The Latest

Marijuana Causes Psychosis? Yes. No. Maybe. Paid for by Big Pharma!

An article about marijuana published on CNN.com today contradicts itself several times, and in the end admits the researchers were paid by anti marijuana organizations and Big Pharma. Articles like this do not provide any useful information, and are used to instill fear and propaganda. The following quotes are from the same article!



" Using marijuana seems to increase the chance of becoming psychotic..."


" The researchers said they couldn't prove that marijuana use itself increases the risk of psychosis..."


"We've reached the end of the road with these kinds of studies," said Dr. Robin Murray of King's College, who had no role in the Lancet study. "Experts are now agreed on the connection between cannabis and psychoses. What we need now is for 14-year-olds to know it."


" Two of the authors of the study were invited experts on the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs Cannabis Review in 2005. Several authors reported being paid to attend drug company-sponsored meetings related to marijuana, and one received consulting fees from companies that make antipsychotic medications."

Queer Struggle and the D.C. Fall Encampment

Hi Everyone, this is my first post :)

The approximately 25 of us who created the asktellact coalition and brought our antiwar message to pride this year made history. From my vantage point there was definitely something about corporate pride's "proud to serve" theme this year that really got people's blood boiling!

As I see it, radical queer youth are balancing 2-3 jobs, trying to maintain necessary social support networking, dealing with possibilities of bashing and discrimination at any time etc. I believe our common everyday struggles are what radicalize us, "being determines consciousness". We could pass, but those of us in the struggle don't and those of us who aren't white, or who speak with an accen,t can't.

Not so much different from what I experienced in the 60's despite the many gains we have won through struggle since then. A different war, (Vietnam War) but the same entrenched war-monster pentagon, the same daily racial profiling, the same immigrant-bashing.

Question: as local queers what are our organizational and tactical goals? Do we wait for the next horror show to happen and then respond in protest? And then wait for the next assault and respond to it etc, etc.. Or do we consciously and intentionally build a movement out of our shared feelings of oppression and our belief in showing solidarity to the struggles of others especially racial struggle like that of the four lesbians of color who just got 3-11 yrs for defending themselves in a brutal attack in NYC? (http://www.fiercenyc.org/updates_events/) I guess it would mean taking social networking and support energies and finding a little time out for discussion, theoretical analysis.

I am helping to organize the antiwar encampment on the Washington Mall, the weekend of Sept 22-29 (www.troopsoutnow.org) and there is room for us to create a presence there to reflect our lives and struggles. This project would benefit greatly from more involvement.

Gerry Scoppettuolo
Stonewall Warriors



Anti-Violence Project Questions Provincetown

The Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project today sent a Public Records Act request to Acting Chief Warren Tobias of the Provincetown Police Department. On Monday, the Town of Provincetown rejected the group’s call for an investigation into the use of force in connection with the July 14th arrest of Boston Disc Jockey Barry Scott. Mr. Scott was injured in the course of the violent arrest, which was prompted by allegations that he was playing his famous “Lost 45’s” too loudly at a back yard birthday party. Provincetown also rejected pleas that charges against Mr. Scott be dropped given the significant civil liberties concerns surrounding the episode, particularly the warrantless entry onto private property to effect the arrest and the disregard of Mr. Scott’s First Amendment free speech rights.

“There are a lot of unanswered questions raised by this very troubling arrest, and the Town of Provincetown is unwilling even to look into them,” said Don Gorton, the group’s Chairperson. “Accordingly, we have launched our own inquiry into serious concerns relating to police practice and procedures that this episode has brought to light,” Gorton continued.

Among the causes for concern are questions about poor training and inadequate screening and supervision of college-age “seasonal officers” employed for the summer, and the heavy-handed police response to complaints about non-criminal noise violations. Other questions relate to police sensitivity to cultural diversity—the party broken up was attended by gay men, while the arresting officers, Bova and Barone, are reportedly heterosexual; the detention of individuals in “protective custody”—Mr. Scott’s partner was placed in a jail cell without medical care for the night though accused of no crime; Provincetown’s ability to respond optimally to sexual orientation-based hate crimes; and Provincetown’s administrative remedies for instances of police misconduct.

Given the Acting Chief’s refusal to turn over information about the arrest to the press voluntarily, the Anti-Violence Project is seeking all relevant documents within the scope of the Massachusetts Public Records Law. If agency heads fail to provide requested public documents, the law allows for an appeal to be taken to the Secretary of State’s Office. The orders of that office are judicially enforceable. The Anti-Violence Project has established a Legal Defense Fund to assist Mr. Scott in fighting the charges.

