Tag-Archive for » boys «
It looks like the freaky deaky community is going to have to tone down the freak or the deak in their activities if they want to stay cancer-free. A new study has found that men are contracting throat cancer at an alarming rate from simply pleasing their mates.
The new study from the Journal of Clinical Oncology has uncovered a very good reason to take oral sex out of the sexual equation. The study found a surge in the number of cases of men who have come into contact with human papillomavirus (HPV); a sexually transmitted virus that takes the form of warts and can lead to cancer in men and women’s genitals.
The journal’s researchers found that out of 271 cases of throat tumors the percentage linked to HPV had jumped from 16 percent in 1994 to 72 percent by 2004. The recent vaccine for HPV has been controversial because it has been recommended to girls starting at age 11.
Men, the term “guard your grill” is taking on a completely different meaning. Read more here and proceed with caution the next time you’re “active.”
Allegations that Long coerced two young male church members and employees into sex are “a case of retaliation and a shakedown for money by men with some serious credibility issues,” the pastor’s spokesman told CNN on Wednesday.
Pastor Eddie Long “categorically and adamantly denies these allegations,” spokesman Art Franklin said. “There’s been a lot of chatter since yesterday, but these complaints that have been filed are definitely without merit.”
The lawsuits filed Tuesday in DeKalb County allege that Long used his position as a spiritual authority and bishop to coerce young male members and employees of his New Birth Missionary Baptist Church into sex. CNN was the first to report on the lawsuits.
“Defendant Long has a pattern and practice of singling out a select group of young male church members and using his authority as Bishop over them to ultimately bring them to a point of engaging in a sexual relationship,” the suits allege.
Long is considered one of the nation’s top African-American preachers. His church has more 25,000 members, according to the suit, and was the site of Coretta Scott King’s 2006 funeral, attended by then-President George W. Bush and three
former presidents. King was the widow of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
One of the men, Anthony Flagg, 21, alleges in his suit that Long took him on overnight trips to a half-dozen American cities in recent years.
“Long shared a bedroom and engaged in intimate sexual contact with plaintiff Flagg including kissing, massaging, masturbating of plaintiff Flagg by defendant Long and oral sexual contact,” the suit says.
The other man, Maurice Murray Robinson, 20, claims Long took him to Auckland, New Zealand, in October 2008 for his 19th birthday and engaged in oral sex with him, Robinson’s suit alleges.
“Following the New Zealand trip, defendant Long regularly engaged in sexual touching, and other sexual acts with plaintiff Robinson,” Robinson’s suit alleges.
This is actually a case of retaliation and a shakedown for money by men with some serious credibility issues.
–Art Franklin, pastor’s spokesman
Attorney B.J. Bernstein, who represents both Flagg and Robinson, said Wednesday that the youths’ accounts are “really strong.”
She said she has worked with sexual abuse victims and finds the two believable because of “the emotion. The intensity. The very strong description of what sexual acts occurred. … This is not just someone giving a vague thing, ‘Oh, yeah, one time he did this,’ or a couple of times.”
But Franklin told CNN’s “American Morning” on Wednesday that the two men “are not innocent victims” and that they have known “the wrong side of the law” before, including being charged with breaking into Long’s office in June to steal items, such as jewelry, that could be sold for cash.
“Let your viewers be the judge of their actions,” Franklin said.
In June, Robinson was arrested and charged with burglary in connection with a break-in at Long’s office. An iPhone, iPad and other items — more than $1,300 worth — were taken from the office, according to the police report. Bernstein said Wednesday that about $100,000 worth of items were taken, including black diamonds.
On Tuesday, Bernstein said the theft was Robinson’s attempt to retaliate against the pastor. She said that once Robinson began telling others about his experience with Long, “he realized he wasn’t the only one.”
“It made [Robinson] angry,” she said.
She said Wednesday that Robinson’s anger also stemmed from a May incident in which he sought comfort and solace from Long and instead was the target of a sexual advance. That “created a frenzy inside him,” she said.
Franklin told CNN’s John Roberts, “This is actually, John, a case of retaliation and a shakedown for money by men with some serious credibility issues trying to mount their own defense. This is something that went from 48 hours of contact with the attorney flinging outrageous demands to this dog-and-pony show we are seeing.”
