Get Iced! Here is another edition of my Podcast featuring Chris Willis "Louder" , Will I Am and Nicki Minaji with "Check it Our", Pink's anthem "Raise your Glass", Black Eyed Peas bringing some dirty with "The Time (Dirty Bit)" another solo attempt by Nicole Scherzinger with "Poison", Katy Perry sets in things on fire with "Firework" along with Erika Jayne with "One Hot Pleasure" , Madonna's "Rain 2011" and finally new Rihanna and David Guetta with "Who's that Chick" Enjoy this iced edition!
After years of contentious debate, the Senate on Saturday voted to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that blocked gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.
While critics, including Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain, said the repeal would cause a deadly distraction on the battlefield at a time of war, the lawmakers backing repeal equated the vote to other historic moments including the end of racial segregation among troops in the 1950s and the decision to allow women to attend military service academies in the 1970s.
"It is time to close this chapter in our history," President Obama said in a statement hailing the vote's passage. "It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed."
Yet the repeal is far more than just a single policy shift. The overturning of "don't ask, don't tell" is likely to create a ripple effect in addressing other gay-rights issues, as many states continue to debate issues including same-sex marriage and the right of gay partners to share benefits the same way legally married couples do. With gay service members serving openly, it will become difficult for policy makers to justify, say, withholding visitation rights or survivor benefits to the same-sex spouse of a wounded or fallen soldier.
Still, such questions will surface over the longer term. For now, the Pentagon will address the shorter-term issue of how to go about implementing repeal. Obama is expected the sign the repeal into law this week, but the actual lifting of the ban doesn't yet have a timetable. Under the bill, the repeal will go into effect at the discretion of top military leaders, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who has been previously supportive of overturning the ban.
WASHINGTON – In a historic vote for gay rights, the Senate agreed on Saturday to do away with the military's 17-year ban on openly gay troops and sent President Barack Obama legislation to overturn the Clinton-era policy known as "don't ask, don't tell."
Obama was expected to sign the bill into law next week, although changes to military policy probably wouldn't take effect for at least several months. Under the bill, the president and his top military advisers must first certify that lifting the ban won't hurt troops' ability to fight. After that, the military would undergo a 60-day wait period.
Repeal would mean that, for the first time in American history, gays would be openly accepted by the armed forces and could acknowledge their sexual orientation without fear of being kicked out.
More than 13,500 service members have been dismissed under the 1993 law.
"It is time to close this chapter in our history," Obama said in a statement. "It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed."
The Senate voted 65-31 to pass the bill, with eight Republicans siding with 55 Democrats and two independents in favor of repeal. The House had passed an identical version of the bill, 250-175, earlier this week.
Supporters hailed the Senate vote as a major step forward for gay rights. Many activists hope that integrating openly gay troops within the military will lead to greater acceptance in the civilian world, as it did for blacks after President Harry Truman's 1948 executive order on equal treatment regardless of race in the military.
BREAKING NEWS: SENATE REPEALS DADT IN HUGE VICTORY FOR EQUAL RIGHTS!
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Created: Saturday, 18 December 2010 12:38
Written by Joe L. Sosa, Jr
KEN WILLIAMS – SDGLN EDITOR IN CHIEF December 18th, 2010 WASHINGTON – In a decision that made history, the Senate voted 65-31 today to repeal the military’s discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that prevents gay and lesbian troops from serving openly.
Only 51 votes were needed for passage. The overwhelming margin of victory stunned most observers as a surprising number of Republicans showed bipartisan support for repeal.
Four senators declined to vote.
The controversial DADT policy was a compromise reached 17 years ago during the term of President Bill Clinton.
The end of DADT is not yet official, and the nation’s estimated 70,000 gay and lesbian troops are advised by legal experts to remain in the closet.
The bill now goes to President Barack Obama, who asked during his State of the Union speech in January for Congress to repeal the DADT policy by year’s end.
After Obama signs the bill, the president along with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, must certify that implementing repeal will not harm unit cohesion, recruiting and retention, and that it will not affect military readiness and effectiveness as the armed forces fight two wars.
Once certification is declared, likely sometime next year, the repeal of DADT will go into effect 60 days later. When that might occur is unclear.
Earlier today, the Senate voted 63-33 for cloture to limit debate on DADT. Four senators did not vote. Sixty votes were needed to advance the bill to a final vote.
