A Bush Double-Cross on HIV Travel Ban
http://www.gaycitynews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19044628&BRD=2729&PAG=461&dept_id=568864&rfi=6

By: DOUG IRELAND
11/20/2007

President George W. Bush and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, under the guise of cutting read tape, are doing so to use that tape to further tie up prospective HIV-positive visitors and immigrants to the US.

The Bush administration is trying to pull a fast one rushing through draconian proposed new regulations that will restrict even further the entry of HIV-positive people into to the US, just one year after having promised to ease them. On November 6, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued stringent proposed new regulations for HIV-positive travelers coming here which are pretty regressive and extremely troubling, according to Nancy Ordover, assistant director for federal affairs and research at the Gay Mens Health Crisis (GMHC). But the 30-day deadline for public comment imposed by DHS means a cut-off date of December 6 for reactions to the new regs, leaving little time for the AIDS advocacy community to mobilize. That, Ordover told Gay City News, is a departure from standard practice for proposed new federal regulations; the time frame for public reaction is usually much longer, she said.

The US is one of only 13 countries that completely ban incoming travel across their borders by the HIV-positive. The others, according to a list established by the leading German AIDS service organization, Deutsche AIDS Hillfe, for the most part have undemocratic regimes. They are Iraq, China, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Sudan, Qatar, Brunei, Oman, Moldova, Russia, Armenia, and South Korea. A waiver to the ban is required for HIV-positive travelers to or through the US. Even when a travelers US stay merely involves changing planes, a waiver is needed. Last year on World AIDS Day, President George W. Bush pledged to issue streamlined new regulations with a categorical waiver that would make it easier for the HIV-positive to receive exemptions. Unfortunately, despite using the terms streamlined and categorical, in reality these regulations are neither, said Victoria Neilson, legal director of Immigration Equality, which works on behalf of LGBT and HIV-positive asylum seekers and immigrants. Neilson told Gay City News, This is a big disappointment, given the rhetoric of the Bush administration that the US was making it easier because the new regs simply add more heavy burdens for the HIV-positive traveler. Among other provisions, under the new rules proposed by DHS, a visitor would need to travel with all the medication he would need during his stay in the US; prove that he has medical insurance that is accepted in the US and would cover any medical contingency; and prove that he wont engage in behavior that might put the American public at risk. The maximum term for any waiver would be 30 days. The new regulations purport to speed up the waiver application process because consular officers would be empowered to make decisions without seeking DHS sign-off. However, by using this streamlined application process, waiver applicants would have to agree to give up the ability to apply for any change in status while in the US, including applying for legal permanent residence. The purpose of fast-tracking the new regs and setting a super-tight December 6 deadline for public comment before they take effect was to catch the AIDS community busy with preparations for World AIDS Day on December 1 unawares. To a certain extent, the ploy has worked. When Gay City News telephoned the usually well-informed Kate Krauss who has worked for several AIDS advocacy organizations and now coordinates the Health Action AIDS Campaign for Physicians for Human Rights to find out what she thought of the proposed new regs, she hadnt yet heard of them. Wow, they just flew right by me they havent been on my radar screen at all, she said. After having been provided by Gay City News with a copy of the proposal, Krauss was appalled. Under the proposed regulations, the US travel ban remains a cruel violation of human rights for people with AIDS, Krauss said, adding, People with HIV would be made to jump through even more hoops than before, and the rules would make it particularly difficult for people from very poor nations to visit the US, with requirements for wealth, medical care, medications, and documentation that the applicant is HIV-positive. Moreover, Krauss said, People could be penalized if they became sick while visiting the United States and, if found to be out of compliance with these regulations, barred from ever visiting the US again. If President Bush cares about the human rights of people with AIDS, he should just ask Congress to abolish the travel ban. Anything else is just rewriting an unjust policy. GMHCs Ordover pointed out, As written, the rule could leave individuals with HIV who obtain asylum in the US in a permanent limbo; forever barred from obtaining legal permanent residence, and therefore cut off from services, benefits, and employment opportunities. Ordover added, It seems very disingenuous that the government is claiming to make things easier for people with HIV, but its really compelling them to forfeit their rights. As a result of the hasty release of the proposed regs and the arbitrarily truncated time frame for public comment, only a few AIDS advocacy organizations have so far taken a critical posture, and this only began to happen at the end of last week. GMHC was the first organization to release a lengthy analysis of the new regs, which it did last Friday, and began preparing a sign-on statement protesting them which it will ask other AIDS advocacy groups and immigrant rights organizations to join. But things were fairly sluggish at AIDS Action Council, the largest Washington, DC AIDS lobby, which bills itself as the national voice on AIDS and represents more than 3,000 local service organizations. When Gay City News this Monday asked Ronald Johnson, AIDS Actions deputy executive director, for his organizations position on the new regs, he would only say, we are in the process of developing our comments and we are still looking at the fine print. Johnson added, Well probably follow GMHCs analysis. When this reporter suggested to Johnson that AIDS Action organize a national conference call with executive directors of AIDS advocacy organizations to mobilize them quickly against the harsh new regs, he said theyd think about it. Fortunately, GMHC is already in the process of organizing such a conference call for next week, Ordover told Gay City News. However, said Ordover, these regulations are in general a distraction what we really need to move forward on is getting the HIV-positive travel bar overturned completely. In addition to her other duties at GHMC, Ordover is co-coordinator of Lift the Bar, a coalition of HIV, immigrant, human rights, and LGBT service and advocacy organizations working to overturn the HIV ban. At a Congressional hearing last November, Ordover detailed the negative consequences of the travel ban. The HIV bar rarely makes the news, and when we do hear about it, its usually because someone trying to attend some major event or forum being held in the US cant get into the country, Ordover said. This is not unimportant the International AIDS Conference hasnt been held on US soil for 16 years and the HIV bar is the reason. Despite our efforts in the global fight against HIV and AIDS, our standing in the international community has been grievously compromised by this policy. Ordover, who noted that one-third of GMHCs clients are immigrants, also pointed out, Many people first learn they are HIV-positive after they get to the US. Many contract HIV here. Some find out their status when they get the results of their Immigration Service medical examination. Under the current DHS regs in force, she said, Visitors either are actively deterred from seeking HIV testing and treatment, or avoid contact with providers out of fear of putting their immigration status in permanent limbo or worse. If they are low-income or poor, they either dont have recourse to the full slate of public programs and services they need to stay healthy or may be unaware of what services they are entitled to. At GMHC we view this policy as a violation of human rights and a threat to public health inside and outside the US. The proposed new regs do nothing to change this. And, Ordover added, The truth is, the bar undermines public health and drives up the cost of health care. It forces HIV-positive immigrants to go underground, discourages immigrants who dont know their status from getting tested, from seeking preventive care, from seeking any care until they end up in the emergency room with full blown AIDS all things that undermine individual health, public health and that ultimately put more strain on the public coffers.

