September 19, 2011

Ashton Kutcher is No Charlie Sheen

Posted by Jeanne Sager

The Two and a Half Men promo ads with a half-naked Ashton Kutcher promised all would be revealed on September 19. They lied. Oh sure, the half-hour premiere show managed to both kill offCharlie Sheen, er former main character Charlie Harper -- he fell in front of a Paris Metro train under mysterious circumstances not surprisingly involving his long-time stalker Rose -- and introduce us to Kutcher's Walden Schmidt (who, as it happens, maintained a half-naked state throughout the show).

But that was, disappointingly, it.

We got a half hour that didn't even bring Kutcher in until the half-way point, when he showed up Rose-like on the deck of Charlie's beachhouse to ask to use the phone, interrupting Alan Harper's (Jon Cryer) semi-mourning of his dead brother. But aside from setting Kutcher up as super-rich and able to buy the house, we'll have to tune in next week to find out how they'll make his life intersect with Alan's in a way that denotes the title.

Those of us who tuned in for "all" of Ashton got more like a taste, albeit one that assured us he, er, his character, is hung like an elephant. And there was a butt shot, sadly blurred out.

What we did see leaves us confident Charlie's gone, but still wondering: is this really a new Men?

Charlie Sheen's character Charlie was hardly a stretch from his real life. Boozy womanizer played boozy womanizer. Now we have Ashton who is by no means Charlie Sheen, and he's playing a character totally unlike Charlie Harper (hooray). He is, however, playing young, sexy, rich dude who can get any woman he wants. Which is . . . hardly a stretch?

Then again, Walden Schmidt made gazillions of dollars off a smarty pants deal with Microsoft, so Ashton's not playing the same sexy dumb dude from That '70s Show. He's "stretching." And there's the opportunity for a further reveal in next Monday night's "to be continued" episode.

I will say this. Seeing Ashton Kutcher play the womanizer is not only more believable (Sheen goddesses or no Sheen goddesses), but the fashion gods will be relieved to hear that primetime is not trying to convince America that hotties wear bowling shirts. Even if Ashton Kutcher is stereotyped, it's not as a Charlie Sheen replacement. And that's a relief.

the stir cafe mom

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Online gamers' 'extraordinary' AIDS breakthrough

In just three weeks, a group of gamers cracks a molecular code that has stumped HIV researchers for more than a decade

The mysterious AIDS enzyme that was pieced together by online gamers and could help scientists design better drugs.Photo: YouTube

According to the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, a group of online gamers have unlocked the mysterious, highly-complex structure of a critical retroviral protease that baffled AIDS scientists for over a decade. And the gamers' surprising discovery has paved the way for an "extraordinary" breakthrough in AIDS research. Here's what you need to know:

What happened?
Scientists have been toiling for more than a decade to figure out the detailed molecular structure of a retroviral protease that plays a key role in how AIDS is spread,says Alan Boyle at MSNBC, weighing millions of possible links between atoms and molecules. Mapping the protease's structure would theoretically enable scientists to design drugs that could "stop the virus in its tracks." Though scientists were stumped, a group of online gamers was able to map the mysterious enzyme within three weeks using a game called Foldit.

How does Foldit work?
This is not Super Mario Brothers. Foldit is a program created by researchers at the University of Washington that "transforms problems of science into a competitive computer game," says Fox News. More than 236,000 players have registered for the game over the past three years. Players manipulate virtual molecular structures as if they were Tinkertoy sets, says Boyle, using the same chemical rules that apply to molecules in real life. The more elegant a player's structure is, the more points he scores. After being challenged by researchers to help map this protease, several players worked together to solve this particular puzzle in a matter of days.

What does this mean?
The researchers quickly confirmed that the players' solution "was almost certainly correct," allowing them to begin translating the game's results into a scientific rendering of the protein that could lead to significant developments in the design of anti-AIDS drugs, says Leslie Horn at PC Mag. The success of Foldit also shows how crowdsourcing could lead to significant scientific breakthroughs.

Is this the future of research?
Science-oriented video games could help in drug development, genetic engineering, and biofuels, says Boyle. But that doesn't mean Foldit is the next Farmville, says Firas Khatib at the University of Washington. "Let's be honest, proteins aren't the sexiest video game out there."

via http://theweek.com

Trying to pray gay away sets one up to fail

Article by: CHAD OLEARY

"I would like to thank the Star Tribune for printing the Rev. James Livingston's commentary ("Some people can make the gay go away," Sept. 12). I think that it sheds more light on the state of the Catholic Church than it does about same-sex attraction."

To say the least, I am very skeptical of Livingston's claims. I wish that he would have provided insight into the techniques he uses, solid statistics about the "successes" he sees, and the quality of life for these men and women after having graduated from such therapies.

