In the News - TBD2024-03-29T12:56:55Zhttp://teebeedee.ning.com/forum/topics/in-the-news?groupUrl=gettingourgayon&commentId=1991841%3AComment%3A1513431&groupId=1991841%3AGroup%3A1150073&feed=yes&xn_auth=no
Grindr is doing advocacy!tag:teebeedee.ning.com,2022-11-22:1991841:Comment:20070562022-11-22T22:15:14.642ZAngharadhttp://teebeedee.ning.com/profile/Angharad
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<p>Grindr is doing advocacy!</p>
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<p>Grindr is doing advocacy!</p> President Joe Biden meeting a…tag:teebeedee.ning.com,2021-01-21:1991841:Comment:19554282021-01-21T19:45:05.483ZAngharadhttp://teebeedee.ning.com/profile/Angharad
<p>President Joe Biden meeting and greeting at a gay bar. HUZZAH for a President who works hard at being inclusive.</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8448442062?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8448442062?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full" width="419" height="236"/></a></p>
<p>President Joe Biden meeting and greeting at a gay bar. HUZZAH for a President who works hard at being inclusive.</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8448442062?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8448442062?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full" width="419" height="236"/></a></p> Two Years After Pulse Massac…tag:teebeedee.ning.com,2018-05-28:1991841:Comment:18102712018-05-28T05:06:08.337ZAngharadhttp://teebeedee.ning.com/profile/Angharad
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<h1 class="articleTitle">Two Years After Pulse Massacre, National Die-In Planned for D.C.</h1>
<div class="leadImageArticle"><div class="articleImg"><img alt="National Die-In" src="https://www.advocate.com/sites/advocate.com/files/2018/05/25/national-mall-750x.jpg" title="Two Years After Pulse Massacre, National Die-In Planned for D.C."></img></div>
<div class="authorBox"><div class="box"><div class="articleTeaser"><p>Activists are refusing to stand down to the NRA.</p>
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<div class="articleAuthor">BY<span> </span><span><a href="https://www.advocate.com/authors/jacob-ogles">JACOB…</a></span></div>
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<h1 class="articleTitle">Two Years After Pulse Massacre, National Die-In Planned for D.C.</h1>
<div class="leadImageArticle"><div class="articleImg"><img src="https://www.advocate.com/sites/advocate.com/files/2018/05/25/national-mall-750x.jpg" alt="National Die-In" title="Two Years After Pulse Massacre, National Die-In Planned for D.C."/></div>
<div class="authorBox"><div class="box"><div class="articleTeaser"><p>Activists are refusing to stand down to the NRA.</p>
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<div class="articleAuthor">BY<span> </span><span><a href="https://www.advocate.com/authors/jacob-ogles">JACOB OGLES</a></span></div>
<div class="articleDate"><span class="date">MAY 26 2018 1:19 PM EDT</span></div>
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<div class="textArticle" id="article-content"><p>Orlando activists want to remember lives lost at the Pulse shooting with a mass die-in at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and survivors of the Pulse nightclub massacre and of this year's school shooting in Parkland, Fla., have helped spread the word.</p>
<p>Amanda Fugleberg, a lifelong Orlando resident, is still shaken by the June 12, 2016 mass shooting that occurred 15 minutes from her home. “It was the first news I saw when I woke up that day and I remember the death toll just rising,” she says.</p>
<div class="teads-inread sm-screen"><div class="teads-player" id="teads0">Ultimately, <a href="https://www.advocate.com/crime/2016/6/15/49-orlando-victims-and-their-stories" target="_blank" rel="noopener">49 people died at Pulse</a> in addition to the shooter, who was killed by law enforcement. “It brought me to tears to know something like that happened so close.”</div>
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<p>Now she will go to Washington, D.C., to lead the National Die-In, scheduled for June 12, two years to the day after the Orlando tragedy. The idea came about just a week and a half ago, and she and co-founder Frank Kravchuk quickly pulled together proper permitting. Fugleberg also reached out to Parkland survivor-turned-activist David Hogg, who just led a s<a href="https://www.advocate.com/politics/2018/5/25/publix-backs-down-when-faced-parkland-protesters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">uccessful die-in protest against a Florida grocery chain</a><span> </span>for supporting a National Rifle Association-backed candidate. She says Hogg expressed strong support for the idea and helped publicize the event.</p>
<p>Kravchuk says he would like to see as many as 100,000 people participate in a die-in in front of the Capitol on June 12.</p>
