(New York) Sarah Palin said in an interview broadcast Tuesday that a 2012 presidential bid is “not on my radar,” but wouldn’t rule out playing some role in the next presidential election.

“My ambition, if you will, my desire is to help our country in whatever role that may be, and …

COPS: NYC GAY BASHINGS COULD BE LINKED

The NYC Anti-Violence Project has issued a community alert now that the New York City Police Department’s Hate Crimes Bureau thinks several recent anti-gay attacks on the Upper East Side might have come at the hands of the same assailants.

In addition to Joseph Holladay, brutally beaten and robbed, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly now states, “There was an incident in Carl Shurz Park that we believe he [sic] may be associated with two other events—one that happened Saturday morning, the other happened Sunday morning. All of these events happened on the Upper East Side, the 19th precinct.

See COPS: NYC GAY BASHINGS COULD BE LINKED

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“TEST ME / for hiv” challenges assumptions about HIV risk in the Asian and Pacific Islander Communities

Asian & Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Inc. (APICHA) will announce the launch of “TEST ME / for hiv”, a historic effort to address a major discrepancy and public health problem – very limited access to HIV testing and increasing infection rates in the Asian and Pacific Islander (A&PI) communities.

On May 19 2009, A&PI HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, APICHA will be joined by elected officials and community leaders on the steps of City Hall to launch the campaign and urge the public to take control. May is also Asian Heritage month.

Currently, A&PIs are the only racial/ethnic group in New York that have not experienced a decline in the number of new HIV diagnoses, but only six percent (6%) of A&PI New Yorkers report that their doctor recommended an HIV test. This presents a major public health concern that could have a far-reaching impact.

“‘Do you want an HIV test today?”’ That question can be all it takes for a doctor to begin a conversation about their patient’s risk for HIV,” said Robert Murayama, APICHA’s Chief Medical Officer. “Doctors almost never pose that question to their Asian and Pacific Islander patients because they assume the patient won’t need it. The patient leaves the doctor’s office not knowing their status; this can lead to harm to the patient and extreme risk for their partner(s). This is a public health concern. Doctors have an obligation to ask that question without regard to culture or ethnicity.”

APICHA has identified limited access to HIV testing as a critical unmet need that requires the attention of doctors and the community. Often, doctors have preconceived assumptions about the sexual risk factors and lifestyle choices of A&PIs based on the stereotype of Asians as “the model minority.” APICHA seeks to change attitudes among doctors by encouraging A&PIs to begin the conversation in an effort to address this major public health problem.

Patients, who depend on their doctors to advise them about what they should be screened for, are left with an incomplete profile of their health and in possible danger. This year, a Chinese woman, living with AIDS, was finally diagnosed with the disease after she sought services at APICHA. Infected with HIV and stricken by an HIV related illness, she went from local doctor to doctor without a diagnosis, much less a recommendation for an HIV test. During this delay in getting the right treatment, HIV had weakened her system to the point where she developed an opportunistic infection, which could have been prevented with appropriate diagnosis and treatment.

The heart of the campaign will be a coordinated effort to have volunteers visit their doctor’s office wearing a tee shirt that reads “TEST ME / for hiv”. The action is meant to initiate conversation and create an opportunity to educate doctors about the discrepancy.

APICHA hopes that the earned media in both mainstream and ethnic press and work with religious and community leaders will expand the discussion about HIV in various A&PI communities. The campaign will also disseminate information about the issue, and educate A&PI community members about obtaining an HIV test.

“Our hope is that the doctors will come around, but until that time comes I call on every A&PI person to demand a test. APICHA is here to teach you what you should ask for and help empower you to take control of your health, but it’s up to you to take that step and say ‘test me for HIV’, “said Therese R. Rodriguez, APICHA’s Executive Director. “If you have not discussed HIV with your doctor, you do not have a complete picture of your health. You need to ask the question so that you can have the peace of mind that a complete health exam gives.”

APICHA’s mission is to combat HIV/AIDS stigma and related discrimination, to prevent the spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Asian & Pacific Islander communities, and to provide care and treatment for Asian & Pacific Islanders living with HIV/AIDS and their families. The organization was founded twenty years ago and remains the only Pan-Asian HIV/AIDS organization devoted to working with A&PI communities in New York City.

