JLP Bounces Back - PNP Lead Cut In Half Over Past 12 Months

Source: Gleaner

The governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has gained a momentum that has seen it drastically reduce the lead which the People's National Party (PNP) holds as the party more Jamaicans would vote for if an election is called today.

More Jamaicans also believe the PNP would do a better job of governing the country at this time but, again, the JLP's tide is rising ominously.

The JLP has made big moves in the latest Gleaner-commissioned Bill Johnson poll, while the PNP has lost support or remained stable.

The latest poll, conducted islandwide from May 28 to 29 and June 4 to 5, shows that 35 per cent of Jamaicans would vote for the PNP candidate if an election is called today, while 25 per cent would vote for the JLP candidate, regardless of who is nominated to represent the two parties.

Eleven per cent of the respondents said they were undecided, while 27 per cent said they would not vote.

However, despite trailing the PNP by 10 percentage points, the poll provides encouraging news for the JLP, which is enjoying an upswing, while the PNP has lost some ground.

When Johnson last tested the pulse of the nation in April 2010, the PNP with 38 per cent support had doubled the JLP, which had only 19 per cent of the respondents, saying they would vote for the candidates of the governing party.

But in this latest poll, with a sample size of 1,008 and a margin of error of plus or minus four per cent, the PNP has lost three percentage points while the JLP has gained six percentage points.

"This is one case where a political party cannot be sanguine with a 10-point lead," Johnson explained.

"The JLP has cut the PNP's 19 per cent lead in almost half in one year and it could be tough for the PNP unless it start giving people a reason to vote for its candidates," added Johnson.

The pollster noted that the story was similar when respondents were asked which party would do a better job of governing Jamaica at this time.

Forty-three per cent of Jamaicans said the PNP would do a better job in managing the affairs of the state at this time while 32 per cent made the JLP their choice.

But even as the Portia Simpson Miller-led PNP continues to enjoy the lead that it has held since June 2008, that poll also showed encouraging signs for the JLP.

When Johnson posed the same question to Jamaicans just over one year ago, the PNP polled 43 per cent, while the JLP, with 26 per cent, was at its lowest level since 2007 and 17 percentage points behind Simpson Miller and her team.

Now one year later, the PNP has not moved and the JLP has gained six percentage points, closing that gap to 11 percentage points.

Even more encouraging for the JLP is the fact that its upswing has come from persons who were undecided about which party would do a better job of running the country.

Last April, 30 per cent of those polled declared that they were undecided about which party would be better at directing the affairs of the state. That number is now down to 25 which is about consistent with the polling numbers for non-election years and two of the island's leading political analysts believe it spells bad news for the PNP.

Troy Caine and Tony Myers agree that the signs are moving in the right direction for the JLP.

"The PNP doesn't have a lot of things going in its favour as it approaches the next general election," Caine told The Gleaner.

"The PNP was pushing for something to go in its favour from the Manatt-Dudus commission of enquiry and that did not work. Now, it is looking for other so-called scandals to try to discredit the JLP," Caine added.

He charged that the PNP has not made efforts to woo voters. Instead, it has sat expecting Jamaicans to boot out the Bruce Golding-led government.

That view is shared by Myers who is unimpressed by the actions of the PNP's Secretariat.

"The PNP seems to be saying that the people will get rid of the JLP rather than telling the country how the party would deal with issues such as crime and the economy. The leadership of the PNP needs to wake up," Myers said.

"The poll numbers have a lot to do with the lack of readiness of the PNP and the lack of inspiration of its Secretariat which is at a new low, below the floor," Myers added.

According to Caine: "The main problem that the PNP has why it is not gaining is that it is the same old team with the same old story and Simpson Miller's lame attempt at a recent reshuffle of her shadow Cabinet has found no favour with Jamaicans."

With elections constitutionally due next year, the PNP still has time to get back into gear but with the poll showing the momentum with the JLP, it will be hard work for the Opposition to change the status quo.

But Caine does not believe that is impossible.

"I do not hold much candle for the polls. Elections are all won at the constituency level and not on national issues."


If election were held today, which party would you probably vote for?
May 2011

April 2010

JLP

25%

19%

PNP

35%

38%

Undecided

11%

10%

Would not vote

27%

32%

Refused

2%

2%

A response to Rev Carla Dunbar's stance on gay marriage

A response has come from a letter writer to Reverend Carla Dunbar's trope on gay marriages in Jamaica following on New York's passage of marriage rights for same gender loving couples in late June.

see a post below this on my response to the New Yorkers new found rights and our local scenario:

NY Gay Marriage reactions and our scenario

here is the interview Rev Dunbar did on Smile Jamaica (Television Jamaica, TVJ) recently and her reactions to it also describing homosexuals basically as defective.

here is my original take on the issue from October 2009 when gay marriage was used as a smoke screen to exclude Jamaican LGBT people from the debated Charter of Rights

No to Gay Marriage in Jamaica etc .. my two cents by glbtqja (ignore snapvine references)

Here is Mr. Welsh's letter from the Gleaner:

THE EDITOR, Sir:

The duplicity of the evangelical message, as it relates to the 'love the sinner, hate the sin' paradigm, was most obvious in the Rev Carla Dunbar's recent contribution to a discussion on TVJ's 'Smile Jamaica' morning programme regarding the recent passage of the same-sex marriage bill in New York.

Her assertions that gay people are defective, distorted by sin, and given up to reprobate minds as a consequence of their choice not to follow God's law are the type of rhetoric that hate crimes are made of. Her pseudo-psychological recommendations for reparative therapy to 'fix' gay people flout biology, psychology, and anthropology and reveals her own personal prejudice, which elevates the gospel and theology of her particular persuasion over proven scientific fact.

For her to state that homosexuality is solely borne of choice shows a gross misunderstanding of the fluidity of human sexuality. Also, for her to further state that God wants gays fixed and that she and her flock have answers that experts in human thought and sexuality do not is laughable at best, and gravely dangerous at worst.

The host brought up the Church's dismal human rights record, history of subjugation of vulnerable people and the failure to recognise the human dignity of countless numbers of God's children with their complicity (and encouragement) in such atrocities as slavery, apartheid and laws against interracial marriage.

When the host went on to suggest that her opposition to same-sex marriage in particular, and homosexuality more broadly, may be another 'mistake' based on incorrect interpretations of scripture, Dunbar firmly stated, "I am not making a mistake, I am telling you the truth, I am standing upon the word of God!"

This is the kind of religion that turns sensible people away from the Church.

I am seriously beginning to think that any talk of human rights coming from the mouth of an evangelical is mere lip service and politically correct fluff used to veil deeper prejudices against those not of their ilk.

BRIAN-PAUL N. WELSH

brianpaul.welsh@gmail.com

Abacavir Should (Again) Be a “Preferred” HIV Treatment Option ... previously downgraded to first line

Researchers of a new study, published online June 24 in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, found similar rates of treatment success in people taking abacavir plus lamivudine (Epzicom), compared with people taking tenofovir plus emtricitabine (Truvada). Moreover, they conclude that abacavir should once again be listed as a “preferred” option in HIV treatment guidelines.

Three landmark studies during the past three years resulted in the down-grading of abacavir in U.S. HIV treatment guidelines from a “preferred” antiretroviral (ARV) agent for first-line therapy, notably when used in the combination tablet Epzicom, to an “alternative” agent.

Two of those studies, SMART and D:A:D, suggested that people taking abacavir had a higher rate of heart attacks than people on other nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs). A third study, ACTG 5202, found that people on an Epizcom-inclusive regimen for first-line therapy were more likely to experience treatment failure upon starting therapy with a high viral load (over 100,000 copies), compared with people taking a Truvada-inclusive regimen.

Though other studies found no association between abacavir and heart attacks, nor lower efficacy in people starting treatment with high viral loads, the panel of experts and community activists who write U.S. guidelines voted to downgrade Epzicom in 2008. Truvada, however, has remained the preferred NRTI option.

Given the mixed results of these various studies, several European guidelines committees decided not to follow suit and kept Epzicom—branded as Kivexa in Europe—as a preferred regimen. The competing studies and differing guidelines have led to confusion as to the best use of Epizcom in people starting treatment for the first time.

In hopes of clarifying the efficacy of abacavir compared with tenofovir—less concern exists for lamivudine or emtricitabine, as both drugs are very similar—Darrell Tan, MD, from the University of Toronto, and his Canadian colleagues, examined the medical records of 1,764 HIV-positive people who started HIV treatment between 2000 and 2010. Anearlier look at the data in a smaller group of people was reported in 2010 at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna.

The Canadian Institutes of Health funded the study, and no conflicts of interest with Epzicom’s manufacturer, ViiV Healthcare, were reported.

For the study, Tan’s group directly compared people starting a regimen including abacavir and lamivudine—either separately as Ziagen and Epivir or as Epzicom—with those starting a regimen including tenofovir and emtricitabine—either separately as Viread and Emtriva, or together as Truvada. After Atripla, a combination tablet containing tenofovir, emtricitabine and efavirenz, became available in Canada in 2007, those taking the three-in-one tablet were included in the tenofovir group.

Tan found that when multiple variables were considered, people taking an abacavir regimen were no more likely to experience treatment failure than those taking a tenofovir regimen. This held true even in people who started treatment with viral loads over 100,000.

What’s more, the rate at which people were able to suppress their virus over the first few months of treatment—another way of looking at the potency of the treatment regimen—was equivalent between the two groups.

Lastly, people taking abacavir were no more likely to switch or stop treatment for reasons other than virological failure than people taking tenofovir.

Tan’s team acknowledges that a primary difference between ACTG 5202 and their study is the fact that people in ACTG 5202 were randomized to receive either abacavir or tenofovir, whereas in their study no randomization occurred. This means that there might have been reasons that a person’s provider chose one of the regimens over the other and that these reasons could have affected Tan’s study results. Because of this, the authors state that their study cannot say conclusively that abacavir and tenofovir are equivalent in terms of efficacy.

Other features of the Canadian study, however, were similar to ACTG 5202, and the Canadian study’s results are similar to a different clinical trial, the HEAT study, which found that abacavir was equivalent to tenofovir, even in people with high viral loads. Therefore, the authors conclude: “These results support the use of either NRTI backbone in the initial therapy of ART-naïve patients, and would support continuing [abacavir/lamivudine] as a ‘preferred’ NRTI option.”

NY's Gay Marriage reactions & our scenario

Originally posted on sister blog GLBTQ Jamaica

First let me say CONGRATULATIONS New Yorkers and enjoy as you bask in the new rights you now have!!!!!!!!!!

So as New York finally got their act together and passed the Marriage Rights to same gender loving folks right in the nick of time for Pride celebrations the reactions have been coming in from all over. Congratulatory refernces have been extended from other jurisdictions from within the United States and abroad and there has been talk of the Prop 8 issues in California getting some boost to dealing with it as it will make its way to the Supreme Court.

see more from 365 Gay News

Here is a PBS Newshour discussion on the issue

also see NYC has new gay marriage campaign

Locally let us recap the struggle and or invented discussion on the issue that was used during the Charter of Rights debate as a smoke screen to deny us any mention in the document and the draft that had some very small coverage was challenged by the Lawyers' Christian Fellowhip, LCF.

see: Gay Marriage - An Invented Issue by the christian right movement

NY-Based Co-Founder of J-FLAG sees no need for same sex-marriage,

Opposition sides with Govt on No to same sex marriage

No Same Sex Marriage says Prime Minister in Charter of Rights Bill Debate

PNP 2006, No plans to Legalise Same Sex Unions (the same PNP that has a larger support base from the LGBT community)

Listen this important audio posts which include PM Bruce Golding's speech in Parliament on the issue of Gay Marriage in 2009

No to Gay Marriage in Jamaica etc .. my two cents by glbtqja from October 2009

(ignore snapvine references as they are closed)

Pastors and sermons on local radio especially the main Christian station Love 101FM have been opposing the issue as expected and there is even a song played referring to opposition to crossdressing, the song is mostly played on a Saturday is supposedly recorded by an artist named Gideon in the new dancehall/gospel format which is getting heavy rotation since the station's revamping of their programs. The song's main chorus "Man fi dress and act like man" or "Man nuh fi dress in oman clothes" clearly this is a swipe at effeminacy and its linkages to male homosexuality and associated stereotypes. Other station DJs have been dropping edited songs, looping certain one-liners that have in them anti homosexual sentiments camouflaged in between clean songs.

Wilmot "Mutty" Perkins host of Perkins Online on Power 106FM has always been openly tolerant and has said he sees nothing wrong with homosexuals being allowed the right to marry as it's our private business. He has said before he has gay friends who he enjoys their company as they are no different than anyone else except for our sexual orientation.