Trevor's Coming Out Party / MTPC Fundraiser!








In one of Brian Camenker's historically inaccurate report on youth pride, he captioned a photo of me with:













"Trevor Wright, the transgender activist who works for BAGLY, the transgender teen group. Currently dressed as a male, though that could change at any time. A very angry, disturbed kid."










Here is the photo:



(Photo By Amy Contrada (C) MassResistance)
I really like this photo! Do I look angry or disturbed?











So in the spirit of coming out, I AM!



If you want to know what I'm coming out as, come to the party!






Where: My apartment in the South End!




When: August 4th from 8-10pm




Why: Fundraiser for MTPC ($15 suggested donation at the door)



Contact: Trevor trevor.william.wright@gmail.com for directions and any questions.



If you can not make it to the event but would like to donate, Click HERE!






The Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) is dedicated to ending discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression. We educate the public, lobby state and local government, encourage political activism, and empower community members through collective action.



The MTPC's work is guided by the following values: equal rights and institutional responsibility; working against all forms of oppression; building broad-based participation and community power; developing leaders and building coalitions; drawing strength from diverse experiences and identities; being informed by our history and elders; growing through challenge and critique; being inclusive of those who cannot be fully visible; and accountability to the communities for which we work.






Big Pharma Week: The Ultimate Drug Ad (MUSICAL!)

The almighty productive GLAAD is hard at work!

(See here for other blog posts by Jon Freeman.)

Sean Delonas with the New York Post blessed all our hearts with this beauty of Jim McGreevey:


In response, GLAAD has called us into action for this "gratuitous vulgar anti-gay cartoon." As usual, GLAAD is fighting hard!! So, what specifically is so defaming and anti-gay about this depiction? Because it takes a white ex-governor saturated with mainstream respectability and dethrones him into the hapless pit of 'pathetic disgusting drag queen impersonating trans blah' and castrates him into this 'pathetic woman' figure that no longer meets the warm (often superficial) embrace that straight liberals offer the LG(BT) community? Even if I wanted to stake up an argument that problematizes simply labeling this as "homophobic," I can certainly see how some might find it so.


Far more importantly, what's worse is that this reminds me of the old anti-pornography feminist debates. Anti-pornography feminists like Catherine McKinnon used to rave on how pornography is degrading to women, is coercive, and how it reinforces cultural and sexual attitudes that deride and disenfranchise women. They went as far as getting obscenity laws passed in Canada that had the capacity to take certain "obscene" materials out of commission. Anti-pornography feminists celebrated this success which allegedly had the power to take down pornography and patriarchy at once, until the first time the obscenity law was ever used---ironically on a gay bookstore in Ontario. The bookstore was selling copies of a lesbian S&M magazine---THE HORROR. Anti-anti pornography feminists---those feminists who were opposed to Catherine McKinnon and people fighting to take down porno and 'obscene' or 'offensive' or women-deriding materials---ironically had warned anti-pornography feminists from the get-go that the state would use the 'obscenity' space that these feminists cracked open in order to crack down on material that inevitably the state feels is the most obscene: that vulgar crap that dykes and fags and all those homos produce.


Finally, the debates defused when anti-anti pornography feminists made it resoundingly clear that censorship of materials--no matter how one might feel to be derisive or misogynist or exploitative--is not only a conservative and Cold War tactic that goes against the grain of feminist ideologies in general, but narrowmindedly misses that pornography in some instances can be and is feminist, demonstrates intolerance to sexual difference, negates that pornography has diffuse and multiple purposes for all sorts of various people, and worst of all, is complicit in conservative defenses of the sexual status quo. These feminists, if wanting to make a difference in pornography or bring down defamatory materials against women, would propose to radically alter or reform pornography by working both in and out of the system. It is pointless and ineffective to wholesale to reject or "counteridentify with" the entire industry, especially when you try to make use of things like legislative campaigns and recruit government support.


WORST of all, however, in my opinion (and getting back to my main point), is where anti-pornography feminists just missed the boat altogether. What good is it--especially as a feminist--to regulate or control culturally-produced materials? Other than being blatant censorship, it de-contextualizes the actual materials as if they're free-floating offensive manifestations of hate. And of course, many times these materials are offensive and hateful. But if there are people who have the right to opine and the right to free speech and the entitlement to thoughts in this country of ours, what good is it really to try and suppress these people's productions? If they have the desire and the thought, the cognitions and the emotions, and the associations, in their heads and choose to express themselves, what are we doing to regulate the end-products of these defamers? We're just silencing and forgetting about what underlied these productions. Again, mainstream LG(BT) is practicing what they're best at: tunnel vision.