Individuals who wish to protest the harsh new DHS regs on HIV-positive travel may submit comments online at click - but to do so you must include the docket number of the proposed regs, USCBP-2007-0084. Organizations wishing to join in signing on to the statement GMHC is preparing in protest of the new regs should contact Nancy Ordover at nancyo@gmhc.org or 212-367-1240. Doug Ireland can be reached through his blog, DIRELAND, at click.

GayCityNews 2007

Diwali, the festival of prosperity and wealth
http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/1413
By Binita Tiwari
Nov 08: Diwali, ‘the festival of light, prosperity and wealth’ is celebrated in the entire country along with some other parts of the world. Though it may be known as some different names but the celebration purpose is always same. To celebrate this festival in the name of joy, wealth and happiness, though there is also a scientific reason behind it to clean up the home after the end of rainy season, which becomes the major cause of the growth of insects and several microorganisms.

Diwali also known as Deepawali is a one of the major festival of Hindus, but it is also celebrated by Jains, Sikhs and several other communities irrespective of their faith. It is one of the social festivals of India like Holy, Eid, Christmas Day and Baishakhi. Besides India it is also celebrated in Nepal by the name of Tihar, in Malaysia, it is known as Hari Deepawali, Singapore and Sri Lanka celebrates it by the name of Deepawali and beyond the Asian subcontinent. Deepawali is celebrated by lighting diyas (Earthen lamp) with diyas. When all the diyas enlighten on the earth, the stream of light shows that a new sun rises on the horizon. The enlightened diyas express the spirit of fighting with the darkness despite of ‘Amavasya’ the darkest night of the month. Deepawali shows the victory of ‘good’ over ‘evil’, ‘light’ over ‘darkness’ and ‘knowledge’ over ‘unawareness’.

