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By Michele Chabin
Religion News Service

JERUSALEM (RNS) Jews and Israelis, or passengers carrying any non-Islamic article of faith, will not be able to fly code-share flights from the U.S. to Saudi Arabia under Delta Air Line's new partnership with Saudi Arabian Airlines that is set to begin in 2012.

Although Delta announced in January that the Saudi airline would join its SkyTeam network next year, the implications of the deal only came to light recently, according to people who have scrutinized the details.

Saudi Arabia, which is governed by strict Islamic law, requires citizens of almost every country to obtain a visa. People who wish to enter the country must have a sponsor; women, who must be dressed according to Saudi standards of modesty, must be met at the Saudi airport by a man who will act as a chaperone.

Saudi Arabia bans anyone with an Israeli stamp in their passport from entering the country, even in transit. Many Jews believe the kingdom has also withheld visas from travelers with Jewish-sounding names.

Religious items such as Bibles that are not related to Islam may be confiscated at the airport.

Colby M. May, senior counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, a conservative legal group founded by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, said his office is trying to determine if the agreement runs afoul of U.S. law.

"The very idea that there is a common carrier airline service that would deny an American citizen in America access to their services because they are Jewish or have religious items such as a yarmulke, a cross or a priestly collar, is deeply disturbing," May said.

May said he is "trying to get answers" from Delta.

"They have not responded in a way that answers the question," he said. "Hopefully they'll do so."

In a statement to Religion News Service on Thursday (June 23), Delta said it "does not discriminate, nor do we condone discrimination against any protected class of passenger in regards to age, race, nationality, religion, or gender."

The airline, which did not deny the new policy, insisted that it has no control over who may fly to Saudi Arabia.

"Delta must also comply with all applicable laws in every country it serves," adding that passengers are responsible for obtaining the necessary travel documents required for entry.

"If a passenger travels without proper documents, the passenger may be denied entry into that country and our airline may be fined," the statement said.

The Jan. 10 agreement allows Saudi Arabian Airlines to become a member of SkyTeam in 2012 after "fulfilling all membership requirements," according to a SkyTeam statement. The Saudi airline is SkyTeam's first member from the Middle East.

The policy has deeply angered U.S. Jewish groups, especially since Delta is an American carrier.

"Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally, should be strongly condemned for its despicable discrimination against Jews," said Kenneth Bandler, a spokesman for the New York-based American Jewish Committee.

"For an American company, our nation's values should trump narrow business interests. Delta should be the first to reject Saudi airlines as a SkyTeam member."

Dan Diker, secretary general of the World Jewish Congress, said he hoped "Delta will not be complicit with what appears to be a demonstrably anti-Semitic and racist policy by Saudi Arabian Airlines."

Jack Jenkins contributed to this report.

Imagine if the police knew exactly what you do online: All the porn sites you scan secretly, the vitriolic comments you leave on blogs, the number of hours you spend playing Farmville.

In Denmark, police have recommended to Parliament that it create laws that make it impossible for citizens to surf anonymously. According to Danish-language blog Computerworld Denmark, the proposal is intended to help investigate terrorism.

In the proposal, locations providing open Internet, like cafes and libraries, would have to confirm a user's identity, with some form of official ID, before letting them get online. Companies may also have to register and verify users' identities before providing access, as well as retain records of user logs.

Danish law already requires that ISPs store user data for at least a year, as an anti-terrorism measure. The proposal suggests that with such information, police would be able to see who exactly is on the network, where they go, and who they talk to.

Such a move would have serious privacy implications. But another problematic facet of the proposal is in the nature of online identity itself. 4Chan founder Christopher Poole recently defended web anonymity against those, including Facebook, who believe real-world identity and web identity should be one.

"Anonymity is authenticity," said Poole. "It allows you to share in an unvarnished, unfiltered, raw and real way. We believe in content over creator."

When Dr. Lisa Fitzpatrick sees patients for an HIV test, they are often afraid of coming in, she says.

"I have quite a few people who come in and tell me that they waited to get tested because they didn't want to find out they had AIDS," said Fitzpatrick, a professor of medicine at Howard University and director HIV services at D.C. based hospital United Medical Center.

"The first thing I say is 'You're not going to die of AIDS. You're here, you are seeking treatment. If you catch HIV early enough, you don't have to develop AIDS,' " added Fitzpatrick, who also runs an HIV training program for healthcare providers in Washington, D.C.

Indeed, since the first federal announcement regarding Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome 30 years ago, antiretroviral therapy has made it possible to delay progression from HIV infection to AIDS, significantly prolonging patients' lives.

"We have halted and begun to reverse the epidemic," a recent UNAIDS global report stated. "Fewer people are becoming infected with HIV and fewer people are dying from AIDS."

But one area where progress has somewhat stalled is in testing.

According to early Centers for Disease Control estimates released today, 39.5 percent of American adults age 18 and older have received an HIV test at some point in their lives. That is up from a decade ago – only 32.1 percent had in 2000 -- but it still falls dramatically short of the CDC's recommendation that everyone between the age of 13 and 64 undergo routine screening for HIV.

