Reports, proud muckraking, photos, videos and musings from the veteran LGBT and AIDS human rights advocate Michael Petrelis. Based in San Francisco since 1995.
Contact: MPetrelis_at_AOL_dot_com.
Vote Petrelis for BART Board District 9 in November!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
CDC Admits Error: AIDS Over-Estimated for 2001 - 2005
Some very interesting HIV/AIDS revisions out of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta this morning.
The federal agency is acknowledging over-estimating infections/full-blown cases in recent years, while also claiming the higher numbers did not affect federally-funded assistance programs for persons with HIV/AIDS.
Not sure how this was possible, since local health departments of public health and AIDS agencies surely used the original numbers to apply for and potentially receive more federal dollars. Knowing that the San Francisco DPH, how shall I put this, can be very creative when counting HIV infections and AIDS cases, it would not surprise me to learn other local DPHs have been as creative in tallying up such things, given how many millions of dollars are at stake.
I simply don't accept the CDC's claim that the over-estimates didn't mean more federal money for the DPHs, but I'll leave it to other government watchdogs to ask tough questions about the original AIDS stats and the downward revisions.
From the current CDC Weekly Morbidity and Mortality Report:
Each year the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention at CDC publishes an HIV/AIDS surveillance report. On June 28, 2007, CDC published online a revised 2005 report to correct an error in the calculation of the number of estimated AIDS cases for the period 2001--2005; this error resulted in an overestimate of 2% for the period 2001--2005 and 8.3% for the year 2005 . . .
CDC identified the error when reviewing computer programs in preparation for analyzing data for the 2006 report. An error in the computer code used to adjust for reporting delays in AIDS cases led to overestimation of AIDS cases for the period 2001--2005. Because 20% of AIDS cases typically are reported >1 year after diagnosis with AIDS, estimates are used to adjust for reporting delays and to allow for evaluation of data from recent years. The error has been corrected, and a complete external review of procedures for data estimation and validity checks has been conducted to ensure that this type of error does not occur again.
The error affected only estimated AIDS cases for the period 2001--2005, including those AIDS cases for which HIV and AIDS were diagnosed concurrently . . .
The error did not affect data used to allocate funding for major HIV/AIDS assistance and treatment programs administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration and the Department of Housing and Urban Development; only reported cases are used for allocation of resources administered via the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS.
The overestimate of AIDS cases was 2% for the period 2001--2005 and 8.3% for 2005. Because some AIDS cases are diagnosed concurrently with HIV infection, a small overestimate of HIV/AIDS cases also occurred (0.4% for 2001--2005; 2% in 2005).
The corrected estimates for 2005 are 40,608 estimated AIDS cases for the 50 states and the District of Columbia and 37,331 estimated HIV/AIDS cases for the 33 states with longstanding HIV reporting.
While there was a ten percent decrease in total estimated new [HIV] cases, this seemingly modest decrease is actually a much greater prevention success than it appears.
From 2001 to 2006, the estimated number of gay men living in San Francisco increased from 46,800 to 58,343.
The increase was likely due to real growth in the gay community and, potentially, in part the result of an underestimation of the population size in 2001.
When the effect of the increase in the population size of MSM is taken into account, new infections have decreased by an estimated 33 percent. [Emphasis added]
Monday, June 25, 2007
Aug 4 = Global Gay Solidarity Day in Six Cities, Organizers Needed
After discussions with several activists in many countries and cities about organizing an international same-day coordinated action this summer, activists in five other cities have stepped forward to join with gay Swedes on August 4 in solidarity marches.
August 4 is when Stockholm stages its annual gay Pride parade and celebration, and on that Saturday members of Tupilak, a gay and lesbian cultural workers collective, will march on foreign embassies in solidarity with LGBT people everywhere.
Here is the list of cities and contacts for August 4:
Each city will decide how it will stand in solidarity on August 4 with LGBT people across the planet, what sort of action will be organized and where it will be held, along with a theme related to protecting the human rights of all gays.
Depending on a given country's gay human rights record, some vigils will demand respect for gays and other actions will offer public thanks for advancements.
