World Happiness within our grasp ...
Very clear to see on this map that the French are, as we always suspected, a nation of moaners ...
embiggen for full impact
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
World Happiness
World Happiness within our grasp ...
Very clear to see on this map that the French are, as we always suspected, a nation of moaners ...
embiggen for full impact
Nardicio's Great Gay American Roadtrip -- Trailer!!
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Caffelattemacchiatofrappachino cure for cancer?
Coffee and exercise 'save skin'
A cup of coffee could help protect your skin from the sun, US scientists say.
A combination of exercise and caffeinated water reduced the skin-damaging effects of ultra-violet radiation in experiments on mice.
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study found the mice's natural defence against pre-cancerous cells was boosted by up to 400%.
The relationship between caffeine and cancer cells is under close scrutiny following evidence that it can increase a process called "apoptosis", in which the body gets rid of damaged or even cancerous cells by killing them off.
The latest research supports this, but found that adding exercise to the mixture produced a far greater benefit than expected.
The test subjects were hairless mice, who were exposed to lamps generating UVB radiation similar to the type found in sunlight.
'Synergy'
Some of the mice were given caffeinated water to drink, some were put on an exercise wheel, and others had both.
They were then tested for the presence of body chemicals known to be linked to the levels of apoptosis taking place, and their results compared with mice who were under the sun-lamps, but getting no caffeine or exercise.
Mice who drank caffeine but did not exercise had a 95% increase in apoptosis, while those taking exercise alone had a 120% increase.
However, the mice who exercised and drank caffeine showed a massive 400% increase.
Dr Allan Conney, of Rutgers University, who led the experiment, said that the reason for this remained a mystery.
"The most dramatic and obvious difference between the groups came from the caffeine drinking runners, a difference that can likely be attributed to some kind of synergy."
Sport drinks
Dr Alison Ross, from Cancer Research UK, said: "This study was carried out in mice so there will need to be more research in this area to see if there is a similar effect in humans.
"Drinking a cup of coffee before going out jogging is definitely not a substitute for adequate sun protection - and those who are fair-skinned should take extra care."
BBC News
Monday, July 30, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!
The cowardly lion found out at the end of the Yellow Brick Road that he already had the 'noive' but just needed a medal to prove it.
The Gay Community still thinks it does not have the 'noive', the courage to make change happen.
Why?
Because there is nothing to fear but fear itself. Because fear is paralysing.
Are we so frightened to lose that which we have? And what is it that we think we have?
The Gay Community still thinks it does not have the 'noive', the courage to make change happen.
Why?
Because there is nothing to fear but fear itself. Because fear is paralysing.
Are we so frightened to lose that which we have? And what is it that we think we have?
Saturday, July 28, 2007
The State of the Nation
Now
What is the situation for gay men with HIV in the Netherlands at the present time?
What are the hopes, fears and concerns?
Victim/Criminal
The medical community still regards people with HIV as personifications of the infection at worst and victims at best. Allthough there are exceptions that prove the rule it is still so that Internists and Consultants have little or no interest in the pyscho-social aspects of how being infected affects their clients/patients.
It is hard to believe but there are unfortunately still medical staff in the Netherlands who refuse to treat HIV infected people.
The political arena is still debating whether to treat people with HIV as potential murderers in spite of court decisions and precedents. Public opinion is easily swayed by fear and supported in their beliefs by a refusal on the side of politicians to make a stand. Even organisations such as the HIV Vereniging are loathe to commit themselves publicly one way or another.
Soa's
The silent rise of Hepatitis C and other SOA's is evidence of the GGD's complete lack of responsibility in the last few years. A refusal to talk with other institutions such as the Schorer Stichting and the HIV vereniging makes their role redundant. Their main concern at the moment seems to be holding their heads financially above water and not as it should be adressing the health needs of the community.
HPV
Vaccines, like the HPV vaccine, that could make a change to the daily health of HIV patients are being witheld for various reasons. One of the major reasons is, as always, money and the question who will pay.
Prevention
As potential spreaders of the virus gay men with HIV are increasingly being held responsible for a rise in infections, citing barebacking as the major cause.
Condom, condom, condom is still the only prevention message heard, despite reports indicating that this tactic has always been less than effective and is now more than ever redundant.
Prevention strategies such as Sero-sorting are greeted with horror by a generation that has lived with the condom for so long. Despite reports from the USA indicating the effectiveness of Sero-sorting, the Netherlands has responded in a hysterical way to attempts to discuss this strategy.