The Senate vote follows on the heels of a House vote on Wednesday, which passed a similar measure 250-175.
Obama issued this statement:
“Today, the Senate has taken an historic step toward ending a policy that undermines our national security while violating the very ideals that our brave men and women in uniform risk their lives to defend. By ending ‘Don't Ask, Don't Tell,’ no longer will our nation be denied the service of thousands of patriotic Americans forced to leave the military, despite years of exemplary performance, because they happen to be gay. And no longer will many thousands more be asked to live a lie in order to serve the country they love,” Obama said.
“As Commander-in-Chief, I am also absolutely convinced that making this change will only underscore the professionalism of our troops as the best led and best trained fighting force the world has ever known. And I join the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as the overwhelming majority of service members asked by the Pentagon, in knowing that we can responsibly transition to a new policy while ensuring our military strength and readiness,” he said.
“I want to thank Majority Leader Reid, Senators Lieberman and Collins and the countless others who have worked so hard to get this done. It is time to close this chapter in our history. It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed. It is time to allow gay and lesbian Americans to serve their country openly. I urge the Senate to send this bill to my desk so that I can sign it into law,” Obama said.
BREAKING NEWS: Senate poised to lift long military ban on gays
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Created: Saturday, 18 December 2010 11:58
Written by Joe L. Sosa, Jr
WASHINGTON – In a landmark vote for gay rights, the Senate set the stage for passage Saturday of legislation that would overturn the military ban on openly gay troops, and President Barack Obama said it was "time to close this chapter in our history"
Repeal would mean that, for the first time in American history, gays would be openly accepted by the military and could acknowledge their sexual orientation without fear of being kicked out. More than 13,500 service members have been dismissed under the 1993 law known as "don't ask, don't tell."
A 63-33 test vote — 60 votes were need to advance the measure — earlier Saturday paved the way for passage, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said a final vote would come at 3 p.m. The House had passed an identical version of the bill, 250-174, earlier this week, so Senate approval would send the measure to the WhiteHouse.
Even after the measure were to become law, the policy change wouldn't go into effect right away. Obama and his military advisers would have certify that the change wouldn't hurt the ability of troops to fight, and there would also be a 60-day waiting period. Some have predicted the process could take as long as a year before Bill Clinton-era policy is repealed.
With an end to the ban, "no longer will our nation be denied the service of thousands of patriotic Americans forced to leave the military, despite years of exemplary performance, because they happen to be gay," Obama said in a statement. "And no longer will many thousands more be asked to live a lie in order to serve the country they love."
Rounding up a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate was a historic victory for Obama, who made repeal of the policy a campaign promise in 2008. It also was a political triumph for congressional Democrats who struggled in the final hours of the postelection session to overcome GOP objections on several legislative priorities before Republicans regain control of the House in January.
Launch of Social Media Club Hanford is in the works.
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Created: Friday, 17 December 2010 15:54
Written by Joe L. Sosa, Jr
Social Media Club's mission is to connect media makers from around the world to advance media literacy, promote industry standards, encourage ethical behaviour and share the lessons they have learned.
Currently the Hanford Chapter is in the process to be launched in our area by Joe Sosa.
Chris Heuer and Kristie Wells started Social Media Club (SMC) in March 2006 to host conversations around the globe that explore key issues facing our society as technologies transform the way we connect, communicate, collaborate and relate to each other. Social Media Club enables you explore your personal and professional passions by helping you connect with a community of your peers based on both geography and areas of interest. We exist to ensure that the world of Social Media does not become an echo chamber of self-reinforcing thoughts, but is instead fueled by diversity of opinion and perspective.
The first chapter launched in the San Francisco Bay Area, CA (USA) on August 16, 2006. There are 150+ chapters in existance today, and we cover six of the seven continents (watch out Antarctica...we are coming your way soon!).
Social Media Club's primary mission is to promote media literacy, promote standard technologies, encourage ethical behavior and share best practices. We bring together journalists, publishers, communications professionals, artists, amateur media creators, citizen journalists, teachers, students, tool makers, and other interested collaboraters. Essentially the people who create and consume media who have an interest in seeing the ‘media industry’ evolve for everyone’s benefit. We are more than just USERS, we are the reason the tools exist - we are the people who communicate our thoughts and ideas near and far.
In addition to SMC, Social Media Club Education Connection (aka #SMCEDU) is a national initiative whose goal is to unite educators, students, and professionals to further the development of social media curriculum in our schools, enabling a wider network of learning and workforce preparedness.
