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Founded in 1999, QBliss is a not-for-profit, 100% volunteer community and life site created to celebrate the diversity of our lives by providing information and to increase awareness, support and effect change in our local, national and international Gay, Lesbian, Transgendered, and Intersexed (GLBTI) community and it’s Allies. Working in conjunction with some of the largest local, national, and international groups and organizations, QBliss offers a true community based information hub that focuses on GLBTI issues throughout the world. This is achieved by utilizing the Internet and its resources by offering QBliss.net, Yahoo® Powered groups, as well as real-time news feeds that tap GLBTI specific information as well as general world news that affects all people regardless of sexual orientation. All of these services are offered free of charge. Unlike many other GLBTI web sites that offer nothing more than adult material and a somewhat stereotypical twist on our community, QBliss is becoming a more visual entity on the Internet and our community by breaking down the stereotypes and creating real change. Please join us in an effort to put a real face on the GLBTI community and celebrating our diversity.
August 07, 2008
Focus of AIDS Prevention Returning to Gay Men?
Yes, if the words of these world leaders are heeded.
From Bloomberg.com:
Discrimination against men who have sex with men must end, and countries must gear up prevention programs against AIDS in this high-risk group, the secretary general of the United Nations said yesterday.
Speaking at the opening ceremonies for the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, UN chief Ban Ki-moon was one of several world leaders and health officials who spoke about the need for targeting the epidemic among homosexual men.
Margaret Chan, head of the World Health Organization's China unit, said health officials in all nations, including the U.S., need to acknowledge setbacks in a group that pioneered the earliest response to the disease. In the U.S., infections among gay men have risen 75 percent in 15 years, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
``We need to engage them, we need to take care of them, we should not forget about them,'' Chan said, referring to the homosexual community worldwide.
Click here to read the rest of the report.
From Bloomberg.com:
Discrimination against men who have sex with men must end, and countries must gear up prevention programs against AIDS in this high-risk group, the secretary general of the United Nations said yesterday.
Speaking at the opening ceremonies for the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, UN chief Ban Ki-moon was one of several world leaders and health officials who spoke about the need for targeting the epidemic among homosexual men.
Margaret Chan, head of the World Health Organization's China unit, said health officials in all nations, including the U.S., need to acknowledge setbacks in a group that pioneered the earliest response to the disease. In the U.S., infections among gay men have risen 75 percent in 15 years, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
``We need to engage them, we need to take care of them, we should not forget about them,'' Chan said, referring to the homosexual community worldwide.
Click here to read the rest of the report.
August 06, 2008
Link of the Day: Crossing the T
http://crossingthet.wordpress.com/
Life at the intersection of Church and Trans with Rev. Allyson Robinson.
Life at the intersection of Church and Trans with Rev. Allyson Robinson.
New York Same-Sex Couples Will Enjoy "The Amtrak Option"
Last week, Massachusetts repealed a century-old law preventing out-of-state residents from marrying there if their home states would not recognize the union. Same=sex couples in the state of New York can directly benefit from that.
From the New York Times:
While some New Yorkers have flown across the country to marry in California since May, when that state became the nation’s second to approve same-sex marriage, gay-rights advocates expect many more to do the same in Massachusetts, since it is so much closer.
“We call it the Amtrak option, as opposed to the Jet Blue option,” said Cathy Renna, a communications consultant to gay and lesbian organizations.
Alan Van Capelle, executive director of Empire State Pride Agenda, a leading gay-rights group, said, “I think this is an incredible opportunity for same-sex New York couples who are hungry for some of the 1,324 rights and responsibilities married couples receive to obtain them.”
Governor Paterson’s decision placed New York alongside Rhode Island and New Mexico in recognizing same-sex marriages performed in Massachusetts, according to a Boston-based advocacy group, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders.
A June memo from the Massachusetts Office of Housing and Economic Development estimated that 21,000 gay couples from New York might go there to marry if the state allowed. That is about 43 percent of the estimated 49,000 same-sex couples in New York. About 9,600 same-sex couples from Massachusetts married in the first three years after the state legalized such unions in 2004.