<p>The noon die-in will last 12 minutes; the 700-second time period is meant to honor the approximate 700 victims of mass shootings who have died since the Pulse massacre took place, a period that has seen little progress in terms of federal gun reforms.</p>
<p>That act will be preceded by a 10:30 a.m. rally for gun reform. Additionally, the event has already inspired die-ins at state capitals and NRA offices around the country.</p>
<p>A<span> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/nationaldiein" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter account for the event</a><span> </span>quickly amassed hundreds of followers. Fugleberg, Kravchuk and Nurah Abdulhaqq also<a href="https://www.gofundme.com/nationaldiein?member=215408" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span> </span>established a GoFundMe page</a><span> </span>to raise resources for The Foundation of the National Die-in. Organizers say the event could become an annual event, and there may be other similar protests to commemorate other mass shootings.</p>
<p>Neither Kravchuk nor Fugleberg knew anyone directly impacted by the Pulse tragedy, but both hail from the Orlando area and count themselves as LGBT allies. Kravchuk, a University of Florida student who grew up in Orlando suburb Oviedo, says he’s known many friends in the LGBTQ community who “can’t go and live their daily lives without being targeted by somebody,” and remains angry that warning signs about the Pulse shooter's propensity for violence did not prevent the Pulse tragedy.</p>
<p>Since beginning plans for the National Die-In, organizers have reached out to Pulse survivor Brandon Wolf, now a prominent gun control activist. Wolf says he’s working on a protest in Orlando on June 11, a day before the Pulse anniversary, and he sees potential to link up with National Die-In to amplify both causes.</p>
<p>As for their own policy demands, Fugleberg and Kravchuk most want to see stronger screening for gun ownership. “I’d like to see universal background checks, which right now are not great considering the Pulse shooter was able to acquire guns when he’d been on an FBI watch list,” Fugleberg says.</p>
<p>A<span> </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/National-Die-In-Day-1798187990238689/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook page</a><span> </span>has been set up for the National Die-In, as well as an<span> </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1925383177513179/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">events page</a><span> </span>to mark participants' attendance.</p>
</div> HIV Self-Test Kit Vending Mac…tag:teebeedee.ning.com,2018-04-22:1991841:Comment:18088192018-04-22T09:01:02.077ZAngharadhttp://teebeedee.ning.com/profile/Angharad
<h1 class="articleTitle">HIV Self-Test Kit Vending Machines Hit China</h1>
<div class="leadImageArticle"><div class="articleImg"><img alt="HIV Test" src="https://www.hivplusmag.com/sites/hivplusmag.com/files/2018/04/16/hiv-test-kit750x422.jpg" title="HIV Self-Test Kit Vending Machines Hit China"></img></div>
<div class="authorBox"><div class="box"><div class="articleTeaser"><p>Vending machines dispense HIV self-test kits for under $5 at three Chinese Universities.</p>
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<h1 class="articleTitle">HIV Self-Test Kit Vending Machines Hit China</h1>
<div class="leadImageArticle"><div class="articleImg"><img src="https://www.hivplusmag.com/sites/hivplusmag.com/files/2018/04/16/hiv-test-kit750x422.jpg" alt="HIV Test" title="HIV Self-Test Kit Vending Machines Hit China"/></div>
<div class="authorBox"><div class="box"><div class="articleTeaser"><p>Vending machines dispense HIV self-test kits for under $5 at three Chinese Universities.</p>
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<div class="articleAuthor">By<span> </span><span><a href="https://www.hivplusmag.com/authors/benjamin-m-adams">Benjamin M. Adams</a></span></div>
<div class="articleDate"><span class="date">APRIL 20 2018 12:20 AM EDT</span></div>
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<div class="shareArticleButtons"><div class="tableDiv"><div class="tableRow"><span class="tableCell share-count"><span>13 SHARES</span></span><div class="tableCell fb"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://www.hivplusmag.com/testing/2018/4/20/hiv-self-test-kit-vending-machines-hit-china&title=HIV+Self-Test+Kit+Vending+Machines+Hit+China" target="_blank" class="facebookshare" rel="noopener"></a></div>