Some cities like New York, San Francisco and Stockholm will march on a few embassies and consulates; while in Washington activists will hold a speak out at the South African embassy to praise that country's great leaps forward for LGBT equality.
Activists in other cities and towns are asked to volunteer to participate in the August 4 international day of LGBT solidarity.
If you live in a location with foreign embassies or consulates, please consider organizing an event there on August 4.
And if you reside in a city lacking foreign government offices, you can still participate in the international August 4 solidarity actions by organizing a vigil or speak out in your local gay neighborhood or community center.
These are messages of support from Lars in Mexico and Bill in Sweden that I hope will motivate you and your friends to mobilize for August 4, which is about six weeks from today, leaving plenty of time to organize, organize, organize for global gay solidarity.
From our friend and lead organizer in Mexico City:
As we have expressed before, in Mexico City, we are very much in favour of 4 August as the International Day of Solidarity. What we want to do here, is to organise a large outdoor community event on Saturday in the heart of our pink neighbourhood during the day with many different activities, artistic events and information stands by different groups and organisations.
During the month of July the participating organisations, will collect signatures via their webpages, and on 4 August, we will collect signatures all day long in the actual event.
Then, on Monday after the event, the committee (which now has representatives from 10 different organisations in Mexico City) will go to the Embassy and deliver our letter.
We had an emotional, but very productive and interesting debate here about how to call the event, and we have ended up with this title in Spanish for the event in Mexico City: Dia de Solidaridad Global de las Diversidades.
Mexico has an overwhelming cultural diversity, and many ethnic and cultural communities in Mexico have various traditional gender and sexual identities, which cannot be easily fit into the label LGBTTTQ. The most well-known example are the Muxe in Oaxaca in the south of Mexico, where local Muxe activists often have felt intimidated and threatened by westernised urban middle class activists who have attempted to integrate them into one of the trans-categories.
Many Mexican regions also have several categories of homosexual men with traditional identities in their communities that reject being labelled as "gay" because this is an imported and alienating term that for them refers to the shining westernised gay subcultures of the big cities and not to anything related to their realities.
I think that we all share the hope that the Global Solidarity Day will develop into something really global, which hopefully in the future also will be celebrated in places like India, the Middle East or Africa with multitudes of traditional sexual and gender identities that may not fit into any of the Western LGBTTTQ categories, but should definitely feel included here.
Therefore, we wanted to share this reflection with you, and tell you why we will promote this day in Mexico as "Global Diversities Solidarity Day" rather than Gay Solidarity Day or LGBT Solidarity Day this year.
If anyone has any thoughts about these issues, please let us know. Our discussion here will certainly continue since we also consider it important that this day, being a Global initiative, also has a global identity and more or less the same name in all languages, so we definitely appreciate global input on this.
Best wishes Lars
And this message is from our good buddy and chief organizer in Sweden:
Dear Mikael and colleagues!
Thanks for the flood of e-mails concerning August 4 as a day of international rainbow solidarity! Great to see new cities and new ideas jumping onto to the list!
I think the planned salute to South Africa is a smashing idea -- a healthy balance of praise and outrage -- showing what has to be done and what is being accomplished!
Would only like to comment that from our Nordic/Baltic perspective, the reluctant decisions to finally give green lights to pride parades in Poland and Latvia are very new -- with enormous homophobic forces trying to turn back the clocks -- so a "well done" message to Polish and Latvia consulates and embassies could be good "pats on the back" for those progressive elements facing much resistance at home.
If you're making placards or signs naming countries, of course Russia should be high on the list after this year's renewed anti-pride violence. And Belarus (White Russia) -- the last dicatorship of Eastern Europe -- where rainbows are in chains and where prides and international rainbow gatherings unthinkable.
We also urge you to put Lithuania on your list if you can. Their request last month to unfurl a big, rainbow flag in a downtown square in Vilnius during their first "Rainbow Days" in Vilnius was rejected by the city authorities for "security and moral reasons." Lithuania also then became the first European Union member to ban a travelling EU information bus handing out leaflets against discrimination because it included rainbow rights. "No Pride" religious fanatics and other homophobes were allowed to demonstrate in Vilnius against a pride event that never took place! Our colleagues in Vilnius could really use an international boost and a cheer from somewhere like Mexico City or San Francisco!
