of the credit crunch has reversed itself.
It is now a libido-draining time, with the effect of the global financial crisis hitting some condom manufacturers, especially Ansell. While sales of branded condoms were robust and with overwhelming US demand for Ansell's new SKYN polyisoprene condom, it wasn't enough to prop up its private label division's sagging sales. Those are some of the freebies distributed throughout the developing world.
Valentine's messages around the globe...
VALENTINE'S Day could end up being VD Day for thousands of Irish couples - because they forget to use a condom. The Irish Health Service Executive has warned couples that this time of year, when plenty of people are planning a night of passion, that "hot date could end up in the not-so romantic ambience of the sexual disease clinic."
Last year, the Health Service did a study and found that eight in 10 Irish are not aware of the risk of sexually transmitted infections. The research by the Irish Study of Sexual Health and Relationships found that 69 per cent of those who did not use a condom "trusted" that their lover did not have an infection. Sadly, 14 per cent of these had just met their sexual partners.
On the other hand, a country that has been hit very hard by HIV/AIDS paints a very different picture.
Thai youths are more likely express their love with gifts and roses on Valentine's Day than have sex, according to the findings of a poll. These findings were released at the oddly named "White Valentine Design Your Love" press conference, to the Public Health Minister and HIV/Aids control and prevention agencies.
The survey, conducted by Rajabhat Suan Dusit Institute asked Thais aged 15 to 24 about sex and how they would be celebrating Valentine's Day.
The answer was with roses and romance
About 26 per cent said they would give a gift to their partner, 13 per cent would give roses and 10 per cent wanted a romantic dinner for two. Only 5 per cent admitted that sex was part of their plans.
British campaign to get girls to think...
Although it offended some of what the advocacy group Brook's representatives referred to as "middle class Britains in middle Britain," this agency has been running an ad campaign to get British women to think about using condoms not just for the sake of safe sex - STDs - but also as birth control, an old-new idea that has come and gone for hundreds of years.
Britain has the highest teen pregnancy rate of any of the Western nations, but this campaign is trying to reach two targets, teens and women over 25 (a stark reminder of what one night without protection can mean to the professional woman who does not want babies yet, ever, or more of them); so far, the numbers do not support the campaign's success rate.
Australia's take on Valentine's Day
The Aussies celebrate Valentine's Day with a twist. There, it is also National Condom Day, because "No Valentine deserves to be given an STD," and "Romance brings responsibility and consequences as well as pleasure.''
Stimulating the economy
Rep. John Boehner, the House Minority Leader, after a meeting (a bipartisan meeting) with President Barack Obama last week.
Boehner said:
"You know, I'm concerned about the size of the package. And I'm concerned about some of the spending that's in there, how you can spend hundreds of millions of dollars on contraceptives. How does that stimulate the economy? According to the House Republican leader's own website, what Boehner was talking about are potential Medicaid law changes. A provision in this legislation clears the way, it appears, for expanded federal funding of contraceptives through Medicaid for "everyone," not just the poor.
A Clinton-era program allows states to seek a waiver to offer Medicaid "family planning" services - even for those who are not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid. If they seek the waiver, the federal government matches the state funding with $9 for every $1.
A few days after Boehner's statement, during consideration of the congressional Democrats' spending bill by the House Energy & Commerce Committee, that panel eliminated the waiver requirement. So now all 50 states will now offer Medicaid "family planning" services (including contraception) with the federal government offering the same $9 to $1 match.
The concerns on the part of the Republican representitive may be valid in that, though making sex safer and safety cheaper and more easily found, protractors do not see the relationship between the above and stimulating the economy.
Or as one pundit put it, the provision may stimulate, but not the economy.
Cheap yes, romantic, no!
From the New York Daily News, January 29th...
Sex, smoking and sitting around on the couch.
Recession be damned - there are some things New Yorkers are loath to give up.
Namely: our vices.
We'll stagger around in cheap boots before cutting out cabs and sit in the dark rather than shutting off HBO. One million city dwellers are smokers, said an NYC.gov report last year.
In this belt-tightening climate, can we afford to keep up our naughtiest needs, from snacking to cocktail-slinging?
We can, with a bit of creative prioritizing. Instead of hailing a taxi, swipe your MetroCard and with your savings (and help to the environment), you can hit happy hour feeling smug and frugal.
Speaking of happy hour: Start drinking earlier, and you'll save a quarter of your booze money AND maybe even snag some free snacks.
Check out these clever tricks for sneaking in some sin, plus tips on which vices to ditch.
SAVE ON SEX The last thing you want to skimp on is safe sex, but a 12-pack of regular Trojan latex condoms runs $12. If you go through a pack a month, you're talking about $144 to knock boots - and that's not counting the wining and dining you do beforehand. Luckily, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is hip to the fact that we're a city of love. Pick up a handful of its free NYC condoms at scores of shops and bars and other sites sprinkled across the five boroughs.
Campaign condoms...
One can only hope that anyone who bought these did so as a joke - or hoped that years from now, they would be collector's items. Either way, they are not in the best of taste!
A New York company, Practice Safe Policy, used the presidential campaign to sell their condoms; Senators John McCain and Barack Obama printed on the packaging. The unattractive condoms,have their own websites - www.obamacondoms.com and www.mccaincondoms.com.
McCain's condoms were agist - "For the conservative dick," and "May be too intense for seniors." And then the political: "Give your 'troops' the protection they deserve, buy McCainCondoms today! This will turn out to be the ultimate collectors item or a perfect gift for grandpa!" The condom packaging says "Old but not expired."
Obama's condoms point to his lack of experience. "No experience necessary," and "Who says experience is necessary?" And his campaign slogans: "These are uncertain times. The economy's a ball-buster and the surge went flaccid... but now there's Obama Condoms, for a change you can believe in!" The condom sleeve reads, "Use with good judgement."
There has been no reporting as to sales, but it's hard to imagine a mass market for these!
safe...computing
Condoms reduce the likelihood of catching or passing on nasty viruses except this one is designed to protect from the digital kind of infection. As anyone who has lost data - or a whole computer - knows, computer viruses are just as virulent as the biological variety, just as insidious - (except that they don't take lives.) The Condom USB is a new invention that "acts as a stopgap between any USB enabled device and your computer," according to its designer.
"As soon as the Condom USB detects a virus, built-in software shuts off USB access, verifies the problem, removes the nasty bug, then reopens the communication bridge to your computer. "
Are you convinced? Me neither!!
Update on Senegal
As of last week, human rights organizations, health groups and some foreign governments have united in condemning Senegal for imprisoning nine local AIDS activists.
The men were arrested Dec. 19, tried in two weeks and sentenced to eight years in prison for ''unnatural acts'' and ''belonging to a criminal association.'' Their group, AIDES Senegal, gave condoms and counseling to gay men. Human Rights Watch said the men were beaten in detention.
The arrests and harsh sentences came as a surprise because Senegal has long been praised for its handling of the epidemic and held up as a model for the rest of Africa. Only 10 days before the arrests, the country had been the host of an international conference on AIDS.
Criminalization of homosexuality is a major barrier to stopping the epidemic, said Michel Sidibe, the new executive director of UNaids.
His agency, the United Nations Development Program, the International AIDS Society and the French and Swedish governments are among those calling for the men to be released.
Senegal has kept its infection rate stable at less than 1 percent of the adult population for more than a decade. Unlike many African leaders who denied that AIDS was within their borders, the president and top Muslim clergy joined early to warn of the danger.
Senegal moved quickly to promote condom use, test the blood supply, require medical checkups for sex workers and give them antiretroviral drugs. But antigay sentiment has been on the rise recently; magazine photos of a gay wedding led to arrests last year, and mobs attacked gay people, a homosexual rights group said.
Greenpeace, engineered crops, and condoms...
No need for condoms – GE corn can do the job
(From Greenpeace, January 12)
GE corn: birth control the Monsanto way!
India — New research from Austria shows that a commercial strain of Monsanto-made GE corn causes mice to have fewer and weaker babies. What is this doing to human fertility?
Regulators around the world said Monsanto’s GE corn was as safe as non-GE strains.
It has been approved in many countries and regions including the US, the EU, Argentina, Japan, Philippines and South Africa.
China approved the GE corn for animal feed back in 2005.
Until this research, under the Austrian Ministries for Agriculture and Health, none of the regulators had seriously questioned the safety of Monsanto's GE corn.
The biotech industry is playing a game of genetic roulette with our food and with our health.
The GE corn research
Austrian scientists fed mice over a course of 20 weeks a mixture of 33 percent Monsanto GE corn (NK 603 x MON 810) and non-GE corn.
These mice gave birth to less babies and lighter babies in their third and fourth litters. Mice fed on non-GE corn had babies as normal.
These differences are statistically significant.
India and GE food
The GEAC(Genetic Engineering Approval Committee), a government body, has approved large scale field trials for BT corn in three agricultural universities in India. This corn is the same corn that according to a study by the Austrian government leads to infertility in the females of the rats that it was tested upon.
In the light of this latest research, Greenpeace India is urging the government to put the brakes on GE food.
"Genetic Engineering as a technology cannot be taken as safe without adequate safety tests" said Dr. Sujatha Byravan, Molecular biologist and former President of The Council for Responsible Genetics.
GE Brinjal is also in the pipeline, and being considered for approval.
Monsanto’s GE corn hurts mouse reproduction. So what is it doing to human reproduction?
Considering the severity of the potential threat, Greenpeace is demanding a recall of genetically-engineered food and crops from the global market.
Free C's to colleges
From the American group,
"Advocates for Youth"
Spring 2009 applications for the Great American Condom Campaign are now open!
This is how the GACC works: We are looking to distribute 1,000,000 free condoms to campuses across the country, which will be distributed at designated "SafeSites". If you are interested in creating a SafeSite on your campus, fill out the application form on the GACC page.
Last Fall, we distributed a box of 500 Trojan condoms to 550 SafeSites around the country. This Spring, we're looking to distribute even more, and hopefully have them delivered by Valentine's Day.
SafeSite applications for Spring Semester 2009 are currently being accepted on a rolling basis through January 11th, 2009. Keep in mind that the sooner you apply, if selected as a SafeSite, the more likely we will be able to get condoms to you by Valentine’s Day. In previous years, the GACC has received more SafeSite applications than the number of condoms available for the campaign. As such, priority will be given to applications received from students attending colleges/universities at which condom availability is limited. We will also take into account the number of applications received from each school and the individual applicant’s distribution plan. So please be creative when you write about how you want to distribute your condoms, who you want to work with, and if you have any activities planned!
Texas hates c's...
Dallas County Commissioners declared a lift on their ban on CONDOM distribution by their Health Department workers last week. The decision to abandon their policy of abstinence only in regards to teaching safe sex only made it by one vote, though. This county has the highest HIV rate in the state.
The beleagured head of the health department trying to cope with the upsurge in disease told the press and the council that he and his workers understood that condoms are not the cure-all, they were simply saying that condoms "should be in the tool kit."
Which universe has this council been living in for the past 40 years?
Pamela Anderson
Recently, Pamela Anderson wrote to the municipal commissioner of Mumbai, India, objecting to the city's policy of killing stray dogs. "Dogs cannot use condoms, but with the municipality's help, they can be 'fixed' -- painlessly, quickly and permanently," Anderson wrote.
The Pope Studies Condoms
The Catholic Church - not necessarily most Catholics - has been anti-condom for "forever," but last week may have been the beginning of a quiet but powerful breakthrough for that conservative but oh-so-powerful body.
Pope Benedict XVI requested the Vatican’s council to study and report on the subject of using condoms in order to help prevent AIDS. Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, a senior Roman Catholic official said that the Vatican will soon publish a report based on this issue. But still it says that it is better to refrain from sex which is one the efficient way to tackle HIV/Aids. Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, who was previously the Archbishop of Milan, acknowledged the use of condoms if one partner suffered from AIDS.
If usage of condoms were introduced then it would be a major revision of Vatican policy. Condoms have run only second to abortion when it comes to controversy among Catholics. But Cardinal Barragan was very positive and hopes that the Vatican will issue a document about the use of condoms by persons who have AIDS. He said the Vatican is scrutinizing the document, in collaboration with the scientists and theologians.
Do they know that Catholics have been a significant % of c users for centuries? And that that was all about disease prevention, not birth control (the biggie in the anti-argument)?
Credit Crunch and language
All the chemists (drug stores) and other outlets for condom sales have reported a huge spike in condom sales over the last 6 months, peaking over the holidays...language wonks have come up with some great new words describing the changes in society which have led to these mammoth sales! A
Thriftifarian is the person who realizes that staying home and having safe sex is a thrifty way to enjoy life...
Or as one trend watcher puts it: "The most important side effect of austere times is probably that consumers start questioning what truly makes them happy, which more often than not steers them towards the realisation that [it isn't just] traditional consumption. "
Or is it simply that being a true thriftarian means understanding that kids are expensive??
Voo doo and condoms...
Voodoo rituals have been inaccessible to anyone except disciples and priests for many years. Even though certain practices like scarification carry a high risk of HIV infection, outsiders to the voodoo community have largely been unable to penetrate the secrecy that health officials say can be deadly to its followers.
More than half of Benin's 7.5 million population identifies itself as practitioners of voodoo, recognised as an official religion in 1996 according to the government.
"We are talking about a high risk group that carries out unsafe practices," said Paul Boya, a Ministry of Health director of regulations. "There is scarification [skin cuts], female cutting and male circumcision. We know several people are using the same instruments."
Boya added another voodoo rite that leaves followers open to HIV infection is when a follower comes into contact with blood during public ceremonies, either through touch or drinking it.
Benin's national HIV infection rate is two percent as of 2007, but in high-risk groups like sex workers for which the government has data, the rate goes up to 25 percent, according to the government's National HIV and AIDS Control Programme (PNLS).
Closed world
But health officials are walled off from working with voodoo leaders said ministerial director Boya. "It is closed-off autocratic world, which makes any type of [health awareness] collaboration difficult. These are followers who keep what happens during initiation to themselves. Even if we manage to penetrate this world, who knows what they do after initiation?"
But voodoo priest and president of local non-profit Recades, Dah Alligbonon Akpochihala disagrees. "It is true that not just anybody can access our convents. Non-profits should go through the traditional voodoo leaders. But unfortunately they do not approach us frequently and only come through for the occasional special training."
Akpochihala said these efforts are not adequate to teach about HIV in the convents; he added outreach efforts should be better funded and organised through the state's national HIV and AIDS control programme.
The World Bank funded condom distribution and HIV education training for voodoo priests from 2002 until 2006. Some 8000 condoms were distributed according to the project reports.
The government's HIV and AIDS control programme has only had limited contact with voodoo leaders said its spokeswoman Marie Constance Mélomè. "The situation is delicate and there are constraints in trying to break into such a secretive society."
She said 20 priests attended a training the programme organised in November 2008 to discuss HIV prevention, less than organisers had expected.
Do we need famous names (and expensive fees) to sell young people on condom use??
From the English paper, The Observer (last week)
THEY ARE the celebrities whose advice about healthy lifestyles is deemed more credible than that of a doctor or government minister. Want to get people to stop smoking? Get Gary Lucy, handsome PC Will Fletcher in The Bill , to record video diaries outlining his struggle to quit. Looking for someone to convince more men to use contraception? Strictly Come Dancing winner Alesha Dixon, posing au naturelle , should attract their attention.
But the Department of Health, which increasingly uses actors, singers, television stars and sports personalities to convince the nation to adopt healthier habits, refuses to admit how much it spends on celebrity campaigns. Now critics have accused the government of "unacceptable secrecy" following speculation that stars are being paid up to £ 10,000 a day for their appearances.
The DoH has rejected a bid by the Observer under the Freedom of Information Act to find out how much money Dixon received for backing the Condom Essential Wear campaign, or the fee paid to model turned television presenter Melinda Messenger for helping to promote the 5-A-Day healthy eating scheme, or the amount paid to singer Jenny Frost for supporting its Breast Buddy breastfeeding initiative.
Officials confirmed that Frost, of the band Atomic Kitten, worked on the campaign for eight days and was "paid for public relations work, including interviews and personal appearances, as well as the use of her image on the pack sent out to young mums who sign up for Breast Buddy". But the DoH refused to reveal how much the singer received, citing "commercial interests" as the reason. Disclosure of the amount would deter other celebrities from fronting such campaigns in the future, it said. One official working inside the department said Frost had received £ 10,000 a day for her work, but the Observer has been unable to verify that figure.
Dixon generated publicity for a contraceptive campaign when she posed in a bath full of condoms. William Scott, an FoI official at the DoH who confirmed that Dixon worked on the promotion for one day, said: "The total cost of the photographic shoot for the campaign was £ 30,000. This covered [the] photographer's fee, Ms Dixon's fee, other agency fees, production costs, venue hire, hair, make-up, props and sundries." But he would not specify how much the singer had received.
Scott said that release of information about such payments would make it more difficult to persuade celebrities to work with the department in the future. "The department appreciates that high-profile individuals are very successful at communicating public health messages," he added.
Last night MPs and the leader of the country's family doctors insisted that the public had a right to know the size of such payments. "It's good to work with people who are of a high profile. But given that it's a national health service, we do have a right to know how much celebrities are paid," said Professor Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of GPs. "It's just a shame that celebrities don't give up their time for free to help improve the health of the nation. That would be a brilliant, public-spirited thing to do."
Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrats' spokesman on health, said: "In many ways the use of celebrities makes a lot of sense, but there's no justification at all for secrecy over these fees. It's unacceptable and ludicrous that the DoH refuses to release the amounts paid. It's public money and we have a right to know."
Independent MP and ex-hospital consultant Dr Richard Taylor, a member of the Commons health select committee, said: "I think it's one of those kneejerk government reactions that 'using a celebrity must be a good thing, let's do it'. But does that work? I don't think there's any evidence that it does."
Larry Flynt goes to congress...
America's porn king might want to check credit crunch condom sales before he makes any real claims!!!
US porn chiefs have called for a multi-billion dollar bail-out to get the adult entertainment industry through "hard times".
Hard times for US porn industry Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt and Girls Gone Wild chief executive Joe Francis issued a joint plea for Congress to pump £3.3 billion into the sector.
They claim that the economic downturn is hitting the porn business and that federal assistance is needed to boost the nation's sex drive.
The pair added that they deserve the same treatment offered to banks and the car industry.
Mr Francis said the cash injection was needed "just to see us through hard times".
"Congress seems willing to help shore up our nation's most important businesses," he said.
"We feel we deserve the same consideration. In difficult economic times, Americans turn to entertainment for relief. More and more the kind of entertainment they turn to is adult entertainment."
But according to Mr Flynt, economic woes have led to a flagging national sex drive.
Mr Flynt said: "People are too depressed to be sexually active. This is very unhealthy as a nation. Americans can do without cars and such but they cannot do without sex.
"With all this economic misery and people losing all that money, sex is the farthest thing from their mind.
He added: "It is time for congress to rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America. The only way they can do this is by supporting the adult industry and doing it quickly."
Anti-porn campaigners said that they were not treating the request seriously.
Michael DePrimo, spokesman for the American Family Association, said: "Obviously they are being facetious. It is very much tongue-in-cheek - Larry Flynt has a sense of humour.
"But the fact that he is mocking Congress is not unreasonable."
Senegalese gays...
Today, nine gay men were sentenced to lengthy prison sentences, supposedly for their "unnatural acts," but also because they belong to subversive groups - read, they are members of a UN and EU supported group formed in 2007 called MSM (men having sex with men), an organization dedicated to bringing gays into the safe sex net, with information about condom use and HIV/AIDS treatment. Senegal is a Muslim country with laws against homosexuality, but this is the first time the law has been brought to bear upon gays. The wisdom is that this is a backlash against Western influences and support for a safe sex campaign for gays.
Although Senegal has a fair record on treating HIV/AIDS, its gays are left out of the net, and do not receive proper education or support regarding prevention and treatment after infection.
C's and the rainforest
The year 2008 brought some interesting condom news, but one can only hope this story might actually be about a 2009 success story!
The Brazilian government began producing condoms a year ago using rubber from trees in the Amazon, a move it said would help preserve the world's largest rainforest and cut dependence on imported contraceptives given away to fight AIDS.
Brazil's first government-run condom factory, located in northwestern Acre state, will produce 100 million condoms a year, the health ministry said in a statement.
The latex comes from the Chico Mendes reserve, named after a conservationist and rubber tapper killed in 1988 by ranchers. The government says the condoms would be the only ones made of latex harvested from a tropical forest.
Environmentalists say tapping native rubber trees helps generate income for Amazon residents and reduces pressure to fell trees. More than 550 families will earn a total of 2.2 million reais ($1.3 million/1.8 million£) annually producing condoms, the ministry said.
The intention is also to reduce Brazil's dependence on imported condoms, which are distributed free as part of a national program to combat AIDS.
The government says it is the world's largest single buyer of condoms. It purchased 1 billion this year to be distributed over the next two years, a health ministry spokesman said.
The Roman Catholic Church is not happy.
Saatchi and Saatchi are back!
At end of the year, the company which really helped launch the first genuine condom blitzes of the 80s is back to help California beaches rid themselves of used condoms, to name a few of the horrible items which constantly wash up - or are left - on them. The ad campaign comes complete with a walrus explaining why its wrong to polute, along with frozen food packages which do not contain seafood, but little items slightly less tasty. Not exactly the sort of thing you'd want to see when digging through the cooler for that prefect cut of fish.
It's the packaging aspect of this campiagn, which also had a print component mirroring the packaging, that's more interesting and, likely, more powerful in terms of message delivery. Though it's not clear if fish market owners were in on the freezer placement, it's quite clear people's reaction to finding, oh, a package of used condoms next to some halibut was, well, one of disgust.
Title.
An unusual ad campaign targeted at some of England's largest universities did not make much of a splash, but did use some interesting graphics to get its point across. BBC reported on this last year:
Poster adverts showing condoms symbolising protection against pollution harmful to the environment are being launched by green activists.
The government-funded Friends of the Earth adverts show a coal station chimney, a car exhaust and an aeroplane engine covered by a condom.
Condoms were used to illustrate the message that climate change can be stopped by human actions.
The campaign is being launched at 30 English universities.
Its website includes a game involving a polar bear which destroys a 4x4 vehicle by hurling ice cubes at it.
The campaign coincides with a survey by Friends of the Earth which suggests that 95% of students think that climate change should be the government's biggest priority, above the Iraq war, terrorism and student loans.
But the survey, of 706 students at 60 English universities, suggests that only 12% are satisfied with the government's efforts to combat climate change.
A coal station covered by a condom in a Friends of the Earth advert
The campaign includes a website where students can play a game inviting them to "crush the filthy Chelsea tractor before it melts the North Pole".
Motoring organisations may not be pleased with the game but a spokesman for Friends of the Earth emphasised that the website was "a light-hearted way of conveying a serious message".
He said he had not received any negative comments about the condom ads or the website.