"I've been thinking, at the 30th [anniversary], about where we were and where we've come from, and it's striking in terms of great advancements," said Dr. Patrick Sullivan, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. "But one of the problems we still have is a very basic one: We've had a test for HIV since 1985, and yet we still haven't taken full advantage of that tool."

Estimates suggest that one-in-five people living with an HIV infection does not know it. And between 2001 and 2007, one third of people diagnosed with HIV had developed AIDS within the next 12 months – in spite of the fact that the benefits of testing and early treatment are widely known. Finding out their status so late keeping them from getting key antiretroviral therapy as soon as possible.

Left untreated, most people develop AIDS within 10 years of an HIV infection. Research has also shown that people who are unaware of their infection are three-and-a-half times more likely to transmit HIV.

Conversely, the CDC estimates that a 25-year-old who is diagnosed with HIV after seeking out testing and subsequently receives high-quality care will live 39 additional years.

There are numerous reasons why people fail to get tested. The biggest, Fitzpatrick says, is fear. People are worried about getting a diagnosis they feel will change their lives irreparably.

Healthcare providers may play a role, too. Fitzpatrick said that insurance companies often don't cover the cost of tests, and many healthcare providers still think of AIDS being a "gay, white male disease." Because of this, they don't necessarily think to screen patients who fall outside of that group.

The CDC estimates that men who have sex with men account for more than half of all new HIV infections in the U.S. every year, but Fitzpatrick stressed that HIV affects people of all walks of life. Twenty-six percent of those living with HIV in the U.S. are women, according to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Among racial and ethnic groups, blacks account for more than 45 percent of new infections each year, according to the CDC.

Another reason why people often do not get screened is that they are uncomfortable asking their provider for the test.

"Part of the goal is to de-stigmatize testing," Sullivan said. "If I go in to my provider, I may feel that in asking for the test, I'm implying that I have some risks -- and some risks in our culture are stigmatized. Conversely, physicians may not want to offend patients. All the way around, there is this baggage associated with an offer or an ask for an HIV test."

One way both experts say this can be accomplished is by simply making sure that HIV screening is built into the script of regular health service checkups, so when a person goes in to have regular blood work done, in addition to checking for things like blood sugar levels and cholesterol, their practitioner is also screening for HIV.

Awareness campaigns have been launched, too: Next Monday, June 27, is National HIV Testing Day.

"People need to know that this is all preventable, and we don't need to see new cases," Franklin said. "With diagnosis, it's a treatable disease. No one has to get AIDS."

SAN FRANCISCO – A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of Jewish and Muslim families in an effort to block a San Francisco ballot measure that would ban the circumcision of male children.

The suit filed Wednesday asks a San Francisco judge to remove the initiative from the November ballot. The plaintiffs argue that California law bars local governments from restricting medical procedures.

San Francisco is set to be the first city to hold a public vote on banning circumcision.

The supporters say male circumcision is a form of genital mutilation that parents should not be able to force on their young child. Opponents say a ban on a religious rite considered sacred by Jews and Muslims is a violation of constitutional rights.

The Batesville Daily Guard, an Arkansas newspaper, has come under fire after it excluded a gay man's partner of ten years from his obituary.

John Christopher Millican died earlier this month of spinal meningitis. His partner, Terrance James, was the only person with him when he died and made the decision to end life support.

From Queerty:

Wrought with grief, Mr. James filled out the paperwork for his late partner’s obituary for the local publication, the Batesville Guard. When the obituary ran, however, it listed the names of Millican’s deceased parents, his siblings, with whom he had little contact, but no mention of Terrance James or even that there was a surviving partner.

Pat Jones, the general manager of the Batesville Daily Guard, told Queerty: “It’s not a gay thing. We don’t list unmarried couples, in-laws, or pets in the free obituaries.”

Oscar Jones, an attorney whose family has run the paper for over 80 years, told KARK-4 that the paper's obituary policy has always been only to include in its free obituaries the names of legally recognized spouses. Arkansas only recognizes marriage between a man and a woman.

Oscar Jones conceded, however, that the paper's policy "should be reviewed."

The Center for Artistic Revolution, an LGBTQ equal rights organization in Little Rock that has called for the paper to change its policy, notes that the Batesville Daily Guard was the local paper that covered the story of Clint McCance, the Arkansas School Board member who last fall made headlines when he wrote on his Facebook page that he wanted "fags" to commit suicide.

Excellent recipe, easy to make and was delicious!!  :cheers:

Excellent recipe and quite a hit at the Family BBQ.  :cheers:

this was an AOL news story. I put dates on things stored in the freezer but that is the only thing I date.

:cheers: Ben Cohen  :cheers:

Once you go "Sling" you can never go back.  :true:

Jen Cinclair (wedding dress) with her girlfriend of 10 years, Trin Bostick (l.) during a gay rights rally.

