Free Republic

A year after the “London Patient” was introduced to the world as only the second person to be cured of H.I.V., he is stepping out of the shadows to reveal his identity: He is Adam Castillejo. Six feet tall and sturdy, with long, dark hair and an easy smile, Mr. Castillejo, 40, exudes good health and cheer. But his journey to the cure has been arduous and agonizing, involving nearly a decade of grueling treatments and moments of pure despair. He wrestled with whether and when to go public, given the attention and scrutiny that might follow. Ultimately, he said,...

People in Ontario living with HIV had a 34 per cent higher incidence rate of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and were diagnosed with the disease about 12 years younger than HIV-negative individuals, according to a study led by researchers at St. Michael's Hospital of Unity Health Toronto and ICES. Researchers analyzed incidences of COPD among adults 35 years and older who were living with and without HIV between 1996 and 2015 in Ontario - where over 40 per cent of Canadians living with HIV reside. People with HIV were diagnosed with COPD at a mean age of 50 years...

A history of 10 or more lifetime sexual partners is linked to a heightened risk of being diagnosed with cancer, reveals research published online in the journal BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health. And among women, a higher number of sexual partners is also linked to heightened odds of reporting a limiting long term condition, the findings indicate. Few studies have looked at the potential impact of the number of sexual partners on wider health outcomes. To try and plug this knowledge gap, the researchers drew on information gathered for the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), a nationally representative tracking...

... Today, the gay community is facing another crisis that we’re not talking about and that elected officials are once again ignoring. Scores of gay men are addicted to crystal methamphetamine. The drug, which can change the chemical composition of the brain in chronic users, is extremely addictive. And just like during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and 90s, resources are paltry, government support is virtually nonexistent and an aura of denial surrounds the crisis. Gay men are more likely to try meth than straight men. One explanation for this could be that gay men struggle with acceptance in...

Islamic jihadis in Muslim countries hate tourists, who are often visiting sites of jahiliyya, the pre-Islamic society of unbelievers. And if they’re visiting Muslim sites, they’re trampling them down under their Infidel feet. Either way, they’re not welcome. “Eight out of top 10 most dangerous nations are Muslim,” 5Pillars, November 19, 2019 (thanks to The Religion of Peace): This year’s Travel Risk Map, created by global risk experts International SOS, has listed eight Muslim countries in its top 10 most dangerous nations to visit. Eight majority Muslim nations – Mali, Somalia, Central African Republic, Yemen, Libya, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan...

California’s controversial new sex ed guidance contains medically risky advice that reads like it was written by a college fraternity, says a former public school teacher who’s been helping parents mobilize against the curriculum. “It’s shocking,” Rebecca Friedrichs, the founder of For Kids & Country, said in an interview with The Christian Post when describing the condom relay races 10- and 11-year-old girls have been participating in at schools where, in front of boys, they’re taught how to put a condom on a model of an erect adult male penis. Students as young as 11, she warned, are also being...

One of the indescribable aspects of being a member of a minority group is knowing that things are better than they have ever been and, simultaneously, not good enough. The LGBTQ community has won the right to same-sex marriage and achieved unprecedented visibility in politics, media and entertainment. Yet we still lag far behind the straight and cis population when it comes to mental health, substance abuse and HIV rates. Travis Salway is an epidemiologist trying to close this gap. In 2014, he discovered that in Canada, suicide had surpassed HIV as the leading cause of death among gay and...

Your diet may have more impact on your cancer risk than you might think, a new study has found. An estimated 80,110 new cancer cases among adults 20 and older in the United States in 2015 were attributable simply to eating a poor diet, according to the study, published in the JNCI Cancer Spectrum on Wednesday. "This is equivalent to about 5.2% of all invasive cancer cases newly diagnosed among US adults in 2015," said Dr. Fang Fang Zhang, a nutrition and cancer epidemiologist at Tufts University in Boston, who was first author of the study. "This proportion is comparable...

Transgender adults may be more likely to have unhealthy habits and medical issues that negatively impact their quality of life than people whose gender identity matches what it says on their birth certificates, a U.S. study suggests. Researchers examined survey data from 3,075 transgender adults as well as 719,567 adults who are cisgender, meaning their gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth. Compared to cisgender Americans, transgender individuals were more likely to be sedentary, current smokers, and uninsured, researchers report in JAMA Internal Medicine. Transgender people were also 30 percent more likely to report being in “fair”...

A new survey of English men who have sex with men (MSM) who were diagnosed with a recently acquired hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection found that 40 percent were HIV-negative, aidsmap reports. Multiple studies have indicated that in Western nations, there has been a rising epidemic of sexually transmitted HCV among HIV-positive MSM since about the turn of the millennium. Hep C does apparently transmit sexually among MSM who do not have HIV but traditionally has done so at a much lower and more stable rate than among their HIV-positive peers. More recent studies have found, however, that hep C...