The list of "candidates" is long. But every nation mentioned on August 4 of course also stands for those next door or on the other side of the globe.
Proud to be with such an international crowd who cares.
Hugs, Bill Schiller, for the International Lesbian & Gay Cultural Network Information Secretariat in Stockholm
Friday, June 15, 2007
Where Are Ed Jew's Mug Shots?
Today's Ed Jew question: Where are his mug shots from Tuesday night when he turned himself in to the Burlingame Police Department?
I haven't seen his booking photos anywhere in the San Francisco media or on the web, three days after surrounding to the authorities. I know there are mug shots because the Burlingame Police Department press release says for copies of them, one should contact the SF District Attorney's Office.
A few minutes ago, I emailed Deb Mesloh, public information officer for the SF DA, requesting Jew's mug shots, in electronic format.
Let's see how quickly she gets me copies of those pictures. By the way, the SF DA has not posted any the photos on her site, nor is any mention made of them in DA Kamala Harris' news release.
Mr. Jew’s arrest, booking, and subsequent release on bail took place without incident. For further information about Mr. Jew’s arrest, booking photos, criminal charges, and bail amount, contact the San Francisco District Attorney’s office.
The Burlingame Police Department will not be releasing further information.
Commander Bradley D. Floyd Services, Investigations Division Burlingame Police Department 1111 Trousdale Dr. Burlingame CA. 94010 650-777-4131 650-777-4100 floyd@burlingamepolice.org
So where are the mug shots already? From NBC 11 News:
Burlingame police Sgt. Jeff Downs said Jew posted 10 percent, or $13,500 bail. The remaining 90 percent was posted through a bail bonds agency, Downs said. Jew's mug shot would be released later, he said.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Ed Jew: Time to Resign!
I went to City Hall this afternoon to deliver a message to beleagured Supervisor Ed Jew: it's time for you to resign from the Board of Supes. As a member of the City Operations and Neighborhood Services committee, Jew was supposed to be present at the meeting today, scheduled to start at 1:00 pm.
When I arrived at his office, a good dozen-plus reporters and cameramen were staked outside, waiting for him to emerge. Longtime queer housing transgender activist Robert Haaland came along and he kindly consented to snap these two shots of me mingling with the media. Thanks Robert!
As Jew came out of his office, with a sheriff's deputy clearing a path for him through the press thicket, I shouted, "Do San Francisco a favor and resign!"
Well after the official start time of the committee meeting, it was gaveled to order. Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier quickly moved the agenda to an item that I can't recall right now, but one that required her to allow for public comment.
Holding my sign chest-level, I took a few moments of public comment time to again ask Jew to do San Francisco a favor and resign from the Board. Alioto-Pier immediately reminded me my remarks were out of order, so I stopped talking and stepped away from the microphone.
Why did I do all this? Because Jew, by remaining on the Board and unable to prove District 4 residency, makes an outrageous mockery of the electoral process and simple basic democratic values.
Sure, he is innocent of all pending civil and criminal charges until proved guilty or the charges dismissed, but his unwillingness and inability to prove not only District 4 residency but San Francisco residency is a charade that must end.
Ed Jew: Resign!
State Senator Carole Migden's East Bay Deed
For many years I've heard the rumor about San Francisco State Senator Carole Migden not being a full-time resident of the city. People have said she really lives and spends most of her time in the East Bay, with her longtime companion Cristina Arguedas, a criminal defense attorney with an office in downtown Berkeley.
What with all the recent news and controversy over Ed Jew, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors who can't prove he lives in the Sunset district he was elected to represent and seems have stronger residential ties to the city of Burlingame, I decided to search through Alameda County public records for any real estate files on Migden.
The most interesting document to turn up relates to a deed with Migden's name. Now just because her name is on a deed in Alameda County does not necessarily mean she lives there. Migden could simply own property over there and this shouldn't imply she doesn't meet legal requirements as a San Francisco resident and elected official.