Gay Scene
Visibility for HIV infected Gays is at an all time low. Drug therapy makes it possible to hide infection for nearly all gay men.
Hiding their infection is however becoming increasingly difficult for some gay men who experience 'passing for healthy' as a denial of their needs and rights.
Many gay men with HIV are, it seems, ready to 'come out' as 'Poz' and this threatens to polarize the gay community.
Getting Older
Gay men with HIV now have a life expectancy 1 year less than gay men wthout HIV.
However, the Netherlands is still geared up to a view of gay men with HIV as terminally ill patients insytead of chronically, but still functioning, people.
Growing old with HIV is something that 10 years ago would have been unthinkable, but there is now a generation of 50 - 60 year old gay men who are ready to retire from work but not from life. The problem is becoming less a medical and more a social one in this case. No government or council institution has adressed this problem at all.
Therapy
Therapy drugs are still being rushed onto the market without a realistic idea of the long term consequences. This was acceptable in the early stages of the epidemic but the medical world must start to look at the long term damage that these drugs do. Gay men with HIV are increasingly unhappy about their role as guinea pig for the pharmaceutical industry.
Public Awareness
Violence and aggression towards gay people in general will also in the future be aimed at gay men with HIV. Its a logical progression. Gay men with HIV will be targeted by groups and individuals who will feel justified by their religion or faith in ridding the community of potential danger.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Alex Harvey - Next
classic ....
N E X T
Naked as sin
An army towel, wrapped around my belly
Some of us weep, some of us howl
Knees turn to jelly, but Next! Next!
I was just a child
A hundred like me
I followed the naked body
And the naked body followed me, Next! Next!
I was just a child when my innocence was lost
In a mobile army whorehouse
A gift of the army, free of cost. Next! Next! Next!
Me, I really would have liked a little bit of tenderness
Maybe a word, maybe a smile, maybe some happiness, but Next! Next!
It was not so tragic
and heaven did not fall
But how much at the time
I hated being there at all, Next! Next!
I still recall the brothel trucks, and the flying flags
The queer lieutenant slapped our arses
thinking we were fags. Next! Next! Next!
I swear on the wet head of my
first case of gonorrhea
It is his ugly voice that I forever hear, Next! Next!
A voice that stinks of whisky, corpses and of mud
The voice of nations
The thick voice of blood, Next! Next!
Since then each woman I have taken into bed
They seem to lie in my arms
And they whisper in my head, Next! Next! Next!
All the naked and the dead
Could hold each other's hands
As they watch me scream at night
In a dream that nobody understands
And though I am not dreaming in a voice grown dry and hollow
I stand on endless naked lines of the following and the followed
and Next! Next!
One day I'll cut my legs off
I'll burn myself alive
I'll do anything to get out of life, to survive
Not ever to be next, Next! Next!
Next!
details, details ...
More details of the stabbing.
The NOVA camera crew were filming on the Zeedijk for the show that evening. The staff of the Engel informed customers that there would be cameras. 5 skinhead customers (to be precise 4 and a punk) took offense, were drunk, obnoxious and started accosting the camera crew.
The NOVA camera crew were filming on the Zeedijk for the show that evening. The staff of the Engel informed customers that there would be cameras. 5 skinhead customers (to be precise 4 and a punk) took offense, were drunk, obnoxious and started accosting the camera crew.
The police arrested 2 of the 5.
Just as peace was returning to the street a Maroccan came up to a man outside of the Barderije. Words were exchanged and then the man was stabbed.
Any news of the event reports a 'stabbing as a result of an argument between 2 men' .... no mention of the word gay.
This way Job Cohen, Mayor of Amsterdam can keep on claiming that attacks on gay people in amsterdam are incidental.
I wonder just how long his arrogance can last? Or does someone actually have to die before things change? Or do we as a community have to take things into our own hands?
Thursday, July 26, 2007
HPV
HPV therapeutic vaccine stimulates immune response in people with HIV
Liz Highleyman, Monday, July 23, 2007
A new therapeutic vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted virus that can cause anal and genital cancer, appears safe and stimulates an immune response in HIV-positive people, according to a poster presented Monday at the Fourth International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Treatment, Pathogenesis and Prevention in Sydney.
