From: ForeignPolicy.com – BY RASHA MOUMNEH – When my colleague and I sat down last April with Hamid, an Iraqi man from Baghdad, his trauma-induced stutter said as much as the words he spoke. Huddled inconspicuously in a dingy restaurant, Hamid recounted how militia members killed his partner along with three other men, two kidnapped from their Baghdad homes, two slaughtered in the streets. The next day, Hamid said, “they came for me. They came into my house and they saw my mother, and one of them said, ‘Where’s your faggot son?’ My mother called me after they left, in tears. … I can’t go home.”

As the world hails Iraq’s supposed return to normality, the country’s militias — the same ones that spent years waging a sectarian civil war — have found a new, less apparent target: men suspected of being gay. The systematic killings, which began earlier this year, reveal the cracks behind Iraq’s fragile calm. Iraq’s leaders may talk of security and democracy from behind barbed wire in the Green Zone, but the surge of murders against gay men is a stark sign of how far Iraqi society still has to go.

During a 10-day Human Rights Watch research trip to Iraq in April, we heard harrowing stories of torture, abductions, kidnappings, extortion, and murder. We listened to dozens of men who had faced violence at the hands of armed militias, attacked by youths with guns for violating the unwritten codes of Iraqi masculinity. A number of signs might implicate one as being not “manly” enough, from neighborhood gossip that a man is gay to looking somehow effeminate or foreign in the wrong people’s eyes: wearing one’s hair too long or one’s jeans too tight, for example. There is no count available for the number of deaths since the killings began earlier this year, but one U.N. worker told us that the victims could number in the hundreds.

Not a single murder has been adequately investigated, and not a single murderer has been arrested. Infiltrated by militias and fearing for their reputations if they defend “immorality,” government officials turn a blind eye.

Most survivors pointed to Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army militia as the main culprit in the attacks. The stand-down of al-Sadr’s men over the past year has been pointed to as a sign of the U.S. troop surge’s success. Now, however, many Iraqis speculate that the Mahdi Army is hoping to revitalize its street cred by seizing a murderous new role: as guardians of morality.

Western attention has always focused primarily on sectarian attacks in Iraq. Yet al-Sadr’s militia and its counterparts in countless neighborhoods and towns have long had other targets in their cross hairs. These men claim to bear the banners of religion and morality, defending against any transgressors. They paint themselves as the caretakers of tradition, culture, and national authenticity — which often means keeping women, as well as men, in their rigidly enforced traditional roles. Ironically, they sell their violence as a means of security: Amid the total upheaval of Iraqi society over the last eight years, many people regard any relaxing of gender roles as a threat to public order, undermining patriarchal power. And since the coalition forces failed to provide security after the invasion, such cultural conservatives have moved in to fill the role. Many aimless, unemployed advocates of rigid traditionalism have taken up the task with their guns.

Indeed, since 2003, the Mahdi Army and other militias have targeted women, murdering hundreds if not thousands for working outside the home, for wearing makeup or pants, or just for walking on the streets unveiled. More recently, as attacks on gay men have grown more pronounced, Iraq’s media and its mosques have taken up the theme that Iraqi masculinity is under threat. Friday prayers warn that the “third sex” is on the loose in Baghdad cafes.  News articles bemoan the “feminization” of Iraqi men, apparent not only by homosexuality but in Western dress and habits, scandalously tight T-shirts and expensive jeans. The hatred of “feminized” men betrays a deep-seated fear of women, and anxiety over the loss of fatherly and familial control.

Assaults on marginalized people, however, never stay at the margins. The fate of the most isolated, vulnerable people is a barometer of whether the law can protect, and the state will serve, all citizens.

We’ve seen this pattern all too closely before. In the 1990s, Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe proclaimed that lesbians and gays were “people without rights,” foreshadowing a broader campaign of brutality — against farm owners and farmworkers, dissidents and demonstrators, newspapers and trade unions. No one was left untouched. In Iraq today, the government’s indifference to a similar campaign of murder — within a stone’s throw of the Green Zone — is a grim augury for the future. Militias, emboldened by their successes, will need and find new victims. The rights and lives of all Iraqis are potentially at stake.

Today, American and Iraqi politicians’ televised boasts about the surge and security sound like a cruel delusion in the homes of countless grieving families. There will be no security in Iraq until the government reins in militias and establishes the rule of law. There will be no justice until assaults against invisible victims — including the epidemic of gender-based violence — are investigated and punished. Otherwise, these men, whose only crime is looking different, will only be the first victims in Iraq’s second surge — of killings.