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<div class="textArticle" id="article-content"><p>It’s 2018, and vending machines now dispense everything from<span> </span><a href="http://https//www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/02/04/seattle-pot-vending-machine/22817375/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">medical marijuana</a> to<span> </span><a href="http://https//www.austinchronicle.com/food/2018-04-13/health-conscious-alpaca-markets-vending-machines-serve-jars-of-fresh-food/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fresh salads</a> as an alternative to snacks. But nobody has gone as far as China in terms of innovative vending machine technology, with vending machines that dispense<span> </span><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/to-buy-a-car-in-china-hit-the-vending-machine-1522929642" target="_blank" rel="noopener">automobiles</a> and now inexpensive HIV self-test kits.</p>
<p>This month, three universities in Shanghai, China have installed machines that dispense HIV self-test kits as a part of a pilot project to promote early detection and treatment of HIV/AIDS. Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance, Tongji University, and Shanghai University are the first three schools to embrace the project.</p>
<p>The project is part of a program launched by<span> </span><a href="https://www.shine.cn/news/metro/1804042655/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Chinese Association<span> </span></a>of STD and HIV/AIDS Prevention and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The price is one-tenth the price students would normally have to pay. Universities are selling the kits for 30 yuan ($4.78 USD), compared to the more common price of 298 yuan, ($47.49 USD) as listed on a Chinese ecommerce site Taobao.</p>
<p>While cheap HIV tests in other countries use a finger prick and test blood, the Chinese tests detect the virus in urine samples. Users collect their urine sample and deposit it back into the machine to get their results. The samples are collected from the machine twice a week, and then users can find their results online by logging into renaijiance.com.</p>
<p>Zhongdan Chen is a technical officer from the World Health Organization's office in China, and applauds the new ways students can get tested for HIV.</p>
<p>"Innovations in tools and service delivery approaches are urgently needed to make these services available, accessible, acceptable and of adequate quality, especially for high risk populations," Dr. Chen<span> </span><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-14/chinese-universities-stock-hiv-test-kits-in-vending-machines/9636386" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told ABC News<span> </span></a>Australia. According to Dr. Chen, about 758,000 people were reportedly living with HIV in China at the end of 2017. But a major portion, which some estimate to be around 30 percent, do not even know they have HIV.</p>
<p>Although the vending machine items<span> </span><a href="https://www.whatsonweibo.com/chinese-university-vending-machine-sells-hiv-urine-test-kit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first</a><span> </span>popped up in 2016 at China’s Southwest Petroleum University in Nanchong, Sichuan, more universities are now installing them.</p>
<p>The whole concept is to make it easier for young adults to test themselves for HIV, which is not an easy feat to do, with the stigma that looms over an HIV diagnosis. In China and also in many other parts of the world, young men and women have to be convinced or otherwise compelled to test themselves for HIV because of psychological barriers that get in the way. A vending machine test provides a way for 100 percent total anonymity and allows some people that would never take the test to have a discrete way to get tested. Homosexuality is much more of a taboo topic in China than it is in the West. That makes it even more difficult for gay Chinese citizens to get tested.</p>
<p>The vending machine HIV test method has also been used in the United Kingdom. A vending machine dispensing HIV self-testing kits was installed at a gay sauna club in Brighton, U.K. It dispenses cheap HIV self-testing kits that prick the user’s finger</p>
<p>In South Africa, which is dealing with HIV and AIDS on a much larger scale, vending machines<span> </span><a href="https://www.thejournal.ie/south-africa-hiv-testing-3926228-Mar2018/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">are being</a><span> </span>used to store prescription HIV drugs, to work around the limitations imposed by the stigma as well.</p>
<p>HIV tests are becoming easier and cheaper to make, and the waiting period for HIV test results is getting shorter and shorter. In modern culture, instant convenience is becoming the norm. Just look at the way RedBox has replaced video rental stores and McDonald’s ordering stations have replaced employees. When you eliminate the awkwardness of talking to another human being with something as sensitive as an HIV test, a vending machine makes a lot of sense.</p>
</div> Doug Mainwaring
Tidal wave…tag:teebeedee.ning.com,2018-01-17:1991841:Comment:18052402018-01-17T18:14:50.692ZAngharadhttp://teebeedee.ning.com/profile/Angharad