“I applaud APICHA for empowering Asian and Pacific Islanders to take control of their health,” said Dr. Monica Sweeney Assistant Commissioner of the New York City Health Department’s Bureau of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control. “As long as there are people out there who are unaware of their HIV status, there is a great risk of transmission. If you do not know your status, you cannot access the care you need and you can unknowingly spread the virus to others. Everybody needs to know their status.”

APICHA’s Chief Medical officer and Executive Director will brief the media about the issue and the campaign at the May 19 press conference and can be made available for interview prior to the announced. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Governor David Patterson and other elected offices have been invited to attend the press conference.

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‘People’s veto’ looms despite passage of gay marriage in Maine

Mary Breen, of South Berwick, Maine, is counting down the days until she and her partner can be married, now that Gov. John Baldacci has signed into law the state’s gay marriage bill.
“It’s a proud day to live in Maine,” she said after the signing. The moment the law goes into effect, she said, “We’ll be getting married.”
Exactly when that day will be depends on how quickly opponents can mount a petition campaign to force a citizen’s veto of the law, said Julie Flynn, deputy secretary of state for the Bureau of Corporation, Elections and Commissions.
Unlike New Hampshire, Maine has a mechanism to overturn a law called the “people’s veto.” Opponents must gather signatures of registered voters equal to 10 percent of those who voted in the last gubernatorial election. If verified, the veto measure is put on the next statewide ballot, with voters either upholding or repealing the law.
The secretary of state received an application for a people’s veto on Thursday, Flynn said. The office has 10 business days to write a legal ballot question and return it to the applicant.
The coalition of opponents, including the Catholic diocese of Portland and the Maine Jeremiah Project, must collect 55,087 valid signatures, but in practice need to get more than that in case signatures are disqualified.
For all practical purposes, said Flynn, opponents need to collect those signatures by mid-August to get on the November ballot, because they must be certified by town or city clerks first, then by the secretary of state — all by Sept. 4. That leaves 60 days before the Nov. 4 election, time enough for ballots to be printed and to allow for absentee voting.
Last year, opponents of a beverage tax were successful in garnering enough signatures for November and were ultimately successful in overturning the law. However, said Flynn, there was also a statewide election in June last year when organizers could gather signatures. There isn’t one in this off-election year.
“There’s always the county fairs and that sort of thing, but for this to be done, there’s going to have to be an organized effort,” she said.
Meanwhile, the bill itself is going on its own legal track. It will become law 91 days after the Legislature recesses, which is set for June 17 but could be earlier or later. That means the law would likely take effect Sept. 16. However, if the petitions are submitted to the secretary of state any time before Sept. 16, the law would be stayed from going into effect, Flynn said.See ‘People’s veto’ looms despite passage of gay marriage in Maine York Weekly * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual

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Being openly gay in Dartmouth athletics

In an article on gay pride week at Dartmouth College, the Ivy League school in New Hampshire, the school paper The Dartmouth interviewed two gay athletes and what they said is not a surprise to anyone who has followed the subject: they wish there were more out jocks.
“[Being gay at Dartmouth] has been a very positive experience, but one thing that definitely disappoints me is the very small population of out gay athletes,” Tyler Ford ‘11, a member of the men’s track and field team, said. “That leaves us without a support system.”
A former water polo player at the school who is about to graduate echoed this sentiment.
“Sports is one of the hardest places to come out in, to feel comfortable. Especially for guys, it’s such a macho area,” Taylor Holt said.
“Dartmouth has had a history of out gay athletes, and gay athletes at Dartmouth have the responsibility that they need to represent something more to closeted gay athletes throughout athletics, to the gay community in general,” Holt said.
In the past, Outsports has featured two out jocks from Dartmouth: Andrew Goldstein in lacrosse and Jamal Brown in track and field. Both athletes reported a positive response from coming out. Still, though, there is tremendous resistance among the majority of athletes to take that step. See Being openly gay in Dartmouth athletics
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