Hildebrand told POLITICO:
“I am one of the millions of frustrated Americans who want to see Washington do more than it’s doing right now… I’m not going to just sit by the curb and let these folks get away with a lack of performance for the American people,” he said, speaking of Washington’s Democratic leadership as a whole. “I want change just as much as a majority of Americans do, and I’m one of the many Americans who are losing patience.”

Hildebrand is president of Hildebrand Strategies, a Democratic consulting firm and a former political director for the DSCC, who has spent more than twenty years organizing high profile campaigns. He is recognized as one of the best political strategists in the Democratic Party and was instrumental in Obama’s early victories over Sen. Hillary Clinton in Iowa and South Carolina.

Besides helping organize the ground game for Obama’s campaign, Hildebrand also took a leading role in trying to win support from the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community for Obama’s candidacy and was responsible for a conference call last year designed to reconcile Obama with the LGBT supporters of Hilary Clinton. Hildebrand also helped quiet displeasure in the gay community after the campaign asked an anti-gay minister to open a gospel show in South Carolina.

Last month Hildebrand also has criticized Blue Dog Democrats in Congress in addition to Obama during a national Stonewall Democrats meeting in San Diego for their willingness to sell out the party’s liberal ideals and the reluctance to address promises made to the LGBT community during the campaign.

Hildebrand’s remarks prompted questions to Press Secretary Robert Gibbs during yesterdays White House Press briefing.

Gibbs said the White House is not hearing anything new from Hildebrand.

“We all know and love Steve Hildebrand,” Gibbs said, adding that “Steve’s frustration is the frustration of people not only in this town, but a lot of people outside of this town, and that is Washington’s inability to address its big problems and get something done.”

And sizzling is what this site is. In addition to being a prophetic voice for LGBT rights, the site also hopes to turn intentions into action by organizing Unitarian Universalists (and other progressive religious folk) to work for marriage equality on both a state-by-state and national level. According to SSL’s director, Rev. Meg Riley, the site is meant to project the long-held principle that Unitarians share, which is a commitment to the inherent worth and dignity of all people.

“This is going to be a real grass-roots-oriented campaign. We will be resourcing congregations to take action. We will put much more energy into where there are local leaders whom we can support who will have the impact that’s needed,” said Riley.

The idea for the site was actually born out of tragedy. Last year, a gunman opened fire in a Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee, during a performance of a children’s musical. He killed two people, and injured six. The reason he decided to take a gun and shoot at random during a children’s service? He didn’t like the Unitarians progressive positions on issues like LGBT rights.

But instead of retreating or scaling back their support of LGBT rights (and other progressive causes, like immigrant rights and a national security policy rooted in peace), the Knoxville community banded together to reaffirm their support for marginalized people and groups. That reaffirmation resonated all the way up to the national office of the Unitarian Universalist Association, which culminated in the launch of the “Standing on the Side of Love” campaign.

The subtitle of the campaign is “harnessing love’s power to stop oppression.” Now there’s something I think we all can agree on: the power of love to transform hearts and minds, and affect social change.

This year is the 35th annual National Suicide Prevention Week with the theme: A Global Agenda on the Science of Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery. Starting Sunday September 6th, communities across the United States are banding together to host events to spread awareness.

To get the word out about suicide prevention, the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) lists a host of related activities happening across the nation. For example, there is a speaker on the topic of the aftermath of suicide following Dr. Ed Scheidman’s theory that “postvention” is the next generation’s form of prevention. Alberta, Canada is hosting an awareness march, and cities in Texas are forming a youth art fair in support of talking to children about suicide. By far the largest group-sponsored activity calendar is put on by the Trevor Project, a non-profit organization that provides 24-hour support year round as a crisis and suicide prevention hotline for youth in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) societies. From New York to Hollywood people are speaking out against suicide and joining the Trevor Project’s cause by taking part or creating an outpouring of media attention.

Notable youths are also getting involved, as “Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe gave a sizeable donation to the Trevor Project to shine a bigger light on youth suicide. In a statement Radcliffe says that he is saddened by the numbers of youth suicide and is honored to be a part of this cause: “I am very pleased to begin my support of the Trevor Project, which saves lives every day through its critical work. It’s extremely distressing to consider that in 2009 suicide is a top-three killer of young people, and it’s truly devastating to learn that LGBTQ youth are up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers.”