Unlike Jew, who gives every indication of being politically clueless and woefully ignorant of many laws, Migden is an intelligent legislator and savvy operative. It's impossible for me to think she, and her attorney girlfriend, would be as dumb as Jew and not be able to produce voluminous proof she resides in the State Senate district she represents in Sacramento.
However, now is a good time to ask all of San Francisco's elected officials, at every level, to prove they are legally domiciled in the residence they claim is theirs and in the district they represent.
Freedom to Marry: 40th Anniversay of "Loving" Decision
Today marks the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court's groundbreaking decision Loving v. Virginia, a case that overturned laws prohibiting interracial marriages because of their unconstitutionality.
I recently publicized a wedding notice in the New York Times from two lesbians, Thea Spyer and Edith Windsor, who've loved each other for decades.
Their announcement about how they met, forged a life together and had to travel to Canada to exchange vows, despite substantial financial burden and debilitating medical conditions, touched many of us. The love, commitment and bravery of Thea and Edith makes them true heroines and pioneers.
But it angers me greatly that at their advanced age and in need of much medical assistance, they couldn't get hitched in their hometown of Manhattan, all because New York State, like every American state except Massachusetts, prohibits gays and lesbians from enjoying full marriage equality. That is wrong and will one day change, hopefully in my lifetime.
Please take the time and visit the Freedom to Marry site. Read the Supreme Court's Loving v. Virginia ruling. Learn about the celebration surrounding it and how a coalition of individuals and groups are working to broaden its impact. And view the ads Freedom to Marry has placed in newspapers, featuring straight interracial couples whose marriages would have been against the law in the 1960s.
Do it for Thea and Edith. Do it for all interracial couples. Do it for gay and lesbian couples, struggling to get married. Visit Freedom to Marry today.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
HRC Board Member Makes Anti-Gay Argument in Lesbian Custody Case
My jaw hit the floor so loudly and hard this morning my boyfriend thought that I needed medical attention. What happened was I came across a story from the Gay People's Chronicle of Ohio that ran on May 4, all about a gay lawyer raising eyebrows over his homophobic arguments in a lesbian child custody lawsuit. But this story is not about just any average gay attorney. Nope, we're talking about one who is a member of the board of directors of America's largest homosexual political organization, the Human Rights Campaign.
Cleveland--A gay lawyer and community leader is coming under fire for advancing an argument in a Juvenile Court case that would typically be made by anti-gay attorneys trying to deny LGBT rights.
Tim Downing, an openly gay partner at the Cleveland law firm of Ulmer and Berne, is also on the board of directors of the Human Rights Campaign and a statewide LGBT community leader and organizer.
He is representing a biological mother whose case has raised the ire of attorneys trying to advance the rights of LGBT families.
The case itself is unremarkable. Filed in Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court in March, it involves the breakup of a lesbian couple with a three-year-old child. ...
The couple broke up in November. The child is living with the biological mother. She is denying visitation to the non-biological one, who is suing her for visitation rights.
Since the 2002 Ohio Supreme Court decision In re: Bonfield cleared the way for co-parenting agreements between same-sex couples, a network of family law attorneys, many of them lesbians, has grown up. They have advanced cases like this one throughout the state “to educate all of Ohio’s courts on our family issues” as one put it, and to ensure that good case law is created in order to protect LGBT families in the future.
These cases generally rest on the biological parent giving up exclusive custody in favor of a shared arrangement that honors the relationship between the child and the non-biological parent.
In this case, Downing and his associate, Joseph Simms, argue that the non-biological mother has no right to that claim, and that the suit should be dismissed because she is not related by blood or marriage. ...
They argue that, “because [the non-biological mother] cannot allege that she is related to [the child] either by affinity or consanguinity,” Ohio law gives her no standing to bring the suit.
Joan Burda, a lesbian attorney who represents the non-biological mother, said, “The arguments raised [by Downing and Simms] are expected. That’s what needs to be argued for their client to win, but this is the argument you usually see made by the David Langdons of the world.”
