Under Attack

[Chief Thracian]

UPDATE

Quoting from the (Jan. 17th issue of the) S.F. Bay Times article

Staph Infections In The Castro Causing Community Uproar
http://www.sfbaytimes.com/?sec=article&article_id=7331

--begin quotes:

Some critics are cynical about the study - especially that it focused
on the Castro and not other areas of the City, such as South of
Market. Others are angry that the notion of gay sex is being hyped as
the cause. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention,
the bacteria affect only about one percent of the population, which
has prompted several doctors to propose that fears of the bacteria
might be overblown.

The Human Rights Campaign has stated that this is a case of rightwing
bigots returning to 1980 HIV/AIDS fear-mongering tactics. "We saw this
kind of hysteria in the early 1980's around HIV/AIDS," said HRC
President Joe Solmonese. "I'll be damned if we will sit idly by in
2008 and let them perpetrate that type of anti-gay hysteria again
without calling them out on it." Based on a Jan. 15 story by the
Reuters News Agency about a new strain of staph infection affecting
gay men, the rightwing group, Concerned Women for America, well known
for its bigotry, took the opportunity to promote its anti-gay hatred.
HRC's Solmonese called CWA's statements "lies and distortions."

--end quotes

Moving on to ANOTHER gay rag out of Frisco, The Bay Area Reporter
(B.A.R.), I now quote from article

Data on staph links gays
http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=2612

--begin quotes:

Binh An Diep, PhD, a researcher at UCSF and the lead author of the
study, said part of the reason why he conducted the study was to help
empower gay men to take better care of their own health. It was
published online in the Annals of Internal Medicine on January 14.

However, Diep made several statements in a news release that fanned
the flames of homophobia. Anti-gay groups seized on the study, with
one calling gay men a "public health hazard."

Given the hysteria in much of the media coverage of the recent studies
on MRSA, Diep said that he is concerned there will be a possible
backlash against the gay community

--end quotes

What? A RESEARCHER aware that his words were poorly chosen,
nonetheless goes on record as possibly FOMENTING severe backlash
against sexual minorities! Which backlash threatens to spread WAY
beyond "Gay Mecca," spilling over into ALL gay communities in major
urban centers WORLDWIDE...as I have already iterated some paragraphs
above. Now, allow me to provide several MORE quotes from that same
article, to ALLEVIATE the needless (though apparently INTENTIONAL)
angst created out of these irresponsible mouths of "concerned" and
"gay friendly" researchers such as Binh Dipwad:

--begin quotes:

San Francisco physician William Owen told the Bay Area Reporter
Tuesday that he sees little new in the latest study....

Diep found the annual incidence of USA300 infection per 100,000
persons was 275 cases, while the incidence of the MDR variant was 26
cases in all of San Francisco....

The Castro District (Zip code 94114) had the highest percentage (25.7
percent) of male same-sex couples in the United States, and a MDR
USA300 incidence rate per 100,000 of 170 cases. However, the total
number of cases in an individual Zip code is small and so the
statistical confidence interval is large; one should we wary of
drawing too many conclusions from the subset analysis.
'Diep said they saw little difference among HIV-positive patients in
terms of acquisition of MRSA, disease progression, or response to
therapy. However, most of those patients had a CD4 count greater than
200. Significant risks of opportunistic infections often are not seen
until the CD4 count drops below 100, and the number of patients in
that category was too small for meaningful analysis.

--end quotes

Now, about the S.F. Chronicle, which newspaper here in our Unkind
Metropolis, REPORTED this hysterical claptrap with a vivid red MAP of
The Castro to INTIMIDATE and FRIGHTEN the populace...and STIR UP
homophobia and violence against our long-suffering community:

This is not the FIRST time the Chronicle has sold out to the Religious
Reich. On August 16, 1999, they accepted $35,000 to publish a
full-page anti-gay ad, claiming that we sexual minorities can be
cured!

http://www.gay-bible.org/truetales/6_shame1.htm

See my essay "Hetero Shame Week" for more details on THAT shameful
matter.

http://www.gay-bible.org/truetales/6_shame.htm

(Thank your lucky ass-teroids a scant good folks like me keep RECORDS
and pay CLOSE ATTENTION to seemingly unrelated affairs! If I had to
hold down a regular job to survive, instead of collecting a gov't
disabilty stipend, I could NEVER have been so dedicated.)