Although two HPV preventive vaccines have now been approved in Europe, it is unclear if those vaccines will have any impact on the incidence of anal or cervical cancer in HIV-positive people already infected with HPV. An analysis of the FUTURE 1 study of the approved Gardasil HPV vaccine found a 73% efficacy rate against the development of anogenital warts or pre-cancerous or cancerous cell changes in the anus in women during four years of follow-up. However the investigators stressed that the study did not include HIV-positive people, and the protective effect of the vaccine in people with HIV remains unclear.
A therapeutic vaccine against cancer-causing HPV type 16 is being developed by the Australian company CSL. It is designed to prevent the development of neoplasia (pre-cancerous cell changes) by stimulating cellular immune responses to this type of HPV. The manufacturer chose to test the vaccine in HIV-positive people in order to determine whether it would induce immune responses to HPV in people with moderate immune suppression. The study enrolled 35 HIV-positive men who have sex with men in Melbourne and Sydney into a dose-ranging study of the safety and tolerability of the vaccine. Secondary objectives of the study were to examine the evolution of immunological responses to HPV after vaccination, including antibody and T-cell-mediated immunity, as well as anal HPV clearance and related pathology (such as anal neoplasia and anal warts). Participants were randomly assigned to receive either placebo injections or the HPV-16 E6E7 vaccine plus the “Iscomatrix” adjuvant at one of three doses (25mg, 70mg or 240mg). Three groups received three injections at days 0, 28, and 84, while a fourth group received injections on an accelerated schedule at days 0, 14 and 70. At study entry, the median age was 47 years and the median CD4 cell count was 627 cells/mm3. Participants had experienced fairly serious immune suppression in the past, with a median nadir (lowest-ever) CD4 cell count of 154 cells/mm3. Almost all (94%) were taking antiretroviral therapy during the study.
One of the questions about HIV treatment is whether a low nadir CD4 count limits the degree of immune restoration and the breadth of immune response an individual can expect to achieve after a few years of successful antiretroviral therapy, and whether this in turn might alter the long-term risk of certain types of cancer.
All participants were infected with high-risk (cancer-causing) HPV types. More than half (59%) had HPV-16, 32% had HPV-18 and 17% to 41% had nine other high-risk types; many were infected with multiple types. Most participants (80%) had some degree of abnormal cells in the anus detectable by Pap smear, including 31% with low-grade and 14% with high-grade anal intraepithelial neoplasia.
After 36 weeks of follow-up, the vaccine was generally well tolerated. Although there were no severe adverse reactions, most participants reported moderate to severe injection site pain and swelling and systemic symptoms including headache, muscles aches and fatigue. CD4 cell counts remained stable in all participants, but five experienced HIV viral load blips.
Immunological responses were good. Nearly three-quarters of participants (71%) experienced at least a three-fold increase in interferon-gamma responses to the E6-E7 peptides in the vaccine as measured by the Quantiferon assay. Further, almost all participants (96%) experienced at least a four-fold increase in IgG antibodies specific to these peptides.
However, there were no clear trends in HPV detectability or anal cell changes when comparing the different vaccine doses and placebo. Two participants receiving the vaccine cleared HPV-16 – compared with none in the placebo group -- but three others who started with other HPV types acquired HPV-16.
Whilst four of six participants who started with high-grade anal neoplasia experienced resolution, others developed new high-grade neoplasia during follow-up. Overall, a majority of participants experienced either a slight improvement or no change in anal lesions.
The researchers concluded that the HPV-16 therapeutic vaccine appeared safe and well-tolerated in HIV-positive people, producing strong and persistent antibody and T-cell-mediated immune responses, despite the fact that the study participants had considerable immune impairment in the past as indicated by low nadir CD4 cell counts.
Lead author Jonathan Anderson told aidsmap that the current study was too small to determine the efficacy of the vaccine, but the researchers were encouraged by the good immune response and plan to conduct further studies.
Liz Highleyman, Monday, July 23, 2007
A new therapeutic vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted virus that can cause anal and genital cancer, appears safe and stimulates an immune response in HIV-positive people, according to a poster presented Monday at the Fourth International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Treatment, Pathogenesis and Prevention in Sydney.
Although two HPV preventive vaccines have now been approved in Europe, it is unclear if those vaccines will have any impact on the incidence of anal or cervical cancer in HIV-positive people already infected with HPV. An analysis of the FUTURE 1 study of the approved Gardasil HPV vaccine found a 73% efficacy rate against the development of anogenital warts or pre-cancerous or cancerous cell changes in the anus in women during four years of follow-up. However the investigators stressed that the study did not include HIV-positive people, and the protective effect of the vaccine in people with HIV remains unclear.