I would respectfully suggest that the Catholic Church look within if it is serious about sexual wholeness. After growing up Catholic and attending an undergraduate and graduate school with a seminary, I can say that it is hard to build credibility when many within the ranks of church leadership are running from some question of sexuality in their life.

I would also respectfully request that the church consider what it is truly saying by offering a reparative ministry.

I was tormented as a teen because of my perceived homosexual traits. While the flying punches bruised my body, the sense of disorder presented to me by my church wounded my soul. I was told that the church loved me as long as I changed the core of who I was. This lead me to kneel on rocks while praying novenas until my knees bled, and I was even told by one priest in the confessional to drink eight ounces of holy water once per day.

Being told that I could "pray it away" set me up for what I could least afford: failure. I considered myself a failure in the eyes of God and, at the age of 14, sat with a bottle of aspirin by my bed considering ending it all.

After seven years of youth ministry within the Catholic Church, I know firsthand that there are teens on the brink of ending it all, who see themselves as disgusting anomalies for wanting to love someone of the same sex and build a family with that person. I think that perpetuating this self-loathing is the epitome of sin.

It was in seeing these kids suffer the way that I did that led me to the painful decision to leave the Catholic Church. Livingston makes it clear why I do not have a home in the Catholic Church unless, essentially, I admit that God made a mistake. I have more trust in the Holy Spirit than that.

In finding myself, I found God and my voice. I am a very proud gay man with a deep spirituality that no one can take away from me. I have a partner whom I love greatly, and God is at the center of our relationship. It took many years, but I am so glad that I couldn't pray the gay away.

And to young Catholics out there: It gets better.

* * *http://www.startribune.com

Chad OLeary lives in St. Paul.

Pilot error/ intoxication by navigator on Russian Crash

Pilot error, slight intoxication of the navigator, and a failure of the crew to interact properly caused a plane crash that killed 47 people in June of this year, Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) said Monday.

The crew should have circled to make a fresh attempt at landing in poor weather conditions, the IAC probe found.

It "was the failure of the crew to decide on a go-around and descend below the minimal established safety altitude in the absence of visual contact with approach lights and landmarks which resulted in the collision of the aircraft with trees and ground," the IAC said.

The report comes out nearly two weeks after another plane crash that killed dozens of Russian and international hockey players in Yaroslavl, Russia. An investigation into that crash is ongoing.

Monday's report examined a Tupolev-134 airliner that went down June 20 in the Russian northwest city of Petrozavodsk.

The jet with 43 passengers and a crew of nine took from Moscow for Petrozavodsk, about 950 kilometers (600 miles) to the north.

Controllers lost contact with the twin-engine plane, and it crashed onto a highway outside Besovets, near the Petrozavodsk airport, the Transportation Ministry reported.

"The first thing that the plane had contact with was a pine tree of about 15 meters high," Alexander Neradko, head of the Russian Federal Aviation Agency said on Russian state TV at the time of the crash.

"This proves that the plane didn't break in mid-air but that all that destruction was inflicted to it as a result of that contact," he said.
Nearly 140 rescue workers, doctors and police officers responded to the crash.

The IAC investigates and analyzes aviation accidents in the former Soviet Union, and oversees civil aviation across the region.

Source: CNN.

A Filipino Sex Strike to stop Fighting

A group of women in a violence-plagued area of the Philippines came up with their own weapon to end the fighting -- a sex strike.

The women withheld sex from their husbands until they promised to quit fighting. Their stand helped end clashes in July between villages in rural Mindanao Island, a recently released U.N. Refugee Agency report says.

A separatist rebellion has been underway on the Filipino island of Mindanao since the 1970s. Families of Dado village had been displaced because of it since 2008 and are working to rebuild their community with the help of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other aid organizations.

Women of the village came up with the idea of a sex strike as a way to help rebuild their village and to bring peace during a UNHCR sponsored sewing cooperative. Many of the women were fed up with not being able to deliver their products due to the violence that closed down a main road between two villages.

UNHCR Spokesperson for Asia, Kitty McKinsey, said she witnessed the women quietly implement the solution to withhold sex from their husbands until the fighting stopped -- and it worked.

"I told them, if you don't agree with me, you will get no salary from me," says Aninon E. Kamanza of the Dado village sewing cooperative in a UNHCR video report.

Within weeks of the strike starting, the UNHCR reports that the main village road re-opened and the fighting stopped. The women of the sewing cooperative along with other villagers were able to deliver their goods and start to rebuild the economy.

"Women wanted their husbands to not fight anymore and by using their feminine wiles they were able to enforce their wish," said McKinsey.