Gay New Yorkers came out in droves Sunday to rally in support of same-sex marriage, as Archbishop Timothy Dolan prayed the bill hits a dead end in Albany.

More than 300 protesters filled Union Square, calling on the Senate to pass the marriage bill when lawmakers return to Albany Monday. Many waved rainbow-striped flags or carried signs reading, "God made us queer" and "Marriage Equality Now!"

"I've been with my partner for 10 years," said Jen Cinclair, 31, a pastry chef from Chinatown who joined the rally in Union Square dressed in white and wearing a bridal veil. "We registered as domestic partners two years ago," Cinclair said. "Now we want the rights."

Placards listed Sen. Majority Leader Dean Skelos' phone number - and organizers urged people to call the Republican powerbroker and demand he introduce the gay marriage bill.

"If I'm going to pay equal taxes and I'm going to obey equal laws, I want equal rights," said actor Daniel Bracciale.

Blocks away, crowds gathered at the NY Latinos United for Marriage Equality rally at the LGBT Community Center on W.13th St. "There has been one very anti-gay pastor who has been speaking against gay marriage. We are here to say he doesn't represent Latinos," said Pedro Serrano, of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, about Sen. Reuben Diaz Sr., a fierce opponent of gay marriage.

The protests came as the bill appeared one vote shy of the 32 it needs to pass the Senate, with several GOP senators either undeclared or undecided. The bill passed the Assembly last week.

A sizable and impatient crowd gathered in Union Square to rally and march to Stonewall Bar demanding that today be the last day of marriage inequality in New York State. (Mariela Lombard for News)

Democratic state Sen. Tom Duane told supporters that "anything can happen."

"If Lady Gaga can call me, you can call your senators," Duane said of a call from the pop goddess.

Dolan, the leader of 2 million Catholics, used his pulpit to pray "that marriage stays between a man and a woman in the state of New York" - a view that got mixed reviews from worshipers at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Megan Seaman, 18, who was visiting from Cleveland, said she thought Dolan's prayer was inappropriate. "Maybe there were gay people in the church. That's offensive," said Seaman, who has plans to study at Cornell University in the fall.But George and Amy Tellam, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., attending the Mass with their four children, said they agreed with Dolan. "We're 100% behind him. Like he said, it's the foundation of our beliefs," George Tellam said.

Amy Tellam added: "We're all for a union and everyone is free to love whoever they want, but marriage is a sacrament between a man and a woman."

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Read more: hXXp://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/06/20/2011-06-20_gay_new_yorkers_take_on_archbishop_timothy_dolan_in_rally_to_support_samesex_mar.html#ixzz1PpZYfJQF

By Chris Michaud

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Supporters and opponents of gay marriage made 11th-hour appeals on Sunday as state lawmakers weighed a vote on making New York the sixth state – and the most populous -- to legalize same-sex marriage.

The measure that would make gay marriage legal, introduced by Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat and strong advocate, is currently one vote shy of passage in the state Senate.

The state Assembly approved the bill by a wide margin last week, and Monday is the last day of the legislative session before summer recess.

New York's Archbishop, Timothy Dolan, reiterated his and the Catholic Church's opposition to gay marriage on Sunday, vowing to oppose "any radical bill to redefine the very essence of marriage."

"One has to wonder why the proponents of this radical redefinition, who claim overwhelming popular support, would not consider" a referendum "on such a drastic departure from traditional values?" he wrote on his blog.

Recent polls show statewide support for gay marriage.

Dolan wrote that the "government presumes to redefine" such sacred words as father, mother, husband and wife "at the peril of the common good."

In Albany, Senate Majority Leader Republican Dean Skelos has said the bill as written has prompted concerns over its religious clauses and exemptions.

The bill does not compel any member of the clergy to conduct same-sex marriages, but some Republican lawmakers are concerned the legal protection is not strong enough.

Skelos said Cuomo has indicated he was open to including more specific exemptions for religious groups.

The governor has lobbied for passage and said he remains cautiously optimistic the bill will come to a vote and pass.

Meanwhile gay marriage advocates, including Latinos United for Marriage Equality, rallied on Sunday.

"Our demand today is simple and reasonable: bring Marriage Equality to a vote on Monday," said Jake Goodman of the group Queer Rising, in a statement.

The group held a "Last Day of Marriage Inequality" rally in Manhattan's Union Square, where supporters carried signs that read "'I do'" support marriage equality" and "Be a leader: introduce the bill."

New Yorkers United for Marriage also held rallies around the state.

The stakes are especially high because New York would become the most populous U.S. state to allow gay marriage approved by lawmakers, spelling a huge gay rights victory.

The state-by-state battle over gay marriage has become a contentious U.S. social issue ahead of the 2012 presidential and congressional elections.

Five states -- Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire and Vermont -- and the District of Columbia allow gay marriage, while four states have civil unions. Gay marriage is specifically banned in 39 states.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud; editing by Ellen Wulfhorst)

End.

Julio Campas, From: Honcho, January 1984