#SMCEDU is a part of Social Media Club, a nonprofit organization that is working to promote media literacy and connect people to share what they are learning about social media.
If you are interested, please add a comment here, or add your name to the Local Team list; currently looking for LOCAL LEADERSHIP TEAM / VOLUNTEERS
The Social Media Club is looking for help shaping the future of social media in our local area. We have identified four roles that we needed support filling. These four people form the leadership team of the SMC Hanford group. If you'd be interested in helping one of them, please list your name and contact info and the role you would like to fill. We will be in contact once we are ready to launch this chapter.
And your input on these roles is welcome:
Programming Director
Partnership Director
Promotions Director
Production Director
Membership Director
As the group develops, other roles may be identified. Your suggestions are welcome. If you'd like to volunteer for these or other roles, please list your info.
SPONSORS WANTED:
We're currently looking for sponsors for upcoming events. Please add your name if you're interested in sponsoring an event--you can suggest a topic and help us with a venue!
Name, Company, email or phone
IDEAS WANTED:
We're also looking for great ideas for upcoming events. Please share your thoughts on possible upcoming events, speakers, sponsors, etc. Throw your ideas into the table below. It doesn't matter how crazy they are. We'll consider them all. Thanks!
S.M.C. Hanford Team This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Jesse Tyler Fergusen and Eric Stonestreet, who star as a gay couple raising a young daughter on ABC's Emmy Award-winning hitModern Family, are featured on the new cover of TV Guide. The actors are pictured with the young actress who plays their daughter and shown baking holiday cookies in one of three covers available for the venerable publication.
Earlier this evening, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid scheduled a vote on the DADT repeal bill for Saturday. This is what we had been waiting for. HRC President Joe Solmonese issued the following statement.
“We are gratified that the Majority Leader has scheduled the cloture vote on the DADT repeal bill for Saturday. It’s time that senators vote their consciences and move our military and our country forward. This has always been an issue of integrity for our military and the brave gay and lesbian service members who serve our country every day. America is ready for a vote and there’s no need for anymore waiting.”
Is The White House Stalling DADT Repeal In The Senate?
By now, you know what's standing in the way of Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal in the United States Senate, the last obstacle before it can be signed by the president and the military's ban on openly gay service members is finally scrapped.
Or at least you think you do.
Sources on the Hill are telling me a big reason DADT repeal isn't moving faster comes right from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Despite President Obama's public support for repeal, with DADT stacked up against the START nuclear arms reduction treaty that Obama carefully brokered with the Russians earlier this year, the White House is putting its legislative push behind START.
At this point, with more than the 60 votessecured to invoke cloture on a repeal bill in the Senate, obstacles to repealing DADT legislatively are a simple combination of time and priorities. Time is short in the lame duck session, and DADT repeal is just one of many items the Senate would like to address before it adjourns. Where repeal slots into the remaining legislative calendar, and how much time is left in that calendar when it does pop up, will make the difference between repealing the ban and keeping the status quo.
No one questions that Obama wants to see DADT end, or that he wants to see it end this year. The concern is over the priorities: Obama, it seems, wants START to come first. And with the White House pushing START (in daily phone calls from top White House officials, according to one source on the Hill), Obama could end up standing in the way of DADT getting done.
"The White House has been crystal clear that their number one priority in this lame duck session is START," said one Senior Democratic aide.
Christmas is said to be a time when family members come together to spend time with each other. This does not mean only immediate family, but extended family as well. The Christmas family get together brings along with it the prospect of giving and receiving gifts. Though gifts are said to be a way of showing our love and appreciation for other people, many times buying gifts for all the members of a large family can surely burn a hole in your pocket. Moreover, many times, the gifts that we give or receive, may not be something useful, which makes it a total waste of time and money.
The Gift Gurus at Gifts.com hand-pick all gift ideas in the christmas category. View great top picks ideas from the top stores online and further refine your results by price, Gift Guru top picks and more to find the perfect gift.