The condom adverts will feature in posters and on table top adverts in bars and canteens at universities including Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, Liverpool and Plymouth.
The ozoned condom case
Weird news from the last year:
(Talk about blaming the other guy for your own stupidity! Then trying to cash in on it - is there no statute of limitations??)
A woman who claims a faulty condom led to the birth of her third child launched a legal action for compensation yesterday in the first case of its kind.
A woman who claims a faulty condom led to the birth of her third child launched a legal action for compensation yesterday in the first case of its kind.
Marian Richardson accused Britain's biggest condom manufacturer of making a contraceptive that was damaged by ozone pollution. She has demanded £120,000 for the pain and inconvenience of the unwanted pregnancy and the cost of bringing up her daughter, Kara, who was born in February 1996.
At the High Court, Ms Richardson, 36, from Suffolk, accused LRC Products, the makers of Durex brand condoms, of allowing the faulty contraceptive through its quality-control system.
She said ozone pollution in the air had worsened an existing "fracture" around the tip of the condom. That weakened the tip of the contraceptive, causing it to completely rip off during intercourse with her boyfriend, Anthony Pugh.
Melville Williams QC, for Ms Richardson, also claimed that the defective sheath came from a batch of "Jeans" condoms that appeared to have suffered some noticeable problems. That batch, which was made at the firm's factory in Chingford, east London, which has since closed, had attracted a far higher rate of customer complaints.
The manufacturer, LRC Products, formerly called the London Rubber Company, insist that Ms Richardson cannot prove that the tear was the result of a manufacturing error or that the condom was defective. It also insists the ozone damage occurred after the incident.
Ms Richardson from Carlton Colville, near Lowestoft, said although she did not believe she was likely to become pregnant she kept the condom as evidence because she wanted to make a complaint to the company about the breakage. She and her boyfriend, who she has since married, initially kept it on a piece of paper in their bathroom cabinet. They then put it in a brown jar in a medicine cupboard in the kitchen.
But Jeremy Stuart-Smith QC, for LRC Products, said that Ms Richardson could have attempted to get a morning-after pill at any time over the weekend from her emergency GP service.
Ms Richardson claimed that she did not believe she would have been given the morning-after pill because it was not a medical emergency. At the time she did not realise the morning-after pill could be taken up to 72 hours after conception.
Mr Stuart-Smith then accused Ms Richardson of seeking to embarrass LRC Products into settling out of court by briefing Max Clifford, the renowned publicist, about the case last week.
"Isn't it your position that you hoped to apply pressure on the defendants to give you money and what you wanted was a nice aggressive press campaign to get you money?" Mr Stuart-Smith asked.
Ms Richardson admitted that Mr Pugh had made contact with Mr Clifford but denied she wanted to pressure the company. She insisted her damages action was based on the failure of the condom to stop her becoming pregnant.
"I took the product for my protection but the product didn't protect me. So the risk I took was to use the product in the first place," she said.
The judge, Mr Justice Ian Kennedy, was told that Mrs Richardson had suffered particular pain and discomfort from the pregnancy because Kara was her third child delivered by Caesarean section.
The judge later heard that scientific experts on both sides agreed that the condom had become damaged by ozone in the atmosphere, which had increased the fracturing around the tear. But the experts disagreed on whether the ozone damage had been caused before or after it had been torn.
Dr Peter Lewis, an Open University engineering lecturer who specialises in rubber, appearing for the claimant, said that "it's more likely on the balance of probabilities" that the ozone damage occurred before the condom was used.
The case continues.
The Maasai, climate change, and vulnerable women
What do these three have in common? The once-fierce, and highly respected Maasai tribe has seen its brilliant warriors moved off the land and into the cities. Their grazing land has become desert-like,, meaning they have lost their traditional life styles based on raising cattle, many of the men moving to cities where they act as security guards, side walk barbers, anything they can do to fee themselves and their families. But the vulnerable women part is perhaps the saddest; many of the sex workers in African cities also come from the country, but they take the buses into the cities in the afternoons, hoping to find customers in the evenings; when they do not have an "allnighter," they need a place to sleep and protection from the thugs who roam the back alleys.
The Maasai, though no longer the warriers of old, offer these women night-time shelter - feeding off of their image as proud and brave - in return to free sex. But "When we tell them to use condoms they refuse, and we have no choice,``as one worker put it. This means that a tribe that has remained out of the AIDS/HIV loop because of their traditional lifestyle, has suddenly been exposed to the virus, as the men go home to visit wives and children. Yet, they still do not realize what they are doing or what affect their behaviour is having on their own people.
One elder describes his kinsmen as suffering from "a strange disease," but blamed it on the new lifestyle: "I think the environment, the food and the coldness is the major source." He also admits that the disease is "ruining our children."Perhaps one guard who is a regular "protector" of the vulnerable women put it best when asked about condoms: "I don’t even know how to use that plastic paper."
New Year's Condoms
Apparently, New Year's week, especially New Year's Eve, is the peak season for condom sales. This is probably obvious, considering all the drinking and partying going on, and is confirmed by both the top selling brand's - Trojans - sales executives, biorhythm researchers, and the US census, which tells us that September has the greatest number of births per year in that country.It is interesting, though, that going back to the late 90s, European researchers were digging into the past, and determined that this surge in condom use - and not - during the holiday period is not unique to the 20th and 21st centuries, but goes back many many generations; one researcher claimed that this behaviour “is characteristic of all Christian cultures in which it has been evaluated,” and likened the Christmas-New Year’s period to a “festival on fertility,” where the festivals were “associated with increased opportunities for socializing and a generally more hedonistic approach to life.”History and sales helped public advocates to recognize the risks entailed during the holiday period, leading the British Health Education Authority a few years ago to run a condom ad before New Year’s with the tag line: “Just in case old acquaintances aren’t quite forgot.”But what about spring being that time of renewal, of "love"? The experts tell us that because Christmas and New Years are a time when most people who are usually so busy have some down time, "intimacy flourishes." This can be born out by other condom sales peaks, especially (in the US) around holidays like July 4th; European sales also peak around traditional holidays when most people have that time off of work. Interesting, too, is that research now tells us that in the Western World, peaks of sexual activity had much to do with weather, but now that our homes are insulated and we have reliable heating and cooling, that is not the case; but in the "third world," peaks and valleys still punctuate sexual activity - proven not not so much by condom sales numbers, but birth records.
Special Santas...
Although Catholic agencies felt this was the ultimate descrecration of the holiday season, Durex in Toronto were not shy about advertising their special Santas' "gifts, with this announcement in the local newspapers:
“This holiday season, Durex(R) wants lovers to really feel the Love,” says the release. “Helping Canadians get in the mood to wrap their packages, Durex and Santa will start celebrating the holidays by handing out Love condoms this Tuesday, December 16, 2008 in downtown Toronto. Giving never felt so good!”
Condom Christmas trees...
Sexual health campaigners have criticised organisers of a charity Christmas tree festival after their NHS-backed packs of condoms were removed from show.
More than 50 trees have been set up at St Peter's Church in Sudbury, with the event raising money for charitable causes including the fight against domestic violence.
Exhibitors, who pay £12 each, can decorate their trees to raise awareness of their organisation.
But one of the displays for The Fightback Trust, which helps those affected by HIV and AIDS, is now at the centre of a dispute between organisers and sexual health campaigners.
Organisers decided to remove its packs - which included condoms - after a group of under-fives from a nursery started helping themselves.
But the decision has left the couple who dressed the tree with sealed condoms in gold wrappers, needleless syringes and empty medication boxes angry and bemused.
They claim children would not have been able to open the packs, supplied by NHS Suffolk, and said the packaging would not have given children a clue as to what was inside.
As well as the free packs, the display had signs about the rise of HIV in East Anglia and a message that said 'Have a safe Christmas'.
Scott, one of the tree designers and whose partner has been HIV positive for 24 years, said they were told it had been removed and were barred from “having something like that” because of young children.
“I was furious,” he said. “They are the types of things you will find in the aisle at Tesco or Boots.”
He said their campaign to promote safe sex could prevent the spread of sexually transmitted disease and possibly save lives.
But Graeme Garden, whose wife Joan is managing the fair, said they decided to remove the box of condoms from the display after children under the age of five started helping themselves.
He said although no complaint had been made, the couple who decorated The Fightback Trust tree were welcome to display the condom packs during the evenings when the majority of visitors were adults.
“We had groups of youngsters under five from a local nursery and they got hold of the fact they could take them away - it seemed totally inappropriate.
“We tried to avoid making an issue about it. We removed the offending box.”
Valerie Goodchild, a former mayoress of Sudbury, said: “The organisers were absolutely right to remove the box of condoms displayed beneath their tree.
“Young children, who attend the festival in their hundreds, either with schools, nursery groups or parents, would not be able to distinguish between a brightly wrapped condom and a sweet.”
The pajama police...
I always thought wanting to be seen in nightware was a sort of sex thing, but not in China!! From yesterday's internation Reuters news service:
The Rixin neighbourhood committee in the city's northeast has begun a campaign to discourage residents' longstanding habit of wearing pyjamas out of their bedrooms and on the streets, the state-run Youth Daily reported.
"We're telling people not to wear pyjamas in the street because it looks very uncivilised," community official Guo Xilin was quoted as saying.
The Shanghainese habit of wearing pyjamas in public emerged alongside China's economic reforms over the past 30 years as it became a sign of prosperity, because it meant people did not sleep in tattered old clothes.
For a still visibly large number of Shanghainese, wearing pyjamas outside has become more a way of life than a fashion statement, and to outsiders, the phenomenon is part of the city's charm.
Guo, however, called pyjama-wearers "visual pollution" and a public embarrassment to the city.
But some residents still argue wearing pyjamas is perfectly acceptable.
"Pyjamas are also a type of clothes. It's comfortable, and it's no big deal since everyone wears them outside," a retiree surnamed Ge was quoted as saying.
Rixin's pyjama purge campaign is not the first of its kind. In the 1990s Shanghai officials put up signs and ran education campaigns to tell people not to stroll around in night gowns. The campaign's managers eventually gave up.
For all China's efforts...
Sadly, in despite of all the olympic Olympic efforts on the part of Chinese authorities in trying to keep the athletes and everyone else safe from STDs, the KNOWN 53, 000 prostitutes in Beijing do not seem to be getting the message. Less than half use a condom when they are doing business...given the skyrocketing AIDS rate in China, this cannot be helping.
Korea's recession proof c...
From Reuters:
The downturn in South Korea's economy has led to an increase in condom sales, with more adults waiting until their finances are in better shape to have children, retailers said on Tuesday.
Major South Korean convenience store giant GS 25 said condom sales have increased by 19 percent since August from the same period a year ago, with the sale numbers going up just as the Seoul stock average and currency started to plunge in value.
"More couples are planning to delay childbirth in the face of the economic downturn," GS Retail, an operator of GS 25, said in a statement.
Sales stiffened further in November when the stock market and the won took some of their hardest hits in years, it said.
South Korea has the lowest fertility rate in the developed world with experts saying one of the main reasons is the high cost of education in the highly competitive country.
"Condom sales are usually recession-free, and tend to peak around the end of the year with many Christmas or year-end parties," an official with retailer Condomania said.
Is sex to blame?
Everybody relax. It looks like the credit crunch can be solved. Don't worry about complex ways to move assets back onto balance sheets, or swap one kind of collateral for another. Just curb your sex drive.
Brian Knutson, a professor of neuroscience at Stanford University in Stanford, California, and Camelia Kuhnen, a finance professor at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, scanned the brains of 15 men who were asked to make financial decisions. They were shown images ranging from a couple in an erotic pose to neutral objects such as household appliances.
The finding? The guys were more likely to take a high-risk decision when looking at the picture of the raunchy couple than they were while ogling a vacuum cleaner. Women weren't tested because it's harder to find an erotic image that all respond to.
"Incidental reward cues can influence financial risk-taking," the study concluded.
It isn't hard to figure out what may be going on there. The men are driven to take more chances in the hope of accumulating greater wealth to attract women. When they are thinking about sex, they are more likely to take financial risks.
Of course, the research may not be valid: The experiment involved only 15 men, who may just spend all their time thinking about women. Then again, it is unlikely many people sitting around at hedge funds will shake their heads and mutter, "Er, no, that doesn't sound right at all." It certainly sounds right.
John Coates, a research fellow in neuroscience and finance at Cambridge University's Judge Business School in England, reported the results of a two-week study of 17 traders in the publication "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."
A former derivatives trader at Deutsche Bank AG in New York, Coates found that when traders were on a winning streak, their testosterone levels kept rising until they made crazed, irrational decisions. It wasn't a huge sample, but, again, no one who has ever worked on a trading floor will say, "Well, we've never seen anything like that happen."
The more we learn about how financial markets work, the more we see they are driven by feelings such as greed, fear and desire. In reality, wild swings in stock prices are caused more by human nature than by mundane economic forces or regulatory shortcomings for banks and ratings companies.
People come up with new products, investments and trading strategies. Once they have been created, they are tested to destruction. The markets rise until the bubble bursts. Underlying that, there is the desire to impress people, to accumulate a fortune, or just to prove your own acumen.
So how can you tame that?
Of course, if traders are mostly thinking about sex when making decisions, the banks could always try and mitigate that.
At the meeting of the Group of Seven finance ministers in Washington last weekend, a 100-day plan was cooked up to calm financial markets. It included new rules to force banks to disclose their holdings, as well as boosting their capital.
Regulators will have to come up with new ways of accounting for off-balance-sheet units and revise risk-management rules.
It all sounds very worthy - and completely unconvincing.
The G7 should learn the lessons of countless studies that demonstrate the markets are primarily driven by the chemicals inside us and the emotions they create. We can come up with policies that alleviate the impact of volatile markets. But eliminate the price swings through regulation? You might as well try and regulate away the wind and the rain.
Maybe the G7 should insist that banks display calming pictures of fridges and ironing boards on their office walls to keep all their dealers a little more rational. Perhaps hedge funds should be compelled to add something to the coffee to sedate their staff. Or even better, banks could be encouraged to get more women on the trading floor.
More seriously, it would be better if G7 finance ministers accepted that while you might be able to limit the aftershocks of financial volatility, you will never be able to abolish it. They needn't waste time on yet another tier of regulators who will look in the wrong direction when the next bubble appears.
Volatility is part of human nature. And there isn't much point in trying to regulate that out of existence.
More on the credit crunch...
The Daily Telegraph reports today, December 3rd, that Durex has reported a 10 per cent rise in sales to £126.4 million in the last six months to September 30.
Analysts believe the reason for the increase is that a night under the covers is cheaper than a night on the tiles.
Sales of its 'Play' range, which includes lubricants and vibrators, also rose by more than 27 per cent.
A company spokesman said sales in the UK, France, Eastern Europe, Russia and China were particularly strong.
The increases saw the firm's pre-tax profits increase by almost 50 per cent to more than £30 million.
Ocado, the online retailer, also reported a 60 per cent increase in sales across its range of contraceptives.
The company's finance director, Jason Gissing, said: "We're definitely seeing a rise in people staying in more, entertaining, cooking and clearly making their own fun."
He also suggested that another reason for the increase was that many couples are taking more precautions because they cannot risk the financial burden of more children.
Asda has also witnessed a nine per cent rise in condom sales, while 20 per cent more pregnancy test kits are disappearing off the supermarket's shelves.
A spokesman said: "We've noticed a real uplift in condom sales recently.
"Our conclusion is that people are staying in more and romancing rather than getting a table for two at a restaurant.
"Further proof is our tea light candles are up 50 per cent, champagne 20 per cent and oysters eight per cent and slippers and dressing gowns 22 per cent."
High street chain Superdrug has also seen a rise in sales of condoms, while business in "sexual enhancers" increased trebled.
Oooo la la!
The French say they need the largest condoms in Europe while Greeks get by on smaller ones, according to a Europe-wide study by a German consultancy that provides advice on condoms.
The study by the Singen-based Institute of Condom Consultancy was done by asking 10,500 men in 25 countries to measure their penis and enter the number into a database.
The results show Frenchmen on average claim to need 15.48-cm (6.09-inch) long condoms, about 3 cm longer than Greeks, whose condom-size requirement was the most modest.
Jan Vinzenz Krause, the institute's director, told Reuters Friday the data was collected over a period of eight months.
He did not want to comment on how honest he thought the Frenchmen had been in reporting the data.
The survey was aimed at educating youngsters about the importance of effective contraception.
The institute also offers online condom-size advice and hosts "Pimp Your Condom" -- an annual fair organised in cooperation with the national Aids Trust -- with the aim of educating teens about sexually transmitted diseases.
Krause was in the spotlight in the past when he produced a prototype of the "spray-on condom" -- an aerosol can which contains latex that creates a perfectly fitting condom. But the idea was not developed further.
Northern Rock and lots of C's
As if having to be taken over by the British government is not enough, an expensive "government" employee - we own the bank! - gets jail for his side business, but at least he encouraged safe sex!!
A 80,000£ a year IT boss at Northern Rock has been jailed for setting up a brothel with his Thai mistress.
Stephen Hodgkiss, 44, funded the sex den for his partner Waraporn (what a name!) Dodds, who sent the profits back to her family in Thailand.
Dodds, 38, took all the money her workers made selling massages, but told them they could make cash by providing "extras".
Hodgkiss lived with Dodds in Jesmond but had a wife and daughter in Thailand, Newcastle crown court heard.
He maintained he never personally profited and that Dodds sent the money from the brothel in Darlington to her parents, who were looking after their son.
Police closed down the two-bedroom terraced viceden in February this year.
It had been operating as a brothel since June 2006.
Hodgkiss had rented the property in his name, furnished it, and spent pounds 7,253 advertising its " services" in a national newspaper.
Over a nine-month period he bought nearly 1,800 condoms, the court heard.
Tom Moran, defending, said Hodgkiss lost his job when Northern Ro ck collapsed last year and had debts from overseas property deals. Mr Moran said: "Mr Hodgkiss has gone from a high flying consultant in the IT industry to the pretty miserable position he finds himself now."
Hodgkiss and Dodds admitted running a brothel.
Jailing Hodgkiss for eight months and Dodds for six months, Judge Christopher Prince said he accepted the women were not coerced into working at the brothel.
He told the pair: "You both played equal roles. You were partners in this and in life."
The condom's messy overseer
In the 1930s, to the great dismay of condom manufacturers, the American government in its wisdom decided - because of a study that revealed what "everyone" knew about condoms of old, they often had tiny holes, making them less than useless. Well, to solve that problem, they were placed under the umbrella of the Federal Drugs Administration, better know as the FDA. There they have remained ever since. But as "everyone" knows, that organization is a mess, a bureaucratic behemoth, and easy target for politician anxious to curry favour with drug companies...and so much more.
Now, Obama is faced with having to appoint a new head of this disaster and oh, what he faces:
From the Los Angeles Times:
Taking its name from both the color of its cover and the fact it lists the "plum" positions in government, the volume <of available jobs within the federal government> contains more than 7,000 jobs, 4,000 of which are political appointments.
One of the most important of the Obama administration's political appointees will be the head of the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates products worth more than $1 trillion, 25 cents of every consumer dollar.
Finding an FDA commissioner (as the agency head is called) will be difficult. In fact, the job long has been considered not a "plum," but a "prune, " in part because the incumbent receives a constant barrage of criticism from various quarters, and the pay is far less than comparable jobs in the private sector.
The FDA is desperately in need of renewal: It is dysfunctional, suffering from cultural, organizational and management problems that have been exacerbated by congressional mandates and meddling. As a result, drug development by major U.S.-based drug companies is in dire straits, with costs up and regulatory approvals down.
Draining the FDA swamp will be one of the toughest jobs in Washington, and the nominee will need several qualities:
* Superior management skills and experience. The agency's scope is so sweeping - encompassing cardiac pacemakers, X-ray machines, condoms, home pregnancy-testing kits, drugs, vaccines, artificial sweeteners and fat substitutes, among other products - that a single person cannot be expected to master the body of science, medicine, pharmacology, toxicology and engineering (to say nothing of the law and "regulatory science" ) involved. One must assume that the FDA's own professional staff can frame the issues and options; the function of the agency head, then, should be primarily to manage the far-flung empire and to make the final decision on difficult policy questions.
* Unassailable integrity and honesty. The commissioner's decision-making must meld law, science and regulatory precedents, in a way that maximizes the public interest. The incumbent needs to earn the respect of those who have a stake in the FDA's policies and decisions - consumers, industry and public interest groups. But in the end, science - not public opinion or congressional grandstanding - must dictate policy- and decision-making.
* Distanced from politics. The position should not be awarded as a political plum, as are Cabinet posts and many ambassadorships. Politics should be banished from the agency head's role insofar as that is possible, with the commissioner taking the heat for unpopular decisions. Some previous commissioners have deferred to political appointees, not only on matters of policy (which is often appropriate), but also on decisions that concerned individual products or civil service personnel. Such actions are at least unethical, and possibly criminal. A corollary is that the agency head should probably not aspire to higher political positions in government: Doing the job right makes plenty of enemies.
* Committed to regulatory reform. At a time when drug development should have been spurred by huge increases in R&D expenditures - which tripled to more than $45 billion between 1995 and 2007 - and by the exploitation of numerous new technologies, drug approvals have actually dropped. The 19 new medicines approved in 2007 was the lowest figure in 24 years, and 2008 approvals are running behind last year's. Bringing a new drug to market now requires on average 12 to 15 years, and costs have skyrocketed to more than $1.2 billion - in no small part because the average length of a clinical trial increased 70 percent between 1999 and 2006. Perhaps the most ominous statistic of all is that drug manufacturers recoup their R&D costs for only one in five approved drugs.
These trends are likely to become even worse: Several recent developments at the FDA will further increase the time and costs of drug development - bad news for the developers of medicines and for the sick and infirm who need new therapies. The FDA needs to streamline its existing regulatory procedures and requirements, and the agency's senior and midlevel managers must be made more accountable for their decisions - especially those that delay the availability of new drugs, vaccines and medical devices to patients in need of them.
These are stringent, but not impossible, qualifications. However, early returns are not encouraging: In 2007, the Center for American Progress, dubbed "the official Hillary Clinton think tank" and headed by Obama transition team co-director John Podesta, proposed changes in regulation that would only worsen the agency's existing problems, lengthening the time required to develop a drug and further increasing R&D costs. Its report, "Prescriptions for Drug Safety," is a prescription for additional obstacles to U.S. drug development. (The think tank is the beneficiary of millions of dollars from anti-free-market billionaire George Soros.)
Moreover, the transition team for the Department of Health and Human Services (of which the FDA is a part) is headed by Bill Corr, a former senior staffer to former HHS Secretary Donna Shalala in the Clinton administration and currently executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco Free-Kids. He has long lobbied for additional authority and power for the FDA.