The idea of withholding sex for a cause is not a new one -- the ancient Greek play Lysistrata tells the story of women who organized a sex strike to end a war between Athens and Sparta.

More recently, a strike was launched in 2006 in the Colombian city of Pereira, known for its drug trafficking and violent crimes. The strike was implemented by wives and girlfriends of gang members to get them to change their lifestyle and hand over their guns.

A similar campaign was carried out by women in Kenya in 2009 to protest the growing divide in Kenya's coalition government.

Sporadic fighting is still present in Mindanao near Dado village, but it is very localized, McKinsey said.

The sex strike is just one of the ways the people in Mindanao are using to implement change.

"I was really touched by how people didn't want handouts," she says, "They were all really happy and eager to help themselves.

Source: CNN.

Netflix CEO on Price HIKE: 'Got Too Cocky'

“I SLID INTO ARROGANCE”

by Hillary Reinsberg

When a CEO starts a letter with, “I messed up. I owe everyone an explanation,” you know you’re in trouble. Or, in this case, it turns out you’re in for what might be the most apologetic, sappy letter from a CEO we’ve seen in recent memory.

Netflix founder and CEO Reed Hastings wrote an email to users this morning, which also appeared on his blog — in which he apologized for price hikes at Netflix and announced that the company is splitting into two parts. While the main takeaway from the note was the news that Netflix is spinning its DVD-by-mail service into a separate business called Qwikster, the letter felt a bit more like something you’d get from a cheating boyfriend.

We’ve got here what we think are the sappiest highlights of the letter, and tell us if you agree:

“We lacked respect and humility.”

“I need to be extra-communicative.”

“I slid into arrogance based upon past success.”

“I should have personally given a full justification.”

“It would have been the right thing to do.”

“I want to acknowledge and thank our many members that stuck with us, and to apologize again to those members, both current and former, who felt we treated them thoughtlessly.”

In the past, we’d felt that Hastings was perhaps too cocky. Seems that those days are now long gone.

Gay Marines worry about coming out

Marine Cpl. AJ Garcia, a veteran of two deployments in Iraq, plans to tell his fellow Marines that he is gay when official policy changes on Tuesday. He's apprehensive about making his sexual orientation known. / NONE/PHOTO COURTESY OF Cpl. AJ GARCIA

Written by

Tony Lombardo | Marine Corps Times

http://www.app.com

Cpl. AJ Garcia has deployed twice to Iraq, and he wants to make a career out of the Corps.

He's also about to share something with his fellow Marines that he hasn’t told too many people before: He’s gay.

“I'm pretty nervous about it, but it’s for a good cause,” Garcia said.

One of his “greatest fears” is that he will be shunned by the Marines in his unit.

Yet Garcia, like others in the service’s underground gay community, is ready to talk about it, because on Tuesday, the “don't ask, don't tell” policy banning gays from serving openly — enacted in 1993 during the Clinton administration — will be stripped from the military’s rulebook.

The occasion could pass quietly. President Barack Obama and the Defense Department have no plans for news conferences or major addresses, and the Defense Department stopped enforcing the old policy in July.

But for gay Marines, official repeal will be a historic day, comparable to the moment 63 years ago when President Truman ordered the services to end racial segregation.

For straight Marines, this will bring changes, too. Equal treatment will be a must. And yes, some gay Marines will bring dates to the Marine Corps Birthday Ball in November.

“We love. We bleed. We cry. We fight. At the end of the day, we're people, too,” Garcia said. “And we want respect.”

That's something the military must give, now that Obama certified to Congress on July 22 that repealing the ban would not hurt military operations.

Although Commandant Gen. Jim Amos was initially concerned that repeal could affect military readiness, he has since directed his Marines to treat all peers, regardless of their sexual orientation, with “dignity and respect.”

Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Mike Barrett eased the concerns of many gay Marines when, in June, he bluntly told a room full of leathernecks that anyone ticked off about the change needs to “get over it.”

“Marines have received their orders, and I am confident and trust that they will faithfully carry them out,” Barrett told Marine Corps Times. Although optimistic, gay Marines said some problems are inevitable. After all, the policy runs counter to deeply held beliefs of some Marines — and counter to some deep-seated cultural traits that have pervaded the Corps at large.

Last year, when the Defense Department surveyed troops on possible repeal, the Corps, more than any other service, was the most opposed to change.

Even with repeal days away, every gay Marine interviewed for this story, with the exception of Garcia, would speak only on the condition of anonymity.

As such, each has been identified using a false first name. Some agonized over this decision but ultimately decided that outing themselves now could hurt their careers. They worry commanders will comply with the repeal — but reluctantly.

