20250217 Mpox. Gay Art. More weightloss drugs. LGBTQ criminal gang in Thailand. Sideloading Apple porn app in Europe.
Substack writer calls male sexuality depraved. RFK Jr. confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services.
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Mpox – 2 cases outside Africa this week.
New York has first case of mpox clade 1b.
Mpox is spreading in Africa.
United Arabe Emirates reports 1st mpox clade 1b.
The report is towards the bottom of the first page.
Situation overall
It is still spreading in Africa. The number of times it escapes ouside Africa is now two to three times a week, instead of one time per week.
Weight loss drugs
Nature, Feb. 12, 2025, “Dozens of new obesity drugs are coming: these are the ones to watch.”
Subtitle:
Next-generation obesity drugs will work differently from Ozempic and Wegovy — aiming to deliver greater weight loss with fewer side effects.
From the article:
It’s one of more than 100 anti-obesity drug candidates that are in various stages of development. The next wave of medications, which are likely to hit pharmacy shelves in the next few years, resemble drugs that are already on the market. But close behind are numerous therapies being developed specifically for their muscle-sparing weight-loss potential. Dozens more are aimed at different biological pathways and could redefine obesity treatment in decades to come.
The financial success of the first weight loss drugs is driving research into the next generation of weight loss drugs.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00404-9
RFK Jr. confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services.
This is likely to be a disaster. The chances of successful research into vaccines for STDs like HIV I expect to be impacted. Support for research into AIDS is very likely to be impacted.
ArsTechnica, Feb. 13, “A Sicker America: Senate Confirms Robert R. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary.”
Anti-vaccine advocacy
While his stated goals have drawn support and praise from some lawmakers and health advocates, his confirmation has been highly controversial because he is one of the most prominent and influential anti-vaccine advocates in the country. He has worked for decades to erode trust in safe, life-saving vaccinations as the head of the anti-vaccine organization he founded, Children's Health Defense, and spread misinformation and conspiracy theories. Upon seeking the confirmation, he transferred his trademark application to an LLC managed by Del Bigtree, another prominent anti-vaccine advocate who has spread conspiracy theories.
And:
In the hearings, Kennedy also did not deny spreading dangerous conspiracy theories and other harmful misinformation. For instance, he did not deny saying that Lyme disease is a military bioweapon (it is not) or that AIDS is a different disease in Africa than it is in the US (it is not). [Boldface added.]
Nature, Feb. 13, 2025, “Vaccine sceptic RFK Jr is now a powerful force in US science: what will he do?”
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00439-y
Hopefully I am completel wrong, but these are my concerns.
Man self-?hating said out loud.
This person claims to be a man.
Man hating used to be something that men said about women asserting their rights. I remember it from the 1960s. However, there are women who are manhaters. They might not feel empowered or willing to attack men in general, but it becomes rather obvious sometime they target Gays because Gays have not a lot of power in society.
There is misogyny and there is misandry.
This is something I found on Substack. This person says out loud what I think a lot of people think but don’t say. Gay male sexuality uncontrolled is seen as a threat. One thing you can do by adding in a lot of letters, the initialism, the Alphabet Soup, is bury Gay culture with an agenda that includes many things.
This post is titled “The Depravity of Male Sexuality.”
Then the author decided that to have a part II.
This isn’t a one time thing or isolated. “The Men” by Sandra Newman imagines a supposed utopia where men have been eliminated. Pauline Harmange published a book, “I hate Men.”
Gays need to realize that manhating exists and it includes them.
Back on Facebook after they forced me to delete dozens of posts.
I am still going to disengage from Facebook. I found engagement in Facebook to be of marginal benefit. Also, the Facebook feed on my timeline is about half advertisements.
I had some contacts only through Facebook and I needed to let them know to have contact with me elsewhere. In some cases I have let members in some groups know that they need to be subscribing to a newsletter or following me on another platform.
I also use Facebook to do research and needed to be able to use Facebook. I can also ask local people about some local things for my research efforts.
I am promoting Bluesky to Gays to get them to spend time on Bluesky.
An LGBTQ+ Gang. I mean gang as in criminal thugs.
Though I suppose I should find this terrible, part of me was pleased to read about it.
https://www.nationthailand.com/news/general/40046123
Smartphones, Apps, Porn, Sideloading and the Gay community.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sideloading
Even if we got an app that was Gay only, we would face censorship by Android and Apple and the app wouldn’t be accepted. Gay art would be heavily censored as much as being on Facebook.
Also, Android and Apple would have all sorts of restrictive rules. Even if it was a hook up app for Gays, they would have restrictions.
The providers also cooperate with government censorship. Apple pulled Grindr out of its app store in Indonesia.
With side loading we can skip all that. Unfortunately, Apple and Android make it difficult or impossible to side load. One thing is that they take a percentage of the sales price of an app and make fairly good money.
Not so in Europe.
The European Union has the Digital Markets Act and it has mandated side loading. So apps that Apple or Android wouldn’t allow are now allowed.
A porn app has become available for Apple phones.
Apple is squealing that a porn app is a big problem. The issue is that they aren’t going to get the cash flow they want.
The Hill, (Assoc. Press), 2/5/2025, “Apple lashes out at iPhone porn app maker and the EU rules allowing its download.”
The digital rulebook forces Big Tech companies to open their services up to more competition, including allowing phone users to download from alternative app stores instead of being limited to the official app stores from Apple and Google, for example.
AltStore PAL said in a social media post on Monday that Hot Tub is “the world’s 1st Apple-approved porn app.”
The alternative stores have to go through a certification, but the apps themselves are not approved or disapproved by Apple.
“The truth is that we are required by the European Commission to allow it to be distributed by marketplace operators like AltStore and Epic who may not share our concerns for user safety.”
“User safety” is being used as an excuse by Apple to criticize Side Loading.
France 24, Feb.2, 2025, “Apple blasts porn app for iPhones in Europe.”
You can see how Apple engages in opportunistic fear mongering.
"We are deeply concerned about the safety risks that hardcore porn apps of this type create for EU users, especially kids," Apple said when asked about the app by AFP.
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250204-apple-blasts-porn-app-for-iphones-in-europe
In the United States you can’t sideload for an Apple phone, but you can sideload for an Android, but you have to do some manual settings. It isn’t as straight forward as downloading from the Play Store.
Launching a Gay app isn’t quite possible. The previous administrations would only do what the Tech giants want, what Trump might do for sideloading remains to be seen.
Again, this push for censorship doesn’t come from the Christian right, but from corporate America who get bullied by radfems.
Bluesky art
Directory of Gay artists on Bluesky.
Christian attack on pride parade.
Showcased John Douglas
He has been added to the direcor post of Ga showcases. The list is nearing 60 now.