The only thing GOOD coming out of this Dark Affair, is as a textbook
example of how This Zodiac Cult operates...either "Dieply" hidden or,
in this case, when out in the open, done so with a "Diep" crocodile
smile, a.k.a. "friendly fire". In closing, please take a concise
moment to embed in your juicy cerebrum, the face of Our Newest Enemy,
traitor to our cause:

Loading Image...

[Bill Z.]

Post by Chief Thracian
UPDATE
Quoting from the (Jan. 17th issue of the) S.F. Bay Times article
Staph Infections In The Castro Causing Community Uproar
http://www.sfbaytimes.com/?sec=article&article_id=7331
Some critics are cynical about the study - especially that it focused
on the Castro and not other areas of the City, such as South of
Market.

The San Fransisco Chronicle had some reasonable articles about the
problem. The main concern is that the staph variant in question
is resistant to nearly all antibiotics and there are other strains
resistant to the remaining antibiotics. If someone ends up being
infected to both simulataneously there is a real risk - staph
bacteria can swap genes and when this happens, you could end up with
a variant resistant to all the antibiotics we have. Because of that
risk, it makes sense to invest some effort into developing new
antibiotics that are effective against staph, and in the meantime,
doctors need to be more diligent about washing their hands well after
examining one patient and going to the next.

It's all dull and boring stuff to the general public, but important
from a public health standpoint.

Post by Chief Thracian
Binh An Diep, PhD, a researcher at UCSF and the lead author of the
study, said part of the reason why he conducted the study was to help
empower gay men to take better care of their own health. It was
published online in the Annals of Internal Medicine on January 14.
However, Diep made several statements in a news release that fanned
the flames of homophobia. Anti-gay groups seized on the study, with
one calling gay men a "public health hazard."

Extremists and political activist types sometimes misinterpret what a
researcher says or try to twist it to gain some advantage. It's not
just the right wing nuts - someone once told me about the time someone
tried to give a talk at Stanford with a colorful title, "Can Black
Holes reach an Excited State". If you are a physicist, the meaning is
very clear, but (as the story goes), the NAACP got wind of it and
staged a protest disrupting the talk, figuring the title meant
something else altogether! It was rescheduled a few weeks later with
the title changed to "Coupled Solutions of the Maxwell and Einstein
Field Equations," technically accurate but far more boring as a title.

[f***@gmail.com]

Post by Bill Z.

Post by Chief Thracian
UPDATE
Quoting from the (Jan. 17th issue of the) S.F. Bay Times article
Staph Infections In The Castro Causing Community Uproar
http://www.sfbaytimes.com/?sec=article&article_id=7331
Some critics are cynical about the study - especially that it focused
on the Castro and not other areas of the City, such as South of
Market.

The San Fransisco Chronicle had some reasonable articles about the
problem. The main concern is that the staph variant in question
is resistant to nearly all antibiotics and there are other strains
resistant to the remaining antibiotics. If someone ends up being
infected to both simulataneously there is a real risk - staph
bacteria can swap genes and when this happens, you could end up with
a variant resistant to all the antibiotics we have. Because of that
risk, it makes sense to invest some effort into developing new
antibiotics that are effective against staph, and in the meantime,
doctors need to be more diligent about washing their hands well after
examining one patient and going to the next.
It's all dull and boring stuff to the general public, but important
from a public health standpoint.

Post by Chief Thracian
Binh An Diep, PhD, a researcher at UCSF and the lead author of the
study, said part of the reason why he conducted the study was to help
empower gay men to take better care of their own health. It was
published online in the Annals of Internal Medicine on January 14.
However, Diep made several statements in a news release that fanned
the flames of homophobia. Anti-gay groups seized on the study, with
one calling gay men a "public health hazard."

Extremists and political activist types sometimes misinterpret what a
researcher says or try to twist it to gain some advantage. It's not
just the right wing nuts - someone once told me about the time someone
tried to give a talk at Stanford with a colorful title, "Can Black
Holes reach an Excited State". If you are a physicist, the meaning is
very clear, but (as the story goes), the NAACP got wind of it and
staged a protest disrupting the talk, figuring the title meant
something else altogether! It was rescheduled a few weeks later with
the title changed to "Coupled Solutions of the Maxwell and Einstein
Field Equations," technically accurate but far more boring as a title.