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<div class="article-content col-sm-10"><h1 class="article-title">Tidal wave of ‘out’ LGBT candidates run for political office in 2nd year of Trump presidency…</h1>
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<div class="article-engagement col-sm-2"><div class="author"><span class="author-name">Doug Mainwaring</span></div>
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<div class="article-content col-sm-10"><h1 class="article-title">Tidal wave of ‘out’ LGBT candidates run for political office in 2nd year of Trump presidency</h1>
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<div class="article-text-wrapper"><p>WASHINGTON, D.C., January 16, 2018 (<a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/">LifeSiteNews</a>) – Gay news sites are reporting that a tidal wave of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) candidates for various political offices will flood the United States in 2018. </p>
<p>For instance, forty-eight LGBT candidates<span> </span><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2018/01/at-least-35-lgbtq-texans-are-running-for-office-in-2018/">have already announced</a><span> </span>they are running for various offices in Texas during this election cycle. </p>
<p>Perhaps the most high profile race is set to take place in Maryland, where convicted ‘transgender’ felon Bradley 'Chelsea' Manning is challenging Senator Ben Cardin for his seat in the United States Senate. </p>
<p>LGBT candidates, the majority of whom are running as Democrats, are hoping to benefit from President Trump’s current low approval ratings. Congress almost always loses seats to the opposite party of a newly elected president during the midterms. </p>
<p>“Annise Parker, CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, predicted LGBT candidates endorsed by the organization in 2018 ‘are going to do well,’”<span> </span><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.washingtonblade.com/2018/01/10/lgbt-candidates-could-see-big-wins-in-2018-democratic-wave/">according to a report</a><span> </span>in the pro-LGBT Washington Blade. </p>
<p>“We’re in this business because we think our candidates are going to do well in any election, but we don’t see just a Democratic surge, we actually see a progressive surge across the United States,” continued Parker in the report. “We’re going to have more LGBT candidates than we have had ever in our history.” </p>
<p>The LGBT world has perhaps been emboldened by the unprecedented number of wins by transgender candidates last November, most of whom are biological men who claim to be ‘women.’ In Virginia, transgender journalist Danica Roem pulled a surprise victory over Republican incumbent Delegate Bob Marshall for his seat in the statehouse. In Minneapolis, transgender poet and activist, Andrea Jenkins, and in Palm Springs transgender Lisa Middleton won seats on their city councils. </p>
<p>The only female to ‘male’ transgender candidate to win was Tyler Titus, who won election to the Erie, Pennsylvania School Board.</p>
<h4>Everything in Texas is bigger, including its LGBT candidate roll<strong> </strong></h4>
<p>Texas currently leads the country in declared LGBT candidates. At last report, candidates self-identifying as male are evenly split with those identifying as female. Of those, five are “transgender” and six are incumbents. There are currently 18 LGBT elected and appointed officials in the Lone Star State. </p>
<p>“One gay candidate for governor, Democrat Jeffrey Payne, became the subject of national media attention due in part to his status as the owner of a leather bar in Dallas,” states a report in<span> </span><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2018/01/at-least-35-lgbtq-texans-are-running-for-office-in-2018/"><em>Out Smart Houston’s LGBTQ Magazine</em></a>. “Then an out lesbian Democrat, longtime Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez, joined Payne in the governor’s race.” </p>
<p>“Valdez scored a surprise victory to become the nation’s first openly gay female Hispanic sheriff on the same night that George W. Bush secured a second term in the White House,”<span> </span><a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/12/texas-lupe-valdez-gay-latina-democrat-governor">according to The Guardian</a>. “She won re-election three times in Dallas County before<span> </span><a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.texastribune.org/2017/12/06/dallas-county-sheriff-lupe-valdez-running-governor/">announcing last month that she would resign to stand for Texas gove...</a>.”</p>
<p>A homosexual HIV/AIDS advocate, John Duncan, is running in Texas’ sixth congressional district, normally thought to be a Republican stronghold. </p>