Bringing it back, why do we have GLAAD to be our watch dogs and attempt to censor materials that are deemed "offensive" and "hating" of gays?. Other than being suppressive, conservative, and undemocratic, GLAAD thwarts efforts that ought to be aimed at reworking cultural assumptions, stereotypes, associations, and attitudes about gays from both inside the system and out. We must playfully and creatively reproduce materials and disseminate knowledge that counteracts or posits new ideas and challenges hateful social concepts that are reflected (and themselves are not) in materials such as Sean Delonas' crack at Jim McGreevey. It is crucial that we understand the idea that these images only reflect more important underlying cultural presumptions that we need to co-opt and re-author. We cannot go "call on" the gays or instate the aid of abiding institutions or the government or the courts to banish the production of such materials and prohibit the free expression of ideas--no matter how unfortunate we find these ideas to be. How better are we than right-wing conservatives in such an instance? Not any better. Instead, we need to focus on what is behind these productions. We must be creative and thoughtful in producing tactics and rhetoric to rework the associations and the ideas and the hatred that we refuse to submit to any longer. We need to fight ideas and cultural knowledge and systems of oppression, not pathetic New York Post jabs.

Chuck & Larry: Racist, Sexist, Anti-gay and GLAAD Approved

In "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry," actors Adam Sandler and Kevin James pretend to be domestic partners to get certain benefits (the plot doesn't even make sense). To me the most offensive thing about this movie is that Rob Schneider plays an Asian wedding chapel owner. And there is a running joke that Chuck is the "woman" in the relationship. GLAAD and AfterEllen.com point out some of the problems, but are quick to praise Sandler for his positive portrayal of gays in the past, and for the movie's "good intentions." To the credit of AfterEllen, they conclude by calilng it "forgattable crap." Click Here for GLAAD's Bull Shit Review. Click Here for AfterEllen.com.
This is an over-the-top comedy that conveys a strong message of equality. - GLAAD's Damon Romine

GLAAD has been pissing me off ever since they hired their Republican Executive Director.

Big Pharma Week: Pharma Rep Speaks Out

U.S. soldier charged with not telling sex partner he was HIV-positive

RALEIGH, North Carolina: Military and civilian authorities have charged an HIV-positive soldier with assault with a deadly weapon, accusing him of having unprotected sex with a partner he did not tell about the infection.


Military and civilian prosecutors have not decided who will prosecute the case against Pfc. Johnny Lamar Dalton, said Maj. Tom Earnhardt, a spokesman for the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg.


Dalton, 25, was arrested last week and was being held Tuesday in county jail on a $50,000 (€36,308) bond, said sheriff's department spokeswoman Debbi Tanna. She said inmates were not allowed to give interviews, and a jailer said the soldier had not been appointed an attorney.


Along with the assault count, Dalton faces civilian charges of committing a crime against nature and misdemeanor assault inflicting serious injury. Earnhardt said he faces the same charges in the military's criminal justice system.


More....

Big Pharma Week: Rumsfeld's Gilead

The Public Patent Foundation is asking the US Patent & Trademark Office to review the patents for Gilead's HIV/AIDS drug Viread. Viread is the drug that Gilead promoted at Latino Pride this year. We reported that they collected names and addresses of attendees in exchange for free t-shirts. You see, drug companies use a myriad of tactics to extend their own patents and delay the availability of patents of other companies, particularly generic drug manufacturers, so that they can charge outrageous prices with no competition.




"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will not allow anyone other than Gilead distribute certain AIDS drugs in the United States because Gilead claims the four challenged patents give them the exclusive right to do so." - pharmalot But advocacy groups have a different take on the matter. "Every person suffering from HIV/AIDS has a right to get the best medical treatment science can offer, without any unjustified impediments placed in their way," said Dan Ravicher, Public Patent Foundation Executive Director. "This includes Americans infected with HIV/AIDS, who are entitled to the best pharmaceuticals possible without undeserved patents making them exorbitantly expensive." Click here for Public Patent Foundation's full report on Gilead>
Source: Pharmalot





It is time for the LGBT community to ban Big Pharma from our events and publications.