Small children sometimes get a staph infection in day cares. I would
suggest that the parents of those kids never ever, under any
circumstances touch their children. Besides the best place to get a
staph infection is in a hospital. Medical costs go up ,because after
kicking surgery patients out into the street, they leave with staph
infections.

[Chief Thracian]

Post by f***@gmail.com
Besides the best place to get a
staph infection is in a hospital. Medical costs go up ,because after
kicking surgery patients out into the street, they leave with staph
infections.

Perhaps hospitals are scapegoating GAYS for spreading MRSA, in order
to divert the public from the TRUTH you so well stated.

[Chief Thracian]

Post by Bill Z.
The San Fransisco Chronicle had some reasonable articles about the
problem.

But NOT the front-page article with the horrific "gay flesh eating"
map. That was sheer homophobia...a gross disservice to all people
concerned about MRSA, but mostly to our queer community.

Post by Bill Z.
The main concern is that the staph variant in question
is resistant to nearly all antibiotics and there are other strains
resistant to the remaining antibiotics.

Of course. You're preaching to the choir here, tell me something I
don't already know.

But what the Chronicle and Dr. Diep et al are doing, is turning this
"main concern" into a jihad against homosexuals.

Post by Bill Z.
If someone ends up being
infected to both simulataneously there is a real risk - staph
bacteria can swap genes and when this happens, you could end up with
a variant resistant to all the antibiotics we have.

And that's why it's now URGENT that we round up and isolate all those
FILTHY ass-boinking queers, before this ALL gets out of hand. Think of
the children!

Post by Bill Z.
Because of that
risk, it makes sense to invest some effort into developing new
antibiotics that are effective against staph

Yes, instead of investing WASTED effort in some sort of scare tactic
to foment an anti-queer holocaust.

Post by Bill Z.
and in the meantime,
doctors need to be more diligent about washing their hands well after
examining one patient and going to the next.

Doctors, nurses, aides, and so on. MANY interviews and reports have
revealed that hardly ANY medical worker is bothering to wash his or
her hands competently and frequently. Main cop-out being: "We just
don't have the TIME, we're so overburdened!" Shame on them!

Rather than wash our hands like we should, let's just take the LAZY
way out: blame the faggots!

Post by Bill Z.
It's all dull and boring stuff to the general public, but important
from a public health standpoint.

While whipping up FEAR and TERROR of sexual minorities is just so
EXCITING!

Post by Bill Z.
Extremists and political activist types sometimes misinterpret what a
researcher says or try to twist it to gain some advantage.

The researcher in question (Diep) and his cohorts, plust sensationlist
media (S.F. Chronicle for one) are DEFINITELY at fault, in this case.

Post by Bill Z.
someone once told me about the time someone
tried to give a talk at Stanford with a colorful title, "Can Black
Holes reach an Excited State". If you are a physicist, the meaning is
very clear, but (as the story goes), the NAACP got wind of it and
staged a protest disrupting the talk, figuring the title meant
something else altogether!

How ignorant of them. But I believe it, 'cause some years back there
was an NAACP uproar over some speaker using the word
"niggardly"...which has NO connotation towards anything to do with
racism.

Thanks for your comments, Bill Z.

[Bill Z.]

Post by Chief Thracian
Thanks for your comments, Bill Z.

Until I go to the last line, I had the impression that you were mad at
me for some reason, even though I was merely pointing out that the
right-wing nuts were full of it and that the common-sense solution is
to simple do things (like frequently washing hands in a hospital
setting) to reduce the risks while we develop more antibiotics.

I think you are being a bit too hard on the researchers, however.
They are not political activists and are trained to state things
precisely and in more or less clinical terms. If you don't let
them do that, we'll end up slowing the rate of progress. The press
needs to learn how to interview them and not write overly sensational
articles.

When I saw the map in the Chronicle, my first reaction was that the
zip codes with the highest staph rates probably matched the ones where
many HIV patients live: to the extent that they have to spend more
time in hospitals, they are at higher risk of a staph infection, and
with SF rent control laws, they have an incentive to not move. When
you couple that incentive with the falling HIV new-infection rate over
the 1990s, you can get some striking biases in housing pattern
statistics. Of course, there could be some other explanation, but I
wouldn't take the map as an indication of much of anything without a
lot more data. It's just a first step.

