Dr Maicael Bailey capitulates to pressure and apologizes for teaching in controversial manner

A sad day for academia:

http://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/JMichael-Bailey/articles/BaileyStatement2.pdf

Sex demoed in university sex class- parents aghast

Dr Michael Bailey, of Northwestern University, in an after-class, voluntary seminar on kinky sex, brought in lecturers. During this seminar, they presented a 3 minute demo of a woman getting off with the use of a sex toy.

All hell broke loose and the President of the university, beseiged by angry parents (read donors aka $$), refused to back Dr Bailey. So much for academic excellence or treating students like adults or even free speech.

Below is a link to what I believe is the only interview Dr Bailey himself has given since this tempest in a teapot exploded. I think it's pretty good.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/videobeta/?watchId=0d956cef-e039-4586-8ab5-24178775be28

FollowUp on Earlier Post

Gay advocates win victory at UN

ANITA SNOW

UNITED NATIONS— The Associated Press

Published Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2010 12:37AM EST

Last updated Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2010 1:07PM EST

Gay-rights advocates scored a hard-fought victory at the United Nations Tuesday when member states restored a reference to sexual orientation, dropped last month from a resolution opposing the unjustified killing of minority groups.

The removal of the reference, at the urging of African and Arab countries, alarmed human-rights advocates, who said gay people are among minority groups that need special protection from extrajudicial and other unjustified slayings.

It's about time...Obama repeals "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

From Salon:

Editor: Steve Kornacki

Updated: Today

Topic:

Don't Ask Don't Tell

Wednesday, Dec 22, 2010 10:35 ET

It's official: Obama signs "don't ask" repeal

With the stroke of his pen, the president does away with the 16-year-old policy

By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press

• 
  

Declaring that members of the military will no longer be asked to lie, President Barack Obama fulfilled a campaign promise Wednesday and signed a landmark law repealing the ban on gay men and women serving openly in the armed services.

"This is a good day," a beaming Obama said. "This is a very good day."

The service chiefs must complete implementation plans before lifting the old policy -- and they must certify to lawmakers that it won't damage combat readiness, as critics charge.

But the signing ceremony was a breakthrough moment for the nation's gay community, the military and for Obama himself. The president vowed during his 2008 campaign to repeal the law and faced pressure from liberals who complained he was not acting swiftly enough.

For Obama, it was the second high-profile bill signing ceremony within a week. On Friday, he signed into a law a tax package he negotiated with Republicans that extended Bush-era tax rates for two more years, cut payroll taxes and ensured jobless benefits to the unemployed for another year.

The two events, however, could not have been more different in tone.

The tax deal divided Democrats and forced Obama to accept extensions of tax cuts for the wealthiest, a step he had promised to not take. With Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell at his side, Obama seemed dutiful and subdued.

The signing of the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" had the feel of a political rally. Speaking in the Interior Department's auditorium, Obama appeared in his element as shouts of "Thank you, Mr. President!" interrupted him.

Obama hailed the "courage and vision" of Defense Secretary Robert Gates and praised Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, who advocated changing the 17-year-old policy.

"No longer will tens of thousands of Americans in uniform be asked to live a lie, or look over their shoulder in order to serve the country that they love," Obama said.

New survey sheds light on what's really going on with sexual behaviour

Sex Researchers Ask Americans About Their Last 'Event'

October 4, 2010

by Scott Hensley

iStockphoto.com

What's going on in there, America?

If you go out with friends and have a few drinks, maybe somebody will get up the nerve to ask, "So, how was the last time you had sex?"

Researchers at Indiana University just surveyed Americans, asking, essentially, that question of about 1,900 people who'd had sex in the last year.

But the academics sure have a long-winded, drink-free way of doing it. To them, "event-level sexual repertoire" is who did what to whom. And "experience evaluation" is how it felt.

So what did the researchers find out? First, they confirmed some things you probably knew already.

• Men kid themselves about how often their female partners have orgasms. Guys figure 85 percent do. Women say it's more like 64 percent.
• As they get older, men have more trouble achieving and maintaining erections. Even so, only about 8 percent of men aged 50-59 (the group with the most trouble) reported taking a pill like Viagra to help.
• The more different kinds of behavior a couple engaged in during sex, the more likely each partner was to have an orgasm.

