Saturday, August 30, 2008

I am not homophobic!

This week the Employment Relations Authority report released in which it said the following about Sean Mitchell, Action Media Publisher and Owner:


"[his] conduct was "infantile", and the resulting situation was his own fault"
Mr Mitchell then contacted Gaynz.com where he is quoted as follows:

"I've got no problem with people reading the story, that's fine, but the whole embarrassing thing is that I'm actually not a homophobe and they make it sound like I'm being nasty."

"I am happy to talk to anyone to show that I am not homophobic in the slightest. That's the only part of the story that I find personally upsetting,"
While there is always two sides to the story I get the feeling that Mitchell is as "infantile" as the report suggests as he doesn't get it that making offensive gay jokes is not appropriate behaviour for a manager. His claim he is not homophobic also has the feeling of some of my best friends are gay but then continues to make anti gay jokes after he has been asked to stop making them.

In the story on Gaynz.com his biggest worry is that he appears to be homophobic and not that he has been called infantile. I am happy to accept his claim he isn't homophobic as he appears to be too infantile to even understand that his actions would be percieved as homophobic.

So based on Mitchell's comments it is okay to call him "infantile"!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Condoms - Do you want Strawberry or extra large?

Pharmac this week announced that condom subsidies would now include strawberry, vanilla, chocolate and banana condoms, as well as large, extra large, ribbed and supersensitive varieties.

In defending the move Pharmac announced that the overall cost of funding the 9million presubscribed condoms would drop by 10%.

Of course the conservative Family First group was mortified by this move and demanded public executions and spouted their usual nonsense about Pharmac funding pleasure, etc.


"It is tragic and a national disgrace that at a time when Pharmac can't find funding for sufferers of breast cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure and other serious problems, that they can find funding to subsidise flavoured condoms," says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First.

"This is not a health and safety issue. It's not about preventing unwanted pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases. This is simply about funding sexual behaviour that shouldn't be at the cost of the taxpayer or other more life-threatening medication."

It is a typical anti sex nonsense from Family First where sex must be confined to a marriage. Bob of course lives a dream world if he thinks this ever will occur. So the reality is people have sex and will continue to have sex with different people. The more of those people who have sex with condoms the lower the risk of transmission of STDs and HIV transmission amongst the sexually active population.

And if condoms are not used because they are too expensive or not available in the right size or because guys don't like wearing them then there will be a serious increase in STDs and HIV infection which will in the long prove to cost a lot more than the $1m a year.

The other bit Bob missed was that Pharmac actually was reducing the overall spend but offering a wider variety of condoms which are already funded. Personally I thought Pharmac had achieved a miracle by doing this and should be congratulated for reducing costs and thus providing more funds for other drugs.

Monday, August 11, 2008

HIV and sex

Today a judge gave a suspended sentence to Lam Kuoth after he had earlier pleaded guilty to two charges of recklessly endangering another person.

Various media have picked it up with the Geelong Advertiser headline reading "Reckless HIV lover walks free"

What I find interesting about this case is that the women he had unprotected sex with was 24 and appears to have freely consented to sex.

I find it worrying that a 24 year old women wouldn't insist on him wearing a condom and wonder why this is the case and why she appears to be willing to have unprotected sex. She should be will aware of the risks of sexually transmitted diseases and I find it disturbing that she didn't take some responsibility and insist on protection.