Uber-warriors

Marines’ strong opposition to repeal could be fueled by a culture built on a rigid “warrior ethos,” said Tammy Schultz, a professor at the Marine Corps War College in Quantico, Va.

She is co-editing a forthcoming collection of essays written by gay and straight service members titled “The End of Don't Ask, Don't Tell: The Impact in Personal Essays & Studies” and published by the Marine Corps University Press.

“Marines have almost an uber-warrior mindset,” said Schultz, who is gay . “The commandant has even spoke of this. They recruit based on that warrior ethos. There’s the perception, in many cases wrongly, that homosexuals may display more effeminate qualities that may run counter to that warrior ethos.”

Mark, a former enlisted Marine who is now attending the Naval Academy and working to become a Marine officer, said that although most will meet the commandant's expectations, there will be some who won’t.

“I feel like you just can't beat the camaraderie in the Marine Corps,” he said. “But with that, comes the whole homophobic attitude.”

The message of enforcement needs to be clear from the top down, said Jeff, a captain and company commander in an infantry battalion at Camp Pendleton, Calif., who is gay. He recently watched his battalion sergeant major use gay slurs in a briefing with staff noncommissioned officers and junior officers.

“Every staff NCO in the room and potentially even junior officers could have gone out the next day, said something like that in front of their Marines and say, ‘I was just following the example of the battalion sergeant major,’ ” Jeff said.

{Continued P3 Click here}

AntiGay Focus on The Family Laying Off Workers-Loosing 15 Mil in Donations

By Electa Draper
The Denver Post

A logo at an entrance to the Focus on the Family administration building in Colorado Springs. (Craig F. Walker, 2006 Denver Post file photo)

Conservative Christian ministry Focus on the Family announced today it is eliminating 49 jobs in the latest of several rounds of layoffs in response to ongoing economic pressures.

The family-counseling center in Colorado Springs had a $105 million budget this fiscal year ending Sept. 30, but officials project it will receive donations of only $90 million to $95 million.

This new 7 percent staff reduction brings the employee number to 650, down from a 2002 peak of 1,400 people. In the last few years, Focus has let go almost 500 workers.

"God has never promised us a certain budget number. We're sad today but not distraught about the future," said Focus Vice President Gary Schneeberger. "Even in these bad economic times people who care about the ministry gave us more than $90 million. We've been able to help tens of thousands of families with their marriages, raising their kids and walking in their faith. Our commitment to that mission is unabated."

Of the 49 jobs cut today, a third were management, Schneeberger said. An internal audit revealed that consolidating some business and administrative positions could save money without affecting client programs, he said.

Focus airs a radio program with an estimated 2 million listeners and also provides direct counseling and services.

"Long ago I suppose there was a time when we had fat to trim, but we've moved throught that to muscle, sinew, bone — and now we're scraping out marrow," Schneeberger said.

Schneeberger said that Focus on the Family has been around since 1977, when family therapist James Dobson founded it. Dobson resigned as chairman of the board in 2009 and stopped being the voice of the flagship radio program in 2010, succeeded by Focus President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Daly.

"Most of the years of the ministry we were under a $90 million budget," Schneeberger said. "Even so, we had a huge impact globally and believe we will continue to have a huge impact globally."

Electa Draper: 303-954-1276 or edraper@denverpost.com

Michelle B got to see a Gays staged Madonna-themed flash welcome

by Jessica Geen

Gay rights campaigners staged a Madonna-themed flash mob to greet Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann on Friday.

The anti-gay politician was in California for the state Republican convention.

As she gave a speech at a hotel, campaigners outside danced to Madonna’s Like a Prayer and shouted slogans against the so-called ‘reparative therapy’ allegedly practiced by the Bachmann family’s Christian counselling service.

Dancers shouted: “Pray the gay away! That’s right, we‘re here and we’re not going anywhere!”

Ms Bachmann also made an appearance on The Tonight Show while in California where she was questioned about her anti-LGBT record.

Jay Leno said: “That whole ‘pray the gay away’ thing, I don’t get that.”

Ms Bachmann, attempting a joke, replied: “When I heard that I thought it was a mid-life crisis thing, ‘pray the gray away.’”

The presenter pressed her, saying: “To me, when I was a kid, they used to try and teach me to write right-handed … to me that’s the same thing if you’re gay. I’ve been married 31 years, first wife, very happy. Two gay guys get married, how does that affect my marriage?”

She responded: “The whole thing is, with clinics, whatever issue anyone has, we don’t discriminate, we don’t discriminate with people’s issues.”

Under further questioning, she added: “The family is foundational and marriage between a man and a woman is what the law has been for years.”

via PinkNews.co.uk