Some of the thought-proving findings:

• Men had better sex (greater arousal and pleasure, with fewer problems) when it was with their relationship partner. The researchers say this may be due to older men with erection difficulties being more comfortable with established partners.
• Women, on the other hand, reported more trouble with arousal and lubrication if their sexual partners were people they were in relationships with.

Oh, and one other thing, "friends with benefits" aren't just for young people. Nearly 17 percent of men aged 50-59 reported their last sexual experience was with a friend, compared with 13 percent for those 18-24. The trend was reversed for women, with 16 percent of younger ones, aged 18-24, saying their last sexual experience was with a friend, compared with nearly 10 percent for those aged 50-59.

For the full results, see the paper provocatively titled (to sexologists), "An Event-Level Analysis of the Sexual Characteristics and Composition Among Adults Ages 18 to 59: Results from National Probability Sample in the United States" in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.

The inquiry is part of a larger national survey, one of the largest in two decades, that documented sexual experiences of nearly 6,000 people between the ages of 14 and 94.

In case you were wondering, the work was funded by Church & Dwight, maker of Arm & Hammer baking soda, Trojan condoms and First Response pregnancy tests.

UN: Okay to kill gays. This does not bode well.

Not since the Equal Rights Amendment did not pass have I felt so disappointed. Sad news indeed.

U.N. panel cuts gay reference from violence measure

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS | Tue Nov 16, 2010 7:45pm EST

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Arab and African nations succeeded Tuesday in getting a U.N. General Assembly panel to delete from a resolution condemning unjustified executions a specific reference to killings due to sexual orientation.

Western delegations expressed disappointment in the human rights committee's vote to remove the reference to slayings due to sexual orientation from the resolution on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions.

"The subject of this amendment -- the need for prompt and thorough investigations of all killing, including those committed for ... sexual orientation -- exists in this resolution simply because it is a continuing cause for concern," a British statement to the committee said.

The General Assembly passes a resolution condemning extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions and other killings every two years. The 2008 declaration included an explicit reference to killings committed because of the victims' sexual preferences.

But this year, Morocco and Mali introduced an amendment on behalf of African and Islamic nations that called for deleting the words "sexual orientation" and replacing them with "discriminatory reasons on any basis."

That amendment narrowly passed 79-70. The resolution then was approved by the committee, which includes all 192 U.N. member states, with 165 in favor, 10 abstentions and no votes against.

The U.S. delegation voted against the deletion but abstained from the vote on the final resolution. Diplomats said the U.S. delegation also voiced disappointment at the decision to remove the reference to sexual orientation.

The resolution, which is expected to be formally adopted by the General Assembly in December, specifies many other types of violence, including killings for racial, national, ethnic, religious or linguistic reasons and killings of refugees, indigenous people and other groups.

"It's a step backwards and it's extremely disappointing that some countries felt the need to remove the reference to sexual orientation, when sexual orientation is the very reason why so many people around the world have been subjected to violence," said Philippe Bolopion of Human Rights Watch.

THIS will be a game-changer, for sure. Might want to get an unlisted number!

Diagnosis of STDs Could Be As Quick As Peeing On A Chip And Putting It In Your Phone

By Julie Beck Posted 11.09.2010 at 12:28 pm 10 Comments

Computer Chip, Will Your Talents Ever Stop Emerging? Wikimedia Commons

Peeing on your phone seems like an all-around pretty bad idea, but British researchers have managed to find an upside. They claim that by urinating on a computer chip and plugging it into a phone or computer, people will soon be able to easily self-diagnose sexually transmitted diseases.

While it’s still too early for the technology to really have taken shape, these nanotechnology chips would be similar to pregnancy tests. After putting urine or saliva on the chip, the user will receive results within minutes that tell them which STD, if any, they’ve contracted. Researchers hope that these confidential self-diagnosis devices would help encourage more people to get tested, without the embarrassment that accompanies seeing a doctor or going to a clinic.

Funders including the Medical Research Council have invested 4 million pounds into the technology’s development, which, if successful, could be a boon for promoting sexual health. Developers expect that the devices will one day be sold in vending machines in pharmacies, supermarkets and night clubs. Wouldn’t it just be easier to buy a condom?

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