More... Is the industry is targeting LGBT teens with dangerous anti-depressants and corrupt non-profit organizations by hosting a "white party?"

video from democrat's rally late last night

Below is a video clip from the Dem's rally last night from Washington. It is sad most of them (Dems) do not have the courage to do more, but perhaps this is a start. At least we are hopefully inching slowly toward ending this war at this point.

police brutality in p-town?

Please see Knowthyneighbor.org for details.



Mass. woman sues IRS over sex-change tax deduction

From the Boston Globe:
By Denise Lavoie, Associated Press Writer | July 16, 2007

BOSTON --After a tormented existence as a father, a husband, a Coast Guardsman and a construction worker, a 57-year-old suburban Boston man underwent a sex-change operation. Then she wrote off the $25,000 in medical expenses on her taxes.

But the IRS disallowed the deduction -- ruling the procedure was cosmetic, not a medical necessity -- in a potentially precedent-setting dispute now before the U.S. Tax Court.

(continue here)

Big Pharma Week 2007: Big Pharma, Big Bucks!

Big Bucks, Big Pharma: Clip from the documentary...



July 16, 2007: It's (Drug advertising) an almost uniquely American phenomenon. Only one other country in the world -- New Zealand -- allows drug companies to market their products directly to consumers. All others deem it too dangerous. However unusual, marketing drugs to consumers has become a huge business. Since 1997, when the FDA relaxed the rules on Big Pharma's television marketing, drug advertising surged to $5.3 billion in 2006, up 14% from 2005, according to TNS Media Intelligence. Ad spending in the pharma sector grew faster than that of any other industry among the top 10 spenders, including autos and telecom. And the three most heavily advertised drugs -- Lunesta and Ambien CR for sleep, Cymbalta for depression -- were approved just in the past three years. Read the full article at Yahoo.com >
What do you think? Should the LGBT media ban drug advertisements? Should LGBT non-profits stop taking money from Big Pharma? Does Big Pharma $ influence advocacy decisions of AIDS organizations? Should Boston Pride ban Big Pharma?

QueerToday.com: Big Pharma Week 2007

Big Pharma Week 2007: Side-effects of QueerToday's Big Pharma Week may include an uptake in knowledge, bursts of outrage that could cause one to protest or ask probing questions, increased procrastination, increased excitement that could result in unexpected urination, and paranoia. For more information about Big Pharma Week, ask your doctor if he takes money and gifts from drug companies.








From Sunday July 15 through Sunday July 22 I will be focusing my blogging on the pharmaceutical industry. Each day I will be posting links, videos, commentary, and other fun stuff. If anyone would like to write a guest post about this issue, please contact me at markdanielsnyder@gmail.com.









And now for a teaser of what is to come... take a look at this Simpsons spoof on Big Pharma, and let us know what you think in the comments section.








And speaking of the Simpsons... check out this take on the Apu controversy!

George Bush Hates Children

Just in From Families USA. I am surprised at the strong language Families USA uses in their most recent e-mail alert considering they are usually rather mainstream. This is serious folks, please take 30 seconds to call congress and fight against Bush's war on children.

Shocking even the staunchest Republicans in the Senate, President Bush has threatened to veto a bipartisan bill to provide health care to millions of American children who desperately need it.

Even more surprising was his advice to the 9 million uninsured children and 36 million uninsured adults should they ever have the misfortune of getting sick while he's still President: Go to the emergency room.

"I mean, people have access to health care in America. After all, you just go to an emergency room." -- President George W. Bush (Cleveland, 7/10/07)

Senator Charles Grassley, Republican leader of the Finance Committee, and Senator Orrin Hatch, Republican leader of the Subcommittee on Health, couldn't believe the President's veto threat and issued the following rebuke to the leader of their Party:

"Its disappointing, even a little unbelievable, to hear talk about Administration officials wanting a veto of a legislative proposal they haven't even seen yet - because it isn't even finalized yet. The President ought to give Congress a chance to offer a proposal first. As Republican leaders on the committee of jurisdiction, we've been working day and night to reach an agreement on children's health insurance legislation because it is imperative that this important program, which has helped so many children, be continued."

In a move that would snatch access to medicine out of the hands of children who currently have it, President Bush is pushing to reduce funding for children's health to only 10% of the amount that Congress budgeted earlier this year.

Call 1-800-828-0498 or click here to send an email to Congress.

Please urge your Senators and Representative to oppose President Bush's war on children and support full funding for Children's Health.

Thank you,

Jeff Gordon
Field Director

Budget Victories!

I just got this from PPLM.


Federal Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Funding--Vetoed!