Asked about the relationship between Long and the young men, Franklin said that both were part of the LongFellows program at the church.
The suit describes Long’s LongFellows Youth Academy as an offshoot of New Birth. According to its website, the group’s vision is to “love, live and lead. We successfully meet the demanding needs of young men through a vigorous Rites of Passage Curriculum that helps young men realize their hidden potential and discover their masculine heart.”
Franklin said that both Robinson and Flagg were among many young people employed by the church. Asked whether they ever traveled with Long, he said a number of people travel with him.
On whether the two youths ever shared a room with Long, Franklin said, “That is one of the allegations that we learned through the media that’s being made by the attorneys and something our defense team will have to respond to.
“We have not even seen the lawsuit ourselves,” he said. “That’s something our attorneys will have to go through.”
On the reaction from Long’s congregation, Franklin said, “Last night, it was a very spirit-filled worship service from a church family that loves its spiritual leader very much.” He said Long is drawing strength from his family, the New Birth family and other supporters.
“Before rushing to any judgment on Bishop Long and this court of public opinion taking place right now, I really do hope you will look at these guys that are throwing the mud and consider the source,” he said.
Asked how she can prove that sexual contact took place, Bernstein said, “I am ready to put them under oath. Bishop Long can spend money on the best attorneys in this world, and they can question those young men, and then I’ll get to question the bishop, and then we’ll really see what’s going on.”
She said she will subpoena records of an “excessive number of phone calls” between Long and the young men, along with e-mails, credit card receipts and other items. Bernstein said she had alerted federal authorities about the situation.
Long frequently denounces homosexual behavior. A 2007 article in the Southern Poverty Law Center’s magazine called him “one of the most virulently homophobic black leaders in the religiously based anti-gay movement.”
Both plaintiffs said the pastor, his church and church employees gave them cash and lavish gifts that ranged from cars to college tuition.
The suits also said that Long framed the sexual relationships as religious in nature.
“They were groomed for it, from 14 to 17 years old,” Bernstein said Wednesday. “He gets to know them and gets the trust, and then bit by bit — first it’s a hug. It’s just like any sexual predator. Or we’re sitting watching the football game, and you put your legs up on their lap … One of the boys described going to the gym, ‘Can you massage my neck?’ and then there’s another massage, and it just slowly breaks down. Ask any victim of sexual abuse. It is a progression.”
The suits allege that Long chose the plaintiffs to be his “Spiritual Sons,” a program that allegedly includes other young men from the church.
“Spiritual Sons are taken on public and private jets to U.S. and international destinations, housed in luxury hotels and given access to numerous celebrities including entertainment stars and politicians,” the suit alleges.
Flagg moved into a home owned by another New Birth pastor when he was a high school junior, according to the suit, where Long would sometimes share a bed with him. Flagg was eventually put on the church’s payroll, his suit alleges, with Long personally delivering his checks.
Flagg’s suit says that Long presided over a spiritual “covenant” ceremony between the two of them.
“It was essentially a marriage ceremony, with candles, exchange of jewelry and biblical quotes,” Bernstein said Tuesday. “The bishop [told] him ‘I will always have your back, and you will always have mine.’ ”
The families of both young men moved to Georgia in order to join Long’s church, she said Wednesday.
Robinson’s suit alleges that “Defendant Long would use Holy Scripture to discuss and justify the intimate relationship between himself and Plaintiff Robinson.”
The lawsuits are seeking unspecified amounts of punitive damages from Long on various counts, ranging from negligence to breach of fiduciary duty.
The suits allege that various staff members working for Long, his church and the LongFellows Academy “knew of Defendant Long’s sexually inappropriate conduct and did nothing to warn or protect [the plaintiffs].”
Bernstein said her office is looking into allegations made by others who are afraid to come forward publicly.
She said she warned the young men they would be “crucified” for making the allegations, “and they just said, ‘We have to do it, and we know there are others.’ ”
September 16th and 17th will be the Sixth Annual African American Prostate Cancer Disparity Summit hosted by the Prostate Health Education Network, Inc. (PHEN) in Washington D.C. This year’s summit focuses on enhancing partnerships with churches in the fight against prostate cancer.