For complete list of Christmas Gifts - Top Picks - under $25 click here
FDA Approves Once-Daily Darunavir for Certain Patients With HIV
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Created: Wednesday, 15 December 2010 21:26
Written by Joe L. Sosa, Jr
[Some of you may know or recall my profession is in pharmacy specializing in HIV medications and patient care management for many years. If you should have any questions pertaining to your ADAP, Medi-Cal, Medicare, and Private insurance billing please don't hesitate to contact me. Of course your confidentiality will be kept private since I did take an oath, thanks ^joe sosa]
December 15, 2010 — The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved once-daily dosing for darunavir (Prezista; Tibotec Pharmaceuticals, a division of Centocor Ortho Biotech Products, LP) boosted with ritonavir in treatment-experienced adult patients with HIV with no resistance to the protease inhibitor. Use of the darunavir/ritonavir 800 mg/100 mg once-daily regimen previously was restricted to treatment-naive patients.
"With this once-daily dosing recommendation, boosted Prezista is now a viable option for more treatment-experienced patients," said Glenn Mattes, president of Tibotec Therapeutics, in a company news release.
The new recommendation was based on 48-week data from the phase 3b Once-daily Darunavir In treatment-experieNced patients (ODIN) study of 590 patients with no darunavir resistance–associated mutations (V11I, V32I, L33F, I47V, I50V, I54M, I54L, T74P, L76V, I84V, or L89V), a screening viral load of more than 1000 HIV-1 RNA copies/mL, and a CD4+ count higher than 50 cells/mm3.
Patients had been on highly active antiretroviral therapy for at least 12 weeks and were randomly assigned to receive darunavir once or twice daily with food and an optimized background regimen of 2 or more nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors selected by investigators.
Results showed that darunavir/ritonavir 800 mg/100 mg once daily was similarly effective to the 600 mg/100 mg twice-daily regimen for achieving virologic response, defined as HIV-1 RNA levels lower than 50 copies/mL (69% for both). The mean increase from baseline in CD4+ cell count was likewise comparable between treatment groups (108 cells/mm3 vs 112 cells/mm3).
The FDA notes that patients with 1 or more darunavir resistance–associated mutation, and those for whom genotypic testing is not feasible, must continue taking darunavir/ritonavir 600 mg/100 mg twice daily.
Washington (CNN) -- The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to overturn the ban on openly gay and lesbian soldiers serving in the U.S. military, passing legislation repealing the controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
The bill -- a so-called "stand alone" measure not tied to any other legislative items -- passed 250 to 175 on mostly partisan lines. It now advances to the Senate.
The House previously passed a repeal of the ban as part of a larger defense policy bill, but the measure stalled last week in the Senate.
On Wednesday, the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee announced a compromise on a stripped-down version of the defense policy bill that cut out the "don't ask, don't tell" repeal language and some other provisions. Some senators had expressed concern that the policy dispute over "don't ask, don't tell" and other issues could undermine the larger defense policy bill, which influences how the Pentagon spends it budget.
Also Wednesday, moderate Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine announced her support for repealing "don't ask, don't tell," but only after the Senate completes work on the tax and benefits package and a measure authorizing continued government spending this fiscal year.
Snowe became the fourth Republican to publicly support a repeal, giving Democrats an opening to overcome a certain Republican filibuster. Sensing momentum on the issue, President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates called Wednesday for Senate approval so that the repeal can be signed into law.
"Moving forward with the repeal is not only the right thing to do, it will also give our military the clarity and certainty it deserves," Obama said in a White House statement. "We must ensure that Americans who are willing to risk their lives for their country are treated fairly and equally by their country.
Gates "encourages the Senate to pass the legislation this session, enabling the Department of Defense to carefully and responsibly manage a change in this policy instead of risking an abrupt change resulting from a decision in the courts," said a statement issued by Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell.
Doctors Claim HIV-Positive Man Cured by Stem Cell Transplant
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Created: Tuesday, 14 December 2010 21:40
Written by Joe L. Sosa, Jr
There’s an estimated 33 million people worldwide living with HIV/AIDS, and now doctors believe one of them may have been cured of the virus after receiving a stem cell transplant in 2007, the medical journal Blood reported.
Timothy Ray Brown, an HIV-positive American living in Germany, had leukemia and was undergoing chemotherapy, when he received a transplant of stem cells from a donor carrying a rare, inherited gene mutation that seems to make carriers virtually immune to HIV infection.
The transplant appeared to wipe out both diseases, giving hope to doctors, but Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who has been studying HIV/AIDS for almost 30 years, said while this is an interesting proof of concept, it’s absurdly impractical.