The mighty hurricanes we suppress in our heart welled up during night as festival is also about meeting and enjoying with our loved ones. In this day all the rival melts in the heat of the light and the people celebrate it with their hearts forgetting all the austerity.

Story behind this festival

This festival is celebrated to commemorate the returning of Rama in Ayodhya (the kingdom of Lord Rama), after 14 years of exile; the people of Ayodhya welcomed him back by lighting up the diya.

According to some other views, it is celebrated as the day when Lord Krishna defeated the demon Narakasura and also as a victory celebration of Rama over Ravana. According to Jainism, on this day Lord Mahavira acquired ‘Nirvana’.

The Five days festival Day 1: Dhanterus: The celebration begins from the day of Dhanteras, two days before Diwali that bring good fortune and prosperity. Dhanteras is regarded as the origin day of god Dhanvantari, who originate during the churning of the great ocean by the gods and the demons. Dhanterus means Dhan+terus, in which Dhan denotes money and terus is the thirteenth day of the month. It is also known as Dhanvantri Jayanti or Dhantrayodasi because of the origin day of god Dhanvantri, the god of health and ayurveda. On this day people buy utensils and jewellery for performing tradition, as it is believed a symbol of fortune.

Day 2: Naraka Chaturdashi: The second day of Diwali is known as Narak Chaturdashi, the fourteenth day of the month on which demon Narakasura was killed. It signifies the victory of good over evil and light over darkness. It is the prime day of the festival in south India. The people perform puja of Lord Sri Krishna or Lord Sri Vishnu. The people enlighten the ‘Diya’ (earthen lamp) before the main door of their homes on this day. This day is also known as Roop Chaturdashi.

Day 3: Lakshmi Puja: In the north India, the third day of this festival is the most important day on which the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi and God of fortunate, Ganesha been worshipped across devotees. People enlighten the earthen lamp across the streets and homes, and pray for their prosperity and well-beings. Children play fireworks and massive crackers are fired to express their joy on this day.

Day 4: Govardhan Puja : The day after the prime day of Diwali is known as Govardhan Puja or Annakut. On this day Lord Krishna defeated Indra by lifting Govardhan Mountain on his little finger. On the other hand, Annakut denotes a mountain of food that is decorated as a symbol of Govardhan Mountain. The people present gifts to their wives on this day.

Day 5: Bhaiduj (also Bhayyaduj, Bhaubeej or Bhayitika) : The last day is for an auspicious relationship of brothers and sisters, especially married brothers and sisters. Brothers and sisters express their love and affection for each other by tying a thread. This festival is very similar to the festival of Raksha Bandhan.

Scientific Significance: The festival of Deepawali always celebrated in October or November, when the rainy season completely finishes off. The rainy season becomes the cause of various insects and microorganism that are killed of earthen lighting, house cleaning and fireworks and provide us a healthy new winter season.

Importance of Deepawali for the small shopkeepers and businesspersons

According to Hindi Calendar (Vikrami Samvat), the day of Lakshmi pujan (Worship of goddess Lakshmi) is the last day of financial year. The businesspersons ended the account on this day and calculate the profit or loss. A new account begins from the next day for the next financial year.

Finally I along with our NewstrackIndia family wish you a happy and prosperous Diwali.
May this Diwali illuminates your life ….
Comfort your tears..Promises a new beginning
Lighten up your way…and gives you hope
Here is a wishing from the bouquet of NewstrackIndia
Wishing you a very happy Diwali….

Emotional eaters most prone to regaining weight
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071109/emotional_eaters_071109/20071109?hub=TopStories
Updated Fri. Nov. 9 2007
CTV.ca News Staff

People who overeat when they are depressed or anxious tend to have the hardest time losing weight and keeping it off, finds a new U.S. study published in the journal Obesity.

The study, led by Heather Niemeier, an obesity researcher at The Miriam Hospital and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, may explain why even those people who are able to lose weight often gain it all back during times of stress.

"We found that the more people report eating in response to thoughts and feelings, such as, 'When I feel lonely, I console myself by eating,' the less weight they lost in a behavioural weight loss program," Niemeier said in a statement.

"In addition, amongst successful weight losers, those who report emotional eating are more likely to regain."

Having the finding confirmed in their study is important, the authors note, because one of the greatest challenges facing the field of obesity treatment remains the problem of regaining weight after losing it.

"Participants in behavioural weight loss programs lose an average of 10 per cent of their body weight and these losses are associated with significant health benefits. Unfortunately, the majority of participants return to their baseline weight within three to five years," Niemeier says.