<p>It should be noted that one-third of the LGBT candidates hail from Harris County, the most populous county in Texas. From 2010 to 2016, Annise Parker, now CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, served as mayor of Houston, the county seat. </p>
<p>In 2014, Parker famously demanded that Houston’s pastors turn their sermons over to the city. Houston citizens had filed a lawsuit to oppose the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (dubbed “HERO”), which gave biological males the right to use female facilities within the city and endowed LGBT citizens with the same employee civil rights status as blacks or women. As part of the fact-finding portion of the lawsuit, the city demanded that pastors turn over “all speeches, presentations, or sermons related to HERO, the Petition, Mayor Annise Parker, homosexuality, or gender identity prepared by, delivered by, revised by, or approved by you or in your possession.”</p>
<p>The move was seen by many as an enormous threat to free speech and an assault on the principle of the separation of church and state. <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/houston-mayor-backs-away-from-demand-that-pastors-turn-over-their-sermons-o">Lesbian Mayor Parker eventually backed off</a><span> </span>her heavy-handed demand that pastors turn over their sermon notes on transgender issues. </p>
<h4>Homosexuals across America: turning the red, white & blue into 'rainbow'<strong> </strong></h4>
<p>Maryland's motto,<span> </span><em>Fatti Maschii Parole Femine</em>, which appears on the state seal translates, “Manly deeds, womanly words.” That motto, already<span> </span><a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-maryland-motto-is-sexist-in-any-language/2014/03/28/8b177f16-b145-11e3-a49e-76adc9210f19_story.html?utm_term=.a32286e89226">decried as sexist by the Washington Post</a>, would dissolve into meaninglessness if certain LGBT Democrat candidates are elected to office this year, while also serving as a symbolic repudiation of the Catholic founding of the state. </p>
<p>Not only is transgender felon Bradley Manning seeking to unseat popular Democrat U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, homosexual Maryland state senator Richard Madaleno is campaigning to become the Democrats’ gubernatorial candidate, while transgender activist Dana Beyer vies to take Madaleno’s seat in Annapolis. </p>
<p>LGBT candidates are on the rise in other states as well. </p>
<p>“The race to replace retiring Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-Mass.) in Massachusetts’ 3rd congressional district is a veritable free-for-all of LGBT candidates,”<span> </span><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.washingtonblade.com/2018/01/10/lgbt-candidates-could-see-big-wins-in-2018-democratic-wave/">according to the Washington Blade</a>. “No fewer than 12 candidates are seeking the Democratic nomination, including three LGBT candidates. They’re Rufus Gifford, who’s gay and served as U.S. ambassador to Denmark in the Obama administration; Steve Kerrigan, who’s gay and ran to become Massachusetts lieutenant governor in 2014; and Alexandra Chandler, who’s transgender and a former Navy intelligence specialist.” </p>
<p>In New Hampshire, homosexual state representative Chris Pappas is campaigning for the seat being left open by retiring U.S. House of Representatives member Carol Shea-Porter. </p>
<p>Colorado also has a homosexual candidate running for Governor, Rep. Jared Polis. Oregon already has a bisexual, Kate Brown, occupying the Governor’s mansion.</p>
<p>In Florida, homosexual state representative David Richardson is running for Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), the most pro-LGBT Republican in Congress while lesbian Lauren Baer, is running in Florida’s 18th congressional district. </p>
<p>Other LGBT candidates vying for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives are Lesbian Minnesotan Angie Craig and New Mexican Pat Davis, currently serving as Albuquerque City Councilor. </p>
<p>In Arizona, self-identified bisexual U.S. House member, Kyrsten Sinema, wants retiring Republican Senator Jeff Flake’s seat. If she secures her party’s nomination, she could end up facing former Maricopa County SheriffJoe Arpaio. </p>
<p>But no matter who wins the Republican nomination for Flake’s seat, the CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund,<span> </span><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.washingtonblade.com/2018/01/10/lgbt-candidates-could-see-big-wins-in-2018-democratic-wave/">Annise Parker said</a>, “it’s going to be a very clear pro-LGBTQ progressive candidate versus a right-wing ideologue.”</p>
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<p><a rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://lifesite-cache.s3.amazonaws.com/images/made/images/remote/https_s3.amazonaws.com/lifesite/manning1_810_500_55_s_c1.jpg" target="_blank"> </a></p> What a juxtaposition between…tag:teebeedee.ning.com,2016-06-12:1991841:Comment:17817252016-06-12T13:18:36.963ZAngharadhttp://teebeedee.ning.com/profile/Angharad