By appointing an FDA commissioner with the qualities enumerated above, the Obama administration can demonstrate that it puts patients' needs first and that "change" is more than a hollow campaign slogan. But for this and similar political appointments at other agencies, we are far more likely to get someone who shares the radical, pro-regulatory, anti-industry views of Mr. Podesta, Mr. Soros, Mr. Corr and Hillary Clinton.
Henry I. Miller is a physician and a fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. He headed the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Biotechnology from 1989 to 1993.
Man boobs or just weird?
Bra for the boys an online bestseller in Japan Who said bras are only for women? A Japanese online lingerie retailer is selling bras for cross-dressing men and they've quickly become one of its most popular items.
Since launching two weeks ago on Rakuten, a major Japanese web shopping mall, the Wishroom shop has sold over 300 men's bras for 2,800 yen ($30) each. The shop also stocks men's panties, as well as lingerie for women.
"I like this tight feeling. It feels good," Wishroom representative Masayuki Tsuchiya told Reuters as he modeled the bra, which can be worn discreetly under men's clothing.
Wishroom Executive Director Akiko Okunomiya said she was surprised at the number of men who were looking for their inner woman.
"I think more and more men are becoming interested in bras. Since we launched the men's bra, we've been getting feedback from customers saying 'wow, we'd been waiting for this for such a long time'," she said.
But the bra, available in black, pink and white, is not an easy sell for all men.
The underwear has stirred a heated debate online with more than 8,000 people debating the merits of men wearing bras in one night on Mixi, Japan's top social network website.
Obama, AIDS, and the world outlook
From the African Times, November 11
Politics and Policy
Obama is likely to undo U.S. family planning and HIV/AIDS prevention efforts that long linked funding to antiabortion and abstinence-only policies, Susan Wood -- co-chair of Obama's advisory committee for women's health and a professor at George Washington University's School of Public Health and Health Services -- said recently, Bloomberg reports. Wood said that although President Bush's global health programs -- such as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief -- have brought more HIV/AIDS treatment to developing countries than under any other president, spending requirements for abstinence-only education have hampered family planning and the prevention of sexually transmitted infections worldwide.
"We have been going in the wrong direction, and we need to turn it around and be promoting prevention and family planning services and strengthening public health," Wood said. She added that Obama"is committed to looking at all this and changing the policies so that family planning services -- both in the U.S. and the developing world -- reflect what works, what helps prevent unintended pregnancy, reduce maternal and infant mortality, prevent the spread of disease."
According to Bloomberg, one of Bush's policies that has been cited for hindering STI and HIV/AIDS prevention efforts is restrictions on condom education. Gill Greer, director-general of the International Planned Pregnancy Federation, said CDC has pulled some condom information from its Web site. Greer said, "The U.S. administration has certainly succeeded in demonizing condoms rather than showing that they can be part of prevention of both unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections."
Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association, said the Bush administration's emphasis on abstinence and fidelity "been shown to have demonstrable success in Africa," adding, "It would be more than unfortunate if that policy was changed." According to Huber, both Republicans and Democrats have cited support for PEPFAR's focus on abstinence and education, which has reduced the spread of HIV in countries such as Uganda. "If the president-elect wants to be science-based in foreign sex education policies, it would be wisest to continue this way because it's shown to be effective," Huber added.
Wendy Turnbull, a senior policy analyst with Population Action International, said that because of the "Mexico City" policy -- which restricts U.S. international foreign aid to family planning programs abroad using their own funds to provide abortion services or lobby their governments regarding abortion rights -- many family planning associations that rejected the terms of the rule "lost funding ... lost technical assistance and ... lost contraceptives." Under the basis of the policy, Bush also halted support for the United Nations Population Fund in 2002, saying it supported "coercive" abortion programs in China, an allegation the agency has denied, Bloomberg reports (Gale/Lauerman, Bloomberg, 11/10). The Los Angeles Times "Top of the Ticket" blog reports that the Mexico City policy is likely to be "quickly rescinded" after Obamantakes office.
According to Wood, the U.S. government in recent years has influenced and "tightly vetted" international organizations to reflect its own policies. She added that Obama will bring "back a sense of balance and perspective and the use of good science and good medicine in these positions, and not just this narrow, political ideology."(Bloomberg, 11/10).
USA Today on Monday examined the future of efforts to address HIV/AIDS and other issues in Africa under Obama's administration. According to USA Today, Obama's commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS and addressing other issues might be hindered by the global economic crisis and large U.S. military commitment overseas.
Although expectations "have been high" in Africa since Obama traveled to the continent as a senator in 2006, some African leaders "have tried to tamp down their own peoples' hopes" because they are "[a]ware of the limitations now that Obama is president-elect," according to USA Today. Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade said, "Africans must not ask extraordinary things from [Obama], must not expect ... that through the miracle of his election, America will drain money on Africa to change our continent." John Norris, executive director of the Enough Project, said that issues such as HIV/AIDS in Africa are "clearly issues that [Obama]
is passionate about and serious about," adding, "There's a lot of goodwill and a sense of optimism. But that new approach is being tempered by a lot of realism about the magnitude of the problems that he has to deal with."
According to USA Today, HIV/AIDS is an "issue where the money crunch could be particularly acute." Laurie Garrett, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said that even though Congress passed legislation that increases PEPFAR's funding to $48 billion over five years, the economic crisis could force cuts in funding for other critical foreign aid programs. Garrett said, "If they cut the rest of foreign assistance by 50% or more, we're going to be funding a U.S. foreign assistance that is just basically three things: Iraq, Afghanistan and AIDS."
Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS, last month said that even if U.S. foreign aid remains at current levels, AIDS-related deaths worldwide could reach three million annually by 2011, an increase from two million in 2007. In addition, providing treatment to HIV-positive people under PEPFAR is becoming more expensive as many people develop resistance to first-line drugs and require more expensive second-line therapies. "The dollar has declined so much in value," Garrett said, adding, "There is the food crisis, the economic crisis and energy crisis, and when you put it together, the cost of doing anything is far greater today than it was a year ago" (Alsop, USA Today, 11/10).
A good vigilante...
Residents in St. Petersburg, Florida who live along corridors near 34th Street N were getting fed up.
Pimps, prostitutes, drug dealers and users had basically taken over the neighborhood. The paraphernalia from their late-night shenanigans sometimes littered nearby streets.
Leftover pipes, used condoms and other unsightly items have been left in view of children.
Jim Van Matre and the Guardian Angels offered help. For six weeks, the men in red berets have lined the street, between Fifth and Seventh avenues N, on Friday nights. Their imposing presence alone has made a difference.
The illegal activity has begun to die down. "We're just trying to give them some relief," Van Matre said in a phone interview. "Their kids are seeing it."
The Guardian Angels chapter, based in Tampa, started receiving calls more than a month ago from concerned neighbors who thought the area was spinning out of control. The team started visiting the street from 7:30 p.m. to the early morning on weekend nights.
If ill-reputed transactions were taking place, the men would swarm the area. That action alone appears to be enough to push most of the drug peddlers and street pariahs elsewhere.
The effort was met with appreciation by Lou Del Prete, with the 34th Street Federation Crime Watch.
"The more the merrier. We can always use some help," Del Prete said.
Mary Watkins, who lives in the area, said the drug pushing and prostitution had become bolder. She said prostitutes have been seen in broad daylight.
"I do not consider it small potatoes because there is a supplier that is higher up on the food chain that is sending people up to our neighborhood," Watkins said.
"These kids, they do not live in our neighborhood. These aren't kids that we can go and say, 'Oh, Johnny, we're going to go talk to your parents.'"
And where are the police? They could not be reached by the St. Petersburg Times when this information was being reported on.
Texting for condoms...
In hopes of reaching Australian school leavers through a "language" they understand, the government has sponsored a freebie program by which all kiddos have to do is text the TXT 4 Free Condomz sexual health campaignwith their address and the health care group Marie Stopes International will be send two free condoms in plain packaging. They hope because texting is such a familiar process, that the youngsters will actually enjoy doing it - no pun intended - AND it will overcome any embarrassment that is such a problem when it comes to buying frenchies.
Practice safe sex, for pete's sake!
The Trojan condom brand recently kicked off its largest online initiative, 'Evolve One, Evolve All,' in partnership with MTV Networks Digital Fusion. The condom maker hopes to provide young US consumers with an outlet to discuss sexual health in an engaging environment.
Building on its ongoing sexual health campaign 'Evolve,' Trojan will use its new Web site, Evolve OneEvolveAll.com, to connect with sexually active young adults, ages 18 to 34, on issues involving STDs and teen pregnancies. In addition to sexual health statistics, the site provides consumers with the chance to upload videos concerning their opinions about condom use. Digital content from celebrities is also included According to the level of interaction a consumer has with the site, Trojan will donate a certain number of condoms to at-risk Americans.
'We're very disappointed with the vast amount of government spending only on abstinence education ... America has some of the worst sexual health statistics in the world,' said Jim Daniels, VP of sexual health marketing, pointing out that 19 million Americans contract an STD every year.
AOR Edelman is supporting the efforts, which began in late October. Media outreach will include entertainment and media trades, and pop culture bloggers. It will target social networks with embeddable widgets that users can download from the site and upload to social networks.
'(Online), we have fewer restrictions about what we can do and say,' Daniels added. 'We looked at our consumers and saw that they were spending significant amounts of time online.'
Trojan has also recently engaged in several initiatives to educate young consumers, from college surveys of sexual health practices to on-campus promotions.
From a disturbing study ... no food, no condoms
Food Insufficiency Is Associated with High-Risk Sexual Behavior among Women in Botswana and Swaziland
From: Physicians for Human Rights, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Background
Both food insufficiency and HIV infection are major public health problems in sub-Saharan Africa, yet the impact of food insufficiency on HIV risk behavior has not been systematically investigated. We tested the hypothesis that food insufficiency is associated with HIV transmission behavior.
Methods and Findings
We studied the association between food insufficiency (not having enough food to eat over the previous 12 months) and inconsistent condom use, sex exchange, and other measures of risky sex in a cross-sectional population-based study of 1,255 adults in Botswana and 796 adults in Swaziland using a stratified two-stage probability design. Associations were examined using multivariable logistic regression analyses, clustered by country and stratified by gender. Food insufficiency was reported by 32% of women and 22% of men over the previous 12 months. Among 1,050 women in both countries, after controlling for respondent characteristics including income and education, HIV knowledge, and alcohol use, food insufficiency was associated with inconsistent condom use with a nonprimary partner (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.73, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.27–2.36), sex exchange (AOR 1.84, 95% CI 1.74–1.93), intergenerational sexual relationships (AOR 1.46, 95% CI 1.03–2.08), and lack of control in sexual relationships (AOR 1.68, 95% CI 1.24–2.28). Associations between food insufficiency and risky sex were much attenuated among men.
Conclusions
Food insufficiency is an important risk factor for increased sexual risk-taking among women in Botswana and Swaziland. Targeted food assistance and income generation programs in conjunction with efforts to enhance women's legal and social rights may play an important role in decreasing HIV transmission risk for women.
______________
Children are recruited by pimps in arcades, malls, entertainment centers, at tourist attractions and concerts. The pimp seduces a new recruit with the lure of wealth and the luxury of designer clothes, fancy cars, and exclusive nightclubs. Pimps move from city to city looking for children who are easy prey: alone, desperate, and alienated. Once he moves a child from her hometown into a strange city, the pimp can easily force her to work as a prostitute. Thousands of children are victimized by this horrible con game every year. Child prostitution is an immense and devastating problem that nobody wants to recognize, nobody wants to talk about, and everyone wants to cover up. Child prostitutes are not only abandoned by their parents, but by the social services system as well.
Child prostitutes are typically victims of incest at an early age. Without intervention, these children run to the street during adolescence to escape the terrifying sexual exploitation by a trusted caretaker.
Sexually abused children respond differently than children abused in other ways. They are defenseless and lack the aggression required for survival on the streets. They are more vulnerable to the manipulations and skillful con games of pimps.
Prosecuting Pimps is Part of Our Commitment to Our Children
CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT is actively involved in the prosecution of pimps all over America. Each child who testifies is accompanied by a seasoned staff member who has extensive experience protecting the rights of young victims. Often, our children are accompanied by Dr Lois Lee herself, our founder, who also serves as an expert witness for the state and federal prosecutors.
Children of the Night participates in court cases nationwide, prosecuting vile pimps who force children to prostitute for food and a place to sleep. Our involvement in these cases includes filing police reports, providing victim services to children who are required to testify in lengthy, emotionally charged court proceedings against these powerful criminals, accompanying children to court, and sometimes testifying ourselves.
_______________________
Where did those Mexican rubbers go??
The police have recovered a missing truck used by safe-sex advocates to distribute condoms throughout the country, but the thieves who took the ''condom mobile'' last weekend made off with 5,000 prophylactics. Also missing was a motor used to inflate a 23-foot-long condom that was part of a government-financed H.I.V.-AIDS awareness campaign. The vehicle -- which features images of a peeled banana on the side and a shirtless man asking, ''I protect myself, do you?'' -- was found Wednesday. Officials said 800 rapid H.I.V. tests and the inflatable condom were intact, but the small truck had been stripped of its sound system.
Oh, dear!
No safe sex at Cambridge...
From the Daily Telegraph:
CONDOMS handed out by Cambridge University's debating society have been recalled because they did not meet safety standards.
An emergency email to all students telling them not to use the free contraceptives was issued by the Cambridge University Student Union.
The suspect condoms, bearing the slogan "For a more perfect Union'', were handed out at a freshers' fair to promote the Cambridge Union Society debating club.
The student union welfare officer, Andrea Walko, recalled the condoms because they did have not the BSI Kitemark symbol, a sign certifying that the products have been independently tested.
The union condoms had only the CE mark, showing they have met the European Union's health and safety requirements.
The student union said this was not good enough. It has promised to hand out free replacement condoms, lubricant and a safe sex guide.
The debating society's president, Adam Bott, said the condoms were safe and accused the union of nitpicking.
"Although they do not have the BSI Kitemark they do carry the CE mark, so they are safe,'' he said. "In fact, they are a brand used by the NHS.
"The union takes the health of its members seriously - and their sexual satisfaction.''
But Mark Fletcher, president of the Cambridge University Student Union, said his organisation was right to be cautious.
He said: "The union society may think we are picking on them but this is just based around student concerns.
"We do not want anyone to suffer untoward consequences from using the condoms.
"We follow fairly strict advice on sexual health issues and we did not feel that was being upheld.''
Brazil's new boom industry and what's in a name...
Emerging markets investors can now access a bulging growth market in Brazil: condom manufacturing.
Brazil's government's new initiative to save the rainforest is to open a condom factory in the northwestern town of Xapuri, thus intersecting the investment potential of a Bric economy exposure with SRI.
Brazil currently imports almost all of its condoms despite Amazonian trees being perfectly suited to rubber tapping to make the required latex. Rubber tappers in the region currently produce 6.2m tonnes of latex a year, but demand is set to rise to 500,000 tonnes annually.
Naming the sprawling Chico Mendes forest reserve after a renowned rubber tapper eco activist shot dead by cattle rustlers might put a bit of a downer on things though.
Brand new low at the Beeb - poor old Fawlty Towers!
No on ein the UK has not heard about the latest mess at the BBC - Russell Brand has quit and his "partner" in crime's long history as a broadcaster is in doubt...my heart is not broken! (and I kept waiting for the defence to be "but I said I wore a condom!")
From the Belfast Telegraph:
No one really expects much decency these days from what used to be endearingly referred to as Auntie but the BBC still hit a new low with Russell Brand (below) and Jonathan Ross's obscene answer phone messages for 78-year-old actor Andrew Sachs.
Boasting beforehand to listeners that he'd had sex with the Fawlty Towers' actor's granddaughter, Georgina, Brand phoned Sachs for a pre-arranged interview. When he failed to answer Ross threw in his tuppence-worth by yelling: "He ****** your granddaughter."
The pair then phoned back Sachs to tell him Brand wore a condom, while Ross informed the OAP: "Your granddaughter ... she was bent over the couch ... '" Indeed, Brand even speculated that Sachs might consider suicide because of their comments: "The main news: Manuel Andrew Sachs hung himself today."
Pure comedy genius, eh?
Sachs' agent said that he was "deeply upset" and "terribly hurt". Georgina's mother was distraught while the 23-year-old woman herself has refused to comment. This wasn't a live programme that got out of hand. The show had been recorded and passed by senior BBC execs.
But the real question is, of course, why? Why did Brand want to interview Sachs in the first place? Was the motive precisely so he could have the 'pleasure' of telling him he'd had sex with his granddaughter? Before ringing Sachs, Brand said, a la Candid Camera: "In a minute we're going to be talking to Andrew Sachs, Manuel actor. The elephant in the room is, what Andrew doesn't know is, I've slept with his granddaughter." Which certainly suggests it was planned as an entertainment feature. Was the idea mooted in production meetings and passed by the producers? From start to finish, it seems a disgusting set up.
No wonder Sachs has made a formal complaint to the BBC. The only 'humour' in it was the desire to hurt and humiliate an old man. And why was it ok to do that? Because Sachs wasn't as hip as Brand and Ross? Or simply because they - like two overblown egos who long ago lost any sense of modesty - knew they could do as they please because the authorities would dismiss it as late night 'edgy' broadcasting, as if decency somehow clocked off at 9pm.
The casual, cruel misogyny of Brand and Ross is also breathtaking - their ridiculing in graphic terms a voiceless young woman is ok with the BBC? That's entertainment? If Ross and Brand talked like that down the pub, someone might hit them a slap. And rightly so. But in BBC world, they get wodges of licence-payers' money. Result.
Brand and Ross edgy? Alternative? They're just well-paid smarmy smart-arses picking on old men and young girls to show how big they are. Not even the 'bully' Bernard Manning stooped that low.
Scouts Honour...they catch up to those little Brownies (see below)
Scouts may be taken on trips to sexual health clinics after new guidance was issued to help young people Be Prepared.
Related photos / videos Scouts could be given condoms The visits are suggested for explorer scouts aged 14 to 18 in the new advice issued by The Scouting Association.
Chief Scout Peter Duncan said: "We must be realistic and accept that around a third of young people are sexually active before 16 and many more start relationships at 16 and 17."
He added: "Scouting touches members of every community, religious and social group in the country so adults in Scouting have a duty to promote safe and responsible relationships and, as an organisation, we have the responsibility to provide sound advice about how to do that."
The new guidance says scout leaders can even give out condoms but "only if they believe the young person is very likely to begin or continue having intercourse with or without contraception".
Contraception can only be offered if without it "their physical or mental health are likely to suffer". The guidance says leaders should "encourage young people to resist pressure to have early sex" and to talk to their parents or carers but "should be prepared to offer appropriate information" if it is needed.
A visit to, or by, a sexual health clinic may help to "break illusions of what these services are and improve the uptake of advice". The Scouting Association said young people may feel more comfortable discussing sexual issues in the informal setting of a Scouts group.
Mr Duncan said: "I firmly believe that the confidence, skills and self esteem young people gain through the incredible range of activities Scouting offers is the best way to equip them not to feel pressured into a sexual relationship before they are ready."
Minister for young people Beverley Hughes welcomed the new guidance.
"While our teenage pregnancy rates are coming down and are at the lowest rate for over 20 years, there is much more to do to ensure young people have the knowledge they need to prevent early pregnancy and look after their sexual health."
Those Naughty Norwegians
The leading chain of sex stores in Norway is in trouble with health inspectors. It seems that they are not in compliance with standard food package labeling. Their penis shaped pasta, chocolate body paint, along with other edible sexy stuff, does not comply with health laws. In typical Scandinavian style, when employees were asked about the problems with this lack of compliance, one of them replied:
"We were a bit surprised to have the food safety authority on inspection. Food is not really our core product. We have panties, bras, handcuffs and suspender belts made out of candy."
Interesting choice of words!
BBC's International Campaigns...focus on India
BBC has been working on educational campaigns about safe sex - most specifically condom use - since 2006. Here is their own description of that campaign. My take is in Aine's...
Start date: 2006
End date: 2009
Media types: advertisements on television, radio, cinema, outdoor media and print
Issue: health
Country: India
Making condoms acceptable
“It's a sign of manhood... but it's not a moustache”
The focus of the campaign is to get men talking about condoms. Research shows that men who talk about sex are more likely to use condoms consistently.
The campaign aims to position condoms as a product that men use to show they are responsible and care about themselves and their families.
By the end of the campaign, the advertising on television, radio, cinema, print and outdoor media will have reached an estimated 52 million men.
The number of high risk men reached by the campaign will be an estimated 6.5 million.
Most will have been exposed to more than one promotional message about condoms.
He who talks, wins
The mass media campaign launched on the eve of World AIDS Day 2007 with a competition designed to get men talking about condoms.
The three-week campaign asked people to answer a riddle. Here's one of the clues: "It's a sign of manhood... but it's not a moustache."
Participants competed to win a mobile phone with free talk time.
The campaign reached 18 million men in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and was the first campaign of its kind in the country.
Nearly 400,000 people responded to TV, radio and outdoor advertisements by making a local call.
The strength of the creative idea behind the campaign is that instead of an ad that tells people to talk, it actually stimulated people to talk.
The riddle enticed people to talk about condoms with their friends in order to arrive at the answer.
A parrot, which represents talking and smartness, has been chosen as the campaign's mascot.
The advertisements were broadcast in five languages across Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
Condom, condom, condom!
The second phase of the campaign launched in March 2008.
Once again, we want men to talk freely about condoms. The confidence and the smartness required to do so are also being linked to being a "real man".
The ad shows a kabaddi match - kabaddi is a team sport originally from the Indian subcontinent where chanting the word "kabaddi" during play is a crucial aspect of game.
In the ad, the protagonist wins the match against an obviously macho team by chanting "condom" instead of "kabaddi".
This campaign will be seen and heard on TV, radio, cinema, outdoor and print advertisements for a six week period.
We are amplifying our core message of 'smart men talk about condoms' in other media by fictionalising the kabaddi match and the discussion and debate it generates.
In this phase too, there is an interactive element with an SMS poll around our core message.
Focus on mobile phones
In the third phase of the campaign launched in August 2008, a ringtone campaign is used to promote the use of condoms.
In a scene played out at a wedding: a mobile ringtone buzzes with a loud refrain "condom! condom!".
Embarrassing for the person holding the mobile phone? Not a bit of it - the reaction of those around the red-faced man is to see him as smart and responsible.
The phase's theme Jo Samjha Wohi Sikander - "the one who understands is a winner" - reinforces the message that those who use condoms are winners in life. More.
Research and impact
A 'baseline' survey has been carried out in the four target states to assess existing knowledge, attitudes and practices related to condoms.
An endline survey will be carried out at the end of the campaign to measure progress on increasing positive attitudes and changing behaviour around condom use among men.
It ain't for flushing!