Langdon represents the anti-gay group Citizens for Community Values. He filed a brief opposing the Bonfield couple’s co-parenting agreement that raised an issue similar to Downing’s. ...
Downing said he did not become involved in the case until after the firm had already taken it.
He noted that that as a partner, he did not have to take the case.
“I’m doing my job as a lawyer,” said Downing. “Had I been the one originally contacted, I don’t know that I would have taken it.” ...
“I want to see that no arguments get made that are anti-gay or involve sexual orientation,” said Downing. “I got involved to protect our community.”
Asked if he believed that could be an issue, Downing said, “It could be.”
Downing called the parenting arguments advanced by the non-biological mother “a red herring.”
“This is a very simple matter,” said Downing. “It is purely statutory. The state legislature has not given the plaintiff in this case any rights.” ...
“If it takes a wild turn and it looks like it could be harmful to our community, then I will recommend we withdraw from the case,” said Downing. ...
Kudos to the journalists at the Gay People's Chronicle for covering this case. This story is a prime example of why, even though the mainstream media has greatly improved how it reports on LGBT issues and people, we still very much need gay newspapers.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
YouTube: SF Gays v. Russians, Stoli Dump & Solidarity Video
A video of the San Francisco protest at the Russian consulate, featuring a discussion between activists and a consular official and a dumping of Stoli into the gutter, is posted on YouTube.
There's a big debt of gratitude owed Ken Hodnett and Paul Barwick, two activists with video cameras who participated in the action this week, who've now collaborated to produce this video. Give the video a look and listen to Mihail from the consulate, while San Francisco activists stage an act of full public solidarity with LGBT Russians.
Thanks Ken, Paul and everyone who made the protests happen in Manhattan and here.
Science Mag: Study Shows Marijuana Heals Skin Ailments
As a person with AIDS who constantly suffers a variety skin ailments year-round, and gets weary taking baths with two or three Aveeno oatmeal packets, using steroidal creams and anti-itch drugs with unpleasant side-effects, I'm so happy researchers may have found a way to alleviate assorted skin problems - medical marijuana!
The abstract of a new study published in the current issue of Science explains some of the developments in highly scientific terms:
Allergic contact dermatitis affects about 5% of men and 11%of women in industrialized countries and is one of the leadingcauses for occupational diseases. In an animal model for cutaneouscontact hypersensitivity, we show that mice lacking both knowncannabinoid receptors display exacerbated allergic inflammation.In contrast, fatty acid amide hydrolase–deficient mice,which have increased levels of the endocannabinoid anandamide,displayed reduced allergic responses in the skin. Cannabinoidreceptor antagonists exacerbated allergic inflammation, whereasreceptor agonists attenuated inflammation. These results demonstratea protective role of the endocannabinoid system in contact allergyin the skin and suggest a target for therapeutic intervention.
If that's too full of scientific jargon for you, here's an easier to understand explanation excerpted from today's SF Chronicle story on the study:
Skin allergies may be the next reason to use marijuana -- a topical form, at least.
Scientists have long suspected that marijuana, used for recreational purposes and to help fight chronic pain, nausea and even some mental disorders like anxiety and depression, also had anti-inflammatory effects in the body.
Now they think they know why.
In a study published in the current issue of the journal Science, researchers show exactly how they think that works, elucidating how the body's own cannabinoids, compounds that are similar to the ones found in marijuana, reduce inflammation.
Mice had a harder time healing from wounds caused by ear tags used to identify them when researchers blocked their internal cannabinoids, said Dr. Meliha Karsak, lead author and scientist in molecular neurobiology at the University of Bonn in Germany. Cannabinoids are involved in many of the body's daily functions, scientists believe, but they're still trying to figure out how.
Mice also healed faster from skin allergies with topical THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana and other plants, she said.
I expect at least two things will come from this study. First, the Bush administration's drug war czar will cast doubt on the findings and again dismiss the medicinal properties of marijuana. And second, there will be a rash of patients in states that allow the sale and dispensing of medical marijuana asking their doctors to prescribe some wonder weed.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
BAR: American Queers to Russian Gays: Drop Dead
I wrote this column before the June 5 actions at the NY and SF Russian consulates and launch of the Stoli boycott. It appears in the June7 Bay Area Reporter, San Francisco's venerable and most widely-read weekly. The BAR also provides some coverage and a photo of the SF action.