Aside from primarily affecting the youth and the LGBTQ communities, suicide does affect everyone. It is the 11th leading cause of death in America with statistics that every 15 minutes someone takes their own life and with over 800,000 suicide attempts a year, every 38 seconds someone else tries to end their life. National Suicide Prevention Week aims to lower these attempts by using education for the younger groups and outreach programs for the older generations.

It is estimated from the most recent 2006 statistics that every suicide affects at least 6 people. In reality, I am sure the number is much greater because once you know someone who has attempted or completed suicide, it stays with you forever. National Suicide Awareness Week is about making sure someone who wants to take his or her life knows every available option before attempting to do so and hoping that maybe he or she will find something more to live for in the process.

If you or someone you know is struggling and in need of some help, even if it’s just to talk to a confidential resource about your feelings or a suspicion you may have about a loved one, call the National Suicide Lifeline: 1-800-273 TALK (8255) or if you are a confused youth you can turn to the Trevor Project Helpline: 866-4-U-TREVOR (488-7386).

Maine’s gay marriage law was supposed to go into effect on Sept. 12, but it was put on hold while the secretary of state’s office verified the number of signatures. With the signatures validated, Gov. John Baldacci on Wednesday signed a formal proclamation putting the gay marriage law to a statewide vote Nov. 3.

“I fully support this legislation and believe it guarantees that all Maine citizens are treated equally under our state’s civil marriage laws,” Baldacci said. “But I also have a constitutional obligation to set the date for the election once the secretary of state has certified that enough signatures have been submitted.”

The announcement was anticipated.

Gay marriage opponents needed the signatures of at least 55,087 registered voters for the so-called People’s Veto, and they turned in nearly 100,000 signatures. Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap said officials stopped counting once they found that 60,391 of the submitted signatures were valid.

Election officials were facing a deadline of Sept. 4 — 60 days before the election — to certify the signatures. Otherwise, the vote would’ve had to wait until June.

Jesse Connolly, campaign manager for NO on 1/Protect Maine Equality, said it’s no surprise that so many signatures were collected because professional signature gatherers were used. “Theirs is a cynical, pay-for-every signature approach that doesn’t reflect the homegrown values of our state,” he said in a statement.

The Rev. Bob Emrich, who supports the repeal of the gay marriage law, brushed aside the criticism.

“The facts are that tens of thousands of Maine citizens signed the petition,” said Emrich, the minister at Emmanuel Bible Baptist Church in Plymouth. “Now we’ll be on the ballot and we’ll let the people of Maine make the decision.”

Maine became the fifth state to allow gay marriage when Baldacci signed the bill on May 6, and New Hampshire became the sixth when Gov. John Lynch signed a bill less than a month later. New Hampshire’s law goes into effect Jan. 1. Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and Iowa also allow same-sex couples to marry.

The gay marriage vote in Maine is one of five referendums on the November ballot.

Other proposals seek to reduce automobile excise taxes, mandate voter approval for state and local tax and spending increases over certain limits, repeal the state’s school district consolidation law and make changes to the state’s medical marijuana law.

From: latimes.com – By Thomas H. Maugh II – After nearly two decades of futile searching for a vaccine against the AIDS virus, researchers are reporting the tantalizing discovery of antibodies that can prevent the virus from multiplying in the body and producing severe disease.

They do not have a vaccine yet, but they may well have a road map toward the production of one.

A team based at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla reports today in the journal Science that they have isolated two so-called broadly neutralizing antibodies that can block the action of many strains of HIV, the virus responsible for AIDS.

Crucial to the discovery is the fact that the antibodies target a portion of HIV that researchers had not considered in their search for a vaccine. Moreover, the target is a relatively stable portion of the virus that does not participate in the extensive mutations that have made HIV able to escape from antiviral drugs and previous experimental vaccines.

“This is opening up a whole new area of science,” said Dr. Seth F. Berkley, president and chief executive of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, which funded and coordinated the research.

At least 33 million people worldwide are infected with HIV, and at least 25 million have died from AIDS, according to the World Health Organization. Two large trials of experimental vaccines have failed — the most recent, in 2007, because the vaccine apparently made people more susceptible to infection.

To find the neutralizing antibodies, researchers collected blood samples from more than 1,800 people in Thailand, Australia and Africa who had been infected with HIV for at least three years without the infection proceeding to severe disease. Such individuals are most likely to produce antibodies that interfere with the replication of the virus.