“It’s hard enough to get a good compatible match for a transplant like this,” Fauci told FoxNews.com, “But you also have to find compatible donor that has this genetic defect, and this defect is only found in 1 percent of the Caucasian population and zero percent of the black population. This is very rare.”
Fauci said while this patient is “functionally cured” this is not something you can do with every HIV-infected individual.
“This is not prime time to me at all,” he said. “This is a very unusual situation that has little practical application for a simple reason. This donor not only had to be a good compatible match, but the donor had to have a genetic defect of cells that do not express the receptor that the HIV virus needs to enter the cell.”
Fauci also pointed to the fact that this transplant process is not only expensive, it’s incredibly painful and complicated, and requires the patient to start a whole new regimen of drugs.
“This patient is trading one poison for another. He may not have to be on antiretroviral drugs anymore, but he has to take immunosuppressant drugs now to prevent the rejection of his transplant cells. Again, what this is, is an interesting proof of concept, but it’s absolutely impractical.”
Dr. Thomas Quinn, director of Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health told FoxNews.com that he is very familiar with the “Berlin patient” case.
“This was a new report that looked much deeper into whether HIV could still be present or lurking in the body in some way, not cured, and since the transplant he remains viral free and his cells appear to be resistant to infection,” he said.
Quinn said he agrees with the researchers on this case that it would be qualified as the first HIV cure, opening the door to alternative means of curing HIV.
“He [Brown] has been without therapy for three years and appears to be free of the virus,” he said. “It gives hope to the millions of people infected with HIV that cure is a feasible option in the future.”
Even though Brown’s procedure proved to be successful, Quinn also warns that this was a rare case and a bone marrow transplant is not a cure-all for other HIV patients.
“It is a near fatal procedure that he had to have done because of the leukemia, but this procedure is very expensive and you have to be transplanted with a donor who is shown to be already resistant to HIV,” Quinn said. “You’re asking for a tall order to replicate this in the future.”
Brown’s case was published in a February 2009 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Toy Drive with Hanford Rainbow Pride and Gay Hanford
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Created: Tuesday, 14 December 2010 21:07
Written by Joe L. Sosa, Jr
HANFORD RAINBOW PRIDE & GAY HANFORD PARTNER UP FOR HANFORD TOY DRIVE
It is time for our annual Toy Drive! We will be donating the toys to KCAO this year, and all toys will go to children whose family can not afford Christmas. So when your doing your shopping this year, pick up a toy and deliver it unwrapped to:
The Episcopal Church of the Saviour 519 N. Douty St. Hanford, Ca
With your help we can make these childrens' Christmas just a little brighter.
For more information please call
Melissa, 380-9345, Hanford Rainbow Pride Joe Sosa, 492-6724, Gay Hanford
About Kings Community Action Organization (KCAO) Mission: To advocate, educate and provide a wide range of quality services that empower, promote self-sufficiency, preserve dignity and improve the quality of life for the individuals and communities of Kings County. Vision: KCAO envisions a future where all people of Kings County are able to live with dignity, have access to all available resources and have the opportunity, motivation and ability to live economically productive and satisfying lives.
For more information about the organization you can visit their site by going to http://www.kcao.org/
If you have any additional questions please don't hesitate to contact me.
In looooooooooove with these photos of Nicki Minaj by Mike Ruiz for YRB. Mike always turns it out! Definite props also go out to styling, hair & makeup (see credits). Check THREE MORE PHOTOS on the next page. Don't forget to click the smaller pix.
YRB: Once a foul-mouthed tough chick with a chip on her shoulder, Nicki Minaj has blossomed into one of rap’s most arresting emcees. Now, she’s ready to prove herself with the release of her highly anticipated debut, Pink Friday. [ Keep reading... ]
I can't say I'm a Ke$hafan, but I'm certainly not a hater. Her songs have great hooks and, like this one, keep us dancin' like we're dumb. This is my fave from her so far. Watch the new accompanying vid:
via http://www.ethansays.com/2010/12/kesha-we-r-who-we-r-.html
Dolce&Gabbana Spring/Summer 2011
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Created: Tuesday, 14 December 2010 20:35
Written by Joe L. Sosa, Jr
Here's a first look at Dolce&Gabbana's Spring/Summer 2011 Men and Women’s ad campaign. For the men, left to right, we have Noah Mills, Sam Webb and Tony Ward. For the women - Alessandra Ambrosio & Izabel Goulart. Shot by Steven Klein. Looking forward to more....
Photography: