Heterosexualisation News

The New York Times whitewashes criticism of flawed bisexuality article,

2009-12-11T12:56:00.002+05:30

by carefully selecting which 'Letters' to Publish

HBI member Chandler Burr emerges as Bailey's new spokesman

Investigative notes Filed 7-22-05
[V 7-22-05]
by Lynn Conway

On July 12, 2005, the New York Times published six short letters to the editors about their July 5, 2005 article entitled "Straight, Gay or Lying? Bisexuality Revisted."

The authors of the selected letters were: Joan Roughgarden, John Craig, Ken Forsberg, Chandler Burr, Paul Burns,and Catherine Gaffney.

None of the selected letters mentioned Mr. Bailey's controversial history, i.e. that he was a disgraced academic who had been forced to resign as Chairman of the Psychology Department at Northwestern University following an investigation into his research misconduct.

None of the selected letters mentioned that Bailey had made an earlier similar attack on the identities of transsexual women, and thus that his new attack on yet another sexual minority appears sociopathic to many observers.

None of the letters mentioned the GLAAD and FAIR Alerts about the shoddy journalism and suspect science in the article, even though those national alerts from widely respected groups had been available for several days and had been mentioned in many letters to the editors.

Instead, the selected letters presented a range of non-controversial comments about the article (see below).

Roughgarden, Craig, Forsberg and Burns were negative about the article, but for reasons other than the above. Gaffney contributed a humorous reflection. However, Burr wrote a strongly supportive letter for Bailey, in which he scathingly attacked Bailey's critics, calling them "hysterical - and anti-science".

By NOT including any letters that mentioned Bailey's controversial history, his forced resignation, his earlier attack on the identities of transsexual women, or the GLAAD or FAIR alerts, this letter-selection by the Times editors amounts to a whitewashing of the very widespread LGBT community criticism of the article.

HBI member Chandler Burr emerges as Bailey's new spokesman:

By writing his letter (below), Chandler Burr emerges as Bailey's proxy and spokesman in this new controversy. Bailey likely hopes that by having a well-known gay man as his spokesman and defender, he can blunt gay criticism of his bisexuality "science".

Burr is an old-guard (Fourattist) conservative gay man who has written a series of controversy books supporting Dean Hamer's and Simon LeVay's "gay gene" theory. For that theory to be valid, there cannot be a continuum of gender or sexual orientation. Instead those men insist that gender and orientation are "bi-polar", i.e., that people are only male or female, gay or straight, with nothing in between (except "liars"). This is the ideological framework from within which their scientific attacks on the identities of transsexual women and bisexual men have arisen, for trans women and bi-men cannot exist under their theory.

Burr is an advocate and book-writing spokesman for the "gay gene" world view, and is tightly connected with LeVay, Hamer, Bailey and Blanchard. It seems likely that Benedict Carey would already have known him, since they are both visible gay men and Burr is also an "employee" of the Times (see below). Carey would almost certainly have known that Burr had sent a letter to the editors (being alerted by either Bailey or Burr), even possibly coordinating with Burr on the writing and tone of the letter and suggesting that his editors publish Burr's letter.

The fact that the Times included the title of (and thus promoted) Burr's now outdated 1996 book, which supports the LeVay-Hamer theory that bisexuality 'does not exist', is further evidence of inside bias. For, in contrast, the editors did NOT include the title of Professor Roughgarden's new 2004 book (Evolution's Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People) which presents a large amount of more recent scientific (biological) evidence for gender and orientation diversity in people.

Furthermore, we find on Mr. Burr's own website that he is "The New York Times' writer on scent". Thus Mr. Burr has an employee relationship with the New York Times.

Doesn't it seem odd that an employee was allowed to plant a scathing attack on critics of Mr. Carey's New York Times' article in a letter to the editor? Especially since that employee's letter that was apparently the only one the Times could find that approved of the article? Talk about bias and conflict of interest!

In his letter, Chandler Burr takes the exact stance that we predicted would be used by Bailey's ardent supporters: Burr tries to shift attention away from Bailey's shoddy science and his bizarre interpretations of mediocre data by attacking all of Bailey's critics as being "hysterical" and "anti-science".

This is exactly the way that earlier Bailey proxies and spokesmen John Derbyshire, Dan Seligman, Steve Sailer and Stephen Pinker had defended Bailey's attacks on the identities of transsexual women. However, if anything smells "hysterical" and "anti-science" around here, it is Mr. Burr's letter to the Times!

Note that in addition to his "gay gene" ideological connections with LeVay, Hamer Bailey and Blanchard, Chandler Burr is also a member of the Human Biodiversity Institute (HBI) (along with Bailey, Blanchard, and many of Bailey's earlier spokesmen Derbyshire, Seligman, Sailer and Pinker).
HBI is the group of racists, anti-immigrationists and genetic superiorists whose activities were exposed by the prestigious Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), in the Winter 2003 SPLC investigative report entitled:
QUEER SCIENCE: An 'elite' cadre of scientists and journalists tries to turn back the clock on sex, gender and race.
That should give readers some idea of the kind of person we are dealing with in Mr. Burr.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/12/science/12lett.html?ex=1122004800&en=8527524b4b04e43d&ei=5070
The New York Times Science
Letters
Published: July 12, 2005
Gauging Bisexuality
To the Editor:
Re "Straight, Gay or Lying: Bisexuality Revisited" (July 5):
Results casting doubt on the reality of bisexuality reported are probably incorrect. In the 300 or more known vertebrate species with natural homosexuality, all combine heterosexual with homosexual relations.
Humans are not likely to differ from other species in this regard, including our closest nonhuman relative, the bonobo. Indeed, in all human cultures homosexual expression has been, and is, combined with heterosexual expression.
The data in the article show that 20 percent of the pool having same-sex relations do identify as bisexual.
These people surely aren't all lying. Instead, psychologists should add a fourth possibility to their list: namely, that they are wrong.
Dr. Joan RoughgardenSan FranciscoThe writer is a professor of biology at Stanford.
•

To the Editor:
The study of bisexual males conducted by Toronto and Chicago psychologists may demonstrate that men who identify as bisexual are in fact either mostly homosexual or mostly heterosexual ("Straight, Gay or Lying?"). But it fails to disprove what Freud and Kinsey asserted: that the psychological makeup of most males has a significant bisexual dimension.
I have worked with bisexual men as a professional counselor for 15 years. Most of the men I work with are well-educated upper-middle-class married men - leaders in their businesses and communities. Not one of them has ever identified openly as bisexual. If any did, the consequences would be devastating.
These men would never volunteer for the kind of study the Toronto and Chicago scholars conducted. The study is thus one in which truly bisexual men have screened themselves out.
In ancient Greece, most males passed through distinct homosexual stages in both adolescence and adulthood. How do the study's psychologists account for this undeniable fact?
John CraigFairfax, Va.
•

To the Editor:
The article on bisexuality was interesting, but I confess some amazement that still today, in the year 2005, an article like yours treats women as an afterthought and still makes it into print in a major newspaper ("Straight, Gay or Lying?"). Sure you throw "at least in men" into the second sentence. But you then go on to discuss bisexuality in general based just on the results for males, burying the results for females at the very end of the article.
"Doesn't matter if bisexuality is clear in women; it's what happens in men that really defines the term," you seem to be saying.
Kind of incredible. Freud would have approved. The rest of us expect better from you.
Ken ForsbergMadison, Wis.
•

To the Editor:
Some gay and bisexual advocates are condemning "Straight, Gay or Lying?" regarding a study suggesting that bisexuality may not exist among human males - something those of us familiar with the scientific literature have known since, basically, forever.
Compare this hysterical - and anti-science - reaction to the conservative Christians' anti-science reaction to studies showing that homosexuality is an inborn orientation like left-handedness. They're identical.
The right hates science because the data contradict (in the case of homosexuality) Leviticus; the left because the data contradict the liberal lie that we're environment-created, not hard-wired in any way.
These particular scientific facts are making these advocates scream like members of the extreme right, though it's they who always tells the right to let go of concepts that are contradicted by science.
Chandler BurrNew YorkThe writer is the author of "A Separate Creation: The Search for the Biological Origins of Sexual Orientation."
•

To the Editor:
Re "Straight, Gay or Lying?": The headline is not only disrespectful but also unprofessional in its insinuation. No, those of us living outside the boxes of gay and straight are not "lying," thank you very much! Many of us have struggled to stay open to ourselves in an increasingly, and oppressively, black-and-white, reductionistic world.
Paul BurnsSt. Johnsbury, Vt.
•

To the Editor:
Re "Straight, Gay or Lying?": If our sexual preferences were best detected by who we look at in pornography, wouldn't pretty much everyone be attracted to mildly unattractive people who live on the West Coast and lack acting talent?
Catherine GaffneyPhiladelphia

LynnConway.com > TS Information > Bailey Investigation > Bi-Sexuality Revisited > Letters to editor 7-12-05

Women give way to men in WCD ministry

2009-11-23T15:56:00.002+05:30

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Published on November 23 2009 ,Page 15
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SEX CHANGE Most senior bureaucrats in the women and child development ministry are men, this wasn't the case 5 months ago

Chetan Chauhan

chetan@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI:

The women and child development ministry has seen a change in the gender composition of its senior officers.
Men have replaced women in more than 80 per cent of the positions the latter held.