For the study, 286 overweight men and women were asked to participate in a behavioural weight loss program. Niemeier and her team analyzed responses to a questionnaire, called the Eating Inventory.

Specifically, Niemeier and her team focused on the "disinhibition" component of the Eating Inventory, which evaluates impulsive eating in response to emotional, cognitive, or social cues. Emotional cues would include eating when feeling lonely; cognitive cues would include using food as a reward; while social cues would include overeating at parties.

The participants were compared to a second group that included 3,300 members of the National Weight Control Registry, an ongoing study of adults who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for at least one year.

Results showed that in both groups, emotional and cognitive cues were significant predictors of weight loss over time. For the first group of participants, the more a person ate for internal reasons, the less weight they lost over time. The same was true for the second group.

Interestingly, external factors did not predict weight loss or regain in either sample at any time.

"Our results suggest that we need to pay more attention to eating triggered by emotions or thoughts as they clearly play a significant role in weight loss," Niemeier said, noting that many current treatments provide minimal assistance with eating in response to feelings.

Disclosing infertility doesn't cause women stress
http://in.reuters.com/article/health/idINTON77772320071107?sp=true

Thu Nov 8, 2007

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For women undergoing fertility treatment, the decision over whether to tell their employer seems to have little effect on their general stress levels, a study suggests.

Researchers found that among 267 women undergoing treatment at the same fertility clinic, stress levels seemed to be unrelated to a woman's choice to tell her boss and co-workers about the treatment.

Going into the study, the researchers had hypothesized that such disclosure might help ease stress for some women. Fertility treatment is time-consuming and bound to require taking time off from work; keeping the reason for work absences secret might, in theory, generate added anxiety for some women.

On the flip side, some women might be stressed by having to tell an employer about such a personal matter.

However, the findings suggest that whatever women decide to do, it has little effect on their overall stress, the researchers report in the journal Fertility and Sterility.

Dr. Peter S. Finamore, of the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, New Jersey, led the study, which included women undergoing treatment at the university's fertility clinic.

Of 267 women who responded to questionnaires, 43 percent said they had not told their employer or co-workers, while 32 percent said they had. The rest of the women were self-employed, not working outside the home or did not answer all the survey questions.

Whether the women informed their employer about the fertility treatments made no apparent difference in their reported stress levels, Finamore's team found.

Research suggests that stress, depression and anxiety may affect a woman's odds of having a successful pregnancy with infertility treatment. So it's important to understand the factors that either worsen or ease women's stress as they undergo treatment, according to Finamore's team.

"However," the researchers write, "results of this survey suggest that disclosure of one's infertility status is not a significant factor in either increasing or diminishing personal stress."

Instead, they add, the decision seems to be a matter of a woman's personal values, and appears to have few implications for treatment.

SOURCE: Fertility and Sterility, October 2007. © Reuters2007All rights reserved

Maternal Health Donations Overflow Bush Blockade http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/3378/context/archive

Date: 11/08/07 By Kara Alaimo
WeNews correspondent

A U.N. agency shunned by the Bush administration is one beneficiary of a major fundraising push behind maternal health initiatives. New online tools give citizens a personal handle on the progress and invite them to join the effort. (WOMENSENEWS)--On the heels of a major maternal mortality conference in London last month and a heightened international focus on women's health issues this year, foreign governments and large foundations are marshalling greater funding commitments for maternal health initiatives.

The U.N. Population Fund, for instance, picked up more than $200 million in new commitments over five years from the United Kingdom at last month's Women Deliver conference, which drew participants from 109 countries to harness support and resources to improve the health of women and infants. Since 2004, the U.K. has allocated more than $40 million per year to the fund.

Contributions to the U.N. Population Fund are voluntarily allocated at the discretion of 180 U.N. member nations. The fund received $269 million in contributions in 2001, $389 million in 2006 and projects contributions of $411 million in 2007.

The money is flowing into an organization that since 2002 has been shunned by the administration of George W. Bush. The White House withholds funding via a policy loophole that had its genesis in 1985 during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. Congress passed an amendment giving the president discretion to withhold funding from any group or agency involved in coercive abortion or sterilization. Since then, GOP administrations and the U.N. Population Fund have battled over whether the U.N. agency matches that description.