A therapeutic vaccine against cancer-causing HPV type 16 is being developed by the Australian company CSL. It is designed to prevent the development of neoplasia (pre-cancerous cell changes) by stimulating cellular immune responses to this type of HPV. The manufacturer chose to test the vaccine in HIV-positive people in order to determine whether it would induce immune responses to HPV in people with moderate immune suppression. The study enrolled 35 HIV-positive men who have sex with men in Melbourne and Sydney into a dose-ranging study of the safety and tolerability of the vaccine. Secondary objectives of the study were to examine the evolution of immunological responses to HPV after vaccination, including antibody and T-cell-mediated immunity, as well as anal HPV clearance and related pathology (such as anal neoplasia and anal warts). Participants were randomly assigned to receive either placebo injections or the HPV-16 E6E7 vaccine plus the “Iscomatrix” adjuvant at one of three doses (25mg, 70mg or 240mg). Three groups received three injections at days 0, 28, and 84, while a fourth group received injections on an accelerated schedule at days 0, 14 and 70. At study entry, the median age was 47 years and the median CD4 cell count was 627 cells/mm3. Participants had experienced fairly serious immune suppression in the past, with a median nadir (lowest-ever) CD4 cell count of 154 cells/mm3. Almost all (94%) were taking antiretroviral therapy during the study.
One of the questions about HIV treatment is whether a low nadir CD4 count limits the degree of immune restoration and the breadth of immune response an individual can expect to achieve after a few years of successful antiretroviral therapy, and whether this in turn might alter the long-term risk of certain types of cancer.
All participants were infected with high-risk (cancer-causing) HPV types. More than half (59%) had HPV-16, 32% had HPV-18 and 17% to 41% had nine other high-risk types; many were infected with multiple types. Most participants (80%) had some degree of abnormal cells in the anus detectable by Pap smear, including 31% with low-grade and 14% with high-grade anal intraepithelial neoplasia.
After 36 weeks of follow-up, the vaccine was generally well tolerated. Although there were no severe adverse reactions, most participants reported moderate to severe injection site pain and swelling and systemic symptoms including headache, muscles aches and fatigue. CD4 cell counts remained stable in all participants, but five experienced HIV viral load blips.
Immunological responses were good. Nearly three-quarters of participants (71%) experienced at least a three-fold increase in interferon-gamma responses to the E6-E7 peptides in the vaccine as measured by the Quantiferon assay. Further, almost all participants (96%) experienced at least a four-fold increase in IgG antibodies specific to these peptides.
However, there were no clear trends in HPV detectability or anal cell changes when comparing the different vaccine doses and placebo. Two participants receiving the vaccine cleared HPV-16 – compared with none in the placebo group -- but three others who started with other HPV types acquired HPV-16.
Whilst four of six participants who started with high-grade anal neoplasia experienced resolution, others developed new high-grade neoplasia during follow-up. Overall, a majority of participants experienced either a slight improvement or no change in anal lesions.
The researchers concluded that the HPV-16 therapeutic vaccine appeared safe and well-tolerated in HIV-positive people, producing strong and persistent antibody and T-cell-mediated immune responses, despite the fact that the study participants had considerable immune impairment in the past as indicated by low nadir CD4 cell counts.
Lead author Jonathan Anderson told aidsmap that the current study was too small to determine the efficacy of the vaccine, but the researchers were encouraged by the good immune response and plan to conduct further studies.
closing the closet door
last night a Maroccan stabbed a gay man on the Zeedijk. No more details. Nothing on the news. Nothing on the Net.
And after the ambulance and police were gone life went on as if nothing had happened.
But for the gay men who were there it was not business as usual.
Then, today, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year they will suddenly realise that the way they live, the risks they take, the things they do or do not do in public has been changed by that one incident last night.
The closet door is closing.
Fear.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Red in Tooth and Claw
Although I had sworn to myself that I would not comment here on this subject, something has angered me once again ....
Old media from june of this year, tv clip from the gay channel in Amsterdam.
As we, the Poz & Proud group, experienced at the time, the same blatant unsubstantiated lies camouflaged as facts.
I don't want to play the games that are necessary to keep the Press happy, I've done that for so long in my professional life. The subject matter is too important in my opinion to have to be abused and manipulated in the way the Dutch Media 'needs' it to be.