Of the top five officials in the ministry -- joint secretary and above -- four are men now, as against only one five months ago.

Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath said: "Both men and women are efficient and can deliver equally well."

The previous women and child development minister, Renuka Chowdhury, believed that women understood issues related to women and children better than men did.

Till June 2009 Anil Kumar, the then secretary, was the only male officer in the ministry.
People under him were women -- Additional Secretary Vijayalakshmi K. Gupta, and Joint Secretaries Lovleen Kackar, Kiran Chadda, Manjula Krishnan and Pradeep Bolina.

The change started with Lovleen Kackar completing her five-year central deputation and returning to her parent cadre, Madhya Pradesh.

Shreeranjan, a 1985 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the AssamMeghalaya cadre, who goes by one name, replaced her.

After her, Kiran Chadda, a central secretariat service officer, went on a long leave and was replaced by Sudhir Kumar, a Bihar cadre IAS officer of the 1982 batch.

Recently, Manjula Krishnan was promoted as additional secretary and posted in the rural development ministry as economic advisor.

No one has filled in for her in the women and child development ministry.

Bolina will retire by the end of this year.

"If her (Bolina's) replacement is also a male officer, the top rung of the ministry will be all men for the first time since it came into being in 2005," said a senior ministry official, not willing to be quoted as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

Women officers in the ministry have taken a stand against the government. Deepa Jain Singh, as secretary, protested when the department of personnel and training (DoPT) wanted women officers to submit details of their menstrual cycle. After her protest, the department withdrew the order.

Kackar had criticised the Madhya Pradesh government for the malnutrition deaths in the state in 2008.

The women and child development ministry has seen a change in the gender composition of its senior officers.
Men have replaced women in more than 80 per cent of the positions the latter held.

Of the top five officials in the ministry -- joint secretary and above -- four are men now, as against only one five months ago.

Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath said: "Both men and women are efficient and can deliver equally well."

The previous women and child development minister, Renuka Chowdhury, believed that women understood issues related to women and children better than men did.

Till June 2009 Anil Kumar, the then secretary, was the only male officer in the ministry.
People under him were women -- Additional Secretary Vijayalakshmi K. Gupta, and Joint Secretaries Lovleen Kackar, Kiran Chadda, Manjula Krishnan and Pradeep Bolina.

The change started with Lovleen Kackar completing her five-year central deputation and returning to her parent cadre, Madhya Pradesh.

Shreeranjan, a 1985 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the AssamMeghalaya cadre, who goes by one name, replaced her.

After her, Kiran Chadda, a central secretariat service officer, went on a long leave and was replaced by Sudhir Kumar, a Bihar cadre IAS officer of the 1982 batch.

Recently, Manjula Krishnan was promoted as additional secretary and posted in the rural development ministry as economic advisor.

No one has filled in for her in the women and child development ministry.

Bolina will retire by the end of this year.

"If her (Bolina's) replacement is also a male officer, the top rung of the ministry will be all men for the first time since it came into being in 2005," said a senior ministry official, not willing to be quoted as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

Women officers in the ministry have taken a stand against the government. Deepa Jain Singh, as secretary, protested when the department of personnel and training (DoPT) wanted women officers to submit details of their menstrual cycle. After her protest, the department withdrew the order.

Kackar had criticised the Madhya Pradesh government for the malnutrition deaths in the state in 2008.

TOP

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Non-ladies' coupe

2009-06-19T10:55:00.001+05:30

Editorial page (Comment), Hindustan Times, New Delhi, Friday, June 19, 2009\

After all, even men need protection from, you guessed it, women

Authorities in Tokyo seem to be fumbling in the dark in response to a strange request. Male commuters, tired of being left in the lurch by the heaving and rolling of high-speed train carriages, are requesting men-only compartments to avoid being charged with 'accidentally' groping women. They figure they're equally entitled to a refuge of their own as insurance against the vagaries of general compartments.
This comes after the Tokyo High Court overturned an earlier ruling last week that had sentenced a 23 year-old man to prison for groping a high-school girl on a Tokyo train, and follows the Japanese Supreme Court's view that 'careful judgements' be made in such cases. Taking the matter into their own hands are a few shareholders of Seibu Holdings, which runs trains in the Tokyo area, who have petitioned for separate carriages in response to reserved spaces for women-during rush hour.
Now, this desperate clutching at straws might seem a tad too much for the brave of this land, long used to the rough and tumble of public transport. With feisty Indian aunties only too happy to reply with a well-placed hand (better known as a thappar) for a misplaced one, one might think it would send the Indian male running for cover. But our plucky commuters have repeaqtedly proven the age-old dictum 'survival of the grittiest'. It seems unlikely that the Tokyo request will be granted, but we have to hand it to the men for trying to even the field a little.

Young Mumbai doesn’t want kissing in public

2009-02-06T18:05:00.001+05:30

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Naomi Canton, Hindustan Times

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Mumbai, February 06, 2009

First Published: 13:17 IST(6/2/2009)

Last Updated: 13:19 IST(6/2/2009)

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Worried globalisation is corrupting the minds of the youth? Well, don’t be.

This week the Supreme Court set a precedent after ruling that a married couple kissing in public did not amount to “obscenity”, but Mumbai’s GenNext are horrified.

They say kissing in public is against Indian culture, offensive to elders and an imported western custom that should be banned.

At Mithibai College in suburban Vile Parle, Priyanka Patil (16), a first year student at NM College, from Kandivli, said kissing in public could corrupt the minds of young people, while Sonali Shah (18), a student from Borivli, said it would hurt the sentiments of elders.

Esha Shah (18), a student at the Mukesh Patel School of Technology Management and Engineering, from Goregaon, said it was “western culture”. “We want to keep Indian culture. We don’t want to be western.”

Sitting on the steps outside Fun Republic, a multiplex in suburban Andheri, Class XI Hemangini Deshmukh (16), said: “Its against sanskar (the right way to live) to kiss in public. I would not like to see anyone doing it.” His friend Keyur Buddhdev (17), also from Andheri, said: “You have to show respect to older people.”

Sohit Sarkar (25), a creative head in a TV company, added: “It will take time for India to digest this thing.”

The older business crowd was also appalled. “We want to save Indian culture. This is what westerners do,” said Kirtishwar Kishore (29) a marketing professional from Chembur. “The most important aspect of Indian culture is giving respect to elders.”

But the youth agreed it should not be a criminal offence.

However, there was also the odd detractor.

“I think kissing in public is fine. It is against Indian culture but I don’t mind,” said Prerna Singh (15), a student from Sathaye College, who lives in Andheri.

“I kiss my girlfriend in public,” said Rahul Pandey (18), a first year BSc student at Mithibai College, also from Andheri. “And I’ve never been arrested. I kiss her in the middle of the street. Obviously you should not go further than a kiss.”

However they were in the minority. The one thing students were unified on: they did not want to see Valentine’s Day banned.

Avani Jain (16), of NM College, who lives in Andheri, said: “Valentine’s Day is about the people you love – your friends and family. It’s not about couples.”

Dukhtaran sound V-Day warning in Valley

2009-02-06T18:04:00.000+05:30

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Aurangzeb Naqshbandi, Hindustan Times

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New Delhi, February 06, 2009

First Published: 13:11 IST(6/2/2009)

Last Updated: 13:13 IST(6/2/2009)

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Both Hindu and Muslim fundamentalists seem to agree on one point — moral policing, and Valentine’s Day is the busiest time of the year for them.

After anonymous hoardings in Srinagar city warned couples of dire consequences, it is now the turn of Dukhtaran-e-Millat (the daughters of faith). The Kashmiri women separatist group has asked shopkeepers not to sell gifts or cards for Valentine’s Day.

In its “appeal”, the outfit also asked restaurant and hotel owners not to organise parties. “Valentine’s Day celebrations are against our culture and religion,” outfit chief Aasiya Andrabi said.

The managements of Mughal and botanical gardens have been told not to let couples in on February 14.

“Such celebrations lead to immorality; these are part of the West’ cultural invasion,” she said.

Several right-wing Hindu organisations like the Shiv Sena and Sri Rama Sene have already warned youngsters against Valentine’s Day celebrations.

Andrabi, an executive of the Forum Against Social Evils, has been at the forefront of protests for the last few years. She and members of her outfit raid shops, confiscate cards and chase away couples.

Now, Couples have nothing to fear from police

2009-02-06T18:00:00.002+05:30

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HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times
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New Delhi, February 03, 2009
First Published: 23:23 IST(3/2/2009)
Last Updated: 23:24 IST(3/2/2009)

The Delhi Police on Tuesday said they would take stern action against the two policemen who had booked a married couple in Dwarka for "sitting in an objectionable position near a Metro pillar and kissing," last year.
The Delhi High Court had stayed criminal proceedings against the married couple on Monday and also issued a notice to the Delhi Police.
On Tuesday, the police chief while addressing a press conference said that he was against "moral policing" and would suspend his men if they were found harassing couples in public places.
"We are no moral police. I will take strict action against policemen who harass couples in public places," said Y.S. Dadwal, commissioner of police. He also added that he had given strict instructions to his men not to initiate action against couples sitting in parks.
Delhi Police had registered only three cases under Section 294 IPC (Obscene Act) all over the city last year.
Dadwal added in the past also he had taken action against policemen who were harassing couples.
"The police does not look for opportunities to book couples sitting in parks. We are here to act as helping agents. We are here to protect couples not harass them. If anyone (policeman) found guilty would not be spared," said Dadwal.
The police chief said his force would take adequate measures to ensure that couples sitting in parks do not face any problems.

2009-02-06T17:49:00.001+05:30

......

Kissing in public by married couple not obscene: HC

2009-02-06T17:43:00.001+05:30

2 Feb 2009, 2226 hrs IST, Abhinav Garg, TNN

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Text:

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has stayed criminal proceedings against a couple wondering how and why an "expression of love by a young married couple" in this case allegedly by stealing kisses in public should attract the charge of obscenity.

Justice S Muralidhar stayed an FIR lodged against one Ajit (name changed) and his wife who were booked by the Dwarka police station cops for allegedly kissing each other under the local Metro station even as they awaited word from their lawyer in connection with registration of theirmarriage.

"The FIR doesn't make a case for offence under Section 294 (obscenity) read with 34 IPC. It is inconceivable how, even if one were to take what is stated in the FIR to be true, an expression of love by a young married couple would attract offence of obscenity and trigger the coercive process of law," observed Justice Muralidhar. The case has been posted for February 25 when the prosecution will have to report about the action taken on the complaint of police harassment lodged by thecouple with the police commissioner.

The newly married duo was picked up by ASI Vidhyadhar Singh of Dwarka police station on September 4 last year after he claimed to have found them "sitting in an objectionable position near a Metro pillar and kissing each other due to which passersby were feeling bad." Even though Ajit told them they were married, the cop hauled them to the police station and arrested them. Later, both were granted bail from the police station itself.

HC was surprised how Singh disregarded the fact that the two were married and registered an FIR for obscenity. Moreover, neither in the FIR nor in the subsequent chargesheet did the police attest any statement of witnesses or 'passersby', leaving no doubt in the mind of the court that charges were cooked up.

Ajit alleged both to the police and the bar council that the lawyer who promised to get the marriage registered connived with Singh to extort money from him and his wife as they were unaware of the intricacies of law.

In his petition before HC seeking quashing of the FIR, Ajit mentioned how, while the couple was being 'interrogated' by the cops, his ATM card was misused to polish off Rs 20,000 from his bank account. He said the couple got married in first week of September last year at an Arya Samaj temple without the knowledge of their respective parents. Therefore, both continued to stay separately as they tried to get the marriage registered and sought services of a lawyer who, as it turns out, cheated them. The petition in fact denies that they were kissing each other and says they were just clicking self portraits on the mobile phone camera.

Arguing their case before HC, the lawyer brought out finer distinctions in the law on what constitutes obscenity. Speaking to Times City, the advocate explained, "Obscenity charges get attracted when the act is so obscene that it encourages depravity or annoys the public. In this case both these contents are missing because the chargesheet is silent on any passersby as originally claimed," he added.

Delhi pepper-spray squads to protect couples on Valentines day

2009-02-06T17:42:00.000+05:30

By Andrew Buncombe in Delhi

Sunday, 1 February 2009

For young lovers in Delhi, this Valentines Day could be a little spicier than normal. On February 14, starry-eyed couples in India's capital are to be protected against "moral vigilantes" by volunteers armed with chilli spray and martial arts expertise.

The decision to set up the groups of "pro-young people" units was taken following a recent attack by right-wing Hindu activists on a group of women enjoying a drink in a pub in the southern city of Mangalore, which they deemed “un-Indian” behaviour. The incident has triggered a debate as to what is acceptable behaviour for Indian women in a country that is wrestling with economic and cultural change.

The National Panthers Party (NPP), a political party that is head-quartered in Indian-administered Kashmir, has now taken the decision to set up the protective love squads. The head of the party's Delhi chapter, Sanjoy Sachdev, said last night: "Whoever was responsible for those attacks on the women is breaking the Constitution. Such people should not be allowed in the country."

He added: "Our volunteers will be armed with chilli pepper which we will throw into the eyes of anyone [assaulting young people]. The police can only do so much. Ordinary people have to act against the fundamentalists. We are pro-young people."

The attack on the young women, many of them students, took place at a bar called Amnesia and was carried out a week ago by around three dozen activists from Sri Ram Sena (SRS), or Lord Ram's Army. The women were allegedly molested and beaten by the young men, who took exception to what they said was inappropriate behaviour for Indian women and young people in general. The founder of the group, Pramod Mutalik, the founder of SRS, was arrested but later released on bail.

Row over mixed-sex hospital wards

2009-01-26T21:48:00.004+05:30

The government has been accused of failing to meet a promise to scrap mixed-sex wards in NHS hospitals.

The Department of Health said its targets had been achieved, and 99% of trusts are providing single sex accommodation.

Many people are uneasy about mixed sex wards

But patients groups said they were getting an increasing number of calls from people who think they have been in mixed-sex wards.

There appears to be confusion about the definition of the term.

Katherine Murphy, from the Patients Association, said there had been 25-30 calls in the last month to the charity's helpline, mostly from elderly patients, who had been nursed on mixed-sex wards.

Andrew Lansley said it was not acceptable to claim that partitioned single-sex bays on mixed-sex wards were doing the job.

"If you can be seen by patients of another sex, and they are coming and going past your bed in order to go to the toilet facilities you may not think you have the privacy you want."

The government pledged to scrap mixed-sex wards when it came to power in 1997.

More to do

Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said most trusts offered single-sex wards, but said more could be done.

Most wards in most hospitals do now provide single-sex accommodation and single-sex bathrooms

Patricia Hewitt
Health Secretary

She conceded that patients' experience did not seem to tally with reports on progress from hospitals.

And she said she had asked Strategic Health Authority bosses to carry out checks.

However, she said it was not feasible to expect hospitals to provide single sex facilities in an medical admissions unit, where doctors assess emergency cases before deciding what action to take.

She said that would increase the risk that a patient in dire need could be turned away, simply because they were the wrong sex.

"Most wards in most hospitals do now provide single-sex accommodation and single-sex bathrooms.

"But it is clearly not happening everywhere, and it cannot happen everywhere in those emergency situations, like medical assessment wards, because we cannot have a situation where you turn away a woman because you have only got a male bed left."

Mrs Hewitt also accepted that the use of partitioned areas on mixed-sex wards was "not good enough" - but increased patient choice would give people the chance to vote with their feet.

"We have eliminated most of the mixed-sex wards that used to exist, but there is still more to be done."

Dr Gill Morgan, chief executive of the NHS Confederation which represents over 90% of NHS organisations, said: "Where mixed-sex wards do exist, they are often in older hospital buildings or to ensure that specialist care can be provided to groups of patients by hospital staff.

"However, hospitals go to great lengths to make sure that single-sex bays of four or five beds are provided within wards and that single-sex facilities, such as toilets and showers, are provided."

Have you been affected by mixed-sex hospital wards? Is enough emphasis placed on patient privacy?
Below is a selection of your comments

Mrs Hewitt's statement that 'increased patient choice would give people the chance to vote with their feet' reflects complete ignorance of the location of NHS hospitals. If I vote with my feet, I would need to travel 30 or 40 miles to neighbouring towns. In Cumbria one would have to travel 50 or 80 miles. Another choice is to go private, but for most of us that is an unaffordable option. Get real, Mrs Hewitt.
Ian, Oxford

Recently, having fractured my spine in an accident I was extremely distressed to be admitted to a mixed sex ward. Overworked nurses do not have time to check that curtains are properly pulled. I was stripped naked each day to be washed, completely unable to move and every day my named nurse was called away several times by senior staff requiring assistance. Often I was exposed to all and sundry till she returned because the curtains didn't meet. I hated every minute and actually discharged myself as soon as I was allowed to walk by myself.
Jenny, Canterbury, Britain

I am 25 and was admitted to hospital for two weeks in August. I had a private room, within a mixed ward and I have to say being in a mixed ward did lead to an increase in the loss of dignity, which one always feels in hospital. However, the mix of ages and illness in my ward was a larger problem. The elderly gentleman in the room next door, kept coming in to my room and at one point actually stole my hairbrush!
Karen, Oxford, UK

My mum is currently in a mixed sex psychiatric ward and to be honest I worry about her being in a weak and vulnerable position with other male psychiatric patients. I agree that this is the first place single sex wards should become compulsory.
Jo, London

I think it's the quality of care that matters. My son was in a mixed sex ward after major surgery last year and although not ideal I can't fault the care he received.
Theresa Crossley, Hornchurch, Essex

The first place they need to get rid of mixed-sex wards is in acute psychiatric units. It's unbelievable to me that people with acute conditions are put into mixed wards without 24hr monitoring.
S. Harding, London, UK

The ward that I work on as a nurse is mixed, but has single gender bays, and I can honestly say no-one has complained. We do not accept patients if there is no appropriate bed available, thus we do not have mixed bays. Those who do have issues with mixed gender wards, do they also have issues with being cared for by a nurse or doctor of the opposite gender?
John Collis, Loughborough, UK

I appreciate the need for mixed acute admissions units. However it was quite distressing for my 86 year old mother who was admitted with a heart problem to have the confused elderly man in the next bed constantly trying to climb into her bed! The staff were so busy they just didn't have the time to supervise this poor man. As for the comment about sex-discrimination and segregation - get real! These are people at their most vulnerable. In most situations mixed wards just simply don't work.
Jean, Bristol, UK