What do Australia, Ireland, England, Scotland, a variety of countries in Africa, even the Louisiana Bayou have in common? They are all plagued by floating condoms in their waterways. In Scotland and Australia, for instance, river sailing regattas have had to be cancelled due to the floating flotsum AND the flapping condoms that have caught up in trees and bushes along waterways. The River Frome, for instance, has a huge problem with them, as the local waste authority can't seem to stem their tide, with residents madly flushing their used noddies down the loo.
Perhaps packaging needs to include proper procedures for placing used rubbers into the correct recepticle :)
Aw, those little Brownies!
(I found out about this in a short article in the China Daily News, October 8th)
An English mother who had just moved to Hong Kong was a bit surprised when she was flipping through the Brownie Guide she'd just bought for her 8-year-old; it is published by the Hong Kong Girl Guide Assoc, and includes new badges for learning to make a tomato and lettuce sandwich, how to boil an egg...and how to use a condom!
The girls in the Brownies are between 7 - 10 years, and seem to take it all in their stride, as do most parents. The only requirement for earning the AIDS Badge is to be able to tell how to prevent HIV by using a condom, and to name three modes of transmission for HIV.
But the new mother was not convinced that her child needed to know this at such a young age. The Girl Guides disagree and the badge stays...probably another attempt to stem the tide of an ever-growing number of AIDS cases in Hong Kong and mainland China.
A lost condom mobile...what a strange thing to steal!
Who has it and why??
Oct. 1, 2008
From the:
Associated Press
MEXICO CITY - Missing in Mexico: One truck carrying 5,000 condoms, 800 HIV tests and a 23-foot inflatable prophylactic.
The coordinator of an HIV/AIDS awareness tour, Polo Gomez, said Wednesday that the "Condomovil" was parked in front of a friend's house in Mexico City when it disappeared Sunday evening. He believes the truck was stolen, but he doesn't know why. Police are still investigating.
The truck should be easy to spot. It features painted images of a peeled banana, the exposed part shaped like a condom, and a shirtless man saying: "I protect myself. Do you?"
Gomez estimated $19,000 worth of material is missing, including the truck, its contents and sound equipment.
As many as 440,000 Mexicans are living with HIV, according to 2005 estimates from UNICEF.
The Condomovil program has toured Mexico since 1998 promoting safe sex practices while distributing 1.2 million condoms to more than 700,000 people, Gomez said. The inflatable condom was used to draw attention from passers-by.
Gomez said a scheduled tour of Mexico's south would likely be canceled unless the truck is found.
The group bought the truck with a grant from Mexico's federal Health Department. The department also donated the 5,000 condoms in the truck when it went missing.
it??
More fallout from the Credit Crunch, or...
Perhaps I'm naive, but I find this really strange...and pretty unappetizing! But the scariest bit - which I've copied from further on in the article - is this:
"People who, having grown up watching the Aids awareness stuff on telly, say they judged how safe someone was by talking to them or by whether they appeared clean."
Oh, GOOD GRIEF!!!
KING OF THE SWINGERS;
AUTHOR ASHLEY LISTER LIFTS THE LID ON THE BIZARRE WORLD OF WIFE SWAPPING AND SEX WITH STRANGERS By Samantha BoothFrom the Daily Mail (July)THERE are an estimated one million swingers in the UK and according to the author of a new book, the sexy pastime could become even more common place thanks to the credit crunch.
Ashley Lister, who wrote and researched Swingers: Female Confidential, reckons that in the coming months more people will shun expensive restaurants and nights out in favour of cheaper pleasures.
And for many that means meeting regularly to have sex with someone other than their partners.
Ashley, from Blackpool, says: "With a recession on its way, swinging is about to go through a boom period because it is such a cost effective way for people to enjoy themselves and to get maximum enjoyment from minimum outlay.
"And it is just as popular in Scotland as it is anywhere else in the UK."
The married father-of-one, who says he's never been physically involved in swinging, started researching the scene after discovering some of his friends were involved. He said: "The majority of books written about swinging are by swingers who are extolling the virtues of the lifestyle while the majority of newspaper and magazine articles condemn it as seedy or immoral.
"As I had a few friends who enjoyed the swinging scene, I thought if I could speak to them and some of their friends, then I could find out what swinging really is like nowadays."
From there Ashley's first book on the pass-time, Swingers: True Confessions from Today's Swinging Scene, was born.
And through his research, he learned that swinging in the UK is rife among people of all backgrounds.
He spoke to students, single mums in their 20s, unemployed swingers, top lawyers and even swinging doctors - of every age, size and shape imaginable.
And he discovered that contrary to popular belief, most shun the notorious swingers parties in favour of getting to know a small number of similar minded people socially. Then it is simply a case of consenting adults taking part in whatever sexual practice they desire generally, with the full support and encouragement of their partner, husband or wife.
Ashley said: "I found it riveting to talk to these people about a subject that is normally forbidden. They really are just normal people, it's just they have a liberated attitude towards sex.
"They could be your neighbour, your boss or even the person who sits next to you at work and you would never know.
"But what I enjoyed about it all was the openness among themselves and they actually seemed empowered by what they do in that they could state exactly what they want and just do that."
Ashley also discovered that being a swinger does not necessarily mean your relationship is dysfunctional.
He said: "I suppose it depends on your view of healthy but if a couple are smiling at each other, caring for each other and supporting each other then that seems healthy and I certainly saw a lot of that between swinging couples.
"But I also encountered couples who were trying to get over a rough patch in their marriage by trying swinging and that obviously doesn't work. It was like watching a car crash because you knew how it was going to turn out.
"Most swingers I met were in couples.
Single swingers are much harder to come by, especially single bisexual women, which is a bit odd considering they're the ones most swinging couples are hoping to come into contact with."
Having researched and written his insight into the world of swinging, Ashley was only left with one question about the ever growing phenomenon - why do women do it?
That also seemed to be the one question readers of Swingers: True Confessions from Today's Swinging Scene were left with. They seemed to take it for granted that men were in it for the sex, but the motivation of females was harder to understand.
Ashley said: "Nobody asked me why men did it, they seemed to understand men would do that kind of thing for more sex, but everyone asked what motivated women, so I decided to look into it and write swingers: Female Confidential." That led him to meet Amy, a medical receptionist from the Manchester area who estimates that she has had around 500 extra-marital partners in the 24 years she has been married.
Amy, 43, always considered herself promiscuous before she met her husband and while she managed to stay faithful through their engagement, she slept with someone else just two weeks into their marriage.
Amy was devastated by the slip-up but the indiscretion led her and her husband to come to a liberating arrangement.
Ever since, Amy has regularly gone out to meet people for sex and to take pictures of herself during her encounter.
Once home, she tells her husband all about the meeting and shows him the pictures before they too have sex, although Amy is adamant that while she has sex with any number of men, she only makes love to her husband.
Ashley said: "Amy's husband supported her and they both got a lot from their set-up. Her motivation for swinging was simple - she liked sex.
"They had come up with a situation which seemed to suit everyone and I believe that is now possible because society is moving towards a kind of sexual equality never seen before.
"The taboos around sexual equality in the bedroom are finally being broken down and if we continue in the current vein they will be ultimately vanquished.
"It used to be that a woman with a libido was considered to be dangerous or insane and there has long been the double standards between male and female promiscuity.
"To some extent that is still true today, but I don't think it has the same severe connotations that it used to have.
"Society has become more open, we have the Ann Summer shops on the high street, we have erotic fiction in print and there is an acceptance now that women are allowed to be sexual creatures unrestricted by the double standard hierarchy imposed on them by a patriarchal society.
"And liberated women are more free to do what they want and that's why I think they turn to swinging." Ashley also met 43-year-old Joyce, who'd never consider herself a swinger, but gets a great deal of pleasure from posting the pictures her husband takes of her on the internet so she can read the comments from web users.
Ashley said: "Many people don't like the term swingers because of the negative connotations, but really that's what they are doing by bringing other people into their sex life.
"But like many of the couples I met, Joyce and her husband both got a lot out of their activities, they were both totally open and supportive of each other and Joyce was rightly very proud of her body and sexuality."
Such openness in fact seemed to be the norm among swingers, which is why Ashley was so shocked to encounter Mrs XXX who, despite swinging with her husband, decided to indulge in lesbian experimentation behind her husband's back.
Ashley said: "Other couples would talk about anything in front of each other so I was surprised that given that they were already swingers, that she did it behind her husband's back. It seemed to break the rules of swinging."
And the other thing which left Ashley reeling was his discovery that a small minority of swingers still take part in unprotected sex. He said: "It horrified me that there were a few people who didn't use protection.
"People who, having grown up watching the Aids awareness stuff on telly, say they judged how safe someone was by talking to them or by whether they appeared clean.
"It was really horrifying, especially as there are always condoms about in these situations.
"Their idea of staying safe is getting tested regularly, which to me just isn't right. That's like shutting the stable door long after the horse has bolted."
The Republican Convention
For the first time in American political history, the condom played a "serious" role at the recent Republican convention; 30,000 of them were distributed by Planned Parenthood representatives. Their purpose? On the packages were listed the flaws of Republican candidate, John McCain, who really got the pro-birth control organization's anger up when, after being asked if birth control methods could prevent against STDs spread, his answer was an impressive wow, you've "stumped me." The PP folks hoped to use their condoms to get the word out the this guy is, well, shall we say, a bit on the clueless side.
Australia's condom girl has no regrets
From the Daily Times: (July '08)
Pope's message `was stupid'
A TERRITORIAN who blew up a condom in front of the Pope is unrepentant about her protest.
Jessie Abraham, 27, was demonstrating against the Catholic Church's ban on contraception. She said
Pope Benedict XVI needed a ``reality check''.
``I would rather sin than apologise,'' she said.
Ms Abraham staged her protest at the World Youth Day gathering in Sydney last week.
``We decided to create a safe-sex message for the pilgrims,'' she said. ``The message was, `condoms rock'.''
Ms Abraham, a Darwin-based women's rights activist and sexual health professional, said the protest was ``about awareness not politics''.
``I am not religious at all -- I don't even understand religion.
``It was not a religious, political or nasty message.
``Putting 300,000 youths in one place and saying `don't use condoms' was stupid and it made me angry.''
Ms Abraham said the anti-contraceptive papal message led to a spike in sales of the morning after pill during the Catholic celebration.
``People from 170 countries got together. They were passionate and lively -- they were going to have sex,'' she said. Ms Abraham said she did not know what reaction to expect from the crowd.
``I didn't expect a good reaction -- but it was a nice relief when the reaction was good,'' she said.
``People commented that they agreed with us.''
Hermes goes condom!!
That very expensive fashion design house has added a bit of a twist to one of its new scarf designs!!
The winter collection of Hermes contains not only new and sporty variations on the Kelly and Birkin bags, it has a trendy new scarf which is made of dark silk - Hermes has called this new design "Life in a Pocket," because it has a little red ribbon woven on the reverse and a secret pocket at the wide end for holding a condomf. A percentage of the sales of this innovative condom holder are being donated to a French Aids charity.
Gotta love it!!
But did that naughty priest use a condom?
Italian man catches wife in bed with priest An Italian husband returned home early from work to find his wife in bed with their local priest. 14 Sep 2008
Following the shock discovery, the man stormed into the local bishop's office in Chioggia, near Venice, and demanded an explanation. Later police were called to calm him down.
Details of the incident in Chioggia near Venice emerged on Sunday in Italian newspapers and the local bishop Angelo Daniel has now confirmed that the adulterous priest has been sent to another parish for "reeducation".
The 53-year-old priest was described as a specialist on the Bible and had been a good friend of the couple.
The husband, 39, and his wife, 37, have two children.
Bishop Daniel added: "I have always respected the priest in question and I will continue to respect him. You cannot discount all the good a person has done in their life just because of one mistake."
Condom ring tones???
From: The Financial Post (Canada)
September 12, 2008 Friday
A ring tone that sings "condom, condom, condom" has attracted more than 270,000 downloads since its launch in India last month, spreading the message of safe sex to many more cellphone users in the country and abroad. The Condom a Capella ringtone, in which the word "condom" is sung in many overlapping melodies, is the work of Rupert Fernandes and Vijay Prakash. The Web site www.condomcondom.org, (check it out!!) where it can be heard, has had more than two million hits. The campaign was produced by the BBC World Service Trust in India and aims to target the increasing number of Indian cellphone users, estimated at more than 250 million. According to the latest figures, 2.4 million people are living with HIV in India. Never before has a mobile ring-tone been used to communicate a social or public health message, said Yvonne MacPherson, country director, India, for the trust. "We wanted to create a conversation piece that would get people talking and ultimately break down the taboo about condoms."
Macho or what?
From the New Zealand Herald, September 12th
Tracey Barnett: Why macho firms push Viagra instead of the pill for men
Gentlemen, it's an insult.
There is an entire multimillion-dollar industry out there that won't put money on the odds that men are willing to take responsibility for the number of children they father.
Some guys with big cigars and bigger expense accounts probably sat in a Mad Men-style office decades ago and sniggered: "A contraceptive pill for men? Forgettaboutit." And we haven't budged since.
Big Pharma is happy as Larry to flood your junk email in-boxes with 50 ads a day touting Viagra to help start the ball rolling. Now, there's a market. But when it comes to controlling the repercussions of that amour, pharmacologically we're stuck in 1962.
A male pill? File that under man-bras and man-mascara. For every article you see touting the newest research to develop a male pill, patch, cream or injection, it's inevitably followed by a little disclaimer that mentions the reality is still five to seven years away.
The only problem is, that refrain has been repeating for more than 40 years now.
That's what happened when Wyeth, Schering and Organon were touting their breathless breakthroughs on the horizon, until they weren't. German drug giant Schering halted its research two years ago after its acquisition by Bayer. Other companies quickly jumped ship and folded their projects too.
The truth is, drug companies still aren't interested enough. For decades, Big Pharma has been skittish, to say the least. There is always the subtext: Men won't take it. Men don't want the risks that women are willing to tolerate. Women are already taking care of birth control in established couples.
Why spend millions splitting the market to men when the women's dollar is already captured? Women won't trust men to take it. Men fear it will affect their sexual performance. It's too expensive to develop. Think of the potential lawsuits. Were these the same list of questions on the Viagra research criteria?
When the pill came into being and revolutionised women's sexual freedom, there was plenty of cause to celebrate. Women hadn't known what it was like not to fear unwanted pregnancy.
Today women have the choice to use dozens of different types of pills, as well as sponges, patches, injections, IUD's and morning-after medications. While men are still stuck in the dark ages of condoms or a Hail Mary [vasectomy being a realistic option only later after a man has had children.]
Amazingly, there hasn't been a viable new form of male contraception for 100 years.
Until Aids crept on to the scene in the 1980s, when both men and women turned to condoms for safety, the domain of birth control had become a woman's job.
Today women take responsibility for contraception in two-thirds of all couples. It is the woman who now largely assumes the health risks behind whatever her choice, from increased risk of some cancers and blood clots with the pill, to infection and ectopic pregnancy from IUDs, on down the line. For my generation, it has always seemed like weighing the least worst evil.
What was once a heralded new freedom 40 years ago has now morphed into a women's problem. Today, adolescent women are taught they even have to carry the condoms, and back it up with whatever else feels safe.
How did we women get from taking control of our sexuality to relinquishing our right to spread the health risks with men?
Why aren't women angry that more money hasn't been put into developing male contraceptive products that are now well within scientific reach?
It would be different if Big Pharma got their 1962-tinged portrait of today's man right, but their own studies tell us otherwise.
A 2005 global survey by Schering of 9000 men from ages 18 to 50, reported that more than half were interested in "new male fertility control", with roughly 40 per cent of American respondents saying they would be willing to use an implant or receive regular injections.
Other surveys done in Cape Town, Edinburgh, Shanghai and Hong Kong put those numbers even higher, at 67 per cent, according to Slate magazine.
There are 100 million female customers for the pill worldwide. Think about what even a fraction of those male numbers would translate into global revenue.
Dr David Handelsman, a leading male contraception researcher from Sydney's ANZAC Institute, told Time Magazine: "The pharmaceutical industry is completely disconnected from the public and medical perceptions of need."
You bet. What's more, we women are suckers for not demanding it decades sooner.
Dirty dancing or practicing safe sex??
September 11
Naughty naughty!!
CANBERRA (Reuters) - The police minister in Australia's most populous state was forced to quit on Thursday over reports he "dirty danced" in underwear over the chest of a female colleague in a drunken late-night office party.
Matt Brown resigned just three days after being sworn in as police minister of New South Wales state, which includes Sydney.
"I'm a human being and I made a mistake and I am going to cop the consequences," Brown told reporters. "I am not wanting to duck or weave this issue. As you can imagine this is a pretty tough day for me."
Witnesses said Brown stripped down to his underpants and danced to loud techno music on a green leather Chesterfield lounge before he "mounted the chest" of a female politician and simulated a sex act.
Brown did not deny stripping, but said he had not tried to simulate sex with his colleague. The party occurred in parliament three months before Brown was sworn in as police minister.
The resignation was a blow to the centre-left state government, already reeling from months of political scandal, leadership instability and poor opinion polls. NSW accounts for 30 percent of Australia's $1 trillion (571 billion pound) economy.
State Premier Nathan Rees, sworn in with Brown after a leadership tussle, promised a more accountable government and said Brown had to go because he initially promised that "absolutely nothing untoward" occurred during the party.
"I subsequently put it to former minister Brown late last night that 'there are too many reports of you in your underwear for me to ignore'," Rees told local radio.
"Embarrassed doesn't begin to describe it. He conceded he'd been in his underwear and that gave me no option but to demand his resignation," Rees said.
Sex on the beach not all it's cracked up to be!
Ah, those fun loving Middle Easterners!!
September 9
The case of two Britons accused of having sex on a Dubai beach has been adjourned after one of them fell ill.
Vince Acors, 34, of Bromley, south east London, and Michelle Palmer, 36, were due in court for another hearing when court officials said the case was being adjourned for a month.
The pair deny they got intimate in public - something which is strictly forbidden in the Gulf Emirate state.
Their case was listed at Dubai's Court of First Instance but is now on hold until October 7, their lawyer, Hassan Matter, said.
Mr Matter said Ms Palmer had not attended the proceedings because she was "not well". He would not go into further details of her illness.
He claims DNA and medical tests have failed to prove the duo had sex.
The police officer who arrested the pair was due to give evidence at the latest hearing. He had previously described Miss Palmer as sitting on Mr Acors with her shirt off.
During the last court hearing in Dubai, the pair's appeal for a quick ruling that would let them return to Britain was rejected.
But Mr Matter said: "Medical reports for Michelle said that she didn't have sex. The DNA from Michelle said she didn't have sex.
"They were arrested at about 1am and they went for a medical report at about 8.30am. The medical examination of Vincent didn't give any sure findings."
Miss Palmer and Mr Acors were arrested hours after attending a £60 all-you-can-drink champagne brunch at Le Meridien hotel, close to Dubai airport.
Sex outside marriage is illegal in Dubai.
Miss Palmer, who worked as a publishing executive in Dubai, was sacked following her arrest.
Condom Crime Wave in Dallas Texas!
September 5th
Dallas police today are searching for a man who robbed a 7-Eleven convenience store in his wheelchair, stealing 10 boxes of condoms and an energy drink before rolling himself out the door, authorities said.
The man wheeled into the store in the 8400 block of Park Lane in northeast Dallas around 2 a.m. Wednesday clutching a baseball bat and a knife, said Senior Cpl. Kevin Janse, a Dallas police spokesman.
The man, who appeared to be in his 30s, went straight to the cash register and began beating it with the bat until it opened, Cpl. Janse said.
But he didn’t steal any money.
Instead, he wheeled himself past other customers around the store, grabbing boxes of condoms and an energy drink before leaving, Cpl. Janse said.
By the time police arrived, the man was nowhere to be found. He is described as a black male, 5-10, weighing about 170 pounds.
Police do not have any suspects, but they believe he may be homeless.
Cpl. Janse said he couldn’t recall another robbery involving a person in a wheelchair. He believes the culprit was probably intoxicated at the time.
“This certainly isn’t something we see everyday,” Cpl. Janse said.
Dreadful findings from the Poppy Project
The London-based Poppy Project, a "feminist think tank," has done an extensive study of off street prostitution in London and has found that every borough has extensive unlicenced brothels, where "very very young girls" are available for sex for as little as 15£, though the cost for all services and ages ranges from 15 - 62£, and the average age of the girls is 21. Most of these women come from Asia and Eastern and Central Europe, many are illegal aliens, and most are caught up in a life of violence, fear, and extreme health risks - the worst of these? For an extra 10£, sex without a condom is widely available.
What are the "authorities" going to do about it?
No one is saying as yet, but it is hard to imagine that government agencies that have recently admitted that they don't even know how many LEGAL aliens have crossed into the country in the last few years are likely to get a handle on this one. And the contribution to HIV/AIDS? It boggles the mind, given that this twilight, unregulated part of a much bigger business is netting at least 62 million £ a year...there is a huge market for sex, avec condom and not.
So, men, you really are the problem!
Swedish researchers said Tuesday what women have suspected all along: that marital woes can often be attributed to men's genetic make-up, according to a study linking a common male gene to relationship problems.
The gene variant, which is present in four of 10 Swedish men, can explain why some men are more prone to stormy relationships and bond less to their wives or girlfriends, a team of researchers at Stockholm's Karolinska Institute said.
"There are, of course, many reasons why a person might have relationship problems, but this is the first time that a specific gene variant has been associated with how men bond to their partners," Hasse Walum, one of the researchers, said in a statement.
The team found that men who carry one or two copies of a variant of the gene often behave differently in relationships than men who lack the gene variant, called allele 334.
"The incidence of allele 334 was statistically linked to how strong a bond a man felt he had with his partner," the statement said.
Men who had two copies of allele 334 were twice as likely to have had a marital or relationship crisis in the past year than those who lacked the gene variant, it said.
Their wives or girlfriends also noticed the difference.
"Women married to men who carry one or two copies of allele 334 were, on average, less satisfied with their relationship than women married to men who didn't carry this allele," Walum said.
He stressed however that the effect of the genetic variation was relatively modest and could not be used to predict with any real accuracy how someone would behave in a future relationship.
The study surveyed 550 twins and their partners or spouses in Sweden.
Martin Ingvar, a professor of neurophysiology at Karolinska Institute, said the results were "very exciting."
"These are original findings which shed light on the fact that all of our behaviours are influenced by both nature and nurture. Even complex, cultural social phenomens such as marriage are influenced by a person's genetic make-up," Ingvar said.
The gene in question controls the production of a molecule receptor for vasopressin, a hormone that is found in most mammals.
The same gene has previously been linked to monogamous behaviour in male voles, a mouselike rodent.
The researchers said they hoped greater knowledge of the effect of vasopressin on human relations could also help understand the causes of diseases characterised by problems with social interaction, such as autism.
The results of the study were published Tuesday in the US scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
IVF run amock!!
You've got to read this one!!