Gay, hiv infected men deserve better than this victim/criminal pigeonhole that the Press and Politics wants us to fit into.
I won't waste time on defining these terms because too many trees have died doing that in the hope that with knowledge would come enlightenment.
Unfortunately it doesn't.
Ignorance is bliss.
Hiv, Aids, Gay, Healthcare, Infection, Epidemic ... they are all bigot buttons.
They all touch raw nerves in the general population, Chrislam warning sirens sound whenever they are used in the public terrein.
I plead for a vigorous re-claiming of our fundamental rights under all circumstances.
I demand that all Gay, Hiv infected men are given what they need.
I hope for a renewal within our community based on a healthy core of positive activity to end this negative passivity that so divides us and keeps us opiated.
Let us take the life we have and live it to the hilt, let us fight where necessary to re-claim what is rightfully ours ...
Freedom to live where we want to in the way we want to
Freedom to live in peace without the threat of violence and agression
Freedom to live without discrimination because of our sero status
I will take my life and live it
not as a lamb to the slaughter
but as a lion
red in tooth and claw
Old media from june of this year, tv clip from the gay channel in Amsterdam.
As we, the Poz & Proud group, experienced at the time, the same blatant unsubstantiated lies camouflaged as facts.
I don't want to play the games that are necessary to keep the Press happy, I've done that for so long in my professional life. The subject matter is too important in my opinion to have to be abused and manipulated in the way the Dutch Media 'needs' it to be.
Gay, hiv infected men deserve better than this victim/criminal pigeonhole that the Press and Politics wants us to fit into.
I won't waste time on defining these terms because too many trees have died doing that in the hope that with knowledge would come enlightenment.
Unfortunately it doesn't.
Ignorance is bliss.
Hiv, Aids, Gay, Healthcare, Infection, Epidemic ... they are all bigot buttons.
They all touch raw nerves in the general population, Chrislam warning sirens sound whenever they are used in the public terrein.
I plead for a vigorous re-claiming of our fundamental rights under all circumstances.
I demand that all Gay, Hiv infected men are given what they need.
I hope for a renewal within our community based on a healthy core of positive activity to end this negative passivity that so divides us and keeps us opiated.
Let us take the life we have and live it to the hilt, let us fight where necessary to re-claim what is rightfully ours ...
Freedom to live where we want to in the way we want to
Freedom to live in peace without the threat of violence and agression
Freedom to live without discrimination because of our sero status
I will take my life and live it
not as a lamb to the slaughter
but as a lion
red in tooth and claw
The Poz Chip
The Indonesian state of Papua is planning to microchip some residents with HIV in a bid to prevent their transmitting the virus to others.
Out of a population of 2.5M, 3000 residents are thought to be HIV positive. Papua is located on the western half of New Guinea.
According to an Indonesian doctor assisting in the new law's preparation, "Some of the infected people experience a change of behavior and can turn more aggressive and would not think twice of infecting others." He claims that only those "deemed likely" to transmit the virus will be chipped.
Local AIDS activists are understandably outraged, saying, "People with HIV/AIDS are not like sharks under observation so that they have to be implanted with microchips to monitor their movements."
It's almost laughable.
Almost.
from Joe.My.God.
Out of a population of 2.5M, 3000 residents are thought to be HIV positive. Papua is located on the western half of New Guinea.
According to an Indonesian doctor assisting in the new law's preparation, "Some of the infected people experience a change of behavior and can turn more aggressive and would not think twice of infecting others." He claims that only those "deemed likely" to transmit the virus will be chipped.
Local AIDS activists are understandably outraged, saying, "People with HIV/AIDS are not like sharks under observation so that they have to be implanted with microchips to monitor their movements."
It's almost laughable.
Almost.
from Joe.My.God.
"The Strongest of the Strange"
you won't see them often
for wherever the crowds are
they
are not.
these odd ones, not
many
but from them
come
the few
good paintings
the few
good symphonies
the few
good books
and other
works.
and from the
best of the
strange ones
perhaps
nothing.
they are
their own
paintings
their own
books
their own
music
their own
work.
Charles Bukowski
(van Paul Morris)
for wherever the crowds are
they
are not.
these odd ones, not
many
but from them
come
the few
good paintings
the few
good symphonies
the few
good books
and other
works.
and from the
best of the
strange ones
perhaps
nothing.
they are
their own
paintings
their own
books
their own
music
their own
work.
Charles Bukowski
(van Paul Morris)
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