<p>What a juxtaposition between the gay pride parades and this news of yet another mass murder. When will this escalation of madness end. It's like all of humanity has an impulse control disorder.…</p>
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<p>What a juxtaposition between the gay pride parades and this news of yet another mass murder. When will this escalation of madness end. It's like all of humanity has an impulse control disorder.</p>
<div class="pinImageActionButtonWrapper"><div class="pinHolder"><div class="fadeContainer"><div class="Image Module pinUiImage"><div class="heightContainer"><img src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/474x/23/0b/c1/230bc1e1c604d196ee0a94c4d86260bd.jpg" class="pinImg fullBleed loaded fade" alt=""At least 20 people have been killed and more than 42 injured in a shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida police say." What a juxtaposition between the gay pride parades and this news of yet another mass murder. When will this escalation of madness end. It's like all of humanity has an impulse control disorder."/></div>
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<span class="richPinGridAttributionTitle">from BBC News</span></div>
<h3 class="richPinGridTitle">Florida Pulse gay nightclub attacked in Orlando</h3>
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<div class="pinMeta"><p class="pinDescription">"At least 20 people have been killed and more than 42 injured in a shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida police say." </p>
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</div> This is unbelievable; but it'…tag:teebeedee.ning.com,2015-09-26:1991841:Comment:17600032015-09-26T17:29:09.567ZAngharadhttp://teebeedee.ning.com/profile/Angharad
<p>This is unbelievable; but it's apparently happening more and more frequently that pharmaceutical companies are making such outlandish (and, ultimately, life-threatening) rate hikes.</p>
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<p><strong><span style="font-size: 2em;">Company hikes price 5,000% for drug that fights complication of AIDS, cancer…</span></strong></p>
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<p>This is unbelievable; but it's apparently happening more and more frequently that pharmaceutical companies are making such outlandish (and, ultimately, life-threatening) rate hikes.</p>
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<p><strong><span style="font-size: 2em;">Company hikes price 5,000% for drug that fights complication of AIDS, cancer</span></strong></p>
<div class="asset-metabar"><span class="asset-metabar-author asset-metabar-item"><a rel="author" href="http://www.usatoday.com/staff/41293/christine-rushton/">Christine Rushton</a>, USA TODAY</span><span class="asset-metabar-time asset-metabar-item nobyline">4:11 p.m. EDT September 18, 2015</span></div>
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<div class="asset-double-wide double-wide p402_premium"><div id="module-position-Oc9kBdl5zxQ" class="story-asset story-metadata-asset"><div class="article-metadata-wrap"><div class="image-wrap"><img class="expand-img-horiz" src="http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/8ce104a26e2633bb8198e6e83df72ab009dfd9f8/c=0-0-3305-2484&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/USATODAY/test/2013/08/12/1376296221000-A09-MEDICATION-23.jpg" alt="prescription"/></div>
<p class="image-credit-wrap"><span class="js-caption-wrapper"><span class="credit">(Photo: Sara D. Davis, USA TODAY)</span></span></p>
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<p>A drug treating a common parasite that attacks people with weakened immune systems increased in cost 5,000% to $750 per pill.</p>
<p>At a time of heightened attention to the rising cost of prescription drugs, doctors who treat patients with AIDS and cancer are denouncing the new cost to treat a condition that can be life-threatening.</p>
<p>Turing Pharmaceuticals of New York raised the price of Daraprim from $13.50 per pill to $750 per pill last month, shortly after purchasing the rights to the drug from Impax Laboratories. Turing has exclusive rights to market Daraprim (pyrimethamine), on the market since 1953.</p>
<p>Daraprim fights toxoplasmosis, the second most common food-borne disease, which can easily infect people whose immune systems have been weakened by AIDS, chemotherapy or even pregnancy, according to the Centers for Disease Control.</p>
<p>“This is a tremendous increase," said Judith Aberg, a spokesperson for the HIV Medicine Association. Even patients with insurance could have trouble affording the medication, she said. That's because insurance companies often put high-price drugs in the "specialty" category, requiring patients to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year. Patients whose insurance plans require them to pay 20% of the cost — a common practice — would shell out $150 a pill.</p>