CEO Jeff Bezos’ blackmail vulnerability from reckless “sexting” with a Hollywood agent’s wife risks Amazon’s loss of a $100 billion Department of Defense cloud service contract.   Hours after Bezos and wife of 25 years, Mackenzie, tweeted their plan to divorce January 6, the National Enquirer published that Bezos was having an extramarital affair and sent “X-rated D*ck Pic” selfies to Lauren Sanchez, a former TV anchor and pilot for his Blue Origin space firm that is funded by $1 billion in annual Amazon stock sales.  As the richest man and with Amazon the most valuable company on the planet,...

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (WCMH) – Video from a Missouri freeway shows two people ‘twerking’ on top of a moving vehicle. It happened Monday during rush hour in St. Louis. Video shows two people dancing on top of a Suburban. Another person is halfway out a window recording everything. The woman who recorded the video told KSDK she did not call police, but hoped posting the video to social media would lead someone to recognize the people. Police call this kind of behavior a safety hazard. “They could fall off of the car and cause other drivers to wreck. It’s a...

A word of warning: When I first found out the information I’m about to relay to you, I was shocked and sick to my stomach. I kept the post in draft form for months, unable to bring myself to complete it. The great Scottish philosopher David Hume defined “evil” without resorting to theology: Evil is what causes harm or injury to oneself or to another. By that definition, the homosexual behaviors described below are evil. Are you ready? Take a deep breath. Here we go….

Boston, Mass. – The rate of infectious disease (ID) markers, such as those for HIV and hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV and HCV), in donated blood is higher for men who have sex with men (MSM) relative to blood donors overall, according to an analysis of data from more than 8.4 million blood donations collected from January 2017 through September 2018 by the American Red Cross. However, the ID marker rates for reinstated (1.44%) and newly eligible (2.0%) MSM donors were similar to those of first-time male donors (1.52%). The findings were presented at the 2018 AABB Annual Meeting,...

An HIV/AIDS group, whose board of advisers includes doctors from some of the most prestigious medical institutions in the country, says that "fear of Trump policies" may be a factor in the rising rate of HIV in Latino homosexual men. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS; 68% of new HIV infections in the United States occur in homosexual and bisexual men. "The Body, The Complete HIV/AIDS Resource" is a service of Remedy Health Media in New York City, and it states that part of its mission is to "demystify HIV/AIDS and its treatment" and "use the Web to lower...

Travis Pastrana honored legendary daredevil Evel Knievel Sunday night in attempting three of Knievel’s most dangerous jumps in a row on Evel Live. Pastrana wasn’t just setting out to complete the stunts, however, but to break Knievel’s records. Pastrana’s epic act started with the 50 Car Jump, followed by the Wembley Bus Jump. It ended with the infamous Caesars Palace Fountain Jump — a stunt that almost killed Knievel 50 years ago. “This is the most iconic jump in stunt lore,” Pastrana said. “In the history of stunts, this is the one. It’s the one because Evel never landed it.”

The Boy Scouts will reportedly provide condoms at the upcoming World Scout Jamboree. The World Organization of Scouting Movement handbook requires the host organization to “ensure that condoms are readily and easily accessible for all participants and [International Service Team staff] at a number of locations on the site.” The 2019 World Scout Jamboree will be held in West Virginia from July 21 to Aug. 1. The theme is “Unlock a New World.” The World Jamboree is an official World Organization of the Scout Movement event. The Boy Scouts are co-hosting this year’s program with two other scouting organizations, Scouts...

22-year-old was living in West Hollywood, hoping to launch his acting career. Los Angeles had a thriving a gay scene where King, for the first time, could embrace his sexuality freely. He frequented bathhouses and also met men in dance clubs and along the bustling sidewalks. There was lots of sex to be had. Like a few years earlier, the doctor gave him a handful of antibiotics to take for a few days that would clear up the infection. It wasn't a big deal. In fact, as King describes it, it was "simply an errand to run." ... When King...

The teenagers tucked their hands into their sweatshirt pockets as they shuffled to form a circle. Some gazed at the asphalt, trying to avoid the game they had been drafted to play. “It’s like hot potato/musical chairs, but with a penis,” said the girl leading the group. The kids gathered on a spring morning in South Los Angeles were about to get a hands-on lesson in sex education. Many health experts say that public health problems are best tackled outside the doctor’s office — that fixing the culture that perpetuates them is more effective than changing a single patient’s behavior....

Watchdogs upheld two complaints from viewersA "dangerous" TV ad showing a woman chewing gum while playing football has been shown the red card. Watchdogs upheld two complaints from viewers who feared the ad for Wrigley's Extra might encourage kids to carry out the "dangerous practice" of chewing gum while playing footie. The ad, which was seen last September, was found to be in breach of rules regarding children plus harm and offence. It was banned from being shown again, and Wrigley's - based in Devon - were warned not to show people chewing gum while playing sport in any future...