My mother was admitted to hospital earlier this year and the ward was mixed sex. Although she did not say anything I know this did distress her. Sadly she passed away the next day. Being elderly, I know she thought men and women should be in separate wards. I spent the day she died at the hospital and I was not too pleased by the fact that the man in the next bed was only partially dressed, thankfully we had the curtains around the bed closed. I think this is unacceptable and should be phased out
Veronica, Reading, UK

I was on a mixed sex ward in 2001 when having my knee replaced. I actually found it more interesting to have both sexes on the ward. Whenever you needed attention from the nurses there were curtains to give privacy. I am 67 now and would be quite happy to go on a mixed sex ward again.
Maureen Fullick, High Wycombe England

Having worked in a hospital, being involved with patient and bed allocation, I have to say that, considering the high bed occupancy levels (usually 92% in my hospital), it simply isn't realistic for Whitehall to make such promises. Nursing staff do their best to keep bays single sex, but when bays are mixed, it's usually because there is no space elsewhere.
Nathan, Eastbourne

If you are staying in hospital it is because you are in need of care. As long as you get that care that's all that matters. Couldn't that money be spent on something better?
Greig Aitken, Edinburgh

I have had several stays in hospital and been on both single and mixed sex wards. Whilst single sex wards are perfectly fine, I would rather be on a mixed sex ward. After all, we do not live in a single sex environment and I find a mixed sex ward more natural.
Kevin, Suffolk

Most wards I've seen have bays for men and women separately. It doesn't make much sense to have complete single sex wards. Unless the right amount of men and women fall ill simultaneously, will people be refused treatment or have it delayed because they're the wrong gender for the available bed? You can't expect the standards of private healthcare from a public healthcare system. We don't pay enough for that kind of extravagance.
Dave McKenzie, Canterbury, Kent

Unfortunately I had Pneumonia last year and had to endure mixed wards in the Bolton Royal Hospital. I could not get out of hospital fast enough and went home early to recuperate. Very off putting when you are ill!
Mavis Fairhurst, Bolton, Lancashire, UK

My father was in a mixed ward last year in the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead after a stroke. It was a general geriatric unit with a specialist stroke section, and he was there on and off for four months, in mixed-sex wards mostly. I think this is completely unacceptable and should be phased out immediately.
Ian Lush, London, Greater London

I was on a mixed ward when I was admitted to hospital as an emergency a month ago. I was too ill and drugged up to care whether the other patients in the ward were male or female, but I was glad to share a room with another woman and not a man. I'm not sure if I would change my mind if I were there for longer.
Jo, Cambridge, UK

I have been in partitioned wards more than once and I don't see what the problem is to be honest. I don't feel that being surrounded only by women makes it more private at all. The only way something can be private is if you are on your own. If you are surrounded by people it doesn't matter what sex they are. I thought people were against sex-discrimination and segregation these days?
Kath, Manchester

Brawl at Gurgaon club

2008-10-28T10:26:00.003+05:30

Gurgaon: The Giurgaon Police has hit the headlines for the wrong reasons, once again. This time for not lodging an FIR against the bouncers and the manager of Saffire Pub at JMD Regent Plaza, who allegedly thrashed three persons on Saturday night.

Relatives of the youths, who are still in the hospital gheraoed the police station on Sunday night and demanded immediate arrest of the culprits.

After the protest, the police recorded the statements of the victims on Monday afternoon. The Assistant Commissioner of Police Summit Khar said the police are investigating the case and would lodge the FIR if the allegations are proved to be correct.

Navin, Sanjeev and Rajiv reached the Saffire Pub on Saturday night and sought an entry. But the three friends were told that entry for only males is barred. This led to a heated argument, after which the pub's bouncers and the manager beat up the youths black and blue. Rajiv and Naveen received serious injuries and were admitted in a private hospital.

The police were informed, but no action was taken against the pub employees. However, the cops moved only after the relatives gheraoed the police station.

(Source: Metro Now, New Delhi, Tuesday 27.10.08)

2008-10-28T10:24:00.001+05:30

.....

I love my teacher

2008-09-05T17:02:00.002+05:30

COMMENTS FROM RECLAIMING NATURAL MANHOOD WEBSITE: THE FORCES OF HETEROSEXUALISATION DON'T EVEN WANT TO SPARE THE SACRED TEACHER-PUPIL RELATIONSHIP -- AS LONG AS GIRLS ARE SAFEGUARDED FROM MEN WHO WANT TO ABUSE THEM SEXUALLY. ACCORDING TO THEM THEY ARE DOING A FAVOUR ON BOYS BY MAKING HETEROSEXUAL SEX WITH FEMALE TEACHERS A NORM FOR YOUNG BOYS
Fri, Sep 5 01:45 AM

This Teachers' Day, HT City uncovers stories of young people's first crush, on their teachers, and those who recounted their stories say it improved their academic performance. Says software engineer Bhanu Pratap Singh: "Biology was never so interesting before Deepika ma'am started teaching the subject.

Attending her class became my only motive to go to school. Bio was the only subject in which I managed to get a distinction in the boards.

" Rajeev Thakur, a journalist, says his biology teacher was his first love. "My heart was skipping beats when the new teacher clad in a pink sari walked into class.

" The backbencher moved to the front row. "I wasn't flying paper planes in class anymore, my handwriting improved miraculously and my shoes were actually polished.

Yes, I was in love." For Mallika Sinha, it was a temporary music teacher who made her heart skip a beat: "The entire school had a crush on him.

I did everything from crooning loudly in the corridors to fighting with friends to present him with a bouquet on Teachers' Day." Barkha Arora turned into a classical singer to woo her good-looking class X music teacher.

"I never had any interest in classical music but I tried to learn it to get his attention and praise," she says. Says Ruchika Gupta: "My chemistry teacher made my first tutorial so much easier.

I remember the fights to sit in the first row, keeping homework updated to seek his praise, always volunteering first with a pen or a book." That came to an end "when one day a kid ran into the room calling him papa.

We were heartbroken as we'd assumed he was single." When a beautiful Maths teacher revealed the mystery of maths to Rohan Mahajan he fell in love with the subject: "I don't remember a single guy bunking her class.

People's grades improved as guys paid more attention during class." How do teachers deal with these crushes? Says English teacher Aaliya, "It's flattering but disconcerting.

You have to deal quite gently with the kids and ensure that they don't lose focus." Deepanshi Gupta, a biology teacher, says, "I enjoy the attention I get from my students.

Interacting with students like a friend helps bridge the teacher-student gap and helps improve performance."English teacher Pooja Mehra says, "It is nice to boast about my students' attention and flaunt the bouquet of roses in front of other staff members.

'I lost my virginity to a MUCH older woman,' confesses Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe

2008-09-05T16:54:00.002+05:30

(This story also appeared in Hindustan Times' HT City, dated September 5, 2005, New Delhi)

Remarks from Reclaiming Natural Manhood Site: WHAT IF A MAN HAD SEX WITH A GIRL AGED 16? WILL THE WESTERN HETEROSEXUALISED SOCIETY (INCLUDING THE ENGLISH PRESS IN INDIA) HAVE GLORIFIED IT ON THE TEACHER'S DAY, LIKE THEY'RE DOING IT WITH RADCLIFFE? ISN'T THIS BECAUSE WOMEN ARE SUPPOSED TO DO MEN A FAVOUR BY HAVING SEX WITH THEM, AND THE RULES DON'T APPLY TO THEM, NO MATTER THE HETEROSEXUAL SOCIETY CLAIMS TO BE BASED ON EQUALITY OF GENDERS.

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe is clearly trying hard to ditch his boy wizard image.

The 19-year-old actor confessed in a revealing interview to losing his virginity to an older woman - whose age would raise eyebrows.

Radcliffe admitted he celebrated reaching the age of consent, 16, in the customary manner with a much older girlfriend.

But although he insisted the age difference 'wasn't ridiculous', he did say it 'would freak some people out'.

In an interview with US style bible Details, he also admitted he'd like to try his hand at playing a drag queen.

The 19-year-old actor confessed he would love to play a cross-dresser just so he could wear lots of slap and eye make up.

'I think part of me would love to play a drag queen,' he says in the September issue of Details magazine.

'Just because it would be an excuse to wear loads of eye make-up.'

Radcliffe, who has spent eight years playing Harry Potter, is soon to start a run of Equus on Broadway, New York.

He will be on stage eight times a week, with full frontal nudity, just as he did in the hit London production.

But that will be about as wild as he plans to get.

The actor , who is known for living a quiet life and not succumbing to the wild party scene said vodka and Diet Coke was his beverage of choice, because he was a 'pansy-ass civilian'.

Radcliffe also told Details that the Harry Potter phenomenon had not left him with child star angst - but confessed he suffered from the normal teen problems.

'For the most part I've been happy every single day,' he said.

'And all the times I've been unhappy, it's never been anything to do with Potter.

'It's just been the normal, boring teenage crap. Insecurities, acne - all the normal stuff.'

And although he will soon be playing psychiatric patient Alan Strang eight times a week, he said he had never spent any time on the couch himself.

'I've been pretty happy. I've got a great family,' he said.

'We're a very tight-knit group. We work very well as a team and as a tribe. I owe it to that.'

Radcliffe added that he was currently single, and does not have room for a girlfriend in his life.

'Most of my friends have been girls and I see how they are with their boyfriends and I think 'I couldn't do that,' he said.

'I just don't have the time.

2008-08-30T12:21:00.001+05:30

Stags not allowed! Delhi men have a hard time getting into pubs and clubs unless they're accompanied by women or foreigners. This was our experience over the past few weeks as we explored the nightlife of the city.
Now that the 'Let's catch a drink after work' culture is picking up pace, nightclubs are trying to outdo each other with special nights and packages. These include expat nights and ladies nights, which have become the talk of town. What has not changed, however, is the reluctance of many clubs to let unaccompanied men in.

Going solo
HT City photo coordinator Zabeeh Afaque found he wasn't allowed in at most watering holes for a drink. Afaque was part of the HT City team that went to investigate a problem men in this city are familiar with - most clubs and pubs in the city have a 'no entry' for single men.
We checked out 18 nightspots in the NCR and found at least five that discriminated by letting in single expat men but denied entry to Indian stags.
The city is throbbing with 'nights' that are hosted at places like Urban Pind, Ivy and Kuki.
Urban Pind and Kuki both have popular expat nights on Thursdays with the following special offers Urban Pind: Thirst-day nights have an unlimited IMFL drinks offer at Rs 550 (plus taxes) and Kuki has free drinks through the evening for all expat women and the fIrst 50 Indian women who enter.

Strict policy
Kashif Farooq, co-owner, Urban Pind, the Urban Bar, while talking about the strict couple-only policy says, "These days stags take entry one by one and then form a big
group inside. We think that's unsafe for the women who are new to the country. Honestly, foreigners understand each other better and know how to talk to or approach women. Rules are for everyone. We've often been told to soften our stand on entry but we'd rather lose business than risk an unpleasant event."
Rummy Sharma of Kuki however feels that these nights pull in the crowds on a dull day and the special tag ups the excitement level. But
he's quite clear about who's most important

Sanjay Nirupam ousted from Big Boss 2 for showing 'disrespect' to item girl on media

2008-08-23T14:50:00.005+05:30

23rd August, 2008, 2.30pm

Just now, on one of the TV channels, they were showing a 'news' iten about how Sanjay Nirupam -- the famous politician -- was ousted from a Realty show, Big Boss 2, because he had made a comment on an item girl, Sambhawna Seth (who does heterosexually obscene dances in movies, etc.)... that he had been warned not to go on a show where an item girl like her was coming...
Now, in the present heterosexualised society (and especially on the media controlled by the forces of heterosexualisation) which gives moral and all kind of other support to (hetero)sexually aggressive women (who were earlier known as 'whores' by the men's spaces), such girls feel extremely empowered and naturally, she made it a point to conspire to throw him out of the show..... i am not sure, but probably she took the support of other 'heterosexual/ heterosexualised' westernised Indian men in this.

She was crying in the show and trying to garner lots of support for herself, while the media painted Sanjay Nirupam as a 'villain'.

Why did Sanjay Nirupam participate in such a stupid programme anyways?

US national 'molested' by spa masseur

2008-05-15T17:55:00.000+05:30

Times of India
New Delhi

14 May 2008, TNN

NEW DELHI: A 38-year-old foreign national was allegedly molested inside a spa at a five-star hotel in upscale Vasant Vihar area of south-west Delhi. The police have registered a case of molestation and arrested the accused person.
The victim, who is a US national, stays with her husband at Vasant Vihar. On Monday, she had a booking at the hotel for a spa treatment. As a senior police officer says: "The woman had gone for a head massage at the spa and claims she was molested by a massaeur there."
This year, 200 cases of molestation have already been reported in the Capital. The figure was as high as 850 last year. That a woman was molested inside a spa at an upscale neighbourhood has only reinforced the city’s unsafe image.
The victim has said in her complaint: "While the masseur was giving me a head massage, he started molesting me. As I was in semi-conscious state, he continued his act. After a while, another person entered the room, on which he threw a towel on me. The other person went outside, but I woke up."
"The masseur began massaging my head again, and once more, he molested me. But this time, I caught him and screamed at him. I also informed the staff at the spa centre about the incident," the woman claims. The accused, identified as Amir (22), allegedly also abused the victim when she protested. According to police, Amir has been working at the spa for the past one year. He stays with his family in Gurgaon.
The police later arrested Amir and lodged a case against him under sections 354 (molestation) and 509 (for outraging the modesty of a woman using foul words). He was later granted bail by a city court.
The woman refused to undergo any medical test, said the police. She has been staying in India for the past few years and runs a business here along with her husband.

2008-05-13T15:31:00.003+05:30

It seems Richard Gere has already done the damage. Forces of Heterosexualisation is not busy further strengthening their position by making public kisses between man and woman more and more "normal" and thus "acceptable". Preity Zinta has sought the occasion of the win of her team to do something no Indian girl would have dreamt of doing a few years ago. And this means further narrowing of men's spaces.

THE GUYS DON'T WANT IT: Just notice how shy and uncomfortable the guys are at Preity's unwanted show of affection/ enthusiasm. Perhaps, she is using the occasion to get physically close to the guys. And also trying to make the act of such physical/ sexual closeness between men and women acceptable in India.

But just notice how the guys hate it. They're literally blushing. They don't want any of it. But what can they do/ say? Men don't have the voices to say anything to resist this.

The Times of India
May 13, 2008

THIS OWNER HAS NO PROBLEMS: Preity Zinta hugs team Mohali captain Yuvraj Singh before Monday's match against Bangalore Royal Challengers......

Changing rules of manhood

2008-05-07T07:43:00.002+05:30

It is no longer considered high of a man to not show sexual interest in women, like in traditional India. Men just don't have that space any longer.

And this is eventually harmful for all men, whether or not they have a sexual need for women or not. Because, this is the most important factor that robs men of their space, which is needed by all men, lest they become oppressed, second class citizens.

'Organisers to face action for cheerleaders indecency'

2008-05-07T07:21:00.000+05:30

25 Apr 2008, PTI

MUMBAI: In the midst of controversy over the presence of cheerleaders at IPL matches, police on Friday said they could perform at the stadium in Navi Mumbai on April 27 but action will be taken against organisers if their act is found to be "vulgar" or "indecent". ( Watch )
"The girls are merely artistes who perform as per the instructions of organisers," Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner Ramrao Wagh said, adding that a performance license has been granted to the organisers of the match between Mumbai Indians and Deccan Chargers to be held at Nerul's D Y Patil stadium.
In the event of the cheerleaders indulging in obscenity, Wagh said, the "license holders" (the organisers) will be prosecuted under various provisions of the Bombay Police Act for indecency in a public place and breach of license terms.
Wagh, however said they had not received any directions from the state government on the issue yet.
Maharashtra's Minister of State for Home, Siddhram Mhetre had on Thursday told reporters that the government will not allow the cheerleaders to perform as their acts are "absolutely obscene" and wondered why the organisers required "semi nude" women at cricket matches.
The minister had said strict action will be taken if the cheerleaders violated the norms of decency in their attire.
However, he had not specified if action will be taken against the artistes or the organisers.

Singapore succeeds at managing everything - except dating

2008-04-30T12:52:00.005+05:30

By Seth Mydans Published: April 29, 2008

Students at Singapore Polytechnic during a class intended by the government to help set off romance among young people. (Charles Pertwee for The International Herald Tribune)

SINGAPORE: It was like a college mixer, a classroom full of young men and women seeking a recipe for romance.
They had assembled for the first class of "Love Relations for Life: A Journey of Romance, Love and Sexuality."
There was giggling and banter among the students, but that was all part of the course material as their teacher, Suki Tong, led them into the basics of dating, falling in love and staying together.

The course, which is in its second year at two polytechnic institutes, is the latest of many, mostly futile, campaigns by the government to get its citizens to mate and multiply. Its popularity last year has led to talk of expansion through the higher education system.

"We want to tell students: Don't wait until you have built up your career," Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, minister of state for community development, youth and sports, said at a news conference last month. "Sometimes, it is too late, especially for girls."

The courses are an extension of government matchmaking programs that try to address the twin challenges embodied in a falling birthrate: Too few people are having babies and too few of those who are belong to what Singapore considers the genetically desirable educated elite.

For 25 years, the mating rituals organized by the government - tea dances, wine tasting, cooking classes, cruises, screenings of romantic movies - have been among the country's least-successful social engineering programs.
Last year Singapore's fertility rate fell to a record low of 1.24 children per woman of childbearing age, one of the lowest in the world and the 28th year in a row it has stayed below the rate of 2.5 children needed to maintain the population.

But even a replacement-level rate would not be enough for today's planners. The government recently announced that it was aiming to increase the population by 40 percent over the next half century, to 6.5 million from the current 4.5 million.

"Teaching our youth in school how to fall in love" is a good solution, wrote Andy Ho, a senior writer at The Straits Times, a government-friendly newspaper that does its best to help out in Singapore's many campaigns.
In 1991, for example, when the government began offering cash bonuses to couples with more than two children, the newspaper printed tips for having sex in the back seat of a car, including directions to some of the "darkest, most secluded and most romantic spots" for parking.

It suggested covering the windows with newspapers for privacy.