Governor Patrick has vetoed budget language that would allow for ongoing acceptance of federal abstinence-only-until-marriage funding. Thanks to Governor Patrick's earlier decision to refuse this funding, reinforced by his veto today, Massachusetts has joined the growing list of states (now up to ten) that are refusing funding for these harmful and misleading programs. This is a major victory for the young people of Massachusetts!



Family Planning Program Funding Increased by 22%!


Governor Patrick has endorsed the funding level approved by the Legislature for the Department of Public Health's Family Planning Program, an increase of 22%! This both restores the 6% funding cut that family planning providers suffered in the current fiscal year, and provides an overall increase of $1 million for these programs. This is a terrific step toward addressing the unmet need for family planning services in our state.



Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program Funding Increased to $3.8 million!


Governor Patrick has approved the $800,000 funding increase in the line item for teen pregnancy prevention programs that was passed by the Legislature. These programs have contributed to a 40% drop in the teen birth rate, saving the Commonwealth atleast $100 million per year.

Giuliani

The International Association of Fire Fighters released today the following video that exposes just some of Giuliani's lies.

more moore please

Michael Moore is passionately telling the truth about Big Pharma, and the war. If you haven't seen SICKO yet, run to the theater and see it now! Also, watch Moore slam CNN last night, and watch again tonight on Larry King Live as he puts CNN's resident doctor (who is sponsored by Big Pharma) to the test. Then chat with Moore live on the huffington post. Click here for all the details!

Call the Governor!! VICTORY!

Please call the governor today and ask him to veto line 4513-9084 in the budget.
Line 4513-9084 provides money for abstinence education in public schools.
We know abstinence education is a waste of money. Please give him a call today!!



Office Phone- 617.725.4005

You can't call San Francisco 'sicko'

San Francisco Chronical: Ying Fei Feng waited months for Monday to arrive. She'd seen a news story on the local Chinese TV station about San Francisco attempting to become the first city in the nation to provide universal health care to its residents and made a mental note of the program's start date.

The 54-year-old set out from her home the Sunset District, rode Muni all the way across the city and walked into the lobby of North East Medical Services, a nonprofit health care center on the border of North Beach and Chinatown.

She walked past bouquets of brightly colored balloons marking the occasion and into a small office, where she waited her turn to talk to an intake worker. She had a simple question: How do I sign up for Healthy San Francisco?

"Oh, I'm very happy," she said in Cantonese. "I've wanted something like this to happen for a long time. I heard about it in April, and I've been waiting."

So have the city's elected leaders, who in a rare display of unanimity agreed last summer to begin providing health care to all San Franciscans. At a time when the broken state of the health care system is at center stage -- in the race for president in 2008 and at movie theaters where Michael Moore's documentary "Sicko" is filling a lot of seats -- San Francisco is the first city in the country to try to tackle the problem itself. KEEP READING >

Queer Youth Study!

This article ran in this weeks In Newsweekly.





------------------------


BAGLY picked as site for queer youth study
LOOKING FOR 200 YOUTH AGES 14-19 TO PARTICIPATE; RESULTS WILL BE USED STATEWIDE




Boston is one of five locations nationwide to roll out a survey for queer youth between the ages of 14 and 19 that, when completed, will be used by state youth service providers as a tool in implementing new programs.




The National Institute of Health awarded the grant funding the survey, which was created by David Huebner of the University of Maryland Department of Psychology. Huebner earlier this year asked BAGLY if they were interested in being a study site and since it fit the BAGLY mission, a partnership was soon formed.




Along with Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and two other locations still to be determined will be survey sites and tasked with surveying a sample of 200 youth who identify as LGBTQ or who have had a same-sex sexual partner within the last year.
"This study is very important to our community. With the firm backing of the NIH, organizations around the country will have comprehensive data to present for funding and to better serve the youth that are accessing their services," said Trevor Wright, a volunteer at BAGLY who is coordinating the Boston survey. "It is a challenge getting youth to come up to the office and take the survey. It works much better when recruiting and implementing the survey in the youth spaces."




To that end, Wright is also working with Boston GLASS Community Center, a drop-in center for queer youth, to recruit survey participants.


------------------------------------------------



If anyone has any ideas for how I can recruit 14-19 year old queer youth to take the survey can you e-mail me @ dash.boston@gmail.com. I have been working on this since April and only have 50..... Your advice would help a lot!



D.A.S.H. being the name of the whole study that was not mentioned in the article. (Diverse Adolescent, Sexuality and Heath study.) And I am being paid by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (I am not volunteering.)