With Governor Paterson’s blessing, New Yorkers who get married in Massachusetts — or Canada or California — will be eligible for a host of benefits that they cannot receive now, according to Mr. Van Capelle of the Pride Agenda. Firefighters and police officers in particular have a lot to gain, because the state gives significant benefits to the spouses of emergency workers killed in the line of duty.
Another step toward equality. Click here to read the rest of the story.
From the New York Times:
While some New Yorkers have flown across the country to marry in California since May, when that state became the nation’s second to approve same-sex marriage, gay-rights advocates expect many more to do the same in Massachusetts, since it is so much closer.
“We call it the Amtrak option, as opposed to the Jet Blue option,” said Cathy Renna, a communications consultant to gay and lesbian organizations.
Alan Van Capelle, executive director of Empire State Pride Agenda, a leading gay-rights group, said, “I think this is an incredible opportunity for same-sex New York couples who are hungry for some of the 1,324 rights and responsibilities married couples receive to obtain them.”
Governor Paterson’s decision placed New York alongside Rhode Island and New Mexico in recognizing same-sex marriages performed in Massachusetts, according to a Boston-based advocacy group, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders.
A June memo from the Massachusetts Office of Housing and Economic Development estimated that 21,000 gay couples from New York might go there to marry if the state allowed. That is about 43 percent of the estimated 49,000 same-sex couples in New York. About 9,600 same-sex couples from Massachusetts married in the first three years after the state legalized such unions in 2004.
With Governor Paterson’s blessing, New Yorkers who get married in Massachusetts — or Canada or California — will be eligible for a host of benefits that they cannot receive now, according to Mr. Van Capelle of the Pride Agenda. Firefighters and police officers in particular have a lot to gain, because the state gives significant benefits to the spouses of emergency workers killed in the line of duty.
Another step toward equality. Click here to read the rest of the story.
August 05, 2008
MySpace Friend of the Day: Episcopal Online
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=188836206&MyToken=c021b106-2394-4dc7-95fa-c567a4125243
The Episcopal Media Center is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that has served the Episcopal Church for over 60 years providing communications support and technology. The mission of our organization is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ through all existing communications technologies. You can see our web site here or visit our online store which supports our mission driven activities. Thank you for your interest in us, if you have any questions feel free to send us a message and i will get right back to you.
The Episcopal Media Center is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that has served the Episcopal Church for over 60 years providing communications support and technology. The mission of our organization is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ through all existing communications technologies. You can see our web site here or visit our online store which supports our mission driven activities. Thank you for your interest in us, if you have any questions feel free to send us a message and i will get right back to you.
Knoxville Church Sanctuary Redidicated a Week After Shooting
From the Tennessean:
Members of the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church rededicated their sanctuary Sunday as a place of love, despite the tragedy unleashed there a week ago when a man opened fire with a shotgun and killed two people.
"Beyond the fear that will not subdue us, we reclaim and share this, our worship space," said Brian Griffin, director of religious education. "We are safe; we are together; we are loved, and so it will be."
Community members packed the sanctuary, and others watched a telecast in an overflow room nearby during the rededication.
The Rev. Chris Buice said the slaying of Greg McKendry and Linda Kraeger triggered "unspeakable amounts of love." The shootings occurred during a children's performance of the musical Annie.
Sometimes the worst of circumstances bring out the best in people, and it appears this was one of those occasions.
Click here to read the rest of the article.
"A man tried to divide us into liberals and conservatives, gay and straight. Instead his actions united us," Buice said.
Members of the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church rededicated their sanctuary Sunday as a place of love, despite the tragedy unleashed there a week ago when a man opened fire with a shotgun and killed two people.
"Beyond the fear that will not subdue us, we reclaim and share this, our worship space," said Brian Griffin, director of religious education. "We are safe; we are together; we are loved, and so it will be."
Community members packed the sanctuary, and others watched a telecast in an overflow room nearby during the rededication.
The Rev. Chris Buice said the slaying of Greg McKendry and Linda Kraeger triggered "unspeakable amounts of love." The shootings occurred during a children's performance of the musical Annie.