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1045815/Worlds-oldest-mother-70-pleased-male-heir-declares-daughter-burden.html
Safe sex at the Olympic village
From USA Today, August 13
"Citius, Altius, Fortius.
There are a lot of things athletes may run out of at the Olympic Village in Beijing but condoms should not be one of them.
Organizers have supplied 100,000 for the 10,500 athletes housed in the village. Organizers have handed out condoms at every Olympics since 1992 in Barcelona to raise awareness of AIDS prevention.
At Sydney, the 70,000 condoms supplied, ran out and officials ordered an additional 20,000 more.
"There are many young, strong, single people in the athletes' village and, like everywhere, some will fall in love or other things, so we need to make condoms available," Ole Hansen, spokesman for UNAIDS China, told Reuters. "A lot of these young people are not married or in relationships so we want to make sure they have the information and tools to protect themselves if they have sexual encounters."
So not to offend any athlete, the condoms are not put in rooms but are available at medical sights and at the athlete's center.
Elasun, a condom maker in China, has been running funny ads showing Olympic stickman performing alongside condoms shaped like bicycles, basketball hoop and net and an archery target."
The 17th Annual AIDS conference in Mexico - some interesting ads!
"Love your neighbour as you love yourself. Use a condom."
From an Irish Catholic "underground" website: Sote Voce
That’s one of the slogans adopted by two Catholic youth groups who are taking advantage of the world AIDS conference in Mexico to distribute pamphlets and hang posters in subways and buses with their message.
The ads also include other quotes from the Bible's "Song of Solomon" such as "Under your tongue you will find milk and honey," and "Your breasts are like clusters of grapes and your breath as sweet as the scent of apples."
"These sayings show that the Bible has not always condemned sexuality and, even that it has allowed for pleasure," Minerva Santamaria, spokeswoman for Catholic Women in Favour of the Right to Decide (CPDD), told the Argentinian daily Pagina 12.
"Misinterpretation!," responded theologian Fray Julian Cruzalta at a press conference, adding that, for the Church, the Song of Solomon is "an allegory of the love between God and his Church."
At the same press conference, the Archdiocese of Mexico denounced "the desecration of sacred scripture," and added that "the Bible makes no mention of condoms."
"The position of the conservative Catholic hierarchy," Santamaria told the Argentine newspaper, "has had a devastating effect on the youth. You cannot proclaim a culture of life while at the same time prohibiting the use of condoms and advocating abstinence only instead."
Mexico has the second-highest rate of HIV infection in Latin America, after Brazil, with more than 200,000 Mexicans infected with the virus, according to the UN programme on AIDS.
Every year, some 8,000 new cases of infection are detected.
Brand new research on HIV prevention...
This is a brand new study abouthttp://www.aidsmap.com/en/news/B0CE9F2C-6143-49AD-9DCC-74F2C8200460.asp circumcision and its connection with HIV prevention: well worth the read!
Condoms at school - the battle goes on...
The Sunday Times (London)
July 20, 2008
Parents protest as schools hand out free condoms
BYLINE: Kathleen Nutt and Julia Belgutay
SECTION: HOME NEWS; Scotland News; Pg.7
LENGTH: 614 words
SCHOOLS have been criticised for encouraging underage sex by giving pupils free condoms.
Teenagers at secondary schools in Edinburgh and West Lothian have received the contraceptives, in a bid to curb unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.
But parent groups and education campaigners say that the scheme encourages youngsters to have sex.
Broughton High School, in Edinburgh, North Berwick High School in East Lothian, Newbattle High School, in Midlothian and West Calder High School in West Lothian have given out contraceptives.
NHS Lothian was unable to say what age the pupils were who had received the contraceptives and whether they were over 16. The schools' sexual health clinics also offer pregnancy tests and testing for sexually transmitted diseases.
Free condoms have also been handed out to pupils at Sandwick Junior High School in Shetland under a one-year pilot scheme which is set to be extended to the seven other secondaries on the islands.
A spokesman for Shetland Isles' schools said that parents' permission is not required if the pupils are aged over 16. He said that it was "extremely rare" for underage pupils to receive condoms.
Some school nurses in secondary schools in the Borders have also obtained permission to give out free contraceptives to pupils.
However, the local authority does not keep information on how many contraceptives have been issued.
"Handing out free contraceptives to school children simply encourages teenage sexual activity," said Nick Seaton, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education. "It is extremely worrying that condoms are being given out to pupils without the permission of their parents."
Stan Martin, one of the founders of Parents for Consultation, a group that wants parents to have more influence over sex education in schools, said: "Initiatives like these just sexualise children at an earlier and earlier age."
Scotland has one of the worst teenage pregnancy records in the world, with almost 30% of girls aged between 15 and 19 giving birth. In a league table of teenage pregnancy rates, produced by the children's charity Barnardo's, Scotland was 28th out of 31 countries. Only America, Mexico and Turkey had more teenage mothers.
Last year The Sunday Times reported that almost 5,000 underage girls, some as young as 11, were being prescribed the contraceptive pill.
Figures published last year revealed the number of cases of the sexually transmitted disease chlamydia rose by 4% cent, to 17,926. More than 70% of the patients suffering from the disease, which can cause infertility, were aged under 25.
Jim Reyner, quality improvement manager at Shetland Isles' schools service, said: "From our perspective we would rather condoms were available than kids were left ignorant. They are issued responsibly."
If any child under 16 asked for a condom, parents and child protection staff would be informed, he said.
A spokesman for Scottish Borders council said: "Contraceptives could be given out by school nurses in the drop-in sessions, but it is a private matter between the pupil and the school nurse. The sessions are confidential and designed to discuss all health issues."
Shona Robison, the public health minister, said: "It is important for local agencies to provide high-quality, consistent information in a range of settings. This includes easily accessible drop-in services, staffed by health professionals and youth workers, services we know young people respond well to.
"How these services are delivered is a decision for local health boards and local authorities to make in partnership with their sexual health strategy groups."
Is there a connection?
Today, the Conservatives have suggested that the silly - and horribly sexist! - magazines loved by the 16-22 year old British male may be contributing to the huge problem of uninvolved father...too narrow a view?
'Hedonist' Lad Mags Slammed
So-called 'lad mags' like Zoo and Nuts are helping to fuel a rise in feckless fatherhood, according to the Conservative Party.
Shadow education secretary Michael Gove says the magazines encourage young men to view women as sex objects.
In a high-profile speech on the family he will accuse the magazines of celebrating "instant hit hedonism".
Mr Gove will link the titles - which sell around half a million copies a week to men aged 18-30 with a diet of topless photos, football and jokes - to the social problems of relationship breakdown and fatherless children.
And he will suggest that the drive to reduce teenage pregnancy should put more emphasis on making young men come to terms with their responsibilities.
In a speech to the Institute for Public Policy Research in London, Mr Gove will stress the Conservative commitment to supporting marriage and the family, including through the tax system.
His speech says: "We are committed to supporting family life, and stability and commitment in relationships, precisely because the secure start in life a stable family background provides is the best guarantee of maximising opportunity."
But he will argue that the lad mags' contents promote a negative picture of the family and of women.
"I believe we need to ask tough questions about the instant-hit hedonism celebrated by the modern men's magazines targeted at younger males.
"Titles such as Nuts and Zoo paint a picture of women as permanently, lasciviously, uncomplicatedly available.
"We should ask those who make profits out of reveling in, or encouraging, selfish irresponsibility among young men what they think they're doing."
Mr Gove rejects the argument that the editorial content of a magazine is not a subject for politicians to get involved in.
"The relationship between these titles and their readers is a relationship in which the rest of us have an interest.
"The images they use and project reinforce a very narrow conception of beauty and a shallow approach towards women. They celebrate thrill-seeking and instant gratification without ever allowing any thought of responsibility towards others, or commitment, to intrude.
"The contrast with the work done by women's magazines, and their publishers, to address their readers in a mature and responsible fashion, is striking."
Mr Gove is expected to say that a Conservative government would give greater support to the majority of fathers who play an active role in bringing up their children.
Uganda's shortage...if they'd only read the book!
Uganda;
Country Could Face Condom Shortage By October, 08
Africa News
USAID no longer funds the procurement of condoms yet the Government has not released funds to buy them. Lillian Agasha and Halima Shaban explore the hard reality
A WALK into the numerous washrooms of most corporate premises in Kampala will reveal almost one identical thing - a box of condoms placed strategically for any user to pick. When you see these condoms in the morning, be sure they will not be there by evening.
In addition to its role as a crucial and reliable family planning method, the condom is one of the major strategies in the fight against HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Yet, if the Government does not urgently release funds for the importation of condoms, there will be no condoms in the country by October, says the United Nations Population Fund deputy country representative, Hassan Mohtashami.
In the past, procurement and distribution of condoms was done by social marketing organisations such as PSI and Marie Stopes with funds from development partners; KFW and United States Aid for International Development (USAID). The ministry of health also procured condoms using funds from USAID.
But, with the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, which charges countries with the responsibility of owning and funding reproductive health commodities supplies, this trend is changing.
KFW, USAID and other development partners are no longer funding the procurement of condoms and other reproductive health methods, yet the Government has not put in place a budget to procure condoms.
"There is an urgent need for a specific budget on condom programming in the Ministry of Health (MOH) in addition to mobilisation of resources to meet the current condom stock gaps," Dr. Mohtashami told participants during a reproductive health commodity security advocacy capacity building workshop in Djibouti recently.
Uganda has one of the highest fertility rates in the world. Every woman has an average of seven children. Yet family planning is low.
The contraception prevalence rate (the number of married women using a family planning method) is only 24%. On the other hand, HIV prevalence is going up from 6.4% to 7.1%, according to UNAIDS. The condom is both preventive for HIV and unwanted pregnancy.
Using the ABC (Abstinence, Be faithful, use Condoms) approach, Uganda was able to reduce its HIV prevalence rate from about 30% in the 1980s to 15% in the early 1990s and to about 6% in 2002.
However, with the current rise in the HIV prevalence rate, the future looks gloomy, if the Government does not make the issue of condom supplies a priority.
Development partners in the distribution of condoms have requested the Government to come up with long-term sustainable measures to ensure an adequate and reliable supply of condoms to the population.
Uganda's total condom requirement is about 120 million condoms per year and 10 million condoms are needed per month to meet the basic need for HIV prevention in the country.
In a 'good' year, according to the MOH, actual supplies would be 120 million condoms. But the past years have seen rapidly diminishing supplies of and capacity for distributing condoms.
Mohtashami says the Government has not been procuring condoms and yet it procures other contraceptives. For the public sector, condoms were traditionally supplied by the health ministry with funds from USAID and for the social marketing organisations such as PSI and Marie Stopes, condoms were procured with funds from KFW, a development partner.
With the Paris Declaration, USAID and KFW have since stopped funding condom supplies, leaving a huge gap.
Condoms supplied by social marketing organisations currently cost between sh500 and sh1,000 a packet of three, but the price is likely to shoot up when these condoms run out and the importation is left to the profit-oriented private sector.
This will impact negatively on the HIV/AIDS fight and also increase the number of women dying from abortions.
Dr. Ismail Ndifuna, the national programme officer in charge of reproductive health at the UNFPA country office, says in accordance with the Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness, UNFPA is supposed to promote programmes that are government-owned and led.
He says UNFPA will accordingly align its support to the sector in accordance with this principle. In this regard, UNFPA would like to support capacity building systems development and offer technical assistance to the sector and only procure condoms as a provider of last resort.
"We are not seeing adequate government commitment to condom programming. When there is an epidemic, the health ministry quickly puts in place measures to arrest the situation. We would like to see this happening with condoms," Ndifuna says.
Dr. Anthony Mbonye, the assistant commissioner of reproductive health at the ministry, says basing on the current situation, it is imperative that the Government mobilises resources to procure an extra 40 million condoms for the remaining part of 2008 and 120 million required for 2009.
Dr. Moses Muwonge, the national reproductive health commodity security coordinator at the ministry says: "Procurement planning needs to take care of a total of 160 million condoms for the remaining part of 2008 and 2009.
This is estimated to cost $6.4m (about sh8.05b) inclusive of procurement, clearing, post-shipment, warehousing and distribution."
In 2004, there was a condom crisis after a public outcry that Engabu condoms were of poor quality. The Government withdrew the consignment and halted their distribution.
Muwonge says the country has mainly two funders; UNFPA and USAID who only provide 60 million condoms out of the the 120 condoms required per year. He said because of the current gap, UNFPA has procured 20 million more condoms.
"If UNFPA had not added the 20 million condoms, the available stock would have taken us up to June. We now need 40 million condoms to take us up to the end of the year, otherwise we shall have no condoms in October," says Muwonge.
Mbonye says the Government is looking for funds to avert the problem. However he advises the public to consider condoms as a necessity that should be purchased from the social markets.
Rosemary Kindyomunda, the national programme officer in charge of HIV/AIDS at UNFPA, says failure by the Government to make condoms available to those in need will put thousands of people at the risk of contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.
Muwonge argues that the Government would not be able to avert the crisis even if it got funds to procure condoms for the remaining part of the year, because the four months that are remaining up to October are not enough to complete the procurement and shipment process.
He adds that the procurement process through the Government systems takes about nine months while the process takes six months if it is done by other development partners.
Muwonge says there were some few stocks of Engabu condoms at the National Medical Stores which the health ministry was planning to distribute to the areas where they will be readily acceptable.
He says they have introduced a condom distribution strategy where they will use a district focal person to identify areas where the condoms will be accepted.
"The condom situation has been discussed and the ministry is trying to find a budget line for next year.
They are also planning to procure a large quantity of condoms using funds from the Global Fund," says Muwonge.
The condom crisis was brought up during a workshop in Djibouti, organised by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Secretariat and UNFPA recently.
The workshop was attended by parliamentarians, government officials, media representatives and UNFPA country representatives from IGAD member states.
The condom and the Church...
When I read articles like this, I can't help but think of the old chestnut - history repeats itself!!
The Chronicle Newspaper / Africa
The Condom and The Church
At a time when government is mobilizing resources and appealing for concerted efforts aimed at finding effective alternatives to scale down the escalation of HIV and AIDS, there still remains the religions and faith beliefs that need to be ironed out in the promotion of condom use and sex education.
Despite overwhelming evidence in favour of it, the faith community still regard the practice of using condoms as protection against HIV/AIDS as a taboo and have said the condoms have pinprick size holes that let the virus through.
Despite the stand of the faithful the evidence in favour of sex education and condom use is too strong to permit religious taboo to prevent their use, particularly where HIV/AIDS, STI's and unwanted pregnancies are prevalent
National AIDS Commission (NAC) complained that their efforts in promoting condoms as a shield to help contain the spread of the disease are not bearing the much needed results because of a stand taken by some religious organisations that are in the forefront condemning condom use.
"Yes it is true that the use of condoms has received resistance from the faith community. We have had discussions with them (faith community) and indicated to them that we are not saying that condoms are 100% perfect," commented NAC Chairman Nicholas Chitimba. He pointed out that even the users are clearly told that condoms are not of maximum protection "but better use them than nothing."
"What we are saying is that among the weapons we have against HIV/AIDS, STIs and unwanted pregnancies, a condom is one of them and even if we are saying that condoms are 80% effective, better use them than nothing," Chitimba emphasised. " Yes there is perceived resistance from the faith groups based on religious beliefs but all in all, we are doing everything to make them understand and soften their stance."
However, Chitimba explained that it is interesting that though faith leaders do not come in the open to say condoms are effective in minimising the spread of HIV/AIDS and other related problems, they still admit that a lot of people fail to live up to expected standards when it comes to abstinence.
"Surprisingly they have admitted that indeed there are certain people who do not behave the way they should behave in terms of abstinence and if those individuals are in that sort of position, who are the faith groups to insist that they should not use condoms," he queried.
He said the option of using a condom is a human right issue and people should be left to make an individual decision to use or not to use a condom.
Chitimba advised those who failed to abstain from sex to make sure that they use some protection against HIV infection
"These religious groups will not let you use the condoms, they do not come in the open but if you are in a dangerous situation, always use a condom. It is an individual decision to use a condom or not."
Referring to the perceptions that condoms are promoting bad behaviour in terms of sex especially among the youth Chitimba challenged those who have the research evidence to expose it. "No let them show me research paper that shows that this is the case," he says bluntly.
"My own stand is that I would not deny people access to condoms. If indeed there are other means available on the market where people can protect themselves from getting infected with the virus, then I would encourage people to explore all those options," says Executive Director of Malawi Network of Religious Leaders living or personally infected by HIV/AIDS (MANERELA) Reverend Father MacDonald Sembereka. "And without encouraging and compromising one's faith, I would encourage them to use the best option that we have so far which is basically a condom."
He explained that if the role of faith community is to preserve human life and if there is enough data that condoms are also measures for protecting people's lives, people should explore it.
"Basically the role of faith community is to preserve human life which emanates from the fact that life is sanctity and as such we have to protect it.
"If condoms are at all measures for protecting life and there is enough data to substantiate the fact that it is not to the contrary as the faith community puts it, then I would not have any problem," he said.
Father Sembereka said he is very aware that what is preached to the faithful every Sunday will make people abstain from casual sex "and it would be foolish to indulge in unprotected sex which on most occasions leads to HIV/AIDS, STIs and unwanted pregnancies and on the over-all, untimely death."
"I would not have problems if people use condoms as long as they use them within the defined context. Of course I know pretty well there are people we preach to but very often they still go out and have sex. They will be foolish if they do it without protecting themselves," emphasised Father Sembereka.
He said he does not subscribe to ideologies that condoms promote promiscuity.
"No, for a long time people have been promiscuous not that the advent of condoms has escalated the levels of promiscuity. I don't think there is a research to that effect. We are aware of incidences where people have condoms right in their pockets and they do not use them when having sex and we are mindful of the fact that within the faith community, we are talking of people who have the virus. Do we encourage them to abstain, can we encourage married couples to abstain, can we encourage people who are staying together to abstain, what are the option that we give them?" Father Sembereka wondered.
With regard to condom use and sex education, maintaining an open dialogue and exploring arguments objectively rather than through heated debates may help everyone to review the evidence and consider their stand and come up with a compromise that will benefit people in all walks of life.
Surely the aim of everyone is to see a reduction in teenage and unwanted pregnancies and reduced infection of HIV/AIDS and STIs within the nation.
Travel Writer's take on American "puritanism"
By RICK STEVES
Author of the ubiquitous "Europe Through the Back Door" books and host of the popular public television travel program, "Rick Steves' Europe, " Rick has some interesting insights into the American psyche. He is, if you've not heard of him, also an American! (this is a year or two old, but well worth the wait AND is still current!)
Should America lighten up about sex?
Europe's light and easygoing approach to sex and nudity leaves many U.S. travelers culture-shocked.
In Munich's Central Park, office workers spend their summer lunch breaks sunbathing nude, Mediterranean beaches are topless, Germany's steamy mineral spas are co-ed and from Norway to Naples, modern billboards with lathered-up breasts advertise soap.
But can this (as many fear) breed a land of perverts and sex predators and erode all respect for the beautiful physical union of a man and woman in love? Mingling with ordinary Europeans as I do for a third of my year, it's clear to me it hasn't. In fact, Europeans point out that the United States has more domestic violence, rape, child porn, venereal disease, criminal activity around prostitution, sexual dysfunction ... and frustrated people.
Meanwhile, in the USA, we're getting more sensitive and conservative about sex. In the wake of Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction," Bono's Irish passion for the F-word and Howard Stern's determination to offend, the Federal Communications Commission has upped the fine for "indecency infractions" tenfold -- now charging TV stations $275,000 per offense.
This sends a chill through the TV production community. Last week, many local ABC affiliates refused to air "Saving Private Ryan" uncensored. This week, we hear that football broadcasts may need a five-second delay to bleep foul language. My own travel shows, which feature timeless classics of art, now actually come with a tally listing how many seconds marble penises and canvas breasts appear in each episode so PBS programmers can assess the risk of showing art from ages when the human body was considered beautiful. They fear being put out of business by a big FCC fine (and it's not clear if "infractions" are per nipple).
Tourists once laughed at puritan fig leaves on great art. But today in the United States, it seems fig leaves are coming back into fashion.
Can we learn from Europe? Does Europe cheapen sexual intimacy or do Americans make it dirty?
Condoms and HIV
Both drugs and condoms needed to stop HIV - study
addImpression("1045751_Related Video"); removeImpression(); addImpression("1045752_Related News"); removeImpression(); HONG KONG, July 25 (Reuters) - HIV infections could quadruple over 10 years if HIV-positive people who are taking antiretroviraldrugs become complacent and stop using condoms, researchers in Australia warned.
The warning, published in The Lancet, comes after the Swiss Federal Commission for HIV/AIDS said in a controversial statement earlier this year that HIV-positive people on effective treatment were sexually non-infectious.
But the Australian researchers stressed that while the risk of transmission from people on effective therapy was low, it was unlikely to be zero.
"Factors such as incomplete adherence to therapy or the presence of other sexually transmitted infections could increase the risk of HIV transmission," they wrote.
"A false sense of security might lead to reductions in condom use, as was documented in a behavioural study among men who have sex with men in Australia."
HIV infections have been rising among homosexual men in a number of countries in recent years despite high treatment rates -- something often attributed to reductions in condom use.
Using mathematical models, the team at the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research in Sydney showed that, while the risk of HIV transmission by people on treatment was fairly small for each sexual contact, that risk would be substantial over large numbers of sexual contacts.
They based their calculations on 10,000 couples -- one partner being HIV-positive -- having 100 unprotected sexual encounters a year over 10 years.
"The expected number of HIV infections would be 215 for female-to-male transmissions, 425 for male-to-female transmission, and 3,524 for male-to-male transmission, corresponding to an increase in incidence of four times compared with incidence under current rates of condom use," they wrote.
Jonathan Anderson, president of the Australasian Society for HIV Medicine, said the Swiss advice was misleading.
"When the viral load goes down in the blood due to antiretrovirals, it might not go down in the semen or vaginal and anal fluids," said Anderson, who did not participate in the study.
"Antiretrovirals can complement consistent condom use but replacing condom use with medications may end in disaster."
The Cost of AIDS
This is an excellent article from BBC, talking about the 'bigger picture' of the AIDS crisis. /news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3223567.stm
Pope's apology...
By Philip Pullella Reuters - 37 minutes agoSYDNEY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict on Saturday apologised directly for the first time for sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy, but victims' groups in Australia said they wanted action and not words.
he pope, making some of his most explicit comments on the sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the Church in several countries, also said unequivocally that those responsible should be brought to justice.
Benedict made a last-minute addition to his prepared homily in St. Mary's Cathedral, adding one powerful and personal sentence -- using the word "I" three times -- the Vatican had hoped would satisfy victims groups.
"Indeed, I am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the victims have endured and I assure them that as their pastor I too share in their suffering," he said.