<p>About 60 million people in the United States may carry the Toxoplasma parasite, according to the CDC. It comes from eating under-cooked meat, cooking with contaminated knives and boards, drinking unclean water and contact with infected cat feces.</p>
<p>Mothers can also pass it to their children during pregnancy and organ transplant patients can get it through an infected donor. Symptoms can feel flu-like, but the parasite attacks the brain and can lead to blindness or brain damage.</p>
<p>A number of doctors and patient advocates recently have spoken out about the rising costs of prescription drugs.</p>
<p>The average cost of brand-name medications rose 13% in 2013, according to a <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.help.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Schondelmeyer.pdf">report</a>from the Prime Institute at the University of Minnesota. New cancer drugs now routinely cost more than $100,000 a year. A new brand-name hepatitis drug, Sovaldi, costs $84,000 for a 12-week course of treatment.</p>
<p>"Every week, I’m learning about another drug that has increased in price because of a change in marketing or the distributor,” Aberg said.</p>
<div id="module-position-Oc9kBdkafXM" class="story-asset oembed-asset"><div class="story-oembed-wrap"><div class="js-oembed story-oembed story-oembed-usa-today story-oembed-type-link"><div class="oembed-asset oembed-asset-link oembed-asset-usa-today"><p class="oembed-link-title">Skyrocketing drug prices leave cures out of reach for some patients</p>
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<p>The HIV Medicine Association and Infectious Diseases Society of America wrote Turing about concerns over the new price. Aberg said she worries the increase will prevent hospitals from stocking Daraprim, which could delay patient treatment. There are no alternative brands for pyrimethamine, and other treatments are not strong enough.</p>
<p>The price increase hasn’t yet delayed patient care, said Rima McLeod, medical director at the University of Chicago Toxoplasmosis Center.</p>
<p>"Turing’s people have been helpful every single time," McLeod said, noting that she has been able to get patients on medication on the day they needed it.</p>
<p>McLeod heads research on toxoplasmosis in Chicago. She said up to 3 billion people in the world are infected with the parasite, which attacks the brain.</p>
<p>“It’s a serious disease and it’s been neglected in this country for a long time, for the most part,” McLeod said.</p>
<div id="module-position-Oc9kBdlBgdk" class="story-asset oembed-asset"><div class="story-oembed-wrap"><div class="js-oembed story-oembed story-oembed-usa-today story-oembed-type-link"><div class="oembed-asset oembed-asset-link oembed-asset-usa-today"><p class="oembed-link-desc">Skyrocketing drug prices leave cures out of reach for some patients</p>
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<p>It’s critical that the treatment stays readily available, McLeod said.</p>
<p>“It makes the difference between whether people see or don’t see, whether babies grow to live happy lives with families or not,” she said.</p>
<p>A Turing spokesman, Craig Rothenberg, said the company is working with hospitals and providers to get every patient covered. This includes free-of-charge options for uninsured patients and co-pay assistance programs.</p>
<p>Rothenberg defended Daraprim's price, saying that the company will use the money it makes from sales to further research treatments for toxoplasmosis. They also plan to invest in marketing and education tools to make people more aware of the disease.</p>
<p>“There has been no innovation in dealing with toxoplasmosis,” Rothenberg said. “That has been a long neglect in the patient community.”</p>
</div> Ireland’s Social Revolution:…tag:teebeedee.ning.com,2015-06-29:1991841:Comment:17544192015-06-29T00:18:42.925ZAngharadhttp://teebeedee.ning.com/profile/Angharad
<h1 class="pageTitle">Ireland’s Social Revolution: Traditionally Catholic Nation Makes History with Marriage Equality Vote</h1>
<p>In a historic victory for marriage equality, Ireland has become the first country in the world to approve same-sex marriage via popular vote. By a 62-to-38 margin, the people of Ireland voted a resounding "yes" for equality in a national referendum on Friday. This signals what some are calling a "social revolution" in the traditionally conservative Catholic country.…</p>
<h1 class="pageTitle">Ireland’s Social Revolution: Traditionally Catholic Nation Makes History with Marriage Equality Vote</h1>