Sometimes the worst of circumstances bring out the best in people, and it appears this was one of those occasions.
Click here to read the rest of the article.
"A man tried to divide us into liberals and conservatives, gay and straight. Instead his actions united us," Buice said.
August 04, 2008
Link of the Day: Gay Politics
http://www.gaypolitics.com/
GayPolitics.com, a project of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, features news, commentary and discussion about openly LGBT public officials and political candidates.
GayPolitics.com, a project of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, features news, commentary and discussion about openly LGBT public officials and political candidates.
Top 100 Christian Relationship Blogs
I was pleasantly surprised that this blog made a list of the "Top 100 Christian Relationship Blogs" post on "Christian Do It Better." Straight, Not Narrow is #44, at the top of the subgroup "Gay." I joined several blogs from my blogroll on this list.
I've never thought of this blog as a "relationship blog," but if someone wants to categorize it that way I have no problem with it. Thanks to the editor, Kelly Sonora, for the recognition. This is her mission statement:
We believe in promoting wholesome committed relationships among people of faith. And despite whatever the popular media culture may say, Christians do in fact ‘do it better!’
Amen to that!
I've never thought of this blog as a "relationship blog," but if someone wants to categorize it that way I have no problem with it. Thanks to the editor, Kelly Sonora, for the recognition. This is her mission statement:
We believe in promoting wholesome committed relationships among people of faith. And despite whatever the popular media culture may say, Christians do in fact ‘do it better!’
Amen to that!
August 03, 2008
Black AIDS Epidemic Hits Close to Home
From CNN:
"Left Behind - Black America: A Neglected Priority in the Global AIDS" is intended to raise awareness and remind the public that the "AIDS epidemic is not over in America, especially not in Black America," says the report, published by the Black AIDS Institute, an HIV/AIDS think tank focused exclusively on African-Americans.
"AIDS in America today is a black disease," says Phill Wilson, founder and CEO of the institute and himself HIV-positive for 20 years. "2006 CDC data tell us that about half of the just over 1 million Americans living with HIV or AIDS are black."
Although black people represent only about one in eight Americans, one in every two people living with HIV in the United States is black, the report notes.
• AIDS remains the leading cause of death among black women between ages 25 and 34. It's the second-leading cause of death in black men 35-44.
• In Washington, more than 80 percent of HIV cases are among black people, that's one in 20 residents. iReport: AIDS in Washington's older population
"Five percent of the entire population (in DC) is infected... that's comparable to countries like Uganda or South Africa," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN for the recent "Black in America" documentary.
According to this report, if black Americans made up their own country, it would rank above Ethiopia (420,000 to 1,300,000) and below Ivory Coast (750,000) in HIV population. Both Ethiopia and the Ivory Coast are among the 15 nations receiving funds from the President's Emergency Plan For Aids Relief. The United States has given about $15 billion to PEPFAR nations in the past five years.
The Black AIDS Institute says it's not criticizing the federal government for helping poorer countries cope with the AIDS epidemic. Rather, it's saying the "AIDS epidemic [in the U.S.] is not getting the kind attention that it merits."
You think?! These numbers are staggering! African-Americans in our country, especially in my city, need to wake up and aggressively attack this problem because it is aggressively consuming them at an alarming rate.
Click here to read the rest of the CNN article.
"Left Behind - Black America: A Neglected Priority in the Global AIDS" is intended to raise awareness and remind the public that the "AIDS epidemic is not over in America, especially not in Black America," says the report, published by the Black AIDS Institute, an HIV/AIDS think tank focused exclusively on African-Americans.
"AIDS in America today is a black disease," says Phill Wilson, founder and CEO of the institute and himself HIV-positive for 20 years. "2006 CDC data tell us that about half of the just over 1 million Americans living with HIV or AIDS are black."
Although black people represent only about one in eight Americans, one in every two people living with HIV in the United States is black, the report notes.
• AIDS remains the leading cause of death among black women between ages 25 and 34. It's the second-leading cause of death in black men 35-44.