Singapore is a topiary nation, constantly trimming and pruning itself into shapes that it believes improve on nature.
As the modern world weakens traditional family ties, for example, families are given financial incentives to care for their elderly parents - or taken to court for neglecting them.

Singapore is known for its campaigns to get residents to be polite, to smile, to be tidy, to speak proper English and not to chew gum.

In 1984, the country's master planner, then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, declared that too few of the country's most eligible women - the ones with college degrees - were marrying and having children.

He set up the Social Development Unit to address the problem and since then the government has been Singapore's principal matchmaker.

In addition to its tea dances and moonlight cruises, the agency also acts as a lonely hearts adviser, with an online counselor named Dr. Love and a menu of boy-meets-girl suggestions on its Web site, www.lovebyte.org.sg.
"Guys, girls notice everything!" the Web site offers in one of its dating tips. "Comb your hair differently and they notice. Change your watch and they notice! Skipped your morning shower and sprayed on deodorant to cover the smell - they notice! What does this mean? Well, bathe regularly, change something about yourself, be observant and compliment the lady."

Lee himself acknowledged how silly some of this may seem.

"Never mind the hullabaloo in the press - all the foreign correspondents writing that a crackpot government is trying to interfere in people's lives," he said when he inaugurated the Social Development Unit.

"If we continue to reproduce ourselves in this lopsided way we will be unable to maintain our present standards," he said.

In other words, said Annie Chan, director of a matchmaking agency, "Our government wants smart ladies to meet smart guys to get smart children."

But in Singapore it is impossible to get very far from thoughts of money and the workplace. These guys may have other things on their minds besides romance and babies.

Cheerleaders cause controversy in India

2008-04-27T10:10:00.000+05:30

25/04/2008 11:36:00 AM.

Cheerleaders are taking Indian cricket by storm, but some are wondering if this conservative South Asian nation is ready for dancers with bulging breasts and gyrating bellies parading in packed stadia.

Many foreign cheerleaders have been imported to India with this month's inauguration of the India Premier League (IPL), a shortened form of traditional cricket that transforms the game into a more glitzy US-style sponsored sport event.

But some outraged politicians say it is an affront to Indian culture while a few of the cheerleaders themselves complain lewd comments and insults from spectators is making their job a misery.

"It's been horrendous," Tabitha, a cheerleader from Uzbekistan, told the Hindustan Times. "

"Wherever we go we do expect people to pass lewd, snide remarks but I'm shocked by the nature and magnitude of the comments people pass here."

The IPL has caught the imagination of India, a nation of 1.1 billion and the world's biggest cricket audience. TV rights sold for more than $US900 million ($A949.57 million) and players for eight teams, many imported from abroad, were auctioned for millions.

In contrast to the cliched cricket image of genteel spectators sipping tea while politely applauding their team, now scantily-clad dancers gyrate to Bollywood or Western-style dance music blaring out from loudspeakers in stadia.

Even well-known cheerleaders from the Washington Redskins flew to India to perform for the Bangalore Royal Challengers. Photos of the dancers graced the front pages of most newspapers.

"What the cheerleaders are doing during cricket matches is ten times more vulgar than what used to happen in dance bars of Mumbai," Nitin Gadkari, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra state, home to the Mumbai Indians.

This news shows how things that are copied blindly from the west and imposed upon India can harm us tremendously

2008-04-25T15:15:00.001+05:30

Experts for chary planning in future

By Mohlt Shanna

In New Deihl

BUS Rapid Transit (BRT) experts reckon that before going ahead on the remaining corridors, the authorities here should conduct an independent review of the Ambedkar Nagar-Moolchand stretch that has made for nothing short of a bumpy ride for commuters.

An international engineer, the experts say, should be hired for the remaining stretches instead of letting rookie local officials call the shots.

According to government sources, the BRT officials must -have realised by now that "blindly copying" any international model, specifically in a country like India where traffic behaviour is different, will not work. For the remaining stretches, the Delhi government should again review all conditions - weather, people, roads and nature of traffic before going ahead with it.

"The officials should also keep in mind that bus stops on the side of the roads usually suit Indian cities. If they plan accordingly, they can avoid the mayhem that is plaguing the existing stretch," the sources said.

S. Gangopadhyaya, head of the transport wing, Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) said, "I cannot comment on projects that are in the pipeline as I have not seen the designs. Generally speaking, the BRT is a good concept. What we have to see is the correct applicability of the system according to the Indian situation."

Quizzed on ongoing works on proposed stretches, transport commissioner-cum-secretary R.K. Verma said, "It's too early to comment. We are examining every possibility and working on controversial issues and areas."

Urban designer K. T. Ravindran said, "Though there are lacunae in the management on this first stretch, awareness among the masses to adapt to public transport systems is a must. The solution to the traffic congestion problem is to shift more and more people to public transports by de-motivating them to use their own personal vehicles to commute."

mohit.sharma@mailtoday.in

scaring parents off with 'gay' fear to make way for heterosexualisation

2008-04-13T14:13:00.000+05:30

Of course, this whole scaring parents off from stopping their kids from dating, lest they turn 'gay' is a 'trend' can be seen from the fact that nowadays they are playing an advertisement on TV that shows a worried parent allowing their daughter to go on dating with a nepalese guy, because, she pretends to be a lesbian, and they're just happy that she's at least not lesbian.

It's pathetic. The same people who talk about sexual freedom, suddenly talk about suppressing man-to-man sexuality, as a noble deed, and blatantly espouse working to stop its progression. while, on one hand it castigates the society and parents for not being accepting towards casual male-female sex, of all hues and cries, at the same time, it goes all out, even putting words into their mouth, to prod them into stopping their children from getting into same-sex bonds.

Are Indian parents becoming open to Dating by their sons/ daughters?

2008-04-13T14:03:00.000+05:30

It's really amazing how the forces of heterosexualisation which day and night rant about sexual freedom for man and woman, do everything in their hand to deny this freedom to relationships between two men.

But, it is a fact that if you open up the society, men are going to take up to sexual bonds with other men in a big way. But the forces of heterosexualisation don't want that. And since there already exists a traditional public opinion against man-man sexual bonds and it is considered o.k. to rant against and deny freedom to man-man bonds (which in the past, in all fairness, also applied to male-female sex outside of marriage or its public display) the media gets away with it.

So, this article about parents getting accepting about their sons and daughters dating, which seeks to misinforms the public in order to change public opinion, also goes on to instill a fear amongst parents who may be tempted to turn up their nose upon this permisiveness, and that is: If your son or daughter is not dating, he/ she is likely to be 'gay', which means he/ she won't marry...... it is thus trying to play upon the conservative need of Indian parents to get their children married off. They are generating a fear amongst the public: either let your children date or they'd end up 'gay'. This is hypocrisy and oppression at its worst. And carried on by people who swear by the words "freedom" and "women rights".

So, with the power institutions like the media and science, actively involved in changing public mores in this way, who will care about men and their liberty.

INDIAN PARENTS GETTING OPEN ABOUT THEIR CHILDREN DATING?

2008-04-13T12:07:00.000+05:30

Today's Brunch (the daily mag section of Hindustan Times in Delhi) has a cover story which boldly says, "Not so long ago, it was impossible for young people to admite to their parents that they had a girlfriend or boyfriend. Today, parents in big cities get nervous if their children aren't dating".

This is known as engineering public opinion towards a set of values, even without any ground, and is in real bad taste.

The article has a big set-up picture of an aged couple and a young couple hand in hand (the first couple are parents and the other their son/ daughter with date. It sites unbelievable anecdotes about conservative parents suddenly turning liberal about their daughters dating within a span of five years. They are just as set-up as the pictures. So much for misleading public and forcing a change in values.

I am a social worker and a keen observer of society, and all around me, I see young people trying to hide their relationships not only from parents, but also from colleagues, neighbours and what not -- although there is more openness between peers. And, I live in a big city, Delhi.

The funny part is, that, inspite of all the brouhaha and social engineering indulged in by the media and other forces of heterosexualisation, in my hep office (which is a publication taking out several English publications in a month) there are several young boys and girls. But only one pair of boy and girl have a relationship with each other, and its extremely candid. They don't even share it with peers, but we know that there's something on. Another boy has a started a relatioship with a girl he meets on the bus daily, and chats with on orkut, but only I and a girl have the honour to know it in my office. The others just don't know.

So, who are all these parents worried about their children not going on dates? Apart from a few over-westernised couples, over eager to prove their 'sophistication' and 'status' in the society?

THE MEDIA SUPPORTS SEXUALLY AGGRESSIVE ABUSIVE WOMEN

2008-04-13T09:15:00.000+05:30

ON APRIL 13, 2008, there is another news which shows that the media is unmindfully supportive of sexually aggressive and abusive women, by camouflaging their misdeeds under the traditional "innocent" image of women, and exhorting to the traditional protective instincts of the society towards this "innocent" image.

A sales girl spoke rudely to a girl on phone who wanted to get a certain video CD home delivered. when the girl went up to the store, she was slapped and manhandled there by the sales girl. Upon this the girl called her father, a senior citizen (65 yrs old). An altercation followed, and the sales girl grabbed a knife and stabbed the aged man, injuring him seriously.

The sales girl, true to the ways of such girls, accused the man and the girl of having slapped her and tore her clothes and "threatened to strip her naked and parade her", and that she stabbed the man in self-defense.