For the second year running, bloody violence, police indifference, and official government violations of basic universal human rights treaties were the order of the day on May 27 in Moscow, as gays tried to petition Russian authorities for equality.
And like last year, when Russian gays attempted to stage their first Pride March and met a similar fate – both were well-covered by the mainstream and gay press and bloggers – average American queers collectively yawned loudly, after maybe a moment of bemoaning the violence, then kept silent and enjoyed the long Memorial Day holiday weekend.
Not only that, but our well-paid professional lobbyists remained silent. They issued no statements of solidarity prior to May 27, nor were they ready to quickly issue condemnations the day the gay blood spilled on the streets of Moscow, never mind organizing vigils at Russian government buildings on American soil.
Particularly galling was the four-day lag on the part of the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission to distribute a perfunctory statement deploring what happened in Moscow. What possible excuse can IGLHRC have for not being ready either with a statement, or miraculously, an action, over the aborted Russian gay Pride March? Waiting four days in the Internet age is like waiting four months for this sort of thing.
More than eight weeks before the second attempted Moscow gay Pride event, I e-mailed and spoke to people in San Francisco, where we have a large Russian Consulate, asking them to participate in a protest I wanted to stage at the consulate in the week leading up to May 27. My thinking was that enough gays were aware of last year's troubles and a consulate action prior to this year's attempted Pride would send a message to Kremlin leaders: protect the human rights of gays at the Moscow march.
The negative feedback, so common when I try to organize such things, was swift and pronounced. People generally let me know how they disapprove of my activism and political stridency. A few said they were heading out of town early to get a jump on the holiday weekend, but I wasn't convinced that was the real reason for their declining to join a protest for gay Russians. With the deep lack of even minimal community support, along with my own needs, finding part time work to pay my bills and combating a nasty opportunistic stomach infection, I abandoned my plans.
Foolishly, I spent April and May anxiously awaiting word that IGLHRC, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, or the Human Rights Campaign were mobilizing vigils at Russian government outposts, or at least simple e-mail and phone campaigns, before or after May 27, and as we all know, they never did.
Not one of the generously-compensated professional advocates at those well-funded nonprofits made a peep asking American gays to stand in solidarity with our Russian brothers and sisters.
As annoying is that the gay political community didn't, and hasn't for too long a time, demanded street actions and pressure campaigns from those advocacy groups over global gay matters.
Am I the only American queer who thinks international gay issues require more than the quiet insider approach as the only way to improve respect for the human rights protections of our family, regardless of borders? Why is it our professionals see no value in mobilizing actions of any sort, beyond their staffs? Or worse, as is the case with the needlessly arrogant and pompous gatekeeper head of Human Rights Watch's gay unit, deceitfully work to undermine the efforts of unpaid activists who do organize for gays around the planet?
I fully accept that many gays won't heed a call from me to hit the pavement in front of foreign consulates, or attend a candlelight vigil in the Castro, or make a call to an embassy in Washington.
So I'm not the candidate to lead these things.
And we're sadly not about to see the dainty dames and gents at IGLHRC, HRW, Amnesty, NGLTF and HRC get their polished loafers or nails dirty walking picket lines or corralling us to form e-mail-writing teams to bombard consular officials demanding respect of the human rights of gay people in their countries.
But what I refuse to accept is that nonprofits should not be doing such advocacy, as part of a multi-pronged approach. Please don't tell me we need to start another organization to engage in street activism or stage speak outs, when we already have enough groups with lots of staffers who could do such work.
I'm upset with American queers who by and large are woefully apathetic about international gay issues and our brothers and sisters beyond our borders, while also refusing to demand from nonprofits more methods and a variety of pressures on foreign governments.
Our community-wide ignorance and lethargy on global gay issues send a deafening message: "We don't care. Drop dead."
We must do more for the brave gays of Moscow and our family members all across the globe.