There has been some level headed responses although not totally leaning on affording same sex marriage rights fully, outspoken Professor Carla Dunbar aka Professor Sex basically summed it up by saying she support and is tolerant of homosexuals but not marriage rights on a whole. Radio talk show hosts have been weighing in as well and as expected the vast majority oppose the idea plus dropping hints of paedophilia and predatory behaviour towards pubescents.

In a Gleaner letter from an anti gay author and to which I responded the writer took issue with marriage rights being extended and outrightly said same gender loving Jamaicans should leave.

see: Gays Must Leave Jamaica Alone (Gleaner Letter) ....... my response

There is a lot to learn from all this friends.

Peace and tolerance

H

XXXXTRAZZZZ

Smile Jamaica - TVJ

Jamaica Morning Show

Simone Clarke-Cooper

Simon Crosskill

Same sex marriage On TVJ (June 28th 2011)

Same sex marriage On Smile Jamaica (June 28th 2011)

Jamaica News (June 28th 2011)

The Daily Show - Happy Gays - New York Gay Pride Parade
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Capleton's show moved from Toronto .........

With Toronto in the middle of Pride Week, Jamaican dancehall singer Fireman Capleton, known for violently anti-gay lyrics, has had to move his Canada Day concert from downtown Toronto to Brampton, after criticism from the gay community.

According to Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail on June 30, With songs alluding to fierce violence against homosexuals, the singer was originally booked to perform at the Sound Academy, the waterfront concert venue. According to Catherine Fowler, a spokeswoman for the venue, “we were unaware of the nature of the lyrics of this artist” when Capleton was originally booked by an outside promoter.

Sound Academy was contacted by the gay-rights advocacy group Egale Canada, which also alerted Toronto’s police hate-crimes unit. Capleton, whose music regularly extols Rastafarian tenants of purity and individual rights, nevertheless includes references to such violent acts as “bun out ah chi chi/blood out ah chi chi,” referring to burning and bleeding a homosexual.

For years, Capleton and a number of other dancehall artists, such as Buju Banton, Sizzla and Beenie Man, have faced protests by gay-rights organizations. In 2007, Capleton signed the Reggae Compassionate Act, condemning homophobia. Yet reports and video clips indicate he has continued to trade off of anti-gay sentiment as a way to hype performances.

His promoter, CVR Entertainment, could not be reached for comment. A message on what appears to be CVR’s Twitter site notes that the concert has been moved to Brampton’s Rozz Entertainment Complex, “due to the batty Man Parade & their one side ways.” This refers to this weekend’s Pride parade. (Batty man is a derogatory Jamaican term, typically used against homosexuals.)

Ms. Fowler from Sound Academy said that the venue was already considering cancelling the show before meeting with hate-crimes officers Thursday morning and confirming the cancellation.

No one was available at Rozz Entertainment late Thursday for comment. Helen Kennedy, Egale Canada’s executive director, said her organization will continue to condemn the planned performance and will remain in contact with the hate-crimes unit.

EGALE Canada has released a statement on June 30th:

Egale Canada commends Toronto's Sound Academy for taking the initiative to cancel a concert for anti-gay dancehall artist Capleton. Initially scheduled to perform in Toronto on the eve of Pride, Sound Academy has pulled the plug on Capleton's venomous homophobia.

"Capleton" (Clifton G. Bailey) has openly advocated, encouraged and glorified violence against and murder of gays and lesbians. His anti-gay dancehall tracks include lyrics such as: "All queers and sodomites should be killed," "Yow, string them up and hang them up alive."

The news of the cancellation follows a swift response from members of the LGBT community in the days leading up to the event. "We are extremely glad that Sound Academy has listened to the voices of the LGBT community and shown respect by pulling the plug on Capleton," said Helen Kennedy, Executive Director of Egale Canada.

ENDS

here is a clip from the show

interesting that the opening song was "Slew dem" is that a hint to the Canadian gay activists who pressured the move?

Miss Gay Caribbean Pageant 2011 .................

Here are the preview pics of our representative this year in the Miss Gay Caribbean USA Pagaent, sadly the reighning queen Jennifer Banks who became a leading transgender/transexual figure since her winning the crown hailing from Trinidad passed away from liver failure in June 2011.