It is unimaginable for a brother, sister and father trio in Delhi to go and threaten a sales girl to strip and parade naked in public.

The TV media took the side of the salesgirl and reported the matter as if she was assaulted and she acted in self-defense. Again, one look at her, and her body movement, and you know that she is no "damsel in distress". The forces of heterosexualisation are giving extreme powers and dangerous protection to such abusive women.

The newspaper news, which at least presents both the perspectives is here:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/storypage/storypage.aspx?id=ee36a048-76e9-4c1a-a02a-d8d0b87e4491&MatchID1=4680&TeamID1=6&TeamID2=3&MatchType1=1&SeriesID1=1179&PrimaryID=4680&Headline=They+slapped+me+and+tore+my+clothes%3a+Salesgirl

MEDIA PROMOTES SEXUALLY AGGRESSIVE AND EXPLOITATIVE WOMEN

2008-04-13T08:22:00.000+05:30

On 11th April, 2008, news channels showed the story of how a "victim of rape" was beaten by chappals by female neighbours in east Delhi's Mandawali area. The media was crying foul and totally supported the woman. It was yet another moment for the powerful forces of heterosexualisation to advance itself in the name of "heterosexualisation".

Noone care to ask why the female neighbourers "enmob" were beating an "innocent woman". Are Indians unsympathetic to victims of rape? At one time, the society considered it better to keep such things under wraps, but more for the woman and her honour (something westerners will never understand), than for saving the man. If so many women were against a woman, who was playing a "victim of rape", there must be more to it.

In fact, as far as I can tell, the woman looked and behaved quite like one who would not only use men sexually but would use her position as a woman to exploit men. there have been thousands of such cases all over India, eversince the society has been forced by the media to give such powers to women. She was the typical Heterosexual woman that the media wants to promote -- the sexually aggressive, dominant kind. And they make the man absolutely helpless to defend himself against anykind of exploitation at the hands of these women -- whether its sexual exploitation or false cases of sexual exploitation.

Why was the media not highlighting what the neighbours were saying -- that she was a 'bad character' woman and that she had lodged a false complaint against her landlord. Why did the media choose to stick to one woman's account over scores of others?

The woman claimed to be attacked with knives, but then women like her will put just any blame. The police themselves said that she was in an inebriated state. What kind of an 'innocent' girl lives alone in a lower-middle class locality and drinks alcohol? It is now being enforced by the forces of heterosexualisation upon upper-middle class societies which have been westernised, but not in traditional Indian spaces. A man does all these things too, but then he faces the harsh world out there. If he is beaten by people for coming home drunk, he is not protected by the media. The media will in fact lash out at the man. And, a man does not have the empowerment to complain even if he is genuinely exploited sexually by women. He has to take it all without complaining. If he were to complain, he would only get jeers. How can Western partial notions of 'feminism' be enforced upon Indian cultures without even discussing them first?

I agree, that it is not right to take law into one's own hands. But, what are ordinary, illiterate people to do when they find themselves helpless against oppressive laws, against powerful forces of Westernisation/ heterosexualisation that often hides itself behind distorted ideas of female 'liberty', and a powerful media bent on creating space for the sexually aggressive woman, at all costs, in all circumstances.

The media would have been right to raise the issue of her being beaten, because, all said and done, people have no right to take law into their hands. However, to completely side with her shows that media has unwarranted motives.

Here's the news (the newspaper version is slightly more balanced than the TV news):

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=1c689bff-31ee-44a0-91c5-83e4552b63d6&MatchID1=4680&TeamID1=6&TeamID2=3&MatchType1=1&SeriesID1=1179&PrimaryID=4680&Headline=Mob+attacks+rape+victim+in+east+Delhi

Note that the paper assumes that she is a rape victim, even when nothing has been proved, and it is only based on the complaint of the woman, and women have been given absolute powers by the heterosexual society to implicate any man without evidence.

Wanted: Abuse shield for male docs

2006-09-21T00:23:00.000+05:30

Hindustan Times

Soumyajit Pattnaik
Bhubaneswar, December 10, 2005

A gynaecologist in Orissa's Bhadrak town was arrested earlier this week for allegedly raping a patient. The doctor denied the charge.

A government doctor in Khurda was suspended a couple of months ago for allegedly molesting a female patient. The doctor alleged frame-up.

Healing has its pitfalls in Orissa. At least for men. Male doctors are crying for safety nets so that they can treat women without risking allegations of sexual harassment. A spate of arrests and suspensions of doctors in government hospitals has forced male doctors to demand written undertakings from the husbands and parents of women patients for treatment of "sensitive body parts".

In Bhubaneswar's Capital Hospital, doctors are referring women to lady doctors. Madhusudan Mishra, president of the Orissa Medical Service Association (OSMA), said, "Under the circumstances, the only solution is that either the lady doctors treat women or the government put checks in place to prevent allegations of sexual abuse."

Echoes Hadibandhu Rautray, secretary of the OMSA branch in Bhubaneswar's Capital Hospital, "Either the government posts adequate lady doctors or relatives sign bonds that if the treatment requires detailed examination, they would not object or women trust the doctors completely."

But trust is a scarce commodity. On Saturday, a woman came to the hospital for breast treatment. The male physician on duty tried to bundle her off to a lady doctor, but none was to be found. The harried doctor insisted that her husband and daughter be present during the check-up.

Rattled by the reports, health minister Bijoushree Rautray plans to convene a meeting of senior officials to look into the problem.

No rape charges against man for eloping with girl

2006-09-12T10:29:00.000+05:30

Wednesday, October 12, 2005, Chandigarh, India
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 11
A youth, who had eloped with a 16-year-old girl and married her, has been acquitted of rape charges by a Delhi court accepting the victim’s statement that whatever had happened was with her consent.

Though the prosecution claimed she was just 11-and-a-half-year old at the time of the incident, Additional Sessions Judge Swarn Kanta Mehra set free Ram Balak after it was proved through a calcification test that she was 16 years old, the age at which her consent is valid as per law.

Ram Balak, who was in love with the sixth standard girl, had picked her up from her residence in Anand Parbat here on July 15, 2003.

He took her away to Sitamarhi in Bihar where they got married and spent eight months together before they were nabbed.

Denying the prosecution’s kidnap and rape story, the girl told the court that she was in love with the accused and got married as per her own will.

However, finding him guilty under Section 363 (kidnapping a minor) of IPC, the court convicted the accused of taking the girl, who had not attained the age of 18, out of her legal guardianship and thereby “affecting her studies”.

He was awarded a one-and-a-half year sentence which he has already undergone in custody and directed to pay a fine of Rs 5,000.

“At that age she was not able to appreciate what was good or bad for her. It was not the time for her to get married but concentrate on her education. The act resulted in loss of studies and it can be attributed to the accused,” the court said.
(Source: The Tribune)

2006-09-10T08:24:00.000+05:30

THE HINDU

Tuesday, Sep 28, 2004

Letters to the Editor

LAUDABLE

Sir, — The Defence Ministry's decision to appoint more women doctors in the Army is laudable. Equally welcome is its decision to give Surya Moudgil another chance to appear before an all-women Army medical board. Those who criticised the aggrieved Ms. Moudgil and the All India Democratic Women's Association ought to think again. Let us hope that these developments will serve as eye-openers and sensitise the Army towards women.

C. Selvamani,
Bangalore

Sir, — Ms. Moudgil's case has come to light because of her boldness. The question is not whether it is right or wrong for women candidates to be examined by male doctors. Medical test is not an emergency; she could have been allowed to exercise her option. The conviction with which she braved all odds and the fact that she even risked a career for a principle are praiseworthy.

She stands out among those who suffer in silence due to social pressure or lack of confidence.

Chhavi Rana,
Rohtak, Haryana

Sir, — I congratulate AIDWA and Ms. Moudgil for remaining steadfast and taking up the issue courageously.

Pathamadai Mani Sundaram,
Chennai

(Source: The Hindu)

AIDWA to move court against Army recruitment procedure

2006-09-10T08:22:00.000+05:30

THE HINDU

Thursday, Sep 23, 2004

By Our Staff Correspondent

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 22. The All-India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) has decided to move the Supreme Court to protest against the Army's recruitment procedure that involves "intimate" physical examination of women candidates by male doctors.

Talking to presspersons here today, the AIDWA general secretary, Brinda Karat, said she had written to the Chief of the Army Staff, N.C. Vij, on September 15 but had got no response. "We will wait for another three days before filing a petition in the court for changing the rules that are embarrassing and humiliating for young girls, most of whom come from a rural background," she said. The procedure was "insensitive and callous" towards women, she added.

Also present at the press meet was Surya Moudgil from Haryana, who lost the opportunity to get a job as a Lieutenant (non-field posting) after she refused to undergo physical examination by male doctors as the surgical and gynaecological test involved "intimate" physical examination. Worse, she was "ridiculed" for being "ancient" and told that she needed to "grow up."

`In vogue for years'

Ms. Moudgil said that doctors in Allahabad, where she went for the test, made it clear that the rules could not be changed for her. The practice was being followed for the past 10 years and no woman recruit had protested.

Ms. Moudgil, who holds a post-graduate degree in Mathematics, had applied through the Service Selection Board and reached the medical examination stage after four rounds of tests. This was her fourth attempt and the second time she reached the medical examination stage.