Researchers at Monogram Biosciences in South San Francisco studied the samples most resistant to infection, then a team from Theraclone Sciences in Seattle isolated the antibodies responsible for the resistance.

They ultimately isolated two antibodies, called PG9 and PG16, from one African patient. The antibodies were able to block the activity of about three-quarters of the 162 separate strains of HIV they tested it against.

Immunologist Dennis Burton of Scripps and his colleagues then showed that the antibodies bind to regions of two proteins on the surface of the virus, called gp120 and gp41, that help the virus invade cells. These regions had never before been considered as targets for vaccines.

Researchers still have a long way to go to produce a vaccine, however.

The antibodies themselves could potentially be used as a treatment for infected patients who develop severe disease.

But the long-term hope is to find molecules, either synthetic or natural, that can stimulate the body to produce the broadly neutralizing antibodies. Such molecules could potentially be the basis for a successful vaccine.

The issue of the voter veto initiative may be one of those odd contests in New England where Prop 8 style ads are more likely to turn off voters than to get them out, and the donations given to this cause by the Maine Catholic Church has already become a problem for the clergy as many parishioners have looked upon the shuttered parochial schools and wondered why the Church can spend money on a political campaign while that is occurring.

The campaign to get the voter veto initiative has also caused problems for those who oppose marriage equality in part because the campaign to get this on the ballot cost them a lot of money while those who support marriage equality have been able to rest upon their money waiting for the day that the petition was certified.

For gay men however, this increase in nightlife has created a tale of two cities. On the one hand, safety during the night meant that gay men, one part of reemerging cosmopolitan society, were throwing parties and becoming visible again. Unfortunately, that visibility created a backlash. Groups like the Mahdi Army seized on the resurgence earlier this year, killing gay men from the Sadr City area, a poor, deeply religious neighborhood in the eastern side of the city.

I have interviewed a few men from the area, and they have told me about witnessing killings by members of the Mahdi Army, dressed in their famous black gear, strafing sidewalks with bullets in drive by shootings. Others told of midnight burnings of cafes popular with gay men. It’s hard to hear these stories, even harder to watch some of the videos they’ve brought me of friends who have been killed.

Another man I met, whom I tried to meet two years ago, but could not because it was simply too dangerous, helps runs some of the safehouses that Ali Hili of Iraqi LGBT is involved in. He was old enough to have a good perspective on the Saddam reign, and looked at me dreamily when talking about life then. He doesn’t want to leave Iraq though, telling me, “I am Iraqi, where else can I go. This is my home.”

At the same time, life is different for some of the gay men I interviewed, who hang out in groups on Abu Nawaz or head to fashionable cafes. Even here though is some cognitive dissonance. One young man, a handsome bodybuilder, told me as I chatted with him and a group of friends, all as fashionable as men from West Hollywood or Chelsea, that “life is good for gays in Baghdad.” But he lamented what happened to his effeminate friends, whom he called, “more like sissies,” who risk their lives to be on the street. Some he said, had been forced to perform oral sex in the body search trailers with the guards meant to protect their neighborhoods. Other men he explained, wound up dead after being harassed at these checkpoints.

My visit comes after the release of the Human Rights Watch report on the gay killings in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq which have gone on since 2004, but peaked in the spring of this year. The horrible mutilations included anal gluing, a disgusting method of death where a heavy glue is forced into the anus and the victim is given laxatives so that his insides rip apart. Some men have survived this, but can’t return to their families once it’s known the method of torture used on them. I was able to go past Al Kindi hospital in northern Baghdad where some of the men went for help, and near which some of the bodies of those who didn’t survive were dumped.

All this has to be put into perspective with the deaths that go on in Iraq on a daily basis, including the spectacular bombing of the Foreign Ministry on August 19th, the day I arrived into the city and which killed 100 people. And members of Baghdad’s cosmopolitan society remain at risk, from women in the workforce, to musicians, to artists, to Christians and other religious minorities. Still, one official I spoke with at a foreign embassy who has dealt with a variety of persecuted Iraqis told me “it’s the gruesomeness of the killings,” that has prodded attention.

I leave Baghdad soon, this beautiful, dangerous and ancient capital, wondering what to make of this tale of two cities for the gay men I have met who must walk a precarious balance in this still war-torn place