See more on that sad issue on my sister blog GLBTQ Jamaica where I dedicated an entry to her:

First Transgender Miss Gay Caribbean Queen passes

Jennifer Banks in happier times when she performed at last years competition and won

Read here to see the original pics from the competition in NY September 2010 from the Wordpress Edition

The female impersonator Charley Marie was born after watching a live drag show. Now with four years of performing experience under her belt, she is the proud ambassador for Jamaica at the 2011 Gay Caribbean USA Pageant.

Charley Marie wants to show off her creativity and many talents at the pageant. She also hopes that her presence at the pageant will open more doors of opportunity for her as an entertainer. She is inspired by the likes of RuPaul and Harmonica Sunbeam.

Miss Jamaica Lyana Grey seen here in swim wear did not place last year

XXXXTTTRRAAZZZZZ Videos

Part One - Hemish Gervis chats with contestants vieing for the crown of 2011 Miss Gay Caribbean USA. In this interview are Miss Jamaica, Miss Barbados, Miss Haiti and Miss St. Lucia.

Hemish Gervis interviews the first ever lesbian pageant contestant, Stefon Iman who is a Male Impersonator and represents Puerto Rico.

Part Two - Hemish Gervis chats with contestants vieing for the crown of 2011 Miss Gay Caribbean USA. In this interview are Miss Guyana, Miss Trinidad & Tobago and Miss Dominican Republic.

http://www.gaycaribbeanpageant.com/contestants.html

Privacy rights for LGBT people in T&T advances says blogger

According to Colin Robinson from CAISO Coalition Advocating for the Inclusion of Sexual Orientation via his blog some progress though small has been made recently with regards to LGBT rights issue in his homeland Trinidad and Tobago.

Here is an excerpted segment of the post speaking to the issue.

Privacy rights for sexual orientation calmly take a small step forward in T&T

The President last Wednesday (June 22) assented to the Data Protection Act, a landmark piece of legislation that establishes an ambitious framework “to ensure that protection is afforded to an individual’s right to privacy and the right to maintain sensitive personal information as private and personal.” The legislation: promulgates rules and standards for all persons who handle, store or process personal information belonging to another person, in either the public or private sector; regulates the authority of public entities to collect personal information, its use, protection, accuracy and access; establishes hefty fines and corporate penalties for breaches; and includes whistleblower protections.

It also provides for the development of binding industry-tailored codes of practice in the private sector.

Of great significance to gay, lesbian and bisexual communities in Trinidad & Tobago, the new law provides heightened protections for “sensitive personal information”, which is defined to include one’s “sexual orientation or sexual life”. Ensuring citizens’ autonomy in their consensual sexual affairs requires bothprotecting their sexual lives from unwarranted intrusion and protecting them from discrimination based on their sexuality.

This is the first piece of legislation recognizing sexual orientation and related rights that we are aware has been enacted in the history of Trinidad & Tobago’s Parliament. Originally drafted and introduced in November 2008 by the People’s National Movement (PNM) Government, the bill was reintroduced by the People’s Partnership in January of 2011, and shepherded to passage with bipartisan support.

To follow lawmaking in Trinidad & Tobago, visit the Parliament website: www.ttparliament.org

The sexual orientation provision was never hidden from the public, and was reported on in the media both times the bill was debated. It is an important lesson about the ways in which our Parliament should be legislating on sexual orientation: soberly, fairly, and without appeals to politics, division, manufactured hysteria and controversy – or imaginary verses from Leviticus. It also demonstrates how legislators can integrate questions of sexual orientation into a broad approach to rights and protections for everyone, and frame them in relationship to matters of broad public and political consensus, e.g. privacy for one’s sexual life.

What is of further significance for legislating on sexual orientation is that the bill was subject to unusually vigorous debate and amendment by the Senate’s Opposition and Independent benches, which left the sexual orientation provisions intact. Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister MP Collin Partap, who piloted the bill, was saluted by the PNM for his flexibility and that of his staff in building consensus on the legislation.

We have previously congratulated the Government for its leadership in moving this legislation forward. Today, on behalf of the nation’s tens of thousands of gay, lesbian and bisexual citizens, the Coalition Advocating for Inclusion of Sexual Orientation pays tribute to all parties in Parliament and our Senators on the Independent bench for their support and vigorous contributions to strengthening of a forward-thinking piece of legislation that strengthens respect for human rights, and for our inclusion in it. We are proud today of our Parliamentarians, and we thank them.

Bill manager Collin Partap was saluted for facilitating bipartisan legislating

This is gspottt’s 100th post!