Acknowledging the "shame which we have all felt," he called sexual abuse of minors an "evil" and added that "those responsible for these evils must be brought to justice".
But minutes after he spoke, victims' groups said it was not enough and an anti-pope protest was held as some 250,000 young pilgrims in Sydney for World Youth Day celebrations marched to a suburban racetrack for an evening prayer vigil with the pope.
"Sorry is not enough. Victims want action, not just words," said victims' group Broken Rites, which has been pushing for an open and accountable system of investigating abuse claims. They say the Church in Australia continues to try to cover up abuse.
"A remote apology does not carry anywhere near the weight as a personal, direct apology," said Anthony Foster, whose two daughters were raped by a Melbourne priest.
"This is only an apology, it is only words, it doesn't commit all the resources of the Church to this problem ... he needs to meet with victims and victim support groups to understand what is required," Foster said.
"NO POPE" PROTEST
Around 1,000 protesters marched against Church teachings on sexual morality. Some chanted: "Pope is wrong, put a condom on," and threw condoms into the air as young pilgrims marched across the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge to the vigil site.
On pilgrim was arrested for punching an anti-pope protester in the face.
The pope confronted sexual abuse in the Church in the United States during a visit there in April, meeting victims and vowing to keep paedophiles out of the priesthood.
But his words in Australia were stronger than those he used in the United States, where the biggest of the scandals broke in 2002 and where Boston Cardinal Bernard Law resigned in disgrace that year.
Bishops in the United States and elsewhere were discovered to have moved clergy who had sexually abused minors from parish to parish instead of defrocking them or handing them to authorities.
In the United States alone, dioceses have paid more than $2 billion (1 billion pounds) to settle suits with victims, forcing some dioceses to sell off properties and declare bankruptcy.
The Catholic Church in Australia has paid millions of dollars in compensation, but has capped individual payments to tens of thousands of dollars, with many payments undisclosed due to confidentiality settlements. Victims say they are inadequate.
After praying with the pope at the vigil the crowd of young people prepared to spend the chilly night outdoors ahead of the culminating event of the celebrations -- a Mass on Sunday.
The 81-year-old pope, who appears to be holding up well despite the long trip, leaves for Rome on Monday.
Spanish library surprise!!
19th century condoms found in Salamanca library book
The two condoms are now on show in the University in Salamanca -
The condoms were wrapped in a newspaper dating from 1857.
Two condoms have been found inside a medicine book dating from the XVI century at Salamanca University. Made from pig gut, and with a blue ribbon used to tighten, the condoms came to light during a revision and cataloguing of the historical books in the library.
Library Director, Margarita Becedas, said that the two condoms were perfectly wrapped in a newspaper dating from 1857, and are thought to date from the 19th century.
Historians say that condoms were used as a hygienic measure in Roman times, but they were not considered to have been officially invented until the XVI century.
Testing for Gayness??
July 16th
Openly gay actor John Barrowman has undergone a series of tests to determine the cause of his homosexuality, as part of a new documentary.
The Dr Who star is fronting new series The Making Of Me, in which he undergoes experiments to determine if he was born gay or whether his sexuality was affected by his environment.
And he is now urging the parents of gay teens to watch the programme to better understand their children.
He says, "When I first started in my career, I thought I'm here to entertain people, nothing more.
"But as I've got older, my career has gone in a different direction... Now I get a lot of letters from young people who are either in the position of being shunned by their families or are fearful of coming out.
"I thought I could help those people and help everyone understand. It's a question: Is it nature or is it nurture?
"If you're a parent with a gay child, watch it."
The Making Of Me airs on the UK's BBC One on 24 July. (don't forget, if you miss current BBC programs, many are available on the BBC I player (online) for 7 days after airing...it's a GREAT tool!)
What are we doing wrong?
The newest numbers just published today document another steep rise in the STD rate in the UK; 2007 saw a 6% (90,000 cases) rise - these are the cases that have been identified! - the majority of the "victims" are between the ages of 16-24. This is the second hike in numbers like this in the last 2 years, as '06 was no better.
So what are we doing wrong? Condoms are free or incredibly cheap, sex ed is in the classroom starting around10...but so many kiddos are not getting it.
Is this really news??
A doctor in the US is telling us that though it has been proven that by maintaining a hormonal balance after menopause, women's cognitive abilities are not only preserved, they are enhanced. Is this really a new news?? Probably not, says this doc - from Weymouth Massachusetts' medical center - what's "new" is that she is wondering why this fact is not factored into the way women are treated before and after menopause; in other words, preventative strategies so that women are not so prone to memory loss and all the other nasties associated with hormonal ups and mostly downs.
Profound differences across the Pond...
Although there is a small, but sometimes-vocal group that speaks out against any loosening of the abortion laws in the UK, there has never been a question of limiting access or tightening laws which have governed the process for many years. But, MPs have for the first time in 40 years, eased the abortion laws in the UK. Nurses will be able to prescribe abortion drugs, which will then be taken by women in their own homes. A doctor's approval will also no longer be required, with nurses allowed to carry out early term terminations. This plan will also include allowing for abortions in local clinics rather than hospitals. Although there are some "pro-life" - anti -abortion - MPs who are not happy with this legislation, it is expected to pass without too much fuss.
Convictions for rape all about post codes??
Map reveals rape 'postcode lottery' The "postcode lottery" experienced by rape victims has been depicted in a new map based by campaigners on official figures.
Women's equality group the Fawcett Society, which compiled the map, claimed it "reveals huge deficiencies in police responses to rape" in many parts of the UK.
In some areas, women who report they have been raped are almost five times less likely to see their attacker convicted than in others, the group said.
The charity added that the conviction rate had got worse in 18 out of 43 police areas since it last looked at the figures in detail in 2004. For example, in Bedfordshire the conviction rate four years ago was 8.3% but had dropped to just 3.2%.
The map showed that fewer than one in 30 women who reported a rape in Leicestershire saw a conviction, while in Cleveland the figure was far higher, at about one in seven.
Fawcett Society director Katherine Rake said: "These disturbing figures reveal that women face a postcode lottery when reporting rape to the police.
"It is entirely unacceptable that the standard of service rape victims receive is dependent on where they live. Even more worryingly, in many areas of the country the conviction rate has fallen dramatically since 2004."
Ms Rake added: "We are calling on the Home Secretary to end the postcode lottery faced by victims of sexual violence by ensuring that every case of rape is properly investigated.
"The Government needs to drive cultural change within the criminal justice system, to ensure that rape is given a high priority by every police force in the country and to invest in a national network of rape crisis centres."
The table was compiled from data on court proceedings from the Ministry of Justice, the Home Office's recorded crime figures and population numbers from the Office for National Statistics.
So men can be too old!! Or, yes, sperm ages too!!
Father's age found to affect pregnancy Fatherhood may already be moving out of reach for men in their mid-thirties, a new study has said.
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It is the first time paternal age has been seen to have such a strong effect on reproductive success.
Although the study involved thousands of men and women being treated for infertility, its findings are relevant to all couples, say the researchers.
Study leader Dr Stephanie Belloc, from the Eylau Centre for Assisted Reproduction in Paris, said: "Until now, gynaecologists only focused on maternal age and the message was to get pregnant before the age of 35 or 38 because afterwards it would be difficult.
"But now the gynaecologists must also focus on paternal age and give this information to the couple."
Dr Belloc's team followed up a total of 21,239 artificial insemination procedures carried out between January 2002 and December 2006.
The 12,236 couples had decided to try intra-uterine insemination (IUI) after having difficulty conceiving.
IUI involves spinning sperm in a centrifuge to separate it from seminal fluid and then inserting it directly into the womb.
Artificial insemination can involve the use of donors but every male participant in the study was a husband.
Before each procedure, researchers noted the quantity, activity and shape of the man's sperm.
Pregnancy, miscarriage and delivery rates were also recorded. Detailed analysis allowed the scientists to separate out male and female factors relating to pregnancy success or failure.
As expected, both pregnancy and miscarriage rate were significantly reduced for women over the age of 35.
But the study unexpectedly found that being older than 35 also made it harder for men to become fathers.
For men aged 34, the miscarriage rate was 16.7 per cent. But between 35 and 39 it rose to 19.5 per cent, with almost one in five pregnancies ending in miscarriage. By the age of 44 it had reached 32.4 per cent.
Pregnancy rates only began to change significantly when husbands reached the age of 40. As men's age increased from 39 to 44 the proportion of treatment cycles producing a pregnancy fell from 13.4 per cent to 10.9 per cent.
The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) in Barcelona, Spain.
While the effect of a woman's age on her ability to conceive is well known there is controversy about the impact of age in men.
Many reports show an overall decline in sperm count and quality as men age, but experts have disagreed on whether or not this is simply the result of getting older.
Lifestyle factors such as smoking and obesity have also been blamed for reduced fertility in older men.
Over 45...then you don't need condoms! (???)
LONDON (Reuters) - Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Britons aged over 45 has more than doubled in less than a decade with Internet dating and drugs that counter erectile dysfunction partly to blame, a report said on Monday.
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Although the vast majority of the patients were young, they found that in 1996, 344 people over 45 were diagnosed with an STI. By 2003, that number had risen to 780.
Men in the 55-59 age bracket were more likely to have an STI than anyone else, while rates were highest in women aged 45-54, said the study published in the Sexually Transmitted Infections magazine.
The most commonly diagnosed infections were genital warts, which accounted for almost half of cases, and herpes while the number infected with chlamydia, gonorrhoea and syphilis also rose sharply.
While the number of STIs among younger people rose 97 percent during the period studied, it increased by 127 percent among the over 45s.
The report suggested that changes in social and behavioural patterns were partly responsible, with older people less likely to use protection, which they associated with preventing unwanted pregnancy.
"There is also growing evidence that the Internet is being used to identify casual sexual partners by all age groups," it said, adding that meeting partners online was linked to an increased risk of acquiring an STI.
"It is also recognised that the introduction of drugs to counter erectile dysfunction has altered the quality of life and sexual experience of older individuals."
The researchers argued that health officials had focused almost exclusively on the sexual health of young people and that older age groups had been ignored.
They said that as people with more liberal sexual attitudes got older, the situation was likely to get worse.
The Family Planning Association (FPA) said it had noticed a rise in the number of people over 45 contacting its helpline.
"Tragically, the sexual health of men and women of this age group is largely neglected and it's something FPA is increasingly concerned about," said Julie Bentley, its chief executive.
"Once the worry of pregnancy goes away, it's easy to forget about sexually transmitted infections and the importance of using condoms."
No safe sex, but a great movie
Four Weddings and a Funeral has beaten off stiff competition to be named the best British movie of all time.
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Richard Curtis's 1994 romantic comedy took 22 per cent of the vote in the poll beating Monty Python's Life of Brian by just 1 per cent.
The film made a star of its leading actor Hugh Grant and his then-girlfriend Elizabeth Hurley who wore a daring black Versace dress - held together with gold safety pins - to the premiere.
Grant - who came fourth in the poll for best actor -played commitment-phobe Charles who realises he is in love with Carrie played by Hollywood actress Andie MacDowell.
Life of Brian's mixture of comedy and religious themes prompted controversy when it was released in 1979.
It tells the story of Brian Cohen played by Graham Chapman who is born in the manger next to Jesus and spends his life being mistaken for the Messiah.
Third was Trainspotting with 15 per cent of the vote.
The film, which followed a group of friends in Edinburgh, was controversial because of its graphic depiction of heroin use.
Casino Royale, starring Daniel Craig as James Bond, made it into fourth place with 10 per cent and Guy Ritchie's gangster film Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels came fifth with 8 per cent.
No visas for cross dressers and perverts...
Boy George denied U.S. visa for tour LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Culture Club frontman Boy George's North American summer tour is in doubt after U.S. authorities refused to issue him a visa, citing looming legal issues overseas.
' George's 24-date trek is scheduled to begin July 11 at the House of Blues in Las Vegas, and wrap August 23 at the House of Blues in Dallas.
"At the moment, Boy George cannot come to the United States of America because he has been refused permission to enter by the USA Administration," read a statement from the artist's management. "This is not in respect of anything he has done in the past but because he is facing a trial in November in London for something that happened in April last year."
George was arrested last year after a 28-year-old male escort from Norway accused the singer/DJ of false imprisonment and assault. George later denied the allegations and was released on bail.
"George's lawyers in London have absolutely forbidden us to speak about the facts of that case and all I can say is that George is astounded at the decision and is having lawyers here in the States look at it in the hope that someone will change their mind," the statement continued. "George really would love to come to America and repay his American fans loyalty and that is why we are asking the US Authorities to reconsider their decision."
In 2001, George supported the release of his "Essential Mix" collection with a brief DJ-tour of the U.S. George has also toured and performed DJ sets in Australia, Asia, Europe and Canada.
More angst over school clinics...
Concern over school sex clinics'
June 24th...ITV News report...
Condoms, pregnancy tests and morning-after pills are available at hundreds of schools across England.
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One in six offer the morning-after pill or tests for diseases like chlamydia, while all those with clinics provided condoms or pregnancy tests.
The results have angered some parents' campaigners, who said they were being left "out of the loop" by schools because they were not informed about the treatments given.
But Lucy Emmerson, a senior development officer at the forum, said the majority of schools would have consulted parents or governors before setting up clinics.
Ms Emmerson said it would be illegal for a school to breach a patient's right to anonymity.
She said: "Parents with children in those schools will know that the support services will involve sexual health advice and what the range of services on offer are.
"Also, health professionals always encourage the young person to talk to their parents about any problems they are experiencing."
Andy Hibberd, co-founder of the Parent Organisation support group, said: "It is not a problem that children are getting sex advice in school but the fact that parents are being intentionally cut out of the loop is wrong.
"If they want the morning-after pill, the school will sanction that and the parent will never know.
"We would say that this is the end of innocence."
The forum, an umbrella group which supports the development of better sex education in schools, sent questionnaires to local authorities across England and 70 per cent responded.
The young people's sexual health advice charity, Brook, is a member of the forum.
Brook chief executive Simon Blake described the survey results as "brilliant news".
"All the evidence shows that if good quality sex education starts early enough, it can be part of the solution to problems of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease," he said.
Last week, official figures showed the number of girls under 14 having abortions had risen 21 per cent between 2006 and 2007, from 135 to 163.
Among all girls aged over 16, there was a ten per cent rise in the same period, from 3,990 terminations to 4,376.
In February, Schools Minister Jim Knight launched a review of sex education aimed at reducing Britain's teenage pregnancy rate - the highest in Europe.
Lovelorn or nuts??
SYDNEY (AFP) - A lovelorn Yorkshireman who put his life in Australia up for sale on the Internet was one step closer to starting over Monday as bids for his house, job and lifestyle hit one million pounds (2.2 million Australian dollars).
Ian Usher, 44-year-old from Yorkshire in England, launched the unusual auction after announcing on his blog: "I have had enough of my life! I don't want it any more! You can have it if you like!"
Usher, who has lived in the western city of Perth for the past six years, said he decided to sell after breaking up with his wife because everything in the house was a "reminder of the wonderful past we shared."
The former rug salesman said the auction surpassed his hoped-for price of 500,000 dollars (242,000 pounds) on the first-day of the week-long auction on Sunday.
When Usher went to bed on Sunday night, his life was worth 650,000 dollars (315,000 pounds), according to bids on the Internet auction site eBay. By early Monday, it was valued at a staggering 2.2 million dollars.
"I turned the computer on (Monday morning) and it was 1.9 million and I burst out laughing," Usher told AFP.
While it was possible that some of the bidders were "idiots trying to make a name for themselves," Usher said he was confident there were genuine offers in the mix.
Even so, Usher said the value of the physical assets for sale -- including his three-bedroom Perth home, 19-year-old Mazda 929 sedan, a 1986 motorbike and a jetski -- was just 450,000 to 500,000 dollars.
Usher has also promised that the winner will be introduced to his friends and lifestyle and will secure his former job as a rug store assistant for two weeks initially. This may be extended depending on the store owners' agreement.
All Usher will retain is his passport, wallet and the clothes on his back if the deal goes ahead.
Bidders may want to buy the life package to resell items separately, profiting from their value as collectible items, he said.
"I had emails from people asking 'Can I buy a pair of socks or something small from your house, I can't afford the whole thing'," he said.
"Someone could buy the whole house and sell it off."
Usher, who plans to travel, donate to charity and climb the Eiffel Tower in Paris once the sale is finalised, said he won't make any definite plans for his new life until this one is over.
"It still has an air of unreality about it," he said of the auction.
A life for sale
BC Pills, no doctor visit...
By Sky News SkyNews - Monday, June 23 04:26 amIn the UK...
Women are to be able to get the Pill without seeing their GP under a new online service.
' The service will initially be offered to women already using the contraceptive but will soon be expanded to those who have never taken it before.
A spokesman for the DrThom company said patients will have to fill in a health questionnaire and can be asked follow-up questions by a doctor from the website.
But doctors will have to rely on patients telling the truth.
The questionnaire includes asking the woman about prior use of the pill, any side-effects, pregnancy, family history of cancer and blood pressure, weight, height and age.
The spokesperson said DrThom was unable to "verify anything independently" although it had decided to prescribe to women aged 18 and over.
"A woman has to say how old she is and as part of the registration and will have to supply their date of birth," he said.
The credit or debit card has to be in the patient's name.
A spokeswoman for the British Bankers' Association said some banks offered debit cards to 14-year-olds. The average age to get a card was around 16, she said.
"There's nothing to stop a patient lying when they use the service," the DrThom spokesman said, but added they were only doing a disservice to their own health by lying.
The pill will be on sale for £29.99.
Let's see, condoms are a no no, but pregnancy tests, well, that's different! (??)
Apparently, it's ok for girls to have sex and then be tested for pregnancy, but they cannot be given condoms...
June 20th, 2008
Staff at a secondary school health clinic in the city of Gloucester, Massachusetts, became suspicious after seeing a surge in girls, none over the age of 16, seeking pregnancy tests.
Gloucester High School principal Joseph Sullivan said: "Some girls seemed more upset when they weren't pregnant than when they were."
In the past academic year, the school with 1,200 students, which is located around 30 miles northeast of Boston, administered 150 pregnancy tests. It forbids the distribution of condoms and other contraception without parental consent.
Chairman of the Gloucester School Committee, Greg Verga, said: "But even if we had contraceptives, that pact shows that if they wanted to get pregnant, they will get pregnant. Whether we distribute contraceptives is irrelevant."
However, Mr Verga denied the situation is being attributed to the teenage pregnancy film Juno or Hollywood hit Knocked Up, saying: "The trend emerged before those movies."
Under Massachusetts law, it is a crime to have sex with anyone under the age of 16 and Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk said statutory rape charges could be pursued as least some of the men involved in the pregnancies were in their mid-20s.
One is a 24-year-old homeless man while others are boys in the school.
Ms Kirk said: "We're at the very early stages of wrestling with the complexities of this problem. But we also have to think about the boys.
"Some of these boys could have their lives changed. They could be in serious, serious trouble even if it was consensual because of their age - not from what the city could do but from what the girls' families could do."
US teenage pregnancies are showing signs of rising after steadily declining from 1991 to 2005. According to the National Centre for Health Statistics, birth rates for teenagers aged 15 to 17 rose by 3 per cent in 2006, the first increase since 1991.
On Thursday, Britney Spears' 17-year-old sister Jamie Lynn gave birth to a baby girl, according to People magazine.
George Bush's Ketsup
Yesterday, a BBC radio news show asked listeners and some reps from different political arms, if Iraq and Afghanistan were out of the picture, could they name anything positive about Bush's almost-eight years in office. The answers were interesting, to say the least, but the one that caught my attention, was one quite senior sounding gentleman's response that Bush's AIDS policy was his crowning glory. Having studied this while researching the last two chapters of my book, I thought, hum, "how so?"
Here is NPR's take on that subject (January, 2008):
act-Checking the President's Speech
President Bush delivered his last State of the Union address to Congress Monday night. NPR reporters weigh in on how closely the president's rhetoric in the address matched the facts.
All Things Considered, January 29, 2008 · The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is one measure that politicians on Capitol Hill and in the White House have heartily embraced. In Monday night's State of the Union address, President Bush once again praised the foreign aid program, and recommended a boost in its funding. But some critics say there's less to that increase than meets the eye.
PEPFAR, as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is often called, was first announced by Bush at his State of the Union address in 2003. At the time, it got a lot of good press for being one of the largest commitments by any government to a single disease.
It wasn't all sweetness and light. Conservatives wanted part of the money set aside for programs that preach abstinence before marriage. And Monday evening, in calling for a continuation of PEPFAR, which has paid for life-sustaining anti-AIDS drugs, the president also quietly asked Congress to maintain funding for abstinence prevention.
"I ask you to maintain the principles that have changed behavior and made this program a success. And I call on you to double our initial commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS by approving an additional $30 billion over the next five years," Bush said.
The AIDS relief plan has provided medicine for more than 1.4 million people in 15 African countries, the Caribbean and Vietnam, countries that have been hardest hit by the epidemic. Steve Morrison, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, praised the president's new proposal as a highlight of the Bush legacy.
"It is calling for the enlargement to 2.5 million people that will be on life-sustaining therapy for HIV/AIDS," Morrison said.
In other words, nearly twice as many people with AIDS in developing countries would be covered as before. What's more, Morrison says, the president's AIDS plan has helped preserve America's good standing in the world and restore a reputation that has been tarnished by Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo and other events related to the war in Iraq.
"The achievements in global public health centered in HIV/AIDS are a standout in this period in the broader picture, when we have seen a dramatic slide and a need to recover from that," Morrison said.
But David Bryden of the Global AIDS Alliance, a frequent critic of the administration, says the president is playing tricks with the numbers. True, Bush is calling for $30 billion for the next five years, and that's twice as much as the president asked for in 2003. But Congress is already funding the global AIDS plan at that level, Bryden said.
"I think it is really quite ironic in the last year of his presidency he is pulling the rug out from under his program by proposing that it be flat funded for the next five years, at a time when the epidemic is still expanding and when we really should be aspiring to expand to meet the need of children who have been left out," Bryden said.
The United States isn't the only country contributing to AIDS relief, and the head of U.S. Global AIDS program, Mark Dybul, says that Bush has successfully used the program to get the rest of the world to respond.
"He took that commitment and went to the G8 and got them to commit to double it," Dybul said. "So because of the American people's commitment, the world is now committed to $60 billion over the next several years."
According to the World Health Organization, that would bring treatment to just half of the people who need it now. There are still more than 12 million people with AIDS in poor countries who need anti-AIDS medicine, and hundreds of thousands of HIV-infected children who need care
Neigh Winnie...a day at Ascot
The Ascot horse races have been an important social event since 1711, when the winning place was worth a whopping 100 gold guineas! But in the last decade or so, the once-open-to-toffs only event went much more plebian, with tickets available on a sort of lottery basis. But there has been a problem with that lowering of standards: ladies' fashions.Where once only beautiful dresses, complete with very special hats, were the style of the day, women began to bring the not-so-ladylike fashions of today to the classic race day. But, all is not lost; race officials have decided to set a very strict code of dress for race goers, specifically women, and that includes: no midriffs showing (YES!), no dresses shorter than 2 inches above the knee, no streaky fake tans, but the best of all? Not only must women where their knickers, but these must not be visable as VPL (visible panty line). I want to know just who the dress code police are and how they will enforce these new codes (though I "secretly" applaud them).
Those Naughty Scientists!!
McMurdo station is really hot?? Seems so!
by Patrick Metzger
Jun 12th 2008 @ 2:35PM
Filed under: News
It's not easy being a scientist stuck at an isolated polar base during the long dark winter, but apparently there are perks. Reuters reports that one of the final supply shipments to the Hedonism McMurdo Station in the Antarctic before flights ended for the winter included 16,500 condoms.
The prophylactics will be provided free of charge so residents won't have to suffer the embarrassment of purchasing them and potentially revealing a little too much about their off-duty interactions with colleagues.
Are men boring??
Not my words, but the title of a great article on the basic, yet incredibly troubling (for some), differences between the way in which men and women communicate!! In an article from the Guardian this week, by the same title, the author discusses the opinions of various experts and women on the street. regarding just why men and women have such a difficult time communicating, in public and in private. The conclusions are fascinating - see the link at the end, for the entire article - and after reading it (and agreeing with most of it!), I thought something I'd heard years ago pretty much summed it up:When a man cooks a steak dinner for a woman and she takes a bite, immediately asking "Where'd you get the meat?" he replies with enthusiasm, "Yea, isn't it great, from Morrison's." When a woman cooks a steak dinner for a man and he asks, "Where'd you get the meat?" she replies with heat, "Why, what's wrong with it?!" But, when all is said and done, men are from Earth, women are from Earth: deal with it!!
www.telegraph.co.uk/portal/main.jhtml?xml=/portal/2008/06/11/ftmen111.xml
Basic advice from the Sierra Club - living a greener life
Although some of us scratch our heads at the way the media - and government agencies! - are treating the concept of green, and the ruination of our earth, as something "new," we have known about this catastrophe since the early sixties - read Rachel Carson's book, "Silent Spring," published in 1964!!!!- perhaps a refresher is a still good thing! As the following points out, if we all did our bit, the impact would be nothing less than world-changing!!
The following is from a Sierra Club chapter in California, but is pretty universal: I would add that not all that is labeled green IS, and let's not get caught up in the new marketing spin that is making those who jumped on the green bandwagon RICH! Common sense, elbow grease, and yes, some unselfishness, are the bottom line to living a less heavy handed lifestyle...walk when you can!!! Keep your car tyres inflated properly, don't fill up at the station, petrol is heavy! Don't use cleaning agents with harsh chemicals, wash your clothes at a lower temp, using much less (and unscented) detergent, and so on. (Oh, and if I might get back to the monkeys - their habitats are being eaten up for the most ridiculous reasons, to include planting orange trees so that the likes of McDonalds can have cheap OJ in their restaurants - don't eat there, that solves the problem! But, going greener, buy only Floridian or Spanish OJ, and demand recyclable packaging!)
(FYI, condom manufacture is ANYTHING but green!)
From the SC:
Things You Can Do Right Now
It's a lot easier being green these days with environmentally friendly choices at every turn. In this ever-evolving area, it’s important to check in occasionally to find out if we are recycling correctly, or if we need to revisit past choices made when green products were still in their development phase. There are so many different brands to choose from right at the local supermarket.
The only hard part about a green behavior is trying it out long enough for it to become a habit. Then it is just as easy to do as whatever you were doing before. Those who were living in Marin in the mid-1970’s remember living through a long drought, and probably think back with a certain amount of pride to the stringent conservation habits we developed back then, and remember that it was not a painful sacrifice, but a good common cause. And we did it with humor and spirit.
Of course, being green can become yet another opportunity to beat ourselves, or someone else, over the head with expectations of perfection. No matter how dire we predict the future will be if people keep burying their heads in the sand, we can be sure that ranting statistical doom will only make them bury their heads deeper to avoid listening. Instead, if we live our eco-actions with joy, chances are others will follow our lead. Because conservation is fun, delicious and economical. Not exactly a hard sell!
If all of us did some fine tuning of our daily habits, the effect would be enormous. And if each member inspired others, who knows what kind of ripple effect there would be.
This page will help to keep members current on living green with links to the sites that have the most up to date information.
If you know of a site that should be here, if you find a link on this page is broken, or if you visit a linked site, and find that it is not accurate, please let us know.
Shop locally - it's tasty and fun at the farmers' market - find one near you. At the supermarket, check the label for distance. Closely grown foods in season taste best and cost less. Why eat an imported banana when fresh peaches, fuyu persim-mons or satsumas are in season?
Put 'cloth bags' on the top of your grocery shopping list to remind you to take them next time you shop. Need more? United Markets, Trader Joe's, and others sell them for $1-$4, and most give credit for using them when you shop.
Buy energy saver bulbs. You do need to be careful about disposing them, but fortunately they last way longer than regular. When they do burn out, add them to your collection of used batteries, dis-carded paint, etc. that you take to the hazardous waste drop off. A less toxic type is being developed, but meanwhile this is the best choice.
Drink tap water. Marin’s water is better regulated than bottled water. You can always install a filter if you want. Fill your own reusable bottle instead of using plastic. Get info on MMWD water.
Take a walk around your neighbor-hood & meet your neighbors! Stronger community relationships make for a happier life and – who knows? -- might result in carpools, movie nights, pot lucks, equipment sharing, and all sorts of other things that are good for the planet and you.
Power down your computer when you walk away from it. You can pick up right where you left off.
Get a power strip to plug in your electronics. A flip of the switch turns it all off over night or when you are away from your home or office.
Turn off the water while you lather up in the shower or brush your teeth. You'll feel free to spend more time massaging your scalp or gums.
Abuses by so-called AID workers...
The Guardian, Reuters, and other news agencies have been reporting this week on the horrible ongoing abuses perpetrated by the very people who are supposed to be helping the poorest children in the world. As mentioned in my book, not only are the little girls (most of the abuse is directed toward girls) dealt the horrible fate of being sexually abused just so that they can eat, these men tell those who are smart enough to beg that they at least use a condom, that AIDS goes away "when the sun comes down"; it all begs the question, just who are the good guys in the fight against hunger and disease!
From the Guardian:
Is this the first time evidence of child abuse by aid agency workers has come to light?No. For years, there have been anecdotal accounts of abuse. In 1995, UNHCR guidelines specifically acknowledged that international aid workers were implicated in sexual violence against refugees.
There followed a spate of abuse reports from organisations such as Human Rights Watch. In 2002, a joint report by the UNHCR and the charity Save the Children claimed child abuse was endemic in refugee camps, highlighting allegations against 67 workers and 42 agencies involving 40 victims. CNN also reported on the subject.
A 2006 Save the Children report said up to half of Liberian children were selling sex to wealthy men, among them UN peacekeepers and aid agency staff.
What is the nature of the abuse?The latest Save the Children report, which concentrated on abuse in Ivory Coast, Sudan and Haiti, found evidence of "significant levels" of abuse in emergencies, much of it unreported. It cited cases of children as young as six trading sex for food and pitiful amounts of money, and pointed to the filming of child pornography and sexual slavery. Orphans were particularly at risk, it said.
David Mepham, Save the Children's director of policy, said a small number of people were carrying out the abuse, and no agency was immune from the problem.
In Haiti, troops associated with the UN department of peacekeeping operations were identified as a particular source of abuse. There are also allegations against civil humanitarian workers, international NGOs and religious groups.
Last year, Save the Children investigated 15 allegations of abuse against its workers, all from the countries involved; it proved four of them, and the staff were dismissed.
Why is awareness of the problem poor?The chronic underreporting of abuse continues, Save the Children reports. Children do not know how to report abuse, and fear retaliation from the abuser or the withdrawal of aid. Some cultures demonstrate acceptance of, or resignation to, abuse, according to the charity; there is also fear of stigmatisation and lack of faith in a response.
The latter was particularly pertinent, the report said: of 856 allegations of abuse against UN staff between 2004 and 2006, only 324 had been resolved within a year. Reasons for this included international agencies seeing abuse as a local matter. Meanwhile, local authorities felt powerless to act against international organisations, and often lacked evidence.
"Many UN agencies and NGOs working here feel they cannot be touched by anyone," an aid worker in Ivory Coast told researchers.
What has been done?Mepham said Save the Children had established "rigorous procedures", which included background checks on all local workers, and the setting up of child protection clubs to provide training on children's rights and encourage community participation in decision-making.
In 2006, a high-level conference attended by the then UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, reaffirmed the commitment for action. The UN has also produced the secretary general's bulletin on special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse
Aid agencies have also been moving to adopt principles established in the Keeping Children Safe guidelines.
What more needs to be done?Today's Save the Children report repeated the demand of its 2002 predecessor that an international watchdog be established to evaluate efforts to tackle the problem and report on progress made.
The UN, as lead aid agency in many disaster zones, should routinely set up a centre staffed by skilled adults where children can report abuse. "If we can have structures to report abuse in our countries, it is perfectly possible to do so in other places. It is a question of priorities," Mepham said.
The author of the 2002 report, Asmita Naik, today said she was "shocked" that the latest findings suggested little progress in the past six years.
"Today's report is almost identical to the one I wrote six years ago. They describe a lot of policy and procedures and there is no doubt there has been a lot of talking but nothing on the ground seems to be changing," said Naik.
She added that any watchdog needed to be independent from the UN and have clout. She called for more penalties both for the perpetrators of abuse and the organisations that hire paedophiles.
Flying penises?? Only in Russia...
(footage at: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f3e_1211255241)
Former chess supremo and Kremlin critic Garry Kasparov must have felt like a pawn in a larger political game after a speech he was giving last weekend was interrupted by a radio-controlled flying penis.
The below-the-belt disruption is thought to be a real world copycat version of a similar, virtual attack perpetrated in December 2006 by cyber vandals in the multiplayer online world ‘game’, Second Life. According to the Moscow Times, the prank was staged by "a couple of pro-Kremlin Young Russia activists".
Around 500 fellow opponents of the Kremlin were in attendance for Kasparov’s address to unite opposition political forces at a rally in Moscow when the helicopter rotor-assisted member made an unscheduled appearance.
The unconventional chopper buzzed around to spatterings of applause for around 20 seconds before a minder bashed it to the ground, as can be seen in the video below.
Moobs versus boobs...a ground breaking legal decision??
Boobs v moobs: court ruling sparks censorship debate
Sorry guys, your upper parts are apparently asexual!! May 16th LONDON (AFP) - A court ruling that it is legal to ogle a man's chest but not a woman's breasts triggered a lively online debate about censorship on Friday.
The case emerged after a court last year found Kevin Bassett, 44, guilty under the 2003 Sexual Offences Act after he secretly filmed a man in his swimming trunks at a swimming pool.
But lawyers for the care home worker argued that the man's chest did not constitute "private parts" under the act, which referred only to women's breasts in such terms.
This was the case even if the man in question was obese, and had "man breasts" or "moobs," they said, cited by The Daily Telegraph newspaper.
A judge this week agreed, quashing the ruling because the judge in the initial case had failed properly to explain to the jury the difference between breasts and chest.
"The intention of parliament was to mean female breasts and not an exposed male chest," said Lord Justice Anthony Hughes. "The former are still private -- amongst 21st century bathers -- the second is not.
"This act didn't mean to refer to the male chest but only to female breasts, it follows that the judge's directions on the meaning of breasts was erroneous," he said.
The Daily Telegraph report of the ruling drew varying views on the broadsheet's website.
"So it is OK for women to shamelessly flaunt their bodies, but illegal for men to look at them? Stupid," said one commentator, identified as Tom.
"Photographing another man in a swimming pool with a camera hidden in a plastic bag can now be considered 'normal' behaviour. Where will it all end -- think I'll emigrate!" added another, Douglas Tuck.
"Mom-o-3" had a more detailed take on the subject: "If a woman is flat chested can she go topless? It seems to me the ruling is about the amount of fatty tissue OVER the pectoral muscles not the muscles themselves."
John P was dismissive of the whole debate. "There is so much immature twaddle about sex in England I don't wonder that both sexes get psychologically twisted."
She's late coming to bed?? And more about 'marital congress'
The Perfect Wife - 1930s style
From The Independent
Is your wife "slow to get into bed"? Does she flirt with other men at parties? Or is she "a good hostess – even with unexpected guests", ever ready to "react with pleasure and delight to marital congress"? If so, fill in below and give her a score.
Psychologists in America have discovered a "Marital Ratings Scale" from the 1930s that allowed husbands to assess their wives. Through the scheme, wealthy men could evaluate the social and sexual merits of their partner by awarding plus and minus points for behaviour deemed disappointing, desirable or downright depraved.
In the decade of the Great Depression, the documents reveal that American men of a refined ilk found time to mark their wives down for any number of ostensibly minor misdemeanours. Women who were unwilling to go to bed, or failed to sew buttons on properly, if at all, were given minus points.
Those who failed to darn socks, or decorated themselves with red nail polish, were similarly punished. Any wife who dared to go to bed "with curlers on her hair or face cream" was viewed with suspicion – and worst of all was the woman who put her "cold feet on [her] husband at night to warm them".
Despite the many lifestyle failings for which a wife could be castigated, the Marital Ratings Scale, an invention of the American academic George Crane, offers them manifold opportunities to redeem themselves. For example, they could prove themselves capable of upholding good conversation, or being punctual at meal times.
Wives worthy of respect could keep a tidy house, or put children to bed "personally". They could gain bonus points if they deserved the description "never goes to bed angry – always makes up first", or "lets husband sleep late on Sundays and holidays".
A wife who used "slang or profanity", however, would be docked five points or awarded a similar number for "squeezing the toothpaste from the top".
Yet nothing elicited quite as much point-scoring – or point-deduction – as performance during sexual congress. If a wife should "react with pleasure and delight to marital congress", a bonus 10 points was on offer. If she failed to show sufficient enthusiasm during such moments, a fine of similar proportions could instead be given.
The research, published by the American Psychological Association, shows that Crane also ran a matchmaking service based on his wife test and wrote an agony aunt newspaper column called The Worry Clinic.
His scale encouraged men to add up the scores and give their wives a rating, ranging from "Very Poor (failures)" to "Very Superior".
Money and sex in India...
The more things change, the more they stay the same...
from Time Magazine...
Sex, Money and Power In India
For women in developing countries, economic opportunity and sexual independence are supposed to go hand in hand. So why has India--the world's second fastest growing economy, after China--been unable to control the spread of its HIV/AIDS cases, which have ballooned to 5 million, more than in any other nation? The answer, says Suneeta Krishnan, 35, an epidemiologist at the University of California, San Francisco, is that in India, "economic freedom stops at the bedroom door."
As part of a four-year study funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and an additional five years of funding through the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, Krishnan and her co-workers have been going door to door in Bangalore, interviewing 750 low-wage married women ages 16 to 25. What they've discovered is that in that group, employment and the extra income it provides, rather than empowering women, puts them at greater risk of physical violence and contracting HIV.
Social roles are strongly defined in Indian society, says Krishnan, and people tend not to talk about sex. The social pressure remains intense for men to prove their masculinity and women their fertility. Indian women may be making more decisions about household buying or their children's education, but they remain sexually submissive, still marry early (average age: 17) and tend to defer to men about whether a condom will be used.
Women who marry later, says Krishnan, have more control over their sexual health and are far less likely to contract HIV. She believes that better access to higher education and higher-strata jobs will not only raise women's status but protect their health.
The Greying of AIDS
From Time Magazine...
The Graying of AIDS
One of the most maddening things about AIDS is that every time medical science throws a punch, the disease counterpunches. The most hopeful development in the long battle against HIV is the cocktail of antiretroviral medications that for the past 10 years has helped many people in the developed world (and a few in the developing world) fight the virus to a draw, allowing them to resume a more normal life.
That ought to be very good news, but in a disturbing echo of the earliest days of the epidemic, many hospitals and other institutions are clearly unprepared for a sudden influx of a new population of HIV patients: middle-aged and even elderly people surviving with the disease into their later decades. Nearly 27% of people living with AIDS in the U.S. are 50 or older--a proportion that is expected to increase. This vanguard group must confront the ordinary ailments of age complicated by the extraordinary ferocity of the AIDS virus.
There are practically no studies on how medications for high blood pressure, osteoporosis or other age-related maladies interact with AIDS drugs, says Stephen Karpiak, one of the authors of a landmark report on older folks and HIV that was released last week by the AIDS Community Research Initiative of America (ACRIA). In addition, nerve pain, visual problems and other ills associated with HIV mimic those of aging, leading many doctors to confuse symptoms of AIDS with hallmarks of age.
When researchers and activists gather in Toronto next week for the XVI International AIDS Conference, those problems may at last get some attention. One major concern of AIDS experts is the design of clinical drug trials, which typically exclude older folks because of their age and other health problems. And try to find a prevention poster or ad campaign geared to sexually active seniors. In many cases, those people may need the information as much as the young do. "People who no longer have to worry about pregnancy don't see the need for a condom," says Jeanine Reilly, executive director of Broadway House, an AIDS service group in Newark, N.J. Indeed, the ACRIA survey showed that 33% of older folks who were sexually active in the previous three months did not engage in safer sex.
More moving than the health messages and the science, however, are the portraits and stories of these seven Americans, ages 51 to 73, who have been living with AIDS, in some cases for 20 years. They know, perhaps better than most, that AIDS still cuts too many lives far too short--even in the U.S. They have encountered the same ostracism by family and friends that younger AIDS patients face, made worse by the fact that their later years are when they rely on those support systems most. But something--faith, fortitude--led them to take their pills and not give up. Simply by doing so, they help relieve perhaps the greatest problem faced by older Americans with AIDS: invisibility.
A "new" addiction? April 30, 2008
Does sex addiction exist? When a Lord of the Realm stepped forward to declare he "suffers" from this ailment, the English press jumped on it, and the big question became, "Is there such a thing as being addicted to sex?" Apparently, the reporters have never heard of Bill Clinton (or Woodrow Wilson), to name a few!
From BBC:
Lord Laidlaw of Rothiemay has admitted to receiving treatment for "sex addiction" at a private clinic, likening it to alcohol dependency. But is it really? It's a term that first came to widespread attention when actor Michael Douglas was admitted to rehab in 1990 and it was reported - inaccurately, he later claimed - to be a sex addict.
More recently, comedian Russell Brand admitted to spending a week at a centre for sexual addiction in Philadelphia.
And earlier this year, relationship counselling service Relate said there had been a huge increase in the number of cases concerning sexual compulsive behaviour.
THE ANSWER Sex therapists would argue it is a real addiction with serious consequences But others in psychiatry and psychotherapy argue it is not comparable to substance addiction and should not be classed as such Now Lord Laidlaw, 65, says he has been fighting the "disease" for the whole of his adult life.
So are so-called sex addicts suffering from an illness or just making excuses for being unfaithful?
It's a very serious addiction, says Paula Hall, who runs a group therapy course for "sex addicts" in Warwickshire, and it's believed about one in 20 people suffer from it.
Although not a chemical addiction like alcohol or heroin, it's a "process addiction" like gambling, she says, with a biochemical element linked to the release of dopamine in the brain.
"It's a compulsive need to seek out and follow a certain type of sexual behaviour. That behaviour varies but it's basically an anaesthetising behaviour, something you are doing in order to avoid dealing with something else.
"It's a coping mechanism and it's totally and entirely out of control. You are continuing to pursue it in spite of the consequences, like losing your job, your status, your wife and your health."
It's not really about sex. It's driven by shame
Paula Hall
Relationships counsellor Addicts are usually men and they are of any age, she says, and from any background. The behaviour ranges from viewing online porn for a few hours a day, which is usually a starting point and then escalates, to visiting prostitutes at every opportunity.
"It's a way of escaping from low self-esteem, feelings of anger and insecurity. It's not really about sex. It's driven by shame.
"You feel about yourself and one way to stop feeling bad about yourself is to do something nice, but afterwards you feel even worse about yourself."
'Greed'
The difference between having an addiction and merely having a high sex drive is the level of compulsion, "disappearing into their own bubble and running away from the world", she says, and there's evidence that's it in the genes.
WHO, WHAT, WHY? A regular part of the BBC News Magazine, Who, What, Why? aims to answer some of the questions behind the headlines But Phillip Hodson, fellow of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, says the term "addiction" is not appropriate for this behaviour, which would be better described as obsessive, compulsive or even greedy.
Some very successful men have a habit of thinking they can get away with anything, especially behaviour they view as exciting, he says.
"Sexual addiction is a relatively recent American, jargonized category of personality behaviour.
"It uses a medical model - 'I'm an addict, I've got an illness and need a 12-step programme.' But I don't buy into it."
There's a difference in responding to your own adrenaline rush - which some people may receive from a passion for golf or Celine Dion - and craving a substance your body is addicted to.
If everything was resting on it, then a sex obsessive would not walk over the abyss but a real addict would, says Mr Hodson. Substance addiction stops the body's natural production of opiates, thus inducing "cold turkey" which has a physical pain akin to old age.
What some may describe as sex addiction does not stand up when applied to the proper definition of the word, says Glenn Wilson of the Institution of Psychiatry.
"The original idea of addiction was that you had a chemical hijacking of the circuits of the brain built to give you pleasure as reward for doing things of a survival value, such as eating or having sex."
After continued use, cocaine or cigarettes are capable of acquiring survival value for the individual concerned, he says.
"But to turn round and argue that one is addicted to chocolate or sex, which are activities you would expect to be rewarded in survival terms, strikes me as hijacking the concept of addiction.
"It's a way that people signal to the world that they think they have a problem and need to break it."
But they are no different from anyone else, he says, because we all have sexual drives which can get us into trouble without inhibition or control.
Cocaine and condoms
In 2003, a woman was arrested after airport screeners found three condoms filled with white powder in her carry-on luggage. Tests said it was cocaine. She said it was flour. She was in jail three weeks while they did better tests. Better tests said it was flour. She settled a lawsuit against the city of Philadelphia for $180,000 on Thursday. The "victim" said the flour-filled condoms were used by her college students to squeeze when they were stressed.
I've heard of sand filled balloons as worry balls, but not flour filled condoms!
The Horrors of Incest - News From Austria April 28th, 2008
An Austrian engineer has confessed to fathering seven children on his own daughter and keeping them captive in the cellar, Austrian police said today.
During the 24 years that Josef F kept his daughter Elisabeth locked up in a windowless cellar underneath the house where he lived an outwardly blameless life with his wife Rosemarie, the 73-year-old is said to have fathered and then acted as midwife at the birth of Kerstin, 19, Stefan, 18, Lisa, 16, Monica, 14, Alexander, 11, and Felix, 5, Austrian police have revealed.
A seventh child - a twin brother for Monica - was said by police to have died three days after his birth and his body to have been burned in the large, well-kept gardens of the grey, concrete villa in Ybbs Street in the eastern town of Amstetten.
Mr F, who was arrested on Saturday night at the hospital where Kerstin has been lying in a coma for over a week, was this morning said to have begun to speak to police for the first time. Until last night he had told them little more than the code to the hidden electronic trapdoor to the windowless cellars where the secret family was kept imprisoned.
“He has now said that he locked up his daughter for 24 years and that he alone fathered her seven children and that he locked them up in the cellar,” said Colonel Franz Polzer, head of the criminal investigations unit in the province of Lower Austria.
Prosecutors said a little later however that Mr F had denied that he raped his daughter by force.
"(He has) admitted the charges of incest, but insisted there was no force involved,” said Gerhard Sedlacek, a spokesman for Austrian prosecutors. “He admitted to fathering seven children by his daughter, one of whom died at an early age.”
Mr F has been transferred to court and is expected to appear before an investigating magistrate this evening. DNA test results that will determine whether he did indeed father his daughter Elisabeth's children are not expected for two days.
Police have spent the night exploring the network of rooms where they say Elisabeth was first imprisoned on August 28 1984, aged 19, after being drugged and handcuffed by her father. The tiny entrance was concealed in a workshop in a public part of the cellar.
"There was a shelf with plenty of cans and containers, and behind the shelf was a door made of reinforced concrete, secured electronically and running on steel rails, and only the suspect knew the code," said Heinz Lenze, a local police official.
Once inside the dungeon, police reported, they found all the passages extremely narrow, the ceiling is no higher than 5ft 6ins (170cm) and the floors uneven. They have found a makeshift shower room, cooking rings for the secret family to heat food, and a room lined entirely in rubber whose use is unknown.
Mr F, a retired engineer who used to work for the construction company Zehnter, was said by police to have been continuously renovating and extending the hidden cellar. Detectives say they have not ruled out finding further secret rooms underneath the sprawling villa.
All seven children were conceived and born in the cellar, police say, but within months of their births they were divided between the dark and the light. As babies aged between nine and 15 months, Lisa, Monica and Alexander were adopted and raised by their grandparents, leading normal lives - attending school and playing in the swimming pool in the gardens of the villa.
The three babies were said to have been discovered on the doorstep of the villa between 1993 and 1997. Each baby was left with a note supposedly written by their missing mother Elisabeth, whom the authorities believed had probably joined an extreme and isolated religious sect.
But in the windowless cellar their three siblings Kerstin, Stefan, the two eldest, and Felix, the youngest, continued to be kept hidden, allegedly a secret even from their grandmother - never seeing the sun, their only source of light the harsh striplight overhead, and dependant on their mother to teach them to speak, read and write.
A television was their only contact with the outside world, apart from the hatch through which their alleged father/grandfather passed food and clothes.
The sequence of events by which the grim charade was uncovered appears to have begun ten days ago when Kerstin, the oldest child, was found unconscious and seriously ill outside the cellar - reports differ to exactly where - with yet another note from Elisabeth asking for her to be given medical help.
She was taken to hospital, where she is said to be in a serious condition. Her doctors issued an urgent appeal for her mother to come forward to supply medical information to help save her life.
Following this appeal Mr F appears to have decided to allow his captives to leave the cellar, telling his wife that the longlost Elisabeth had at last decided to return home with the rest of her children.
He and Elisabeth were held by police on Saturday night at the hospital where Kerstin is being treated. Police then found the rest of the children at the villa. It was only last night that detectives gained access to the cellar.
According to Austrian police, Elisabeth F is in a "very bad condition". She was described as "extremely pale", and looking 20 years older than her age, the Austrian broadcaster Orf reported. She is alleged to have given a full statement to police on condition that she did not have to see her father again. Grandmother, mother and children are said to be receiving counselling and medical treatment.
The case has echoes of the Natascha Kampusch affair in which a Viennese schoolgirl was kept in a cellar from the age of 10 for eight years before escaping.
But while Ms Kampusch’s captivity was possible because of the anonymity of the suburbs, Ms F and her children were prisoners in a small, close-knit community. Neighbours talked yesterday of how Mr F’s wife used to take her three grandchildren for walks and how Mr F always gave a cheery greeting.
“This is a shock to all of us,” a neighbour who gave her name only as Maria, 66, said. “I’m good friends with Mrs F. Both she and her husband are lovely people. I’ve seen her take the children to school very often – they are well dressed, polite and very nice. I just saw her the other day and I still cannot believe that this was going on in front of our noses. We always believed that the mother of the children had run away and dumped them on the grandparents. Who would ever think of such a horrible thing?”
Mr and Mrs F have four children besides Elisabeth, all of whom now have families of their own. Mr F is said by police to have presided over all family affairs with an iron hand. But how he managed to keep a secret so horrifying behind an underground door will puzzle psychiatrists and sociologists for years as they decide whether there is such a thing as an “Austrian syndrome”.
As Austrians woke this morning to the realisation that yet another horrific child kidnap case has been taking place in their midst, the news is likely to fuel a furious debate in Austria about how easy it is to slip through the welfare net. “This is one of the most extraordinary cases in Austrian criminal history,” said Colonel Polzer.
Guenther Platter, the Austrian Interior Minister, said: "We are being confronted with an unfathomable crime. Everything that has happened here goes beyond one's imagination."
If Iran can do it...
Iran offers addicts condoms, syringes from vending machines (April, 2008)
TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran is installing vending machines in Tehran to sell cheap condoms and syringes to drug addicts to prevent the spread of AIDS and hepatitis, an official said on Wednesday.
"Five of these machines which have been made will be installed in five of Tehran city's welfare shelters for addicts," the deputy head of Iran's anti-narcotics organisation, Mohammad Reza Jahani, said.
"Condoms, syringes, bandages and plasters will be easily accessible just by inserting a coin. This protects addicts from acquiring AIDS and hepatitis," he added, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.
He said that a single 500 rial (five cents) coin is required to purchase the items.
"The machines will be used for a three month trial period and if the scheme is successful then we will upgrade them and increase their distribution to other shelters," he added.
Iranian officials admit the country has a serious drug abuse problem. They normally estimate the number of regular drug users at two million in a country with a population of more than 71 million.
Iran is situated along one of the main trafficking routes for cannabis, heroin, opium and morphine produced in Afghanistan, and designer drugs have also found their way into the Iranian market in recent years.
Out of 2,500 tonnes of narcotics that enter Iran from neighbouring Afghanistan annually, some 700 tonnes are consumed in the country, officials say.
Condoms are freely available in Iranian pharmacies.
The Islamic republic in the 1990s started actively promoting contraception as it encouraged families to have just two children to prevent the country's population growth increasing further.
Iran has tried to change its approach to drug addicts by treating users as "people who need help" rather than throwing them into already overcrowded jails.
Poor Marilyn!
Like so many wannabee actresses, Marilyn sold herself in order to eat, but perhaps this is a bit more than that?
A 15-minute film clip of late movie legend Marilyn Monroe in a compromising position with an unknown man was sold to an anonymous businessman for $1.5 million (£760,000).
Rumours have persisted that the man in the video clip is assassinated US President John F Kennedy, who was allegedly having a sexual relationship with the Some Like It Hot star.
The film is a copy of a 1950s black-and-white 16-mm clip owned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Memorabilia collector Keya Morgan said he recently arranged the sale of the film on behlaf of the son of a dead FBI informant to a wealthy Manhattan businessman who wants to protect Monroe's privacy.
Mr Morgan said: "The gentleman who bought it said out respect for Marilyn he's not going to make a joke of it and put it on the Internet and try to exploit her.
"That's not his intention and I would never get my name involved if that were to happen."
Mr Morgan is a well-known collector of memorabilia from the estates of Monroe and her ex-husband Joe DiMaggio.
He claims to be friends with Monroe's other two husbands, Jim Dougherty and Arthur Miller.
Monroe was found dead in 1962 and many conspiracy theorists believe she was murdered because of relationships with JFK and his brother Robert Kennedy.
London's Mad Mayor Strikes again!
The mayor of London is a pretty controversial figure, but that has always been about his politics, now it's personal! And, he apparently has not mastered the use of condoms!
Ken Livingstone has defended his private life after it was revealed he had five children by three different women.
Following the disclosure, the Mayor of London said: "I don't think anybody in this city is shocked about what consenting adults do. As long as you don't involve children, animalsand vegetables, they leave you to get on and live their own life in their own way."
Title.
Britain's Mean Streets - March 28th - From Time Magazine
Jason Steen isn't an obvious target for muggers. The 40-year-old heads his own company advising on mergers and acquisitions, and usually strides through life like a Master of the Universe. This evening, though, he looks shaken. Two days earlier, he was accosted outside his central London home by eight kids — the youngest was 11 — who punched him to the ground, hustled him to the nearest cash machine and forced him to reveal his PIN number. After a series of attacks in the area, local residents have gathered in Steen's apartment to talk to the policeman handling the case. His advice: "Don't go out unless you have to."
Staying home in the face of danger isn't the British way. After suicide bombings in July 2005, Londoners continued working and socializing. Yet a survey by kids' charity TS Rebel found that last year more than a fifth of Britons avoided going out at night rather than risk encounters with a different form of terror: groups of children. Britons are frightened of their own young.
On any given Saturday night, in any town center across Britain, it's easy to see why. "It usually starts outside McDonald's — that's the hot spot," explains one London youth. "You might go with one mate, then you get a phone call. Give it an hour, there'll be 10 people there, with nothing to do. Intimidating people is something to do, a way of getting kicks. Like, 'Oh my God, did you see how they ran?' "
The boys and girls who casually pick fights, have sex and keep the emergency services fully occupied are often fueled by cheap booze. British youngsters drink their Continental European counterparts under the table: in 2003, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), 27% of British 15-year-olds had been drunk 20 times or more, compared to 12% of young Germans, 6% of Netherlands youth and only 3% of young French. British kids were also involved more frequently in fights (44% in the U.K. to 28% in Germany). They are more likely to try drugs or start smoking young. English girls are the most sexually active in Europe. More of them are having sex aged 15 or younger, and more than 15% fail to use contraception when they do — which means that Britain has high rates of both teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Small wonder, then, that a 2007 UNICEF study of child wellbeing in 21 industrialized countries placed Britain firmly at the bottom of the table.
An American's Take on British Teens (click on title for full text of article)
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A New Twist to Airport Security
Woman forced to remove nipple ring at US airport Friday, March 28 03:41 amLOS ANGELES (AFP) - A woman who was forced to remove her nipple rings with pliers before boarding a flight in Texas, demanded an apology Thursday and said she wants the government to investigate the incident.
"It was just total humiliation in front of people I had no earthly idea who they were," Mandi Hamlin, a 37-year-old graphic artist from Dallas, told reporters at her lawyer's office in Los Angeles.
Hamlin's attorney, Gloria Allred, said the woman "was given a pair of pliers in order to remove the rings in her nipples ... The rings had been in her nipples for many years."
Hamlin said she wanted a public apology and for the Transportation Security Administration to investigate the incident, which happened in February as she was boarding a flight from Lubbock, Texas, to Dallas.
TSA spokesman Dwayne Baird said he was unaware of the nipple ring incident.
"I'd be really curious to know what this woman had in her nipples," he said, adding that he had "never heard of any of our people having anyone remove something that sounds as small as a nipple ring."
Allred said the TSA's measure was "cruel and unnecessary."
"The last time that I checked, a nipple was not a dangerous weapon."
More coffee in the news...but what does it have to do with "romance"?
The origins of both the bean and the word - coffee - have been debated for years (and I will answer those questions in my next book!), but we do know just how important the beverage had become to Europeans by the end of the 17th century; coffee houses popped up all over, especially in London, where "sober men" met to discuss politics and business. Lloyd's of London began life as Lloyd's coffee house. And, though there is much more to it, coffee houses were also excellent "fronts" for madames, who found that they could double dip by running both under the same roof.
Where does Starbucks come into it? The coffee house was revived in the 1950s, but it wasn't until the 1970s when the company came into being, and part of its marketing strategy was to make it easy for couples who are checking one another out to "meet for a cup of coffee," no strings attached.
Ok, so here's what is happening with Starbucks:
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - A San Diego judge on Thursday ordered coffee giant Starbucks to pay more than 100 million dollars in tips and interest owed to staff across outlets in California.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Patricia Cowett ruled in favor of a barista from a store in La Jolla who filed a lawsuit in 2004 arguing that supervisors were unfairly receiving a share of pooled tips from customers.
Lawyers for Jou Chou had argued that Starbucks was breaching state law by allowing supervisors to receive tips instead of paying them a higher salary.
In a ruling that Starbucks immediately vowed to appeal, Cowett said the company must pay back around 87 million in tips plus interest of 19 million after finding the company had broken state law.
It was not immediately clear how the money might be divided up between the estimated 100,000 current and former baristas who have worked for Starbucks at different times in California since 2000.
Terry Chapko, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, was quoted by the Los Angeles Times as saying that baristas were "subsidizing Starbucks labor costs" by helping the company pay its supervisors. "This is about getting money back to the lowest-paid employees," he told the Times.
Starbucks described the ruling as "not only contrary to law, it is fundamentally unfair and beyond all common sense and reason."
"Our shift supervisors deserve their fair share of the tips that they receive from the tip jars in our California stores," the statement said, adding that it plans a "vigorous" appeal.
"The decision today in our view represents an extreme example of an abuse of the class-action procedures in California courts," the company said.
The court ruling come as Starbucks has launched a series of intiatives aimed at boosting its business, which has suffered from a dip in sales and a near-50 percent fall in share price over the past year.
March 12, 2008
Coffee Condoms?
In the Humble Condom, I tell my readers all about a wonderful man whom I have dubbed the "Grameen of Sheaths," also known as Phil Harvey, found of DKI, an international sexual health non-profit agency. Always looking for ways to make condom use more palatable to peoples of different cultures, his latest coffee condoms have to be one of the most creative to date!
From the Guardian newspaper, November, 2007...
Doctors have long argued over the health effects of coffee, but its reputation looks set to receive a boost thanks to a new flavoured condom that aims to encourage safer sex in Ethiopia.Around 300,000 of the coffee condoms were sold in one week when they were launched in September, according to the US charity DKT International.
It hopes to tap into Ethiopia's coffee mania as a means to tackle high rates of HIV in the country, which is said to have invented the drink.
The charity said that with 2.1% of Ethiopians infected with Aids - and more than 7% in the capital, Addis Ababa - the flavoured prophylactic was more than a novelty.
"Everybody likes the flavour of coffee," says a DKT spokeswoman.
The condoms are sold in packs of three for 1 birr, or about 5 pence - about half the price of a cup of coffee in Addis Ababa's cafes, and much cheaper than most other condom brands.
The dark brown condoms smell like Ethiopia's popular macchiato, an espresso with a generous amount of cream and sugar.
"It is about time to use an Ethiopian flavour for beautiful Ethiopian girls," said Dereje Alemu, a 19-year-old university student.
The product was developed after complaints by some users about the latex scent of plain condoms.
DTK has previously introduced flavoured condoms in other parts of the world in an attempt to appeal to local tastes. These included condoms scented with the infamously stinky durian fruit in Indonesia, and sweetcorn-fragranced condoms in China.
The charity's latest condom has attracted some criticism in deeply conservative Ethiopia.
"It's inappropriate," said Bedilu Assefa, a spokesman for the Ethiopian Orthodox church, whose millions of followers are encouraged to abstain from sex outside marriage. "We're proud of our coffee."
But even those not sold on the idea of coffee condoms recognise the importance of safe sex.
"I hate coffee-flavored condoms," said Tadesse Teferi, a 37-year-old mechanic. "But I use ordinary condoms when I have sex with ladies other than my wife."
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The Pope's Updated List of Sins March 10,2008
BBC News, Rome
The Vatican has brought up to date the traditional seven deadly sins by adding seven modern mortal sins it claims are becoming prevalent in what it calls an era of "unstoppable globalisation". Those newly risking eternal punishment include drug pushers, the obscenely wealthy, and scientists who manipulate human genes. So "thou shalt not carry out morally dubious scientific experiments" or "thou shalt not pollute the earth" might one day be added to the Ten Commandments.
MODERN EVILS Environmental pollution Genetic manipulation Accumulating excessive wealth Inflicting poverty Drug trafficking and consumption Morally debatable experiments Violation of fundamental rights of human nature The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that "immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into Hell". The new mortal sins were listed by Archbishop Gianfranco Girotti at the end of a week-long training seminar in Rome for priests, aimed at encouraging a revival of the practice of confession - or the Sacrament of Penance in Church jargon. According to a survey carried out here 10 years ago by the Catholic University, 60% of Italians have stopped going to confession altogether. The situation has certainly not improved during the past decade. Catholics are supposed to confess their sins to a priest at least once a year. The priest absolves them in God's name. Talking to course members at the end of the seminar organised by the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Vatican department in charge of fixing the punishments and indulgences handed down to sinners, Pope Benedict added his own personal voice of disquiet. The seven deadly sins don't need modernising, secular law will suffice. Chris Ashworth, Australia
"We are losing the notion of sin," he said. "If people do not confess regularly, they risk slowing their spiritual rhythm," he added. The Pope confesses his sins regularly once a week. Greatest sins of our times In an interview with the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Archbishop Girotti said he thought the most dangerous areas for committing new types of sins lay in the fields of bio-ethics and ecology. He also named abortion and paedophilia as two of the greatest sins of our times. The archbishop brushed off cases of sexual violence against minors committed by priests as "exaggerations by the mass media aimed at discrediting the Church".
ORIGINAL DEADLY SINS Pride Envy Gluttony Lust Anger Greed Sloth Father Gerald O'Collins, former professor of moral theology at the Papal University in Rome, and teacher of many of the Catholic Church's current top Cardinals and Bishops, welcomed the new catalogue of modern sins. "I think the major point is that priests who are hearing confessions are not sufficiently attuned to some of the real evils in our world," he told the BBC News website. "They need to be more aware today of the social face of sin - the inequalities at the social level. They think of sin too much on an individual level. "I think priests who hear confession should have a deeper sense of the violence and injustice of such problems - and the fact that people collaborate simply by doing nothing. One of the original deadly sins is sloth - disengagement and not getting involved," Father O'Collins said. The Jesuit professor now teaches at St Mary's University in Twickenham. "It was interesting that these remarks came from the head of the Apostolic Penitentiary," he said. "I can't remember a time when it was so concerned about issues such as environmental pollution and social injustice. It's a new way of thinking." Written by David Willey, BBC News/Rome
More from BBC News!
New York's Govenor...but did they use protection?
Spitzer sex scandal woman named The prostitute at the centre of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's sex scandal has been named by US media.
The woman, named in court papers as Kristen, is Ashley Alexandra Dupre, the New York Times reported.
Ms Dupre, 22, told the Times she did not want "to be thought of as a monster", but gave no comments on her alleged relationship with Mr Spitzer.
He resigned after evidence came to light that he was the client of a high-end prostitution ring.
The scandal erupted on Monday when federal investigators revealed that a wiretap had caught the 48-year-old arranging to meet "Kristen" at a Washington hotel on 13 February.
Flanked by his wife, Mr Spitzer told a news conference on Wednesday that he could not allow "private failings" to disrupt public work. He is to hand over power on Monday.
Mr Spitzer again apologised for not living up to the standards he demanded of others - but he gave no details of the allegations against him.
SPITZER SCANDAL TIMELINE 2007 Internal Revenue Service reportedly begins investigating Eliot Spitzer, after banks report suspicious transfers 12-13 Feb, 2008 Spitzer allegedly heard on federal wiretap arranging to meet woman at Washington hotel 13 Feb Spitzer allegedly rents room for "Kristen" at Mayflower Hotel and sneaks past his police guard to meet her 6 Mar Four other people charged with operating prostitution ring 10 Mar NY Times breaks story, saying Spitzer has called aides to emergency meeting; Spitzer tells press conference he has let down his family 12 Mar Spitzer announces resignation
Allegations based on law enforcement sources quoted by Associated Press and New York Times
Ms Dupre was born Ashley Youmans. She left home in New Jersey at the age of 17 and moved to New York where she hoped to become a singer, the Times said.
Ms Dupre did not comment when asked by the newspaper when she first met Mr Spitzer and how many times they had met.
"This has been a very difficult time. It is complicated," she told the Times.
It is not clear whether or not Ms Dupre will face charges but she is reported to have hired a lawyer.
Federal investigators have alleged that a wiretap caught Mr Spitzer arranging to meet a $1,000-an-hour prostitute named Kristen who worked for the Emperor's Club VIP prostitution ring.
Mr Spitzer is reported to have paid thousands of dollars over 18 months to the ring.
He could be charged with soliciting and paying for sex, breaking banking laws and with transporting someone across state lines for immoral purposes.
He could also lose his licence to practise law in New York.
It marks a spectacular downfall for the man once known as the "Sheriff of Wall Street" for his investigations of organised crime, financial crime and prostitution.
The father of three teenage girls is a leading supporter of Senator Hillary Clinton in her battle against Senator Barack Obama to become the Democratic Party's candidate for president.
Mr Spitzer's deputy, Lieutenant-Governor David Paterson, is to take over on Monday, to become New York's first black governor as well as its first blind governor.
Richard Gere in India after AIDS Awareness Mess!
March 14, 2008
India's top court suspended an arrest warrant Friday against Hollywood star Richard Gere, wanted for allegedly breaking public obscenity laws by kissing Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty at a public AIDS awareness event last year, an attorney said.
"Gere is allowed to come and leave. He can't be arrested," said Anil Grover, an attorney for Shetty, after attending the Supreme Court proceedings.
Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan and Justice R. V. Raveendran indefinitely stayed the arrest warrant issued against Gere last year by a court in the northwestern Indian city of Jaipur, Grover told The Associated Press.
Gere embraced and kissed Shetty on her cheek at the public AIDS awareness event in New Delhi on April 15 last year, prompting Hindu hard-liners to allege the pair had offended the sensibilities of India's traditionally conservative culture.
Hindu activists filed three cases against the pair last year, including one in Jaipur.
The allegations of obscenity against Gere and Shetty have failed to stir wider outrage among Indians, most of whom have responded with utter indifference.
Grover called the cases "frivolous" and "a total misuse of the legal process."
Shortly after the cases were filed by Hindu activists, Gere apologized for any offense he may have caused. But he also said the whole controversy was manufactured by a small hard-line political party.
Gere, 58, is a frequent visitor to India, promoting health issues and the cause of Tibetan exiles, tens of thousands of whom live in India. His screen credits include "Chicago," "Pretty Woman" and "An Officer and a Gentleman."
Shetty, a well-known actress in India, became an international star after her appearance on the British reality show "Celebrity Big Brother."
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