• In Washington, more than 80 percent of HIV cases are among black people, that's one in 20 residents. iReport: AIDS in Washington's older population
"Five percent of the entire population (in DC) is infected... that's comparable to countries like Uganda or South Africa," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN for the recent "Black in America" documentary.
According to this report, if black Americans made up their own country, it would rank above Ethiopia (420,000 to 1,300,000) and below Ivory Coast (750,000) in HIV population. Both Ethiopia and the Ivory Coast are among the 15 nations receiving funds from the President's Emergency Plan For Aids Relief. The United States has given about $15 billion to PEPFAR nations in the past five years.
The Black AIDS Institute says it's not criticizing the federal government for helping poorer countries cope with the AIDS epidemic. Rather, it's saying the "AIDS epidemic [in the U.S.] is not getting the kind attention that it merits."
You think?! These numbers are staggering! African-Americans in our country, especially in my city, need to wake up and aggressively attack this problem because it is aggressively consuming them at an alarming rate.
Click here to read the rest of the CNN article.
August 01, 2008
MySpace Friend of the Day: Brian "A little guy with a BIG heart"
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=80834101&MyToken=0d44b79a-e264-4dbe-b10d-5efdd47f6866
First and foremost...I LOVE TO LAUGH!!! I don't like to take life to serious and the more people who have a BIG smile on their face the better! I am HIV+ and I make sure that everyone knows it. HIV does not rule my life but I make sure that I use it to make something good come out of a bad situation that I put myself into. We all are affected if not infected by HIV/AIDS in some way or another. Life can be difficult but it can also be a lot of fun...just be careful!
First and foremost...I LOVE TO LAUGH!!! I don't like to take life to serious and the more people who have a BIG smile on their face the better! I am HIV+ and I make sure that everyone knows it. HIV does not rule my life but I make sure that I use it to make something good come out of a bad situation that I put myself into. We all are affected if not infected by HIV/AIDS in some way or another. Life can be difficult but it can also be a lot of fun...just be careful!
Inside a GLBT Homeless Shelter
From the Washington Post:
Another transgender woman shared her autobiography with me, a two-page testament on college-ruled paper, in which she described being raped at age 12 and beatings by her foster father. "You are so nice," she once told me, tapping me playfully on the shoulder, "and I ought to know."
One day she arrived at the shelter in terrible shape. She had been followed and attacked, unprovoked, near Times Square in the middle of the day. Our pastor arranged for her to stay inside that day, and after the reconstructive facial surgery that followed.
An analysis of available research done by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force suggests that between 20 and 40 percent of all homeless youth identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. These young people clearly experience homelessness at a disproportionate rate, given that only between 3 and 5 percent of the total U.S. population identify as LGBT.
Thousands of them make their way to New York City looking for a safe haven after coming out to unhappy receptions at home. There are only about 100 beds in the city designated specifically for this population, who often experience abuse in other shelters, such as one resident who said he was urinated on. Mainstream churches are beginning to open their doors, including the year-round transitional shelter at my church, Trinity Lutheran, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
Click here to read the rest of this gut-wrenching story.
Another transgender woman shared her autobiography with me, a two-page testament on college-ruled paper, in which she described being raped at age 12 and beatings by her foster father. "You are so nice," she once told me, tapping me playfully on the shoulder, "and I ought to know."
One day she arrived at the shelter in terrible shape. She had been followed and attacked, unprovoked, near Times Square in the middle of the day. Our pastor arranged for her to stay inside that day, and after the reconstructive facial surgery that followed.
An analysis of available research done by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force suggests that between 20 and 40 percent of all homeless youth identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. These young people clearly experience homelessness at a disproportionate rate, given that only between 3 and 5 percent of the total U.S. population identify as LGBT.
Thousands of them make their way to New York City looking for a safe haven after coming out to unhappy receptions at home. There are only about 100 beds in the city designated specifically for this population, who often experience abuse in other shelters, such as one resident who said he was urinated on. Mainstream churches are beginning to open their doors, including the year-round transitional shelter at my church, Trinity Lutheran, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
Click here to read the rest of this gut-wrenching story.
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