[Chief Thracian]

UPDATE 2

LETTER TO THE EDITOR (Bay Area Reporter and S.F. Bay Times)

Date: January 19, 2008

Subject: Yummy Hetero Flesh

Dear Editor:

Check out this "gay flesh-eating" map (front page, S.F. Chronicle,
Jan. 15):

http://tinyurl.com/2xpgox

The 94114 zip code (Eureka Valley a.k.a. The Castro) is bright
red...like a bull's eye. It's a blatant attack, both psychological and
biological, to terrorize and decimate our gay ranks. And they're not
too covert about it. What does this map really suggest? Gays are CODE
RED, same as Islamic terrorists! (This isn't just a flesh-eating
virus: it's a GAY flesh-eating virus...and a most virulent one at
that! We're not just baby eaters any more. Yay!)

Quoting a recent article regarding this new variant of the MRSA virus
(Bay Area Reporter, Jan. 17):

"Diep made several statements in a news release that fanned the flames
of homophobia. Anti-gay groups seized on the study, with one calling
gay men a public health hazard."

What? A UCSF researcher, Dr. Binh An Diep, aware that his words were
poorly chosen, nonetheless goes on record as possibly fomenting severe
backlash against sexual minorities! Which backlash threatens to spread
way beyond "Gay Mecca," spilling over into all gay communities in
major urban centers worldwide.

I fully agree with one pro-gay organization's position, as reported in
the S.F. Bay Times article dated Jan. 17:

"The Human Rights Campaign has stated that this is a case of rightwing
bigots returning to 1980 HIV/AIDS fear-mongering tactics."

But it is not enough to point our fingers at those fundamentalist and
right-wing groups jumping all over these skewed statistics. We must
also roundly condemn those people originally responsible for
broadcasting such homophobic tripe, who hold important positions in
the medical field, claiming to be friends of the LGBT community.
Starting with Dr. Diep, who heads this particular MRSA project.

Just who are you, Dr. Binh "Dipwad"? A pious Christian infiltrating
our queer community in order to poison us with a new infection, to
foment further anti-queer backlash? Or perhaps you're a gay man
yourself, whose desire for world fame (along with that of your
associates) far outweighs any true desire to honor the Hippocratic
Oath? You would not be the first opportunist to piggy-back onto our
long-suffering community for your own vainglory, no matter what damage
wrought upon those groups you claim to heal!

Quoting again from the same B.A. R. article:

"Given the hysteria in much of the media coverage of the recent
studies on MRSA, Diep said that he is concerned there will be a
possible backlash against the gay community."

Dr. Dipwad, put this in your syringe and sit on it: We queers can do
without your perverted sort of "concern". As the saying goes: "With
friends like you, who needs enemies?" I hope you lose your job and
find yourself begging in the streets. Or at best: slinging hash in the
Tenderloin.

As for the S.F. Chronicle:

This is not the first time the Chronicle has sold out to the Religious
Reich. On August 16, 1998, they accepted $35,000 to publish a
full-page anti-gay ad, claiming that we sexual minorities can be
cured! You can view that horrid ad, as well as read outraged responses
(and the Chronicle's own, smug defense) here:

tinyurl.com/29fstx

This medical scandal of homophobic and media intrigue causes me to
question:

Is S.F. General in cahoots with the UCSF med center, to use gay people
as Guinea pigs for their medical experiments? And since the vast
majority of MRSA infections remain a hospital-borne plague, just WHO
should we fear more: homosexuals or hetero-run hospitals?

Sinqueerly yours,

Zeke Krahlin

[Bill Z.]

Post by Chief Thracian
UPDATE 2
"Diep made several statements in a news release that fanned the flames
of homophobia. Anti-gay groups seized on the study, with one calling
gay men a public health hazard."

Too put this in perspective, a co-worker once told me about the time
he was interviewed by the press about a project he was doing for the
U.S. Navy. Basically, it was an AI program that tried to take all the
sensor data they collect on a ship, and order it so that the things
most likely to represent a threat (someone shooting at them) would
stand out. He explained it as helping people "fight smarter", meaning
to make better decisions by eliminating distractions. The press turned
this into "smart fighters", which might require genetic engineering.

Never underestimate the ability of the press to screw things up. As
a friend once quipped to someone about to be interviewed, "Now is
your chance to be misquoted by the New York Times."

So keep in mind that whatever Diep was reported to have said may have
very little to do with what he actually said. Reporters sometimes
like to spice things up.