masturbation the #healthy #sin

partial transcript of Masturbation Myths | Teesha Morgan | TEDxStanleyPark
with some supporting research.

Brazil's HIV funding pulled

7.20: news.pol/brazil's hiv funding pulled:
7.21: summary:
. after hearing that brazil had low HIV
and knowing they are highly hiafric*,
I got interested in comparing them to
usa's HIV program which is not doing well;
but they are not comparing the same things:
they have free anti-virals,
and if that prevents a case of AIDS,
then they are not counted in the AIDS roles;
they don't keep track of HIV status
-- but usa does count that (it's very high here,
because while the hiafrics* are
no more promiscuous than others,
the hieuropeans* are serial polygamists,
whereas the hiafrics are concurrent polygamists .
*: "(hiX)
means "(of X ancestry, from hispanic
from hierarchy, tree, family tree) --9.27 .

. brazil's adult AIDS* was kept under 1%
(compare to africa's 18%),
by funding free condoms and drug treatments;
but it was done with international money;
the usa later pulled out when
brazil wouldn't denounce prostitution;
and, later other money was diverted to
Africa's much worse condition .

*: (this article says HIV was kept at 1%,
but the msmgf.org source indicates
only AIDS not HIV is measured in brazil ).

web: compared to blacks in usa:

. an estimated 1 in 16 black men
[6% of black males in usa]
and 1 in 32 black women
[3% of black females in usa]
will be diagnosed with HIV infection.

. this can't be compared to brazil's 1% rate

because it applies to AIDS not HIV
as HIV is not a reportable event in brazil .
. the HIV rates can be much higher, because
Infection precedes by 8-10 years
the appearance of symptomatic disease .
. it used to be mostly a disease of
the educated bi- or homo-sexual;
but now it is mainly among uneducated hetero's .
. the rate of 1% of brazillians
likely applies fairly to hiafrics too
because brazil is 45% hiafric -- nearly half .
[. npr's portrayal is contradicted by this part]:
    "( Commercial sex work is not legal in Brazil.
    A nationwide evaluation of
    HIV prevention programs
    for female commercial sex workers (CSW)
    found high levels of HIV awareness,
    but significant barriers to
    implementing safe-sex practices,
    including fear of violence,
    increased payments for unsafe sex,
    and competition for clients.
    . In addition, non street-based CSW
    reported more safe-sex practices
    than did street-based CSW.
    Informants also felt that
    stigmatization of their profession
    contributed to violence
    from both clients and the police .)
[. this report also points out that
Brazil has a lot of catholics,
though some strains of it
are mixed with african traditions .]

retroviral AIDS for cats (FIV)

5.11: news.health/retroviral AIDS for cats (FIV):

feline acquired immune deficiency syndrome (FAIDS)

. the infected cat's saliva enters the other cat's bloodstream.
. endemic in some large wild cats, such as African lions.
Unlike domestic cats, these species do not necessarily
exhibit symptoms, perhaps because
they have developed evolutionary mutations
that confer resistance.

casual transmission:

It has never been established in HIV research
that an intermediate host, such as a mosquito or flea,
can transmit productive infection [Webb],
and the same is believed to be the case with FIV.
...
. bloodborne HIV in a syringe
can survive outside the human body
for periods up to several weeks;
viability is “influenced by virus titre,
volume of blood, ambient temperature,
exposure to sunlight and humidity” [Thompson].
While cause for concern among human drug users,
this is of little practical relevance to felines,
although the variables cited undoubtedly play some role in
an exposed environment as they do in a hypodermic syringe.
FIV, like HIV, is not particularly sensitive to
ordinary room temperature,
but is very sensitive to such variables as
pH level [AIDSMap],
a fact which accounts, for instance,
for inactivation by stomach acid.
...
Blood, of course, contains {FIV, HIV} viruses
and can be shed.
Drying does not seem to affect the infectivity of HIV,
and the same is probably true of FIV [AIDSMap].

mosquitoes not a problem (whew!):

. it is not possible to get HIV from mosquitoes.
When taking blood, mosquitoes do not inject blood
from any previous person.
The only thing that a mosquito injects is saliva,
which acts as a lubricant
and enables it to feed more efficiently.

#pol mentals and weiners and savages, oh my!

a new terrorist among the promiscuous

2.21: news.health/oral sex (on either sex)
raises risk of throat cancer:
web: both sexes? yes!
Oral Sex is The Leading Cause for Rise in Throat Cancer
 by VR Sreeraman on February 21, 2011
. there are 150 types of hpv
(human papillomavirus),
and about 40 of those
can be sexually transmitted,
some of those cause cancers  .
-- Diane Harper, University of Missouri;
-- Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, UC, San Francisco .
Researchers have found a 225% increase
in oral cancer cases in usa from 1974 to 2007,
predominantly among
young white males .
. those who performed oral sex
on six or more partners
face an eight-fold higher risk
of acquiring HPV-related  cancers
than those with fewer than six .
New England J Medicine 2007 HPV
. of 100 men and women newly diagnosed with
cancer of of the throat, tonsils and tongue,
those who had evidence of
prior oral HPV infection
had a 32-fold increased risk of throat cancer.
A vaccine is available which protects against
cervical cancer caused by HPV strains 6, 11, 16 and 18,
and also against genital warts .
what is it about promiscuity? networking depth
# Zimbabwe married men:
40 % reported having had an extramarital partner
within the past year .
# Nigerian:
. a majority of the married men
and one-third of the married women
reported they had a extramarital partner .
Edgar Winans, UW anthropologist:
Adultery occurred in lots of traditional
African rural societies for a long time,
but in many villages it was disapproved,
so it was risky behavior
[since it was not tracked,
and involved many more targets
than one would publicly date .]
In the city there's much less check on behavior,
and African cities have attracted
large numbers of singles.
. prostitution (ie, sex with strangers) is common .
Myth of Promiscuity in Africa:
2001 Durex Global Sex Survey conducted among
18,500 sexually active and inactive individuals
in 28 countries .
# age of starting sex is 18:
{ Americans(16 to 20): 16
, Americans(25 to 34): 18
, Chinese: 22
}
# number of sexual partners is 7.7:
{ Nigerians: 4.2
, South Africans: 8.2,
, Americans: 14.2
} --[
. this reminded me of why prostitution
could matter;
prostitution allows hundreds to share
the same source;
whereas in a friend network,
it's possible to have fewer
transitive connections .
. in the best case, americans with 14 partners
are actually part of a closed system
-- virtually in a class-room sized
communal marriage .
ie, even though the 1st degree
number of relations is 14,
the 2nd degree is zero .
. whereas if prostitutes were involved with strangers,
the 2nd degree becomes hundreds .]