The summit plans to fight against the saying “when America has a cold, African Americans have pneumonia” but in the context of prostate cancer. According to PHEN, Black men are diagnosed with prostate cancer at a rate 60% higher, and die from the disease at a rate 150% higher than all other men, which is the largest racial disparity for any type of cancer.
In response, PHEN is looking towards outreach efforts with Black churches nationwide on their main session September 17th during the Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference at the Washington Convention Center. This is an effort that is based on the high numbers that came to PHEN’s first annual “Father’s Day Rally Against Prostate Cancer” this year, which was partnered with hundreds of churches across the country.
Attending the summit will be congressional leaders, as well as leaders from the National and Progressive Baptist Conventions and the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Also expected to be there is Reverend Roosevelt Grier, former pro football player and prostate cancer survivor, along with survivor and R&B singer Charlie Wilson as a singing act.
“Our communities need to become the most knowledgeable to eliminate the prostate cancer crisis,” PHEN president and founder Thomas Farrington says. “Working in partnership with churches, in combination with our national survivor network and internet educational tools, PHEN will be able to reach into most Black communities in the country,” he adds.
The entire summit is free and open to the public. Prostate cancer survivors, church and community leaders and medical professionals are encouraged to attend. PHEN is a Boston-based, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 2003 by Thomas A. Farrington, a prostate cancer survivor, and author of the books “Battling the Killer Within,” and “Battling The Killer Within and Winning.”
Somebody’s trying to kill us! Well that may sound a bit extreme, but it may be true. Babies in China drinking a particular brand of powdered milk may be causing infants to start puberty a bit prematurely.
According to reports, three babies between 4 and 15 months have shown signs of that dreaded time in everyone’s life, including growth of breasts!
The babies have the same amount of estradiol
(aka the female sex hormone) as any adult woman. The company responsible for manufacturing the product denies that any of its milk is contaminated with any thing. But I’m not so sure about that.
Remember that lead episode with China. They denied that their toys had poisons in them. Who’s to say their milk doesn’t.
CNN is reporting that a former employee of Bishop Eddie Long’s New Birth Missionary Baptist Church has filed a lawsuit against the place of worship, alleging its employees retaliated against her after she complained of sexual harassment.
The civil lawsuit, filed Wednesday on behalf of Tama Colson in the U.S. District Court of North Georgia, asks for unspecified damages.
Colson claims a male employee showed her a photo of a penis on a cell phone and that he and others later retaliated against her for complaining.
Her lawsuit claims the church is culpable for sexual harassment, retaliation, breach of fiduciary duty and infliction of emotional distress. The church’s pastor, Bishop Eddie Long, is not named as a defendant.
“New Birth has a strict policy against sexual harassment that requires employees to report the complaint within 48 hours of the abuse,” Long and church spokesman Art Franklin said in a statement late Thursday.
“Tama Colson’s complaint allegedly happened in October of 2009,” the statement said. “Although, Tama Colson was aware of the New Birth sexual harassment policy she did not make her complaint known to New Birth authorities until August of this year. New Birth moved swiftly to launch an investigation that is ongoing.”
Meanwhile, four unrelated lawsuits accuse Long of using his power and influence within the 25,000-member New Birth Missionary Baptist Church to lure young male church members into sexual relationships. The church is a defendant in some of those lawsuits.
Colson, a member of the church, was hired in August 1998 as an audio engineer, the suit states. A supervisor in a separate department approached her in October 2009 and asked whether she wanted to see a picture on his cell phone. Having seen innocuous pictures on the man’s phone before, Colson agreed, the lawsuit alleges. The official showed her a picture of a penis, the suit states.
Colson claims she talked with a security official at New Birth about the incident on the day it happened. The plaintiff said she was afraid to mention it to her direct supervisor because he and the man who showed her the photo “were part of Bishop Eddie Long’s inner circle and were never disciplined for any wrongdoing.”
Colson learned later her department would be merged with the department where the photo sharer worked. She complained to several church leaders, she contends. Afterward, the suit says, Colson was demoted and humiliated, and the man who showed her the photo began to torment and intimidate her.
Nearly a year after the initial incident, church elders and officials accused her of poor work performance and claimed she lied about her conversation with the security official, the suit states.
When church officials would not let her transfer to another department, she obtained a doctor’s excuse from work because of a lupus condition. But, the suit says, a church official and attorney refused to accept the excuse and instead fired her.