<p>In a historic victory for marriage equality, Ireland has become the first country in the world to approve same-sex marriage via popular vote. By a 62-to-38 margin, the people of Ireland voted a resounding "yes" for equality in a national referendum on Friday. This signals what some are calling a "social revolution" in the traditionally conservative Catholic country. Ireland’s constitution will now be amended to say that two people can marry "without distinction as to their sex." The turnout was one of the highest in the country’s history and came after a robust civic campaign led by human rights activists, trade unions, celebrities and employers. Ireland’s referendum reflects a sea change in a country where homosexuality was decriminalized just two decades ago and where 70 percent of the population still identifies as Roman Catholic.</p> TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015
Irelan…tag:teebeedee.ning.com,2015-06-29:1991841:Comment:17543542015-06-29T00:08:10.101ZAngharadhttp://teebeedee.ning.com/profile/Angharad
<p><span class="show-date">TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015</span> <span class="show-links"><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/shows/2015/5/26"><br></br></a></span></p>
<div id="top-video-content"><div id="top-video-left"><div id="content-item-wrapper"><h1 class="pageTitle">Ireland’s Social Revolution: Traditionally Catholic Nation Makes History with Marriage Equality Vote</h1>
<p>In a historic victory for marriage equality, Ireland has become the first country in the world to approve same-sex marriage via…</p>
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<p><span class="show-date">TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015</span> <span class="show-links"><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/shows/2015/5/26"><br/></a></span></p>
<div id="top-video-content"><div id="top-video-left"><div id="content-item-wrapper"><h1 class="pageTitle">Ireland’s Social Revolution: Traditionally Catholic Nation Makes History with Marriage Equality Vote</h1>
<p>In a historic victory for marriage equality, Ireland has become the first country in the world to approve same-sex marriage via popular vote. By a 62-to-38 margin, the people of Ireland voted a resounding "yes" for equality in a national referendum on Friday. This signals what some are calling a "social revolution" in the traditionally conservative Catholic country. Ireland’s constitution will now be amended to say that two people can marry "without distinction as to their sex." The turnout was one of the highest in the country’s history and came after a robust civic campaign led by human rights activists, trade unions, celebrities and employers. Ireland’s referendum reflects a sea change in a country where homosexuality was decriminalized just two decades ago and where 70 percent of the population still identifies as Roman Catholic. </p>
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</div> Gay High School Student Del…tag:teebeedee.ning.com,2015-06-28:1991841:Comment:17543532015-06-28T23:11:20.325ZAngharadhttp://teebeedee.ning.com/profile/Angharad
<p><iframe frameborder="0" height="291" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mx0Uaev6KAU?wmode=opaque" width="517"></iframe>
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<h1 class="yt watch-title-container"><span class="watch-title" dir="ltr" id="eow-title" title="Exclusive: Gay High School Student Delivers Valedictorian Speech He Was Barred from Giving">Gay High School Student Delivers Valedictorian Speech He Was Barred from Giving</span></h1>
<div id="watch-uploader-info"><strong class="watch-time-text">Published on Jun 1,…</strong></div>
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<h1 class="yt watch-title-container"><span id="eow-title" class="watch-title" dir="ltr" title="Exclusive: Gay High School Student Delivers Valedictorian Speech He Was Barred from Giving">Gay High School Student Delivers Valedictorian Speech He Was Barred from Giving</span></h1>
<div id="watch-uploader-info"><strong class="watch-time-text">Published on Jun 1, 2015</strong></div>
<div id="watch-description-text"><p id="eow-description"><a href="http://democracynow.org/" target="_blank" title="http://democracynow.org" rel="nofollow" dir="ltr" class="yt-uix-redirect-link">http://democracynow.org</a></p>
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<p><span class="watch-title" dir="ltr" title="Exclusive: Gay High School Student Delivers Valedictorian Speech He Was Barred from Giving"><span>Eighteen-year-old Evan Young was supposed to be the 2015 class valedictorian of Twin Peaks Charter Academy High School in Longmont, Colorado. But his principal prevented him from giving his graduation speech after learning he would announce he is gay. Instead, two weeks later, Young got to give his speech at an Out Boulder fundraiser before an audience of hundreds, a number of them politicians who congratulated him for his bravery. We air Young’s full address and speak to him about his experience.</span></span></p>