The first time, in Bangalore, a woman doctor examined her. "I knew from experience that the gynaecological examination involved taking off my clothes and an intimate procedure. The second time, in Allahabad, I asked for a woman doctor when I realised that the examination was being carried out by male doctors."

An officer told her blankly that "the doctors only see and don't touch" and that she should not have applied if she had objections to the procedures.

`Ridicule and humiliation'

Braving "ridicule and humiliation," Ms. Moudgil came to the Army Base Hospital in Delhi for examination. She was told that only the Head of the Department was authorised to conduct the tests, and he was a male. Before seeking the medical test, she was asked to show the "application of refusal" given to her in Allahabad, which made things difficult for her.

"The fact remains that the aspirants are unaware of this until they reach the medical examination centres, and the experience is traumatising," Ms Karat said. Almost all the woman recruits who underwent the medical examination by male doctors felt "embarrassed and humiliated," Ms. Moudgil said.

"Some threw up after the examination, others went pale and many others were depressed for days, though not many found the courage to protest as they feared losing the job or bringing disrepute to their families," she added.

Nurse present: Army

An Army spokesperson, Col. S.K. Sakhuja, said that whenever a male surgeon conducts an examination, a woman nurse or attendant is present keeping in mind the sensitivities of the women aspirants.

The Army had its own constraints but whenever possible lady gynaecologists were asked to carry out examinations of women candidates.

In this particular case, according to Col. Sakhuja, the three girls who had reservations on being examined by male surgeons were asked to report in Delhi for medical examination. There, the tests were conducted on two girls in the presence of a woman nurse, while Ms. Moudgil refused even that.

(Source: The Tribune(

Pranab to direct Army to provide female gynaecologists

2006-09-10T08:20:00.000+05:30

The Tribune, 24 sep, 2004
New Delhi, September 23

Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said today he would direct the Army to make available female gynaecologists for medical examination of women candidates in the wake of an aspirant’s complaint that she was rejected because she refused to undergo tests by a male gynaecologist.

“We will tell them to make female gynaecologists available,” he told reporters here when asked about the claims made by the complainant Surya Moudgil that she could not clear the medical tests as she refused to be examined by a gynaecologist and a surgical specialist, both men.

Meanwhile, the CPI (M)-affiliated All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) today said it would slap a suit on the Army against its “insensitivity” to women recruits, who are put through intimate medical tests by male doctors.

The AIDWA, which will move the Supreme Court, said it had documentary evidence to back its claim that women candidates for army recruitment were medically examined by male doctors.

“Since the Army has not recognised the legitimacy and validity of the complaint and continues to be gender-insensitive, we have no alternative but to go to court. We will be moving the Supreme Court,” AIDWA general secretary Brinda Karat said.

The AIDWA was incensed that the Army did not make arrangements for women surgeons and gynaecologists when it called women candidates for the medical tests.

According to the AIDWA, which presented Ms Surya Moudgil, one of the women candidates for the Short Service Commission, at a news conference here, no female surgeon or gynaecologist was present when she was put to medical tests.

Ms Moudgil refused to be examined by the male surgeon and gynaecologist at the Delhi Base Hospital, said Ms Karat, a CPI (M) central committee member.

“It’s a question of a woman’s physical integrity. And for the Army to do it sends a very bad message to the rest of the society showing insensitivity to the working women,” she said.

In its clarification, the Army said a female gynaecologist was present along with a male surgeon during the tests for women candidates.

Three women, including Ms Moudgil, were taken to Delhi from Allahabad after they wanted to be examined by female doctors, an Army spokesman said.

Two of the women candidates “understood the arrangements” in Delhi where a female gynaecologist and a male surgeon were present, he said.

Ms Moudgul, however, wanted a female surgeon and refused to be examined, he added.

Ms Karat dismissed the Army clarification as “a lie”. “The Army is spreading misinformation. There was no female gynaecologist.

“When you have women candidates, why didn’t it make arrangements for the presence of female doctors?” she asked.

The Army has 12 women gynaecologists in Delhi, but it does not have any female surgeon. The medical tests took place on August 27 and again on September 2 in Delhi.

A female attendant was present for tests with male doctors at Allahabad, but the women candidates had reservation, the spokesman said. — PTI, UNI

(Source: The Tribune)

Army gets women recruits examined by male docs

2006-09-10T07:49:00.000+05:30

The Times of India

NEW DELHI: Normally it's up to a woman whether she wishes to go to a female or a male gynaecologist. In fact, most prefer female practitioners. But it seems the Indian Army doesn't give women the choice — if only a male doc is available, so be it. Take it or lump it.

This is what Surya Moudgil discovered to her horror. She had applied for a lieutenant's post in the army through the services selection board. When it came to the medical, including gynaecological examinations, she found it was to be done by male doctors.

Surya recalls the trauma that she and other girls underwent at the thought of having to strip, and get examined, by a male doctor. She, however, was the only one who spoke up.

In her medical examination in Allahabad on July 8, Surya raised an objection and requested for a woman gynaecologist. "The president, special medical board, Lt Colonel Turlapati told me, ‘Doctors only see, they don't touch'. He also told me that if I had a problem I shouldn't have applied and that I was the only one with a problem."

The events were revealed at a press conference here on Wednesday, held under the aegis of the All-India Democratic Women's Association, which plans to take up the issue in the Supreme Court.

Surya said her objection only invited ridicule by other Army doctors. "While the ENT specialist told me that I need to grow up, the eye doctor told me that for an eye examination he'd have to come very close to my face." She was finally advised by one doctor to go to the base hospital in Delhi for the examination since it would have female doctors.

So, she arrived in Delhi for the examination on July 29. But it was the same story all over again.

(Source: TOI)

Banderas and Timberlake Share Emotional Moment

2006-09-10T07:35:00.000+05:30

Antonio Banderas was so moved while watching his eagerly-anticipated new movie Shrek 2 with Justin Timberlake, he ended up sobbing and holding hands with the pop hunk. The Spanish actor viewed the animated film at France's Cannes Film Festival last week as he sat in between Timberlake and the 'N Sync star's girlfriend Cameron Diaz, who also adds her vocals to the production. Banderas says, "I was kind of crying at the end of the thing. It was kinda funny because there's is a very romantic moment at the end of the movie. My character says, 'I wanna cry,' and I was crying. Cameron Diaz was (to the left) and Justin Timberlake was (to the right), and he said to me, 'I'm crying too!' So we held hands for a while. Cameron was just looking over there (thinking), 'These guys, what are they doing?'"

(bigger version: Zorro star leaps to Timberlake's defence)

No stags allowed at Buddha Park

2006-09-10T07:21:00.000+05:30

HT correspondent, New Delhi, January 7

If you are planning to take a stroll, the Buddha Jayanti Park is not for you. And if you still insist on going there make sure it's with a woman.

The Delhi Police on Wednesday arrested five men and questioned two others for "aimlessly" roaming about in the park.

The police said the drive will continue. Cops in plainclothes will either drive away or arrest all men who visit the park without a woman companion.

Men visiting the park without a woman escort seem to make a "natural suspect' for the cops.

The drive was launched after the New Delhi district police found themselves unable to prevent incidents of women being harassed at the park.

Last October, a Jesus and Mary College student was raped by Presidential bodyguards. On Sunday, a young couple was accosted by four men who stripped the man and showed the woman the way out of the park. The girl managed to reach her Gurgaon house.

The four are yet to be arrested.

Since Monday, 10 cops from the local police and 12 from the Para military forces have been searching the park. On Wednesday, they arrested Narendra, Pramod and Sushil who run a book binding shop in Noida. They also arrested Rajkumar and Wasim Khan, who runs a shop at Bara Hindu Rao. The five were found peeping into bushes. Two others were let off after questioning.

The police want the park to have either a boundary wall or a fence. "We want to send a strong message that people found loitering in the park or creating nuisance will be dealt with," said DCP (New Delhi) Manoj Lall.

Pompoms in Akhada: Kushti in age of WWF

2006-09-10T07:18:00.000+05:30

Indian express, unknown date (around 2003)

Shailendra Awasthi, Mumbai, Feruary 29

Pompom meets langot, cheerleader meets pahelwan, catwalk meets clay. Welcome to Kushti in the age of the World Wrestling Federation.

At the all-India wrestling competition held here today, mud smeared pehelwans dressed in traditional langots (loincloths) walked down a 70-ft-long ramp to the ring, escorted by models, and to music played by Mumbai's famous wedding band Astik. While the audience remained all-male, 32 female cheerleaders were present to root for the wrestlers. The Akhada bore a new look too; raised to 4 ft above the ground, and laid with a foot-thick layer of clay.

If there was a strong hint of the schmaltzy but successful WWF, there were no complaints. Former wrestler and Uttar Pradesh Kesari (champion) Keshav Singh pointed out that unlike the staged wrestling extravaganzas of America, Indian kushti wasn't fixed. So it was a happy marriage of spectacle and tradition.

"We thought of bringing some novelty to the event," said Mukesh Parav, representative of the main sponsor, the Congress party's sport's cell. "A kind of trendsetter."

Opposition? There wasn't' any. "Mud wrestling should not remain untouched in the era of globalisation," said Singh, "Our image needs to be changed."

Murtaza Khan, vice-president of the Bharatiya Kushti Mahasangh, also welcomed the glamour, "If any change is for the betterment of the sport, it is always welcome," he reasoned.