The White House has refused to release funding for the agency that was appropriated by Congress. The amount withheld now totals $204 million, according to the U.S. Agency for International Development; $34 million has been authorized in funding each year since 2002.
The withheld U.S. funding since 2002 would have allowed the U.N. Population Fund to prevent 244,000 maternal deaths, help 68 million women delay pregnancy and prevent 2.4 million women from suffering adverse health effects during pregnancy and childbirth, said Anika Rahman, president of New York-based Americans for UNFPA. The group formed in 1998 to generate support for the U.N. agency and help cushion the effects of the U.S. de-funding
Online Citizen ConnectionsAt the same time as other nations and foundations are increasing donations, private citizens are being encouraged to support the U.N. Population Fund through a new Web service designed to assist Western women in relating more directly to the agency's mission.

Developed by the advocacy group Americans for UNFPA, the Web service Lifelines allows a user to enter information about her schooling, work, relationships and children with the idea that women around the world can begin to compare their common experiences.

For example, when a 45-year-old married woman in the United States logs on to Lifelines to check on her statistical counterpart in Uganda, she will find some stark contrasts. She marrried at age 39 to someone she chose and had 17 years of education, starting at age 5, as well as paid work starting in high school. Her counterpart has not attended school or ever worked outside her home. She is married and will have been chosen by her husband. She had her first of 10 children at age 18.

"When we see the reality of women's lives around the world, we begin to see the role each of us can take to make a difference," said Rahman of Americans for UNFPA.

Another new online tool to better connect Westerners to the developing world is the MDG Monitor Web site, launched Nov. 1 by the United Nations along with technology giants Google, based in Mountain View, Calif., and Cisco, in San Jose, Calif.

The site uses data to track progress in meeting the U.N. millennium development goals, established by international leaders in 2000 to eradicate global poverty by 2015. Improving women's status is a keystone of the targets. Visitors can quickly check global comparison of data that include maternal mortality rates and girl-boy ratios of school enrollments. A Google Earth map locates ongoing projects to improve women's health, pulling up information with a click on the map.

Criticism Linked to ChinaThe Bush administration contends that because the U.N. Population Fund provides financial and technical resources to China's National Population and Family Planning Commission, it supports the Chinese government's program of coercive abortion and involuntary sterilization.

Sarah Craven, chief of the Washington office of the U.N. Population Fund, says the agency's program in China promotes a voluntary approach to family planning and does not fund coercive abortions. Last year, the agency spent $3.69 million in China.

Abortions declined by 18 percent between 2003 and 2005 in the counties in China where the U.N. Population Fund worked, according to a study by the Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute at the University of Southampton in England and other groups.

At least 200 million women worldwide lack access to the contraceptives they desire in order to plan their families or space their children, according to the U.N. Population Fund. The agency also says reproductive health conditions are the leading cause of death and illness among women of childbearing age, with one woman dying every minute due to lack of adequate care during pregnancy and childbirth.

The agency works in 154 nations providing maternal and reproductive health services, distributing contraceptives, implementing HIV-AIDS prevention services and advocating for women's rights and gender equality. Demand for family planning services is expected to increase by 40 percent over the next 15 years.

Maternal Health PledgesOther major donors who attended the Women Deliver conference and the U.N. General Assembly meeting in September promised to devote more than $1.4 billion to the overall cause of reducing maternal mortality.

The funding push comes amid a growing recognition that progress has been too slow for the world to meet the millennium development goal that calls for reducing maternal deaths.
The Seattle-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which in 2006 received a gift of $31 billion from money manager Warren Buffett and has so far pledged $563 million to maternal health, vowed to take further action. Over $486 million has already been paid out.

The Chicago-based John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation pledged $11 million in new technology to Pathfinder International, a reproductive health organization in Watertown, Mass., to fight blood loss after childbirth in Nigeria and India.

Japan promised to focus prominently on global health when it hosts the Group of Eight economic summit in Hokkaido Toyako in July 2008.

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the International Labor Organization, the United Nations Foundation, UNICEF, Exxon/Mobil and GlaxoSmithKline all pledged to take some form of unspecified action as well.

At the U.N. General Assembly meeting in September, Norway pledged $1 billion for the Global Campaign for the Health Millennium Development Goals to improve child and maternal health and reduce disease; the Netherlands pledged $178 million for gender equality and maternal health; and Denmark pledged $21 million for reproductive health and HIV-AIDS.

Kara Alaimo is a New York-based writer.
Women's eNews welcomes your comments. E-mail us at editors@womensenews.org.